What America was like in 1938

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You were born in…

1938

This is where your story begins.

You’ve been here for

88

years

That’s about 32,100 days of history.

A first-class stamp in 1938 cost

3¢

Today the same stamp costs 82¢.

A dollar from 1938 would be worth

$23.91

today

Measured by the government’s Consumer Price Index.

The minimum wage?

Not until the fall.

It arrived that October: 25¢ an hour.

The president in 1938

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Since then you’ve lived under 15 presidents.

The 1940 census counted

132 million

Americans

By 2020 there were 331 million of us.

You’ve been around for

60

Super Bowls

Every single one of them. From Super Bowl I in 1967 to Super Bowl LX in 2026.

You’re older than…

  • RCA introduced television to the public at the New York World’s Fair1939. You were 1.
  • Bell Labs invented the transistor1947. You were 9.
  • Swanson sold its first TV dinner1953. You were 15.
  • Disneyland opened in California1955. You were 17.
  • Congress created the Interstate Highway System1956. You were 18.
  • NASA was founded1958. You were 20.

…and 22 more on our list.

So yes,

you’ve seen the worldchange a lot.

And you remember it.

Your 1938 story

That was 1938.

Share it with someone who remembers it too.

Make one for someone you love

Any year from 1930 to 2010.

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