# Apparently around half of American Millennials haven’t heard of The Hindenburg **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225 "2024-09-13T18:59:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/81 "2024-09-15T20:42:04Z")
the modern-day equivalent of this is to ask anyone born after 1995 about the challenger disaster …i bet the results would be about the same ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/82 "2024-09-15T22:13:21Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > If asked 100 people my age about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire , I bet half of them wouldn’t know what it was. And 146 people died in that. I’m ten years older than you, and I know about it. I heard about it in high school, and it was so horrific to me (they were locked in!) that I never forgot it. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/83 "2024-09-15T22:29:58Z")
There’s the Colfax massacre in Louisiana in which the clan slaughtered over 100 blacks in 1873 and the Battle of Bromberg Bridge during WWIi when black and white American troops engaged in combat in England. Both of those are much more important than the Hindenburg and I bet most boomers weren’t taught about them. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/84 "2024-09-15T23:48:21Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I recognise the name (video game, right?) but have no idea what the reference means. An I am not a yute. It means you’re not a nerd. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/85 "2024-09-16T02:55:03Z")
I just asked my 16yo son, my 19yo son, and my 19yo son’s 19yo friend about both the Hindenburg disaster and the Challenger disaster. All 3 knew what both of them were, although my 16yo thought the Hindenburg exploded because it ran into a radio mast. He also knew that one of the astronauts on the Challenger was going to dress as Big Bird and do a Sesame Street skit from space, something I didn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/86 "2024-09-16T03:47:26Z")
wow, you have educated kids congrats … ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/87 "2024-09-16T04:20:26Z")
I did a quick poll of my millennial peers (I graduated HS in '02) and it was 50-50, but I think this is another one of those “why don’t the kids know anything anymore?” issues that is easily explained by regional differences. I grew up in central NJ about an hour from Lakehurst. All of my NJ friends knew about the Hindenburg, and a few laughed when I asked since we all had the same state history course in 4th grade. Most of my other friends had no idea what I was talking about and the only non-NJ folks that knew about it went to NYC schools. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/88 "2024-09-16T12:34:09Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > I just asked my 16yo son, my 19yo son, and my 19yo son’s 19yo friend about both the Hindenburg disaster and the Challenger disaster. All 3 knew what both of them were, although my 16yo thought the Hindenburg exploded because it ran into a radio mast. He also knew that one of the astronauts on the Challenger was going to dress as Big Bird and do a Sesame Street skit from space, something I didn’t know. One of the astronauts was also supposed to perform the first original music recorded in space during that flight: > **[Ronald McNair | Music in space](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_McNair#Music_in_space)** > > McNair was an accomplished saxophonist and jazz enthusiast. > Before his last fateful space mission, McNair worked with French composer and performer Jean-Michel Jarre on a piece of music for Jarre's then-upcoming album Rendez-Vous. It was intended that McNair would record his saxophone solo on board the Challenger, which would have made McNair's solo the first original piece of music to have been recorded in space (although the song "Jingle Bells" had been played on a harmonica during an earlier ... > [@Odesio](#): > > The Texas City disaster in 1947 killed nearly 600 people and I bet more people know about the Hindenberg with its 35 casualties. I think there are a lot of these kinds of things throughout history. At the exact same time that the **[Great Chicago Fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chicago_Fire)** killed 300 people in October 1871, the **[Peshtigo Fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshtigo_fire)** killed somewhere around 2000 people and incinerated 1.2 million acres in NE Wisconsin. Far more people know of the former than the latter. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/89 "2024-09-16T14:42:42Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > That’s nothing. I was at lunch with coworkers where the discussion turned to TV detectives and I referred to Jim Rockford to blank faces. “You know; James Garner? _The Great Escape_? _Gran Prix_? _The Americanization of Emily_? _Maverick_?” I’m Gen X and know none of those well. I vaguely recall a movie called “The Great Escape.” Don’t know any of the others. I’ve heard James Garner’s name, but couldn’t tell you what he played. I barely know of, but never seen, “The Rockford Files,” so I assume Jim Rockford was the main character in that. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/90 "2024-09-16T15:33:45Z")
The first two are familiar enough cultural references to have warranted [being parodied on _The Simpsons_](https://youtu.be/Ju-WrqNOx-w?si=NmvKymeZh66xD4al). _The Americanization of Emily_ is perhaps not as widely celebrated by the general public but among film enthusiasts and fans of screenwriter and playright Paddy Cheyefsky it is a well known example of bullshit heroism propaganda in war. _Maverick_ lasted for five series and 124 episodes, and made it into the rotation of syndicated shows commonly aired on UHF stations or as daytime weekend programming on VHF, and I’m pretty sure a run on TV Land. (Also Roger Moore’s introduction to American audiences as ‘Beauregarde Maverick’, the hilariously English cousin to Bret and Bart, but only in the last series.) Even if you haven’t seen any of these, or _The Rockford Files_ (which was basically the prototype for the ‘down on his luck private detective’ that became a genre onto itself), it isn’t as if James Garner is an obscure actor; he had numerous high profile and leading roles in movies and the miniseries adaptation of James Michner’s _Space_ in the ‘Eighties and early ‘Nineties, was in the Clint Eastwood-directed _Space Cowboys_ in 2000, and was the lead in the sitcom “Eight Simple Rules” after John Ritter’s untimely death in 2002. