yesterwire.comBack to search

On the date

Tuesday, February 11, 1908

From the day

Perspective: The Anxious Local · Tactile

The damp wool of my heavy overcoat itches against my neck as I push through the crowds gathered to stare at these loud, steel machines preparing for Paris. My fingers are stiff with cold, fumbling through my pocket only to find that a single loaf of bread has climbed to a staggering $0.05, leaving my stomach as tight as these anxious streets. Some blockhead nearly knocked me into the slush while shouting about the race, but I just gripped my new deck of Rook cards tighter, feeling the slick, waxy finish of the cardstock. With these soaring prices and the roar of those engines rattling the very cobblestones, I can’t help but fear what tomorrow’s noise will cost us all.

Memories from that day

No memories yet. Add yours if you remember this day.

The Headlines

RACERS READY FOR LAST TEST; Contestants in New York to Paris Run Will Get Final Trials To-day. START AT 11 A.M. TO-MORROW Line to be Sent Away from the Times Building Promptly on the Hour. GREAT PARADE UP BROADWAY Foreign Cars Are Landed Safely -- $1,000 Offered to the American on Any Car Who Carries the Flag to Paris.

Read in The New York Times →

Best-selling Sheet Music

Shine On, Harvest Moon

Nora Bayes & Jack Norworth

The must-have

Rook (Card Game)

Slang

Slang of the decade

General

bullyfit as a fiddleblockhead

Aristocrat

capitalmy wordbally

Working Class

gadzooksblimeychump

Catchphrases of 1908

  • Take me out to the ball game

Tech Check

Ford Model T (Assembly Line), Geiger Counter & Cellophane.

Cost of Living (1900)

Loaf of Bread

$0.05

Gallon of Gas

$0.10

Average Home

$3,200

New Car

$1,000

Time Elapsed

43,214 days ago

(118 years, 144 days)