How Old was Mr./Ms. 60 When…?
The guest of honor is turning 60 years old but what does that really mean? An age like that is too abstract. People need to think about it in terms they understand. Many people, especially the young, tend to confuse events that occurred a decade ago with things that happened at the turn of the century. Also, learning that the guest of honor was 21 when long-forgotten events took place is reminder of just ancient he really is.
Create a questionnaire with significant events listed (but not the dates, obviously), and let people guess the guest of honor’s age when each occurred. Mix in some personal facts along with more national events.
Here’s a few to get you started. Many more are easily available online.
Moon landing
July 20, 1969
Challenger Disaster
January 28, 1986
Columbine Massacre
April 20, 1999
Dr. Martin Luther King assassinated
April 4, 1968
First “test tube baby”
July 25, 1978
Beginning of Tet Offensive in Vietnam
January 30, 1968
Date last troops left South Vietnam
March 29, 1973
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
June 2, 1953
(Extra credit: She ascended to the throne on death of her father, King George VI, February 6, 1952)
Watergate Break in
June 17, 1972
Summer of Love
1967
Death of Malcolm X
February 21, 1965
Admission of Hawaii as the 50th state
August 21, 1959
Berlin Wall Erected
August 13, 1961
Cuban Missile Crisis
October 15-28, 1962
IBM Personal Computer introduced
August 12, 1981
Pong first installed in a bar
September 1972
Sputnik I launched
October 4, 1957
First successful heart transplant
December 3, 1967
Death of first heart transplant recipient
December 21, 1967
Kidnapping of Patricia Hearst
February 5, 1974