Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Wanna Feel Old? Read This Post

This is a list complied annually by Beloit College to help professors understand their incoming Freshman class; it also helps the students understand that their short time on planet earth has not been the same since time began (you know, way back in the 80's).


Beloit College Mindset List
A snapshot of the world view of the Class of 2012

1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce "tax revenue increases."
9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11. All have had a relative — or known about a friend's relative - who died comfortably at home with hospice.
12. As a precursor to "whatever," they have recognized that some people "just don't get it."
13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17. Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20. The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21. Students have always been "Rocking the Vote."
22. Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23. Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24. We have always known that "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."
25. There have always been gay rabbis.
26. Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27. College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28. IBM has never made typewriters.
29. Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
30. McDonald's and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31. They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
32. There has always been Pearl Jam.
33. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
34. Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35. They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
36. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37. Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
38. Lenin's name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39. Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40. Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
41. Macaulay Culkin has always been "Home Alone."
42. Their parents may have watched "The American Gladiators" on TV the day they were born.
43. Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44. Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45. Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46. The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47. They never heard an attendant ask "Want me to check under the hood?"
48. Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49. Soft drink refills have always been free.
50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about "nothing."
51. The Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
52. Moscow residents have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53. The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54. The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55. 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
56. Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
57. Offshore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
58. Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59. There have always been charter schools.
60. Students always had Goosebumps.Source: The Associated Press

Updated: 6:13 p.m. ET Aug. 18, 2008© 2008 MSNBC.com
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26271355/?GT1=43001

I like #32: I don't want to imagine a life without Pearl Jam. C'mon.

I wonder what the list is going to include when Gavin is a college Freshman in 2025 (quick math check: born 2007 + 6 years = 2013 kindergarten debut; 2013 + 12 = 2025). I also wonder what year 'car windows have never rolled down with the use of a handle and manual labor' will make the list.

There is a lot more that I wonder. If you don't believe me just ask Ryan he always hears me ask, "Do you ever wonder...." his reply is ALWAYS (with one exception): no. The one exception was posed while watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: Do you wonder if any of the Fab Five dated each other?

I could see the 'n' starting to form on his lips before a funny looked crossed his face and he said, "Yes. Yes, I do wonder." Of course I was over the moon, "You wondered about something!" It was a moment for the history books.

Fortunately my 'do you wonder' questions don't annoy him (too much) because I have a feeling they are going to be nothing compared to the "why?" phase that Gavin will be entering into here before long.

Did #31 shock anyone else? I didn't know raw umber was gone from the crayon box! Sure it was an ugly and color good only for coloring Boston Baked Beans (another gross candy they probably don't know about).

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