JULY 20, 1942

MONDAY
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
In This Our Life
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In This Our Life
The Male Animal
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The Male Animal
My Favorite Blonde
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My Favorite Blonde
This Above All
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This Above All
The Spoilers
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The Spoilers
The Magnificent Ambersons
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The Magnificent Ambersons
Saboteur
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Saboteur
Larceny, Inc.
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Larceny, Inc.
Moontide
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Moontide
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'

July 20, 1942 Trivia

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Exact-date daily brief

July 20, 1942

On July 20, 1942, the Office of Price Administration (OPA) denied requests for recaps of tires for beer trucks, a decision reflecting the wartime prioritization of resources amidst World War II. This tire order, effective July 28,...

Inventions & Breakthroughs of July 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 July 20, 1942

Full News Archive

  • Headline: Tire Rationing Order Affects Beverage Trucks. Impact: The denial of recaps for beer trucks led to a massive increase in home brewing, which sparked the craft beer movement decades later. If only they had known they were denying the future hipsters their first taste of hoppy bliss. Fact: Did you know that tire rationing during wartime was a thing? Because nothing says 'victory' like a flat tire on your way to the front lines.
  • Headline: Wright's Innovative Concrete Factory Plant. Impact: The construction of a concrete plant using the 'Warspeed' process not only saved steel but also inadvertently paved the way for the modern obsession with concrete jungles. Who knew a love for gray buildings would blossom from wartime efficiency?. Fact: Fun fact: Concrete is the most widely used man-made material on Earth! So much for building a better world, huh?.
  • Headline: IXBS. LOITI$ A. IISSE Event. Impact: Without a headline to decipher, we can only assume 'IXBS. LOITI$ A. IISSE' led to a secret society of cryptographers. They probably still meet in basements, plotting world domination or at least figuring out their grocery lists. Fact: Sometimes, a headline is just a typo waiting to happen. Or maybe it's a coded message from the future. Who knows?.
  • Headline: Marshal Kesselring Is Decorated. Impact: Kesselring's decoration for his campaign role likely inspired a series of over-the-top military parades, leading to the 'brass hat' phenomenon where everyone just wanted to wear shiny medals and salute dramatically. Fact: Decorating generals is like giving participation trophies in the military. Everyone gets one, but not everyone wins.
  • Headline: JAMES F. JOH2SON. Impact: James F. Johnson, like many unnamed men throughout history, likely became a 'man of mystery.' His legacy? A million other James F. Johnsons wondering why they aren't famous. Fact: There are over 3.5 million people with the name James in the U.S. alone. Good luck finding the right one!.
  • Headline: R.A.F. DEALS BLOWS AT NAZIS IN FRANCE; Destroys Power Stations, Hits Enemy Warships -- Soviet Raid in East Prussia Reported R.A.F. DEALS BLOWS AT NAZIS IN FRANCE. Impact: The R.A.F. strikes on Nazi installations not only weakened the enemy but also sparked a wave of future action movies where the good guys always have impeccable timing and an endless supply of bombs. Fact: The R.A.F. was famous for its 'Dambusters' raid, which involved bouncing bombs. Who knew water sports could be so explosive?.
  • Headline: RELIGION IN 'THICK OF LIFE'; Dr. Shacklock Confident Church Will Survive Persecutions. Impact: Dr. Shacklock's confidence in the church's survival through persecution likely inspired generations of faith-based resilience, proving that when the going gets tough, the tough just pray harder. Fact: Turns out, religion has survived through millennia of persecution. Makes you wonder how often they just hit the 'snooze' button on faith.
  • Headline: FREDERICK W. JAEGER. Impact: Frederick W. Jaeger, likely an unsung hero, may have inspired future generations of Freds to take charge and change the world, or at least their haircuts. Fact: The name Frederick has German roots meaning 'peaceful ruler'. So, no pressure, Freds of the world!.

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