By the Numbers in 1945
World Population
—
UK Life Expectancy
52.8 years
US Life Expectancy
54.0 years
Gold Price (per oz)
$35
Dow Jones Index
174
US National Debt
—
Sovereign Nations
58
How Much Did Things Cost in 1945?
| Item | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Average house price | £650 | $4,200 |
| Average salary | £270 | $2,200 |
| Pint of milk | 2½d | $0.15 |
| Loaf of bread | 4½d | $0.09 |
| Dozen eggs | 1s 9d | $0.58 |
| Pint of beer | 8d | $0.18 |
| Cinema ticket | 11d | $0.30 |
Technology and Inventions in 1945
The atomic bomb was detonated for the first time at the Trinity test in New Mexico, then used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ushering in the nuclear age. ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic computer, was nearing completion. Fluoridated water was first introduced to public supplies in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- ● First atomic bomb detonated at the Trinity test site in New Mexico
- ● ENIAC general-purpose electronic computer nearing completion at the University of Pennsylvania
- ● Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first city to fluoridate its water supply
- ● Percy Spencer accidentally discovered the microwave cooking principle at Raytheon
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