What We Would Have Written About In 1965

"Sir, I'd respectfully request that you change my assignment to Nassau." — James Bond, Thunderball

1965. Nineteen-sixty-five. MCMLXV. The times were definitely a-changing. The world was on fire. Winston Churchill died. "The Girl from Ipanema" by Stan Getz was somehow ruling the airwaves. (But The Pirate Radio kept things groovy in Swinging London.)

And recently we thought to ourselves: what if we hopped in a time machine and began writing some of the headlines/stories from '65? So we kind of did. Below are the things we would have written about in 1965 with, of course, some 2014 flavor. Oh how fun those times must have been. 

We Tried The Miracle Youth Drug...For Science

Or an open letter of love advice for Jackie Kennedy.

How Many People Can You Fit In This Giant Station Wagon?

Or whether it actually can work as a boat.

What It's Like: We Drove The Rear Engine 426 Hemi-Barracuda

Or some awesome "How To" articles? Back in the day everyone could do everything themselves.

Check Out This Moose's Majestic Photobomb

Without GoPros or digital cameras, shots like this were a much rarer occurrence.

We Talked To Mickey Mantle About Wood, Leather, and Dirt

The aging titan was having some problems back in 1965, but he was still an American hero on the diamond.

Is Gatorade Better Than Water? We Put It To The Test.

The new electrolyte drink was created in 1965 when the Gator doctor saw that the Florida players weren't really urinating much post-game. After some sweat tests, the sweet lemon-lime was developed.

The New Canon Pellix Brings Light Metering To The SLR

The 5D Mark III of yesteryear.

Flying Through The Sh!t: An Interview with A Huey Pilot

Our boys were up to their necks in it.

Everything You Need To Know About Ford's New Mustang

The Mustang's second year was quite a good vintage.

Engines: Sometimes Bigger IS Better

Remember that Enzo Ferrari quote? "Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines." Back in 1965 we'd have agreed for sure.

Strumming The Gibson J-160

This was the height of guitar innovation. We'd have had the finger on that pulse.


We Tried LSD...For Science

The Beatles' dentist gave them all acid in their tea. It was still legal, so of course we would have tried it.

Instagram Caption: Liberty and justice for all at the polling place

Build Your Own Walkie-Talkie

Everyone could solder then. Everyone had a work bench. Everyone had calluses. What happened?

Instagram Caption: Another day at the office for the Stones

James Bond's Breitling Top Time Geiger Counter

We would have been sending so many Q-Branch suggestions to Cubby Broccoli.

15 Things You Need To Bike Through Winter

There may not have been a bike boom going on, but we'd still be getting that workout in.

We Tried To Build A DIY Jetpack...and Failed

We now know how hard this is to do—it's been 50 years since we saw it in Thunderball and it still isn't in stores—so we'd have tried to do our own.


Ethan Wolff-Mann is an editor at Supercompressor. He used to wish he was around for the 1960s, but he heard that was simply "Golden Age Thinking." Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.