APRIL 8, 1961

SATURDAY
1961 Coca-Cola advertising artwork
$1,000 INVESTED IN COKE STOCK (KO) IN 1961
WOULD HAVE MADE YOU $1,184,600 IN THE 2025 DATASET
Min Wage Hourly$1.06
Median Home Price$13,070.00
Gas Price Avg$0.32
Bread Price Avg$0.22
Movie Ticket Avg$0.78
First Class Stamp$0.04
Milk Price Avg$1.02
Top Movies From 1961
Show screen release and event cards
1 West Side Story
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West Side Story
2 The Guns of Navarone
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The Guns of Navarone
3 El Cid
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El Cid
4 The Parent Trap
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The Parent Trap
5 The Absent-Minded Professor
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The Absent-Minded Professor
6 King of Kings
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King of Kings
7 Lover Come Back
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Lover Come Back
8 One Hundred and One Dalmatians
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One Hundred and One Dalmatians
9 La Dolce Vita
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La Dolce Vita
10 Come September
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Come September
The Misfits
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The Misfits
Underworld U.S.A.
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Underworld U.S.A.
The Secret Ways
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The Secret Ways
Gorgo
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Gorgo
One-Eyed Jacks
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One-Eyed Jacks
Spartacus
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Spartacus
Exodus
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Exodus
Psycho
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Psycho
The Magnificent Seven
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The Magnificent Seven
The Sundowners
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The Sundowners
The Grass Is Greener
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The Grass Is Greener
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver
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The 3 Worlds of Gulliver
Swiss Family Robinson
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Swiss Family Robinson

April 8, 1961 Trivia

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Television On April 8, 1961
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 Flintstones poster
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The Flintstones
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
'Way Out poster
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'Way Out

Exact-date daily brief

April 8, 1961

On April 8, 1961, the Paris Festival opened, featuring a performance of 'Moses and Aaron' by an opera troupe from Berlin. This event marked a significant cultural exchange in a Europe still recovering from the aftermath of World W...

Inventions & Breakthroughs of April 1961

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

1 First Human Spaceflight
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First Human Spaceflight
2 Industrial Robot (Unimate)
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Industrial Robot (Unimate)
3 Early Word Processor
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Early Word Processor
4 Integrated Circuit Computer
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Integrated Circuit Computer
5 Commercial Satellite Communications
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Commercial Satellite Communications
6 Space Food Systems
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Space Food Systems
7 Disposable Medical Gloves
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Disposable Medical Gloves
8 Electronic Fuel Injection
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Electronic Fuel Injection
9 Programmable Logic Controller Concept
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Programmable Logic Controller Concept
10 Ultrasound Fetal Monitoring
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Ultrasound Fetal Monitoring

The Sounds of

Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year

Headlines From April 8, 1961

Full News Archive

  • Headline: Paris Festival Features Berlin Opera Troupe. Impact: The opera 'Moses and Aaron' inspired a wave of avant-garde performances that would eventually lead to a world where interpretive dance and existential dread are considered the highest forms of art. Thanks, Berlin. Fact: 'Moses and Aaron' is so avant-garde that even Moses would probably be like, 'Dude, chill with the dissonance!'.
  • Headline: Archdiocesean Publications Debate Social Issues. Impact: The Boston Archdiocese's critique of societal aims sparked a debate that culminated in the invention of the phrase 'let's agree to disagree,' which has since been used to justify everything from family dinners to political debates. Fact: In the world of church publications, calling something 'unbalanced' is the equivalent of saying, 'Your haircut is interesting.'.
  • Headline: President Gives Johnson High Praise for Mission; KENNEDY PRAISES JOHNSON ON TRIP. Impact: Kennedy's praise for Johnson created a ripple effect of political back-patting that would eventually lead to the phrase 'bipartisanship' becoming synonymous with 'we're all just pretending to like each other.'. Fact: Johnson probably appreciated the praise, but let's be realβ€”he was just waiting for his turn to show off his own 'great mission' in a Texas-sized way.
  • Headline: BOTVINNIK AHEAD AS PLAY RESUMES; Challenger Gains Pawn in 9th Game With Tal and Has Superior Position. Impact: Botvinnik's lead in the chess match against Tal inspired a generation of chess enthusiasts, leading to the eventual rise of chess clubs in basements worldwide, where awkwardness flourished. Fact: Chess: the only sport where you can say 'I'm a pawn' and actually mean it.
  • Headline: Politics of Swedish Youth. Impact: The leftist orientation among Swedish youth sparked a trend that would get so out of hand that it led to the invention of IKEA, where every piece of furniture comes with an existential crisis. Fact: In Sweden, being leftist is practically a rite of passage. Just don’t forget to assemble your beliefs with an Allen wrench.
  • Headline: 247 FEARED LOST IN FIRE ON LINER IN PERSIAN GULF; 450 Are Reported Rescued in Gale --Some Aboard Said to Be Americans. Impact: The tragic fire on the liner in the Persian Gulf resulted in stricter safety regulations for maritime travel, which, ironically, made cruise ships even more like floating hotels where people can pretend they're on vacation. Fact: If you ever thought a cruise was a gamble, just remember: at least you’re not betting on lives in a sinking shipβ€”unless it’s a reality show.
  • Headline: DIRECTOR IN TEXAS WINS $1,000 PRIZE; Paul Baker of Dallas Center Gets Area's First Rodgers and Hammerstein Award. Impact: Paul Baker winning the $1,000 prize ignited a creative revolution in theater, where every playwright suddenly believed they too could win awards for their deeply introspective yet utterly confusing works. Fact: The Rodgers and Hammerstein Award: because every playwright needs a shiny trophy to distract from their crippling self-doubt.

Wall Street Time Machine

The Right Call: A historical $1,000 investment comparison using the stored long-range dataset.
Rank #1
PG
Procter & Gamble
Price in 1961
$0.25
Stored value
$586,657

Procter & Gamble - If you invested $1,000 in 1961, it would be worth $586,657 today (586.7x return)

Rank #3
MO
Philip Morris
Price in 1961
$0.00
Stored value
$23,651,354

Philip Morris - If you invested $1,000 in 1961, it would be worth $23,651,354 today (23651.4x return)

🦸 Top 5 Comics
Fantastic Four #1
Fantastic Four #1
$65,000
Journey into Mystery #69
Journey into Mystery #69
$3,000
Strange Adventures #124
Strange Adventures #124
$300
Action Comics #283
Action Comics #283
$250
Showcase #30
Showcase #30
$42,000
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Ken (Barbie's Boyfriend)
Ken (Barbie's Boyfriend)
$200.00
Chatty Cathy
Chatty Cathy
$425.00
Matchbox Cars
Matchbox Cars
$100.00
Nutty Mads
Nutty Mads
$200.00
Etch A Sketch
Etch A Sketch
$250.00
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
1961 Topps Mickey Mantle #300
1961 Topps Mickey Mantle #300
$12,000
1961 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain #8
1961 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain #8
$1,220,000
1961 Topps Roger Maris #2
1961 Topps Roger Maris #2
$250,000
1961 Nu-Cards Scoops Bobby Thompson #10
1961 Nu-Cards Scoops Bobby Thompson #10
$1,500
1961 Parkhurst Jean Beliveau #34
1961 Parkhurst Jean Beliveau #34
$1,500