1946 Fun Facts: Travel Back In Time With These Trivia

1946 is believed to be one of the most eventful years of the 20th century.

It was the first year after the end of World War II. Along with that, 1946 also saw a lot of far-end developments and accomplishments in technology, literature, lifestyle, and artistic endeavors.

Up until 1945, World War II had devastated the state of being as humans knew it, most notably post the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Before World War II, the Great Depression had already pushed people back on their knees by causing significant harm to the entire economic setup of almost every country.

As the hopes of recovery started seeing the light, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, starting the Second World War.

The moment the war ended, people expected a way towards peace and a better quality of life.

1946 was the first year when the world started to recover from the damages of the Great War. There were pursuits in the fields of art, cinema, science and technology, and political rehabilitation, along with an effort of forming an international framework to prevent any such terrible incident from occurring again in the future.

It was not a simple task, however, because the world was in shambles. People were displaced and the number of immigrants increased greatly.

Every major employment establishment was overrun with people looking for a livelihood in order to survive and there was an immense shortage of food and clothing resources.

Important Events In 1946 Around The World

1946 was a momentous year! It was the year that the United Nations was founded, the first atom bomb was detonated, and Elvis Presley made his debut on national television.

But there were also many smaller events that occurred during 1946, which are just as interesting. Let's explore some of the fascinating trivia and learn about some of the most important events in 1946.

In January 1946, the General Assembly of the United Nations held its first-ever meeting with representatives from the original 51 member states in the Westminster Central Hall, London. Here they would decide upon the procedural conduct of subsequent meetings and they also passed their first-ever resolution concerning nuclear weaponry and atomic energy.

In April 1946, the League of Nations held its last formal meeting before getting disbanded as an international non-governmental organization. It was unable to uphold its objective of preventing another worldwide conflict post World War I.

Among other important events, June 29, 1946, also witnessed a partial solar eclipse.

On July 5, 1946, the first 'bikini,' a two-piece swimming suit for women named after Bikini Atoll in the United States, went on sale in Paris, France. It was created and designed by a French designer, Louis Reard.

In 1946, UNESCO, or United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, was constituted and held its first-ever session in November of that year.

On the 11th day of the following month, UNICEF, or United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, was created by the UN General Assembly to deal with issues and problems faced by children living in war-torn nations.

In August, President Truman signed into law the Atomic Energy Act, 1946, also known as the McMohan Act in the United States of America. This would make way for the creation of the US Atomic Energy Commission (USAEC), a civilian body tasked with production as well as research and implementation of peaceful usage of nuclear weapons and energy.

Tupperware was first introduced to U.S. consumers, beginning its sale in regular departmental and hardware stores.

The first general-purpose, programmable ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was revealed in February 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania, developed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly for the U.S. government.

Immediately after World War II, there were talks of reviving the football World Cup by organizing the first game.

However, it was terribly difficult to organize it within one year, after a 12-year gap, leading the South American Championship in February 1946 to be considered by many as the unofficial World Cup, but FIFA did not recognize it as such.

Moreover, the Baseball World Series was also held in October 1946 between St. Louis Cardinals, which represented the National League, and Boston Red Sox, representing the American League.

Pop Culture In 1946

During this year of change and transformation, along with the quality of life, pop culture also started to revolutionize, by presenting a bunch of new types and genres of content to the public. Movies and books with post-war themes inspired by real-life events attracted instant public attention.

'All The King's Men', a political fiction novel written by American writer Robert Penn Warren and published by Harcourt, Brace & Company, came out in 1946.

The fantasy drama classic, 'It's a Wonderful Life', adapted from the short story 'The Greatest Gift', was released in 1946, directed by Frank Capra, who was also the producer of the movie.

'It's a Wonderful Life' was actually surrounded by a big controversy as its copyright protection was not renewed by the production house, so it made its way into the public domain, being aired by television channels almost for free.

On September 7, the 20th edition of the Miss America contest was organized at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Marilyn Buferd from California won, claiming the title of Miss America 1946 and becoming a famous fashion icon.

Frank Sinatra, considered a pop culture icon in the U.S., rose to fame with his first-ever studio album 'The Voice of Frank Sinatra' which was released by Columbia Records in March 1946.

Another quite famous artist, Harry James, released some influential songs in 1946, much of which became an instant hit on music charts across the country.

The famous movie series 'Dick Tracy' debuted in December of 1946, releasing for audiences across the country.

Prominent English writer, Herbert George Wells, also known as H.G. Wells, is known for his novels, short stories, and satire commentary and is most famous for his works 'The Invisible Man', 'The War of the Worlds', and 'The Time Machine', passed away on August 13, 1946, aged 79.

The first-ever Cannes Film Festival, which was originally planned to occur in 1939, eventually ended up debuting in September 1946, due to the delay caused by World War II.

1946 War Related Facts

Even though the war ended in 1945, the world had not been able to recover from what is now known as one of the largest devastations of all time. 1946 was when post-war reconciliation began and saw efforts to bring public life back to normal, along with attempts at the revival of the worldwide economy, trade, and business.

The war still significantly influenced how things were shaped in the new post-war era.

The most famous 'Iron Curtain' speech was delivered by previous British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Fulton, Missouri, United States, making an open declaration about the evident conflict between democracy and communism.

Officially, the Cold War is considered to have started in 1947, but some consider the famous 'Iron Curtain' speech by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as the trigger point of the conflict between western democratic powers, led by the United States of America and the Soviet Union led communist movement, dominant in the eastern part of the world.

The first Indo-China war began in December 1946 in French Indochina between French colonial forces and Viet Minh forces.

In 1946, New York City became one of the world's greatest cities post-war, witnessing a massive influx of immigrant settlers from various parts of the country and the world in order to seek and build a safe haven.

One year before complete independence from the British, Indian politician Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the Constituent Assembly of India's President in 1946, the body responsible for drafting the Constitution of India.

1946 was also marked as the year in which India held its first election for representatives to the legislative councils of British-Indian provinces.

In the very same year, the constitution of the fourth French Republic created what is known as the French Union, a semi-federal political entity that replaced the former French colonial empire.

The Hudson River National Defense Reserve Fleet, otherwise known as the Mothball Fleet, was created by an act of U.S. Congress in 1946 as a part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet.
 

Popular Foods In 1946

The food industry was among those which saw a rise in engagement and innovation in 1946. Food is an essential commodity for survival and was given great attention, especially after an extreme shortage during the war.

Since its production was accelerated, the rate of experimentation also increased, giving rise to new food products being produced and launched onto the market.

In 1946, A&W Root Beer began making its own root beer concentrate.

In the same year, the Cordon Bleu cooking school opened in Paris, which was started by Dione Lucas and has produced many famous chefs, including Julia Child and Wolfgang Puck.

1946 is considered to be a banner year for the food industry, as it is when the following products were introduced in the market: Kraft macaroni and cheese (the first boxed, dried pasta with a cheese powder), Minute Rice (converted rice that cooks in one minute instead of forty minutes), pineapple juice concentrate (it could be frozen for later use) and Duncan Hines cake mixes.

One more bit of 1946 food trivia, is that the term 'TV dinner' was coined that year by C.A. Swanson and Sons, a company that sold pre-cooked frozen meals.