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On the date

Saturday, October 19, 1929

From the day

Perspective: The Teenager · Sight

I tip my dark cheaters down to watch the Shebas sashay past the flickering marquee, their silk stockings shimmering against the damp pavement of a gray Saturday. The newsies are screaming about Senate let-down and tariff scandals, but I’ve got my thumbs hooked in my pockets, more focused on the rhythmic whir of my Duncan Yo-Yo than any Washington lobbyist. I can’t help but whistle the notes to *Singin' in the Rain* by Nacio Herb Brown as it drifted from a passing car's new radio, the melody cutting through the heavy autumn mist. It’s the kind of tune that makes you want to kick your heels up, even if the world feels like it’s teetering on a knife’s edge.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

MANUFACTURERS PRAISED SENATE-PAID TARIFF AIDE; WROTE FREELY IN LETTERS; WASHINGTON, Oct. 18.--The Senate lobby investigating committee brought into evidence today letters showing that the Connecticut Manufacturers Association considered very effective the work of one of its officials whom Senator Hiram E. Bingham of Connecticut placed at his elbow during the drafting of the tariff ...

Read in The New York Times →

Best-selling Sheet Music

Singin' in the Rain

Nacio Herb Brown

The must-have

Duncan Yo-Yo

Slang

Slang of the decade

General

applesaucebaloneycheaterscrush

Flapper

bee's kneescat's pajamasgiggle watershebahotsy-totsy

Gangster

big cheesebump offstool pigeongatfall guy

Catchphrases of 1929

  • Wall Street Lays an Egg

Tech Check

Car Radio, Sunglasses (Mass Produced) & Coaxial Cable.

Cost of Living (1920)

Loaf of Bread

$0.11

Gallon of Gas

$0.30

Average Home

$6,296

New Car

$575

Meanwhile

  • The Great DepressionGDP fell 30%; triggered by Black Tuesday (1929-10-29).

Time Elapsed

35,293 days ago

(96 years, 253 days)