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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. |