Year 1937 Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

What Happened During the Year 1937?

What are some fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1937? What were the top news stories in the U.S. and around the world, and what major events took place in the business and financial sectors? How much did a gallon of gas cost, and what happened in science, technology, sports, and in the entertainment industry?

Back in 1937, what were the biggest food and fashion trends, and what were the most popular baby names and Christmas gifts? Likewise, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, and how much did a first-class stamp or a gallon of milk cost? What about famous birthdays and deaths that year, and what were the best-selling books?

From world leaders to pioneers to innovators, who were the most influential people in 1937? What was the median household income, the average life expectancy, and how much did a new house or car cost? Finally, what was 1937 best known for, and was it a good or bad year overall? Let's find out.

Here is a summary of the top news stories and history events that happened in 1937:

1. In 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge, Gone with the Wind, and America's high unemployment rate were all on center stage. Chicken noodle soup and rice pudding were crowd-pleasers, and Jerry and Joan were two of the most popular baby names. For a nickel, you could buy an ice cream cone, a doughnut, a cup of coffee, a bottle of Coke, a Three Musketeers bar, or two packs of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum. You could also buy a freshly-baked cherry pie for 25 cents, a Monopoly board game for $2.00, or a raccoon coat for $98.00.
2. In 1937, Americans were slowly and painfully digging their way out of the Great Depression. The nation's unemployment rate remained stubbornly high at 14.3 percent, and an estimated 7,700,000 Americans were still out of work and could not find a job.
3. The recession of 1937-38, sometimes called “the recession within the Depression,” was a major setback to the American economy. CEPR.org tells us that “Real GDP fell 11% and industrial production fell 32%, making it the third-worst US recession in the 20th century (after 1929-32 and 1920-21).” As with other recessions, the 1937-38 recession was largely attributed to “a tightening of fiscal and monetary policy.”
4. President Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to be inaugurated during the month of January. For the first time, the presidential Inauguration Day was held on January 20 instead of on March 4, thanks to the ratification of the Twentieth Amendment in 1933.
5. In February, President Roosevelt announced a plan "to expand the Supreme Court to as many as 15 judges, allegedly to make it more efficient." However, FDR's "war on the court was short-lived, and it was defeated by a crafty Chief Justice and Roosevelt's party members."
6. Congress passed the Housing Act of 1937, which focused on the construction of nationwide public housing units "to replenish the depleted national rental housing stock."
7. Between 1935 and 1937, Congress passed three "Neutrality Acts," which were designed "to keep the United States out of war, by making it illegal to sell or transport arms, or other war materials, to belligerent nations."
8. In January and February, weeks of heavy rain caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. An estimated 350 people lost their lives and another one million were left homeless. Flood-related damage was estimated at $500 million, which is about $7 billion in today's money.
9. In February, the 44-day sit-down strike at a General Motors factory in Flint, Michigan came to an end. As a result of the walkout, "General Motors finally agreed to recognize the United Auto Workers as the sole bargaining agent in all GM plants."
10. American aviator Amelia Earhart and her co-pilot Fred Noonan "mysteriously disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during a circumnavigation flight." After multiple searches, Earhart was declared legally dead on January 5, 1939.
11. The German airship, Hindenburg, exploded while attempting to dock with its mooring mast at the Lakehurst (New Jersey) Naval Air Engineering Station. Thirteen passengers, 22 crew members, and one member of the ground crew were killed.
12. The Golden Gate Bridge, which connects the City and County of San Francisco with Marin County to the north, opened to vehicular traffic. The bridge took four years to build, and was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. (In Washington, DC, President Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key to commemorate the official opening of the Golden Gate Bridge.)
13. Between February 27 and March 9, German police officers rounded up an estimated 2,000 "convicted offenders" and incarcerated them in concentration camps.
14. The Washington Redskins were the NFL champs, the Detroit Red Wings clinched the Stanley Cup, and the New York Yankees won the World Series.
15. Dr. Wallace Carothers received a patent for nylon, the first Krispy Creme doughnut was sold in Salem, North Carolina, and SPAM (Special Processed American Meat) was introduced to the American diet.
16. In 1937, there were 646 radio stations across the U.S., and nearly 75 percent of Americans owned a radio receiver. Back that year, you could buy a Philco table-top radio for $14.00, which is about $300.00 in today's money.
17. Look magazine (1937-71), Modern Photography (1937-89), and Travel + Leisure all began publishing.
18. In 1937, Gone with the Wind was the most popular fiction book, Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy was the most popular radio program, and Sing, Sing, Sing was the most popular song.
19. At the Ninth Academy Awards, The Great Ziegfeld won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Dance Direction. Frank Capra (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town) also won an Oscar for Best Director.
20. The world's largest flower bloomed at the New York Botanical Garden. The giant Sumatran Titan Arum was 8 1/2 feet high and had a diameter of 4 feet.
21. In 1937, the words bubble gum, green light, green thumb, ID card, mammogram, person of interest, press conference, rat race, Russian roulette, salad bar, skull session, trailer park, and washateria all appeared in print for the first time.
22. Famous people who were born in 1937 include Billy Dee Williams, Colin Powell, Connie Francis, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Madeleine Albright, Morgan Freeman, Roberta Flack, and Suzanne Pleschette.
23. American companies and brands that were established during 1937 include the Dart Container Corporation, Dunham's Sports, the Heritage Press, Krispy Creme, Pepperidge Farm, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, T. Rowe Price, and Zep.
24. Consumer products that were launched during 1937 include Beer Nuts, Chex breakfast cereal, the clothes dryer, Kix breakfast cereal, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Old Spice grooming products, Parkay margarine, PF Flyers, Ragu pasta sauce, Sauve grooming products, and the Three Musketeers candy bar.
25. At the 13th Scripps National Spelling Bee, the winner was fourteen-year-old Waneeta Beckley of Kentucky, who correctly spelled the word "promiscuous."

