Nov 4
Eisenhower Elected President
Dwight D. Eisenhower won a landslide victory over Adlai Stevenson with 55% of the vote. 'I Like Ike' became the most famous campaign slogan in American politics.
🇺🇸United States · 50s
I Like Ike
Eisenhower wins, hydrogen bombs, and Singin' in the Rain.
What happened
5 milestones of 1952
Nov 1
First Hydrogen Bomb Test (Ivy Mike)
The US detonated the first thermonuclear device at Enewetak Atoll. The 10.4-megaton blast vaporized an entire island. The arms race entered a terrifying new phase.
nuclear weapons
Summer
Polio Epidemic Peaks
The worst polio outbreak in US history struck 57,628 people, killing 3,145 and paralyzing 21,269. Parents kept children indoors all summer. Salk's vaccine was still a year away.
epidemic
Jan 14
Today Show Premieres on NBC
Dave Garroway launched the Today show, inventing the morning news format. J. Fred Muggs the chimpanzee became the unlikely breakout star.
Apr 30
Mr. Potato Head Becomes First Toy Advertised on TV
Hasbro's Mr. Potato Head became the first toy marketed directly to children on television. Over one million sold in the first year. The age of TV advertising to kids had begun.
What was playing
70% local · 30% international
What was in cinemas
The Greatest Show on Earth
Cecil B. DeMille — Won Best Picture. The circus spectacle was the year's biggest box office draw.
Singin' in the Rain
Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly — Now considered the greatest movie musical ever made.
High Noon
Fred Zinnemann — Gary Cooper stood alone. A Western allegory for McCarthyism.
The Quiet Man
John Ford — John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in Ford's love letter to Ireland.
Ivanhoe
Richard Thorpe — Robert Taylor in MGM's Technicolor medieval adventure.
What was on TV
I Love Lucy
1951-1957 — Dominated ratings. Lucy's pregnancy became a national event.
Today
1952-present — Invented the morning show format. Still on the air.
Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
1952-1966 — The Nelson family became America's ideal household.
Dragnet
1951-1959 — Jack Webb's deadpan detective was must-see TV.
American Bandstand
1952-1989 — Started as a local Philadelphia show before going national.
How much things cost
Currency: USD
Gallon of milk$0.96
Gallon of gas$0.27
New house (median)$9,050
New car (average)$1,700
Loaf of bread$0.16
Movie ticket$0.60
Inflation: 1.9%
Inflation cooled sharply from 1951's Korean War spike. The post-war suburban boom was in full swing.
Then vs. Now
Inflation-adjusted values
Gallon of milkBLS
1952 (USD)
$0.96
→
Today's value ($)
--
Gallon of gasEIA
1952 (USD)
$0.27
→
Today's value ($)
--
New house (median)Census Bureau
1952 (USD)
$9,050
→
Today's value ($)
--
New car (average)BLS
1952 (USD)
$1,700
→
Today's value ($)
--
Loaf of breadBLS
1952 (USD)
$0.16
→
Today's value ($)
--
Movie ticketNATO
1952 (USD)
$0.60
→
Today's value ($)
--
Technology
UNIVAC predicts election
CBS used UNIVAC to correctly predict Eisenhower's landslide on election night.
Hydrogen bomb
The US tested the first thermonuclear device, 700 times more powerful than Hiroshima.
Sony pocket transistor radio
Sony released one of the first transistor radios in Japan, presaging the portable electronics age.
First bar code patent
Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver patented the bar code — decades before it became ubiquitous.
Mr. Potato Head
The first toy advertised on TV launched the era of children's television marketing.
Pop Culture
Fashion
Poodle skirtsCrew cuts for menCapri pants emerging
Slang
Dreamboat— Very attractive person
Daddio— Cool guy, man
Made in the shade— Guaranteed success
Behavior
- Suburban living became the American ideal with Levittown-style developments
- TV sets in half of American homes — up from 9% in 1950
- McCarthyism and loyalty oaths gripped government and Hollywood
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