Six WW II Innovations That Changed Everyday Life-- Part 1

From April 26, 2021, History site by Becky Little.

Of course, everyone knows about atomic energy and the atom bomb which came out of the war, but there were other developments as well.  Some of these innovations date from before the war, but were able to take off because of it.

1.  FLU VACCINES

The influenza pandemic of WW I motivated the U.S. military to develop the first flu vaccine.  Scientists began to isolate the flu viruses in the 1930s and in the 1940s, the U.S. Army  helped sponsor a vaccine against them.

The U.S. approved the first vaccine for military use in 1945 and for civilian use in 1946.  One of the researchers on this project was Dr. Jonas Salk, the scientist who would later develop the vaccine used to defeat polio.

2.  PENICILLIN

Before the widespread development of antibiotics like penicillin in the U.S., even small cuts or scrapes could lead to deadly infections.  The Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, but it wasn't  until WW II that the U.S. began to produce mass amounts as a medical treatment.

Military surgeons were  amazed at how much the drug reduced pain, increased chances of survival.  The drug was considered so vital to the war effort, that the Allies produced 2.3 million doses of penicillin for the troops to prepare for the D-Day landings.

--GreGen