Today’s installment–things invented, founded and established in ’38.
Dr. West’s amazing breakthrough in oral hygiene!
Falling as it did before WWII but at the onset of a slow rebound from the dreariness of the Great Depression, 1938 seems to have been a year for new things. Here are ten.
- The National Button Society was founded, and is still going strong.
- Superman debuted in Action Comics #1.
- Nylon was accidentally invented.
- Consequently, the nylon toothbrush (see above) first made its appearance. Before that, people brushed their teeth with boar’s bristle brushes. (1939 saw the advent of women’s nylon stockings)
Boar’s bristle toothbrushes
- Soft-serve ice cream may or may not have been invented that year, by someone in Illinois, maybe. Or by a young Margaret Thatcher. Depends on whom you ask.
- The National Arborists Association was established. It, too, is still around. Woo.
- The Drunk-o-Meter, an early form of the breathalyzer test for drunkenness, made its debut.
- This Ferragamo shoe (I know, again with the shoes):
Colorful.
- The board game Scrabble was invented, but it wasn’t called Scrabble yet.
- And finally, this … vehicle:
Tractorcycle. Did not catch on.
Superman was new
A demonstration of the Drunk-o-Meter
Did anything surprise you? More to come!
In 1938: What a Year, Part I, we talked 1930s fashion, namely, shoes.
Carol Brendler Books 
I vaguely knew about Superman, but the others were a surprise, particularly the Ferragammo shoe and the nylon toothbrush!!! Love these facts!