SEPTEMBER 15, 1942

TUESDAY
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
The Palm Beach Story
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The Palm Beach Story
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 Talk of the Town
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The Talk of the Town
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
Across the Pacific
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Across the Pacific
The Magnificent Ambersons
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The Magnificent Ambersons
The Pied Piper
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The Pied Piper
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 Big Street
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The Big Street
Bambi
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Bambi
Tales of Manhattan
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Tales of Manhattan
The Glass Key
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The Glass Key
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'

September 15, 1942 Trivia

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Exact-date daily brief

September 15, 1942

On September 15, 1942, Illinois Governor John W. Lewis announced the withdrawal of a warrant for the arrest of an escaped convict, emphasizing that the convict would receive a 'fair break.' This decision came amidst a backdrop of...

Inventions & Breakthroughs of September 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 September 15, 1942

Full News Archive

  • Headline: Illinois Withdraws Westgate Warrant. Impact: By granting that escaped convict a 'fair break', Illinois inadvertently inspired a future generation of criminals to think that the justice system is just a game of hide-and-seek. This led to the rise of 'fair break' advocates and a new trend in prison escape plans that involved elaborate treasure maps. Fact: Did you know that the term 'fair break' has been used in various contexts, including the infamous 'Fair Break Pizza' chain that promised to deliver your pizza only if you could escape from prison first?.
  • Headline: Tragic Death of A.D. Morford. Impact: A.D. Morford's untimely death sparked a brief but intense trend among New York advertisers to adopt more 'life-affirming' campaigns, leading to the rise of motivational posters that now hang in every office cubicle across America. Fact: Fun fact: The phrase 'missing person' is often used in advertising to describe people who have not yet bought their product!.
  • Headline: Business Failures Decline in September 1942. Impact: The drop in business failures was a game changer for the economy, but it also led to a nationwide panic that inspired the invention of insurance policies specifically for people suffering from 'business failure anxiety'. Fact: Did you know that Dun & Bradstreet, the reporting agency, once considered renaming themselves 'Dun & Bradstreet, the Fun & Fabulous' to attract a younger crowd? Just imagine the marketing strategies they could've used!.
  • Headline: WOULD SELL U.S. SILVER; Green Offers Bill to Permit Sale or Lease by President. Impact: The proposed sale of U.S. silver led to an underground silver rush that inspired a reality TV show about treasure hunters called 'Silver Linings: The Quest for Change'β€”which ultimately just resulted in people digging holes in their backyards. Fact: Did you know that the U.S. considered selling silver to fund a national 'Buy a New Car' program? Only to find out that silver doesn’t buy cars, but it does buy a lot of bad decisions.
  • Headline: FUEL ADVICE HEAD NAMED; A.J. Offner to Direct Service for Home Owners in City. Impact: Naming A.J. Offner as the head of fuel advice was the spark that ignited a nationwide 'Ask Your Neighbor' movement, causing a series of awkward backyard conversations about who really knows how to fix a leaky faucet. Fact: Did you know that A.J. Offner's first piece of advice was actually 'Don't ask me, I just got the job'?.
  • Headline: URGES ADVERTISING OF WAR INSURANCE; Would Forestall Complaints in Event of Air Raid Damage, Conick Tells Group NEW CAMPAIGN IS PLANNED To Be Announced Next Week at Chicago -- Results of Aetna Survey Disclosed. Impact: Urging advertising for war insurance transformed the insurance industry, leading to the creation of 'Insurance for Your Insurance,' which ironically left everyone confused about what they were actually covered for. Fact: Fun fact: 'War insurance' was originally just a spicy way to describe the cost of taking a vacation in the 1940s during peak travel seasons.
  • Headline: Dynamite Stolen Near By. Impact: The theft of dynamite ultimately led to a series of unfortunate explosions that spurred the creation of the first ever 'Dynamite Safety Manual,' which was ironically used as a paperweight in many corporate offices. Fact: Did you know that dynamite theft is one of the few crimes that makes 'I didn't mean to' a valid excuse in court? Just kidding!.
  • Headline: U.S. WRITER JOINS FINNS; Donald Day Reported to Have Left Stockholm for War. Impact: Donald Day's enlistment in the Finnish Army became a rallying cry for future American writers to take more risks, leading to the creation of the 'Writers on the Frontlines' program where authors were sent to cover warsβ€”while also writing about their feelings. Fact: Did you know that Donald Day's adventures inspired the phrase 'Write what you know'? Which, ironically, led to a surge in novels about cats and coffee shops.
  • Headline: WESTCHESTER BANKER ADMITS $25,000 THEFT; William S. Shea Surrenders and Is Held for Grand Jury. Impact: William S. Shea's admission of theft from the bank led to a shocking wave of 'honesty' among embezzlers, who decided that if they confessed, they might just get a book deal out of it. Fact: Fun fact: 'Surrendering to the Grand Jury' was considered a new trend in self-help until it was discovered that it didn't actually help anyone.
  • Headline: Books of the Times. Impact: The publication of 'Alaska Under Arms' unintentionally inspired future generations of survivalists to think they could just hide in the wilderness, leading to a spike in bear encounters and some very awkward social media posts. Fact: Did you know that 'Alaska Under Arms' was almost titled 'Alaska: The Ultimate Camping Trip'? But they decided that didn't sound intimidating enough.

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