Statistics

Population: World – 2.52 billion

U.S. – 152 million

Financial:

U.S. National Debt - $257,357,352,351.04 

Average U.S. Annual Salary - $2,992

Price of a loaf of bread - $0.14

Minimum Wage - $1.00 (as of 1955)

Life Expectancy

Male – 65.6 years

Female – 71.1 years

Divorces – 385,144

Food

1950:

Jell-O Instant Pudding

Dunkin’ Donuts

1952:

Pez

Sugar Frosted Flakes

KFC

1953:

Frozen T.V. Dinners

Food, Con’t.

1954: Trix Burger King McDonalds

1957: Sweet’N Low

1958: Jif Peanut Butter Pizza Hut

Party Snack: Chex Mix

Fashion – Male

Hair Ducktail Cut (Duck Butt, D.A.)

Grease!

Crewcut and Flat-Top

Hats were Essential

Clothing Business – dark brown, charcoal, or black suits

Casual – conservative, “preppy”

Cardigan Sweaters

Pink Clothing (Fad)

Cowboy Look

Fashion – Female

Hair Short, Soft, Curly

Used Curlers, Rollers, Pins, etc.

No Blow Dryers!

“Poodle Cut” was a favorite

Clothing Dressed “smartly” – well groomed and

tailored looks were prized

Jeans (then, called “dungarees”) were

only worn in very casual circumstances

Sailor look was popular in teens

Gloves were part of all proper attire

Fashion – Shoes

Men Wore saddle and regular dress shoes

Women Stiletto heels to be fashionable

Flats for school and daily wear

Makeup

“Peaches and cream” complexion

Foundation applied as liquid or as pressed powder

Eyebrows Usually narrowed

Minimal blush and eye shadow, creating natural look

Dramatic look was OK, especially in evenings

Lipstick Pastels were favored colors, especially in younger women

Music

Notable artists of the time:

Elvis Presley

Bill Haley

“Shake, Rattle, and Roll”

“Rock Around the Clock”

Jerry Lee Lewis

“Great Balls of Fire”

Buddy Holly

“Peggy Sue”

Frank Sinatra

“Love and Marriage”

“I’ve Got the World On a String”

The Rise of Rock and Roll

1950 - - 1952 - - 1954 - - 1956 - - 1958 - - 1960|

________________

1951: 1st rock and roll record released – Ike Turner’s Rocket 88.

1953: Elvis Presley makes first private recordings.

___

1954: Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” is first rock song used in movie soundtrack.

|_____ ______________

1956: “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis; Love Me Tender – his 1st film – is released.

|

1959: Market share of Rock and Roll increases to 42.7% - up from 14.7% In 1955.

Elvis Presley

Born: January 8, 1935Died: August 16, 1977Career took off in 1956 with the release of “Heartbreak Hotel”In the Army from 1958-1960Greatest Hits:

“Heartbreak Hotel” “Love Me Tender” “Hound Dog” “All Shook Up” “Don’t Be Cruel” “Jailhouse Rock”

“The Day the Music Died”

February 3, 1959 23 year-old Buddy Holly, 17 year-old Ritchie Valens, and

28 year-old J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson die in plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa

Referenced to in Don McLean’s 1971 song, “American Pie.”

Fads

3-D Movies

Chlorophyll Believed it eliminated bad smells

Telephone Booth “Cramming” Tried to fit as many people as possible in a telephone booth

25 people is record, set in South Africa

1950 : First Organ Transplant

1951 : Color TV Introduced

1952 : Car Seatbelts Introduced

1953 : DNA Discovered

1954 : Segregation Ruled Illegal in US

1955: McDonalds Corporation Founded

Timeline 1950-1955

Timeline 1956-1959

1956 : Velcro is Introduced

1957 : Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat

1958 : NASA founded

1959 : Fidel Castro becomes Prime Minister of Cuba

What Things Cost

Gasoline …..27 cents/gallon

Bread …………14 cents/loaf

Milk …………82 cents/gallon

Postage Stamp…..…3 cents

Mr. Potato Head

Silly Putty

The Hula Hoop

Play-Doh

Frisbee

Popular Toys

Popular Toys cont’d

Barbie Doll

Slinky

Television

8 million sets in households by 1950

Huge revenues:

Largely due to cigarette advertising and sponsorship

TV Shows

I Love Lucy (CBS – 1951)Lassie (CBS – 1954)Mickey Mouse Club (ABC – 1955)The Honeymooners (CBS – 1955)Leave It to Beaver (CBS – 1957)The Twilight Zone (CBS – 1959)

Satellites

Sputnik I– October 4, 1957 U.S.S.R.

First satellite ever

Unmanned

Followed by Sputnik 2 (November 3,

1957) and Sputnik 3 (May 15, 1958)

and later missions in the 1960s

Explorer I – 1958 United States

Designed by California

Institute of Technology

Advances in Medicine

Polio Vaccine – 1952 Jonas Salk

DNA Structure – 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson

Inventions

Xerox Copy Machine – 1950 Chester Carlton

Videotape – 1952 VERA (Vision Electronic Recording Apparatus)

Frisbee – 1957 Made successful by Wham-O

Pantyhose – 1959

Barbie Dolls – 1959 Named after Ruth Handler’s daughter, Barbara

Produced by Mattel

The Hydrogen Bomb

Test of First Hydrogen Bomb – 1956

Developed by Edward Teller

“Mike”; weighed 82 tons

Over 800 times the power of the

bomb that leveled Hiroshima

Leveled the island of Elugelab in the Eniwetok Atoll, Pacific Ocean, and blew 80 million tons of radioactive

waste into the sky

Politics

Presidents: Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)

Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945

Truman Doctrine

Fight against communism

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)

Ended Korean War

Civil rights

Politics Cont’d

McCarthyism Senator Joseph McCarthy accused the State Department

of having been infiltrated by communists

Blacklisted celebrities

Joseph Welch: “Have you no sense of decency?”

Died in 1957, age 48

StatesAlaska and Hawaii become 49th and 50th states in 1959

Korean War - Overview

On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded United States occupied South Korea in hopes of thwarting America and democracy

President Truman sought to give help to South Korea through the United Nations

Victory by General Douglas MacArthur when he pushed the North Koreans back across the 38th parallel (dividing line between countries)

Ended in 1953

Korean War - Entry

President Truman was under pressure for being too “soft” on Communism

The Truman Doctrine Initiated to stop spread of communism; if President

Truman didn’t act against the communists in Korea, he

would be going back on his word and his beliefs

Korean War - Reaction

Known as “The Forgotten War” or “Unknown War” because it followed WWII and was before the Vietnam War

Changed America’s view of Third World countries Before: Criticized countries trying to help

After: Full support of trying to help those less fortunate

Helped the civil rights movement First time America had fought with an integrated army

Cold War

January 12, 1951 – Federal Civil Defense Administration is established Response to Soviet’s first atomic explosion and Korean War

At first, only had small budget and limited power

After 1958, spending was increased, and civil defense was

made a top priority

By October 25, 1962, there were over 112,000 fallout

shelters providing possible protection for over 60 million

U.S. citizens

Magazines

MAD Magazine (October-November 1952)

The National Enquirer is Reborn (1952)

Playboy Magazine (1953)

TV Guide (April 3, 1953)

Sports Illustrated (August 16, 1954)

Comics

DC Comics revives superheroes “Silver Age of Comic Books”

The Flash – 1956

Peanuts – Charles Schulz (1950)

Dennis the Menace – Hank Ketcham (1951)

The End