🧠 Inventions of 1956
Breakthroughs and everyday innovations from the year.
1 
Hard Disk Drive (IBM 305 RAMAC)
2 
Artificial Intelligence Program
3 
Microwave Oven (Home Model)
4 
Digital Clock
5 
Underwater SCUBA Regulator
6 
Automatic Transmission Refinement
7 
Medical Heart-Lung Machine
8 
Weather Satellite Blueprint
9 
Computer Programming Language (FORTRAN)
10 
Electric Can Opener Refinement
The Sounds of
The biggest hits of the year — Top 10 Pop & Country chart toppers
HEADLINES ON December 17, 1956
Full News Archive
- Headline: Call for Increased Auto Insurance Coverage. Impact: If only the auto law coverage had been raised, perhaps the invention of the flying car might have been delayed by decades—leading to a blissfully traffic-free future. Or maybe not.. Fact: In the grand scheme of things, the only thing more inflated than car insurance premiums is the number of people who think they’re invincible behind the wheel..
- Headline: Restoration of Phone Services in Portsmouth. Impact: The restoration of phone service in Ohio sparked a communication revolution that led to countless memes about how no one really needed two months of silence anyway. Thanks, unions!. Fact: Fun fact: The longest anyone has ever gone without phone service before going completely feral is about two weeks. After that, it’s all about scavenging for WiFi..
- Headline: BANK LOAN VOTED BY SWISS COUNCIL; Opponents Proposed Using Budget Surplus to Reduce National Debt Instead Minister Backs Loan Pound Sterling Up. Impact: The Swiss Council's loan approval might have inadvertently set off a financial domino effect that made Switzerland the financial guru of the world, teaching the rest of us how to hoard money like it's toilet paper during a pandemic.. Fact: Switzerland is the only country where you can have a bank account that’s more secure than your relationship with your high school sweetheart..
Wall Street Time Machine
The Right Call: If you'd invested $1,000 in any one of these companies in 1956, here's what it would be worth in 2025.
Rank #1
PFE
Pfizer
Price in 1956
$0.15
Value in 2025
$168,691
Pfizer - If you invested $1,000 in 1956, it would be worth $168,691 today (168.7x return)
Rank #2
JNJ
Johnson & Johnson
Price in 1956
$0.06
Value in 2025
$3,433,939
Johnson & Johnson - If you invested $1,000 in 1956, it would be worth $3,433,939 today (3433.9x return)
Rank #3
PG
Procter & Gamble
Price in 1956
$0.25
Value in 2025
$586,657
Procter & Gamble - If you invested $1,000 in 1956, it would be worth $586,657 today (586.7x return)
🦸 Top 5 Comics
Adventures of Jerry Lewis #86
$10.00
Showcase #4
$95,000
Action Comics #220
$10,200
Uncle Scrooge #10
$200
Batman #100
$100
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Mr. Potato Head
$250.00
Play-Doh
$150.00
Hula Hoop
$150.00
Matchbox Cars
$100.00
Pogo Stick
$20.00
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
1956 Topps Mickey Mantle
$120,000
1956 Topps Al Kaline
$350,000
1956 Topps Willie Mays
$250,000
1956 Parkhurst Doug Harvey
$0
1956 Spic and Span Milwaukee Braves Hank Aaron
$2,000