by Amy Gold
The Baby Boomers are that generation of post-World War II citizens born between 1946 and 1964. Generation X (or Gen X) is the next generation born around the end of the Baby Boom Era in the 1960s and 70s, ending around the late 1970s-early 1980s. If you were born sometime in the early-mid 1960s, you may feel as if you fall somewhere between the cracks. If you cannot decide whether you are a Baby Boomer or a Gen Xer, take this quiz to find out.
The captain of the Enterprise in "Star Trek" is
(A) Jean-Luc Picard.
(B) James T. Kirk.Who is John Denver?
(A) the actor who played the title role in the TV sitcom, "Gilligan's Island"
(B) the singer who topped the charts with "Thank God I'm A Country Boy," "Sunshine On My Shoulders," "Annie's Song," and "I'm Sorry"Paris Hilton is
(A) a highly publicized heiress, socialite, model, and media personality.
(B) a posh hotel in France named after the nation's capital.A hippie is someone who
(A) has a bulbous rear end.
(B) was part of the counter culture movement of the 1960s.A gidget is
(A) a gadget that is the size of a widget.
(B) a girl who is the size of a midget.Ayds® is
(A) a fatal sexually transmitted disease.
(B) a discontinued brand of appetite suppressor.The draft was something to be avoided at all costs because
(A) you might catch a cold.
(B) you might get killed.Watergate is
(A) a large dam.
(B) the scandal that led to Nixon's resignation.A boob tube is
(A) a tube top that is so tight your breasts spill out the top.
(B) a TV set.Whose phone number is 867-5309?
(A) It belongs to some girl named Jenny.
(B) I have no idea. What's the area code?
If you picked more (A) answers than (B) answers, you are most probably a Gen Xer, not a Baby Boomer, and vice-versa if you picked more (B) answers than (A) answers.
For Question 1, there is no right or wrong answer. It just depends on whether you grew up with the original "Star Trek" that starred William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk, or came of age during the reign of the later version, "Star Trek: The Next Generation," starring Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard.
For Question 2, the correct answer is (B). If your answer was (A), the name of the actor who played that hapless first mate on "Gilligan's Island" was Bob, not John Denver.
For Question 3, the correct answer is (A). If your answer was (B), this means you are either totally out of touch with today's pop culture or fortunate enough to be able to escape being bombarded day after day with celebrity gossip and other mind-numbing tabloid rubbish.
For Question 5, the correct answer is (B). If your answer was (A), you may be asking yourself, "So what in the blazes is a gidget?" "Gidget" was a short-lived TV sitcom from the 1960s starring a teenaged Sally Field who played the title role. Her nickname, which came from her being young, feminine and petite, is an amalgam of girl and midget (i.e., Girl + Midget = Gidget).
For Question 6, the correct answer is (B). If you answered (A), believe it or not, there really was an appetite suppressor from the 1960s-1970s that went by the unfortunate name of Ayds®. This product, now discontinued, was in the form of a chewable candy which tasted like a 100 year old Tootsie Roll®. While it certainly would not kill you, this "dietetic" candy was mostly ineffective as a weight reduction aid and a total waste of time and money.
For Question 7, answer (A) may be more correct technically, but if you are a Baby Boomer, and especially if you were a young man between the ages of 18-25 during the Vietnam War, answer (B) probably rings more true for you.
Questions 4 and 8 are just to see whether or not you are awake.
For Question 9, the correct answer is (B) if you are an American. Over the years, TV sets have been referred to (often disparagingly) as "boob tubes," but this term was more popular during the 1960s-1970s. In Britain, a "boob tube" may refer to a tube top of any degree of tightness, but if your answer was (A) and you are American, you are probably a Gen Xer.
For Question 10, the correct answer is (A). If your answered (B), 867-5309 comes from the 1982 hit, "867-5309/Jenny," by Tommy Tutone.
