Livin’ Life in the 50’s BY: Kassandra

New and Cool Inventions… 1950:The answering machine- created by Bell Laboratories and Western Electric. 1951: Super Glue 1951:Video tape recorder- created by Charles Ginsburg 1953: Saran Wrap- created by Dow Chemical 1953:T.V. color broadcasting began 1954:Oral contraceptives invented 1955: “Flashmatic”- first wireless T.V. remote 1956: The hovercraft- invented by Christopher Cockerell 1957: “AA” battery- created by Eveready 1958: Laser- Created by Gordon Gould

Top ten toys of 1950… 1.) Barbie- In 1959 Barbie made her debut at the American toy fair in New York city. She was founded by Ruth Handler, co- founder of Mattel. 2.) Play-Doh- Created by Noah and Joseph McVicker in It was a non toxic, reusable wall paper cleaner. The next year when Rainbow Crafts Company realized kids loved it, they manufactured the product and named it Play-Doh. 3.) Frisbee- Created by Walter Frederick Morrison. He designed this in his love and fascination for flying saucers. He later sold his idea to Wham-O and they began marketing the product. 4.) Tonka Trucks-Created as a result of a failure by a group of teachers in Minnesota when they were attempting to make and sell garden tools. They decided to use the left over materials to make toys. The toy truck they made was named after Lake Minnetonka.

Top ten toys of the 1950’s cont.. 5.) Matchbox Cars- Created by Jack Odell, as a result of show and tell. He made a model for his daughter to bring to school. He placed the car into a matchbox. When she got to school it was a hit, every kid wanted a mini car that would fit inside a matchbox. 6.) Yahtzee- Was created off “The Yacht Game.” Edwin Lowe, a toymaker was asked by a wealthy Canadian couple to make copies of their game to give as gifts to their friends. In 1956 the couple received the first 1,000 game sets in exchange for the rights to their creation. That year Lowe changed the name from “The Yacht Game”, to Yahtzee. 7.) Skateboards- Was first manufactured in It was created as a way to surf outside the water. 8.) Hula Hoops- Started out when Aurther Melin and Richard Knerr’s friend told them about children twirling bamboo hoops around their waist as exercise during school in Australia. Then in 1958, Melin and Knerr, manufactured a plastic hoop in several bright colors.

Top ten toys of the 50’s part 3 9.) Mr. Potato Head-Created by George Lerner. It was designed to allow children to push pins into fruits and vegetables. His idea was that children liked to play with their food. His idea was declined, but he didn’t give up. He decided to give his idea to Hasbro. Then Hasbro introduced Mr. potato Head as a collection of parts with which children would use real potatoes to make endless faces. This is 8 years before the plastic body was included. 10.) PEZ- Created by the Austrian candy maker Edward Haas. It was originally created as a mint dispenser. An employee of PEZ Oskar Uxa changed the design of the dispenser to look more like a cigarette lighter. It was not until 1955 that the company decided to place heads on the dispensers and market the to children.

Fashion in the fifties (shoes) Saddle shoes – worn by most woman. They are very heavy, stiff, and you could never wash them. Spike or Stiletto heel – was designed to draw attention to the leg and calf, they had a very small heel tip. Flats – mostly worn with jeans or to school. The “ballet slipper” – very popular mostly worn by young girls.

Fashion of the fifties (hair) For woman, most had soft, curly, and short hair. Straight was out. The most popular for men was the “ducktail.” Mostly worn by the rebels, or the bad boys.

Fashion in the fifties (teens) Girls wore dresses everyday – pants nor shorts were permitted. The dresses had to come to at least mid-knee. Dungarees were known as “jeans,” they were known to be worn around the house or played outside. The sailor look was a popular one.

Fashion in the fifties (woman) Woman dressed “smartly” in the fifties. The dress on the right, is the pencil dress which was worn to give an hourglass, or figure 8 body shape. It was not worn by young girls, or teens because it was too provocative. In the summer young woman wore halter tops, with no belly buttons showing.

Fashion in the fifties (men) Men’s fashion was thought to be like “fonzie or grease,” but they were really more business like. The cardigan sweater and the collared shirts were very big.

Wrappin’ up the fifties.. New inventions were being made everyday and new toys for children were produced. The different styles were all unique. That was life in the fifties

THE END!