Life & Times 1955
Indicators
| World Population | 2,781,183,648 |
| United States Population | 166,000,000 |
| Little Rock Population | 107,331 |
| Average annual income | $4,137 |
| New House | $22,000 |
| New Car | $1,950 |
| Minimum Wage | $.75 |
| Gallon of Gas | $.23 |
| Gallon of Milk | $.96 |
| Dozen Eggs | $.78 |
| Loaf of Bread | $.18 |
| Postage Stamp (ground) | $.03 |
Events
Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for failing heath
Military coup in Argentina deposes president Juan Peron
In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refuses to give her bus seat to a white man and is arrested
14 year old Emmett Till is lynched by two men for talking to a white woman in Rulesville, Ms
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations merge to form the AFL-CIO
Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California
Harland Sanders begins Colonel Sanders’ Kentucky Fried Chicken
Film star James Dean is killed in a car crash
Pulaski County tax revenues reach all-time record 7.3 million
The "Bicycle Plant" opens in the 65th Street Industrial district of Little Rock
IBM ships its first commercial business computer, the 752
Leggo introduced
The Scrabble board game debuts
Ford Motor Company intruduces the two-seat Thunderbird
X-ray machines for shoe fitting banned
Missouri Pacific Railroad retires its last steam locomotive
Coca-Cola Company uses the name "Coke" officially for the first time
Play-doh
The Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville is activated
The Hoxie, Arkansas, School Board closes its public schools to calm the public furor over its
admission of black students to the all-white schools
In August, a gun battle is waged between bus driver's union members and
non-union drivers on a bus parking lot of the strike mired Capitol Transit Co.
Books
The Talented Mr. Ripley - Patricia Highsmith
Ten North Frederick - John O'Hara
The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Magician's Nephew - C.S. Lewis
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit - Sloan Wilson
Marjorie Morningstar - Herman Wouk
Moonraker - Ian Fleming
No Time for Sergeants - Mac Hyman
Not As a Stranger - Morton Thompson
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
Movies
Marty (best picture, best actor, Ernest Borgnine)
The Rose Tattoo (best actress, Anna Magnani)
The Desperate Hours
Lady and the Tramp
The Trouble With Harry
Oklahoma
Strategic Air Command
Rebel Without a Cause
Night and Fog
Francis in the Navy
East Of Eden
Mister Roberts
The Man With the Golden Arm
Blackboard Jungle
The Seven Year Itch
To Catch A Thief
Music
1 Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado
2 Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & The Comets
3 The Yellow Rose of Texas - Mitch Miller
4 Autumn Leaves - Roger Williams
5 Unchained Melody - Les Baxter
6 The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes
7 Love is a Many Splendored Thing - Four Aces
8 Sincerely - McGuire Sisters
9 Ain't That a Shame - Pat Boone
10 Dance with Me Henry - Georgia Gibbs
11 Crazy Otto - Crazy Otto
12 Melody of Love - Billy Vaughn
13 Sixteen Tons Tennessee - Ernie Ford
14 Learnin' the Blues - Frank Sinatra
15 Heart of Stone - Fontaine Sisters
16 Tweedle Dee - Georgia Gibbs
17 Moments to Remember - Four Lads
18 Mr. Sandman - Chordettes
19 Let Me Go Lover - Joan Weber
20 A Blossom Fell - Nat King Cole
21 Unchained Melody - Al Hibbler
22 The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Fess Parker
23 Ko Ko Mo - Perry Como
24 The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane - Ames Brothers
25 That's All I Want from You - Jaye P. Morgan
26 Only You - Platters