1950s

Scientists demonstrate a solar battery which converts light into power. Though it is a small amount of power, it is a big first for science.

House parties in 1950s didn't really look like those you go to today. This flashback looks at how teenagers had fun in a much simpler time.

In 1952, UFOs outran U.S. Air Force jets over Washington, D.C. Was this the moment aliens first made contact?

The 1950s were about more than just poodle skirts and rock and roll.

In the 1950s, cleanliness was king. In this Flashback, learn proper hygiene techniques from Soapy, a talking bar of soap.

In the skies above North Korea, a new kind of air war is raging at 500mph. Jet vs. jet dogfighting for the first time in history.

With 1950s suburbia built around cars, malls replaced walkable shopping. Centers like San Mateo’s Hillsdale quickly had to adapt.

The first half of the 20th century saw massive surges in polio cases, resulting in extended hospital stays for many, including Eleanor Abbott, a retired schoolteacher who invented Candy Land to entertain the children she met in the polio ward.

Korean War veteran William Allen recalls being taken prisoner by North Korea.