In 1946 - the year Bhumibol Adulyadej became king of Thailand - the second world war had just ended, the first computer was still a work in progress and people were queuing outside cinemas to see Olivia de Havilland in To Each His Own.
Thaksin Shinawatra - the outgoing prime minister who met the king this week at the height of Thailand's political crisis - wasn't even born.
It remains unclear whether the king intervened as Mr Thaksin announced plans to step aside once parliament opens. Democrats led by Abhisit Vejjajiva boycotted last Sunday's election but now face being shut out of a parliament dominated by Thai Rak Thai, the party Mr Thaksin still heads.
In the tense weeks ahead, the king's immense moral authority will be the one constant riding above Thailand's tumultuous political development, as it has for decades.
On June 9, it will be 60 years since King Bhumibol ascended to the throne - he is the longest-serving constitutional monarch in modern history, and almost certainly the most revered. The celebrations are expected to be one of the biggest gatherings of international royalty in years.
His nation has changed almost beyond recognition in that time, enduring booms and busts on the way to becoming a commercialised, developing nation. Thailand found itself at the epicentre of the cold war for much of that time as Indochina became engulfed in conflict and the dark years of its aftermath.
Politically, Thailand's road has been a long one. An evolving democracy has been forged out of 17 military coups, many of them violent. Some leaders have proved corrupt on a grand scale, stripping once extensive forests and natural resources for their own ends.