What would I need to know if I was going back to... The 40's??

Your best bet is to be white middle class male.

@sarahhhhh Got that down XD

Really the main sort of theme to this question is if I was time travelling what would I need to know to to blend in, and get along with society for a week or so.

Cigarettes. Lots of people smoked.

Here’s a useful guide for the married man back in the forties.
Some helpful advice for the ladies. ;¬}

Be prepared to pay 13 cents a gallon for gasoline.

Shocker, huh?

Learn how to use a choke. I’m wondering how many people get the meaning of that.

It’s going to depend upon where you physically land in the ‘40s. I recommend not aiming for Europe. There was a bit of a tiff going on there at the time. There were plenty of other countries going through their own internal wars, so choose the location carefully.

If you end up in the US, it was a time of seeing loved ones going off to fight in WWII, and dealing with the depression. I would love to introduce you to Mom and her sisters, as they could shed some light as to what life was like in the US in the ‘40s and show you their photo albums for a sense of style. The men were either in uniform or suits. Entertainment was huge. People escaped to the movie theaters, and some really great literature came out. Dances were popular as well.

Here is a link to a Wikipedia site that provides some top line information about the ‘40s. There is a handy guide at the bottom that breaks down events by year. Let us know where and when you want to go, and we might be able to provide more specific details.

Gay means happy.

How to play the saxophone.

Germany and Japan = bad.
Russia = good.

2nd Answer…........

If a woman, to wear an Easter bonnett.

(Or, maybe the men did, too).

Be prepared to use a church fan.

Double-edge razor to shave and cut your face.

If you went on vacation, you went on highways, not interstates, and saw a steady stream of Brylcreem ads. The country was dotted with many small tourist stops (the dying towns that the Cars animated movie referred to was on a highway).

Women wore short jackets with shoulder pads and epaulets. Their skirts were skinny to save fabric for our soldiers.

Families rationed food and supplies until early 1946. From 1946 on, babies were born in fast, fast, FAST succession—childbirth still happened by holding ether to mom’s nose and passing her out.

It was still risque for women to smoke, but less so than in the 30’s. Alcohol was plentiful, DUI’s were nonexistent, and most mixed drinks were with the most basic ingredients—none of those creative stuff we have today.

Sex happened—just was never discussed, ever. Our president had a mistress, but it was never, ever mentioned. Girls that got ‘caught’ were still being sent away to homes to have their babies. Forced adoptions were not uncommon.