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On the date

Friday, May 12, 1961

From the day

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

GHANAIANS SEIZED IN ANGOLA REVOLT; Portugal Reports 71 Taken in West African Fighting -- Puts Dead at 1,000 71 Ghanaians Seized in Angola; Lisbon Says They Aided Rebels

Read in The New York Times →

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100

Runaway

Del Shannon

#1 at the box office

The Absent-Minded Professor

The must-have

Slip 'N Slide

Slang

Slang of the decade

General

bummerfoxhunkscam

Hippie

flower powergroovyheavyout of sightright on

Surfer

cowabungahang tenwipe outgnarly

Catchphrases of 1961

  • Ask not what your country can do for you

Tech Check

Space Capsule (Vostok/Mercury), Electric Toothbrush & Industrial Robots (Unimate).

Cost of Living (1960)

Loaf of Bread

$0.20

Gallon of Gas

$0.31

Average Home

$11,900

New Car

$2,600

Time Elapsed

23,765 days ago

(65 years, 40 days)