This article teaches you fun Facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1937. Find out about popular movies, best-selling books, food and fashion trends, sports facts, pop music artists and songs, famous birthdays, economic and tech news, as well as unusual news events to get the right mix of questions and answers for your 1930s-themed trivia quiz.

Table of Contents

Here is a sneak preview of what this article is about:

1. Grocery Prices in the Year 1937
2. History Facts and Events From the USA and World
3. Sports Facts and Trivia
4. Miscellaneous Fun Facts, Trivia, and Pop Culture Trends
5. 50+ Words That First Appeared in Print During 1937
6. Nobel Prize Winners
7. Best-Selling Fiction Books
8. Most Popular Radio Programs
9. Top-Grossing Movies
10. Best War Films of 1937
11. Top 10 Hollywood Westerns
12. Top 10 Horror Movies
13. Best Mystery Films of 1937
14. Biggest Pop Music Artists
15. Top 25 Songs for the Year
16. Depression-Era Dining
17. Famous Birthdays
18. Notable Weddings
19. Famous People Who Died in 1937
20. U.S. Automobile Production Figures for the Year
21. American Companies and Brands Established During 1937

1. Grocery Prices in the Year 1937

These grocery prices from 1937 have been made available courtesy of the Morris County Public Library in Whippany, NJ, as well as from OneTubeRadio.com.

Please note that a No. 1 can has 10 1/2 to 12 ounces, and a No. 2 can has 20 ounces. By the same token, a No. 2 1/2 can has 27 to 29 ounces, and a No. 3 can has 51 ounces.

