45 years after Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan Show, lots has changed in the U.S.

It was 45 years ago today . . . 

On February 9, 1964, the Beatles made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. If you watched the 51st Grammy Awards last night, you know how much has changed in the music world.

A lot has changed for household appliances, too, including cost: Household appliances were a lot less expensive in 1964, when the Fab Four were exploding onto the American scene and had six songs in the #1 spot. Here's what some "acceptable" appliances we tested in 1964 cost:
• top-freezer refrigerator, $278.28; bottom-freezer refrigerator, $385.22.
• washing machine cost, $208.84.
• range with top and bottom ovens, $307.50.
• canister vacuum, $63.03; upright vacuum, $67.28.

Today, among models we've tested, price ranges are:
• top-freezers, $500 to $1,100; bottom-freezers, $900 to $4,200.
• front-loading washing machines, $800 to $1,900; top-loading washing machines, $350 to $1,300.
• ranges, $450 to $2,300.
• canister vacuums, $170 to $1,90; upright vacuums, $80 to $1,350.

Check out our Appliances section for information on all kinds of household equipment. And if you can handle a bit of sticker shock, use the Consumer Price Index inflation calculator from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to see just how much pricier things really are today. (A dollar in 1964 has the same buying power as about $7 today.)—Steven H. Saltzman and Cyndi Schoenbrun

Some other interesting facts about our country from then and now:

1964
Population: 191,888,791
Life expectancy: 70.2 years
President: Lyndon B. Johnson
Vice President: none (Hubert H. Humphrey did not become VP until he was sworn in in January 1965)
Gross domestic product: $649.6 billion
Federal spending: $118.53 billion
Federal debt: $316.1 billion
Unemployment rate: 5.7 percent
Cost of a first-class stamp: 5 cents

2009
Population: 305,781,302
Life expectancy: 77.8 years
President: Barack H. Obama
Vice President: Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Gross domestic product: $14.3 trillion
Federal spending: $3 trillion
Federal debt: $10.7 trillion
Unemployment rate: 7.6 percent
Cost of a first-class stamp: 42 cents