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On the date

Friday, May 7, 1920

From the day

Perspective: The Future Historian · Sight

Beneath the flicker of a gas-lit streetlamp, I watch a silhouette in beaded silk rush past, her bobbed hair still damp despite the loud, clunky whir of a handheld hairdryer she likely just abandoned. She fumbles with a fresh Band-Aid on her heel, a tiny marvel of modern convenience that pales against the crackling promise of KDKA’s new airwaves humming from a nearby window. To think these Manchester cotton workers believe a wage hike will stave off the inevitable shift in global trade is absolute baloney. From my vantage point, the dawn of the mass-produced era isn't just in their pockets; it’s in the neon glow of a world learning to sell its soul to the rhythm of a broadcast.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

BRITISH LABOR PLANS LIVING COSTS STUDY; Proposes to Offer Remedies to Government--Manchester Cotton Workers Get Increase.

Read in The New York Times →

Best-selling Sheet Music

Whispering

John Schonberger

The must-have

Raggedy Andy

On This Day

  • Polish–Soviet War: Kyiv offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kyiv only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.

    Wikipedia →
  • Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.

    Wikipedia →

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

38,745 days ago

(106 years, 55 days)