AUGUST 1, 1939

TUESDAY
1939 Coca-Cola advertising artwork
$1,000 INVESTED IN COKE STOCK (KO) IN 1939
WOULD HAVE MADE YOU $7,875,940 IN THE 2025 DATASET
Min Wage Hourly$0.30
Median Home Price$4,150.00
Gas Price Avg$0.18
Bread Price Avg$0.09
Movie Ticket Avg$0.30
First Class Stamp$0.03
Milk Price Avg$0.55
Top Movies From 1939
Show screen release and event cards
1 Gone with the Wind
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Gone with the Wind
2 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
3 Jesse James
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Jesse James
4 Babes in Arms
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Babes in Arms
5 The Wizard of Oz
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The Wizard of Oz
6 Goodbye, Mr. Chips
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Goodbye, Mr. Chips
7 Dodge City
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Dodge City
8 The Rains Came
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The Rains Came
9 The Women
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The Women
10 Drums Along the Mohawk
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Drums Along the Mohawk
Son of Frankenstein
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Son of Frankenstein
Made for Each Other
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Made for Each Other
Idiot's Delight
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Idiot's Delight
The Oklahoma Kid
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The Oklahoma Kid
Stagecoach
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Stagecoach
Midnight
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Midnight
The Ice Follies of 1939
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The Ice Follies of 1939
The Hound of the Baskervilles
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The Hound of the Baskervilles
They Made Me a Criminal
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They Made Me a Criminal
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
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The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
The Little Princess
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The Little Princess
Union Pacific
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Union Pacific
Gunga Din
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Gunga Din
Only Angels Have Wings
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Only Angels Have Wings
Young Mr. Lincoln
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Young Mr. Lincoln
Confessions of a Nazi Spy
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Confessions of a Nazi Spy
Love Affair
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Love Affair
Beau Geste
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Beau Geste
The Man in the Iron Mask
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The Man in the Iron Mask
Five Came Back
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Five Came Back
Bachelor Mother
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Bachelor Mother
The Three Musketeers
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The Three Musketeers
Dark Victory
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Dark Victory
On Borrowed Time
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On Borrowed Time
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
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Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
Angels with Dirty Faces
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Angels with Dirty Faces
A Christmas Carol
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A Christmas Carol
The Dawn Patrol
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The Dawn Patrol
Listen, Darling
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Listen, Darling
Kentucky
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Kentucky

August 1, 1939 Trivia

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Exact-date daily brief

August 1, 1939

On August 1, 1939, the Boys Club community mourned the loss of five dedicated WPA aides, whose contributions were cut short by the 18-month rule, at a heartfelt dinner where they were honored guests. This event highlighted the str...

Inventions & Breakthroughs of August 1939

Gadgets, lab surprises, odd bets, and future-shocks from this slice of the calendar.

1 Jet-Powered Aircraft
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Jet-Powered Aircraft
2 Helicopter Practical Design
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Helicopter Practical Design
3 Electronic Digital Computer Prototype
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Electronic Digital Computer Prototype
4 FM Radio Broadcasting Service
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FM Radio Broadcasting Service
5 Fluorescent Light Commercialization
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Fluorescent Light Commercialization
6 Color Film (Kodachrome Improvements)
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Color Film (Kodachrome Improvements)
7 Aircraft Radar System
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Aircraft Radar System
8 Remote Control Device
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Remote Control Device
9 Microwave Oven Concept
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Microwave Oven Concept
10 Automatic Fire Sprinkler Improvements
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Automatic Fire Sprinkler Improvements

