The 1950s was a decade of huge change. There were many inventions that we still rely on today throughout our lives. Life in the 1950s changed immensely throughout that decade, due to some of these inventions of the decade…
The Television – Television didn’t really get going until the 1950s, and once it started it became very popular very quickly! The coronation of the Queen in 1953 increased public demand for a television, and by the end of the decade over three quarters of households in the UK owned one, compared to a quarter at the start of the decade. Today companies like this TV aerial installation Bristol based company prove that the public love of television is still as strong as ever!
The Polio Vaccine – In the 1950s, scientist Jonas Salk created the first ever vaccine for polio – a disease that was crippling and killing children worldwide. This vaccine has now eradicated polio in most parts of the world and put a stop to this terrible childhood illness. It is still given today to ensure that children are protected and safe.
The Hydrogen Bomb – One of the more sinister inventions of the era, as the cold war between the west and the Soviet Union started to intensify, both sides raced to create bombs with more destructive capabilities than the other. This saw the 1950s become the dawn of the nuclear age, as the whole world lived under the threat of the bomb.