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1950s ‑ Stories

The 1950s were a decade marked by the post-World War II boom, the dawn of the Cold War and the civil rights movement in the United States. At this time the U.S. economy was booming and more (mostly white) Americans could afford new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods. But the 1950s also saw great conflict and division, from the nascent civil rights movement to the crusade against communism at home and abroad in the Korean War.

CBS's Presper Eckert and Walter Cronkite, Election Night, 1952.

The Year Election Night First Became a TV Event

In 1952, news stations combined two new technologies—the TV and the computer—to forever transform how voters experience election night.

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Korean War Veterans Memorial

Why Are There 19 Statues in the Korean War Memorial?

The 19 steel statues in the Korean War Memorial represent both a literal, and symbolic tribute to those who fought in ‘America’s Forgotten War.’

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Route 66: The Iconic Highway’s Rise and Decline

The construction of the interstate highway system in the mid‑1950s forever changed the road once known as “America’s Main Street.”

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Tupperware Parties: Suburban Women’s Plastic Path to Empowerment

The parties swept the nation during the 1950s and 1960s—and were more than they seemed.

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Line of people at Rationing Board, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 1943.

Inflation: 6 Times Americans Felt the Pinch

Wars, oil crises and a pandemic have all played a part in driving up inflation over the past century in the United States.

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This shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion aircraft is seen as it searches for missing MH370.

The Unsolved Mysteries of 8 Missing Passenger Flights

A look back at eight times when commercial airliners suffered unexplained catastrophes—and sometimes seemed to vanish into thin air.

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Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio in the judge's chambers where they were married in January 1954.

How Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio Became the Ultimate Power Couple

While Monroe and DiMaggio’s marriage was brief and tumultuous, the world became captivated with the ultimate pairing of sports and cinema royalty.

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Dyatlov Pass incident

The Dyatlov Pass Incident: Why the Hiker Deaths Remain a Mystery

In February 1959, nine hikers were killed while trekking in the Ural Mountains. The Soviet government originally attributed a “compelling natural force” as the cause.

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Teenagers dressed in long prom dresses and suits crowning the prom queen, with streamers radiating behind them like the rays of the sun

How Prom Traditions Have Evolved Through History

Prom wasn’t always about the dress, the limo and the ‘prom‑posals.’

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Boris Pasternak, 1940s.

When the CIA Used ‘Dr. Zhivago’ as a Cold War Weapon

Declassified Cold War‑era documents reveal how the Central Intelligence Agency used the epic novel Dr. Zhivago as a tool to undermine the Soviet Union.

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Who Invented the TV Dinner?

Who Invented the TV Dinner?

It came. It thawed. It conquered. Along the way, the frozen meal in a box had multiple creators.

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When the Polio Vaccine Faced Shortages and Setbacks

How a New Polio Vaccine Faced Shortages and Setbacks

The 1955 announcement of a new vaccine was met by jubilation. But doubts and problems soon followed.

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