The Average Family income was $4,421(that's more than I make now!)with men earning $3,400 and Woman $1,100. Sounds like a little but look at what you could buy with that money:

FOOD:

Bacon was 66¢ a lb.
Bread was only 18¢ a lb. can you believe?
A Chuck Roast was 50¢ a lb. and Coffee was 93¢ per lb.
Eggs were 61¢ a doz. and flour was 54¢ a lb. and Margarine was 29¢ a lb.
Milk was 46¢ for a 1/2 gal. and Oranges were 53¢ a doz.
Pork Chops were 79¢ a lb. and a 10 lb. bag of Potatoes was only 56¢.
Sugar was 52¢ for a 5 lb. bag and Tomatoes were only 15¢ a can.

WOMENS CLOTHING:

Bra $3.95,
Girdle $4.95,
Nylons $1.00.

EVERYDAY STUFF:

Baby Food (4 jars) 87¢,
Bath Towel 95¢,
Baseball Glove $9.95,
Camera Film 43¢,
Cat Food (3 8-oz. cans) 39¢,
Chocolate Cherries (13 oz. box) 55¢,
Flashlight Battery 14¢,
Home Permanent $1.50,
Lipstick 49¢,
Electric Washing Machine $69.95.

The House of Representatives votes itself a 50% pay hike (some things never change!)
Premier Ngo Dinh Diem declares South Vietnam a republic and becomes it's first President.
The First missile with an Atomic Warhead is tested.
The U.S.S.R Explodes it's most powerful Nuclear Bomb.
Con Ed announces it's plan to build first privately owned Nuclear Power plant.
The "Nautilus", the world's first Atomic powered submarine is launched.

The two big unions AF of L and the CIO merge to form world's largest union: AFL-CIO(and it was run by the Mafia before the politicians took it over and stole even more money!)
The B-52 is America's newest and biggest Jet bomber. It is the most powerful on Earth.
Plans are announced to launch the first Satellite by 1957 or 1958 but Russia beat us to it.
Nepal's King: "Sri Sri Sri Sri Sri Tribhubana Bir Bikram Jung Bahadur Shum Shere Jung Deva" dies in Zurich at the age of 49
Gina Lollobrigida hailed as reigning Queen of the Italian film industry.

MARRIAGES:

Betty Hutton & Alan Livinston, Eddie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds, Clark Gable & Kay Williams Spreckels.

DIVORCES:

Gregory Pecker divorced Gretta Konen Peck.

MISS AMERICA:

Lee Meriwether (California)

Here are some NEW WORDS that were invented during 1955:

ICBM - Intercontinental Ballistic Missle
ROCK & ROLL - We all know what that WAS!
CHURCH KEY - A can or Bottle opener used for Beer
JUNK MAIL - Advertisements addressed to "occupant" or "boxholder"
SECOND BANANA - A supporting comic actor or actress
UFO - Unidentified Flying Object

The US Post Office chains 20,000 ballpoint pens to desks to see how they hold up and how many are stolen. (only two were stolen in 1955 but in 1999 over 100,000 were stolen)

There were 1,531,000 Marriages, 4,097,000 Births and about 370,000 Divorces.
The Minimum wage increased to $1.00 an hour. The average worker earned $1.90 an hour.(that's about what you earn in the the Millennium after Taxes and Surcharges!)
Steelworkers got a 15¢ pay raise after a 12 hour strike.
Pepsi-Cola for the first time knocked Coca-Cola out of first place.
Japan starts selling products to the USA.
Oscar Mayer whose lunchon meats became a lunchbox favorite.

Plastic flower pots rapidly replace clay pots throughout Europe.
Johnson & Johnson invents the worlds first "Baby Shampoo" that won't burn or irritate the baby's eyes.
Dr. Jonas Salk discovers an anti-polio vaccine. 400,000 School children given vaccine.
Heart Surgery performed on all 4 valves.
Scabies fades out as a disease.
New wonder drug, Chlorpromazine, is found to stop Hiccups.
New Pregnancy test claims results in two hours.

