MAY 2, 1942

SATURDAY
1942 Coca-Cola advertising artwork
$1,000 INVESTED IN COKE STOCK (KO) IN 1942
WOULD HAVE MADE YOU $8,968,676 IN THE 2025 DATASET
Min Wage Hourly$0.39
Median Home Price$4,680.00
Gas Price Avg$0.20
Bread Price Avg$0.10
Movie Ticket Avg$0.33
First Class Stamp$0.03
Milk Price Avg$0.61
Top Movies From 1942
Show screen release and event cards
1 Mrs. Miniver
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Mrs. Miniver
2 Random Harvest
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Random Harvest
3 Yankee Doodle Dandy
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Yankee Doodle Dandy
4 Reap the Wild Wind
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Reap the Wild Wind
5 Road to Morocco
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Road to Morocco
6 Holiday Inn
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Holiday Inn
7 Wake Island
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Wake Island
8 The Pride of the Yankees
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The Pride of the Yankees
9 Kings Row
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Kings Row
10 For Me and My Gal
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For Me and My Gal
The Man Who Came to Dinner
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The Man Who Came to Dinner
To Be or Not to Be
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To Be or Not to Be
Woman of the Year
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Woman of the Year
The Male Animal
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The Male Animal
My Favorite Blonde
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My Favorite Blonde
Saboteur
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Saboteur
Larceny, Inc.
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Larceny, Inc.
The Ghost of Frankenstein
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The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Jungle Book
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The Jungle Book
Tarzan's New York Adventure
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Tarzan's New York Adventure
The Maltese Falcon
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The Maltese Falcon
Citizen Kane
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Citizen Kane
The Wolf Man
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The Wolf Man
Suspicion
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Suspicion
Dumbo
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Dumbo
Sullivan's Travels
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Sullivan's Travels
Ball of Fire
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Ball of Fire
Shadow of the Thin Man
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Shadow of the Thin Man
Hellzapoppin'
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Hellzapoppin'

May 2, 1942 Trivia

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Exact-date daily brief

May 2, 1942

On May 2, 1942, Murray Phillips, a prominent casting agent known for his work with notable figures such as Margaret Anglin, Win. Faversham, and Walter Hampden, passed away at the age of 58 in his home. His contributions to the the...

Inventions & Breakthroughs of May 1942

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

1 Atomic Reactor (Chicago Pile-1)
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Atomic Reactor (Chicago Pile-1)
2 Electronic Countermeasures Systems
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Electronic Countermeasures Systems
3 Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus
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Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus
4 Modern Rocket Engine
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Modern Rocket Engine
5 High-Altitude Pressure Suit
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High-Altitude Pressure Suit
6 Amphibious Landing Craft
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Amphibious Landing Craft
7 Synthetic Rubber (GR-S)
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Synthetic Rubber (GR-S)
8 Automatic Analog Computer
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Automatic Analog Computer
9 Magnetic Mine Detection
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Magnetic Mine Detection
10 Portable Field Radio
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Portable Field Radio

