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| US PRESIDENT | Dwight "I Like IKE" D. Eisenhower |
| COLD WAR | Nikita Khrushchev |
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| ECONOMICS | |
| NEW HOME | $11,700 |
| NEW CAR | $2,050 |
| AVERAGE INCOME (Annual) | $4,450 |
| MINIMUM WAGE (Hour) | $1.00 |
| GAS (Gal) | $0.22 |
| MILK (Gal) | $0.97 |
| BREAD (Loaf) | $0.18 |
| POSTAGE STAMP | $0.03 |
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| FILM | |
| GIANT | Rock Hudson |
| GUYS & DOLLS | Frank Sinatra |
| THE KING AND I | Yul Brynner |
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| TELEVISION | |
| • Bert Parks begins hosting the Miss America Pageant, |
| ...now televised direct to your living room. |
| • Dick Clark makes his 1st appearance as host of American Bandstand. |
| • The Sitcom is first introduced to US network broadcast television. |
| • Charles Van Doren unseats long-running champion Herbert Stempel |
| ... on the Quiz Show Twenty-One. |
| AM KIDS SHOWS | The Howdy Doody Hour |
| The Mickey Mouse Club |
| AFTERNOON KIDS SHOWS | Lassie |
| Rin Tin Tin |
| DAYTIME GAME SHOWS | The Price is Right |
| DAYTIME SOAPS | As the World Turns |
| YOUNG ADULT | American Bandstand |
| SITCOMS | I Love Lucy |
| The Honeymooners |
| PRIMETIME DRAMA | The Adventures of Superman |
| Dragnet |
| Gunsmoke |
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| MUSIC | |
| • Elvis Presley releases his first hit, Heartbreak Hotel, |
| …and makes his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. |
| • Rock & Roll Dance Craze sweeps the nation. |
| CHUCK BERRY | Twist |
| ELVIS PRESLEY | Heatbreak Hotel |
| LERRY LEE LEWIS | Great Balls of Fire |
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| LITERATURE | |
| KIDS | Curious George |
| Dr. Seuss |
| Old Yeller |
| Nancy Drew |
| BEATNIK | Howl (Allen Ginsberg) |
| On the Road (Jack Kerouac) |
| NON CONFORMIST | Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) |
| Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) |
| FICTION | James Bond |
| PULITZER | Profiles in Courage (JFK) |
| NON-FICTION | Diary of Anne Frank |
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| POP CULTURE | |
| • Play-Doh first demonstrated for children. |
| • Mr Potato Head makes his first appearance. |
| • Barbie makes her debut on the toy market. |
| • Dear Abbey first appears in column syndicate |
| FASHION TRENDS | Letter Jackets |
| Bowling Shirts |
| Poodle Skirts |
| Davy Crockett Hats |
| FADS | Ant Farms |
| Fuzzy Dice |
| TOYS | Scrabble |
| Yahtzee |
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| TECHNOLOGY | |
| IBM | 1st 5MB Hard Disc |
| SPUTNIK | 1st Satellite to orbit Earth |
| BETTE NESMITH GRAHAM | White-Out |
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| MOMENTS IN HISTORY | |
| • University of Alabama refuses admittance to, |
| …and then expels first black student accepted. |
| • Nat King Cole attacked by whites on stage of Birmingham theater. |
| • Alabama Bus segregation laws declared illegal by US Supreme Court. |
| • US tests 1st airborne hydrogen bomb |
| • Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco. |
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