Biden and Trump are older than color tvs and hula hoops
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are breaking the age records set in the 2020 campaign. If elected, either would be the oldest president ever on Jan. 20, 2025.
Biden was born on November 20th, 1942, making him 81 years old. Trump was born about three years later on June 14, 1946.
It’s no secret that both candidates are old, but just how old are they? Here are some things younger than Biden and Trump. (Idea credit: Brian Xu on TikTok.)
Color TVs
While early versions of the technology for color TV came about in the 1920s, the first color TV set was produced in early 1954. It had a 12-inch screen and cost $1,000, or over $11,000 in today's dollars. In 2019, USA TODAY reported that the average price of a 50-inch TV set was $335.
Color television sets didn’t become widely used until the early 1980s, when Trump and Biden were in their 30s.
The country of India
India won independence from Britain in 1947 after the Indian Independence Bill of August 15, 1947. The United States recognized India as an independent state that day, with President Harry S. Truman sending a congratulatory message to the Governor General of the Dominion of India.
India declared itself a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state a few years later with the adoption of its Constitution on January 26, 1950.
The High Five
When Dodgers left-fielder Dusty Baker returned to the plate after hitting his 30th home run of the 1977 season, outfielder Glenn Burke greeted him with a hand enthusiastically raised above his head.
"His hand was up in the air, and he was arching way back," Baker told ESPN. "So I reached up and hit his hand. It seemed like the thing to do."
With that, the story goes, the high five was invented: over three decades after Trump and Biden were born.
The Civil Rights Movement
Starting in 1954, the Civil Rights Movement is younger than Trump and Biden.
The movement, which is generally thought to have taken place from 1954 to 1968, was a quest for racial equality and justice in the United States.
There were many historical events during this time period. Brown v Board of Education, which made segregation illegal in public schools, was decided in 1954. In 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested after refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. And 60 years ago on July 2, then President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin.
All events are younger than the two candidates in the 2024 presidential election.
The states of Hawaii and Alaska
Hawaii and Alaska were the last two states to be added to the union in 1959. Alaska was the 49th state, admitted on January 3, and Hawaii took the 50thspot on August 21.
Biden and Trump were 16 and 14, respectively, when both states joined the U.S.
Frisbees
Frisbees were invented just in time for Biden and Trump’s childhoods in 1948 when Walter Morrison and partner Warren Francioni created a plastic version of pie plates that college students used to play catch with.
Morrison’s original version was named the “Flying Saucer” and the “Pluto Platter” before being renamed “Frisbee” by the creators of the Hula Hoop in 1958.
Coincidentally, the hula hoop was invented in 1957, which makes it younger than our two presidential candidates.
Star Wars
"Old they are, Trump and Biden," says Yoda, probably. The Star Wars Trilogy began on May 25, 1977, with the premiere of Star Wars: A New Hope. It was the beginning of a culture-defining saga, and it’s, again, younger than Biden and Trump.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: How old are Trump and Biden? Older than color TV and frisbees
