As the release of the 1940 US Census draws near, I was curious to see what was new or popular for my grandparents in the 40s. It’s quite fascinating to look into the past and realize these same things have thrived through the generations and are still popular or widely-recognized today.
Here are a few of my favorite things from the 40s:
One of my all-time favorite Disney movies is Dumbo, which was released in 1941. According to Wikipedia, Dumbo was “the most financially successful Disney film of the 40s.”
Slinky® was invented in 1943 by Richard James, although originally not as a toy. Richard and his wife Betty saw potential for this walking spring and it was introduced as a toy in 1945 at Gimbel’s Department Store.
Who knew that 70 years later, Casablanca (1942) would be a favored movie among both the older and younger generation. It’s one of those classic movies that will live on forever.
Arthur Miller’s, Death of a Salesman, is one of my favorite plays. It debuted at the Morosco Theatre on 10 February 1949, yielding several Tony Awards including Best Play and the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Another of my favorite plays, The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, was also a product of the 1940s.
In 1946, Earl Silas Tupper invented, yep, Tupperware®. Still popular after 65 years, I’d even be willing to bet that we all have at least one Tupperware product in our home. Heck, I still have products from the 70s and 80s!
You can help preserve the 1940s by participating in the 1940 US Census Community Project.
today we don’t have ration books as we did in the 40s.