Satire: Do You Remember these 17 Things from the 60s?

Some of them are sneaky.

Stoned AgePhoto byCartoon by Lambert-King

I became a teenager during the 60s, but wasn’t really involved in the turmoil of that decade. I was aware of some of the stuff going on, however. It really was a time of transition and change.

With that in mind, I decided to delve into some of the relics of that era. Here’s what I came up with. Depending on your age and how you spent that decade, you may remember some of this stuff.

1: A potential date for Barbie came into existence on this date on March 11, 1961.

The Barbie world welcomed Ken on that day. Barbie and Ken have been involved in a pseudo-relationship for over 60 years now. Talk about your failure to launch! Look for Geriatric Ken on his parents’ couch.

2: The first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was placed on February 9, 1960.

The first star went to Joanne Woodward and I have no idea why. I’m not knocking her as an actress, but really? How she got a star before Paul Newman is beyond me.

3: Helen Gurley Brown’s blockbuster book, “Sex and the Single Girl” came out in 1962.

Kind of ironic that a woman who writes that type of book was named, ‘Gurley.” I suspect if a man called a woman at the office “Gurley” now, he would be subject to sensitivity training.

4: Johnny Carson hosted the Tonight Show for the first time on Oct 1, 1962.

He was actually introduced by Groucho Marx, not Ed McMahon. Carson remains the gold standard for TV talk show hosts to this day. Chevy Chase remains the fool’s gold standard.

5: Alcatraz shut down on March 21, 1963.

After its retirement as a penal institution, the facility began a second career in the movies, being featured in such films as, “The Rock” and “The Enforcer.”

6: Liz Taylor and Richard Burton married for the first time on March 15, 1964.

Numerous sequels followed.Maybe they should have used Roman numerals like the Super Bowl does.

7: The Astrodome opened on April 9, 1965.

With the advent of the Astrodome came astroturf. Astroturf has proven to be only slightly better than playing sports on shag carpeting.

8: Valley of the Dolls rose to number one on the New York Times Best Seller list in 1966.

A sequel, “Valley of the Ken Dolls” never took off.

9: The miniskirt also became a thing in 1966.

They were surprisingly pricey considering how little material was required to make them.

10: ‘Twiggy” was the top model for 1966.

The least popular model? “Stumpy.”

11:In yet another event in 1966, John Lennon met Yoko Ono.

Yoko sometimes gets a bad rap, but she can thrill a live audience.Whenever Yokostats singeryou can hear them yell her name, “Oh No. Oh No!”

12: On October 12, 1968, Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis.

After they were married Jackie was told she could kiss her… Aristotle. Hey, where did you think that was going?

13: Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon on July 20, 1969. Neil then famously uttered, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The second man on the moon? Buzz Aldrin who said, “Hey Armstrong, stop pushing!”

14: The Woodstock Music Festival finished up on August 18, 1969.

The festival was to feature “peace, love and rock ’n’ roll”. Not so prominently featured were bathrooms and personal hygiene products.

15: 1969 also marked the premiere of “The Brady Bunch.”

The fact that in real life the father was gay, meant the show was really ahead of its time.

16: The first James Bond movie made its way to theaters in 1962.

The year marked the screen debut of “Dr No.” Which is ironically what I told the doctor when he ordered my colonoscopy.

17: Bill Cosby actually won a man of the year award in 1969.

After winning the award Cosby said, they might think of renaming the award the “nice guy as far as we know” award. It was like he was trying to tell us something.

So, do you remember that stuff? If so you’re old, but the good news is you still have some cognitive ability.