Celebrating 75 Years | Then & Now
1946 vs. 2021: the two years may have more in common than you may initially think.
In 1946, World War II had just ended the year prior. It was the start of what we would later call the “Baby Boomer” years (1946-1964). Across the country, there was unrest among Americans with frequent labor strikes and protests. Overall, people were ready to get their lives “back to normal” and rebuild after six long years of war and uncertainty.
Today in 2021, that feeling resonates in such a familiar way as we look back at the last year with the global pandemic and subsequent events that followed. While we still find ourselves in the middle of the current health, social justice and economic crises, we are hopeful for a new day just as our founder Abraham Gaslow was in 1946 when he founded Empire Office.
Despite some of those similarities, a lot has changed in the 75 years since Empire Office was founded.
Let us paint a picture of what life was like in the year 1946:
Average Costs
- A house: $5,600.00
- Wages per year: $2,500.00
- A gallon of gas: $0.15
- A new car: $1,120.00
- A dozen eggs: $0.64
Lifestyle
- 4 Television networks with only 12 hours of programming per week
- Life expectancy: 64.4 years for males, 69.4 years for females
- US Population: 141.4 million
- Popular Film Releases: The Best Years of Our Lives & It’s a Wonderful Life
Notable Inventions
- Electric clothes dryer
- First bank-issued credit card
- Tupperware
- World’s first computer (ENIAC)
- The bikini bathing suit
- Vespa scooter
- Ice cream machines
World Events
- United Nations is established
- Winston Churchill gives the famed “Iron Curtain” speech
- First Formula One Grand Prix held in Italy
- First Cannes Film Festival held in France
- UNICEF is established
Other Famous Brand Introductions
- SONY (originally, Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering)
- Chic-fil-A (originally, Dwarf Grill)
- National Basketball Association (NBA)
- Estée Lauder Companies
- Avis Rent a Car
- Iams
- Lowe’s
Notable Births
- Film
- Tommy Lee Jones
- Susan Sarandon
- Sylvester Stallone
- Steven Spielberg
- Musicians
- Jimmy Buffett
- Cher
- Freddie Mercury
- Dolly Parton
- Future US Presidents
- Bill Clinton
- George W Bush
- Donald Trump
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