Sociology is the study of society, and it is a cool field because you learn knowledge about the world. This information helps understand how society operates. Compared to psychology, sociology is similar but prefers to study groups over individuals. And, human behavior of groups is wildly interesting.
During this semester, I took a Soc 100 class. While there is other information out there that is much more important about the framework of society, below are seven random yet interesting fun facts of information.
1. Before World War II, baby boys wore pink and girls wore blue.
Pink was considered a strong color while blue was considered delicate and dainty.
2. Five states do not have their own hate crime laws.
3. There was a Dancing Plague in Europe.
This phenomenon spanned centuries and consisted of "dancing mania."
4. Elvis Presley had a federal agents badge.
The badge for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs was given to him by President Richard Nixon after he expressed his interest and patriotism.
5. There is a glass escalator for men.
Unlike the glass ceiling for women that prevents them from rising to positions of power, there is a glass escalator. This is the rapid promotion of men over women regardless of qualifications in typically female-dominated occupations.
6. Project MKUltra was a CIA mind control program that operated from the 1950s to 70s.
7. Social experiments are done to observe people's reactions to a breaking of a social norm.
These are called breaching experiments. For example, if you stand backward in an elevator, eat with your hands, or stand and talk too closely to someone, people may give you weird looks. This is because you are breaking socially accepted rules which makes people uncomfortable.
