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On the date

Saturday, March 27, 1920

From the day

Perspective: The Street Photographer · Tactile

I steady my camera as a dame in a drop-waisted silk dress pauses to adjust her cloche hat, her fingers grazing the stiff brim. Beside her, a young boy clings to a brand-new Raggedy Andy, the rough cotton limbs of the doll catching on the girl's beaded sleeves. I’ve got a nasty scrape on my thumb from my tripod, but this fresh Band-Aid holds tight while I wait for the light. I’d rather face this cold wind than have a heavy hair dryer blowing on me, or worse, get caught in a crowd where some goon might try to bump off a rival just for a headline. I can hear the crackle of a KDKA broadcast through an open window, the tinny music drifting over the cobblestones.

Memories from that day

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

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

38,786 days ago

(106 years, 96 days)