Quick Facts From 1953

MAJOR EVENTS:

• Nikita Khrushchev wins power struggle in Soviet Union after the death of Josef Stalin
• Convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed
• Korean armistice signed
• U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now Health and Human Services) created
• Soviet Union detonates its first hydrogen bomb

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

• President Eisenhower ends all wage, salary and price controls
• Growth of the buy now pay later mentality

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:

• U.S. Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager sets speed record in X-1 rocket plane
• An expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary is the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest
• James Watson and Francis Crick determine the structure of DNA
• Alfred Kinsey publishes Sexual Behavior in the Human Female
• First clear evidence linking lung cancer to cigarette smoking

SPORTS:

• World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn, 4-2 (fifth consecutive win)
• St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore to become the Orioles
• Boston Braves move to Milwaukee
• US Supreme Court rules (7-2) baseball is a sport not a business

• World Series Champions: New York Yankees | NFL Champions: Detroit Lions

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT:

• Movies: Roman Holiday, From Here to Eternity, The Robe (first major motion picture filmed in wide-screen CinemaScope)
• Songs: Doggie in the Window, I Believe, Stranger in Paradise, I Love Paris
• TV Shows: Twenty Questions, Red Skelton Show, GE Theatre, Make Room for Dauly
• Books: Casino Royale, Ian Fleming; Battle Cry, Leon Uris

EVERYDAY LIFE:

• TV Guide debuts; on the cover of the first issue are Lucille Ball and her newborn son, Desi Arnaz IV
• The first color television sets appear selling for $1,175
• Transistor radios start to appear for sale

FUN FACTS:

• Pierce Brosnan, Tim Allen, and Hulk Hogan were born

Miss America: Neva Langley (Macon, GA)

Miss USA: Myrna Hansen (Illnois)

Fashion Icons and Movie Stars: Joan Davis, Doris Day, Anita Ekberg, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Audrey Hepburn, Jennifer Jones, Grace Kelly, Audrey Meadows, Marilyn Monroe, Julie Newmar, Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner

"The Quotes":

"You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent" - Pepsodent toothpaste

"Shane. Shane. Come back!" - Brandon De Wilde, in Shane

"Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't" - Peter Paul Mounds/Almond Joy

1953 Pop Culture History

• The Coppertone Girl was introduced to the American public. It is probably the most famous 'butt crack' of all time.
• Sir Winston Churchill won a Nobel Prize, but it was in Literature, not Peace.
• Black leather Jacket and Motorcycle sales reached new heights after the release of 1953's "The Wild One" starring Marlon Brando.
• The word "frenemies" dates as far back as 1953, when it appeared in print referring to US/Soviet relations.
• First musical synthesizer was invented by RCA.
• The first issue of Playboy in December 1953 was undated, because Hugh Hefner was not sure if there would be a second issue.
• Soviet scientists first observed that unpeeling a roll of Scorch Tape in a vacuum produces X-rays.
• Coca Cola attempted to persuade the US Treasury to mint a 7.5 cent coin; a can of Coke had been a nickel since 1886 and needed to be raised due to inflation, but they felt a dime was too much.
• The TV dinner was born.  Swanson had 260 tons of leftover turkey from Thanksgiving and didn't know how to get rid of it. They asked their workers for ideas, and one man thought they should package it in individual trays with sides and freeze it. 
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Firsts & Biggest Christmas Gifts

Scrabble, Mrs Potato Head, Wiffle Ball invented, Matchbox

1953/54 Biggest Television Shows:

1. I Love Lucy (CBS)
2. Dragnet (NBC)
3. Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (CBS)
4. You Bet Your Life (NBC)
5. The Milton Berle Show (NBC)
6. Arthur Godfrey and his Friends (CBS)
7. Ford Theatre (NBC)
8. The Jackie Gleason Show ((CBS)
9. Fireside Theatre (NBC)
10. The Colgate Comedy Hour (NBC)

Popular Music Artists:

The Biggest Pop Artists of 1953 include
Ames Brothers, B.B. King, The Clovers, Dean Martin, The Dominoes, Eddie Fisher, Frank Sinatra, Frankie Laine, Hilltoppers, Joe Turner, Joni James, Kay Starr, Les Baxter, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Nat 'King' Cole, The Orioles, Patti Page, Percy Faith, Perry Como, Ruth Brown, Stan Freberg, Teresa Brewer, Tony Bennett

Number One Hits of 1953:

December 27, 1952 - January 9, 1953: Jimmy Boyd - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
January 10, 1953 - February 13, 1953: Perry Como - Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes
February 14, 1953 - March 20, 1953: Teresa Brewer - Till I Waltz Again With You
March 21, 1953 - May 15, 1953: Patti Page - The Doggie In The Window
May 16, 1953 - July 24, 1953: Percy Faith - The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart)
July 25, 1953 - August 7, 1953: Eddie Fisher - I'm Walking Behind You
August 8, 1953 - October 9, 1953: Les Paul and Mary Ford - Vaya Con Dios (May God Be With You)
October 10, 1953 - November 20, 1953: Stan Freberg - St. George And The Dragonet
November 21, 1953 - January 1, 1954: Tony Bennett - Rags To Riches

Popular Movies:

Abbot and Costello meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr, Hyde, The Band Wagon, Beat the Devil, The Bigamist, The Big Heat, From Here to Eternity, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, House of Wax, I Confess, Julious Caesar, The Naked Spur, Niagra, Peter Pan, Pickup on South Street, The Robe, Roman Holiday, Shane, Stalag 17, The War of the Worlds, The Wild One