Context The aftermath of the Second World War brought ruin which felt across Europe and the world. However, by the 1950s, the economies of the west had regained strength, and there was a "boom" in the development of consumer-driven markets. At the same time, the baby boom sprung into action, with record-number births in the US and the West, lasting over a decade until 1964. Larger populations combined with a strong economy drove major technological innovation and development, resulting in many revolutionary technological advances which would impact everyday life.
Household Appliances Philo Taylor Farnsworth invented the first television in 1927. During 1949, many television stations started to arise and televisions were sold worldwide. The Golden Age of Television started in 1953, companies started to shut down radio stations and moved on to television programs, and by 1955 about 50% of Americans owned a television.
Near the beginning of the 19th century, inventor Dr. John Corrie disliked "the evils of high temperatures" and designed a rudimentary air conditioning unit. By the 1950s, air conditioners have spread across all of America and almost every home and building had some sort of air conditioner.
Since the early 1800s, most households had copper buckets with soap to wash their clothes, using these appliances it would take about 8 hours to completely wash a set of clothes. After the discovery and development of electricity, inventor Alva Fisher added motors to a metal bucket to create "The Thor" or the first electric washing machine. In 1958, a semi-automatic wringer-washer was invented. This was the most automatic washer at the time
Timeline of Major Consumer Tech 1950 - First Credit Cards 1951 - UNIVAC - First Commercial Computer 1952 - First Hydrogen Bomb 1953 - Polio Vaccine 1953 - Saran Wrap invented 1953 - First Transistor Radio 1954 - First Solar Cell 1954 - First Successful Kidney Transplant 1955 - First Atomic Clock 1955 - First Hovercraft 1956 - Nuclear Power Discovered 1956 - Video Tape and Recorder 1957 - Sputnik I (First Satellite) 1958 - Modem Invented 1958 - First Microchip
Evaluation The 1950s era was considered the beginning of wide spread advertisement, the average annual bill for advertisements increased from $1.3 billion to $6 billion within one decade. In order for companies to maintain high demand, they always had to come up with "the new and improved" consumer products. After World War II, there was a "baby boom" around the globe, where a majority of the population began to live in suburban areas around urban cities.