95
votes
How did the authorities not find the speakeasy clubs during the prohibition?
Prohibition was enacted largely at the behest of pressure groups. This was a very new political tactic in the US where a group uses an emotional issue to create themselves a sizable cadre of single-...
- 118k
34
votes
Accepted
Identify the circa 1920 uniform in this photo
Found it. This is an RFC or Royal Flying Corp cap badge. I thought the picture was showing BBS but it's not. The angle, the quality of the picture and the loop for securing it to the bonnet was ...
- 2,333
25
votes
Did the drapes in old theatres actually say "ASBESTOS" on them?
Yes, you can find images of such safety curtains in several places.
Here is one concerning an old theatre in Detroit. (copyrighted images so links only).
Another image here concerning the Hawaii ...
- 38.7k
22
votes
Accepted
Was being in the KKK politically/socially acceptable in early 1900's American South?
At times, it was, but not in the period that movie is depicting.
One should note that there were three organizations under that name in different historical periods. While similar in their goals, they ...
- 8,875
16
votes
What is the name of the color used by the SBB (Swiss Federal Railway) in the 1920s to paint their locomotive?
@[email protected] says NCS* 8010-B90G, which is closest (but not exact) to RAL 6009. The German wikipedia page for the Ae 6/6 calls the color "tannengrün", which is the name of RAL 6009. ...
- 161
15
votes
Context of sign telling Japanese people to "keep moving"
The context for this specific photo was that a number of Japanese-Americans had been looking for housing in Hollywood, where they worked in menial positions. In response, white residents formed ...
- 97.5k
15
votes
What is the name of the color used by the SBB (Swiss Federal Railway) in the 1920s to paint their locomotive?
… the green color that the wonderful Ce 6/8 II "Crocodile" locomotives wore while driving across the alps during the 1920s …
Well since you specifically ask about the 1920s, it appears that ...
- 251
14
votes
War deaths in France, 1919/1920
Wikipedia's list of 20th Century Wars from 1900-1944 gives several that France participated in from 1919-20, including:
Latvian War of Independence; and
Vue Pay Chay's Revolt in French Indochina.
...
- 72.3k
12
votes
Did the drapes in old theatres actually say "ASBESTOS" on them?
My brother and I both received one of these in the early 1960's, complete with asbestos sample as shown - except the sample we had looked nothing like the one here, but rather was a sample of fibrous (...
- 72.3k
10
votes
Why would Japanese people be in China during the 1920s?
Actually, it was the formal occupation of Manchuria by Japan that began in 1931. But prior to this, the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese war led 1) to the Japanese occupation of Korea, 2) the ...
- 104k
10
votes
Accepted
In the 1920's, why did the German government fire working women if their husband was employed?
The thought processes was that each employed woman was taking that job away from an unemployed man. With unemployment rampant, this was the time leading into the depression in the US, and economic ...
- 38.7k
10
votes
Accepted
Who was "The famous American Roberts" in 1920's Europe?
This question suffers from a minimal misconception.
The person that Roberts refers to is not a surname but a first name. The person was an architect and his full name was Robert Lederer.
He published ...
- 80.8k
10
votes
Accepted
Did foreign countries respond to the Munich Putsch?
Foreign countries didn't think the Beer Hall Putsch was significant at the time. It is only significant in retrospect: we know it's important because we know that Hitler would become leader of Germany ...
- 14.3k
10
votes
What is the name of the color used by the SBB (Swiss Federal Railway) in the 1920s to paint their locomotive?
Looking up colour standards, it seems plausible that this green was defined in the RAL classic colour system, which is widely used in Europe and was created in the 1920s. My colour vision is not very ...
- 31.4k
7
votes
Accepted
Why did Denmark, unlike in other 'rich' nations, favour agriculture in the 1920s?
The reason appears to be the devastation, particularly agricultural, that took place as a result of World War I. By the end the war, Germany and the former Austrian Empire were on the verge of ...
- 104k
7
votes
War deaths in France, 1919/1920
Like many other Allied countries after WW1, France was involved in invasions on then-Russian soil to help overthrow the Bolsheviks in 1919.
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War - Wikipedia
On ...
6
votes
Was smoking ever considered a throat cure?
As many smokers might know, this herb will sooth the need to cough. A need that it itself contributes to. Short time effects in a habituated individual are the opposite of its long term effects. ...
- 80.8k
6
votes
Accepted
Who thought there might be a war between the British Empire and the United States of America in the 1920s?
I asked Dr. Moser, who provided the following, and permitted me to post it here.
There were some in 1928-29 who suggested that an Anglo-American war was a distinct possibility. The quote itself ...
MCW♦
- 32.4k
6
votes
Accepted
References to Aspirin in the "Chicago" musical
The word "aspirin" for long was used as an euphemism for "condoms".
To speak about condoms was considered indecent. They were sold at the same place - drugstore, and in small paper packages, as ...
- 7,060
6
votes
What was up with "Alicorn" in the 1920's and 30's
This has never been a common term, so few uses can make a large spike in the graph. Google Books (and therefore, Google NGrams) knows about three works from 1930 that apparently use it. Their ...
- 27.6k
5
votes
In the 1920's, why did the German government fire working women if their husband was employed?
The 1920s were after the (First World) war. Soldiers were coming home from the front. The majority were "bachelors" but quite a few of them had wives.
"Society" needed jobs for these returning ...
- 104k
5
votes
Context of sign telling Japanese people to "keep moving"
During the early 20th century in the US, a strong nativist movement developed in response to increased immigration from Eastern Europe and Asia. The Immigration Act of 1921 and the Johnson-Reed ...
- 343
5
votes
Context of sign telling Japanese people to "keep moving"
This was a 1920s era diatribe against "all" Asian people, not a World War II slogan against Japanese. It came during the era of the American eugenics movement, which sought to "purify" the white race. ...
- 104k
5
votes
Identification of type of aircraft and time period
The aircraft is a Howard DGA-18, and the pilot might be Earl Shaw of Dade County, FL based on the FAA registration number history. The FAA stopped issuing "NC" (the C stands for "civil") numbers in ...
- 5,980
5
votes
Why does Charles Lindbergh appear to avoid England in 1927?
That map would appear to be misleading. A much more detailed website about the flight, charleslindbergh.com, reckons that he flew over England. He said he'd flown a compass course from Cape Valencia ...
- 31.4k
5
votes
Accepted
How much did a telephone call cost in the USA around 1920?
This is probably far too late to be of use to you, but may help others in the future.
To expand on another answer, many US telephone directories did indeed have lists of long-distance charges from ...
- 77.4k
5
votes
How did the authorities not find the speakeasy clubs during the prohibition?
I've always been baffled and fascinated by this "prohibition" era in the USA between 1920 and 1933. That's 13 years!
Let us remind ourselves that we are talking about the 1920s and this is over a ...
- 2,690
5
votes
Where did Friedrich Schumann work?
The book by Blazek is most probably in error on this detail.
The data given is highly improbable and implausible. That applies to the exact naming of the facility he worked for as well as the exact ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible