In 1921, "Wang Wang Blues" topped the charts, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse packed theaters, a stamp cost 2¢, the average home went for about $6,300.
🎵 Top songs of 1921
"Wang Wang Blues" — Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
"Wabash Blues" — Isham Jones Orchestra
"Margie" — Eddie Cantor
🎬 In theaters
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Kid
The Sheik
What things cost in 1921
$0.26
Gallon of gas
2¢
Postage stamp
$0.15
Movie ticket
$0.60
Gallon of milk
$6,300
Average home
$505
New car
$1,250
Household income
A $0.26 gallon of gas in 1921 has the buying power of roughly $4.85 today. A 2¢ stamp is about 37¢, and a 15¢ movie ticket about $2.80.
The biggest moments of 1921
The first Miss America pageant was held on the boardwalk in Atlantic City in September 1921.
Rudolph Valentino became the screen's great romantic idol with The Sheik and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Radio station KDKA carried the first live broadcast of a World Series game as the Giants beat the Yankees.
Albert Einstein made his first visit to the United States in April 1921 and was greeted by cheering crowds like a matinee idol.
Babe Ruth topped his own record yet again with 59 home runs — more than most entire teams hit that season.
The Dempsey–Carpentier heavyweight fight in Jersey City drew boxing's first million-dollar gate.
Toys, TV & trends of 1921
Eskimo Pie chocolate-covered ice cream bars were patented and were soon selling a million a day.
White Castle opened in Wichita, Kansas, launching America's first hamburger chain with five-cent burgers.
Wonder Bread arrived in grocery stores, and flour maker Washburn-Crosby invented a friendly adviser named Betty Crocker.
Pogo sticks bounced into toy stores and even onto Broadway, where chorus girls performed entire numbers while hopping.
The Mounds candy bar debuted, wrapping coconut in dark chocolate for a nickel.
A little French perfume called Chanel No. 5 launched in Paris — soon the height of glamour on American dressing tables.
The music scene
Broadway made musical history in May 1921 when Shuffle Along — written, composed, and performed by Black artists including Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle — became a smash hit and gave the world "I'm Just Wild About Harry." Meanwhile radio proved it could carry live drama of another kind: the Dempsey–Carpentier "Fight of the Century" in July was broadcast to an estimated 300,000 listeners, a staggering audience for the new medium. Dance bands and vaudeville stages still supplied most of America's nightly entertainment.
At the movies
Charlie Chaplin's The Kid did more than showcase the Little Tramp — it made six-year-old Jackie Coogan the movies' first child superstar, with Coogan caps, dolls, and candy soon flooding stores. Picture palaces kept growing grander, with uniformed ushers, marble lobbies, and mighty Wurlitzer organs. Studios were consolidating fast, laying the groundwork for the Hollywood studio system that would rule for decades.
Cartoons kids loved
Paul Terry's Aesop's Film Fables series launched
Felix the Cat silent shorts
Koko the Clown in Out of the Inkwell
Animation was still a scrappy cottage industry: small New York studios raced to deliver a fresh silent short to theaters every week or two. Paul Terry's new Aesop's Fables studio ran like an assembly line, and its output taught a generation of young animators — including some who would later work wonders at Disney.
The world in 1921
World population: about 1.9 billion
U.S. President: Warren G. Harding (inaugurated March 1921)
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery on Armistice Day, November 11, 1921.
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in December 1921, paving the way for the creation of the Irish Free State.
In a Toronto laboratory, Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated insulin, offering hope to diabetics worldwide.
The Washington Naval Conference opened in November, as the great powers sat down to limit battleship fleets.
1921 birthday questions
How old is someone born in 1921?
Someone born in 1921 turns 105 in 2026 (104 if their birthday has not come round yet).
What was the number one song in 1921?
"Wang Wang Blues" by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra was among the biggest hits of 1921.
What movie came out in 1921?
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was one of the films packing theaters in 1921.
How much did gas cost in 1921?
A gallon of gas ran about $0.26 in 1921, and a postage stamp cost 2¢.
How much did a house cost in 1921?
The average home went for roughly $6,300 in 1921, against a typical household income of about $1,250.