Beloit College's Mindset List® for the Class of 2010

Each August, the faculty of Beloit College releases its Mindset List, a list of cultural touchstones which typify the world of the average American 18-year-old. The list for the Class of 2010 includes 75 items that are worth perusing. Here are a few of the highlights:

• The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.
• For most of their lives, major U.S. airlines have been bankrupt.
• They have grown up getting lost in "big boxes" (i.e., Wal*Marts).
• There has always been only one Germany.
• They have never heard anyone actually "ring it up" on a cash register.
• "Google" has always been a verb.
• Text messaging is their email.
• Mr. Rogers, not Walter Cronkite, has always been the most trusted man in America.
• They grew up in mini-vans.
  
• Reality shows have always been on television.