We actually only have one birthday, we just celebrate that same date each year and the more you have, the longer you live. (I think) I added a few photos of my wife, to a Birthday tune. (She asked me not to use last years tune again?) I hope Janice has the best year ever and many more. Happy Birthday Janice
Someone said the Happy Birthday Song is copyrighted, and it's hard to find a new birthday song for Jan on her birthday. Yes, I have made several for this occasion and I decided to make a new one for this birthday since it is a special one, a monumental one. I won't tell you how old she is, but it is the oldest she has ever been today. Happy Birthday Janice and many more!
What Things Cost in 1954
Average Prices in 1954
Car: $1,950
House: $17,500
Gas: $0.29
Bread: $0.17
Gallon of Milk: $0.92
Stamp: 3 cents
1954 Facts you may not have known:
BUSINESS & ECONOMY:
- New York Stock Exchange prices reach their highest level since 1929
- Increasing global concern about nuclear fallout and radioactive waste disposal
- Dr. Jonas Salk begins inoculating schoolchildren with his polio vaccine
- Physicist and nuclear pioneer J. Robert Oppenheimer dismissed from government projects due to his political beliefs
- First successful kidney transplant
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:
- World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland, 4-0
- Philadelphia Athletics move to Kansas City
- Sports Illustrated debuts
SPORTS:
- Movies: On the Waterfront, Rear Window, The Seven Samauri
- Songs: Hernando’s Hideaway, Three Coins in a Fountain, Mister Sandman, Young at Heart
- TV Shows: Jack Benny Show, Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, George Gobel Show, Mr. Wizard, Disneyland
- Books: A Stillness at Appomattox, Bruce Catton; The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien; Lord of the Flies, William Golding
- First annual Newport Jazz Festival held
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT:
- 29 million U.S. households have television sets, double the number in service three years before
- Billy Graham leads an increasing interest in Christian revival meetings
- Davy Crockett becomes a national fad; sales of "coonskin" caps soar
EVERYDAY LIFE:
- Sales of comic books reach 20 million copies a month
- The phrase "under God" added to the Pledge of Allegiance
FUN FACTS:
January 14 – Marilyn Monroe marries baseball player Joe DiMaggio.
February 10 – After authorizing $385 million over the $400 million already budgeted for military aid to Vietnam, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam.
February 23 – The first mass vaccination of children against polio begins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
March 25 The 26th Academy Awards ceremony is held. RCA manufactures the first color TV set (12-inch screen; price: $1,000)
April - Bill Haley & His Comets record "Rock Around The Clock", thus starting the Rock and Roll craze. April 1 The U.S. Congress and President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorize the founding of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
May 14 – The Boeing 707 is released after about two years of development.
June 14 – The words "under God" are added to the United States Pledge of Allegiance.
August 16 – The first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine is published in the United States.
September 3 – The last new episode of The Lone Ranger radio program is broadcast, after 2,956 episodes over a period of 21 years. Reruns of old episodes continue to be transmitted.
November 23 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises 3.27 points, or 0.86 percent, closing at an all-time high of 382.74. More significantly, this is the first time the Dow has surpassed its peak level reached just before the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
December 1 – The first Hyatt Hotel, The Hyatt House Los Angeles, opens on the grounds of Los Angeles International Airport. It is the first hotel in the world built on an airport property.
December 4 – The first Burger King opens in Miami, Florida.