Guess the year #1
Here is a little puzzle about one year in American life, told the way we might remember it at the kitchen table.
Football moved to Monday nights in prime time, and many a living room stayed up late to watch the brand-new weekly game.
The first jumbo jet carried paying passengers from New York to London, all the way across the ocean.
A moon flight circled home without landing after an oxygen tank blew, and its crew splashed down safe in the Pacific.
Mailing a letter to Grandma took a six-cent stamp.
Funny how a cheap stamp and a late ballgame can stay with you longer than the headlines do. With Veterans Day a week away, a warm thank-you to everyone who served.
Which year do you think this was?
Show the answer
Answer: 1970. The two big giveaways are the first prime-time Monday night football game and the first jumbo jet flight with paying passengers, from New York to London. The moon flight that came home safe without landing happened that same spring, and a letter still cost six cents to mail.
Sources:
- https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/culture-magazines/monday-night-football
- https://thepanammuseum.org/exhibits/when-things-get-jumbo/
- https://www.nasa.gov/missions/apollo/apollo-13-mission-details/
- https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/domestic-letter-rates-since-1863.htm
Guess the year #2
Here's a year for you to guess, and with Veterans Day just a week off, one of these clues feels especially close to home.
Mailing a birthday card costs more this spring, since a first-class stamp just jumped from six cents to eight.
Families watch on TV as astronauts drive a car across the Moon for the very first time.
For the first time, Veterans Day is observed on a Monday in late October instead of in November.
So what year do you think this was?
Show the answer
Answer: 1971. The eight-cent stamp arrived that May, astronauts first drove a rover on the Moon that July, and that fall Veterans Day was first observed on a Monday in October.
Sources:
- https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/domestic-letter-rates-since-1863.pdf
- https://visit.archives.gov/whats-on/explore-exhibits/50th-anniversary-apollo-15-and-lunar-roving-vehicle
- https://department.va.gov/veterans-day/history-of-veterans-day/
