MAY 8, 1959

FRIDAY
1959 Coca-Cola advertising artwork
$1,000 INVESTED IN COKE STOCK (KO) IN 1959
WOULD HAVE MADE YOU $2,583,736 IN THE 2025 DATASET
Min Wage Hourly$0.98
Median Home Price$11,450.00
Gas Price Avg$0.31
Bread Price Avg$0.21
Movie Ticket Avg$0.67
First Class Stamp$0.04
Milk Price Avg$0.97
Top Movies From 1959
Show screen release and event cards
1 Ben-Hur
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Ben-Hur
2 Sleeping Beauty
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Sleeping Beauty
3 Some Like It Hot
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Some Like It Hot
4 Pillow Talk
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Pillow Talk
5 Imitation of Life
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Imitation of Life
6 Suddenly, Last Summer
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Suddenly, Last Summer
7 Operation Petticoat
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Operation Petticoat
8 North by Northwest
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North by Northwest
9 Rio Bravo
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Rio Bravo
10 Anatomy of a Murder
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Anatomy of a Murder
The Diary of Anne Frank
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The Diary of Anne Frank
Al Capone
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Al Capone
The Hanging Tree
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The Hanging Tree
Compulsion
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Compulsion
The Buccaneer
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The Buccaneer
The Giant Behemoth
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The Giant Behemoth
Separate Tables
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Separate Tables
Bell, Book and Candle
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Bell, Book and Candle
Some Came Running
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Some Came Running
The Last Hurrah
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The Last Hurrah
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
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The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
Auntie Mame
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Auntie Mame
The Geisha Boy
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The Geisha Boy
The Naked Maja
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The Naked Maja

May 8, 1959 Trivia

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Television On May 8, 1959
Perry Mason poster
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Perry Mason
Bonanza poster
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Bonanza
The Twilight Zone poster
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The Twilight Zone
The Rifleman poster
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The Rifleman
Lassie poster
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Lassie
Tony Awards poster
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Tony Awards
Wagon Train poster
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Wagon Train
Black Saddle poster
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Black Saddle
Johnny Staccato poster
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Johnny Staccato

Exact-date daily brief

May 8, 1959

On May 8, 1959, Governor G. Mennen Williams called a parley in Michigan, urging a joint legislative session to address a severe fiscal crisis that left 27,000 state employees without pay. This urgent meeting underscored the financ...

Inventions & Breakthroughs of May 1959

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

1 Integrated Circuit Production
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Integrated Circuit Production
2 Weather Satellite Launch
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Weather Satellite Launch
3 Computer Mouse Concept
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Computer Mouse Concept
4 Artificial Intelligence Language (LISP)
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Artificial Intelligence Language (LISP)
5 Commercial Laser Prototype
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Commercial Laser Prototype
6 Jet Turbofan Engine
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Jet Turbofan Engine
7 Automatic Dishwasher
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Automatic Dishwasher
8 Medical CAT Scan Concept
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Medical CAT Scan Concept
9 Digital Watch Prototype
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Digital Watch Prototype
10 Satellite Communication Relay
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Satellite Communication Relay

