Welcome to My Time Machine
(It has nothing to do with science fiction.)
Have you ever wished you owned a time machine? Perhaps you want to relive that perfect day. Maybe you want to erase a past mistake. Or possibly, you want to go back so you can do something you were too afraid to do the first time around. But did you know that you don't have to be a science geek to own a real-life time machine?
As a matter of fact, I'll bet you a nickel* you already own at least one time machine, and you may not even realize it. As a writer of historical fiction, I have to go back in time to research what was going on there before I can write about it to take YOU back in time. Therefore, BOOKS are the time machines I'm talking about. Books can not only send you back (or propel you forward) in time, but they can transport you to other countries, other continents, and even other planets. I'll bet if you'll look hard enough around your own home, you'll probably find many other vehicles of time travel that will transport you to another time in history. (See photos below for more examples.)
When I do Throwback Thursdays on my personal blog or Facebook, I like to playfully refer to myself as the driver of the Wayback Bus (for Wayback Tours, Inc., of course). And when my reading audience boards my Wayback Bus, I love to treat them to a fun and thorough ride to the Wayback.
Because my The Changeling of the Third Reich series takes place in the late 1960s with the protagonist's diary entries covering her memories of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, I do a lot of research covering the early Twentieth Century with a particular focus on World War II and the Vietnam War. Though I wasn't yet alive during these years, I always get excited when I find so many fascinating facts about the Wayback. But the Twentieth Century Wayback Years
encompass so many exciting events, I can't possibly contain them in just one series of books. So, I thought I'd share some of them here for everyone to enjoy...
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1930 Economy:
President: Herbert C. Hoover
Vice President: Charles Curtis
Cost of a new home: $3,845.00
Median household income: $1,368*
Cost of a first-class stamp: 2¢
Cost of a gallon of regular gas: 20¢
Cost of a dozen eggs: 18¢
Cost of a quart of milk: 14¢
*Minimum wage laws were not enacted until 1938. |
1930 Top Radio Shows:
The Goldbergs
True Detective Mysteries
The Rudy Vallee Show
Believe It or Not
Ben Bernie
Death Valley Days
The First Nighter
Grand Hotel
Rin-Tin-Tin
Sherlock Holmes
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1930 Top Music Hits:
In The Mood (by Glenn Miller)
God Bless America (by Kate Smith)
Over The Rainbow (by Judy Garland / Glenn Miller)
Sing, Sing, Sing With A Swing (by Benny Goodman)
Silent Night, Holy Night (by Bing Crosby)
Minnie The Moocher (by Cab Calloway)
Strange Fruit (by Billie Holiday)
Crossroads Blues (by Robert Johnson)
Moonlight Serenade (by Glenn Miller)
If I Didn't Care (by The Ink Spots)
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1930 Top Movie Money Makers:
Tom Sawyer
Hell's Angels
Ingagi
All Quiet on the Western Front
Whoopee!
Check and Double Check
Min and Bill
The Big House
Common Clay
The Dawn Patrol
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1930s Decade:
The population in America was 123,188,000 in 48 states.
Stamp collecting was a popular hobby.
Zippers started replacing buttons because they were cheaper to manufacture.
Men wore high waisted pants.
Both men and women wore hats.
80% of American homes had a radio.
Because of the effects of the Great Depression, Shanty Towns became prominent around the country.
Movie theaters, radio shows, and community dances were the popular entertainment.
World War II started in Europe when Germany invaded Poland.
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1930s Slang:
Broad/dame/doll = a woman
Cats/alligators = fans of swing music
Chicago typewriter/Chicago chopper = the Thompson machine gun a/k/a the “Tommy Gun”
City Juice/Dog Soup = a cup of water.
Chicago Overcoat = a coffin (Because of the gangster violence prevalent in Chicago during the 1930s, “Chicago” was often a lead word for a slang term regarding violence.)
Giggle Juice = alcohol found in speakeasies during prohibition
Blow Your Wig = to get excited
Bumping Gums = talking about nothing important
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1940 Economy:
President: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Vice President: John Nance Garner
Cost of a new home: $3,920
Cost of a new car: $850
Median household income: $1,725
Cost of a first-class stamp: 3¢
Cost of a gallon of regular gas: 18¢
Cost of a dozen eggs: 45¢
Cost of loaf of bread: 10¢
Cost of a quart of milk: 14¢
Minimum wage: 30¢/hour |
1940 Top Radio Shows:
The Shadow
The Inner Sanctum
Sherlock Holmes
Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons
Smilin’ Ed’s Buster Brown Gang
Lights Out
The Lone Ranger
Dragnet
Duffy’s Tavern
Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy
Hermit’s Cave
The Green Hornet
The Adventures of Ellery Queen
Amos and Andy
Captain Midnight
Fibber McGee and Molly |
1940 Top Music Hits:
In the Mood (by Glenn Miller)
Frenesi (by Artie Shaw)
I'll Never Smile Again (by Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra)
When You Wish Upon a Star (by Cliff Edwards)*
Only Forever (by Bing Crosby)
We Three (My Echo, My Shadow & Me) (by The Ink Spots)
The Woodpecker Song (by Glenn Miller)
The Breeze and I (by Jimmy Dorsey)
When You Wish Upon a Star (by Glenn Miller)*
You Are My Sunshine (by Jimmie Davis)
*It wasn’t uncommon to see more than one artist record the same song back then. |
1940 Top Movie Money Makers:
Rebecca
Boom Town
The Great Dictator
Strike Up the Band
The Philadelphia Story
Northwest Passage
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
The Grapes of Wrath
Kitty Foyle
Comrade X |
1940s Decade:
The population in America was 132,122,000 in 48 states.
The American National Debt was $43 billion.
55% of American homes had indoor plumbing.