The Sounds of

Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year

Headlines From May 2, 1942

Full News Archive

  • Headline: Murray Phillips, Notable Casting Agent Passes. Impact: Murray Phillips' demise sent shockwaves through the casting world, leading to a huge increase in auditions for unknown actors. The mysterious rise of viral TikTok stars can be traced back to his absence, as producers searched for the next big thing to fill the void. Fact: Murray Phillips was so influential that after his passing, casting agents everywhere started wearing black on Wednesdays as a tribute. It's now a 'thing'... apparently.
  • Headline: Student Board Elections at Columbia 1942. Impact: The election of Jrs to the Columbia Board sparked a series of increasingly ridiculous student elections across the country, eventually leading to a viral trend of students voting for their pets as class representatives. Yes, Fluffy the cat was elected president of something. Fact: The Columbia Board has had more elections than actual students at times. Talk about democracy in action!.
  • Headline: Burma Road Battles Intensify in 1942. Impact: As the Japanese advanced toward Mandalay, a secret society of Gurkhas formed, believing they could single-handedly change the outcome of the war. Their motto? 'If we can survive this, we can survive anything – including the latest trends in socks!'. Fact: The battle over the Burma Road was so intense that it inspired a new genre of war movies – the 'Road Trip to Oblivion' series. Spoiler alert: they don't end well.
  • Headline: 18 DIE AS AIRLINER HITS PEAK IN UTAH AND CATCHES FIRE; Mainliner, San Francisco to New York, Is Wrecked as It Nears Salt Lake City TWO INFANTS AMONG DEAD 13 Other Passengers and the Crew of Three Are Victims -- Army Men Aboard. Impact: The tragic crash of the airliner led to an immediate overhaul of airline safety regulations. Ironically, this also instigated a love affair with in-flight snacks, as passengers suddenly realized their last meal could be a bag of peanuts. Fact: After this crash, airlines finally realized that the β€˜flying coffins’ needed to be replaced, but it took decades for them to figure out that giving passengers a parachute might be a good idea.
  • Headline: DR. EMIL G. LUND. Impact: Dr. Emil G. Lund's legacy was overshadowed by his more famous contemporaries, but little did they know that his research on obscure medical conditions would eventually lead to the popularity of 'quirky ailments' on social media. Fact: Dr. Lund once treated a patient who thought they were a walrus. Spoiler: They weren't. But this inspired a new trend in alternative medicine: 'marine therapy.'.
  • Headline: Newark Brewery Strike Ends. Impact: The end of the Newark Brewery strike led to a massive surge in local beer production, ultimately resulting in the creation of a beer brand that claimed to be 'brewed with the tears of union workers.' It became a bestseller. Fact: The Newark Brewery's strike was such a big deal that it inspired the phrase 'beer is proof that God loves us' – but only if you’re not on strike.
  • Headline: Defense Orders Conflict. Impact: The conflicting defense orders caused a chain reaction of bureaucratic blunders that led to the introduction of the 'Oops, We Did It Again' defense manual, which is now a primary source of comedy in military training. Fact: This debacle was so perplexing that it almost made it into a sitcom. The pilot episode was titled 'Conflicting Orders' and was promptly canceled after one airing.
  • Headline: GREENWICH HOUSE MARKS 40TH YEAR; 500 Attend Children's Party as Start of Celebration. Impact: Greenwich House's 40th anniversary celebration led to the accidental introduction of a new dance craze called the 'Children's Party Shuffle,' which swept through social media and baffled adults everywhere. Fact: This children's party was actually a cover for the town's biggest gossip session, where adults exchanged more rumors than the kids exchanged snacks.
  • Headline: W.E. Hutton to Absorb Firm. Impact: W.E. Hutton's absorption of Dominick & Dominick created a financial powerhouse, inadvertently leading to the emergence of hedge funds that specialize in collecting rare comic books. Because, you know, priorities. Fact: This merger was so boring that even the spreadsheets fell asleep during the announcement. But hey, at least the comic book market flourished!.
  • Headline: FIRM CEILIIGS DUE ONLY FOR RETAILERS; OPA Official Sees 'Push-Back' Likely for Manufacturers and Wholesalers MAY CUT FULL MARK-UPS Each Field of Distribution May Be Forced to Adjust Itself, Dr. Sly Warns. Impact: The OPA's warning about potential push-back led to an unexpected surge in black market activities, where manufacturers began running elaborate schemes to sell 'just slightly marked up' goods in secret. Fact: The term 'push-back' became so popular that it was adopted by every teenager during family dinners, leading to quite a few awkward silences.

Wall Street Time Machine

The Right Call: A historical $1,000 investment comparison using the stored long-range dataset.
Rank #1
KMB
Kimberly-Clark
Price in 1942
$0.69
Stored value
$147,887

Kimberly-Clark - If you invested $1,000 in 1942, it would be worth $147,887 today (147.9x return)

Rank #3
CVX
Chevron
Price in 1942
$0.31
Stored value
$474,914

Chevron - If you invested $1,000 in 1942, it would be worth $474,914 today (474.9x return)

🦸 Top 5 Comics
Wonder Woman #1
Wonder Woman #1
$25,000
All Star Comics #11
All Star Comics #11
$3,000
Captain America Comics #13
Captain America Comics #13
$20,000
Hit Comics #27
Hit Comics #27
$10,200
Detective Comics #66
Detective Comics #66
$1,500
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Inflatable Airplane
Inflatable Airplane
$120.00
Tin Soldiers
Tin Soldiers
$75.00
Simple Wooden Blocks
Simple Wooden Blocks
$75.00
Yo-Yo
Yo-Yo
$1350.00
Silhouette Jigsaw Puzzles
Silhouette Jigsaw Puzzles
$25.00
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
War Gum (1942)
War Gum (1942)
$2,000
Gill'S Cigarette Cards - Military Series
Gill'S Cigarette Cards - Military Series
$20
British Wartime Stamps
British Wartime Stamps
$10,000,000
Canada War Savings Stamps
Canada War Savings Stamps
$2,000
Ration Card Series
Ration Card Series
$1,000