High on the list of things that I worry about regularly is that kids today, in the age of iPods and Tivo, are growing up without sharing cultural experiences with their peers. For me, the TV shows we all watched and the music we all listened to defines so much of what it was to grow up in northern New Jersey in the 1980's and 90's. (For whatever reason, two cultural touchstones pop into my head every time I worry about this: (1) the radio station Z100; and (2) a song they played over and over every December called "Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey".)

The Christian Science Monitor is similarly worried, on a national scale, and has put together a list of ten still widely-shared cultural experiences. Some make a lot of sense, like the Super Bowl and Harry Potter. But number 10 suprised me -- U2. I have to wonder if they made it on just because of their music or because Bono seems to be here and there and everywhere these days. Still, they rock, so no harm in that. (via Jason Kottke)