Geezer Test

capnhowdy · 01-05-2006, 07:40 AM

I made a 16 on this. Give it a try....see if you rate the geezer category. FOR THOSE OF YOU UNDER 30...DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE LOW SCORE YOU WILL GET.....
BUT BE SURE TO READ THE ANSWERS JUST TO SEE HOW LIFE USE TO BE.

History Exam...

If you don't score very well blame it on being too young !! It is a win -
win situation.

This is a History Exam for those who don't mind seeing how much they
really remember about what went on in their life. Get paper and pencil and
number from 1 to 20.
Write the letter of each answer and score at the end.

1. In the 1940's, where were automobile headlight dimmer switches located?
a. On the floor shift knob
b. On the floor board, to the left of the clutch
c. Next to the horn

2. The bottle top of a Royal Crown Cola bottle had holes in it. For what
was it used?
a. Capture lightning bugs
b. To sprinkle clothes before ironing
c. Large salt shaker

3. Why was having milk delivered a problem in northern winters?
a. Cows got cold and wouldn't produce milk
b. Ice on highways forced delivery by dog sled
c. Milkmen left deliveries outside of front doors and milk would freeze,
expanding and pushing up the cardboard bottle top.

4. What was the popular chewing gum named for a game of chance?
a. Blackjack
b. Gin
c. Craps!

5. What method did women use to look as if they were wearing stockings
when none were available due to rationing during W.W.II
a. Suntan
b. Leg painting
c. Wearing slacks

6. What post-war car turned automotive design on its ear because you
couldn't tell whether it was coming or going?
a. Studebaker
b. Nash Metro
c. Tucker

7. Which was a popular candy when you were a kid?
a. Strips of dried peanut butter
b. Chocolate licorice bars
c. Wax coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside

8. How was Butch wax used?
a. To stiffen a flat-top haircut so it stood up
b. To make floors shiny and prevent scuffing
c. On the wheels of roller skates to prevent rust

9. Before inline skates, how did you keep your roller skates attached to
your shoes?
a With clamps, tightened by a skate key
b. Woven straps that crossed the foot
c. Long pieces of twine

10. As a kid, what was considered the best way to reach a decision?
a. Consider all the facts
b. Ask Mom
c. Eeny-meeny-miney-mo

11. What was the most dreaded disease in the 1940's?
a. Smallpox
b. AIDS
c. Polio

12. "I'll be down to get you in a ________, Honey"
a. SUV
b. Taxi
c. Streetcar

13. What was the name of Caroline Kennedy's pet pony?
a. Old Blue
b. Paint
c. Macaroni

14. What was a Duck-and-Cover Drill?
a. Part of the game of hide and seek
b What you did when your Mom called you in to do chores
c. Hiding under your desk, and covering your head with your arms in an
A-bomb drill.

15. What was the name of the Indian Princess on the Howdy Doody show?
a. Princess Summerfallwinterspring
b. Princess Sacajawea
c. Princess Moonshadow

16. What did all the really savvy students do when mimeographed tests were
handed out in school?
a. Immediately sniffed the purple ink, as this was believed to get you
high
b. Made paper airplanes to see who could sail theirs out the window
c. Wrote another pupil's name on the top, to avoid their failure

17. Why did your Mom shop in stores that gave Green Stamps with purchases?
a. To keep you out of mischief by licking the backs, which tasted like
bubble gum
b. They could be put in special books and redeemed for various household
items
c. They were given to the kids to be used as stick-on tattoos

18. Praise the Lord, and pass the _________?
a Meatballs
b. Dames
c. Ammunition

19. What was the name of the singing group that made the song "Cabdriver"
a hit?
a. The Ink Spots
b. The Supremes
c. The Esquires

20. Who left his heart in San Francisco?
a. Tony Bennett
b. Xavier Cugat
c. George Gershwin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSWERS

1. b) On the floor, to the left of the clutch. Hand controls, popular in
Europe, took till the late '60s to catch on.

2. b) To sprinkle clothes before ironing. Who had a steam iron?

3. c) Cold weather caused the milk to freeze and expand, popping the
bottle top.

4. a) Blackjack Gum.

5. b) Special makeup was applied, followed by drawing a seam down the back
of the leg with eyebrow pencil.

6. a) 1946 Studebaker.

7. c) Wax coke bottles containing super-sweet colored water.

8 a) Wax for your flat top (butch) haircut.

9. a) With clamps, tightened by a skate key, which you wore on a
shoestring around your neck.

10. c) Eeny-meeny-miney-mo.

