There are always interesting things to be found on the Ancestry.com blog. Today’s find is a really neat collection of infographics. An infographic is just what the name implies, a pictorial representation of information. The set of infographics that I found on the Ancestry.com blog includes one for each state in the United States, with pictures that show what was going on there around the time that the 1940 census was taken.
The infographic which is pictured with this blog post depicts the state of Massachusetts, where I was born. Apparently, there was a lot going on there in 1940, from the first batch of Toll House Cookies (yum) to the first fully functioning computer and even a bit of baseball history as legend Ted Williams began his career with the Bostom Red Sox. I would encourage you to visit the Ancestry.com blog and find your state’s infographic. They are very interesting.
I also looked at the infographic for Vermont, the state that I now call home. In 1940, maple syrup sold for $3.39 per gallon. Today, a gallon of maple syrup costs about fifty dollars. One other interesting Vermont fact is that the very first Social Security check was received by a Vermont resident.
Other fascinating things that I learned about 1940 from the infographics include the fact that Tupperware was invented in New Hampshire, Mardi Gras was cancelled because of World War II, and one day in June, there were a record number of weddings in Nevada. If you have a little time and a desire to learn some fun historical facts about America in 1940, I would strongly recommend visiting the Ancestry.com blog to check out these infographics. After all how else would you know that in 1940 the first corn dog was served at the Texas State Fair?
Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com.