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On the date

Friday, October 8, 1920

From the day

Perspective: The Street Photographer · Sight

The flashbulb pops, freezing a bobbed silhouette in beaded silk as she glides past a newsstand screaming about Senator Johnson joining the Republican fray. I duck into the shadows of the alley, grumbling at the gas station sign across the way; payin’ $0.30 a gallon just to keep the Ford rattling along is absolute applesauce. A cloche hat tilts low over a pair of T-strap heels clicking against the damp pavement, the sharp scent of ozone mingling with the distant hum of a new commercial radio broadcast. Everything’s moving too fast, from the drop-waisted hemlines to the jagged headlines, but through my viewfinder, the world finally stands still.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

JOHNSON WILL NOW ENTER CAMPAIGN; Announcement Is Made by Republican Headquarters After Harding Speech.DEMOCRATIC DRIVE IN WESTFeel Senator's Rejection of theLeague Means Big Reversal ofSentiment from Ohio to Pacific. Johnson Enters the Campaign. JOHNSON WILL NOW ENTER CAMPAIGN Asserts Cox Is Confident.

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

38,591 days ago

(105 years, 266 days)