The 1940s had its own version of the internet: short-wave radio.



Before the development of the transistor --invented in Murray Hill in 1947, incidentally -- radios were powered by vacuum tubes. These radios had drawbacks; they were bulky and they didn't start immediately after being turned on, they had to "warm up."

But they had the capability of picking up high-frequency signals known as "short wave" signals. The technology allowed listeners to tune in to and keep up with what was going on, literally, around the world. The radio functioned much like the internet does today.

Those days, radios came with international cities marked on the tuning band. After listening to President Roosevelt's fireside chats, you could tune in to Winston Churchill's speeches to his nation in real time, as well as Hitler's to Germany and Mussolini's to Italy.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

You could hear the British Broadcasting Company's transmissions to France, including the coded messages to members of the French Resistance.

But the war wasn't the only thing folks were "tuned in to" in the 1940s. The decade that started with the nation still in the throes of the Great Depression ended with folks watching Milton Berle on the Texaco Star Theater on that new gizmo, the television set.

Okay, I'm calling "bull" on that one.

Some other interesting facts from the '40s:

* Bugs Bunny debuted in 1940 in the Warner Brothers cartoon "A Wild Hare"

* Cheerios were first sold in 1941

* The T-shirt was first introduced in 1942, originally for use by U.S. Army soldiers.

* Ballpoint pens first went on sale in 1944, but they cost $12 each, the equivalent of more than $160 today

* Department stores begin selling Tupperware in 1946

* In 1949, George Orwell published "Nineteen Eighty-Four"

Here's a gallery of photos showing life in New Jersey in the 1940s. Make sure you have captions enabled for more information on each of them.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.