Guess the year #1
Four plain facts from one autumn in American homes point to a single year.
A first-class stamp for an ordinary letter cost three cents at any post office in the country.
The first factory-made transistor radio went on sale in New York and Los Angeles for $49.95, in colors like mandarin red.
Father Knows Best, a family comedy set in a town called Springfield, premiered on CBS television on October 3.
Disneyland, a new Wednesday-evening series on ABC, premiered on October 27 with teasers for a theme park still to come.
With Halloween just around the corner, that last premiere landed in this same late-October week. Which year is it?
Show the answer
Answer: 1954. The giveaways are the first transistor radio sold in stores and the TV premieres of Father Knows Best on CBS and Disneyland on ABC that October. The three-cent stamp fits too.
Sources:
- https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/domestic-letter-rates-since-1863.pdf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regency_TR-1
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Knows_Best
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_anthology_television_series
Guess the year #2
These four snapshots of everyday American life all come from the same year, and I think they'll bring back some memories for you.
A brand-new theme park built on old orange groves in California just opened, and far more people showed up than were invited.
Kids are racing home after school to catch the brand-new Mickey Mouse Club on TV.
The fanciest new TV sets come with a wireless gadget that changes the channel with a beam of light, so you never leave your chair.
Mailing a letter to Grandma costs you just three cents for the stamp.
With Halloween next week, it feels like a good time for a little look back. What year do you think it is?
Show the answer
Answer: 1955. Disneyland opened on old orange groves in Anaheim that July, and The Mickey Mouse Club first aired on ABC that October. Zenith's light-beam Flash-Matic remote was new that year too, while the stamp still cost three cents.
Sources:
- https://projects.voanews.com/newsletter-archive/day-2019-07-17/
- https://ebsco.com/research-starters/arts-and-entertainment/mickey-mouse-club-tv
- https://www.hagley.org/research/news/hagley-vault/you-have-see-it-believe-it
- https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/domestic-letter-rates-since-1863.pdf
