JANUARY 12, 1940

FRIDAY
1940 Coca-Cola advertising artwork
$1,000 INVESTED IN COKE STOCK (KO) IN 1940
WOULD HAVE MADE YOU $8,324,276 IN THE 2025 DATASET
Min Wage Hourly$0.30
Median Home Price$4,000.00
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 1940
Show screen release and event cards
1 Boom Town
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Boom Town
2 The Great Dictator
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The Great Dictator
3 Rebecca
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Rebecca
4 North West Mounted Police
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North West Mounted Police
5 Strike Up the Band
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Strike Up the Band
6 Northwest Passage
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Northwest Passage
7 Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
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Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
8 The Fighting 69th
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The Fighting 69th
9 Santa Fe Trail
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Santa Fe Trail
10 Kitty Foyle
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Kitty Foyle
The Shop Around the Corner
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The Shop Around the Corner
The Invisible Man Returns
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The Invisible Man Returns
Gone with the Wind
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Gone with the Wind
Ninotchka
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Ninotchka
Of Mice and Men
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Of Mice and Men
Allegheny Uprising
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Allegheny Uprising
Remember?
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Remember?
A Christmas Carol
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A Christmas Carol

January 12, 1940 Trivia

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Exact-date daily brief

January 12, 1940

On January 12, 1940, King Gustav V of Sweden announced that his nation would extend all possible assistance to Finland amid the ongoing Winter War with the Soviet Union. This decision came as the Swedish government prioritized def...

Inventions & Breakthroughs of January 1940

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

1 Photocopier (Xerography)
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Photocopier (Xerography)
2 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Concept
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Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Concept
3 Jet Engine Flight Demonstration
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Jet Engine Flight Demonstration
4 Synthetic Detergent
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Synthetic Detergent
5 Mass-Produced Nylon Stockings
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Mass-Produced Nylon Stockings
6 Proximity Fuse
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Proximity Fuse
7 Electronic Fire Control System
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Electronic Fire Control System
8 Polyurethane Foam
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Polyurethane Foam
9 Early Speech Recognition Machine
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Early Speech Recognition Machine
10 Automatic Anti-Lock Brakes Concept
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Automatic Anti-Lock Brakes Concept

The Sounds of

Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year

Headlines From January 12, 1940

Full News Archive

  • Headline: King of Sweden Supports Finland in War. Impact: If Sweden hadn't decided to help Finland with military supplies, Finland might have lost its independence, leading to a world where Finnish saunas were replaced with Soviet-style gulags. Can you imagine? No sauna culture? The horror!. Fact: Did you know that without this military support, Finland might have become a tourist destination for Soviet enthusiasts instead of the land of a thousand lakes? Talk about a missed opportunity!.
  • Headline: Hospital Board Elections Controversy. Impact: The power struggle at Sydenham Hospital set a precedent for medical boards everywhere to bicker instead of focusing on patient care. Congratulations, you just turned healthcare into a soap opera!. Fact: Did you know that hospital board meetings can sometimes resemble reality TV? Drama, backstabbing, and the occasional medical professional actually trying to help someoneβ€”what a combo!.
  • Headline: Fermata Luncheon Today. Impact: The Fermata Luncheon might seem trivial, but it sparked a chain reaction of alumni gatherings that eventually led to people uniting over mediocre food and nostalgia instead of, you know, doing something productive. Fact: Did you know that alumni luncheons are basically adult versions of high school reunions? Same gossip, less acne.
  • Headline: NAZI FLIERS RANGE WIDE BRITISH AREA; Attack Eight Ships Off Coast and Fly Over 500 Miles of Land, Including Tyneside. Impact: The Nazi air raids sparked a wave of innovations in air defense and military strategy. Who knew that terror could lead to the birth of better technology? It's like a twisted version of 'necessity is the mother of invention.'. Fact: Fun fact: The British response to these air raids eventually led to the development of radar. So, thanks, Nazis, for pushing the envelope in military techβ€”appreciate it!.
  • Headline: General Motors Turns Out 25,000,000 Cars; Celebration at Detroit Is Attended by 5,000. Impact: General Motors producing 25 million cars might not seem groundbreaking now, but this event revolutionized the auto industry and created a society where everyone thought owning a car was a basic human right. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t. Fact: Did you know that if you lined up all 25 million cars produced, they would stretch from Detroit to the moon? Just kiddingβ€”please don't try that at home!.
  • Headline: The International Situation. Impact: The shake-up in the USSR Army hinted at future upheavals that would eventually lead to the Cold War. Thanks for the suspense, USSRβ€”who knew we were all just waiting for the next big plot twist?. Fact: Fun fact: The USSR's army shake-ups could probably fill a novel. Spoiler alert: It doesn't end well for most of the characters involved.

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 1940
$0.06
Stored value
$3,433,941

Johnson & Johnson - If you invested $1,000 in 1940, it would be worth $3,433,941 today (3433.9x return)

Rank #2
PG
Procter & Gamble
Price in 1940
$0.25
Stored value
$586,657

Procter & Gamble - If you invested $1,000 in 1940, it would be worth $586,657 today (586.7x return)

Rank #3
KMB
Kimberly-Clark
Price in 1940
$0.69
Stored value
$147,887

Kimberly-Clark - If you invested $1,000 in 1940, it would be worth $147,887 today (147.9x return)

🦸 Top 5 Comics
Batman #1
Batman #1
$2,220,000
Flash Comics #1
Flash Comics #1
$1,500
Green Lantern #1
Green Lantern #1
$150,000
Detective Comics #38
Detective Comics #38
$42,000
All Star Comics #3
All Star Comics #3
$2,500
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Lone Ranger Frontier Town
Lone Ranger Frontier Town
$150.00
Red Ryder BB Gun
Red Ryder BB Gun
$250.00
Sorry!
Sorry!
$30.00
Paper Dolls
Paper Dolls
$35.00
Microscope Kit
Microscope Kit
$200.00
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
Walt Disney Comics and Stories #1 Card
Walt Disney Comics and Stories #1 Card
$800
Superman Gum Cards
Superman Gum Cards
$800
G-Men and Heroes of the Law
G-Men and Heroes of the Law
$11.00
1940 War Gum Cards
1940 War Gum Cards
$1,500
1940 Play Ball Baseball Cards
1940 Play Ball Baseball Cards
$3,000