Gadgets, lab surprises, odd bets, and future-shocks from this slice of the calendar.
The Sounds of
Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year
HEADLINES ON August 12, 1946
Full News Archive
- Headline: Challenges Faced by Veterans in 1946. Impact: The growing issues faced by veterans prompted the government to eventually create the Veterans Affairs department, which has had a profound and lasting impact on both veteran support and bureaucratic inefficiency. A true win-win.. Fact: Itβs shocking how quickly the government can mobilize when it comes to bureaucracy. Just ask any veteran trying to get their benefits!.
- Headline: Refugee Couple Wed Here. Impact: This lovely couple's wedding led to a chain reaction of romance, resulting in countless love stories, some of which would create dramatic plot twists in soap operas decades later. Who knew a simple wedding could spawn a reality TV show?. Fact: Did you know that every wedding leads to at least three awkward family reunions? It's an unspoken law of nature..
- Headline: HUMILITY PROPOSED FOR TRANQUIL WORLD. Impact: The proposition of humility for a tranquil world ironically led to a global trend of people posting their 'humble brags' on social media, forever altering how we perceive humility. Thanks for the paradox, guys!. Fact: Humility was proposed as a solution for world peaceβtoo bad nobody decided to humblebrag about it on Instagram!.
- Headline: Group in Electrical Union Hits 'Red Control,' Bids Rank and File Oust Such Officers. Impact: The push against 'Red Control' in unions led to a paranoia that fueled the Red Scare. This ensured that every meeting from then on had at least one person suspiciously eyeing the snacks for communist propaganda.. Fact: Did you know that the fear of communism was so pervasive it even infiltrated snack breaks? 'Red' chips were banned in several states!.
- Headline: DIPHTHERIA CASES AT A 12-YEAR HIGH; State Health Department Asks All Children Be Inoculated in Areas Showing Increases. Impact: The rise in diphtheria cases led to increased vaccination awareness, which ironically set the stage for the next decade's anti-vaccine movement. Who knew a health scare could lead to both awareness and confusion?. Fact: Diphtheria: the disease that inspired more parents to read the fine print on vaccination forms than any other illness!.
- Headline: MELVIN L. KING; Syracuse Architect Associate in University Expansion Plan. Impact: Melvin L. King's architectural contributions to Syracuse led to a boost in local tourism, which inadvertently inspired a series of questionable architectural trends in the '70s that we still cringe at today. Thanks a lot, Melvin!. Fact: Fun fact: Melvin L. Kingβs designs were so influential that they inspired a generation of architects to try and out-weird each other. The results? Well, just look at the 70s buildings!.
- Headline: 27,000 PERSONS HEAR LAST PARK CONCERT. Impact: The last park concert drew such a huge crowd that it inadvertently sparked the rise of outdoor music festivals. Who knew that one concert could lead to three-day-long music marathons where people forget what day it is?. Fact: Did you know that concert-goers have a scientifically proven tendency to lose their sense of time? It's a miracle we haven't lost an entire generation to festival culture!.
Wall Street Time Machine
PFE
Pfizer
Pfizer - If you invested $1,000 in 1946, it would be worth $168,691 today (168.7x return)
JNJ
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson - If you invested $1,000 in 1946, it would be worth $3,433,942 today (3433.9x return)
PG
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble - If you invested $1,000 in 1946, it would be worth $586,656 today (586.7x return)