OCTOBER 8, 1940

TUESDAY
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 Grapes of Wrath
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The Grapes of Wrath
The Shop Around the Corner
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The Shop Around the Corner
His Girl Friday
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His Girl Friday
Pinocchio
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Pinocchio
Foreign Correspondent
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Foreign Correspondent
Waterloo Bridge
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Waterloo Bridge
Virginia City
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Virginia City
My Favorite Wife
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My Favorite Wife
My Little Chickadee
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My Little Chickadee
Pride and Prejudice
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Pride and Prejudice
Our Town
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Our Town
Boys of the City
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Boys of the City
The Ghost Breakers
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The Ghost Breakers
The Sea Hawk
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The Sea Hawk
They Drive by Night
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They Drive by Night
Dr. Cyclops
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Dr. Cyclops
The Thief of Bagdad
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The Thief of Bagdad
The Westerner
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The Westerner
The Mortal Storm
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The Mortal Storm
The Return of Frank James
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The Return of Frank James
Dance, Girl, Dance
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Dance, Girl, Dance
Too Many Husbands
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Too Many Husbands
Knute Rockne All American
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Knute Rockne All American
I Love You Again
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I Love You Again
The Great McGinty
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The Great McGinty
The Blue Bird
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The Blue Bird
The Invisible Man Returns
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The Invisible Man Returns
City for Conquest
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City for Conquest
The Ape
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The Ape
All This, and Heaven Too
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All This, and Heaven Too
Beyond Tomorrow
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Beyond Tomorrow
Road to Singapore
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Road to Singapore
Black Friday
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Black Friday
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

October 8, 1940 Trivia

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Exact-date daily brief

October 8, 1940

On October 8, 1940, Harley Granville-Barker was appointed honorary professor of drama at Yale University, marking a significant recognition of his contributions to the theatrical arts. This appointment came during a period when th...

Inventions & Breakthroughs of October 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 October 8, 1940

Full News Archive

  • Headline: Granville-Barker Joins Yale Drama Department. Impact: Had Granville-Barker not been appointed, we might have never seen the rise of overly dramatic soap operas. Yes, the world could have been saved from watching people cry over fictional love triangles. Fact: Granville-Barker was so influential that he could probably convince a brick wall to perform Shakespeare.
  • Headline: Exploring Jamaican Base Sites in 1940. Impact: This survey could have accidentally provided the blueprint for future reality TV shows. Imagine 'Survivor: Jamaican Base' becoming a thing. Oh wait, that might not be so bad. Fact: Surveying might just be the most overlooked profession, rivaled only by potato farmers.
  • Headline: 1940 Republican Elector Appointment. Impact: The naming of electors could have set off a chain reaction leading to an alternate reality where dogs are the ones voting. Honestly, they might make better choices. Fact: Being an elector is basically the adult version of being picked for a team in gym class. Good luck avoiding the embarrassment!.
  • Headline: Shift in Furniture Buying Here. Impact: This shift in furniture buying could have led to a nationwide obsession with minimalist living, saving future generations from the horrors of IKEA assembly. Fact: Furniture buying is just a socially acceptable way of saying, 'I'm ready to spend my money on things that will only get used as a clothes hanger.'.
  • Headline: DEMOCRAT FUND PLEA HIT; Gov. Baldwin Sees Defiance of State Employe Merit System. Impact: This complaint could have led to the creation of a secret society of state employees fighting back against fund solicitation. Who knew politics could be so theatrical?. Fact: It's always nice to see politicians arguing about ethics while standing on piles of cash they didn’t earn.
  • Headline: VETOES BILL TO RAISE PAY; President Protests Singling Out of Navy Yard Guards. Impact: Vetoing this bill may have inadvertently pushed the Navy Yard Guards to start a union, which later inspired a whole series of 'Guard Wars' action films. You know it would sell!. Fact: Vetoing a bill is just like sending a dish back at a restaurant: you better have a good reason or you might get some nasty looks.
  • Headline: SALE OF UTILITY PLANNED; Cities Service Power to Let Go of Connecticut Company. Impact: This sale could have been the first domino in a series of corporate mergers that led to the rise of mega-corporations. Thanks, capitalism!. Fact: Utility companies are like that friend who always wants to split the bill but never actually pays their share.
  • Headline: Mayor to Move Office To Old City Hall Oct. 25. Impact: Moving the mayor's office could have set a precedent for all government officials to start playing musical chairs in their offices, leading to a total breakdown of productivity. Fact: City Hall is basically just a really fancy officeβ€”complete with more red tape than an arts and crafts store.
  • Headline: Canada Thanks U.S. for Tanks. Impact: Thanking the U.S. for tanks could have been the start of a long-standing tradition where countries send thank-you notes for military supplies. Imagine the stationery market!. Fact: If only heartfelt gratitude could be delivered via tanks, we'd all be living in a world of peace and heavy artillery.

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