By the Numbers in 1958
World Population
—
UK Life Expectancy
54.6 years
US Life Expectancy
55.2 years
Gold Price (per oz)
$35.08
Dow Jones Index
540
US National Debt
—
Sovereign Nations
83
How Much Did Things Cost in 1958?
| Item | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Average house price | £2,300 | $10,500 |
| Average salary | £590/year | $4,250/year |
| Pint of milk | 4d | $0.25 |
| Loaf of bread | 6d | $0.19 |
| Dozen eggs | 3s 6d | $0.62 |
| Pint of beer | 1s 5d | $0.43 |
| Gallon of petrol/gas | 4s 2d | $0.31 |
| Cinema ticket | 2s 3d | $0.65 |
Technology and Inventions in 1958
The jet age arrived for transatlantic passengers as both BOAC (de Havilland Comet 4) and Pan Am (Boeing 707) launched commercial jet services across the Atlantic. NASA was established to coordinate America's space programme after the Sputnik shock. The integrated circuit was independently invented by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor.
- ● NASA established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act
- ● First transatlantic jet passenger services by BOAC and Pan Am
- ● Jack Kilby invents the integrated circuit at Texas Instruments
- ● USS Nautilus completes the first submarine voyage under the North Pole
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