Weird and Wacky Facts About the 1940s
- Catherine Moscatt
- Oct 14, 2025
- 2 min read
This weekend my family and I went to Lancaster County to pay a visit to the Amish. I had been to Amish County before but I had only been ten. This time I took in a lot more as my cousins and I toured the farmhouse and the barns. I’m going to do some research on the Amish and their lifestyle because I found it fascinating. Religion in general is an interesting subject but religion is embedded so deeply in the culture of the Amish, it takes it to a whole other level. Meanwhile, I am going to return to U.S. history for several more entries.
Weird and Wacky Facts About the Forties:
In 1946, the first bikini was invented. It was actually named after the the nuclear bomb tests Bikini Atoll. Both were certainly explosive.
The original jeep was designed in just 18 hours. It was originally designed to be a military vehicle. Now we see it on highways everywhere.
Japanese Emperor Hirohito’s speech of surrender broadcasted on the radio was one of the first times many of the Japanese citizens had heard his voice.
Victory gardens were vegetable gardens grown at home to help the war effort. It was a very patriotic time for America.
Another way to support the war effort was to put rations on certain food items like sugar, coffee, other kitchen items and rubber.
Women trained male pilots!
My family favorite It’s A Wonderful Life came out in 1946 starring fan favorite Jimmy Stewart.
‘White Christmas’ which was released in 1942 still remains the best-selling single ever followed by “Candle in the Wind”
When kids weren’t helping the war effort through scrap metal drives or knitting socks for soldiers, they traded cards or played cards, skated or played ping pong. Baseball was also pretty popular.
1940 Time’s person of the year was Winston Churchill. He is incidentally also my senior quote. “You have enemies? Good. That means you stood up to someone sometime in your life”
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