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On the date

Thursday, March 25, 1920

From the day

Perspective: The Future Historian · Tactile

The rough texture of this new rayon chemise shears against my skin as I lean over the morning paper, tracing the ink-smudged report of those Kansas students tossing their professors into a freezing lake. It is utter applesauce to think such a small defiance won't ripple forward into a century of fractured authority, yet here we sit, preoccupied with the trivialities of the new decade. I distract myself by adjusting my niece’s Raggedy Andy on the settee, my fingers catching the coarse, looped yarn of his crimson hair and the sturdy cotton of his checkered suit. These mass-produced threads feel surprisingly resilient, a tactile reminder that while the social order softens like a bobbed haircut, the industrial grip on our domestic lives only tightens.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

STUDENT 'SOVIET' DUCKS PROFESSORS; Teachers at Kansas Normal School Punished by Being Thrown Into Lake. DIDN'T HELP BUILD TRACK Faculty Appeals for Help and Attorney General Orders Prosecution of Offenders.

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

38,788 days ago

(106 years, 98 days)