 IBM
introduces the Selectric typewriter; that's the one with the "bouncing
ball" type. - In
May FCC Chairman Newton Minow claims that television is a "vast
wasteland." Oh, if he only knew....
- April
12: Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin is the first man to travel
into space, as he circles the earth in 90 minutes in the Vostok I 187
miles above the earth.
 May
5: Navy Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr., blasts into space for a 20 minute
ride "out of this world" in the Freedom 7. The space race
is under way, but the U.S. is behind.- Coca
Cola introduces Sprite to compete against 7-Up. Another race is under
way.
- Ray
Kroc buys out the McDonald brothers and takes control over the hamburger
chain.
- March
29: The 23rd amendment to the Constitution is ratified; it provides
for congressional representation of Washington, D.C.
- Joseph
Heller's "Catch 22" is published.
- Johnson
& Johnson introduces Tylenol.
- More
than 300 babies in Germany are born with horrible deformities; a doctor
connects the abnormalities to a drug called thalidomide. Thalidomide
was never approved for use in the U.S.
- April:
The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba by 1,600 rebels trained by the U.S.
is a horrible disaster and embarrassment to President Kennedy.
- August;
East Germany closes the border between East and West Berlin (deep in
the heart of East Germany). Khrushchev orders construction of a wall
to prevent East Germans from escaping to freedom. Eventually the wall
would be 26 miles long.
 March:
President Kennedy creates the Peace Corps to improve education, agriculture,
and living standards in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.- The
New York Yankees win the World Series by defeating Cincinnati in five
games.
- Roger
Maris and Mickey Mantle compete to beat Babe Ruth's record of 60 home
runs. Maris hits number 61 on October 1.
- The
Academy award for Best Picture goes to "West Side Story,"
which also wins several other awards.
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- For
a while after the Beatles "arrived," they were challenged
by another member of the "British invasion"; their first big
hit was "Glad All Over"; the group was....
The Dave Clark Five
- He
was "Little Stevie Wonder" back in the early sixties; and
he "burst onto the scene" with a hit called
Fingertips, Part II .
- She
had a beautiful voice and perfect pitch. The lead singer of "The
Mamas and the Papas" was Mama Cass
Elliott."
- He
was only a teenager himself in the late fifties when he wrote and recorded
a song called "(Oh Please,) Dianah." We're talking about Paul
Anka .
- One
of the longest running westerns in television history was "Gunsmoke."
Of course, the lead character was Marshal Matt Dillon. Who played Matt?
James
Arness
- The
opening of "Gunsmoke" showed Matt facing off in a gun battle
against a bad guy. Rumor has it that this bad guy was actually
Burt Reynolds
.
- Most
of us remember Matt's sidekick, Festus. Who played the part of Festus?
Ken
Curtis
- Another
solid western of the sixties was "Have Gun, Will Travel."
What was the last name of the lead character on this show?
Palladin
- And
exactly what were the words on his business card?
Have Gun Will Travel; Wire Paladin; San
Francisco
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