Fun Facts
Great World War II Projects You Can Build Yourself

World War II began just 20 years after World War I, “the war to end all wars.”

In 1939, when the war began, the US military ranked 18th in the world.

During World War II, the British government bought the licensing rights to the ballpoint pen so that its fighter pilots would have a pen that did not leak at high altitudes.

DuPont introduced nylon stockings at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, but War Production Board (WPD) restricted nylon to military use in parachutes and tires.

In 1939, the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) introduced an early computer called the Mark I that was 50 feet long and 8 feet tall.

The Slinky was invented by U.S. Naval engineer Richard James as he tried to develop springs that would support sensitive equipment on ships.

M&Ms were invented in 1940 and distributed to soldiers by the U.S. Army because the candy’s hard coating kept the chocolate from melting in their hands.

One recycled refrigerator made three machine guns, and one pound of fat contained enough glycerin to make black powder for 50 bullets.

American children picked wild milkweed plants, because the large pods made excellent filler for life jackets. During 1944 and 1945, more than 25 million pounds of wild milkweed pods were collected, enough to fill 700 freight-train cars.

20 million victory gardens produced about 40 percent of the food consumed in the U.S. during the war.