Mid 1900s facts
While investigating facts about Mid 1900s, I found out little known, but curios details like:
Max Theiler's vaccine was used to help eliminate and to control outbreaks in African and South American countries into the mid-1900s.
The northern areas of Mexico were populated by small groups of indigenous tribes until the mid-1900s. It is considered the frontier culture.
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 17 of the best facts about Mid 1900s I managed to collect.
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In the mid-1900s, fossils were found in Australia very similar to Komodo dragons. These fossils dated back 30 to 60 million years ago.
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In the late 1800s trains began to be powered by electricity. By the mid-1900s most steam-powered trains had been replaced by electricity and diesel.
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The terms "First World" and "Third World" don't refer to a country's wealth, but are outdated terms to class countries by their allegiance in the mid-1900s
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The brand "Frigidaire" was so well known in the refrigeration field in the early-to-mid-1900s that many Americans called any refrigerator (of whatever brand) a Frigidaire. The name Frigidaire or its antecedent Frigerator may be the origin of the widely-used U.S.-slang term fridge.
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The thumb and pinky "Shaka sign" is believed to have originated in Hawaii during the early-mid 1900s and was inspired by Hamana Kalili, a security guard who lost his middle three fingers in a sugar cane mill accident, and would wave that hand to indicate "all clear"
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Glacier National Park (Montana) had 150 active glaciers in the mid 1900s. Today there are 25. All active glaciers will be gone by 2030.
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Shoe stores in the early-mid 1900s would often subject willing customers to unnecessary radiation by using X-ray technology to see if shoes fit.
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Premature babies in incubators were exhibited in Coney Island amusement parks during the early to mid 1900s. Visitors paid a few coins to enter and view the babies. Dr. Martin Couney ran the exhibits to promote the technology of incubators for babies.
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The Jacob Diamond, the fifth largest diamond in the world (priced at £100 Million) was literally used as a paperweight by Mir Osman Ali Khan, a wealthy Indian monarch in the mid 1900s.
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7‑Eleven got its name because the stores were open from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m., which was considered to be "extended hours" back in the mid-1900s.
What is true about mid 1900s?
You can easily fact check it by examining the linked well-known sources.
During the early and mid 1900s, multiple uranium mines were set up in the Grand Canyon. Apparently the Grand Canyon was one of the most uranium-rich locations in North America. Cleaning up the radiation left behind from these mines has been an extremely expensive and laborious effort.
Improper handling of industrial wastes in Japan resulted in four large “man-made” disease outbreaks in the early-mid 1900s - source
The slot in my medicine cabinet is from the mid 1900s. Men would discard their used razor blades by dropping them in the slot; my wall could be filled with used blades from 70+ years ago. - source
This Pipe Tomahawk gifted by George Washington to Seneca war chief Cornplanter was stolen from the New York State Museum in Albany, NY in the mid-1900s. It was returned to the museum this month and is now on display again, for the first time in 70 years.
Whites only' laws in early-to-mid 1900s America extended to entire neighborhoods until a Supreme Court decision in 1948 - source
