1961 Trivia, History and Fun Facts

Quick Facts from 1961:

• World Changing Event: USSR’s Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, giving them the lead in the Space Race.
• Another World Changing Event: Alan Shepard became the first American in space, catching up to the USSR in the Space Race.
• The Top Song was Tossin’ and Turnin’ by Bobby Lewis
• The Movies to Watch include 101 Dalmnations, King of Kings, Babes in Toyland, Blue Hawaii, West Side Story, and The Parent Trap
• The Most Famous Person in America was probably Audrey Hepburn
• Notable books include: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
• Minimum Wage in 1961: $1.15 per hour
  “Chatty Cathy” talking doll: $10.98-$18.00 each
• Slip’N Slide water game was introduced in 1961.
• The Funny Guy was: Dick Gregory
  The Other Funny Guy was: Ernie Kovacs
  The Funny Duo were: Mike Nichols and Elaine May
• The Politically incorrect Funny Guy was: Lenny Bruce
• The Tragedy: The entire US Figure skating team died in a plane crash, traveling to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

“The Quotes:”
“Sorry, Charlie. Starkist wants tuna that tastes good, not tuna with good taste”
– Starkist tuna

“Yabba Dabba Do”
– Fred Flintstone

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.
– President John F. Kennedy

“For those who think young”
– Pepsi

“Hertz puts you in the driver’s seat”
– Hertz

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. ”
– From Dwight Eisenhower’s Farewell Address to the Nation

“Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity…

The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever-present – and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite”
– Also from Dwight Eisenhower’s Farewell Address to the Nation

Oops:
America accidentally dropped a nuke on South Carolina in 1958 and two Hydrogen bombs on North Carolina in 1961. The traditional explosives on the nuke exploded, while only a low voltage trigger kept one of the H-bombs from detonating.

The largest nuclear bomb ever detonated by humans was the Tsar Bomba in 1961. The Russians tested the bomb in Novaya Zemlya, an island in the Russian Arctic Sea. It had the equivalent explosive power of 3,800 Hiroshima bombs.

World News:
The Antarctic Treaty of 1961 which recognizes no sovereign claim of Antarctica, prohibits mining, prohibits military activity & only allows scientific activity on the continent. Article V specifically prohibits any nuclear explosions in Antarctica and the disposal of any radioactive waste material there.

The Terra Nova Islands were seen/discovered in 1961 by an Australian research expedition, but when geologists went to map them in 1989, they found no islands because they don’t exist

The earliest use of the found footage genre in the film is the 1961 feature The Connection, which states on its title card that the film is an assemblage of found footage. This predates Cannibal Holocaust by nearly two decades, which is often claimed to be the first example of found footage in the movie.

The 1961 film Homicidal featured a ‘fright break’ before the climax. The break gave the audience a chance to leave and get a refund before it got too scary. People that left got their pictures taken and added to ‘Coward’s Corner’ which was used to advertise how scary the film was.

Jackie Gleason once was an actual pool shark. He made all his own trick shots in 1961’s The Hustler.

Washington D.C. residents were officially allowed to vote on Presidential Elections, thanks to the 23rd amendment, but they still don’t have actual representatives in congress.

The first Six Flags amusement park opened near Dallas Texas. Named “Six Flags Over Dallas,” it was named after the six different flags Texas has over the past few hundred years.

Human rights organization Amnesty International was founded in London.

Le Bateau (“The Boat”) by Henri Matisse, caused a minor stir when the Museum of Modern Art, New York, which housed it, hung the work upside-down for 47 days in 1961 until Genevieve Habert, a stockbroker, noticed the mistake and notified a guard. 

Black Friday was coined in 1952, made popular in 1961, and became the busiest shopping day of the year in 2005.

Black and Decker introduced the first cordless power drill, powered by nickel-cadmium.

Pampers disposable diapers were available for the first time.

Ibuprofen was introduced to the public, and that became available as an over-the-counter drug in 1984.

Denny’s was previously named Danny’s Donuts. Following separation in ownership and to avoid confusion with another LA restaurant, owner Harold Butler changed the name to Denny’s Coffee Shop in 1959; Then simply and most recognizably shortened to just Denny’s in 1961.

Chase’s octagon-shaped logo, designed in 1961, is a stylized representation of the water pipes laid by its predecessor, the Manhattan Company, which Aaron Burr had formed as a water company in 1799.

In the ’40s and ’50s, Coca-Cola ads gave Santa Claus a sidekick named Sprite Boy – named such because he was a sprite, not because of the drink Sprite, which would not be introduced under that name until 1961.

The NFL doesn’t play on Friday and Saturday because the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act prohibits them from doing so to protect fans of college and high school football.

Nobel Prizes:
Physics – Robert Hofstadter, Rudolf Mössbauer
Chemistry – Melvin Calvin
Physiology or Medicine – Georg von Békésy
Literature – Ivo Andrić
Peace – Dag Hammarskjöld (posthumously)

C.S. Lewis nominated J.R.R. Tolkien for the 1961 Nobel Prize for Literature. He was rejected on the grounds that his writing “has not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality.”

1961 Billboard Number One Songs:
November 28, 1960 – January 8, 1961:
Are You Lonesome Tonight? – Elvis Presley

January 9 – January 29:
Wonderland By Night – Bert Kaempfert

January 30 – February 12:
Will You Love Me Tomorrow – The Shirelles

February 13 – February 26:
Calcutta – Lawrence Welk

February 27 – March 19:
Pony Time – Chubby Checker

March 20 – April 2:
Surrender – Elvis Presley

April 3 – April 23:
Blue Moon – The Marcels

April 24 – May 21:
Runaway – Del Shannon

May 22 – May 28:
Mother-In-Law – Ernie K-Doe

May 29 – June 4:
Travelin’ Man – Ricky Nelson

June 5 – June 18:
Running Scared – Roy Orbison

June 19 – June 25:
Moody River – Pat Boone

June 26 – July 9:
Quarter To Three – Gary U.S. Bonds

July 10 – August 27:
August Tossin’ And Turnin’ – Bobby Lewis

August 28 – September 3:
Wooden Heart – Joe Dowell

September 4 – September 17:
Michael – The Highwaymen

September 18 – October 8:
Take Good Care Of My Baby – Bobby Vee

October 9 – October 22:
Hit The Road Jack – Ray Charles

October 23 – November 5:
Runaround – Sue Dion

November 6 – December 10:
Big Bad John – Jimmy Dean

December 11 – December 17:
Please Mr. Postman – The Marvelettes

December 18, 1961 – January 12, 1962:
The Lion Sleeps Tonight – The Tokens