In the early 70s, my dad and his friend were sitting around and decided to choose the most ridiculous word they could think of to replace other words like far-out or groovy. So, they started saying awesome all the time. In fact, they were friends with a Boston radio DJ and told him about their new word usage, and he started saying awesome on the radio. I am not saying they are responsible, but I will say that it is a possibility. I am so sorry.