Leisure,+Technology,+and+Food+(1940s-1950s)

=Leisure Activities = = The TV World = – Newspapers were not a very important source of information after the tv came along. --The average family watched **4 to 5 hours** of TV a day! – TV projected a bland image of middle-class life --Television became the most effective advertising medium ever invented --Although what the television projected may not have been real, many people felt that they were "eye witnesses" so it must be true. (advertisements, shows, etc.) --In 1954, the black and white televisions became color broadcasts. -- The news broadcasters began showing videos of actual events happening. -- I Love Lucy --The Honeymooners -- Father Knows Best __ Leisure in the 1950s __ --Americans experienced shorter work weeks and more vacation time than ever before. --In 1953 alone Americans spent $30 billion on leisure activities. --Labor-saving devices added more spare time (like microwaves, washers, dryers, refrigerators and stoves were better made and cheaper, coffee machines, and the electric mixer). This gave more leisure time for not only the mother of the house, but even the children. Many cooking books and homemaking books were created and were "big hits" for mothers of the 1950's. --Popular activities included fishing, bowling, hunting and golf. --Americans attended, or watched on T.V., football, baseball and basketball games. Sports became a more popular subject in the 1950's. *More fans than ever attended baseball, football, and basketball games. --People of the 1950s also became avid readers with so much leisure time. __ TV Ads, TV Guides and TV Dinners Expand __ --TV advertising soared from $170 million in 1950 to nearly $2 billion in 1960. --TVGuide was created. They also read mysteries, romance nov- els, and fiction by popular writers such as Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Daphne du Maurier, and J. D. Salinger. Book sales doubled, due in part to a thriving paperback market. The circulation of popular magazines like Reader’s Digest and Sports Illustrated steadily rose, from about 148 million to more than 190 million readers. Sales of comic books also reached a peak in the mid-1950s. 3-D comics and 3-D movies were two of the many fads that mesmerized the nation in the 1950s.
 * Popular Shows **

__**Technology of the 1940's-1950's**__
A Atomic Bomb - 1945 USA by Robert Oppenheimer's team Automation - 1946 USA by Henry Ford Microwave Oven - 1946 USA by Percy L Spencer Mobile Phone - 1947 USA  ﻿ Hologram - 1947 Hungary by Denis Gabor Computer - 1948 England by Freddie William's team Velcro - 1948 Switzerland by George deMestral 45 rpm Record - 1949 USA Credit Card - 1950 USA by Ralph Schneider First oral contraceptive (the Pill) 1951by Luis E. Miramontes Breeder Reactor - 1951 USA Converted Uranium to Plutonium Hydrogen Bomb - 1952 USA by Edward Teller's team Transistor Radio - 1953 USA Texas Instruments Robot - 1954 USA by George C Devol Jr   Solar Cell - 1954 USA Or Photovoltaic cells Atomic Clock - 1955 England Hovercraft - 1955 England by Christopher Cockerell

The late 1940's is when deodorant truly took off. That was the year when Helen Barnett Diserens grafted this new deodorant concept onto technology from ballpoint pens to make roll able deodorant applicators.

__ 40-50’S Food __

THE INVENTION OF THE TV DINNER

1945: Maxson Food System created and manufactured the first complete frozen meal, however, they did not go to the retail market.

1954: Swanson’s popularized the TV dinners.

The dinners consisted of meat, a vegetable, and potatoes. Each had their own separate compartment on a plastic plate. WHAT WAS POPULAR?

Ready-to-eat foods; canned meat, soup, and vegetables; were very common.

Cooks enjoyed combining the products together to create casseroles and other dishes. Some fathers liked to cook on charcoal grills in their back yards. As a result of military research convince foods came about. Foods such as; dehydrated juice, instant coffee, cake mixes, etc.

PB&J became popularized by the military; some people claim that it was actually on the rations list. Because of the high protein in peanut butter, it became a favorite at home as well.

1955: Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald’s in Chicago. “The All American Meal:” $0.15- Hamburger $0.10- Fries $0.20- Shake The meals could be brought out in 25 seconds. Kroc bought the entire franchise and started on of the oldest brand names in America