JANUARY 28, 1940

SUNDAY
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
His Girl Friday
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His Girl Friday
The Blue Bird
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The Blue Bird
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 28, 1940 Trivia

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Exact-date daily brief

January 28, 1940

On January 28, 1940, the political landscape in the United States was tense, primarily due to the ongoing threat posed by the Axis Powers in World War II. As international uncertainty grew, America began considering its stance in...

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 28, 1940

Full News Archive

  • Headline: Threats to Long's Political Control in Louisiana. Impact: If Jones had defeated the Long machine, Louisiana might have become the epicenter of progressive politics. Instead, we got decades of political shenanigans that led to a reality TV star becoming president. Thanks, Louisiana!. Fact: The Long machine was so powerful that it made people wonder if they were voting or just playing a game of political Monopoly.
  • Headline: Mr. Crooks' Concert Debut. Impact: Mr. Crooks launching a singing career might have inspired a long line of crooks in entertainment. This led to the eventual rise of reality TV, where all you need is a catchy tune and zero morals. Fact: Evelyn Wu and Li were probably just there to make sure no one was taking the concert too seriously.
  • Headline: Stamford's Thrive: New Industries Emerge. Impact: Stamford's growth attracted so many new industries that it eventually became a haven for corporate drones, paving the way for the modern-day cubicle farms that haunt our nightmares. Fact: Realty men are just like magicians; they can make your money disappear into thin air, except it's not a trick. It's real estate.
  • Headline: RENTALS 'NORMAL' ON THE WEST SIDE; New Buildings With Small Suites Favored by Tenants in That Section RENTAL HANDICAPS CITED Apartment Construction This Year Tends Toward the Six-Story Type Building Operations Six-Story Trend RENTALS 'NORMAL' ON THE WEST SIDE Alteration Activity Changing Conditions TREND FROM MANHATTAN E.R. Stix Calls Tax Burdens a Chief Contributory Cause NOTES REALTY TROUBLES V.M. Earle Says Manhattan Suffers From Population Decrease SEES WEST SIDE GROWTH A.V. Amy Points Out Residential Advantages in That Area WEST SIDE FUTURE BRIGHT J.J. Meenan Advises Realty Owners to Maintain High Standards EXTOLS RIVERSIDE DRIVE J. Candell Says It Is Ripe for a New Building Development REALTY HANDICAPS CITED F.P. Fox Urges Action to Keep Business Firms Here. Impact: The Chinese repelling invaders could have been a turning point, but instead, it just resulted in a whole lot of 'who can invade China next' competitions over the decades. Fact: The invaders probably didn't check Yelp before attacking; otherwise, they would have seen the one-star reviews!.
  • Headline: JAPANESE CONTINUE ATTACK IN CHEKIANG; Chinese Tell of Repulsing the Invader East of Hangchow. Impact: The defeat of the peace motion in South Africa meant that the country would continue its long journey towards apartheid, which ironically led to the anti-apartheid movement. Thanks, Hertzog!. Fact: Hertzog and Malan merging their parties was like watching two bad movies get together to create an even worse sequel.
  • Headline: Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES.. Impact: The FCC's budget hike set the stage for what would eventually become the $100 billion budgets of today's tech monopolies. Thanks for the head start, 1941!. Fact: The only thing higher than the FCC's budget in 1941 was probably the confusion about what they actually did.
  • Headline: OVERHEARD IN THE WAR OF WORDS; 1941 BUDGET OF THE FCC REACHES A NEW HIGH. Impact: Chain stores rising sales volume meant that small businesses would eventually start disappearing like socks in the dryer, leading to the homogenization of shopping experiences. Fact: Riker's idea of chain store modernization is just a fancy way of saying 'we're going to make it harder for you to find anything unique.'.
  • Headline: CHAIN STORES SHOWED RISING SALES VOLUME; I.J. Riker Says Improved Business Helped Real Estate. Impact: Churchill's confidence in the British offensive created a ripple effect that made everyone question their own life choices, ultimately leading to a surge in existential crises across Europe. Fact: Churchill's speeches were so motivational that they likely inspired more than just soldiersβ€”probably a few motivational posters too.
  • Headline: BRITISH OFFENSIVE SEEN BY CHURCHILL; Hitler Has Lost First Phase of War and New Blows Will Follow, Says First Lord BRITISH OFFENSIVE SEEN BY CHURCHILL.

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