Quiz: How Much Do You Know About 1950s Home Economics
The curriculum for home economics has drastically changed since the 1950s. Around 67 percent of women were housewives during that time and became experts on daily duties including cooking, cleaning, and other household chores. They would learn things such as how to approach their husband when he came home from work and how far in advance they should send out party invitations. This quiz will show how much home economic expectations have evolved and if you stood a chance to be a 1950s homemaker.
What was the purpose of home economics during the 1950s?
A. To prepare girls for married life
B. To learn proper manners
C. It was a school requirement
D. To become self-sufficient
Answer: To prepare girls for married life
According to a 1950s home economics textbook, the main purpose of the class was to prepare high school girls for married life. They learned everything from cooking and cleaning to sewing and table manners.
What shouldn’t a wife do before her husband gets home from work?
A. Have dinner ready
B. Hang out with friends
C. Clear away any clutter
D. Prepare the children by washing them and giving them clean clothes
Answer: Hang out with friends
During the 1950s, a housewife was expected to have everything perfect by the time her husband came home from work. This included cooking dinner, cleaning the house, getting the children ready, and touching up their makeup.
How often should you wash your hair?
A. Every day
B. Every other day
C. Every other week
D. Once a week
Answer: Every other week
It was believed that hair should be washed regularly twice a month and only more often if it got dirty. In reality, hair should be washed depending on how dry or oily it is, which can range from every day to twice a week.
What was the most popular brand of vacuum in the 1950s?
A. Dirt Devil
B. Dyson
C. Rexair
D. Hoover
Answer: Hoover
Vacuuming is one of the most important things to do to keep a home clean. In the 1950s the most common kind of vacuum was the Hoover, which became a synonymous word for vacuuming called “hoovering.”
How many times should meat be flipped when it’s pan-fried?
A. Once
B. Twice
C. Three times
D. As much as possible
Answer: Once
It’s advised that meat only be flipped once if it’s pan-friend because if it’s flipped too much it can cause the meat to break off or fall apart. Also, be sure to watch the temperature of the meat as it’s being cooked.
Which food should always be washed before it’s prepared?
A. Fruit
B. Eggs
C. Poultry
D. Lettuce
Answer: Eggs
People made sure to always wash their eggs before they cooked them because once eggs are opened and the contents are poured out they pick up the bacteria that’s on the outside of the shell.
Finish the saying: “Table manners tend to match the _________.”
A. Person
B. Host
C. Table
D. Eater
Answer: Table
A popular etiquette rule during the 1950s stated: “Table manners tend to match the table.” It was important to have a perfectly made table filled with fresh linen, china, silver, and pretty flowers.
What is the best way to restore copper to its original brightness?
A. Soap and water
B. Baking soda and vinegar
C. Cooking spray and butter
D. Ketchup and salt
Answer: Ketchup and salt
It may seem a bit out of the ordinary, but a quick hack to get your copper shining bright again is to clean it with some ketchup and salt. The 1950s also saw a rise in ketchup consumption.
What is the first thing you’re supposed to do when you wake up?
A. Open the window
B. Eat breakfast
C. Get dressed
D. Brush your teeth
Answer: Open the window
The very first thing people are supposed to do when they wake up in the morning is open the window in their bedroom. This lets the bed air out while people go about their morning errands.
How often should stockings be washed?
A. Once a week
B. Every day
C. Once a year
D. Once a month
Answer: Every day
Women were told that stockings needed to be washed every day when they took them off. On average, women purchased around 12 stockings a year. They would hold them up with garters that attached to the bottom of girdles.
Who was supposed to sit in their chair first at the dinner table?
A. The guests
B. The man of the house
C. The host/hostess
D. The children
Answer: The host/hostess
In the 1950s it was customary for the host/hostess to take their seat first at the dinner table. It was also the host/hostess who gave the signal that it was okay to leave the table.
What is the name for the work a mother or wife does around the home?
A. Women’s liberation
B. The wife’s duties
C. A mother’s job
D. Labor income
Answer: Labor income
Women were expected to be the only person who did all the cooking, cleaning, and other housework, which was called labor income. If a grown man didn’t have a wife he would be expected to pay another woman to do all of these tasks.
Which kitchen appliance wasn’t around in the 1950s?
A. Microwave
B. Stove
C. Oven
D. Toaster
Answer: Microwave
Even though the microwave was invented in 1946, household versions were not available until Amana released one in 1967. There were frozen dinners available for purchase, but those were heated in the oven.
How far in advance should party invitations be sent out?
A. A month
B. 10 days
C. A week
D. 20 days
Answer: 10 days
Most invitations were sent in the mail during the 1950s, so it was the standard to send them about 10 days before the special event was going to take place.
How did women avoid wrinkles?
A. Various skin creams and medications
B. Not going outside
C. Lying with their feet above their head
D. Icing their skin
Answer: Lying with their feet above their head
In the 1950s it was believed that lying with your feet above your head was the perfect cure for wrinkles and stopping the aging process. Other tips included staying at a healthy weight and not making dramatic facial expressions.
How did women make sure their ankles were trim and shapely?
A. Go for a run
B. Stretch their legs
C. Wrap them with a heating pad
D. Massage them every night
Answer: Massage them every night
Many of the outfits women wore during the 1950s were cut off just above their ankles. In order to keep them trim and shapely, they were supposed to massage them every night.
What kind of stain does lemon juice and water remove?
A. Sweat
B. Mud
C. Grass
D. Food
Answer: Sweat
Lemon juice and water are great for getting dark sweat stains out of the armpit areas of shirts. The affected area should be soaked in the mixture, hung out in the sun to dry, and then washed with the rest of the laundry.
Which of these things should not be on a coffee table?
A. A book
B. A notepad
C. A fruit bowl
D. A serving plate
Answer: A notepad
It was important that a proper coffee table always had an ornamental box, a book, and a serving plate. Also, if the coffee table lacked a fruit bowl it would be considered incomplete.
How did women avoid getting makeup on their clothes when they got dressed and undressed?
A. They put a bed sheet over their face.
B. They wrapped their face with plastic wrap.
C. They tied a large handkerchief over their face.
D. They would blow dry their face.
Answer: They tied a large handkerchief over their face.
It was advised that a proper housewife should never be seen without makeup. When women dressed and undressed they would tie a large handkerchief over their face to keep the makeup from staining their clothes.
What were women believed to be better at than men?
A. Fashion
B. Drawing
C. Running
D. Tasting food
Answer: Tasting food
Back in the 1950s, it was believed that women were better at tasting food than men because their taste buds supposedly had more of a capacity to distinguish between the different flavors.