The continent of Antarctica was discovered,
The Supreme Court gave Blacks the right to vote.
The Cold War began.
Penicillin was first used.
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, bringing America into World War II.
Rosie the Riveter became a symbol of working women as men left to participate in the war.
Refrigerators started to take the place of ice boxes. |
1940s Slang:Armored Heifer = canned milk
Chrome-Dome = a bald man
Eager Beaver = an enthusiastic or overly excited person
Jive Bomber = a good dancer
Lettuce = paper money
Rhubarb = a disagreement or squabble
Anchor Clanker = a sailor
Chucklehead = an unintelligent person
Clams = money
Duds = clothing
Flip Your Wig = to freak out or lose control of yourself
Floy-Floy = nonsense
Jalopy = a car
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1950 Economy:
President: Harry S. Truman
Vice President: Alben W. Barkley
Cost of a new home: $14,500
Median household income: $3,216
Cost of a first-class stamp: 3¢
Cost of a gallon of gas: 20¢
Cost of a dozen eggs: 65¢
Cost of a gallon of milk: 82¢
Minimum wage: 75¢/hour |
1950 Top TV Shows:
Texaco Star Theatre (NBC)
Fireside Theatre (NBC)
Philco TV Playhouse (NBC)
Your Show of Shows (NBC)
The Colgate Comedy Hour (NBC)
The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (NBC)
The Lone Ranger (ABC)
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (CBS)
Hopalong Cassidy (NBC)
Mama (NBC) |
1950 Top Music Hits:
Goodnight Irene (by Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers)
Mona Lisa (by Nat King Cole)
Third Man Theme (by Anton Karas)
Sam's Song (by Gary and Bing Crosby)
Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy (by Red Foley)
Music, Music, Music (by Teresa Brewer)
It Isn't Fair (by Sammy Kaye and Don Cornell)
Simple Melody (by Gary and Bing Crosby)
Harbor Lights(by Sammy Kaye)
Third Man Theme (by Guy Lombardo) |
1950 Top Movie Money Makers:
King Solomon's Mines
All About Eve
Walt Disney's Cinderella
Annie Get Your Gun
Father of the Bride
Sunset Boulevard
Born Yesterday
Wabash Avenue
At War with the Army
My Blue Heaven |
1950s Decade:
The population in the U.S. was 151,684,000.
Car sales reached 6,665,800.
The work force was 5:2 Male/Female.
Bomb shelter plans like the government pamphlet “You Can Survive” became widely available.
Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states.
President Harry Truman approved production of the Hydrogen Bomb and sent Air Force and Navy to Korea.
Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite, successfully orbited the earth.
Drag races were popular amoung teenage boys. |
1950s Slang:
To Go Ape = to explode or get really angry
Backseat Bingo = making out in a car
Bash = a party
Beatnik = a member of the beat culture, the 50s version of a hippie
Bread = money
Chariot = a car
Chrome-Plated = dressed up
Dreamboat = a really cute boy
Fuzz = the police
Go for Pinks = to drag race for your car’s pink slip
Hep = with it, cool
Horn = telephone
Rattle Your Cage = to get upset |
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1960 Economy:
President: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Vice President: Richard M. Nixon
Cost of a new home: $16,500
Cost of a gallon of regular gas: 31¢
Cost of a dozen eggs: 57¢
Cost of a gallon of milk: 49¢
Cost of a first‑class stamp: 4¢
Minimum wage: $1.00/hour |
1960 Top TV Shows:
Gunsmoke
The Andy Griffith Show
The Untouchables
The Price is Right
The Jack Benny Show
Dennis the Menace
The Danny Thomas Show
My Three Sons
77 Sunset Strip
The Ed Sullivan Show
Perry Mason
Bonanza
The Flintstones
Alfred Hitchcock Presents |
1960 Top Music Hits:
You Talk Too Much (by Joe Jones)
Cathy's Clown (by The Everly Brothers)
The Twist (by Chubby Checker)
Save the Last Dance for Me (by The Drifters)
Running Bear (by Johnny Preston)
Sweet Nothins (by Brenda Lee)
Handy Man (by Jimmy Jones)
Walk, Don't Run (by The Ventures)
Alley-Oop (by The Hollywood Argyles)
Stay (by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs) |
1960 Top Movie Money Makers:
Spartacus
Psycho
Exodus
Swiss Family Robinson
The Alamo
The Apartment
Butterfield 8
Ocean's 11
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
From the Terrace |
1960s Decade:
The population in America was 177,830,000.
850,000 “war babies” (babies conceived following the return of soldiers who fought in World War II) entered college.
The United States was under nuclear threat by the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation.
The British Invasion caused a lasting impact on U.S. music.
The hippie movement had a strong influence on music and clothing styles.
The Vietnam War was in full swing, and the Draft Lottery was reinstated for the first time since 1942.
Civil Rights Protests became a popular movement to work toward racial equality.
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a popular civil rights leader, was assassinated.
The first man landed on the Moon.
Bell bottom pants and mini-skits became popular among young people. |
1960s Slang:
Around the Bend = to be weird or crazy
Ate It / Bought It = to be killed, as in an accident
Bad Scene = an unpleasant place or event
Bail / Bug Out = to leave
Big Brother / The Establishment = the government or anyone in authority
Bummer = a bad or depressing time
Catch 22 = circular logic
Cats = people
Cop a Squat = to sit down
Dig = to understand or agree
Dove = an anti-Vietnam War pacifist
Egg Head = an intelligent person
Far Out / Groovy / Outta Sight = wonderful, amazing
Gassed = drunk or high
Pad = a place where someone lives
Pig = a derogatory term for police officers
Pinko = a communist sympathizer
Square = an uncool person
Threads = clothes
Wig Out = to freak out |
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