What's Your Baby Boomer IQ?

By: Teresa McGlothlin
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
What's Your Baby Boomer IQ?
Image: CSA-Archive / DigitalVision Vectors / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Sandwiched between the Traditionalists and Generation X, baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1954. Whether it was events that defined the era or the superstars who were born back then, your generation made a big impact on the world. Can you think back and remember all the names and important events that took place when you were young? 

As someone born during the time, you probably remember the thrill of heading the drive-in and the satisfaction you got from licking S&H stamps. Although the world has changed and many beloved baby boomer items are now obsolete, the things that made your generation famous will always be remembered. Throughout this quiz, you'll get to tell us just how well-versed in the period and those who came from it that you are. Do you know enough to make your celebrity baby boomer proud? 

Take a stroll back to the past, and answer each question with the answer you think is correct. Once you make it through all 35 questions, we'll tally up your score using our electric calculators, and we'll call you on the rotary phone with your results. OK ... we won't do that, but we tell you how many baby boomer IQ points you've earned! Are you ready to find out?

1 - Bonanza
NBC
Which Western about the Cartwright family saw parents of boomers circling the wagons around the TV?
"Bonanza"
"The Big Valley"
"The Riflemen"
"Gunsmoke"
3 - Mr. Green Jeans
CBS
Do you remember the name of Captain Kangaroo's sidekick, played by Hugh Brannum?
Mr. Moose
Mr. Green Jeans
The Banana Man
Artie
5 - Rosa Parks
Wiki Commons by Unknown
What's the name of the Alabama woman who refused to give up her seat and started the Civil Rights Movement?
Rose Parks
Rosa Parks
Rose Park
Rosa Park

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Alice Cooper
Hunter Desportes via WikiCommons
Which glam-rock singer made young boomers happy when he sang that "school's out for summer"?
Elton John
David Cassidy
Billy Ray Cyrus
Alice Cooper
7 - baby boomer
Image Source/Image Source/Getty Images
Is it true or false that the baby boomer generation is the largest in history?
True
False
8 - Charlotte's Web
Image Source/Image Source/Getty Images
E.B. White's barnyard tale was a favorite bedtime story during boomer childhoods. What was it called?
"Horton Hears a Who"
"The Boxcar Children"
"Charlotte's Web"
"Time of Wonder"

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17 - Wheel of Fortune
NBC/CBS
Both of "Wheel of Fortune" stars are baby boomers, but which one turns the letters?
Vanna White
Pat Sajak
12 - dialing retro phone
H. Armstrong Roberts/Retrofile RF/Getty Images
When baby boomers wanted to get in touch with the fire department, what number did they call?
911
411
511
0
14 - Cuban Missle Crisis
LifeJourneys/E+/Getty Images
During the '60s, the nuclear tensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were known by what name?
Vietnam War
Cuban Missle Crisis
Panama Crisis
Russian Crisis

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15 - Patty Hearst
Wiki Commons by Unknown
Which baby boomer heiress was kidnapped and jailed during the 1970s?
Dorothy Hamill
Christie Hefner
Patty Hearst
Deidre Hall
2 - Trampoline
Peter Cade/Stone/Getty Images
Released commercially in 1957, which baby boomer toy had kids jumping up and down?
Trampoline
Bouncy castle
Pogo stick
Bumble ball
4 - TV dinners
Colin Hawkins/Cultura / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
Can you think back and remember which company was first responsible for putting out TV dinners?
Swanson
Swann's
Nabisco
Bird's Eye

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21 - drive-in
Owaki/Kulla/The Image Bank/Getty Images
There are only 348 of them now, but what did boomers go to the drive-in to do?
Get food
Pick up groceries
Get their cars washed
Watch movies
Q15 Motto
South_agency/E+/GettyImages
On January 20, 1961, and right in the middle of the generation, which U.S. president was sworn into office?
John F. Kennedy
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
10 - The me generation
Image Source/Image Source/Getty Images
Fill in the blank: The baby boomer generation is sometimes called "The _____ Generation."
Workers
Me
Equality
Lost

