Between 1218 and 1260, you couldn’t set foot outside your house between Peking and Prague without having a Mongol horde sweep past and lop your ears off while flaying your grandparents and eating your dog, all without dismounting. By moving quickly, travelling in large packs and placing important people in highly visible positions of authority, the Mongols created a daunting illusion of ubiquity and numerical superiority.

The same situation prevails with Baby Boomers. While it may be true that tie-dyed, hemp-toking countercultural hipsters were never an absolute majority of Boomers, it certainly seemed like it at the time.

Joe Queenan, Balsamic Dreams (2001)