Obama v McCain - when they turned 21

21 is admittedly an odd age to examine, and, honestly, I’d preferred to have looked at age 25, which feels like a much rounder and more wonderful number… unfortunately, McCain was turning 25 the year Obama was born (and we’ve already looked at 1961), so I dumped that plan in favor of a look at how the world was the year McCain turned 21 (1957) versus the year that Obama turned 21 (1982). So, without further ado, some points of comparison and reference for you:

The Numbers:

1957- Gas was $0.24/gallon, a new house averaged $12,200, and a stamp cost $0.04.

1982- Gas was $0.91/gallon (a steal!), a new house averaged $82,200, and a stamp was $0.20

Born:

1957- Osama bin Laden

1982- Prince William

Music:

1957- John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met (three years before forming the Beatles) and radios were playing ‘Bye, Bye Love’, ‘Wake up, Little Susie’, ‘All Shook Up’ and ‘A White Sport Coat.’

1982- ‘Jack & Diane’, ‘Hurts so Good’, ‘867-5309,’ and ‘Eye of the Tiger’ were popular. Michael Jackson released Thriller, and Graceland opened to the public.

Movies, Theatre, TV:

1957- Jail House Rock was in theaters, West Side Story was on Broadway, and I Love Lucy & Elvis made their final appearances (Elvis’ last on The Ed Sullivan Show)

1982- E.T. and Chariots of Fire were in theaters, Cats was on Broadway, and Knight Rider and Magnum PI are hits on TV

Inventions:

1957- Frisbee, electric watch, the Ford Edsel, Ultrasound scanning

1982- First CD player, Commodore 64, the Toyota Camry, liposuction

Written word:

1957- The Cat in The Hat was published, and the first electric typewriter goes on sale

1982- USA Today is founded, the first emoticon [ :) ] is used, and the term ‘the Internet’ is coined

Politics:

1957- the first US attempt to launch a satellite failed with the rocket blew up on the launch pad. However, the Soviets were able to launch Sputnik 2 that year (which went into space with a dog named Laika, who sadly didn’t make it home safely). Little Rock schools were forcibly desegregated, the Civil Rights Act was passed, and NYC became the first city to legislate that discrimination on the basis of religion or race was illegal in the housing market.

1982- NASA established the Space Station Task Force following their conclusion that the next logical step in space travel was to make a home for astronauts up there. In the same year, the Soviets landed Vanera 13 on Venice and the International Whaling Commission decided to end commercial whaling operations.

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