Act I
The World Stage
World Population
How many people shared the planet
people on Earth when you were born
5.6 billion more people have arrived since
You are among the last humans who will ever know a world with fewer than 3 billion people.
1 in 84 people alive today was born in 1952.
World Leaders
Who was in charge
United States President
Harry S. Truman
President
UK Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
Prime Minister
UN Secretary-General
Trygve Lie
United Nations
World Events
Defining moments of 1952
King George VI of Britain dies; Elizabeth II ascends to the throne at age 25
Egypt's King Farouk overthrown in military coup led by General Muhammad Naguib
United Kingdom tests its first atomic bomb at Monte Bello Islands, becoming the third nuclear power
Dwight D. Eisenhower elected US President in a landslide, ending 20 years of Democratic rule
US detonates first hydrogen bomb, 'Ivy Mike', vastly more powerful than atomic bombs
Baby Names
Most popular names in 1952 (US)
Boys
James, Robert, John
Girls
Linda, Mary, Patricia
Atmosphere
CO₂ in the air you first breathed
CO₂ concentration (Keeling Curve)
+111.5 ppm since your birth
The air has 36% more CO₂ now than the day you took your first breath.
Act II
What Things Cost
Average Annual Salary
What workers took home
$3.9k US median household incomeAdjusted for inflation, that's worth about $46k in today's dollars.
Today: $80kPurchasing Power
Are we actually better off today?
What $4k in 1952 is worth right now
42% less purchasing power than today's median
Wages have grown, but housing, healthcare, and education have grown faster. The math isn't in your favor.
The Birth Lottery
Same year. Different world.
life expectancy at birth in 1952
life expectancy at birth in 1952
A 36.3-year gap, decided entirely by where you happened to be born. Same year, different world.
Everyday Prices
What things cost
Housing
Homes vs. salaries - then and now
Median home cost 2.3x the average annual salary
Median home now costs 5.3x the average annual salary
Housing has gotten 2.3x harder to afford relative to income. Your parents weren't exaggerating about how cheap houses were.
Act III
What Was Playing
Billboard Year-End #1
Blue Tango
Leroy Anderson
Oscar Best Picture
An American in Paris
Directed by George Stevens
TV Premieres
Shows born the same year as you
Sports
Champions of the year
World Series
New York Yankees
Baseball
F1 Champion
Alberto Ascari
Formula One
NBA Champion
Minneapolis Lakers
Basketball
Wimbledon Men's
Frank Sedgman
Tennis
Screen & Page
What everyone was watching and reading
Most-Watched Show
I Love Lucy
Television
Fiction Bestseller
The Silver Chalice
Thomas B. Costain
Box Office #1
This Is Cinerama
Film
Act IV
The State of Technology
Technology Milestone
Where technology stood
First hydrogen bomb (Mike) detonated by the United States at Enewetak Atoll
Notable Tech Releases
What launched that year
IBM 701, its first commercial scientific computer, introduced
First hydrogen bomb (Mike) detonated by the United States
Bell Labs develops the first solar cell prototype
UNIVAC I predicts Eisenhower presidential victory on live TV
Social Media Timeline
How old were you when these launched?
The Universe
Worlds discovered beyond our solar system
No exoplanets confirmed yet
confirmed and counting
When you were born, humanity had no proof that planets existed outside our solar system. Now we know they're everywhere.
Act V
Your Place in Time
🇺🇸 United States
Your country the year you arrived
Population
158M
people in United States
GDP per Capita
$1,786
per person per year
Your Birth Cohort
98M
babies born worldwide that year
Your birth year is closer to the Korean War armistice than to today.
Notable Births
Born the same year as you
Liam Neeson·Mr. T·Jimmy Connors·Roseanne Barr·Jeff Goldblum
Life Expectancy
Have we made progress?
United States life expectancy at birth
United States life expectancy today
10 years of progress. Steady gains from better medicine, nutrition, and public health.
Computing Power
How much faster the machines have gotten
137.4 billion times more powerfulComputing power has roughly doubled every two years since you were born. That adds up to 137.4 billion×.
37 doublings since 1952Milestone Years
Your milestone birthdays
You turn 100 in 2052
Language
Words that didn't exist when you were born
Still Alive
Jonathan the tortoise was already 120 years old
a Seychelles giant tortoise living on Saint Helena island. He was already 120 years old the year you were born. He's still alive today at 194.
You arrived in a world of 2.6 billion people. Harry S. Truman was in the White House. Blue Tango by Leroy Anderson was on the radio. The world you were born into would be unrecognizable today. Television was new, air travel was rare, and your parents had never heard the word 'computer.'
In 1952, recording your voice meant a reel-to-reel tape recorder.
Today, you can clone your own voice with a few minutes of audio.
Hear what that sounds like →keep exploring