On This Day

"It Pays To Be Ignorant" game show debut on CBS-TV

It Pays to Be Ignorant is a 1942–51 radio comedy show which maintained its popularity during a nine-year run on three networks for such sponsors as Philip Morris, Chrysler, and DeSoto.

It Pays to Be Ignorant is a 1942–51 radio comedy show which maintained its popularity during a nine-year run on three networks for such sponsors as Philip Morris, Chrysler, and DeSoto. The series was a spoof on the academic discourse on such authoritative panel series as Quiz Kids and Information Please. At the same time, the beginning of the program parodied the popular quiz show Doctor I.Q. The show featured announcers Ken Roberts and Dick Stark. The program was broadcast on Mutual from June 25, 1942 to February 28, 1944, on CBS from February 25, 1944 to September 27, 1950 and finally on NBC from July 4, 1951 to September 26, 1951. The series typically aired as a summer replacement.

Historical Significance

It Pays to Be Ignorant is a 1942–51 radio comedy show which maintained its popularity during a nine-year run on three networks for such sponsors as Philip Morris, Chrysler, and DeSoto.

Events Before

  1. 25 states merge under the Government of Orissa

    25 states merge under the Government of Orissa

  2. Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast

    Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January 1948 at the age of 78 in the compound of The Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti), a large mansion in central New Delhi.

  3. Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated in the garden of the New Delhi home he is visiting by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse

    Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated in the garden of the New Delhi home he is visiting by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse

  4. American comic Dick Van Dyke (22) weds American girlfriend Margerie Willett (20) on the radio show "Bride and Groom" in

    American comic Dick Van Dyke (22) weds American girlfriend Margerie Willett (20) on the radio show "Bride and Groom" in Los Angeles California; divorce in 1984 after a long separation

  5. Iris Apfel (née Barrel) marries Carl Apfel

    Iris Apfel (née Barrel) marries Carl Apfel

Events After

  1. Emil Jannings dies

    Emil Jannings, Swiss-born German actor, known for german actor, died on 1950-01-02. Emil Jannings was a Swiss-born German actor who was popular in Hollywood films in the 1920s.

  2. The Dutch government raises all wages by a maximum of 5%

    The Dutch government raises all wages by a maximum of 5%

  3. Israeli Knesset declares Jerusalem the capital of Israel

    The Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem, known to Israelis as the reunification of Jerusalem, refers to the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War, and its…

  4. US President Harry Truman publicly announces support for the development of a hydrogen bomb

    Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953.

  5. British naturalist and future broadcaster David Attenborough (24) weds British classmate and cook Jane Elizabeth Ebswort

    British naturalist and future broadcaster David Attenborough (24) weds British classmate and cook Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel, until her death in 1997

More from the 1940s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on June 6, 1949?
It Pays to Be Ignorant is a 1942–51 radio comedy show which maintained its popularity during a nine-year run on three networks for such sponsors as Philip Morris, Chrysler, and DeSoto. The series was a spoof on the academic discourse on such authoritative panel series as Quiz Kids and Information Please. At the same time, the beginning of the program parodied the popular quiz show Doctor I.Q.
Why is "It Pays To Be Ignorant" game show debut on CBS-TV significant?
It Pays to Be Ignorant is a 1942–51 radio comedy show which maintained its popularity during a nine-year run on three networks for such sponsors as Philip Morris, Chrysler, and DeSoto.

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