yarrr, ye scurvy boy-king, halt ye whinin'

Ever since 1947, when its true extent became apparent, the baby boom has been like a piglet slowly passing through a python. At each stage in the life of the postwar generation, its effect has been rudely apparent. More births at first meant more beds in maternity wards, more obstetricians, more midwives. Then came a boom in the toy industry, followed by a demand for more primary schools. Suddenly there had to be more Little League and soccer teams, more Brownie and Scout troops. In the 1960s, more universities were needed. Not long after the boom ended, the boomers started having babies, thus producing another blip. Eventually, there will have to be more pension administrators and assisted-living centres, the halls of which will echo with Dylan's "Forever Young."

from "The Sixties Unplugged" by Gerard J. De Groot