This is for all you writers who need complete quiet and concentration when you work — provided you don't suffer from claustrophobia. In 1925, editor and publisher Hugo Gernsback proposed an invention to eliminate noise distractions. Gernsback dubbed his creation "The Isolator" helmet. His prototype helmet was made of wood and felt, and included a […]

Who among us hasn’t played “follow the leader” on monkey bars? And fallen off with a resounding thud. While many monkey bars are stand-alone units today, they were originally part of a jungle gym. The first jungle gym was invented in 1920 and patented by Chicago lawyer Sebastian Hinton. While the term "monkey bars" was […]

Disclaimer: This is NOT a political. It is only meant to be historical and informative. Depending on the outcome of an eventual trial, one candidate could be campaigning for the White House from jail. Strangely, it will not be the first time this has happened in the US. Eugene V. Debs, running on the Socialist […]

The decade of the 1920s saw rapid advances in technology, both in and out of the home. Most Americans were quick to adopt of radio, television, vacuum cleaners, electric blenders and toasters,  and telephones. Most, but not all. One small segment of the population began debating the dangers of these new technologies: the Amish. In […]

Just like chop suey, Mah Jong has its roots in China but was adopted in a modified form in the US. The game originated in and around Shanghai in the mid to late 1800s (there is some debate when it exactly began, where, and by whom), but had its US introduction in the mid-1920s through […]

The Ides of March are behind us, but the Ides of April await – aka Tax Day. The first attempt to tax income in the US occurred in 1643, when several colonies instituted a "faculties and abilities" tax. Early tax collectors went door to door, asking if the individual had income during the year. If […]

I’m just back from three weeks “Down Under”, so I thought I’d post about the notorious gangsters of Australia’s Roaring Twenties. 1920s Melbourne wasn’t all that different from New York or Chicago when it came to crime. Gangsters abounded, and their criminal endeavors kept the police jumping and Victoria Prison full. The US had Al […]

It's that time of the year again, when we look forward to celebrating Christmas with family and friends yet dread the myriad tasks the season brings, including baking dozens of cookies, decorating the house, wrapping presents, untangling the tree lights, and my own personal bête noire: writing Christmas cards. Some say we have Sir Henry […]

You’ve received an invitation to a Roaring 20s costume party. If you’re a woman, you will immediately start scanning the Internet for an above-the-knees, fringed flapper dress, as well as a feather boa, long cigarette holder, and flapper headband. Great outfit. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be accurate, at least not the dress. For the most part, […]

Don't get mad, get even. That might well have been the motto of female athletes in the 1920s. Participation in the ancient Olympic Games was limited to male athletes only. At the first modern Olympic Games in Athens 1896, no women competed, as Baron de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and its second […]