OCTOBER 29, 1939

SUNDAY
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
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
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
The Roaring Twenties
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The Roaring Twenties
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
Each Dawn I Die
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Each Dawn I Die
Bachelor Mother
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Bachelor Mother
Intermezzo: A Love Story
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Intermezzo: A Love Story
The Old Maid
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The Old Maid
Golden Boy
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Golden Boy
In Name Only
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In Name Only
The Three Musketeers
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The Three Musketeers
Dark Victory
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Dark Victory
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame
When Tomorrow Comes
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When Tomorrow Comes
On Borrowed Time
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On Borrowed Time
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
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Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
The Cat and the Canary
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The Cat and the Canary
At the Circus
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At the Circus
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

October 29, 1939 Trivia

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Exact-date daily brief

October 29, 1939

On October 29, 1939, the community mourned the passing of Captain Gove, whose funeral services were held amidst a backdrop of rising tensions in Europe. The world was bracing for the ramifications of World War II, which had offici...

Inventions & Breakthroughs of October 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 October 29, 1939

Full News Archive

  • Headline: Remembering Captain Arth E. Gove. Impact: Captain Gove's services inadvertently inspired a new wave of pirate-themed parties that swept through the 1980s, leading to a global shortage of eye patches and a spike in parrot sales. Fact: Captain Gove was known for his unparalleled ability to navigate both the seas and awkward social situations. He once steered a ship through a storm while simultaneously resolving a heated argument over the best pizza toppings.
  • Headline: Exploring Forgotten Towns in Midlands. Impact: The review of forgotten towns led to a resurgence in small-town tourism, inspiring a wave of hipster coffee shops and artisanal cheese makers to set up shop in places that have never seen a Starbucks. Fact: The only thing more forgotten than those towns are the books about themβ€”just ask your local library, which probably has a 'no one reads this' section.
  • Headline: 19 YEARS OF A 'CRAZE'. Impact: The craze surrounding radio devices turned into a cultural phenomenon, leading to the invention of the 'talking toaster' decades later. Who knew breakfast could be so chatty?. Fact: 19 years of a craze? Sounds exhausting. By the end of it, radios were practically demanding their own reality TV show.
  • Headline: REVISION PROPOSED FOR FEDERAL TAXES; Recommendations of the Merchants Association Reviewedby Godfrey N. NelsonAIDS TO BUSINESS SOUGHTNew Treatments Advised forCapital Gains, Excess Profitsand Personal Exemptions. Impact: The proposed revision for federal taxes led to an endless cycle of amendments and debates, culminating in the tax code resembling a Jenga towerβ€”one wrong move and it all comes crashing down. Fact: If you think understanding taxes is hard now, imagine the confusion when people first tried to decipher the tax code written in hieroglyphics.
  • Headline: How Parole Boards Should Operate. Impact: The discourse on how parole boards should operate sparked a nationwide movement for parole reform, inadvertently inspiring a University course titled 'Parole: The Musical'. Fact: Wilbur Jr. had the brilliant idea of writing a self-help book titled 'Parole With Honor', which was ironically never released due to a parole violation.
  • Headline: DETROIT TAKES COMMAND; Turns Back Tulsa, 16 to 7, as Sophomore Backs Excel. Impact: Detroit's win over Tulsa inadvertently ignited a sports rivalry that would flare up in pop culture, leading to a series of viral memes featuring cats in team jerseys. Fact: The 16-7 score was so exciting that it caused a temporary increase in heart rates, followed by a collective sigh of relief when everyone remembered it was just a football game.
  • Headline: 2 EX-CONVICTS SEIZED; Pair Charged With Attempted Hold-Up and Abduction. Impact: The attempted hold-up by two ex-convicts initiated a national discussion on rehabilitation versus punishment, which somehow ended up as a plot for a poorly received sitcom. Fact: The pub service terminal where the hold-up occurred is now a historical landmark, attracting tourists who want selfies with the 'famous' crime scene.
  • Headline: RADIO FOUND AN AID IN SAVING EYESIGHT; Dictaphones in Schools Also Are Effective in Preventing Blindness, Conference Hears CLEVELAND TESTS CITED 'Auditory Appeal' Used for 65,000 Elementary Pupils, Official Reports. Impact: The use of radio to save eyesight led to a bizarre trend where parents began using radio waves as a substitute for bedtime stories, resulting in generations of children developing a profound love for static noise. Fact: O S Peck's idea to use Dictaphones in schools was met with skepticism until it was discovered that kids would rather listen to their own voices repeating 'I will not talk back' on loop.
  • Headline: MORE POWER FOR PLANES; Plans for Fast Production 8,500 Horsepower Engines. Impact: The plans for powerful airplane engines sparked a global race for air superiority, ultimately leading to the invention of the flying carβ€”still just a dream, but we can all blame this headline for the hype. Fact: 8,500 horsepower? That’s like strapping a rocket to a bicycleβ€”great in theory, but you’d probably end up on the evening news for all the wrong reasons.

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