Some people have a comb in their back pocket at all times. Some own more than one fringed vest and are not sorry about it. Some still know every step of a line dance they learned in 1978, and some keep a planner so detailed it has its own planner. Most of us carry a little of a past decade around, whether we lived through it or picked it up from a parent’s record collection. So which one is yours?
Below are four sketches, one for each decade from the 1950s to the 1980s. They are affectionate caricatures, not history lessons, and real people from each era were far more varied than any costume suggests. Still, a caricature can be a surprisingly good mirror.
The 1950s greaser: loyal, cool, a little rebellious
Picture a leather jacket over a white T-shirt, cuffed jeans, hair shaped with enough pomade to survive a thunderstorm, and a car that gets more attention than most people’s children. The greaser’s reputation was for trouble, but the type is mostly about loyalty. Greasers stick with their crowd, keep their word and have a soft spot they would never admit to in public.
You might be a greaser at heart if you value a small circle of friends over a big network, enjoy fixing things with your hands, and dislike being told what to do in a tone you consider unnecessary. The 1950s greaser quiz will tell you what kind of greaser you would have been.
The 1960s hippie: open, idealistic, happily unhurried
The hippie arrives late, barefoot, with a guitar and a reason for being late that is somehow charming. Under the flowers and the beads is a real streak of idealism: a belief that people could live more kindly, share more and worry less about status. Hippies tend to be curious about other cultures, spiritual ideas and new kinds of music, and they rarely judge anyone for being different.
Signs you belong here: you would rather spend money on experiences than things, you have opinions about vegetables, and you cannot walk past a hand-painted sign without reading it. Our 1960s hippie quiz matches you with your flower-power alter ego.
Mirror ball, platform shoes, a collar wide enough to land a small plane. The disco icon lives for the night out, and the night out lives for them. What makes the type likable is its generosity: disco was about the whole room dancing, not one star on a stage. Disco icons are often the person who gets the shy friend onto the dance floor and makes sure the group photo gets taken.
You might be one if you plan outfits before plans, own at least one item with sequins, and believe any song can be improved by a strong bassline. The 1970s disco icon quiz will find your place under the mirror ball.
The 1980s power player: ambitious, organized, slightly too busy
Shoulder pads, a briefcase, a brick-sized mobile phone used mainly to let others see the brick-sized mobile phone. The 1980s power player wants results and wants them by Thursday. It is easy to mock, but the type has real strengths: confidence, energy, and a talent for getting things done while everyone else is still talking about them. Many power players also spent their evenings at aerobics class in a leotard, which says something about their stamina.
Signs this is you: you color-code calendars, you enjoy a bit of friendly competition, and “networking” does not frighten you. The 1980s power player quiz shows which kind of high achiever you would have been.
Host a decade night
A decade night is one of the easiest themed parties to pull off, because guests already know what to wear. Pick a single decade or let each guest choose their own, which leads to great photos of a greaser chatting with a power player. Build a playlist with one hour per decade, serve one simple period snack per era (think fondue for the 1970s), and run a short quiz between songs. Classic sitcoms make a good shared topic for mixed ages; the sitcom decade humor quiz works well read aloud, with the whole room arguing over the answers.
Ask the people who were there
If you have parents, grandparents or older neighbors who lived through these years, a decade quiz is a lovely excuse to ask them about it. Some questions that tend to open things up:
- What did you wear on a Saturday night when you were twenty?
- Which song could get you onto a dance floor, and does it still work?
- What did your parents disapprove of most?
- What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
- Is there anything from that decade you wish had stayed in fashion?
Write the answers down or record them with permission. Families often realize too late how much of these stories went unrecorded. For quizzes that suit a mixed-age afternoon like this, our quizzes for seniors page is a good place to look.
You do not have to pick only one
Plenty of people are a power player on Monday morning, a hippie on a Sunday walk and a disco icon at a wedding after the cake has been cut. Personalities shift with mood, company and the week you are having, and a result from a fun quiz is a snapshot, not a verdict. Take two or three of them, compare notes with friends, and enjoy finding out which decade you visit most often.
