Tin Toys

In the 20s, toy makers moved away from war-themed figures and began making mass-produced metal pressed tin toys and die-cast cars.

The Teddy Bear, though it had been in existence since 1907, saw a huge spike in popularity when the Knickerbocker company started their mass production. Bears became insanely popular, and German companies such as Schuco and Bing Brothers began producing mechanical bears that could walk, dance and do gymnastics.

Bubble Gum

A more recent ad (not 20s) for Fleer's Dubble Bubble Gum

In 1928, Walter Diemer (accountant at Fleer gum) stumbled upon the formula for making a gum whose bubbles didn't stick or injure the chewing party. This was a new phenomenon for the gum chewing community, and so the ads contained odd warnings about bubble gum being "poisonous." This was also one of the first times that food coloring was used - the pink color Diemer chose became the industry standard.

PEZ

PEZ was invented by Eduard Haas in Vienna, Austria in 1927. Their name was derived from "phefferminz," the German word for peppermints - the first, middle, and last letter were combined to create PEZ. PEZ was originally not a sweet candy, but a mint, meant as a replacement for cigarettes; the original dispensers were designed to look like lighters.

Inventions

Frozen Foods

In 1924, Clarence Birdseye discovered a process of packing food into cardboard boxes and flash-freezing them to preserve them. He was inspired when he witnessed the Arctic people's methods of packing fresh fish in barrels.


The Rocket

in 1926, Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard was the first to successfully develop and test a rocket propelled by liquid fuel. He later went on to develop a gyro for controlling rocket flight and invented the multi-stage rocket.

Cars

Hispano-Suiza, 1923

Rolls-Royce Titanic Ghost


Delage, 1924


Willys Overland Tourer, 1925

Cadillac Victoria Coupe, 1927

Dance

Lindy Hop

The Lindy Hop, the first form of swing dancing, originated in the 1920s. It combined various styles of dance from Tap dancing and the Charleston. It has been credited for "breaking through the race barrier" as both black and white youths jumped into the swing style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTg5V2oA_hY

Dance Marathons

Dance Marathons, also known as Walkathons, were endurance based contests in which couples would "dance" for hundreds of hours in an attempt to win prize money. They were derived from other popular forms of endurance competitions such as flagpole sitting and cycling marathons.

The sponsers would charge 25 cent admission to watch the couples as they moved non-stop; dancing was used in a lose sense of the term, as many contestants shuffled, walked around reading newspapers, or slept while tethered in their partner's arms.

Why the 20s were ducky

Welcome to my survey of all the innovations, amusements and pastimes of the 1920s! This decade brought about the rise of many significant toys, dances, games, and technologies - most of which are still prevalent today.

For a list of dandy 1920s slang, go to this site: http://local.aaca.org/bntc/slang/slang.htm