In 1942, "White Christmas" topped the charts, Bambi packed theaters, a stamp cost 3¢, the average home went for about $3,775.
🎵 Top songs of 1942
"White Christmas" — Bing Crosby
"Moonlight Cocktail" — Glenn Miller
"(I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo" — Glenn Miller
🎬 In theaters
Bambi
Mrs. Miniver
Yankee Doodle Dandy
What things cost in 1942
$0.20
Gallon of gas
3¢
Postage stamp
$0.27
Movie ticket
$0.60
Gallon of milk
$3,775
Average home
$920
New car
$1,885
Household income
A $0.20 gallon of gas in 1942 has the buying power of roughly $3.95 today, and that 27-cent movie ticket comes to about $5.35 in today's dollars.
The biggest moments of 1942
Wartime rationing of sugar, gasoline, and coffee began, and families planted victory gardens in their backyards.
Bing Crosby introduced "White Christmas" in the film Holiday Inn, and it went on to become the best-selling single of all time.
Americans on the home front collected scrap metal and rubber and bought war bonds to support the troops overseas.
On December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi's team achieved the first controlled nuclear chain reaction under the stands of a University of Chicago stadium — a secret that would change the world.
Clocks went on year-round "War Time" in February 1942, a national daylight saving measure that lasted until 1945.
The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was established in May 1942, and thousands of women lined up to serve in uniform.
Toys, TV & trends of 1942
Little Golden Books launched in 1942 at just 25 cents each, including the classic The Poky Little Puppy.
Wonder Woman got her very own comic book title in the summer of 1942.
Kids proudly joined neighborhood scrap drives, hauling wagons of old pots, tires, and tin cans for the war effort.
Bubble gum all but vanished from candy counters as wartime shortages of latex and sugar hit, and kids traded precious pieces of Dubble Bubble like treasure.
M&M's chocolate candies were shipped in soldiers' rations because the candy shell kept them from melting — GIs brought the habit home.
The spine-tingling radio anthology Suspense premiered in 1942, billing itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills."
The music scene
In February 1942, Glenn Miller received the very first gold record ever awarded — a master of "Chattanooga Choo Choo" sprayed with gold lacquer to celebrate over a million copies sold. That September, at the height of his fame, Miller disbanded his orchestra and joined the Army Air Forces to lead a military band. Meanwhile, on August 1 the musicians' union began a recording strike that shut down nearly all new record-making, forcing labels to live off their vaults.
At the movies
Hollywood went to war in 1942: after Carole Lombard died in a plane crash returning from a war-bond rally in January, her grieving husband Clark Gable enlisted in the Army Air Forces. The government's new Office of War Information began reviewing scripts, asking of every picture, "Will this help win the war?" And Casablanca had its New York premiere that November, rushed into theaters to coincide with the Allied landings in North Africa.
Cartoons kids loved
Tweety made his debut in the Warner Bros. short A Tale of Two Kitties.
Mighty Mouse first appeared in the Terrytoons short The Mouse of Tomorrow.
Donald Duck starred in patriotic wartime shorts that entertained audiences on the home front.
The cartoon studios enlisted right alongside the stars: after Pearl Harbor, the Army actually stationed troops on the Disney lot, and soon around ninety percent of Disney's output was training films, morale shorts, and military unit insignia. Over at Warner Bros., Bugs Bunny pitched in too, singing "Any Bonds Today?" in a short made to sell war bonds.
The world in 1942
World population: about 2.3 billion
U.S. President: Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Battle of Midway in June 1942 marked a major turning point in the Pacific during World War II.
In April 1942, Jimmy Doolittle led sixteen B-25 bombers off an aircraft carrier in a daring raid on Tokyo that electrified the home front.
British forces won a decisive victory at El Alamein in North Africa, and Allied troops landed in Morocco and Algeria in Operation Torch that November.
The months-long Battle of Stalingrad began in August 1942, a turning point in the war in Europe.
1942 birthday questions
How old is someone born in 1942?
Someone born in 1942 turns 84 in 2026 (83 if their birthday has not come round yet).
What was the number one song in 1942?
"White Christmas" by Bing Crosby was among the biggest hits of 1942.
What movie came out in 1942?
Bambi was one of the films packing theaters in 1942.
How much did gas cost in 1942?
A gallon of gas ran about $0.20 in 1942, and a postage stamp cost 3¢.
How much did a house cost in 1942?
The average home went for roughly $3,775 in 1942, against a typical household income of about $1,885.