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On the date

Sunday, December 5, 1920

From the day

Perspective: The Teenager · Tactile

I sit on the floorboards in my drop-waisted frock, the scratchy rayon chafing my knees as I fix the red yarn hair on my new Raggedy Andy. Pop is hushing the radio and whispering about the moonshiners getting shot down in the hills, but I just want to slip into my T-strap heels and forget the news. Everything feels hotsy-totsy when I run my fingers over the smooth silk of my cloche hat. If the feds come sniffing around our neighborhood looking for a stool pigeon, I’ll be long gone, dancing until my bobbed hair dampens with sweat.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

FIGHT MOONSHINERS IN KENTUCKY HILLS; Federal Agents Capture Nine and Are Reported to Have Killed Others. FIRE 1,000 SHOTS IN BATTLE Many Are in Flight, With Officers Pursuing--Five Stills Are Destroyed.

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

38,533 days ago

(105 years, 208 days)