Life in 1948

I thought that a great way to get to know our new house would be to get some interesting facts on what life was like in the year of its birth - 1948.  Here are just a few random facts I found:

• The game "Scrabble" was introduced. (I think I should have a designated Scrabble table somewhere in our house to celebrate this awesome game; what do you think?)
• Harry S. Truman was elected President of the United States in what many historians consider to be the greatest election upset in American history.
• Mahatma Gandhi, Indian leader and pacifist, was assassinated.
• Israel, Burma, and Sri Lanka gain independence.
• Cortisone was introduced as an arthritis treatment.
• Communists seize power of Czechoslovakia. 
• Cleveland won the World Series against Boston, 4-2.
• Norman Mailer wrote "The Naked and the Dead".
• The "Big Bang" theory was introduced.
• Swiss outdoors man George de Mestral invents Velcro. (I've always wondered who was the genius behind this.)
• A gallon of gas cost around 16 cents.
• Noted food critic, Duncan Hines, founds a company to make prepackaged cake mixes.
• Popcorn is sold on a mass scale for the first time.
• The average wage per year was $3,000.
• A new house cost between $7,000 and $13,000 dollars.
• "Hamlet" won the Oscar for Best Film.
• The most popular car of the year was, according to one source, a Crosley Station Wagon. (See a picture of one here. It's actually pretty cute.)
• Last but not least, check out all of the Life Magazine covers from 1948 by clicking here. How cool!

Hopefully this gives you a tiny glimpse of "life in 1948," if you weren't around to remember it! If you were around to remember this year that I have grown so fond of, we'd love for your to share a few memories! Anyone?

Thanks to 
http://www.babyboomers.com/years/1948.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/year/1948.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1948
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1948.html
for this information!