11. c) Polio. In beginning of August, swimming pools were closed, movies
and other public gathering places were closed to try to prevent spread of
the disease.

12. b) Taxi. Better be ready by half-past eight!

13. c) Macaroni.

14. c) Hiding under your desk, and covering your head with your arms in an
A-bomb drill.

15. a) Princess Summerfallwinterspring. She was another puppet.

16. a) Immediately sniffed the purple ink to get a high.

17. b) Put in a special stamp book, they could be traded for household
items at the Green Stamp store.

18. c) Ammunition, and we'll all be free.

19. a) The widely famous 50's group: The Inkspots.

20. a) Tony Bennett, and he sounds just as good today..

SCORING

17- 20 correct: You are older than dirt, and obviously gifted with mental
abilities. Now if you could only find your glasses. Definitely someone who
should share your wisdom!

12 -16 correct: Not quite dirt yet, but you're getting there.

0 -11 correct: You are not old enough to share the wisdom of your
experiences.

Spexxvet · 01-05-2006, 08:01 AM

17, but I swear I'm not THAT old!

Undertoad · 01-05-2006, 09:19 AM

15.

Several of these were still in operation when I was a kid in the late 60s: milk delivery, skate keys, green stamps.

And the first car I remember had the footswitch for high-beams. I think it was a pre-Ralph Nader Corvair, unsafe at any speed.

And when you were a kid you always stood in the passenger seat, because when you're 5 that's the only way you can see where you're going. No silly child car seats or any of that nonsense, and if your parent hit the brake instead of the high-beam switch, well, rides were a major source of entertainment.

barefoot serpent · 01-05-2006, 09:25 AM

17 (but we should be able to divide it by our age to 'normalize' the score!)

glatt · 01-05-2006, 10:21 AM

I got a 17.

I had milk delivery in the early 70s at my house. We used to fill the milk cooler box with frogs and stuff we would catch. Not as a prank to scare the milkman, just because it made a nice container.

My cousin had a GMC Gremlin in the mid 80s. I helped him replace the foot switch for the lights, because it had rusted through.

My mom used to collect those green stamps when I was a kid. She got a cheap wheelbarrow with them one time.

My kids today, in 2006, do Eeny-meeny-miney-mo to decide between things, unless there are more than two, then they do one-potato two-potato.

We had those wax bottles filled with bug juice when I was a kid, but I wouldn't call them popular.

Also had those metal roller skates that needed the key.

I sniffed plenty of mimeographed paper. Even helped the teacher once after school by cranking out papers on the machine. It had a big handle.

The other ten I got right were things I had heard of or were obvious guesses based on how the questions and answers were phrased.

barefoot serpent · 01-05-2006, 10:38 AM

The metal roller skates became prototypical skateboards once nailed to pieces of 2 by 4s in my neighborhood -- and the cause of more than a few broken arms.

wolf · 01-05-2006, 11:30 AM

18

I am not as old as many questions on that test, but I do read a lot.

I got a classical guitar (that I still own) and a card table (that my computer is sitting on) with Plaid Stamps.

I never had the roller skates with the key ... mine were the leather strap variety. I didn't rollerskate much ... I really preferred ice skating, and since it was less than a mile walk to the community skating lake, I spent a lot of time there.

Pie · 01-05-2006, 12:17 PM

10, but most of those were SWAGs.

BigV · 01-05-2006, 12:17 PM

18.

Missed the Princess puppet question, and the mimeo question. But then again, I wasn't wired that way in school, too straight arrow, when I wasn't daydreaming.

wolf · 01-05-2006, 01:01 PM

I missed on the one about the car, and the fill in the blank song title.

Elspode · 01-05-2006, 02:36 PM

18. I think Bruce sent this to me awhile back. I am sorry to say that I am in fact old enough to have either experienced all of the above or to have had it related to me in a wistful fashion by parents or grandparents. On the other hand, the Ink Spots are awesome.

ferret88 · 01-05-2006, 04:07 PM

18.

Missed the puppet princess and the studebacker, both of which are well before my time. Otherwise, good ol' educated guesses.

capnhowdy · 01-05-2006, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barefoot serpent

17 (but we should be able to divide it by our age to 'normalize' the score!)

We already pretty well see the 'average' score......

Maybe most of us really ARE geezers!

Brings back a lot of memories and confirms a lot of tales.

Katkeeper · 01-05-2006, 04:47 PM

19. No comment.

Undertoad · 01-05-2006, 06:22 PM

No comment about the Corvair?

