World War 2 was in the 1940's so disposable tissues weren't invented yet. Instead of Paper tissues people used handkerchiefs to blow their noses, after a couple of uses they were washed and reused.
The blackout is where the people 'blacked out' their windows during the war so that the enemy flying in aeroplanes could not see where the main cities were.
In an over-simplification, the men went off to war and the women did their jobs at home. Certainly not all the men went to war, but the war pretty much consumed everyone's attention. The US did not...