The Sounds of

Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year

Headlines From August 1, 1939

Full News Archive

  • Headline: WPA Aides Honored at Boys Club Dinner. Impact: The dismissal of these teachers sparked an underground movement of educators who secretly taught 'WPA Survival Skills,' leading to a renaissance of non-traditional education methods that laid the groundwork for today's hipster homeschooling. Fact: The '18-month rule' was likely invented by someone who thought teachers should only be good for a year and a half, like a new car warranty.
  • Headline: Inter-Faith Gathering for Tolerance. Impact: This inter-faith gathering was the butterfly flapping its wings that eventually led to the establishment of 'World Peace Day,' which ironically now involves more fighting over who gets to host the event. Fact: If only more people had listened to Yale educators, we might have avoided TikTok influencers today.
  • Headline: Drama of Lace at World's Fair. Impact: The drama of lace led to an unexpected boom in the fashion industry, which eventually resulted in the infamous 'lace shorts' trend of the late 2000s — a disaster that still haunts us. Fact: Lace has been around for centuries, but somehow no one has figured out that it looks terrible in most scenarios.
  • Headline: House Passes Bill to Honor Father Quinn For Heroism in Saving Pair From Gunman. Impact: Father Quinn's heroism inspired a series of superhero comics in the 1940s, where priests donned capes and fought crime — paving the way for the modern superhero genre. Fact: Heroism in clergy was so popular that it led to the creation of 'Father Figure,' a show that never made it past pilot season.
  • Headline: DAN CARROLL; Had Served as Managing Editor of The Albany Times-Union. Impact: Dan Carroll's tenure as managing editor led to an explosion of sensationalist headlines that would make today’s tabloids look like academic journals. Fact: Being a managing editor in the 1930s was basically like being a social media manager today, except the only hashtags were 'scoops' and 'hot takes.'.
  • Headline: KNOX OFFERS RIFLE CUP; Publisher to Reward Best 78th Division Marksmen. Impact: Knox’s rifle cup inadvertently inspired a series of competitive shooting events that eventually became the backdrop for countless 'America's Got Talent' auditions — one of which starred a guy who shot balloons while juggling. Fact: The idea of a 'rifle cup' sounds fancy until you realize it’s just an excuse to drink beer while shooting things.
  • Headline: FINANCE COMPANY EARNS $7,460,677; Commercial Investment Trust Corp. Nets $2.06 a Share for First Half of 1939 DROP FROM 1938 FIGURE Corporation Reveals Trade Volume of $477,785,327 for Six-Month Period. Impact: The end of the Federal Theatre Project led to the rise of community theater, where the phrase 'I can do that' became a euphemism for 'I have no idea what I'm doing.'. Fact: The Federal Theatre Project was a great idea until everyone realized that making art is much harder than just throwing paint at a canvas and calling it 'expressionism.'.
  • Headline: FEDERAL THEATRE ENDS ITS EXISTENCE; 300 Supervisors Dismissed, but 2,000 Workers Will Stay on Payroll 2 Months VENTURE BEGAN IN 1934 Started as $28,000 Project Here, It Grew to $7,000,000 Under the WPA.

Wall Street Time Machine

The Right Call: A historical $1,000 investment comparison using the stored long-range dataset.
Rank #1
JNJ
Johnson & Johnson
Price in 1939
$0.06
Stored value
$3,433,942

Johnson & Johnson - If you invested $1,000 in 1939, it would be worth $3,433,942 today (3433.9x return)

Rank #2
PG
Procter & Gamble
Price in 1939
$0.25
Stored value
$586,657

Procter & Gamble - If you invested $1,000 in 1939, it would be worth $586,657 today (586.7x return)

Rank #3
CVX
Chevron
Price in 1939
$0.31
Stored value
$474,913

Chevron - If you invested $1,000 in 1939, it would be worth $474,913 today (474.9x return)

🦸 Top 5 Comics
Action Comics #10
Action Comics #10
$1,100
Detective Comics #27
Detective Comics #27
$3,000,000
Marvel Comics #1
Marvel Comics #1
$200,000
All-American Comics #1
All-American Comics #1
$150,000
Adventure Comics #40
Adventure Comics #40
$3,000
🧸 Top 5 Toys
View-Master
View-Master
$40.00
Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books
$300.00
The Game of Cootie
The Game of Cootie
$50.00
Tinkertoy Joy Boy and Joy Girl Sets
Tinkertoy Joy Boy and Joy Girl Sets
$150.00
Buck Rogers Atomic Pistol
Buck Rogers Atomic Pistol
$1,200.00
⚾ Notable Trading Cards
W.D. & H.O. Wills 'Life in the Tree Tops'
W.D. & H.O. Wills 'Life in the Tree Tops'
$236.61
Churchman's 'Treasure Trove'
Churchman's 'Treasure Trove'
$492,000
Cadet Suite Collection 'World Wonders'
Cadet Suite Collection 'World Wonders'
$0
Players Cigarettes 'Cycling 1939'
Players Cigarettes 'Cycling 1939'
$10.00