01-05-2006, 07:40 AM	#1
capnhowdy Blatantly Homosapien Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 6,200	Geezer Test I made a 16 on this. Give it a try....see if you rate the geezer category. FOR THOSE OF YOU UNDER 30...DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE LOW SCORE YOU WILL GET..... BUT BE SURE TO READ THE ANSWERS JUST TO SEE HOW LIFE USE TO BE. History Exam... If you don't score very well blame it on being too young !! It is a win - win situation. This is a History Exam for those who don't mind seeing how much they really remember about what went on in their life. Get paper and pencil and number from 1 to 20. Write the letter of each answer and score at the end. 1. In the 1940's, where were automobile headlight dimmer switches located? a. On the floor shift knob b. On the floor board, to the left of the clutch c. Next to the horn 2. The bottle top of a Royal Crown Cola bottle had holes in it. For what was it used? a. Capture lightning bugs b. To sprinkle clothes before ironing c. Large salt shaker 3. Why was having milk delivered a problem in northern winters? a. Cows got cold and wouldn't produce milk b. Ice on highways forced delivery by dog sled c. Milkmen left deliveries outside of front doors and milk would freeze, expanding and pushing up the cardboard bottle top. 4. What was the popular chewing gum named for a game of chance? a. Blackjack b. Gin c. Craps! 5. What method did women use to look as if they were wearing stockings when none were available due to rationing during W.W.II a. Suntan b. Leg painting c. Wearing slacks 6. What post-war car turned automotive design on its ear because you couldn't tell whether it was coming or going? a. Studebaker b. Nash Metro c. Tucker 7. Which was a popular candy when you were a kid? a. Strips of dried peanut butter b. Chocolate licorice bars c. Wax coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside 8. How was Butch wax used? a. To stiffen a flat-top haircut so it stood up b. To make floors shiny and prevent scuffing c. On the wheels of roller skates to prevent rust 9. Before inline skates, how did you keep your roller skates attached to your shoes? a With clamps, tightened by a skate key b. Woven straps that crossed the foot c. Long pieces of twine 10. As a kid, what was considered the best way to reach a decision? a. Consider all the facts b. Ask Mom c. Eeny-meeny-miney-mo 11. What was the most dreaded disease in the 1940's? a. Smallpox b. AIDS c. Polio 12. "I'll be down to get you in a ________, Honey" a. SUV b. Taxi c. Streetcar 13. What was the name of Caroline Kennedy's pet pony? a. Old Blue b. Paint c. Macaroni 14. What was a Duck-and-Cover Drill? a. Part of the game of hide and seek b What you did when your Mom called you in to do chores c. Hiding under your desk, and covering your head with your arms in an A-bomb drill. 15. What was the name of the Indian Princess on the Howdy Doody show? a. Princess Summerfallwinterspring b. Princess Sacajawea c. Princess Moonshadow 16. What did all the really savvy students do when mimeographed tests were handed out in school? a. Immediately sniffed the purple ink, as this was believed to get you high b. Made paper airplanes to see who could sail theirs out the window c. Wrote another pupil's name on the top, to avoid their failure 17. Why did your Mom shop in stores that gave Green Stamps with purchases? a. To keep you out of mischief by licking the backs, which tasted like bubble gum b. They could be put in special books and redeemed for various household items c. They were given to the kids to be used as stick-on tattoos 18. Praise the Lord, and pass the _________? a Meatballs b. Dames c. Ammunition 19. What was the name of the singing group that made the song "Cabdriver" a hit? a. The Ink Spots b. The Supremes c. The Esquires 20. Who left his heart in San Francisco? a. Tony Bennett b. Xavier Cugat c. George Gershwin -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANSWERS 1. b) On the floor, to the left of the clutch. Hand controls, popular in Europe, took till the late '60s to catch on. 2. b) To sprinkle clothes before ironing. Who had a steam iron? 3. c) Cold weather caused the milk to freeze and expand, popping the bottle top. 4. a) Blackjack Gum. 5. b) Special makeup was applied, followed by drawing a seam down the back of the leg with eyebrow pencil. 6. a) 1946 Studebaker. 7. c) Wax coke bottles containing super-sweet colored water. 8 a) Wax for your flat top (butch) haircut. 9. a) With clamps, tightened by a skate key, which you wore on a shoestring around your neck. 10. c) Eeny-meeny-miney-mo. 11. c) Polio. In beginning of August, swimming pools were closed, movies and other public gathering places were closed to try to prevent spread of the disease. 12. b) Taxi. Better be ready by half-past eight! 13. c) Macaroni. 14. c) Hiding under your desk, and covering your head with your arms in an A-bomb drill. 15. a) Princess Summerfallwinterspring. She was another puppet. 16. a) Immediately sniffed the purple ink to get a high. 17. b) Put in a special stamp book, they could be traded for household items at the Green Stamp store. 18. c) Ammunition, and we'll all be free. 19. a) The widely famous 50's group: The Inkspots. 20. a) Tony Bennett, and he sounds just as good today.. SCORING 17- 20 correct: You are older than dirt, and obviously gifted with mental abilities. Now if you could only find your glasses. Definitely someone who should share your wisdom! 12 -16 correct: Not quite dirt yet, but you're getting there. 0 -11 correct: You are not old enough to share the wisdom of your experiences. __________________ Please type slowly. I can't read very fast............... and no holy water, please.

