Questions tagged [consumer-goods]
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15 questions
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How does one find historic prices for goods?
I need to find out the typical price of two things - namely bottled water (ie: a plastic individual-size bottle of still drinking water), and, gas-station type road maps - around 1995, in the USA.
(I ...
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Did Soviet people decorate their own homes with outdoor Christmas lights?
As far back as the 1960s, it has been common in North America for people to decorate their homes with strands of outdoor lights during the winter holiday season. In the neighbourhood where I live, at ...
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What is the earliest instance of a celebrity endorsement of a commercial product?
Celebrity endorsements of various products, such as perfumes, soft drinks, or cars, are commonplace today. What is the earliest instance of such an occurrence? I’m considering a celebrity endorsement ...
- 3,017
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What sort of signage did ballrooms require?
Manufactured goods in early California had to be imported. In 1842 the prominent merchant Thomas Larkin wrote to John Paty in Hawaii: "Sir, I wish you would purchase in Oahu for me the following ...
user18968
4
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0
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Christmas trees - real or fake? When did the U.S. Christmas tree consumer begin preferring artificial trees to real trees?
Source: National Christmas Tree Association via Statista.
Background
Our family was watching (again) A Christmas Story last night, and during the scene where the Old Man is bargaining to purchase a ...
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4
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3
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Is it appropriate to call 1941 American items "prewar"?
Not sure if this question has a defined answer, or is a matter of opinion. I have a 1941 piece of radio equipment I am thinking about restoring, and I told my dad it was "prewar". It was manufactured ...
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5
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When have salaries been paid in kind, not cash? [closed]
Formal jobs of the present day pay primarily cash wages, but a great number of historical employees earned primarily food, housing, goods from a company store, scrip, or debt repayment.
These non-...
user18968
8
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2
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What demographic of people were the Ford Motor's Company biggest customers during the car boom of the early twentieth Century?
Who were the primary customers buying up the automobiles steadily decreasing in cost during the 20th century? Was it rural people replacing horses with vehicles? Would it have been inner city people ...
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2
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At the time of Sputnik, what kind of radios were common in the Soviet Union?
Sputnik was launched 1957 Oct 4. At that time, what kind of radios were common in the Soviet Union?
I'm interested in what kind of radios were privately owned and kept in people's apartments. What ...
- 17.3k
7
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1
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When did we start expecting a store to have bags for our purchases? [duplicate]
In the United States, I expect that I could walk into any store and they would have bags for me to put my purchase in.
When did stores start providing this service?
I would accept any non-US history ...
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17
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1
answer
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When did it become common for optical brighteners to be added to commercial laundry detergent?
While watching The Theory of Everything, during a scene set in the 1960s, Steven Hawking remarked to his future wife that peoples' clothing were glowing because of the florescent brightener dyes added ...
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1
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Why is physical skeuomorphism so prevalent and when did it become popular?
Plastic items with molded shapes to look like screws and rivets.
Household items, luggage, or other personal goods with manufactured patina.
Cars with non-functional hood scoops or other vents/...
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17
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2
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When were country of origin labels (e.g. Made in France) introduced?
I am interested in knowing when, where, and by whom "country of origin" labels (e.g. "Made in France") were first used on consumer goods.
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7
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1
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Who invented and marketed the first "clip on" headphones?
Headphone style terminology seems dodgy at best, but I'm trying to determine what company first sold this style of headphone in the US:
I've seen them variously described as "on the ear," &...
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4
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2
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Which technologies/commodities were available during the 30s on USA?
This is for a RPG story, so I don't need too much accuracy, but the common stuff would be very useful :)
I've already found this site: http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/ but would like more ...
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