The "Video Telephone" of tomorrow unveiled at the Western Electronics Convention in San Francisco, cost is $5,000 per phone.(you can get one now for FREE on the net!)
Bell Telephone develops transistorized components, thereby reducing the size of a large capacity computer from room size to three cubic feet.

Two British doctors report that body temperature can be quickly changed by placing a balloon in the stomach and then filling it with Hot or Cold water.

INVENTIONS:

Alexander Fleming who discovered Penicillin dies at 73.
Hubert C. Booth inventor of the first Vacuum cleaner in 1901, dies at 83.
First self-service ticket vending machine is set up in Manhattan's Grand Central Station.(it was probably stolen the next day)
The Vibrating toothbrush is invented.
So is the Singing Teakettle with electric plug.(I think I saw them on the Ed Sullivan show)
Play-Doh, "Special K" cereal from Kellogg, "Tony the Tiger" in Sugar Frosted Flakes ads.

 Coca-Cola changes it's bottle size from 6 ounces to 10 ounces and introduces 12 and 26 ounce King size and Family size bottles.

General Mills announces that Betty Crocker is getting a face lift to make her look more like a sincere housewife. Marketing surveys revealed Betty looked too much like a career girl.

"On the Waterfront" was the first movie where an actor says "go to Hell!" (now ALL the movies tell you to Go To Hell!)
The Black Leather "Motorcycle" look becomes a national craze among teenagers.
Marlon Brando trades in his Motorcycle duds for a slick, dapper wardrobe in the movie "Guys & Dolls" and sings and dances.

SOME BEST MOVIES OF THE YEAR:

MARTY
MISTER ROBERTS
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE
THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH
TO CATCH A THIEF
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

FAMOUS BIRTHS:

Debra Winger
Bruce Willis
Arsenio Hall
William Dafoe
Kevin Costner
Dana Carvey
Robby Benson
Billy Idol
Roseanne Cash
Kirstie Alley
John Calabash (who's he?)

More than 15,000 people purchase advance tickets for Alan Freed's first "Rock 'n' Roll Party" in New York City.
Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" hits #1 on the charts.
Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" hits #1 on Billboard and stays for 14 weeks!
RCA demonstrates a music synthesizer.

TELEVISION FIRSTS:

First color broadcast of the World Series is televised by NBC.(but nobody saw it in color cause everyone had B&W TV's!)
First network animated series "Mighty Mouse Playhouse" on CBS. (I watched it every day!)
CBS introduces the Johnny Carson Show.
Gunsmoke, the popular Radio series, comes to Television.
The Du Mont TV Network shuts down due to financial losses
ABC introduces Bob Keeshan (formerly Clarabell the Clown) as "Captain Kangaroo".

SOME TOP TV PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR:

I LOVE LUCY
JACKIE GLEASON SHOW
TOAST OF THE TOWN (Ed Sullivan)
COLGATE COMEDY HOUR
MARTHA RAYE SHOW
MILTON BERLE SHOW
DISNEYLAND
DRAGNET
YOU BET YOUR LIFE
$64,000 QUESTION
CLIMAX THEATER
GUNSMOKE

The "Mickey Mouse Club" made it's TV debut. Sales of the Mouseketeer hat hit 26,000 weekly! (I wore mine everyday when I watched the show.)

Other Favorite TV Shows were:

Perry Mason (I still love the reruns!)
Phil Silvers Show
Rin Tin Tin
Studio One
Omnibus
Truth or Consequences
Your Hit Parade (Watched it every chance I got.)
Captain Kangaroo
Groucho Marx Show (Sigh... Groucho and his rubber chicken.)
The Jack Benny Show
Lassie (Watched it every Saturday morning.)

"Captain Video" Cancelled. Wearers of the Captain Video decoder ring were dismayed when their favorite interplanetary show was given the ax after a 7 year run.

Pocket size battery operated radios introduced.
There were 33.5 million TV sets in America.
The first "Pay-as-you-see" TV was introduced.

Davy Crockett fad sweeps the U.S.! Walt Disney launches a national "Davy Crockett" craze with his new hit series. Every child wanted a "coonskin" hat and other Davy Crockett items. (I had one!)

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