1. Bacon: 18 cents a pound
2. Beef (ground beef): Three pounds for 49 cents
3. Beef (sirloin steak): Two pounds for 39 cents
4. Bread: Eight cents for a 16-ounce loaf
5. Butter (Derrydale brand): 37 cents a pound
6. Cabbage (green): Six pounds for 20 cents
7. Canned apricots: Four No. 2 1/2 cans for $1.00
8. Canned cherries: Three No. 2 1/2 cans for 79 cents
9. Canned grapefruit: Six No. 2 cans for 55 cents
10. Canned grapefruit juice: Six No. 2 cans for 55 cents
11. Canned sliced pineapple: Five No. 2 1/2 cans for $1.00
12. Celery hearts: Two bunches for 25 cents
13. Cheese (Kraft, Velveeta): 14 cents for an eight-ounce package
14. Cherry kuchen bars: 29 cents apiece
15. Cherry muffins: 29 cents a dozen
16. Cherry pie (freshly made): 25 cents apiece
17. Chewing gum (Wrigley's, Juicy Fruit): Two packages for five cents
18. Coffee: Three pounds for 75 cents
19. Cottage cheese: 13 cents a pint
20. Crackers (Nabisco, Ritz): 21 cents for a one-pound box
21. Cream cheese: 25 cents for a one-pound package
22. Deviled crabs (large): Four for 29 cents
23. Eggs: 45 cents a dozen
24. Fancy young ducks: 25 cents a pound (four to six pound average per duck)
25. Figs: 11 cents for two eight-ounce packages
26. Florida grapefruit: 15 for 69 cents each
27. Flour (Gold Medal brand): $1.09 for a 25-pound sack
28. Green asparagus: Three No. 2 cans for 79 cents
29. Ham (smoked): 25 cents a pound
30. Juice oranges: Two dozen for 69 cents
31. Kraft Miracle Whip: 23 cents for a 16-ounce jar
32. Lamb (stewing): Two pounds for 11 cents
33. Lettuce (iceberg): Eight cents a head
34. Macaroni (Mueller's brand): Seven cents for a one-pound package
35. Margarine (Durkee brand): 17 cents for a one-pound package
36. Milk (canned, evaporated, Farmdale brand): Three tall cans for 20 cents
37. Milk (farm fresh): 10 cents a gallon
38. New York sharp cheese: 39 cents a pound
39. Orange marmalade: Three one-pound jars for 89 cents
40. Oysters: 15 cents a dozen
41. Pork loins: 18 cents a pound
42. Potatoes: Three pounds for 10 cents
43. Rice: Two pounds for seven cents
44. Roasting chickens: 29 cents a pound
45. Sweet potatoes: Six pounds for 10 cents
46. Tomatoes: Five cents for a No. 2 can
47. Washington logs (This is a sponge cake baked in the shape of a log.): 50 cents apiece
48. White cauliflower: 19 cents a head
49. Wisconsin Swiss cheese: 29 cents a pound
50. Yeast (Fleischmann's brand): Three cents a cake

