Now that we're so deeply into Canada-bashing, hitting on Texans, etc., perhaps we can reflect on the following perspective that's relevant to what we do as museums: >Interesting facts: > >The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were >born >in 1980. They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era and did >not know he had ever been shot. They were prepubescent when the Persian >Gulf >War was waged. Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great >Depression. There has only been one Pope. They can only really remember >one president. They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do >not >remember the Cold War. They have never feared a nuclear war. > >"The Day After" is a pill to them, not a movie. CCCP is just a bunch of >letters. They have only known one Germany. They are too young to >remember >the Space shuttle blowing up, and Tiananmen Square means nothing to >them. >They do not know who Momar Qadafi is. > >Their lifetime has always included AIDS. They never had a Polio shot and >likely do not know what it is. Bottle caps have not only always been >screw off, but have always been plastic. They have no idea what a pull >top can >looks like. Atari pre-dates them, as do vinyl albums. The expression >"you >sound like a broken record" means nothing to them. They have never owned >a record player. They have likely never played Pac Man and have never >heard >of Pong. Star Wars looks very fake, and the special effects are >pathetic. > >There have always been red M&M's, and blue ones are not new. What do you >mean there used to be beige ones? > >They may have heard of an 8-track, but chances are they probably have >never actually seen or heard one. The Compact Disc was introduced when >they were 1 year old. As far as they know, stamps have always cost >about 32 >cents. Zip codes have always had a dash in them. They have always had >an >answering machine. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, >nor have they seen a black and white TV. They have always had cable. > >There have always been VCR's, but they have no idea what Beta is. They >cannot >fathom not having a remote control. They were born the year that >Walkman >were introduced by Sony. Roller-skating has always meant inline for >them. >They have never heard of King Cola, Burger Chef, The Globe Democrat, >Pan >AM or Ozark Airlines. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay >Leno. >They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool. Popcorn has >always been cooked in a microwave. > >They have never seen and remember a game that included the St. Louis >Football Cardinals, the Baltimore Colts, the Minnesota North Stars, the >Kansas City Kings, the New Orleans Jazz, the Minnesota Lakers, the >Atlanta Flames, or the Denver Rockies (NHL hockey, that is). They do >not consider >the Colorado Rockies, the Florida Marlins, the Florida Panthers, the >Ottawa Senators, the San Jose Sharks, or the Tampa Bay Lightning >"expansion >teams." They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar >is >a football player. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws. The >Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII or even the Civil >War. >They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran. They >can't >imagine what hard contact lenses are. > >They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. They never heard the >terms "Where's the beef?", "I'd Walk a mile for Camel", or "de plane, de >plane!". They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is. >The >Cosby Show, The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, The Love Boat, Miami Vice, >WKRP in Cincinnati, and Taxi are shows they have likely never seen. The >Titanic was found? I didn't know it was lost. Michael Jackson has >always >been white. They cannot remember the Cardinals ever winning a World >Series, or even being in one. Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America and >Alabama are places, not groups. McDonalds never came in Styrofoam >containers. >