Technology in the 1920s

Technology in the 1920s

• before cars were introduced, people traveled on horses and were limited in their distance, speed and dependency
• during the 1920s, Henry Ford introduced the first car
• the Ford Model T was very popular
• car was made so everyone would be able to afford it
• represented status
• General Motors, Chrysler and Ford were the top selling cars throughout the decade, often referred to as the "Big Three"

Advantages

• made it easier to travel to distant places
• people started moving away from cities into further areas
• allowed privacy -> would not have to use public transit all the time
• tourism around Canada increased because people were more mobile (people from isolated areas would visit the cities, etc.)

Disadvantages

• more cars = more traffic
• caused air pollution
• helped oil and rubber industries

-->cars ran on gas

-->rubber was used for tire manufacturing

• cars became cheaper as more people started working towards assembling cars
• in 1924, the price of a car was around $365 (this meant more and more people would purchase cars)

Inventions

• in order to solve the issues with traffic and too many cars on roads, the government spent money on constructing more roads and highways
• traffic light was invented

Henry Ford with Ford Model T

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Household/Maintenance

Transportation

vacuum

Broadcasting

washing machine

• As radios became increasingly common, more powerful American stations were slowly forcing Canadian stations off air
• This issue lead the government establishing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1932, that helped regulate private broadcasting
• The CBC also had to develop its own network with Canadian content in French & English
• •The first broadcast was on May 20th, 1920 in Montreal station XWA.
• There were broadcasting stations in some parts of Canada.
• Marconi was the inventor of the first wireless radio

-During the roaring twenties a lot of new technology and inventions were introduced to the society.

-Many inventions changed the lives of Canadians and the way they maintained their households.

-Almost everyone had electricity, which made life easier and it cut down the work of mostly women but men also benefited from these invention. Many Household appliances were invented. The technology got better and bigger, almost everything changed.

These inventions included:

• washing machines, electric iron, popcorn maker, toaster, waffle irons, stoves, hotplates, vacuum cleaners, Refrigerators , the sewing machine and many more
• The waffle and toaster brought joy to the home, the first waffle iron was from The Armstrong Electric Co.
• The electric iron was a huge invention. the first sunbeam electric iron was sold for $7.50 it made your clothing look better and wrinkle free.
• Stoves and Hotplates helped in the making of breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Armstrong manufacturing company also created the first iron stove with a panel of ceramic knobs, the stove had compartments built in to warm and store food
• Vacuum cleaners were a plus for many women who kept the house clean, they no longer had to sweep the floors and waste their time on cleaning carpets; instead they used vacuum cleaners. The vacuum cleaner reduced the amount of time spent to clean carpets and rugs, it made the lives of women a lot easier. The stick model was the most popular vacuum cleaner during the 1920s because it was lightweight and easy to handle, it had a suction to lift the dirt and a brush to remove dust and dirt from the carpet.
• One of the most important inventions was the refrigerator, before the technology improved, giant ice cubes were put into boxes to keep food cool. The refrigerator was built in 1927 the first electric one was sold for $350.Refrigerators prevented food from going stale or bad, they preserved food for a while. During the mid 20s, steel and porcelain cabinets were made and built into the refrigerators. These refrigerators were normally attached with belts connected to motors in a nearby room
• Automatic washing machines helped clean clothing faster hence saved time for women doing laundry. Since there were no heating systems of the washing machines, the hot lye had to be put in manually with the help of a hand crank. Even though it was useful and saved time from washing clothes with hands, it took an effort to operate the hand crank. But thanks to the washing machine the women didn't have to wash clothing with their hands.
• Sewing Machines helped in the making of Clothes, clothing could be made or stitched much quicker during the 1920s because of the great invention of the sewing machine; women no longer had to waste time sewing with their hands. Sewing machines normally had a paddle at the bottom with an electric motor attached to the machine. The better machines were made of a material called mahogany.
• Therefore all these inventions made life easier for the people in the 1920s.

Electric Iron

Sewing Machine

The Radio

Refrigerator

1924 radio

• Earlier radios needed headphones for listeners to hear the broadcast that was being made only about 150km away. Then they were later placed into box-like cabinets and had speakers
• Radios were affordable to both the rich & poor
• Crystal radios were one of the first radios to be used and manufactured.
• The crystal radios used a piece of lead galena crystal and a cat whisker to find the radio signal.
• These radios allowed many people to join the new radio trend in the 1920s because they were easy to make from home
• In 1923, there were roughly 10,000 radios in Canada & by 1930, there were roughly 300,000 radios
• Radios were useful for farm families and isolated communities because they provided insight about special events or news that was occurring across the country
• Radio signals across Canada were able to broadcast voices, news, weather, music, bible readings, and report about major sports.

crystal radio set

References

• Bondy, R., & Mattys, W. (1978). The confident years: Canada in the 1920s. Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice-Hall of Canada Ltd.
• Inventions. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://historyclass.tripod.com/id11.html
• Radio in the 1920s. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug00/3on1/radioshow/1920radio.htm
• Radio (1920's). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mortaljourney.com/2011/04/1920-trends/radio-history
• Radio [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://d1435t697bgi2o.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/1924-radio-loc.jpg
• Homebrew 1920's Crystal Set [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.ohio.edu/people/postr/bapix/Crystal2.JPG
• 1921 Henry Ford with Model T in Buffalo, NY, [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Design/Gartman/D_Casestudy/PO3015a_Henry-Ford.gif
• Home appliances 1920 Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/list_7642953_home-appliances-1920s.html