Remembering the 60s - 1964 Americana Quiz

Answer: Gulf of Tonkin

After a very questionable second "attack" on the Maddox two days later, President Lyndon Johnson ordered air raids on North Vietnamese targets. On August 7, 1964, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives hastily, and overwhelmingly passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which "approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression". LBJ used this mandate to greatly escalate the war in south-east Asia, a war that ultimately cost more than 50,000 American lives.

Answer: Mass was celebrated in the vernacular, that is, the local language - instead of Latin

The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II as it is commonly called, convened for several sessions between 1962 and 1965. The Council was initiated by Pope John XXIII and continued by Pope Paul VI. Many changes were made in church doctrine, with the most visible being the use of the vernacular for the liturgy, greater lay participation, and a new attitude of Catholics towards their relationship with non-Catholics.

Answer: A Supreme Court Justice

The task of investigating the Kennedy assassination was headed by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, and the group became popularly know as 'The Warren Commission'. The future President Gerald Ford was also on the Commission, which was given unrestricted powers of investigation.

A final report was delivered to the President on September 24, 1964 and concluded that there was no conspiracy to assassinate the president, and that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. By the end of 1964, over fifty books were published about the assassination, many disputing the Commission's findings, and thousands of 'conspiracy theories' were spawned.

Answer: Martin Luther King, Jr

In his acceptance speech on December 10, 1964 in Oslo, civil rights leader, Dr. King said: "And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid. I still believe that we shall overcome".

Answer: I Want to Hold Your Hand

It took almost a week for the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to reach #1, where it remained for seven weeks. In March, "She Loves You" hit the top spot, followed by "Can't Buy Me Love", "Love Me Do", "A Hard Day's Night" and in December, 1964 "I Feel Fine". Not bad for one year, and these were just the songs to hit number one. Practically everything the Beatles released in 1964 made the Billboard chart.

Answer: G.I. Joe

The 12 inch G.I. Joe, intended mainly for young boys, was marketed not as a "doll", but an "action figure". Looking strangely similar to Barbie's boyfriend Ken dressed in fatigues, the toy was popular for a dozen years. In 1982 it was resurrected as a 3 3/4 inch line of action figures under the collective name "G.I. Joe - A Real American Hero".

Answer: Dr. Strangelove

The full title of the classic film starring Peter Sellers is "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb". One of the multiple roles played by Sellers was Dr. Strangelove, a former Nazi, who has become a presidential adviser. Actor Sterling Hayden portrayed Jack D. Ripper, a deranged general who unleashes a nuclear war. Perhaps the most memorable scene is on a B-52 bomber piloted by Major T.J. 'King' Kong, played by Slim Pickens.

A mechanical failure forces the cowboy-hat-wearing pilot to attempt to physically unjam the nuclear device.

He is successful, but in doing so slips onto the back of the bomb and rides it 'bronco style' to its target in the Soviet Union.

Answer: Smoking

In the first official recognition of the health hazards of cigarette smoking, U.S. Surgeon-General Luther Terry released the report of the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health on January 11, 1964. The committee stated that "Cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action". The definition of "appropriate remedial action" was not specified, however. Ever since, America has officially continued its attempt to diminish the impact of tobacco use on the health of the American people.

Answer: Computer mouse

The "father of the mouse", Douglas Engelbart, developed the device while working on a project to augment human intellect at the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California. When asked how the device got its name, he replied: "No-one can remember. It just looked like a mouse with a tail, and we all called it that in the lab".

Answer: Mustang

Although Ford marketing director, Lee Iacocca is given most of the credit for the still popular Mustang, it was McNamara's original concept while he worked for the Ford Motor Company. Other names, such as Cheetah, Puma, and Colt were considered. Over 100,000 Mustangs were sold in the first 90 days, with a base price of $2,360.00.