Welcome to the 1960sTailfins are still popular as America eases into what may be described as the peak of her magical powers. Towering high above the still-recovering economies in Europe, none can challenge her for power or prestige. This is perfectly reflected in the New York World's Fair of 1964. Everything is glittering and new, and everything is still proudly made in America, where the consumer reigns supreme. Whatever you desire may soon be yours. The centerpiece of the fair is not the globe suspended over the central fountain, but the General Motors exhibit. Inside, visitors are amazed at a huge working model of the future, which has apparently already arrived. Complete with cars and trucks moving smoothly on model roadways, it all seems real enough. The possibility of space travel now appears like a reasonable prospect, and the idea of living in moon colonies entirely plausible. |
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Glittering Gold There aren't a lot a travel destinations yet, beyond Disneyland and traditional vacation resorts. But one new attraction is Las Vegas, with plenty of travel accommodations. It's perfectly suited to newly-mobile Americans looking for a little fun. | |||||||||
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Take Your Pick You don't have to travel to Las Vegas to have fun in America. Football is becoming ever more popular, with the big College bowl games now being broadcast on TV, and even the first-ever Superbowl, in 1967. Most of America is still watching TV in black and white, but decent color sets are available for those with a comfortable income. Shows like Bonanza, and 77 Sunset Strip, are weekly events in many homes, where people gather around the TV just the way their parents did around the radio. Music is abuzz with entirely new sounds, including not only the trend-setting Beatles, but also simpler acoustic sounds from folk singers and songwriters. Movies continue to delight, as film stars get hotter, and camera shots move closer to faces, lips and skin. | |||||||||
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Ground-Breaker As television is taking over more and more American homes, programming is also rapidly evolving. The Ed Sullivan Show, with its oddly stiff host, is responsible for changing musical tastes all over the country, all at the same time. Elvis Presley is an early guest, followed by a whole array of black performers, who had previously been all but invisible in America. Top white acts like The Beach Boys share screen time with The Supremes, and the Temptations. Mixed in is a sprinkling of top British bands, and even the home-grown, disturbingly psychedelic Jefferson Airplane. It's all fun, and it's all available at home, on the sofa, with your friends or siblings and a bowl of snacks. | |||||||||
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Bunnies and Feminists At the same time that the Beatles are transforming ordinary American teenagers into adoring, screaming groupies, another force is unleashed that will change America forever. It comes in the form of a book which introduces the country to something called the Feminine Mystique, which reveals the hidden reality that many American wives remain vaguely unfulfilled in their traditional family role. This comes at a time when hot stewardesses and Playboy bunnies romp freely. The result is a slow-burning brush fire of change that causes women, young and old, to question whether they are pursuing appropriate goals. Time will tell, but some are beginning to consider life in the professional world. | |||||||||
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Another Game-Changer Topping it all off, technology suddenly takes a huge leap forward, after decades of slower, incremental change. Electricity enters the digital age with the invention of the transistor, a tiny device with explosive power. The transistor allows controlling the flow of electrons without bulky and burnout-prone vacuum tubes. Better yet, it's so small that hundreds can be crowded onto a single circuit board, consuming very little power. The first big mainframe computer, the IBM 360 released in 1965, uses 1,400 newly-developed silicon transistors. Ten years later, the primitive microchip used in the first Apple home computer will use twice as many. | |||||||||