# "I dunno, that happened before I was born" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 6, 2015, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790 "2015-11-06T10:58:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/61 "2015-11-08T05:01:59Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > I disagree. Admittedly, I graduated from high school in 2000, but I definitely recall studying Watergate in US history. Hell, we even studied more recent stuff like Iran/Contra, end of the Cold War, and even the first Gulf War, and while I was young enough to not really give a damn about the last part when it happened, I definitely remembered it and it was less than 10 years earlier. > > But Watergate was 40 years ago; frankly, if it isn’t covered in a US History course, unless it’s only covering a section of US History, like Antebellum, Civil War to WW2, etc. then it just flat isn’t covering US History. It’s definitely a major point in modern US history and it’s important to understanding the current political landscape. > > Today, I’d expect a US History class to cover 9/11 and at least the starts of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and there’s kids in high school today that weren’t alive when 9/11 happened either. I graduated four years before you did, and we studied Watergate as well – I think we got as far as maybe the early Reagan years. (11th grade U.S. history) I can see if she didn’t know what Iran-Contra was but _Watergate_? Fucking Watergate? C’mon. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/62 "2015-11-08T05:34:52Z")
Yeah, it’s the excuse that’s stupid. Well, for Watergate. I think it’s less of a problem for the music thing. Why should young people know 1960s music, unless it’s something they listen to? Now, of course, that’s assuming that the majority of the contestants weren’t born then. Not if it’s just me. That’s selfish. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/63 "2015-11-08T14:55:14Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > I disagree. Admittedly, I graduated from high school in 2000, but I definitely recall studying Watergate in US history. Hell, we even studied more recent stuff like Iran/Contra, end of the Cold War, and even the first Gulf War, and while I was young enough to not really give a damn about the last part when it happened, I definitely remembered it and it was less than 10 years earlier. > > But Watergate was 40 years ago; frankly, if it isn’t covered in a US History course, unless it’s only covering a section of US History, like Antebellum, Civil War to WW2, etc. then it just flat isn’t covering US History. It’s definitely a major point in modern US history and it’s important to understanding the current political landscape. > > Today, I’d expect a US History class to cover 9/11 and at least the starts of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and there’s kids in high school today that weren’t alive when 9/11 happened either. > > I think it’s silly to not cover it, as there’s always going to be some knowledge not covered in a general trivia challenge. Would a group of 50+ people be able to disqualify a category on 2010’s music? Would a group of meat heads get to disqualify a category on sci-fi, or a gorup of nerds a category on sports? > > At the same time, though, if one category favors a certain group, but the rest don’t, maybe it makes sense to get rid of it. That is, A of pod whales A murder of crows A gorup of nerds. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/64 "2015-11-08T19:04:13Z")
Just watched the local TV station do a time filler, asking some NFL players in the locker room random trivia questions. One player had never heard of the movie “Hoosiers”. Cut back to the studio. The first thing the anchor says: “Well, to be fair, he wasn’t even born when Hoosiers came out”. So I guess there is no possible way he could have been made aware of its existence. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/65 "2015-11-08T20:29:46Z")
The upside to this reality is that each year we get about four million new voters who are unswayed by the Reagan mystique. I imagine the continuing genuflection by Republican bigwigs affects them not. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/66 "2015-11-08T20:42:30Z")
It’s pretty useful, actually. It’s my go to excuse when someone wants to talk about Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/67 "2015-11-08T21:12:00Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > A of pod whales > A murder of crows > A gorup of nerds. > > 🙂 A squabble of nerds. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/68 "2015-11-08T23:20:00Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > A squabble of nerds. A nitpick of nerds. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/69 "2015-11-08T23:20:53Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Well, this demonstrates that you don’t know history. Uh…do you even know what Watergate was??? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/70 "2015-11-08T23:46:30Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Uh…do you even know what Watergate was??? I imagine that he was objecting to the “trumped up shit” part of your post. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/71 "2015-11-09T00:53:46Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > I used to work with a [del]bitch[/del] woman who would say coyly “Oh that was before MY time.” My reply was always, “Yes, it was before my time too; but I feel an obligation to know some of what happened on the planet before I arrived.” I’ve used a similar reply: “The Civil War was before my time, too, but at least I know about it.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/72 "2015-11-09T00:56:50Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Well, when I was 25, I knew about the Teapot Dome scandal, which was much older to me than Watergate is to a modern 25 year old. When I was 8 or 10, I knew enough about Rudy Vallee to at least know he’d been a popular singer some 30-40 years before I was born. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790/73 "2015-11-09T03:12:54Z")
I tend to judge these events in light of “Friday nights at the brewpub”. We have a group of random friends from many different strata and jobs. And we noticed the other night we had people from each decade; in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. Something like Watergate would be known by all age groups. Because we’re all smartypants. Of course, that means that when something ISN’T known by someone, it’s the source of much laughter and instant education: “You see, Pete Best was supposed to be in the studio with the rest of the Beatles that day…” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dunno-that-happened-before-i-was-born/736790.md?page=3)