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On the date

Tuesday, May 24, 1921

From the day

Perspective: The Street Photographer · Sight

The flashbulb pops, catching the sharp silhouette of a real sheba in a silk cloche hat as she navigates the damp New York pavement. Beside her, a street urchin clutches a brand-new Raggedy Andy to his chest, the doll’s red yarn hair a shock of color against the gray newsprint shouting about President Harding and the weight of foreign debts. The evening air is thick with the scent of roasted chestnuts and the mechanical hum of a city that refuses to stand still.

Memories from that day

No memories yet. Add yours if you remember this day.

The Headlines

CANNOT BE ISOLATED, HARDING DECLARES; But He Finds That Our Part in International Affairs Has Been Strikingly Changed. DISCUSSES ALLIES' DEBTS President, at New York Commercial Celebration, SuggestsPlan for Paying War Loan.

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

38,363 days ago

(105 years, 38 days)