1965: The divorce rate stood at 2.5% per 1,000 people, down from its high after World War n but up from a lower rate in 1960. The divorce rate had risen from 0.9% in 1910 and had jumped dramatically during the second World War to 3.5% in 1945, peaking in 1946 after the war had ended but then dipping steadily to 2.2% in 1960.

Today: The divorce rate stands at around 4.6% per 1,000 people, down from its all-time high of 5.3% m 1981. The rates had risen steadily from 1965 and into the 1970s before peaking and starting another decline in the mid 1980s.

1965: The issue of racial prejudice dominated the news and the social consciences of the American people, but there was no evidence of black characters in the lives of Oscar, Felix, or their poker-playing buddies. The issues of gender consciousness and homophobia were much less prominent, and, in this social climate, few, if any, considered it...