In other words… what began in 1920? It’s been over a century, so it’s hard to imagine that there is much that still impacts us from way back when, but you might be surprised to learn that several inventions, events, media, and people are still around from 1920! Read on to learn more…
1. Perry Office Plus! Did you know, we were founded on January 10, 1920 by A.D. Baggett, R.E. Miller, and W.H. Birdwell in the Wilcox building in Downtown Temple. Learn more about our 100+ year history at perryturns100.com
Inventions:
2. The Hair Dryer: A German women created the first “hair dryer” when she put a hose into the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner.
3. The Q-Tip: Leo Gerstenzang put his wife’s invention on the market. Q-Tips were originally known as Baby Gays.
4. The Traffic Light: Invented by police officer William Potts, who used red, amber, and green lights and $37 worth of wire to make the first traffic light.
5. The Band-Aid®: Johnson and Johnson employee Earle Dickson created the first adhesive bandage.
*source: Inventions in the 1920s
Events:
6. Mass Media: In November of 1920, the first commercially licensed radio station, KDKA, began broadcasting live results of the presidential election.
7. The League of Nations was established as it held it’s first Executive Council meeting. Despite the foundation for the League being based on Former President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points,” the U.S. never joined. in 1946, the League formally disbanded and transferred its functions to the United Nations.
8. Women gained the right to vote! By 1920, every state west of the Mississippi River allowed women to vote, and on August 18, the final “yes” vote to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment was provided by Tennessee.
*source: 10 World-Shaping Events That Happened in 1920
Media:
9. Agatha Christie released her debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920. It featured Hercule Poirot, the eccentric and brilliant Belgian detective who would go on to be her most famous character, appearing in 33 of her novels and dozens of her short stories.
10. Did you enjoy Rex Harrision, Eddie Murphy, or Robert Downey, Jr’s version of Dr. Dolittle in the feature films? Well, the original story by Hugh Lofting, The Story of Doctor Dolittle, came out in 1920!
11. The three most popular movies released in 1920 were The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Golem, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – are you familiar with any of these stories?
12. Are you a big music fan? Check out this list of the Top 100 Songs of 1920!
*sources: Most popular books published in 1920, IMDB
People:
13. Benjamin Berell Ferencz, American Lawyer, will turn 102 on March 11, 2022.
14. Gail Seymour Halvorsen, Senior Officer and Command Pilot in the U.S. Air Force, will turn 102 on October 10, 2022.
15. Roger Angell, American Essayist known for his writing on sports, will turn 102 on September 19, 2022.
Do you know about anything or anyone else that will turn 102 this year? Let us know!
