August 15, 1957

The federal minimum wage stood at $1.00/hr that summer of 1957, and the Dow Jones sat at 436 — the International Geophysical Year had just launched, bringing together scientists from 64 nations to study the Earth and sun in an unprecedented global research effort that included plans from both the United States and the Soviet Union to put satellites into orbit. On American television, "Gunsmoke" was the top-rated drama and Emmy winner that summer, while Elvis Presley held the number one spot on the charts with "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear." On July 16th, Marine Major John Glenn set a new transcontinental speed record, piloting an F8U supersonic jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes, and 8 seconds — the fastest coast-to-coast flight in American history to that point.