First on the Block - 50s and 60s Quiz

Answer: Princess Telephone

Ma Bell was the nickname for American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, aka AT&T. Ma Bell was broken up into little baby bells such as Southwestern Bell, Western Bell, etc.
Before the Princess model was released, most homes had one phone either in the kitchen, hall, or living room. The Princess model was released by Bell Systems in 1959 and promoted to encourage a second phone in the bedroom. The advertising slogan was "It's little...It's lovely...It lights". It came in many colors to meet the interior designs of the day (red, pink, moss green, ivory, light blue, and turquoise), as well as offering the normal colors people had become used to over the years (black, white, beige, and gray).
(First Family: Dad took the promotional cue and we became a two phone family while our neighbors still used the ugly black desk model. My parents had an ivory princess bedside phone and I was given my own light blue princess phone for my 16th birthday.)

Answer: Instant Tea

The first instant tea goes back as far as 1885 in the United Kingdom and was a paste including sugar and creamer which was then added to hot water to make the cuppa.
White Rose Redi was the first instant tea powder released to the US public in 1953.
Lipton Tea in the United States came out with their first instant product in 1957. The US drinks far more iced tea than hot, so the manufacturing process was different than in other countries preferring hot instant tea. Nestea thrived as well in the late 50s once their advanced recipe would dissolve properly in cold water.
(First Family: My grandmother kept brewed tea on hand in large Mason jars to make iced tea. She refused trying instant tea as if she were breaking one of the ten commandments; however, she always had Sanka on-hand for the single cup of coffee. Ahhh, family idiosyncrasies!)

Answer: Cassette

The first cassette recorder was released in Europe in August 1963. November 1964 the same recorder was released in the USA under the name Norelco. By 1966, Japan became the main manufacturing source.
(First Family: When my grandmother was in her 80s and ill, she lost interest in letter writing and long distance calls were expensive. Dad bought a recorder for her and our family so we could exchange life on cassette. We kids would clam up and not find anything to say. Three exchanges and our recorder was put into Fibber McGee's closet.)

Answer: Power Steering

In 1955, power steering wasn't in the standard equipment line-up with Plymouth and was considered an accessory with a $92.50 price tag. Plymouth was produced by the Chrysler Corporation beginning in 1928 and the name brand was dissolved by 2001. Chrysler's first auto with power steering was their 1951 Imperial sedan.
(First Family: We had owned the car two weeks when the power steering went out as we were giving a church friend a ride home due to it storming. Our friend walked home in the rain, got his car and drove us home. But hey, we owned a car with power steering!)

Answer: Self-propelled Lawnmower

Dad bought our Craftsman at Sears, Roebuck & Company in the early 60s when our neighbors were still using push mowers or beginning to upgrade to gas engine mowers.
January 16, 1951, Snapper introduced its "Snappin' Turtle," the first self-propelled rotary mower. I recently saw a vintage model and it actually had a snapping turtle head designed in the front base. Clever design idea!
(First Family: We kids learned quickly the self-propelling mower was to keep us from whining that mowing was too difficult!)

Answer: Paper Dress

By 1967 you could find paper dresses in many department stores including I. Magnin and selling for $8 ($59 in 2017, using the inflation rate of 4% annually). The popularity left as quickly as it arrived and by 1968 paper dresses had lost their market.
"The Souper" designed dress was a take off of Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup art. Bridal gowns were even made of paper!
Breck Hair products offered a new one-step hair lightener and with the box lid and $1 mailed into the company, you would receive a paper dress. . .the designs were a Twiggy and Picasso blend.
Another offer was to mail a wrapper from a Butterfinger or Baby Ruth candy bar, along with $1.25 and you would receive a paper dress with the candy bars' logos on the front.
The Chicago Sun-Times advertised their newspaper in a full-page ad using the paper dress with their newsprint. Clever thinking, I'd say!
(First Family: It was I who worked hard on getting approval to buy this short fashion trend. Mom and Dad caved in and the day I was to go shopping after school was the day my friend almost had her paper dress torn off as a joke by the mean boys, but the paper construction was harder to tear than even she was aware. Her embarrassment, tears, boys' suspension, and being the main talk on campus, I went home and announced I was good without one!)

Answer: Portable Dishwasher

Home dishwashers offered post-WWII weren't a great success because of their expense, thus only the upper-class could afford them. By 1970 they were standard in newly constructed homes and apartments.
Older kitchens didn't offer space to enclose a dishwasher and the portable model was a simple solution if you could afford one. A 1966 model cost $266 which would be equivalent to $2,019.53 (4% inflation rate) in 2017.
One model was offered where you could buy a portable in your rent home and have it permanently installed free in your newly mortgaged home.
(First Family: I can't tell you how many times I sprayed myself and the kitchen by not releasing the water pressure correctly when disconnecting the water hose. Mom prepared three meals a day for eight people, so Dad surprised her with a portable unit. Our kitchen was small, so the dishwasher was rolled and stored in the family room when not in use. Nevertheless, we were the first on the block to own one!)

Answer: Above Ground Pool

Sears, Roebuck & Company made four sizes, from the smallest 10' x 30", to the largest 18' x 48" in the early 60s. The smallest was $29.50 and the largest was $119.95, equating to $237.41 and $965.33 respectively. (First Family: My siblings and I had a blast in our pool, as well as the neighborhood kids.

It was much better than trying to talk a parent into taking a car load of kids to the local city pool for an hour or two. Dad frowned at the daily maintenance and the dead grass underneath when he rolled up the metal construction when cold weather moved in. Yes, we were the first on the block.)

Answer: Electric Toothbrush

The original electric toothbrush was invented by Dr. Philippe Guy Woog to assist people with limited motor skills.
The Swiss Broxodent electric toothbrush was invented in 1954, which had a plug-in cord attached to the base. Squibb offered the Broxo electric toothbrush to the U.S. in 1959. General Electric soon followed in 1960 with their cordless rechargeable toothbrush.
(First Family: Dear Dad whistled for me to come home from playing in the middle of the afternoon and informed me I needed to brush my teeth. I was humiliated! Yep, the first family on the block!)

Answer: Polaroid Instant Camera

1965 Polaroid Swinger Instant Camera quickly became Polaroid's fastest selling camera at a $19.95 price tag ($154.38 in 2017), although their first instant camera was released in 1947 where the founder of Polaroid, Edwin Land, demonstrated the camera at the 1947 Optical Society of America Conference. Land originally left Harvard University without completing his degree to pursue his own light polarization research and within two years he had filed for a patent.

The Swinger got its name for the swinging motion created by its wrist strap as you walked.

The color film model came out in 1972. (First Family: Film and flash bulbs were pricey but you didn't have to wait two weeks to get your film processed. Dad bought ours so photos of Christmas morning and cute Easter outfits could be quickly mailed (that's snail mailed) to grandparents living miles away.)