The Sounds of

Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year

Headlines From May 8, 1959

Full News Archive

  • Headline: The McDonald's Dictionary Revolution. Impact: The publication of this dictionary led to the gradual integration of fast-food terminology into the English language. Thanks to this, phrases like 'I'm lovin' it' and 'Do you want fries with that?' became staples in job interviews and casual conversations, forever changing the way we communicate over meals. Fact: Did you know that this dictionary is the only one that includes 'McJob'? It's a term that perfectly encapsulates the existential dread of flipping burgers while dreaming of a better future.
  • Headline: Fiscal Crisis Emergency Session Called. Impact: This fiscal crisis set a precedent for future politicians to ignore budget issues until they explode. The ripple effect? A future where politicians can find creative ways to dodge responsibility while the public wonders if 'payday' is just a myth. Fact: Fun fact: The 27,000 people who didn't get paid probably invented the 'work for exposure' model decades before it became a thing in creative industries.
  • Headline: Mendel Fisher Celebrates 25 Years of Service. Impact: Fisher's honor inspired a generation of fundraisers who sought to combine philanthropy with social activism, inadvertently leading to an explosion of charity events that now compete with Super Bowl ads for attention. Fact: Mendel Fisher's dedication was so intense that some claim he could raise funds merely by showing up and smiling, a talent that has yet to be scientifically explained.
  • Headline: Stennis Seeking Relief From 'Chaos' in Senate. Impact: Stennis's plea for order in the Senate sparked a chain reaction of 'chaos management' initiatives across Congress, ultimately leading to the establishment of the 'Senate Stress Ball' as an essential tool for lawmakers. Fact: Did you know that 'chaos' in the Senate is often just a euphemism for a disagreement over which donut flavor to order for meetings?.
  • Headline: ALLIES' COOPERATION IS URGED BY JAVITS. Impact: Javits’s call for cooperation among Western nations resulted in endless summits, conferences, and treaties. Ironically, it took decades for countries to realize that just getting together for coffee could have been a far more effective strategy. Fact: It's said that the original coffee served at these meetings was so bad that it led to more cooperation than the actual discussions.
  • Headline: G.O.P. SETS '60 GOAL; 3 Million Party Workers to Be Sought for Elections. Impact: Setting a recruitment goal for party workers led to the rise of political internships, which have since become the breeding ground for future politicians who will eventually break the same promises they once made as interns. Fact: The phrase '3 million party workers' sounds more like a poorly planned attempt at hosting a rave than a political strategy.
  • Headline: ELIZABETH IS WARNED; Says Rule on Unwed Mothers Would Halt Relief Aid. Impact: This warning highlighted the intersection of social policy and welfare, influencing future legislation on aid programs that aimed to protect vulnerable populations while also sparking heated debates on morality versus practicality. Fact: It's always amusing how rules intended to 'help' often end up creating more problems. The irony is rich enough to pay for a year's worth of social services.
  • Headline: TRACKS PAID BILLS FOR 5 STATE AIDES; Yonkers Joins Roosevelt in Confirming Hotel Expense at Qualifying Races TRACKS PAID BILLS FOR 5 STATE AIDES. Impact: This revelation about expense accounts opened the floodgates for all sorts of questionable spending practices in government, leading to countless scandals and the invention of the phrase 'It's not a bribe, it’s just a generous donation.'. Fact: Apparently, the definition of 'qualifying races' in politics has nothing to do with speed and everything to do with how fast you can get a free hotel room.

Wall Street Time Machine

The Right Call: A historical $1,000 investment comparison using the stored long-range dataset.
Rank #1
JNJ
Johnson & Johnson
Price in 1959
$0.06
Stored value
$3,433,940

Johnson & Johnson - If you invested $1,000 in 1959, it would be worth $3,433,940 today (3433.9x return)

Rank #2
PG
Procter & Gamble
Price in 1959
$0.25
Stored value
$586,657

Procter & Gamble - If you invested $1,000 in 1959, it would be worth $586,657 today (586.7x return)

Rank #3
MO
Philip Morris
Price in 1959
$0.00
Stored value
$23,651,341

Philip Morris - If you invested $1,000 in 1959, it would be worth $23,651,341 today (23651.3x return)

🦸 Top 5 Comics
The Flash #105
The Flash #105
$2,000
Showcase #22
Showcase #22
$50
Adventure Comics #260
Adventure Comics #260
$500
Journey into Mystery #53
Journey into Mystery #53
$8,000
Tales to Astonish #1
Tales to Astonish #1
$475
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Barbie Doll
Barbie Doll
$150.00
Chatty Cathy Doll
Chatty Cathy Doll
$425.00
View-Master
View-Master
$40.00
Colorforms
Colorforms
$250.00
Etch A Sketch
Etch A Sketch
$75.00
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
1959 Topps Mickey Mantle #10
1959 Topps Mickey Mantle #10
$500,000
1959 Barbie Number 1 Card
1959 Barbie Number 1 Card
$83,000
1959 Fleer Ted Williams #5 Ted’s Idol β€˜Babe Ruth’
1959 Fleer Ted Williams #5 Ted’s Idol β€˜Babe Ruth’
$350
1959 Swedish Rekord Journal Wayne Gretzky
1959 Swedish Rekord Journal Wayne Gretzky
$75,000
1959 Bazooka Baseball Card #4 Willie Mays
1959 Bazooka Baseball Card #4 Willie Mays
$250,000