2. History Facts and Events From the USA and World

1. President of the United States: Franklin Delano Roosevelt (D-New York)
2. Vice-President: John Nance Garner (D-Texas)
3. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Charles Evans Hughes (Ohio)
4. Speaker of the House of Representatives: William B. Bankhead (D-Alabama)
5. Senate Majority Leader: Joseph Taylor Robinson (D-Arkansas) was the Senate Majority Leader until July 14, 1937. On July 22, 1937, Alben W. Barkley (D-Kentucky) became the Senate Majority Leader.
6. The 75th U.S. Congress convened on January 3, 1937.
7. United States population: 128,824,829
8. Federal spending: $7.58 billion
9. Consumer Price Index: 14.4
10. GDP growth rate: 5.1 percent
11. Inflation rate: 3.6 percent
12. Unemployment rate: 14.3 percent
13. Average price of gold: $35.00 per troy ounce
14. Average cost of a new house: $4,100.00
15. Average price of a new car: $760.00
16. Average monthly house rent: $26.00
17. Average annual income: $1,780.00
18. Average retail price for a gallon of gas: 10 cents
19. Cost of a first-class postage stamp: Three cents
20. $1.00 in 1937 is equivalent in purchasing power to $21.37 in 2023, which is a cumulative price increase of 2,037.42 percent over 86 years.
21. In 1937, Americans were slowly and painfully digging their way out of the Great Depression. The nation's unemployment rate remained stubbornly high at 14.3 percent, and an estimated 7,700,000 Americans were still out of work and could not find a job.
22. Between 1935 and 1937, Congress passed three "Neutrality Acts," which were designed "to keep the United States out of war, by making it illegal to sell or transport arms, or other war materials, to belligerent nations."
23. The recession of 1937-38, sometimes called “the recession within the Depression,” was a major setback to the American economy. CEPR.org tells us that “Real GDP fell 11% and industrial production fell 32%, making it the third-worst US recession in the 20th century (after 1929-32 and 1920-21).” As with other recessions, the 1937-38 recession was attributed to “a tightening of fiscal and monetary policy.”
24. During January and February, weeks of heavy rain caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. An estimated 350 people lost their lives and another one million were left homeless. Flood-related damage was estimated at $500 million, which is about $7 billion in today's money. Some of the hardest hit areas were Cairo (Illinois), Cincinnati (Ohio), Evansville (Indiana), Huntington (West Virginia), Jeffersonville (Indiana), Louisville (Kentucky), Parkersburg (West Virginia), Point Pleasant (West Virginia), Portsmouth (Ohio), Steubenville (Ohio), and Wheeling (West Virginia).
25. January 1: At the 1st Cotton Bowl, the TCU Horned Frogs defeated the Marquette Golden Avalanche, 16-6.
26. January 1: At the 3rd Sugar Bowl, the LSU Tigers defeated the Santa Clara Broncos, 21-14.
27. January 1: At the 3rd Orange Bowl, the Duquesne Dukes defeated the Mississippi State Maroons, 13-12.
28. January 1: At the 22nd Rose Bowl, the Pitt Panthers defeated the Washington Huskies, 21-0.
29. January 8: The temperature plunged to -50 degrees Fahrenheit in San Jacinto, Nevada, setting a new state record.
30. January 19: MLB players Cy Young, Tris Speaker, and Nap Lajorie were all inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
31. January 20: President Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to be inaugurated during the month of January. For the first time, the presidential Inauguration Day was held on January 20 instead of on March 4, thanks to the ratification of the Twentieth Amendment in 1933.
32. February 5: President Roosevelt announced a plan "to expand the Supreme Court to as many as 15 judges, allegedly to make it more efficient." However, FDR'S "war on the court was short-lived, and it was defeated by a crafty Chief Justice and Roosevelt's party members."
33. February 11: The 44-day sit-down strike at a General Motors factory in Flint, Michigan came to an end. As the result of the walkout, "General Motors agreed to recognize the United Auto Workers as the sole bargaining agent in all GM plants."
34. February 12: The Cleveland Rams, now the Los Angeles Rams, were granted an NFL franchise.
35. February 13: The NFL gave the Boston Redskins permission to move to Washington, DC, and also to share Griffith Stadium with the Washington Senators MLB team.
36. Between February 27 and March 9, German police officers rounded up an estimated 2,000 "convicted offenders" and incarcerated them into concentration camps.
37. March 1: Connecticut issued the first permanent automobile license plates.
38. March 18: A gas explosion at a school in New London, Texas claimed the lives of 295 students and teachers.
39. March 23: PPC streetcars first appeared on the streets of Los Angeles.
40. April 19: Walter Young won the 41st Boston Marathon.
41. May 6: The German airship, Hindenburg, exploded while attempting to dock with its mooring mast at the Lakehurst (New Jersey) Naval Air Engineering Station. Thirteen passengers, 22 crew members, and one member of the ground crew were killed. (Just so you know, the Hindenburg disaster marked the end of an era for airships.)
42. May 8: War Admiral was the winning horse at the 63rd Kentucky Derby.
43. May 27: The Golden Gate Bridge, which connects the City and County of San Francisco with Marin County to the north, opened to vehicular traffic. The bridge took four years to build, and was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. (In Washington, DC, President Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key to commemorate the official opening of the Golden Gate Bridge.)
44. May 31: Wilbur Shaw won the 25th Indianapolis 500.
45. June 30: The UK instituted the first 999 emergency call telephone service.
46. June 30-July 25: Roger Lapebie of France won the 31st Tour de France.
47. July 2: American aviator Amelia Earhart and her co-pilot Fred Noonan "mysteriously disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during a circumnavigation flight." After multiple searches, Earhart was declared legally dead on January 5, 1939. (Just so you know, Amelia Earhart's disappearance is still one of the biggest unsolved mysteries of modern times.)
48. In September, Congress passed the Housing Act of 1937, which focused on the construction of nationwide public housing units "to replenish the depleted national rental housing stock."
49. October 6-10: The New York Yankees won the 34th World Series by defeating the New York Giants, 4 games to 1.
50. December 12: At the 5th NFL Championship Game, the Washington Redskins defeated the Chicago Bears, 28-21. The game was played at Wrigley Field in Chicago before 15,978 fans.

3. Sports Facts and Trivia

Generally suited for all age groups, sports-related questions are always a welcome addition to any trivia night quiz.

