If you were born 75 years ago, you've witnessed world-shaking events and mind-boggling social and technological changes. Could any equivalent span in history possibly compare? You grew up when drive-in movies were popping up and Moon Mullins was making folks chuckle as they read a quaint medium known as the morning paper. If someone offered you a penny for your thoughts, that was real dough — you'd take the money and spill the beans. Amazingly, more than half a lifetime has passed since you watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon.

A world war and Hula Hoops, television and the Internet — you've seen a lot. But one thing hasn't changed: We all enjoy looking back. Memories make us shudder, wince, and smile. The milestones compiled here will invite all those responses, yet they're just a cross-section of the past 75 years. They're bound to stimulate more memories as you travel back through this amazing epoch. Enjoy the journey.

— Robert Earle Howells