1953!

This week, 1953!

Jackie Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier. She was flying a F-86 Sabrejet over Rogers Dry Lake in the Mojave desert in Southern California.

Joseph Stalin suffered a stroke after an all-night party, paralyzing his right side.. He died a few days later after 31 years of Soviet leadership. He was replaced by Nikita Khrushchev.

In 1953, The 25th Academy Awards are held. This was the first one televised. Ever since, the awards ceremony has been rigged, and clothing, money, and influence have been held in a higher regard than artistic ability or talent in the film industry.

Hussein bin Talal in crowned King of Jordan. His family claims to be direct descendants of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.

The North Sea flood of 1953 killed 1,835 people in the southwestern Netherlands, 307 in the UK, and several hundred at sea. 133 people killed in the Irish Sea were claimed to have died because of the North Sea flood, but I think the Irishmen drowned in something else.

The very first Corvette was built in 1953 in Flint, MI.

Hugh Hefner published the first issue of Playboy. It sold 55,000 copies at 50 cents each. Sweet titties.

TV Guide begins publication with pocket-size weekly program listings and has a circulation of 1.5 million by year's end.

Country Singer Hank Williams died at age 29 of a heart attack in the back seat of his Cadillac in West Virgina while on tour. Hank recorded more than 40 hit records, including 11 that went to number one on the Country chart.

James L. Kraft, processed cheese pioneer, died in Chicago at the age of 78. Later that year, Kraft Foods introduces Cheese Whiz. A survey of American housewomen showed 1,304 possible uses for the product. The chief market will be in Puerto Rico, where Cheez Whiz will be combined with mayonnaise and Spam to create La Mexda.

The Denny's restaurant chain has its beginnings in Danny's Donuts, opened at Lakewood, CA, by entrepreneur Harold Butler.

The IBM 650 computer is introduced. Also called the Magnetic Drum Calculator, it is the first computer to be manufactured in large numbers.

The first meeting of Narcotics Anonymous was held in 1953.

A Hurricane in Southeast Asia kills over 1,000 people.

Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb.

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approves a top secret document, saying the US arsenal of nuclear weapons must be maintained and expanded to counter the Communist threat.

Alleged Communist Charlie Chaplin leaves the US. The Justice Department warns him that any attempt to reenter the country will be challenged.

Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Cambodia gains independence from France.

The FCC approves color television. The first color television sets go on sale for over $1,000.

Matchbox Cars are introduced by the English firm Lesney Products & Co., whose toys are accurately detailed and small enough to be carried about in yellow match boxes.

German Volkswagens go on sale in Britain for the first time.

Ian Fleming publishes his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale in the United Kingdom.

a few films that were released in 1953:

The War of the Worlds
Aurat
Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th century
House of Wax
It Came From Outer Space
Abbott and Costello meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Peter Pan
Titanic
Pony Express
Invaders From Mars
The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd
Tumbleweed