Pop Culture List Makes Professors Feel Old

The young whippersnappers who will be this year’s freshmen class don’t know anything about the good old days. Born in 1990, they have little knowledge of typewriters or Pee Wee Herman’s “Playhouse” (You know, that show he had before he exposed himself and creeped out children everywhere.)
 

So what's an out-of-touch professor to do? That's where the Beloit College Mindset List comes in. This annual compilation covers 60 cultural touchstones that have shaped the Class of 2012, from karaoke machines and Carmen Sandiego to Jay Leno and Teach for America.

Now professors can be hip to what's trendy. And, as an added bonus, they won't draw blank stares by using crazy, outdated references, like that Watergate scandal thingy.

So are you down with what's down? Check out the list's Top 15 identifiers for this year's freshmen class:

1.Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
 

2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
 

3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
 

4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
 

5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
 

6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
 

7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
 

8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
 

9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
 

10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
 

11. All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
 

12. As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
 

13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
 

14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
 

15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.

Sure that whole Watergate thing was probably a big deal, but Martha Stewart going to jail? Now that's a scandal!

(For the rest of the cultural references, such as "Wayne Newton has never had a mustache" click here.)