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On the date

Wednesday, July 5, 1916

From the day

Perspective: The Future Historian · Sound

The rhythmic mechanical click of the new toggle light switches echoes through the hall, a sharp counterpoint to the distant, tinny phonograph trill of "Poor Butterfly." Outside, the harsh gravel-crunch of a passing Ford competes with a newsboy’s gravelly throat shouting of ruined French towns and German pride, a dissonant soundtrack to a civilization on the brink. I press a cold **$0.06** into the baker’s palm for a loaf of rye, wondering if this auditory **snapshot** of a world ignoring its own echoes can survive. The hum of the electric clock on the wall remains steady, oblivious to the stuttering rhythm of submachine guns beginning to redefine the silence of the century.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

BERLIN BELITTLES ALLIES' ADVANCE; Loss of First Trenches and Some Ruined Towns Is Lightly Regarded. SOME PRAISE FOR FRENCH Offensive Marked by Great Bravery ;- British Successes Called Not Noteworthy.

Read in The New York Times →

Best-selling Sheet Music

Poor Butterfly

Raymond Hubbell

The must-have

Lincoln Logs

Slang

Slang of the decade

General

lousysnapshotmovies

Soldiers

over the topblightyno man's landcooties

Suffragette

deeds not wordsvotes for women

Catchphrases of 1916

  • He kept us out of war

Tech Check

Toggle Light Switch, Electric Clock & Submachine Guns.

Cost of Living (1910)

Loaf of Bread

$0.06

Gallon of Gas

$0.15

Average Home

$3,600

New Car

$950

Time Elapsed

40,148 days ago

(109 years, 363 days)