1. Boston Marathon: Walter Young
2. Cotton Bowl: TCU Horned Frogs
3. Indianapolis 500: Wilbur Shaw
4. Kentucky Derby: War Admiral
5. NCAA Football Champions: Pittsburgh
6. NFL Champions: Washington Redskins
7. Orange Bowl: Duquesne Dukes
8. Rose Bowl: Pitt Panthers
9. Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings
10. Sugar Bowl: LSU Tigers
11. Tour de France: Roger Lapebie
12. U.S. Open Golf: Ralph Guldahl
13. U.S. Open Tennis (men/women): Donald Budge/Anita Lizana
14. Wimbledon (men/women): Donald Budge/Dorothy Round
15. World Series: New York Yankees

4. Miscellaneous Fun Facts, Trivia, and Pop Culture Trends

1. Back in 1937 what did people do for fun? Well, there were baseball cards, jigsaw puzzles, and roller skating. There were poker games, ping-pong, and pedal cars. Baseball was the national pastime, and many Americans went to baseball games, followed baseball, and played baseball. People spent time stamp collecting, birdwatching, and taking long walks. People also read books, listened to their favorite music, went to the movies, and gathered around the radio to listen to Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, Jack Benny, and Eddie Cantor.
2. In 1937, popular baby names were Robert, James, John, William, Richard, Mary, Betty, Barbara, Dorothy, and Joan.
3. The average life expectancy for men born in 1936 was 58 years. For women, it was 62.4 years.
4. Time magazine's Persons of the Year were Chiang Kai-shek (President of the Republic of China) and Soong Mei-ling (First Lady of the Republic of China).
5. Bette Cooper of Bertrand Island, New Jersey was crowned Miss America.
6. Top celebrities in 1937 included Fred Astaire, Joan Blondell, James Cagney, Claudette Colbert, Joan Crawford, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Jean Harlow, Katherine Hepburn, Hedy Lamarr, Ginger Rogers, John Wayne, and Mae West.
7. In January, the first issue of Look magazine (1937-71) went on sale.
8. Modern Photography (1937-89) and Travel + Leisure also began publishing.
9. The first hospital-based blood bank in the U.S. opened at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago. SmithsonianMag.com explains that “The cost to open the original blood bank was $1,500, according to the Cook County Health & Hospitals System. That’s about $25,000 in today’s money. In its first year of operation it was used in 1,364 blood transfusions.”
10. Dr. Wallace Carothers received a patent for nylon.
11. Donald Duck's three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, first appeared in the newspaper comic strip.
12. Statues of Popeye, the popular cartoon character, were erected in the Texas towns of Dilley and Crystal City.
13. The world's largest flower bloomed at the New York Botanical Garden. The giant Sumatran Titan Arum was 8 1/2 feet high, and had a diameter of four feet.
14. The George A. Hormel & Company of Austin, Minnesota began to market SPAM.
15. Kraft Mac & Cheese appeared on grocery store shelves for the first time.
16. Candy maker Frank C. Mars introduced the five-cent Three Musketeers candy bar.
17. The first Krispy Creme donut was sold in Salem, North Carolina.
18. Other consumer products that were launched during 1937 include Beer Nuts, Chex breakfast cereal, the clothes dryer, Kix breakfast cereal, Old Spice grooming products, Parkay margarine, PF Flyers, Rolo chocolates, Ragu pasta sauce, Sauve grooming products, and Vanish toilet bowl cleaner.
19. January 18: Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories (1937-56) premiered on CBS radio.
20. January 23: The musical, On Your Toes, premiered at the Majestic Theater in New York City for 515 performances.
21. January 25: The Guiding Light (1937-52) debuted on the NBC Red Network. (In 1952, The Guiding Light premiered as a daytime soap opera on CBS television, and ran for the next 57 years.)
22. February 11: Radio station WFOY in St. Augustine, Florida began broadcasting.
23. February 28: Radio station WRNS in Kingston, North Carolina began broadcasting.
24. March 4: At the Ninth Academy Awards, The Great Ziegfeld won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Dance Direction. Likewise, Frank Capra (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town) won an Oscar for Best Director, Paul Muni (The Story of Louis Pasteur) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Luise Rainer (The Great Ziegfeld) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
25. March 15: Radio station KCVV in Sacramento, California began broadcasting.
26. March 29: Our Gal Sunday (1937-59) premiered on CBS radio.
27. May 3: Margaret Mitchell won a Pulitzer Prize for her epic novel, Gone with the Wind.
28. May 17: Radio station KAND in Waxahachie, Texas began broadcasting.
29. May 19: The stage comedy, Room Service, opened at the Cort Theatre in New York City for 500 performances.
30. May 25: At the 13th Scripps National Spelling Bee, the winner was fourteen-year-old Waneeta Beckley of Kentucky, who correctly spelled the word "promiscuous."
31. July 15: Radio station WMBS in Uniontown, Pennsylvania began broadcasting.
32. August 1: Radio station WDWD in Atlanta, Georgia began broadcasting.
33. August 11: The film, The Life of Emile Zola, starring Paul Muni, premiered in New York City.
34. September 2: The film, The Prisoner of Zenda, based on a novel and play by Anthony Hope, was released.
35. September 21: J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, The Hobbit, was published in London.
36. September 21: Radio station WFUN in Ashtabula, Ohio began broadcasting.
37. September 26: The Shadow, one of the most popular radio programs in history, aired for the first time in the United States.u
38. October 19: Big Town premiered on CBS radio.
39. October 31: Radio station KTMS in Santa Barbara, California began broadcasting.
40. November 1: Brave New World debuted on CBS radio.
41. November 1: Hilltop House premiered on CBS radio.
42. November 5: Black Night, a horror program, aired for the first time on WBAP in Fort Worth, Texas.
43. December 13: Radio station WRNL in Richmond, Virginia began broadcasting.
44. December 19: Radio station WRKO in Boston, Massachusetts began broadcasting.
45. December 21: Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, opened at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles. The movie runs for 83 minutes and cost $1.5 million to produce.
46. December 25: Arturo Toscanini conducted the first Symphony of the Air on NBC radio.
47. Monopoly board game: $2.00
48. Philco table model radio: $14.00
49. Racoon coat: $98.00
50. Undergraduate tuition at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia: $400

