Radios and TypewritersThis includes four million radios, a million each of refrigerators and washing machines, half a million typewriters and even 100,000 pianos. Americans can seemingly buy everything, all at once. The world has never known a similar explosion of personal convenience. It seems like a miracle. Autos offer comfortable, personal mobility, but the radio is almost as important in transforming American life. Like the printing press, the radio suddenly gives ordinary people a wider view of the world. Limits seem to vanish. As the economy roars ahead, life just keeps getting better. What could go wrong? |
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Vacuum Tubes Make it Possible Henry Ford demonstrates that if you have a product people want, at a price they can afford, your sales are only limited by your ability to produce the product. Mass-produced radios are made possible by the development of the vacuum tube (center), which enables weak radio signals to be amplified, and transmitted over long distances. This, in turn, enables people everywhere to enjoy music and variety shows in their own living room. It's a national sensation. | |||||||||
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Business Before Copiers It's a bit hard to imagine, but businesses in 1930 have no good way to make copies of the documents they create every day, like orders, invoices and office correspondence. 'Copy presses' can make a few copies of something hand-written in special ink, if you act right away, but this isn't much help. A much better solution is to combine the typewriter with a sheet of carbon paper. The impact of a typewriter key is able to penetrate the original document, simultaneously creating a copy underneath. With forceful typing, two or three copies can be generated. | |||||||||
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There's a Machine for That The explosion of consumer products is made possible in large part by the development of equipment for almost every step in the production process. The photos above show equipment used to make shoes and boots, from processing the animal hides to stitching together the pieces. There are 11 different steps in producing a shoe, which previously have all been completed by a shoemaker sitting at a bench. Machinery revolutionizes the entire process. | |||||||||
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Electricity in the Home The development of networks to distribute electricity is another vital factor contributing to the new era of abundance. As shown by the chart at upper right, electricity is available in the vast majority of homes by 1930. This means that radios, refrigerators and washing machines can all be operated by simply plugging them in. Electricity is delivered to most homes by power cables suspended from telephone poles, which also carry separate wires for every telephone line. That's a lot of wire. By this time, telephones are being molded from Bakelite, America's first plastic (lower left). Wires are also essential for messages travelling by undersea cables, which link business centers around the globe. | |||||||||
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Hot Wheels Bicycles continue to be popular in America. Powered models include the Harley-Davidson motorcycle and the first electric scooter. | |||||||||