What Happened In 1953?
53 Trivia Questions and Answers for 1953 History
1. A very influential country music star died at the age of 29 in his car on January 1, 1953. Name him.
Hank Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953)
2. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1953?
Voya Con Dios (May God Be With You) by Les Paul and Mary Ford
3. What was the highest-grossing film of 1953?
The Robe (2nd place: From Here to Eternity)
4. In 1953, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
Men – 66.0 years, Women – 72.0 years.
5. Released in 1953, this was Disney’s 14th animated film. Name that movie.
Peter Pan
6. This vehicle was produced by Chevrolet from 1953 through 2019…
Chevrolet Corvette
7. What was the average household income in 1953?
$3,900.
8. How many people lived in the United States in 1953?
The population was an estimated 160,184,192 people.
9. How many people lived in the World in 1953?
The estimated world population in 1953 was 2,665,865,392 people.
10. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1953?
The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas
11. To the nearest quarter, what was the average movie theater ticket price in 1953?
50 cents
12. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1953?
16 cents
13. Founded in 1953, what does UNICEF stand for?
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
14. What was the first color, wide-release 3D movie?
The House of Wax, starring Vincent Price
15. Who was President of the United States in 1953?
Harry S. Truman (April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961)
16. Made by Kraft, this processed food spread began to be sold nation-wide in 1953. Name that food product!
Cheez Whiz
17. Ray Bradbury titled his 1953 dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, based on what?
“Fahrenheit 451 – the temperature at which book paper catches fire, and burns…”
18. Name the Howard Hawks’ musical film, starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, that was released by 20th Century Fox.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
19. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1953?
In 1953, The Montreal Canadiens won over the Boston Bruins (4 games to 1)
20. What was the Top-Rated TV Show in the 1952/1953 season?
I Love Lucy (CBS)
21. Who was crowned queen of the United Kingdom, at Westminster Abbey, on June 2, 1953?
Elizabeth II
22. The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved what upgrade, using the “NTSC standard”. Just about every American household has at least one.
HINT: The first ones sold for about $1,175. Name that product.
Color television
23. This air traffic control sign was given to a specific aircraft in 1953, to protect America’s Commander-in-Chief…
Air Force One
24. What is the air traffic control sign for the vice-president’s plane?
Air Force Two
25. Starring Marlon Brando as Johnny Strabler, this 1953 film is considered by many to be the first “outlaw biker movie”. Name that film.
The Wild One
26. For decades, this publication, which got nation-wide distribution in 1953, had one of the largest circulations in America. Name that magazine.
TV Guide
27. Why did all radios manufactured in the US between 1953 and 1963 have a white triangle on the dial at 640 AM?
To indicate where Civil Defense information would be broadcast, due to the ‘Cold War’.
28. Pre-dating Godzilla, Ray Bradbury wrote a short story about a giant, fire-breathing lizard which was made into what 1953 film?
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
29. Name the couple who were convicted in 1951 of selling American atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, and executed in 1953.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
30. True or False? The first radio operator to pick up news of Stalin’s death was future rock pioneer Johnny Cash, who was serving with the US Air Force in Germany in 1953
True
31. What was the product sold that featured a very young blonde girl and a sneaky Cocker Spaniel puppy?
Coppertone sunscreen
32. The term originated in 1953, defining someone who is both a friend and a rival…
Frenemy
33. Arthur Compton was a physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in physics in 1927. He was chancellor at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He also invented what traffic-slowing device in 1953?
The Speed Bump
34. Authorities at the Natural History Museum, London announce that what famous skull, of allegedly an early human discovered in 1912, was a hoax in the study of evolution?
Piltdown Man
35. The discovery of human sleep patterns was first published by researchers Eugene Aserinsky and Nathaniel Kleitman?
REM sleep
36. Created by Sidney Rosenthal, it consisted of a glass tube of ink with a felt wick. What did he call it?
Magic Marker
37. This sports toy was named after what the inventor’s son called a “strike out”.
Wiffleball (Inventor David N. Mullany’s son called it a “whiff”.)
38. Who won the 1953 World Series?
In 1953, The New York Yankees won, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers (4 games to 2)
39. Which actor was NOT born in 1953: Bill Pullman, Kim Basinger, Lynda Carter, or John Malkovich?
Lynda Carter (born July 24, 1951)
40. Where is (and what is) the line called between North and South Korea?
The 38th parallel. (The 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth’s equatorial plane.)
41. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first men to accomplish what?
They were the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
42. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1953?
$0.29 per gallon
43. This 1953 invention, in a can, is good for lubricating and loosening joints and hinges and removing dirt and residue.
WD-40 (it was for commercial use only until 1958)
44. This organization uses a 12-step model developed for people with varied substance use disorders…
Narcotics Anonymous
45. Who was the Pope in 1953?
Pope Pius XII, March 2, 1939 – October 9, 1958
46. Who was Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 5th, 1953?
Earl Warren
47. Name the Soviet leader who died of a stroke on March 5, 1953.
Joseph Stalin (18 December 18, 1878 – March 5, 1953)
48. Ian Fleming publishes his first James Bond novel in the United Kingdom; what was the name of the book?
Casino Royale
49. What company used the slogan: “Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz, Oh What a Relief It Is”?
Alka Seltzer
50. What was the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) called before 1953?
The Bureau of Internal Revenue
51. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1953?
Konrad Adenauer
52. This magazine, for adults, sold almost 55,000 copies of its first issue, at 50 cents each.
Playboy
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. Who was the first Playboy centerfold?
Marilyn Monroe (the photograph was not taken specifically for the magazine)
2. The Cincinnati Reds temporarily requested the team name to (what) to avoid any association with communism in 1953?
The Redlegs
3. Who was the American Vice-President in 1953?
Alben W. Barkley (January 20, 1949 – January 20, 1953) and Richard Nixon (January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961)
4. British physicist Francis Crick and American biologist James Watson made what biological discovery in 1953?
The double-helix structure of human DNA
5. It calls itself “the world’s southernmost city”. Name that city.
Puerto Williams, in Chile.
6. Who were the 1953 NBA Champions?
For the 1952-53 Season, Champion Minneapolis Lakers won 4 games to 1 over the New York Knicks
7. Who were the 1953 NFL Champions?
Detroit Lions
8. What was the first commercial computer to use random-access memory?
UNIVAC (1103)
9. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1953?
Dark Star
10. Transsexual Christine Jorgensen returned to New York, after successful sex reassignment surgery from what country?
Denmark
