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On the date

Wednesday, April 20, 1921

From the day

Perspective: The Future Historian · Sound

The rhythmic clatter of news tickers and the frantic honking of Ford Model Ts create a mechanical symphony that signals the shift into a world of "robots," just as the shopkeeper cranks his gramophone to drown out the noise. That jaunty, exotic melody of *The Sheik of Araby* spills onto the sidewalk, a catchy distraction from the grim headlines of reparations and the Ruhr. I can't help but smile at a young man nearby, sporting a sharp new suit and an obvious crush on the girl in the cloche hat, as they both hum along to the tune. It is the sound of a generation trying to dance away the echoes of a war that lingering diplomacy can’t quite silence.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

PREMIERS TO MEET SUNDAY AT HYTHE; Briand and Lloyd George Will Discuss Impending Reparations Questions.MORAL AID FROM BRITAINNo English Troops Available forAdvance With French IntoRuhr Valley, It Is Said.

Read in The New York Times →

Best-selling Sheet Music

The Sheik of Araby

Harry B. Smith & Ted Snyder

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 1921

  • Ain't we got fun?

Tech Check

Robots (The Term 'Robot'), Polygraph (Modern) & Insulin (Medical Tech).

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

38,398 days ago

(105 years, 73 days)