The Automobile
(1924 Ford Motor Co. ad)Henry Ford led the automotive industry during the 1920s with Ford Motor Company. Ford is often credited with first utilizing the assembly line and interchangeable parts. This method of mass production made the distribution of cars to the public cheaper and easier than ever. 15 million were made from 1909 to 1927. In the mid-1920s, half of the cars on the road were Model-T's. The car was seen as a representation of luxury and fun; two things people living in the 1920s lived for! These Model-T's were not actually referred to as "Model-T's" until the end of the roaring twenties; there were slang terms to describe them such as "flivver" and "tin lizzie." Most people simply called it a Ford. There were many body types of Model Ts: runabouts, touring cars, sedans, roadsters, etc. Policeman had mainly used horses throughout American history before the invention of the automobile. However, although the Ford had become affordable and available, policemen mostly drove around on motorcycles as they were cheaper.
"If everyone is moving forward, the success takes care of itself." -Henry Ford
The Telephone
At the beginning of the 1900s, the telephone had been introduced. The only difference made to it by the 1920s was the addition of a dial at the bottom. Most telephones could be found in the central hall of a house, where it could easily be accessed by all members of the family. In the 1920s, making a phone call involved picking up the receiver, asking an operator to connect you, waiting for her to plug it in, and waiting for someone on the other end to answer the ringing. Most people had a party line, which meant that others could listen in on a conversation if they really wanted to. Direct dialing had only been introduced in 1921. In 1926 American telephone transmitters and receivers were first placed in the same unit, the handset, while in 1929 telephone linemen began using the power-driven auger to bore holes for telephone poles—a great advance over hand digging.