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What Do You Know About American Space Programs?
Image Ideas/Stockbyte/GettyImages
What's the real name of the famous baby boomer sometimes called The Rocket Man?
David Bowie
Steve Jobs
Reginald Kenneth Dwight
Elton John
13 - Imagination Library
Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision/Getty Images
Do you know which of these baby boomers started an imaginative book charity in 1990?
LeVar Burton
Dolly Parton
John Ritter
Melissa Etheridge
16 - Rotary phone wall
parema/E+/Getty Images
What type of telephone would you have found bolted to the wall in a baby boomer household?
Mobile phone
Wall phone
Cord phone
Rotary phone

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18 - Banana seat
Schwinn Bicycles
Schwinn released a comfortable bike accessory that became all the rage for young boomers. What was it called?
Banana seat
Electric taillights
Tiger grips
Pedal cushions
19 - The Mary Tyler Moore Show
CBS
It starred a character named Mary Richards, but which sitcom was the first to allow women to wear pants on television?
"I Love Lucy"
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
"Gunsmoke"
"Dragnet"
Singer
Darryn van der Walt / Thatree Thitivongvaroon / Stefka Pavlova / Moment / Getty Images
What country-singing boomer's daughter came in like a wrecking ball in 2013?
Tanya Tucker
Barbara Mandrell
Billy Ray Cyrus
K.D. Lang

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22 - Star Trek
NBC
What ginger-haired baby boomer and comedienne was part of "Star Trek's " success?
Wynonna Judd
Debbie Boone
Annie Lennox
Lucille Ball-Arnaz
23 - stamps
Arthur Tilley/Stockbyte/Getty Images
Can you remember what sort of stamps were collected in boomer households?
Postage stamps
Green stamps
Passport stamps
Orange stamps
24 - The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
Rolling Stones
Which baby boomer band started an invasion when they came to the U.S. in 1964?
The Rolling Stones
The Temptations
The Beatles
The Kinks

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25 - author
Rouzes/E+/Getty Images
"It" might surprise you to learn that which of these successful authors is a baby boomer?
Stephen King
J.K. Rowling
John Steinbeck
Ernest Hemingway
26 - TV antennae
Lokibaho/E+/Getty Images
What might a baby boomer have put on the TV antennae to make it work better?
A sock
A speaker
Tinfoil
A vinyl record
27 - The Space Race
narvikk/E+/Getty Images
True or false? The competition to get to the moon was called "The Moon Race."
True
False

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28 - Woodstock
user666 via YouTube
Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and dozens of other stars played at what New York festival?
Newport Jazz Festival
Monterey Pop Festival
Glastonbury Festival
Woodstock
29 - Arsenio Hall
Paramount Domestic Television
What late-night TV host and auto collector is often used as an example for the baby boomer mentality?
Jay Leno
Conan O'Brien
Jimmy Fallon
Arsenio Hall
30 - Courtney Love
ABC
Which of these baby boomers grew up to marry Nirvana's Kurt Cobain?
Kathleen Hanna
Courtney Love
Diane Keaton
Ally Sheedy

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31 - The Color Purple
Amblin Entertainment
"E.T." and "The Color Purple" were directed by which of these baby boomers?
Oliver Stone
Sophia Coppola
Steven Speilberg
Tim Burton
32 - dessert
mikroman6/Moment/Getty Images
During the '60s, it was popular to serve foods surrounded by what?
Cottage cheese
Lard
Jell-o
Whipped cream
33 -Fleetwood Mac
Warner Bros.
What baby boomer songstress is still going strong with Fleetwood Mac?
Grace Slick
Olivia Newton-John
Stevie Nicks
Hayley Mills

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34 - National Organization of Women
Tassii/E+/Getty Images
Founded in 1966, N.O.W. set out on a mission to foster feminist growth. What do the letters stand for?
National Outsource for Women
National Outcry for Women
National Organization of Washington
National Organization of Women
35 - Sharon Osborne
ABC
Who's the baby boomer who was kicked off her own show for her questionable views?
Sally Jessy Raphael
Whoopi Goldberg
Sharon Osborne
Roseanne