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On the date

Tuesday, January 2, 1900

From the day

Perspective: The Teenager · Sound

The hiss of the steam radiator competes with the clatter of the horse-drawn cabs outside, but nothing drowns out my sister’s caterwauling as she thumps the piano keys to *A Bird in a Gilded Cage*. It’s the top tune in every parlor, though I’d rather be out by the station hearing the roar of the Pennsylvania Road engines than stuck listening to that sentimental drivel. I tug at my stiff high collar, feeling like a total chump in this heavy wool suit while dreaming of snapping a shot of a real Zeppelin with one of those new Brownie cameras. Between the screech of the streetcars and the gossip about those new company pensions, the new century sounds a lot louder than the one we just left behind.

Memories from that day

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Best-selling Sheet Music

A Bird in a Gilded Cage

Harry Von Tilzer

The must-have

Lionel Trains

On This Day

  • American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.

    Wikipedia →
  • Chicago Canal opens.

    Wikipedia →

Slang

Slang of the decade

General

bullyfit as a fiddleblockhead

Aristocrat

capitalmy wordbally

Working Class

gadzooksblimeychump

Catchphrases of 1900

  • Speak softly and carry a big stick

Tech Check

Kodak Brownie Camera, Zeppelin Airships & Escalators.

Style of 1900

Silhouette: S-bend corset and pouter pigeon chest

Material: Lace, silk, and heavy wool

  • Gibson Girl hair
  • Parasols
  • High collars

Cost of Living (1900)

Loaf of Bread

$0.05

Gallon of Gas

$0.10

Average Home

$3,200

New Car

$1,000

Time Elapsed

46,228 days ago

(126 years, 238 days)