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/91 "2024-09-16T15:36:26Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > he had numerous high profile and leading roles in movies and the miniseries adaptation of James Michner’s _Space_ in the ‘Eighties and early ‘Nineties, was in the Clint Eastwood-directed _Space Cowboys_ in 2000, and was the lead in the sitcom “Eight Simple Rules” after John Ritter’s untimely death in 2002. Like I said, his name is familiar and I would probably identify him as an actor, but none of those movies are familiar, and I wasn’t in the US when “Eight Simple Rules” was a thing, so I missed that entire series. (I literally never heard of “Space Cowboys,” but that coincides with me being out of the US. Don’t know the James Michner “Space” series, nor much about Michner. He was a novelist, right?) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/92 "2024-09-16T16:53:37Z")
Not many people likely recall The Battle of Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War. Cultural and historical references are ephemeral and younger people have other interests and can’t know everything. Still, I agree it is surprising if it is true so many know nothing about exploding blimps. Didn’t anybody see _The Meaning Of Life_? _The Great Escape_ is considered one of the best war movies of all-time, and is rated the #152 best movie ever by IMDb. Even if you don’t know the excellent TV shows mentioned, I recommend seeing the movie, and would expect educated people to know it (but would likely be both wrong and disheartened). ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/93 "2024-09-16T17:07:38Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > the Battle of Bromberg Bridge during WWIi when black and white American troops engaged in combat in England. Bamber Bridge. And no, I hadn’t heard of it, despite being a somewhat older resident of the UK. > **[Battle of Bamber Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bamber_Bridge)** > > The Battle of Bamber Bridge is the name given to an outbreak of racial violence involving American soldiers stationed in the village of Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, in northern England in 1943, during the Second World War. > Tensions had been high following a failed attempt by U.S. commanders to racially segregate pubs in the village, and worsened after the 1943 Detroit race riot. The battle started when white American military police (MPs) attempted to arrest several African American soldiers fro... No doubt this incident was censored at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/94 "2024-09-16T17:31:45Z")
Gaming platforms, YouTube, streamers, etc. Growing up with three tv stations recycling all available content going back to the Silent era, you’d learn about the Hindenburg, the Titanic, etc. from half a century earlier. You’d easily tell the difference between [Henry Jones](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5732-henry-jones) and [King Donovan.](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/69811-king-donovan) It was a three-book desert island. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/95 "2024-09-16T17:38:29Z")
Weird autocorrect from my iPad. Hindenburg isn’t that important. Lots of things that aren’t important aren’t known by the next generations. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/96 "2024-09-16T18:36:39Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Not many people likely recall The Battle of Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War. Cultural and historical references are ephemeral and younger people have other interests and can’t know everything. The battle had two crucial consequences: the Paris Commune, the first communist uprising in history, and more importantly, the unification of Germany and birth of the German national state, just like the old fox Bismarck had planned. But I only know this because I’m German and have learned it in school. I don’t know if it’s still taught and don’t think that the majority of Germans remember that battle, although it was the last war Germany won. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/97 "2024-09-16T18:38:12Z")
Just did an impromptu poll of my first two American Government classes today. 72 17-18 year olds. 10 of them could identify the Hindenburg disaster. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/98 "2024-09-16T19:32:30Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > in October 1871, the **[Peshtigo Fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshtigo_fire)** killed somewhere around 2000 people and incinerated 1.2 million acres in NE Wisconsin. Far more people know of the former than the latter. I read a book about that; it was _horrific._ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/99 "2024-09-17T12:43:38Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > There was a Hindenburg movie but it’s less well known today. General awareness about events of the past is basically tied to how much current publicity is available for the uninformed to absorb. **The Hindenburg** was released in 1975. George C. Scott, Michael York, Anne Bancroft, and bunch of people better known from TV. (Ad Robert Wise directed !) I saw the movie, but it didn’t make a big splash. It didn’t get really good reviews, an I don’t recall it showing up that often on TV, or on video, for that matter. It sort of faded into obscurity. Of course, there was an oblique reference to the Hindenburg and its fate in the fictional movie **The Rocketeer** , in which the (fictional) German zeppelin _Luxembourg_ is similarly destroyed by fire. Any discussion of that film would almost inevitably bring comparison with the real-life _Hindenburg_, with its similar name and fate. The problem, of course, is that **The Rocketeer** came out in 1991. It’s probably just as obscure to a lot of Millennials and Gen Zs as the actual Hindenburg is. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225/100 "2024-09-17T12:54:19Z")
History provides perspective and lessons that shouldn’t be forgotten. The less history people know, the greater the chance that they will repeat the same patterns of behavior and make the same awful mistakes that were made in the past. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-around-half-of-american-millennials-haven-t-heard-of-the-hindenburg/1007225.md?page=6)