COULD YOU SURVIVE IN . . . .

Introduction:

Almost any young person will roll their eyes when someone older exclaims, "Why in my day . . ." and they are likely thinking why do I need to know how to do things when the dinosaurs roamed? Is there value in learning how tasks were done in the past? Are we all spoiled now?

As a docent I hear people all the time claim that everyone was stupid before this time period. Seems to be a universal human prejudice. In my study of things past I have come to the conclusion that they were actually smarter than we are now (studies have shown our brain size is shrinking, hmm . . ., no longer running from lions, tigers and bears.). Were you required to be more self reliant and self sufficient? Actually, not entirely. At least not in the time periods we will ask about below. People had professions and skills that their peers did not. You could go to a 'professional,' be it doctor, cobbler, blacksmith or farmer and get help. However, you still had to do many things yourself, unless you could afford servants, but then you still needed to supervise them. My cousin pointed out that rural skills are very different from city/town skills where you could get professional help easier. He also asked, "do you have the smarts to do this stuff" and others are "do you think you could endure this situation."

People were dependent on tight communities for all these time periods. Communication over distance was expensive or simply not available. Letters could take weeks. Telegrams were only for emergencies and expensive. No Google, YouTube, Zoom, Telemedicine, etc. (No social media on tiny devices. No you will NOT die if you put it down for a few minutes. The withdrawal symptoms can be painful, but you will be better afterwards.)

Setting the scenes, see [keeper timeline] and [keeper tech]

1855

With our first keeper, Charles Layton, his wife Charlotte and four kids. They had whale oil for the lighthouse lamp, five miles to town (Monterey, as Pacific Grove did not exist yet) on a dirt trail. They received rations and enough coal for the month. On their own otherwise. Within a year Charles was shot, and later died, while on a posse to capture a local bandit. Charlotte stepped up as the first appointed female keeper on the west coast. NO toilet paper or flush toilets yet!
How would you have done?

1920

Prohibition, women get to vote (finally), the roaring twenties! Cars, scooters, trains from SF to PG, early tube and crystal radio, etc. WW1 ends, but Spanish Flu kills millions. Electric lamp in the lighthouse lantern, but not for keeper home use!
How would you have done?

1940

Depression and prohibition ends. Fascism rises and we are at war again. Rationing, huge draft, women replace the men on the assembly lines, "internment" camps for Japanese Americans and severe restrictions on Italian and German Americans.
How would you have done?

2025+ (tba)

Return of authoritarian rulers? The consequences of climate change are upon us. Rise of social media and disinformation (is that really new?). Neglect of the workers who built this nation in favor of the elite 'educated' 1%er class. Older people become the majority of population. Is this the end times?
How will you do?

How to use:

This is on the Point Pinos Lighthouse website and I am obligated to post materials that are relevant to our area. As such, I based these 'learning opportunities' on local knowledge and history. Likely it will be different where you are. AND I could not cover everything in 36 questions per time period. The primary use of these quizzes is likely as an introduction to your lesson plan on that time period. A way to start their thinking engines going. So . . .

ALL of this material is FAIRUSE. As a teacher, you are free to use w/o restriction. You may adapt, add, edit, trim as you see fit. Nothing here is made of stone. You are free to copy the source code to change the quiz or make new ones. (even other subjects!) (view source code, save as a text file, *.txt. Edit and change individual questions, save as *.html on your computer. Double click this file and it should work the same as if still on a website). I provide PDF and DOC versions of just the questions that can be shared if that is easier. I am retired now and not full time anything. If all else fails, you may try sending me an email: owamoose@gmail.com and I will try my best to help. Good for suggestions of more material to be added to the site as well as corrections. Thanks!

Above all remember, this is supposed to be a FUN (eye opening) learning opportunity!

I will attempt to keep these up to date with fixes, etc. Feel free to offer suggestions.

Up to you as the instructor (and what grade you are teaching) how lenient you want to be with having help to do a described task. Could go as far as asking, if they personally KNOW someone who could help them out with the task questioned. Likely true for people in each of these time periods as well. (my computer froze, can you help me grandchild?)

1855 Survival Quiz

[1855 Survival Quiz] Do you think you could survive at the time of the first keepers?
. . . AND why some of these skills may still be important today. [1855+]

Helpers: just the game code as a [1855 text file] to easily download and edit. Rename as *.html and it will work even on your desktop.

The teacher discussion files [1855.docx] and [1855.pdf]

 

1920 Survival Quiz

[1920 Survival Quiz] Do you think you could survive at the time of prohibition?
. . . AND why some of these skills may still be important today. [1920+]

Helpers: just the game code as a [1920 text file] to easily download and edit. Rename as *.html and it will work even on your desktop.

The teacher discussion files [1920.docx] and [1920.pdf]

 

1940 Survival Quiz

[1940 Survival Quiz] Do you think you could survive at the time of World War II?
. . . AND why some of these skills may still be important today. [1940+]

Helpers: just the game code as a [1940 text file] to easily download and edit. Rename as *.html and it will work even on your desktop.

The teacher discussion files [1940.docx] and [1940.pdf]

 

2025+ Survival Quiz

[2025+ Survival Quiz] Do you think you could survive at the time of social media and super computers in your pockets?
. . . AND why some of these skills may still be important soon. [2025+]

Helpers: just the game code as a [2025 text file] to easily download and edit. Rename as *.html and it will work even on your desktop.

The teacher discussion files [2025.docx] and [2025.pdf]