1950s Pop History – 1956

Note: Music History and Song Lists for 1956 are located HERE

	Pepsodent inaugurates “You’ll wonder where the yellow went” ad campaign
	The U.S. Department of Agriculture formulates the four basic food groups. (I’m sure there would have been five – but Chicken McNuggets hadn’t been invented yet.)
	Federal minimum wage rises to $1.
	At a Fourth of July family barbecue, Milton Levine dreams up the idea for the first Ant Farm, complete with live ants
	Yahtzee is born!
	Nate Sherman of Chicago establishes Midas and introduces the muffler guarantee – Hugh Landrum signs agreement to open first Midas Muffler shop in Macon, Georgia.
	The Andrea Doria sinks
	200,000 Soviet troops and tanks crush anti-Communist uprisings in Hungary
	Budweiser Brewery introduces Busch beer
	As the World Turns and Edge of Night premiere.
	On the Air! You’d find 2,790 AM radio, 540 FM radio and 442 TV Stations.
	Los Alamos Laboratory discovers the neutrino, an atomic particle with no electric charge.
	Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco in a highly publicized Monte Carlo wedding on April 19.
	At a reception in the Kremlin, Soviet premier Nikita Khruschev tells ambassadors from the West, “History is on our side. We will bury you!”
	A busy year for Nikita – The Soviet Union sends troops and tanks to occupy Hungary to put down anti-Soviet protests. Why? Hungary is the best place from which to launch mid-range ballistic missiles and Soviets can’t afford to let the natives think independence.
	Choosy mothers can now choose – Jif Peanut Butter! Some fun facts!
	Dash laundry detergent – gets clothes cleaner than any other product especially made for automatic washers!
	President Eisenhower (R) is re-elected defeating Adlai E Stevenson (D).
	And the winner is…Oscar stuff.
	Britain abolishes death penality.
	Certs, the first candy breath mint, is introduced.
	Anti-protons detected in the atmosphere.

	In Sports…
	Admiral George Dufek, as part of Operation Deep Freeze, is the first American to land an airplane at the South Pole.
	My Fair Lady opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York and enjoyed a run of 2,717 performances over nine years. The original production featured Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins and Julie Andrews as Eliza. Buy on Movie DVD
	Wizard of Oz first aired on TV. Buy on Movie DVD
	Elvis Presley makes his television debut on CBS Dorsey Brothers’ Stage Show. The Fifties Web Elvis Pages
	The Dow Jones Industrial Average marks a new high – 500.24 points.
	The after-tax income of the average American is $1700, up $63 from 1955. The average weekly take-home for a worker with three dependents is $74.04.
	Albert Woolson, the last Union soldier of the Civil War dies at age 109. The last Confederate soldier, Walter Williams will die in 1959.
	And while we’re on passings…Samuel J. Seymour , the last eyewitness to the death of Abraham Lincoln dies.
	Marilyn Monroe marries Arthur Miller.
	Finally, a law is passed allowing the FBI to enter a kidnapping case 24 hours after the abduction. Before, it was local matter.
	A dollar buys only as much food in 1956 as 41¢ bought in 1939.
	A big year as momentum builds in the quest for Civil Rights.
	The first transatlantic telephone cable goes into operation (Newfoundland-Scotland)
	Americans exported 700 million cases of canned goods. And no doubt called it “cuisine.”
	The gross national product is $408 billion.
	650,000 US steel workers go on strike.
	Unemployment is 4.2%