1950

Korean War begins
Jerusalem becomes the official capital of Israel
First credit card issued in U.S. (Diner's Club)

Korean war begins
Truman orders development of hydrogen bomb.
Children in US watch an average of 27 hours of television a week
Richard M. Nixon elected to Senate
Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles
Broadway - "Guys and Dolls"
"Canned (recorded) laughter" introduced on the "Hank McClure [television] Show"
TV shows - Sid Ceasar's "Your Show of Shows", Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life", "What's My Line?", "The Roy Rogers Show", "The Adventures of Superman", "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show", "Your Hit Parade"
Mark Spitz, Julius Irving, and John Candy born
Edgar Rice Burroughs and George Bernard Shaw die