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On the date

Monday, October 25, 1920

From the day

Perspective: The Anxious Local · Sight

The neon glow of the new theater sign catches the beads on a passing flapper’s dress, but I can only stare at the newsstand—Pulitzer nearly died in the clouds, and bread is up to eleven cents again. My hands are a mess from the factory, so I'm fumbling to apply one of those new-fangled Band-Aids while the neighbor’s loud hair dryer shrieks through the thin walls like a banshee. That fancy woman in the T-strap heels thinks she’s the cat’s pajamas, but even with the KDKA broadcast humming through the airwaves, it feels like the world is spinning out of control. I just want to tuck a Raggedy Andy under my arm and hide from these soaring prices.

Memories from that day

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Best-selling Sheet Music

Whispering

John Schonberger

The must-have

Raggedy Andy

On This Day

  • After 74 days on hunger strike in Brixton Prison, England, the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney dies.

    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

38,574 days ago

(105 years, 249 days)