You can wrap, among other things, the 70's OPEC wars, 79 Iranian revolution, 9/11 and the rise of Trump in a nice tiny bow and create a coarsely accurate depiction of history over those 45 years. You can even have a little side story about things like the 1985 "We Are the World" charity song without missing a beat.
In the long run, things like Facebook and Snapchat will probably be as relevant and well-known as say, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Never heard of it? It's a charter member of the Dow Jones Transportation Average (the predecessor to the DJIA) and an important company from the 1800s ...
[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elliott-negin/think-todays-ref...