5. 50+ Words That First Appeared in Print During 1937

Courtesy of Merriam-Webster.com, here are 50+ words that appeared in print for the first time during 1937.

1. AA, a bit much, and adamancy
2. Banana pepper, behavioral science, borscht belt, bubble gum, and burger
3. Clinical depression and crew cut
4. Decal, dirt-poor, double-space, and dumpster
5. Fair-trade agreement, fax, fiberglass, and fluid mechanics
6. Gamna globulin, good life, green light, green thumb, and groovy
7. Horror story
8. ID card, iffy, and ivory- towered
9. Juke joint
10. Logo
11. Magnetic tape, mammogram, and matchbook
12. News conference
13. Person of interest, pesto, pizzazz, preschooler, and press conference
14. Rat race, receiving end, rollback, and Russian roulette
15. Salad bar, schmo, second-degree burn, skin diving, skull session, spaced-out, storefront church, and surreal
16. Tobacco road and trailer park
17. Ultra posh, ultra slick, and up front
18. Washateria and women's room

6. Nobel Prize Winners

Beth Rowen tells us that winning a Nobel Prize is a life-changing honor. Whether the laureate is an internationally known figure (such as Mother Teresa) or a scientist from obscurity (like Richard R. Ernst), the award brings worldwide recognition that highlights one's life work and provides the funds to continue the mission.

This Nobel Prize information from 1937 has been made available courtesy of NobelPrize.org.

1. Chemistry: Norman Haworth and Paul Karrer
2. Literature: Roger Martin du Gard
3. Peace: Robert Cecil
4. Physics: George Paget Thomson and Clinton Davisson
5. Psychology or Medicine: Albert Szent-Gyorgi

7. Best-Selling Fiction Books

This fiction book trivia has been made available courtesy of Publishers Weekly.

1. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
2. Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts
3. The Citadel by A.J. Cronin
4. And So-Victoria by Vaughan Wilkins
5. Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D. Edmonds
6. The Years by Virginia Woolf
7. Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham
8. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
9. The Rains Came by Louis Bromfield
10. We Are Not Alone by James Hilton

8. Most Popular Radio Programs

In 1937, there were a number of experimental television stations on the air, but very few Americans could afford a TV receiver. As a result, the nation's loyalty still belonged to radio. There were 646 radio stations across the United States, and nearly 75 percent of American households owned a radio. During a period of intense global economic hardship, Americans by and large depended upon the airwaves for live musical performances, dramas, comedy acts, talk shows, educational programs, and live sports events.