Birth of the TV Dinner in 1957
By 1957, over 40 million American homes owned a television. To capitalize on this, Swanson redesigned its TV Dinner packaging in 1957 to look like a television set, selling over 25 million meals that year and cementing the habit of eating while watching.
Chapter 1
The living room revolution
Chapter 2
The year rock shook the world
Chapter 3
Masterpieces of the silver screen
Chapter 4
Rebels with a pen
Ch 1 · The living room revolution
schopenhauer The Living Room Revolution
Turn the dial, fold the tray, watch the show.
schopenhauer Dick Clark took over American Bandstand nationally in 1957, turning teenage dance culture into a mainstream television phenomenon.
Fun Fact
Sputnik's beep: The tiny Sputnik 1 satellite was only the size of a beach ball but changed global culture forever.
schopenhauer Swanson sold millions of pre-packaged frozen meals in 1957, permanently changing how families watched their favorite evening shows.
Glossary
television (noun)
An electronic system of transmitting images and sound over a wire or through space to a receiver. In October 1957, the television sitcom Leave It to Beaver debuted, portraying an idealized suburban household.
An electronic system of transmitting images and sound over a wire or through space to a receiver. In October 1957, the television sitcom Leave It to Beaver debuted, portraying an idealized suburban household.
BETA
schopenhauer Guess the 1957 trivia answers to discover how television reshaped modern entertainment.
Quiz
Which food company redesigned its frozen meal packaging in 1957 to look like a television set?
Quiz
Which US broadcasting network first aired American Bandstand nationwide in 1957?
schopenhauer The national premiere of the music television show American Bandstand
Quiz
In December 1957, which world leader delivered their country's first-ever televised Christmas broadcast?
Quiz
What sound did the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 satellite broadcast to radio receivers on Earth in 1957?
Quiz
Who was the famous host who took American Bandstand to a national television audience in August 1957?
Quiz
What was the name of the Cleaver family's youngest son in the television sitcom Leave It to Beaver, which debuted in 1957?