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On the date

Sunday, September 26, 1920

From the day

Perspective: The Future Historian · Tactile

The rough grain of the new Raggedy Andy doll’s cotton limbs feels sturdy in my hands, a stark contrast to the slick, beaded silk of my sister’s drop-waisted Sunday dress as she leans over the morning paper. She's whispering about the election, calling the neighbor a stool pigeon for gossiping that Governor Cox might actually sweep the West and scrap the League. Outside, the pungent, metallic scent of the street lingers where Father just cursed the rising price of filling the Buick, grumbling that **$0.30** for a gallon of gas is a steep price for a country caught in such political teeth-gnashing. I pull my wool cap low and squeeze the doll, sensing how these small, plush comforts are the only soft things in an era hardening into iron and oil.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

COX HINTS JOHNSON GOT HARDING PLEDGE; He Asks Nominee if He Did Not Write Letter Promising to Scrap League. CHARGES DEAL TO GET WEST Governor Is Satisfied with Western Trip and Expects to Carry 8 of 10 States. Asks Harding Some Questions. Satisfied with Touring of West. COX HINTS JOHNSON GOT HARDING PLEDGE Says Pro-Germans Back Harding. To Spend Week in Central States.

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

38,603 days ago

(105 years, 278 days)