The Ride of Her Life is set in the mid-1950s when new technology and inventions were quickly changing Americans’ routines and quality of life. This decade heralded great technological progress that altered citizens’ everyday lives, primarily by mechanizing mundane tasks. Companies took advantage of the government’s newer services, such as in-home electricity and indoor plumbing, to market new appliances that made everyday life safer and more convenient for US citizens. During this decade, modern appliances such as washing machines and dryers became popular, while technology like televisions and record players, invented years earlier, became ubiquitous in households across the country. The household phone and transistor radios made communication easier, and new inventions such as the credit card and the Barbie doll made an enduring mark on American culture. In addition, significant medical advances, such as the polio vaccine and the heart-lung machine, extended citizens’ lives.

In this decade, US citizens began to embrace the automobile as their primary method of transportation. This development impacted not only everyday lives but also the organization and aesthetic of the country itself. In a nation that had long relied on horses, buggies, and trains, US infrastructure quickly shifted to accommodate the now-dominant car as the government funded huge highway projects across the country.