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On the date

Thursday, September 2, 1920

From the day

Perspective: The Future Historian · Sight

Beneath the amber glow of the new electric streetlamps, women in drop-waisted silk silhouettes glide past, their bobbed hair tucked tightly under felt cloche hats. I watch a gentleman pause at a newsstand to scoff at headlines of campaign finance scandals, his fingers tracing the edge of a crisp newspaper while he grumbles about the **$0.11** required for a simple loaf of bread. This frantic, beaded era pulses with the frantic hope of a permanent **return to normalcy**. Yet, through my lens, the shimmer of these beaded gowns feels less like a celebration and more like a fragile shield against the encroaching shadow of a decade that will eventually ask for much more than a handful of copper coins.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

DEMOCRATS PRESS CHARGES ON FUNDS; SAY BARNES'S SUBSCRIBERS BROKE LAW; COX SENDS EVIDENCE TO COMMITTEE; WHITE AND MARSH TESTIFY Tell Senate Committee They Believe Cox Can Prove His Charges. EMPHASIZE BARNES BOOK See in It Subtle Propaganda Scheme--Reed Favors Indicting Contributors.OFFICE HOLDERS ASKEDJamieson Admits DemocratsDodged Law That ForbidsSeeking Funds of Them.

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

38,627 days ago

(105 years, 302 days)