Can We Guess Your '50s High School Stereotype?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
Can We Guess Your '50s High School Stereotype?
Image: LifeJourneys/E+/Getty Images

About This Quiz

Being a cool cat is perhaps the most envied state of being in high school, but none more so than in the 1950s. The 1950s were the beginning of the model of post-war American life, in a meaningful way. The social hierarchy solidified under the shadow of the looming threat of nuclear war with The Soviet Union. With the spread of television and the solidification of the cultural significance of radio, slang spread from coast to coast, so threatening someone with a knuckle sandwich, calling something a big tickle, or saying something razzed your berries were all word from the bird.

Out of this age, certain archetypes were formed. When we think of "types" of high-schoolers, we imagine the bookworms who spend all their time in the library, playing chess and studying. We think of the football player and his cheerleader girlfriend. We think of the beatniks in the band that plays at the local open mic, and the weird introvert who spends all his time writing because he believes he's the next Jack Kerouac.

If you were transported back in time to the 1950s, placed in a high school and expected to fit in somewhere, how would you end up? Take the quiz to find out!

Did you go to a really good college?
Oh yeah, a great one!
I dropped out of a good one.
I went to a party school.
I went to a division one school!

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What did you end up studying in college?
Computer science
English
Painting
Business

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What would people from high school remember you for?
Not much
Getting detention all the time
My hair
My athletic exploits

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What kind of scholarship, if any, did you get for college?
An academic scholarship for chemistry
Academic for writing
I didn't get one.
I had one for sports.

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How many writing implements do you typically carry on any given day?
Five, no less!
Two. I run out of ink a lot.
I usually have at least a pencil.
Where am I going, the bank? Ha! I don't carry any.

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What color dominates your wardrobe?
Brown
Black
Blue
Red and gold! Go team!

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What did you and your high school friends spend your time doing?
Studying
Writing together
Looking cool down by the multiplex
Playing games

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What unorthodox measurement do you use to measure time?
The lunar calendar!
Packs of cigarettes smoked
The time between a Starbucks opening and closing forever
Sundays to Sundays

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How's your vision?
I'm as blind as a bat.
I'm colorblind.
I'm a little farsighted.
I have perfect vision.

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What do you like to read?
Educational literature
Poetry
Magazines
The sports page

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What item can you not leave home without?
My phone
My journal
A comb
Ibuprofen

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What do you like to do to keep fit?
I do yoga.
I don't.
I go to a kickboxing class.
I lift.

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What are your close friends really good at?
Chess
Deep thought
Dressing to impress
Winning

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What is your worst vice?
Arguing
Smoking
Hair product
Celebrating a little too vigorously

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What sin are you most guilty of?
Envy
Sloth
Vanity
Wrath

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What quality gives you the greatest sense of self-worth?
My wits
My creativity
My looks
My physical strength

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What did you want to be when you grew up?
An astronaut
A rapper
An actor
Barry Bonds

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Of these people, who do you most admire?
Alan Shepard
Allen Ginsberg
Patrick Swayze
Alex Cora

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What's your idea of a great road trip?
Drive down to Cape Canaveral
Hitchhiking to New Orleans
Drive to the Bonneville Salt Flats
Go to every game of the ALCS

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What sort of strangers do you keep track of most eagerly?
Tech giants
Authors
Models
Athletes

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What new skills are you acquiring as an adult?
Arduino
Languages
Contouring
Fly fishing

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Which of these musical acts do you like best?
Mozart
MJQ
Prince
Queen

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Which of these dream machines would you want to own?
A Toyota Prius
A VW Beetle
A Cadillac CTS-V
A Ford Bronco

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What famous California native do you admire the most?
George Matsumoto
Jerry Garcia
Melrose Bickerstaff
Joe DiMaggio

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Where would you most want to spend a Christmas vacation?
At home with a good book or ten
In Paris
On a beach in Puerto Rico
Chicago. Bulls. Bears. Steak.

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Who was your childhood role model?
My grandfather
My neighbor's son
James Dean, baby!
Don Mattingly

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Which of these movies would you pick for the only movie you ever watch from now on?
"Hidden Figures"
"Big Sur"
"Zoolander"
"Friday Night Lights"

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Which of these TV shows do you like the most?
"Suits"
"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
"RuPaul's Drag Race"
"SportsCenter"

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Who do you spend the most time with?
My best friend
My work colleagues
My reflection
My kids

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Which decade do you think you'd be most at home in?
The 1990s
The 1960s
The 1970s
The 1980s

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You Got: