1940s 50s facts

While investigating facts about 1940s 50s, I found out little known, but curios details like:

When fluoride was first introduced to American water supplies in the 1940s and 50s it was criticized as a Communist plot to socialize medicine and deplete the brain power of American children.

A good portion of the pre-recorded laugh tracks you hear are from the 1940s and 50s, so when there’s a funny moment on a sitcom there’s a good chance you’re hearing lots of dead people laugh.

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 9 of the best facts about 1940s 50s I managed to collect.

1. "muntzing", a method for improving the design of electronic products: Remove components until it stops working, then put the last-removed part back in. It is named after Earl "Madman" Muntz, who used the method to cut manufacturing costs of his popular televisions in the 1940s and 50s.

2. Pat helped Richard in his political ascent by research his opponents. Richard's first political victory was in California's 12th congressional district in 1946, which was/is essentially the city of San Francisco. California was much more conservative in the 1940s and "50s, which allowed Nixon to become one of the more powerful Republicans in the state at the time.

3. Rene Strange, also known as Renee Strange (fl. 1940s–50s), was a comic entertainer known as the "singing cartoonist" and for her risqué show using marionettes, which she performed wearing black stockings.

4. Bedbugs were virtually eradicated in the 1940s and '50s by the widespread use of DDT. DDT insecticide was banned in the 1970s, and the bugs developed resistance to chemicals that replaced it. After that bed bug infestations resurged

5. In the 1940s and 50s Helen traveled to 39 countries to encourage the establishment of schools for the blind and deaf.

6. Early treatments for schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions included Insulin Shock Therapy in which patients were repeatedly injected with large doses of insulin in order to produce daily comas over several weeks. It was used extensively in the 1940s and '50s before falling out of favor.

7. The Ice Cream Changes, also known as the 50s Progession, a chord progression that has been in dozens of songs since the 1940s and has remained mostly unchanged.