Mark Scott Smith's Blog: Enemy in the Mirror, page 46
June 7, 2021
Nationwide Atom Bomb Drills
The development of the H-bomb committed the United States to an arms race with the Soviet Union. Despite the specter of nuclear holocaust, both the United States and the Soviet Union vied to build ever more powerful nuclear weapons.
The Federal Civil Defense Administration was charged with creating shelter, evacuation, and training programs.
In the early 1950s, schools across the United States trained students to dive under their desks and cover their heads. Although these drills were designed to simulate what action should be taken during an atomic attack, they also heightened anxiety over an escalating arms race.
WikipediaNevertheless, duck and cover drills in use during the early 1950s, might have had some rationale. In the early ‘50s, Soviet atomic bombs were basically similar to bombs used in World War II—not the more advanced and large kind of atomic weapons they would later develop.
Main Source: History.com
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June 3, 2021
Atoms for Peace
In December 1953 , Preident Eisenhower delivered his “Atoms for Peace” address to the UN. He called on both the US and Soviet Union to abandon their nuclear arsenals. The “Atoms for Peace” program spread nuclear technology to nations that agreed not to use it for military purposes.
Source: Eisenhower Library
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May 31, 2021
Memorial Day
May 21, 1953
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Whereas the bodies of our war dead lie buried in hallowed plots throughout the land, and it has long been our custom to decorate their graves on Memorial Day in token of our respect for them as beloved friends and kinsmen and of our aspiration that war may be removed from the earth forever; and
Whereas it is fitting that, while remembering the sacrifices of our countrymen, we join in united prayers to Almighty God for peace on earth; and
Whereas the Congress, in a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, provided that Memorial Day should thenceforth be set aside nationally as a day of prayer for permanent peace and requested that the President issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day in that manner:
Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, Saturday, May 30, 1953, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning at eleven o’clock in the morning of that day, Eastern Daylight Saving Time, as a period in which all the people of the Nation, each according to his religious faith, may unite in solemn prayer.
Let us make that day one of twofold dedication. Let us reverently honor those who have fallen in war, and rededicate ourselves through prayer to the cause of peace, to the end that the day may come when we shall never have another war—never another Unknown Soldier.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
DONE at the City of Washington this twenty-first day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-seventh.
publicdomainpictures.netRankWarYearsDeaths1World War II1941–1945291,5572American Civil War1861–1865214,9383World War I1917–191853,4024Vietnam War1955–197547,4345Korean War1950–195333,6866American Revolutionary War1775–17838,0007Iraq War2003–20114,4248War of 18121812–18152,2609War in Afghanistan2001–present1,83310Mexican–American War1846–18491,733WikipediaThe post Memorial Day appeared first on Enemy in the Mirror.
May 27, 2021
How Much is that Doggie in the Window?
How Much is that Doggie in the Window, written by the novelty tune specialist Bob Merrill and sung by Patti Paige, reached No. 1 on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts in 1953, and sold over two million copies.
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May 24, 2021
Piltdown Man Fraud
In 1912 the amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson claimed he had discovered the missing link between ape and man in the Piltdown Man bone fragments.
Although there were doubts from the beginning, the authenticity of the find was broadly accepted until 1953 when a hoax was definitively demonstrated.
A scientific review in 2016 established that Dawson was responsible for the fraudulent evidence.
Source: Wikipedia
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May 20, 2021
Joseph Stalin Dies
In March 1953 Joseph Stalin died of a stroke at his personal dacha near Moscow. After a state funeral, his body was interred along with Vladimir Lenin in a mausoleum within the Kremlin.
Like America’s President Roosevelt, Stalin’s health had deteriorated towards the end of World War II. He was a heavy smoker, suffered from atherosclerosis, had a mild stroke in May 1945 and a severe heart attack in October 1945.
In 1961, as the de-Stalinization era was initiated by Nikita Krushchev, Stalin’s body was removed from the mausoleum and buried outside the Kremlin wall.
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May 17, 2021
Transcontinental Non-stop Flight
In November 1953 American Airlines began the 1st regular non-stop commercial NY-LA air service with the Douglas DC7
.
yesterdays airlines.com1932 First scheduled cross-country passenger flights with no change of plane1933 Transcontinental passenger flights in as little as 20 hours on the Boeing 2471934 First three-stop airline flights (TWA DC-2)1946 First one-stop airline flights (United DC-4 and TWA Constellation)1953 First sustained nonstop airline flights (TWA may have flown some LA-NY nonstops in 1947)Source: Transcontinental flight – Wikipedia
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May 13, 2021
Playboy Magazine
In 1953 Hugh Hefner and Eldon Sellers founded Playboy Magazine featuring Marilyn Monroe as its first cover girl and nude centerfold.
Although best known for its centerfolds of nude and semi-nude models known as playmates, Playboy has published short stories by novelists such as Arthur C. Clarke, Ian Fleming, Vladimir Nabokov, Saul Bellow, Chuck Palahniuk, P. G. Wodehouse,Roald Dahl, Haruki Murakami, and Margaret Atwood.
The magazine also showcased notable cartoonists, including Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Cole, Eldon Dedini, Jules Feiffer, Shel Silverstein, Erich Sokol, Roy Raymonde, Gahan Wilson, and Rowland B. Wilson.
Source: Wikipedia
Wikipedia
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May 10, 2021
Nikita Khrushchev
After Joseph Stalin’s death in March 1953 and the execution of the powerful state security chief, Lavrenty Beria—which Khrushchev engineered—Nikita Khrushchev engaged in a power struggle with Georgy Malenkov, who was Stalin’s heir apparent.
Khrushchev soon gained the decisive margin by his control of the Soviet Communist party machinery. In September 1953 he replaced Malenkov as first secretary.
Main source: Britannica
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May 6, 2021
Fashion 1953
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1953....In 1953 women’s hemlines, waistlines and hairlines grew shorter. … The semi-fitted suit with a narrow jacket very slightly indented at the waist and the form-fitting sheath dress were introduced.
PinterestLeisure wear for men became very popular in 1953. Men would dress in suits for business in the morning and change into more comfortable clothing when they returned home. For uniformed workers, many employers provided lockers so men could change into street clothes before heading home. On the weekends men wore lounge clothes at home, sport clothes for athletic events and swim clothes for the beach
.
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