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On the date

Tuesday, January 6, 1920

From the day

Perspective: The Anxious Local · Sight

The neon glow of the diner sign flickers against the damp pavement, catching the sharp beads on a passing flapper’s silk dress as she hurries through the winter chill. I stare at the blackboard outside the station, my stomach churning at the sight of gas hitting **$0.30** a gallon; it feels like the whole world is bleeding dry while the papers scream about starvation across the Atlantic. Everyone’s acting like a **stool pigeon** for the tax man lately, looking for someone to blame for these soaring prices. I pull my collar tight against the wind, watching the silhouette of cloche hats disappear into the fog, wondering if we’re all just dancing toward a collapse.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

COUNCIL WILL PRESS US FOR AUSTRIAN CREDITS; Hears That, Without Relief, Austria Will Face Starvation byNext Month.

Read in The New York Times →

Best-selling Sheet Music

Whispering

John Schonberger

The must-have

Raggedy Andy

Slang

Slang of the decade

General

applesaucebaloneycheaterscrush

Flapper

bee's kneescat's pajamasgiggle watershebahotsy-totsy

Gangster

big cheesebump offstool pigeongatfall guy

Catchphrases of 1920

  • Return to normalcy

Tech Check

Commercial Radio Stations (KDKA), Hair Dryer & Band-Aid.

Style of 1920

Silhouette: Straight and drop-waisted (Flapper)

Material: Beaded silk and rayon

  • Bobbed hair
  • Cloche hats
  • T-strap heels

Cost of Living (1920)

Loaf of Bread

$0.11

Gallon of Gas

$0.30

Average Home

$6,296

New Car

$575

Meanwhile

  • Post-WWI RecessionSevere deflation and collapse of agricultural prices.

Time Elapsed

38,867 days ago

(106 years, 177 days)