Results: The 1950s -- The "Boom"
Published on 07/16/2020
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1.
1.
The 1950s was a decade marked by the post-World War II boom, the dawn of the Cold War and the Civil Rights movement in the United States. Historians use the word "boom" to describe a lot of things about the 1950s: the booming economy, the booming suburbs and most of all the so-called "baby boom." This boom began in 1946, when a record number of babies–3.4 million–were born in the United States. About 4 million babies were born each year during the 1950s. In all, by the time the boom finally tapered off in 1964, there were almost 77 million "baby boomers." Were you born in the 1950s and one of these baby boomers?
Yes I was
28%
682 votes
Yes, but born before the 1950s (1946 to 1949)
10%
254 votes
Yes , born after the 1950s (until 1964)
15%
368 votes
Not considered a "baby boomer"
47%
1143 votes
2.
2.
Of course the 50s were so much more than just "baby booms", suburbs and economic growth. Which of these events did you know took place in the 50s?
In 1950, famous physicist Albert Einstein warns the world that nuclear war would lead to mutual destruction. That year, the United States begins the development and production of the hydrogen bomb.
18%
450 votes
In 1951, the United States ratifies the 22nd amendment, limiting a president to two terms
14%
345 votes
Puerto Rico is named as a self-governing commonwealth of the U.S. in 1952
11%
270 votes
Jonas Salk develops the first polio vaccine, in 1953, and in 1956, Albert Sabin creates the oral polio vaccine to replace the Salk vaccine.
27%
659 votes
In 1954, U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy is censured by the Senate, ending his four year long hunt for Communists within the United States government.
18%
434 votes
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that racial segregation is unconstitutional in public schools in their unanimous decision of Brown v. Board of Education of 1954.
24%
586 votes
In 1955 Rosa Parks is arrested in Alabama after she refuses to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, sparking the Civil Rights Movement
38%
925 votes
The USSR successfully launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, in 1957. They also launched Sputnik 2 later in the year, a satellite that carried the first animal into space.
30%
725 votes
In 1957, nine African-American student enroll at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas and are met with resistance by protesters and the state's governor. Federal troops end up escorting the students into the school at the command of President Eisenhower.
23%
571 votes
The Cuban revolution ends in 1959 and Fidel Castro comes to power, creating the first Communist nation in the West
24%
577 votes
All
13%
316 votes
None
37%
912 votes
Other (please specify)
0%
8 votes
3.
3.
How many of these pop culture moments did you know happened in the 50s?
The Diner's Club begins issuing the first credit cards in 1950
5%
124 votes
DJ Alan Freed coins the term "Rock n' Roll" in 1951, ostensibly to avoid the stigma attached to R&B and so called race music, Freed opened the door to white acceptance of black music, eschewing white cover versions in favor of the R&B originals.
15%
357 votes
The first issue of the comedy-driven MAD magazine is published in 1952.
17%
417 votes
In 1954, Frozen TV Dinners are introduced by Swanson.
27%
657 votes
The popular musician Elvis Presley has his first hit song, "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956.
37%
917 votes
The popular children's toy, the Hula-Hoop, is created by Wham-O in 1958.
28%
674 votes
All
11%
264 votes
None
36%
883 votes
On October 15, 1951, I Love Lucy debuts. In the first season, the show reaches over 10 million viewers.
36%
874 votes
It's one of the most famous weddings of all time. On April 19, 1956, Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco, retiring from her acting career.
28%
697 votes
Other (please specify)
0%
6 votes
4.
4.
Here are some of the stranger events that came out of the 50s. Which ones have you heard about?
In 1951, the U.S. Army launched a cost-saving program that it called Operation Cost-Consciousness. It involved putting price tags on all the equipment so that the soldiers would be inspired to use it more "wisely and well." Reportedly, the tactic did result in reduced costs, but it was nevertheless abandoned within a year
3%
76 votes
An American blanket manufacturer debuted a lead-lined "atom blanket" (price: $49.50) in 1954, that it promised would shield those hiding beneath it from atomic radiation, fire, and shock 10 miles from the blast center of an A-bomb. Civil-defense experts, however, warned that basement shelters were more effective.
4%
110 votes
In 1955, the CIA got into the movie business when it covertly produced an animated version of George Orwell's novel Animal Farm, which became the first animated feature film released in the UK. However, the agency slightly altered the storyline. In the book, the farm animals end up unable to tell the difference between their new rulers, the tyrannical pigs, and the previous ones, the exploitative humans. But in the film, the humans were removed in order to make the message more obviously anti-Communist by avoiding any possible comparison between capitalist humans and Communist pigs.
7%
181 votes
Phone-booth stuffing first gained popularity outside the US. But once it arrived stateside, in spring 1959, kids couldn't help but join in. People would cram their bodies into the narrow spaces, while some adopted other methods, such as stacking themselves horizontally. The world record for phone-booth stuffing came in March 1959, when 25 people in South Africa piled into a booth. Incidentally, the phone rang during the stunt, but no one could answer it. The trend died by the end of 1959.
22%
534 votes
All
7%
181 votes
None
64%
1559 votes
Other (please specify)
0%
9 votes
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