Caitie Harris

1940-1949

The first half of this decade was taken up by World War Two which ended on 2 September 1945. Some of the world leaders in this decade consisted of Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and JosephStalin. The picture to the right shows them in1945.Hitler, who was also in power during the first half ofthe decade, died on 30 April 1945.Leader of Indian Independence movement Mahatma Ghandi also died in this decade on 30 January.

What happened?

• The Jeep

• The Frisbee

• The slinky

• The microwave

• Velcro

Inventions

Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy duo that were extremely popular around the time of WW2. Their most known song is RunRabbit Run (to listen, click the imageto the right).

Popular Music: Flanagan and Allen

On the farm, every FridayOn the farm, it's rabbit pie day.So, every Friday that ever comes along,I get up early and sing this little songRun rabbit – run rabbit – Run! Run! Run!Run rabbit – run rabbit – Run! Run! Run!Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!Goes the farmer's gun.Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run.Run rabbit – run rabbit – Run! Run! Run!Don't give the farmer his fun! Fun! Fun!He'll get by Without his rabbit pieSo run rabbit – run rabbit – Run! Run! Run! The lyrics were used as a defiant dig at the

allegedly ineffectual Luftwaffe. On 13 November 1939, soon after the outbreak of the Second World War and also soon after the song was premiered, Germany launched its first air raid on Britain, on flying boats that were sheltering in Sullom Voe, Shetland. Two rabbits were supposedly killed by a bomb drop, although it is suggested that they were in fact procured from a butchers' shop and used for publicity purposes.

loo, n.4 There are several hints of the term for a water closet being around since the 1920s, such as Joyce’s line in the 1922 Ulysses, “O yes, mon loup. How much cost? Waterloo. Watercloset.” But the first unambiguous use of loo in this sense is from Nancy Mitford’s 1940 Pigeon Pie, “In the night when you want to go to the loo.”

mayo, n.3 This inevitable clipping of mayonnaise is first recorded in 1940.

nitty-gritty, n. and adj. This reduplicative term got its start in African-American speech, and is first recorded by the mainstream press by the Pittsburgh Courier in coverage of a 1940 Joe Louis fight.

bollocks, int. This British interjection is first recorded in 1940. Of course, like most such expressions it is undoubtedly older than the date it first appears in print.

shazam, int. The interjection originally appears in Whiz Comics #2 with the appearance of the superhero Captain Marvel. By saying the word, which is an acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury, boy Billy Batson transforms himself into the hero.

WORDS INVENTED IN 1940’s

Although Anne Frank died in 1945, her diary was published in 1947. However it wasn’t published in English until 1950’s.

Here is a list of entertainers in the 1940’s

Literature & Entertainment.

Here is a list of musicians in the 1940’s