01-05-2006, 08:01 AM	#2
Spexxvet Makes some feel uncomfortable Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 10,346	17, but I swear I'm not THAT old! __________________ "I'm certainly free, nay compelled, to spread the gospel of Spex. " - xoxoxoBruce

01-05-2006, 11:30 AM	#7
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	18 I am not as old as many questions on that test, but I do read a lot. I got a classical guitar (that I still own) and a card table (that my computer is sitting on) with Plaid Stamps. I never had the roller skates with the key ... mine were the leather strap variety. I didn't rollerskate much ... I really preferred ice skating, and since it was less than a mile walk to the community skating lake, I spent a lot of time there. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

01-05-2006, 12:17 PM	#8
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	10, but most of those were SWAGs. __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

01-05-2006, 12:17 PM	#9
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	18. Missed the Princess puppet question, and the mimeo question. But then again, I wasn't wired that way in school, too straight arrow, when I wasn't daydreaming. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

01-05-2006, 09:19 AM	#3
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	15. Several of these were still in operation when I was a kid in the late 60s: milk delivery, skate keys, green stamps. And the first car I remember had the footswitch for high-beams. I think it was a pre-Ralph Nader Corvair, unsafe at any speed. And when you were a kid you always stood in the passenger seat, because when you're 5 that's the only way you can see where you're going. No silly child car seats or any of that nonsense, and if your parent hit the brake instead of the high-beam switch, well, rides were a major source of entertainment.

01-05-2006, 09:25 AM	#4
barefoot serpent go ahead, abbrev. it Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lawrence, KS Posts: 2,623	17 (but we should be able to divide it by our age to 'normalize' the score!)

01-05-2006, 10:21 AM	#5
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I got a 17. I had milk delivery in the early 70s at my house. We used to fill the milk cooler box with frogs and stuff we would catch. Not as a prank to scare the milkman, just because it made a nice container. My cousin had a GMC Gremlin in the mid 80s. I helped him replace the foot switch for the lights, because it had rusted through. My mom used to collect those green stamps when I was a kid. She got a cheap wheelbarrow with them one time. My kids today, in 2006, do Eeny-meeny-miney-mo to decide between things, unless there are more than two, then they do one-potato two-potato. We had those wax bottles filled with bug juice when I was a kid, but I wouldn't call them popular. Also had those metal roller skates that needed the key. I sniffed plenty of mimeographed paper. Even helped the teacher once after school by cranking out papers on the machine. It had a big handle. The other ten I got right were things I had heard of or were obvious guesses based on how the questions and answers were phrased.

01-05-2006, 10:38 AM	#6
barefoot serpent go ahead, abbrev. it Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lawrence, KS Posts: 2,623	The metal roller skates became prototypical skateboards once nailed to pieces of 2 by 4s in my neighborhood -- and the cause of more than a few broken arms.

01-05-2006, 01:01 PM	#10
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I missed on the one about the car, and the fill in the blank song title. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

01-05-2006, 02:36 PM	#11
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	18. I think Bruce sent this to me awhile back. I am sorry to say that I am in fact old enough to have either experienced all of the above or to have had it related to me in a wistful fashion by parents or grandparents. On the other hand, the Ink Spots are awesome. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog Last edited by Elspode; 01-05-2006 at 02:38 PM.

01-05-2006, 04:07 PM	#12
ferret88 (This space left intentionally UN-blank.) Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Albuquerque Posts: 604	18. Missed the puppet princess and the studebacker, both of which are well before my time. Otherwise, good ol' educated guesses.

01-05-2006, 04:47 PM	#14
Katkeeper Hoodoo Guru Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Mechanicsburg PA Posts: 296	19. No comment.

01-05-2006, 06:22 PM	#15
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	No comment about the Corvair?

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