1950's

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 * Popular television shows** were I Love Lucy, The adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and Superman to name a few. Sock hops, (dance hops), hula hoops, and cruising were very popular among young people and popular slang were words like squares, chicks, be bop, threads, keen, back seat bingo (kissing in the back seat), kill (impress), and cat (a cool person).

1950s cookbooks, food company brochures, and popular women's magazines confirm the popularity of [|tuna noodle]& [|green bean] casseroles frosted meatloaf (frosted with mashed potatoes!, served with peas) and anything grilled...though mostly red meat...on the barbeque (a popular "new" suburban trend). Main meals were accompanied by frozen vegetables, with lots of butter or sauce. Canned soup reigned supreme as the ultimate combination of convenience and versatility, explaining the proliferation of casseroles. Three bean salad was ubiquitous. [|Chex Mix] (also known as Trix Mix, TV Mix) was the "signature" snack.

Music "Rock 'N Roll" is a musical genre whose 'golden age' is usually recognized as the decades of the 1950's and 1960's. This musical form had its beginnings in the blues tunes, gospel music, and jazz-influenced vocal music that became popular among African-American audiences after World War II. A new kind of blues, it featured electrically amplified guitars, harmonicas, and drummers that emphasized afterbeats. At the same time, black gospel music grew in popularity. These forms of black popular music were given the label rhythm and blues (R and B) and were played on big-city radio stations. Radio spread this music's appeal from black communities to towns throughout all of the United States. By the mid-1950's such performers as Little Richard, Joe Turner, and Chuck Berry were becoming popular with white audiences. Radio disc jockeys began calling their music rock 'n roll. 1. Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley and His Comets 2. Rock and Roll is Here To Stay - Danny & the Juniors 3. Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino 4. At The Hop - Danny and the Juniors 5. Little Bitty Pretty One - Thurston Harris 6. The ABC's Of Love - Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers 7. All Shook Up - Elvis Presley 8. Little Darlin' - The Diamonds 9. Come Go With Me - Dell-Vikings 10. Kansas City - Wilbert Harrison 11. Love Is Strange - Mickey and Sylvia 12. Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent 13. I'm Walkin' - Fats Domino 14. Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly 15. School Day - Chuck Berry 16. What'd I Say - Ray Charles 17. The Stroll - The Diamonds 18. Goody Goody - Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers 19. Stood Up - Ricky Nelson 20. Chantilly Lace - Big Bopper
 * **Media**
 * **1950:** More than 3 billion tickets sold at U.S. movie theaters.
 * **1950:** On TV: //Truth or Consequences, What’s My Line, Burns and Allen,// Jack Benny.
 * **1950:** Party lines make up 75 percent of all U.S. telephone lines.
 * **1950:** Networks knuckle under to Red Channels; blacklists “subversives..

Events Alaska and Hawaii became states in 1959. The Korean War started in 1950 and ended in 1953. In 1955, one of the most famous scientist, Albert Einstein died. He was 76 years old and had a brilliant mind.

Taboo In the 1950s, if anyone even mentioned something about rock ‘n’ roll music, they would have been frowned upon because Western classical music was still the order of the day. Until very recently, if anyone was heard talking about marijuana, they would be looked at as if they had committed a serious crime.

Sports People in the Fifties loved sports. More leisure time and greater general prosperity led to greater participation in athletic activities for the average person and added large numbers of fans to all types of sports. Unlike many areas of society in this decade, athletes were a diverse group. Popularity was not based on social status, but on the ability of the individual. All American sports such as baseball and football gave opportunities for the rise of stars like Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Henry (Hank) Aaron, Juan Marichal, Jim Brown, and Frank Gifford. Great women athletes played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Crime The 1950s saw the first harbingers of another major crime problem that would confront the State Police in future years --- illegal drugs. There were sporadic references to illegal drugs in the first four decades, including the seizure in 1920 of opium worth $225,000, approximately equal to $2,000,000 in 1995, but 1955 is the first year that the State Police had a separate section on narcotics in the Annual Report. In that year, the Division conducted a cooperative investigation with Federal law enforcement agents that resulted in the arrests of 17 "pushers" in Suffolk County and four distributors in New York City. The primary drug of concern was heroin, with some arrests for marijuana possession and sale.

Teenagers The teenage boys were taught to go to the military or find a job to support his family. The girls were taught to take care of the household,marriage, and education. Teenager started to become a little more rebellious and independent. Teenagers would go to a sock hop and or drive in theater on their spare time.