Could you remember what life was like when you were a teenager if we fast forward life fifty years from now? In this blog we revisit today fifty years from now. Imagine life in 1949 and trying to be a teenager, would life be easier or have too many rules? Teenagers back in 1949 had an approximate curfew of nine or ten at night during the weekdays. Eight out of ten boys went out to war. Teens hung out at the local discos and soda shops. If you were able to obtain a job the minimum hourly wage was $0.43. Girls in school were educated in sewing, how to do laundry, and beauty culture. On the other hand Guys were educated in hard physical education and trained for war. School was not common at this time so half the United States population did not pass the eighth grade. Teenagers had lots of slang as do teens now but our slang is very different than there’s. Here are a few examples: Pad = Home, Spaz = Klutz, Wazoo = your rear end, Cut Out = Leave, Cut the Gas = Be Quiet and Dibs = Call that (as in items).
Hobbies were a big thing back in the 1949 where people would collect antique toys, flying metal planes, stamp collecting, scrapbooking, wood working, ballroom dancing, knitting, and pen pals. Activities and be being outdoors were also big hits like hiking, hunting, horseback riding, swimming, and fishing. Most of these activities are still practiced today. Music was also a new thing and some types of common music were: classical dissonance, European influences, R & B. Some artists included: Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby and Billy Holiday. Quiz shows, radio shows and soap operas’ were also big in this era.
Families in 1949 made a median income of $3,200 on an average four person family. Women had an average of five pairs of shoes, Can you image that? I think most people now a days have well over five. Flat shoes were worn for school and went with slacks. Hats were loved among almost all women.
Please enjoy this link of a family in 1949ish and how life went about then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAvd5VqJ5og
Work Cited:
www.margise.com www.censusbureau.com www.bookrags.com
it is funny if you look back in time and see what girls are taught then you compare to what we are taught today and they are completely opposite of each other
ReplyDeleteEllo this is Tyler Schulte. I think it's weird how the slang has changed so much over the years.
ReplyDeletethe schools back then were mega different. i mean who would want to be taught how to sew and do laundry, when i don't even do my own laundry now. :) what people are taught today in schools are trigonometry and advanced biology, back then they probs didn't even know what these subjects were..
ReplyDeleteI think that it's pretty lame that the hourly wage was only 43 cents.
ReplyDeleteThat would mean it would take like three hours of work to get one dollar...
-Ace
At this point in time, people seem to really be conforming in many areas (separated gender roles, education, work, housing). What is making them conform do you think?
ReplyDeleteDo you see conformity today? Where, Why and How?
Im really glad that the hobbies have changed a lot because i don't think i would enjoy riding horseback or stamp collecting.
ReplyDeleteTyler- I'm bringing back the 40's slang. haha
ReplyDeleteCaitlin- You better get on that laundry thing before college :) and i agree. It's weird to see how we've come so far with education. I wonder what really changed it??