In 1931, "Minnie the Moocher" topped the charts, City Lights packed theaters, a stamp cost 2¢, the average home went for about $4,500.
🎵 Top songs of 1931
"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab Calloway & His Orchestra
"Goodnight, Sweetheart" — Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
"Star Dust" — Isham Jones & His Orchestra
🎬 In theaters
City Lights
Frankenstein
Dracula
What things cost in 1931
$0.17
Gallon of gas
2¢
Postage stamp
$0.25
Movie ticket
$0.50
Gallon of milk
$4,500
Average home
$640
New car
$1,280
Household income
Gasoline dipped to about $0.17 a gallon in 1931, roughly $3.75 in today's dollars, while the 25-cent movie ticket equals about $5.50 now. Even the 50-cent gallon of milk translates to around $11 today, which is why many families kept their own cow or bought from the milkman on credit.
The biggest moments of 1931
The Empire State Building opened in May as the tallest building in the world, finished in just over a year.
The Star-Spangled Banner was officially adopted as the national anthem of the United States.
The George Washington Bridge opened across the Hudson River, then the longest main suspension span on Earth.
Al Capone was finally brought down not for his crimes of violence but for tax evasion, drawing an 11-year sentence in October.
Beloved Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne died in a Kansas plane crash, and the nation mourned as if for a president.
Jane Addams of Hull House became the first American woman awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Toys, TV & trends of 1931
The Dick Tracy comic strip debuted in October and kids began following the square-jawed detective every day.
Little Orphan Annie came to radio, and children rushed home to hear her adventures.
Alka-Seltzer fizzed onto store shelves for the first time, and bridge and backyard marbles were favorite pastimes.
Bisquick appeared on grocery shelves for the first time, promising fresh biscuits in a fraction of the time.
The March of Time debuted on CBS, dramatizing the week's news with actors and sound effects in thrilling fashion.
Duncan yo-yo contests spread across neighborhoods as champions toured the country teaching kids to 'walk the dog.'
The music scene
Bing Crosby went solo this year, and his nightly CBS radio show, opening with 'Where the Blue of the Night,' made him a national sensation almost overnight. Kate Smith also arrived on radio in 1931, greeting listeners with 'When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain.' Up in Harlem, Cab Calloway's 'Minnie the Moocher' owed its famous 'hi-de-ho' chorus to his Cotton Club showmanship; legend has it he improvised the scat when he forgot the lyrics one night, and audiences shouted it back to him ever after.
At the movies
Cimarron won Best Picture, and it would remain the only Western to do so for nearly sixty years. Universal's gamble on gothic horror paid off spectacularly, rescuing the studio's Depression-battered finances and minting Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi as unlikely stars. Charlie Chaplin, meanwhile, defied the talkie tide by releasing a silent film with only a musical score he composed himself, and the gangster picture ruled the box office thanks to James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson.
Cartoons kids loved
Warner Bros. launched its Merrie Melodies cartoon series
Betty Boop became a full-fledged star of the Fleischer Talkartoons
Mickey Mouse and the Silly Symphonies remained the biggest names in animation
Warner Bros. created Merrie Melodies for a practical reason: the studio owned vast music-publishing catalogs, and each cartoon was required to plug a Warner-owned song. Its first star, Foxy, was such a shameless Mickey Mouse lookalike, essentially Mickey with a bushy tail, that Disney complained and the character was quietly retired. The Fleischer studio in New York went the other direction, filling its cartoons with gritty city streets and jazz instead of barnyards.
The world in 1931
World population: about 2 billion
U.S. President: Herbert Hoover
The Empire State Building was completed in New York City, becoming the tallest building in the world.
Japan invaded Manchuria in September, a conflict that would prove an early step toward the Second World War.
Spain peacefully became a republic in April after King Alfonso XIII left the country.
Great Britain abandoned the gold standard in September, shaking the world's financial system.
1931 birthday questions
How old is someone born in 1931?
Someone born in 1931 turns 95 in 2026 (94 if their birthday has not come round yet).
What was the number one song in 1931?
"Minnie the Moocher" by Cab Calloway & His Orchestra was among the biggest hits of 1931.
What movie came out in 1931?
City Lights was one of the films packing theaters in 1931.
How much did gas cost in 1931?
A gallon of gas ran about $0.17 in 1931, and a postage stamp cost 2¢.
How much did a house cost in 1931?
The average home went for roughly $4,500 in 1931, against a typical household income of about $1,280.