[Incorrigible]

Wonder if she'll be listening to Joe McCarthy on the radio?

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

Needs to change that phone. All calls placed thru an operator.

The point of this exercise is what exactly?

[Moleman]

Well, what I would need was a 50's style hotrod!!

[Little Ray]

Disposable diapers were invented in 1950 but not widely available; cloth diapers were standard.

If my kids were in diapers, that is about the only thing I think I would miss...

[shekkian]

Her clothes and hairstyle don't fit the time period.

[ApplegateRanch]

Sources: Christina Wall, Wikipedia, EnchantedLearning.com, About.com, Fcc.gov.

Not a single PRINT source. Interesting.

[soccermom]

I haven't read the details, but that sounds like fun!

[wizr]

...and many busineeses, if they opened at all, opened after church...and there was actually groves and pastures in SoCal...There were no freeways....Soft drinks were a nickel...Cheap burgers were 4 or 05 for a buck...There was boogie woogie and blues, but no rock 'n roll, yet...Most moms stayed home and maintained the family...

[Centurion2000]

Pretty interesting. Now the SCA can have divisions: Renn, Early 19th, Late 19th Century and 1950's :)

[1Old Pro]

Masters?

[Paved Paradise]

Now, they feel like they can't have a normal conversation. And by losing that skill, they become fearful of them. I feel like part of the reason to do this is we're in this spiral that's not good.''

SO TRUE. The kids today have a very hard time articulating. So much of what they say makes no sense and they pepper their conversations with "like" every other word.

[RobRoy]

I read last year about a guy that did this. Two things that were interesting:

1. There was no such thing as "good" vodka in the US in the 1950's.
2. If you follow the instructions for brewing coffee in the 1950's if you took it black, you could put a spoon in your cup full of coffee and easily see the spoon all the way to the bottom. Try that at starbucks, even with an 8 ounce cup...

[RobRoy]

There were a LOT more dirt/gravel roads and parking lots.

Driving on roads in the rain could be dangerous too. Roads only had a line in the middle. Nothing on the sides.

Also, nowadays a yellow dashed line in the middle of the road means two way traffic. White means both lanes go in the same direction (like on freeways/tollways). In the 50's they were all white.

This is one of the things I have noticed in some low budget movies and tv shows. They are supposed to take place sometime before 1970, but the roads are painted/striped as they are today.

Also, roads didn't have the nice shoulders they do today.

[Xenalyte]

"I feel like part of the reason to do this is we're in this spiral that's not good."

A grad student should be better-spoken than this. Pathetic.

[familyop]

"In this pre-1950 land, there are no frozen dinners, no non-stick skillets and no fast food franchises."

There were fast food drive-ins and restaurants. ...burgers in less than five minutes.

"And certain types of cosmetics — lipstick and hair conditioners were around but don't appear to have been commonly used by most women, according to Wall's research."

Very bright, red lipstick (near crimson) was very common during the 1950s. I've also noticed that Baby Boomers who were teens during the early 1970s won't admit that some rather more scandalous things than we see presently were worn then.

[aruanan]

Examples of modern conveniences that were not invented or not widely available before 1950

But hand-held electrical devices were among the first electrical inventions in the 1800's:

In the early 1900's, more than a dozen manufacturers created less expensive battery or "plug-in" vibrators. Vibrators were actually advertised in the Sears and Roebuck catalogs as late as 1918 since they were associated with health/medicine. Vibrators also became more economical so most women could purchase them for home-use. Thanks to electricity, the vibrator is noted to be the first electrical device invented after the toaster.

[RightWhale]

television had been invented by 1950, but it wasn't commonplace

House down the street had a TV in 1950. They put it in the bay window facing the street so the whole neighborhood would know. Everybody had radio and the radio dramas were the best ever.

[WLR]

What a neat Junior High School Project I bet she gets an A

What... Masters Degree?

No your mistaken she is in the 11th Grade and doing a project for her history teacher Mrs Rabinowitz 5th Period.

They don't confer Masters Degrees based upon kid stunts.

W

[subterfuge]

IMO, 90% of what she's learned is that the television is the most time consuming and detrimental piece of technology there is.

Sorry, gotta go watch that rerun of the Simpsons I've seen 8 times already.

[SoCal Pubbie]

No no fast food franchises? The first McDonald's opened in 1940 and they introduced the "Speedee Service System" in 1948. In-N-Out also opened in 1948. So you go girl, get that Double Double!

[Nowhere Man]

Ping! A lot of TV related content here