BACK IN TIME-THE THIRTIES IN THE USA

Money And Inflation 1930'S

To provide an estimate of inflation we have given a guide to the value of $100 US Dollars for the first year in the decade to the equivalent in today's money
If you have $100 Converted from 1930 to 2005 it would be equivalent to $1204.42 today "If You Had 1 billion dollars then it would now be worth 12 billion dollars."
In 1930 average new house cost $7,145.00 and by 1939 was $3,800.00 More House Prices 
In 1930 the average income per year was $1,970.00 and by 1939 was $1,730.00 
In 1930 a gallon of gas was 10 cents and by 1939 was 10 cents 
In 1930 the average cost of new car was $640.00 and by 1939 was $700.00
   
A few more prices from the 30's and how much things cost
Firestone Tyre 1932 from $3.69
Single Vision Glasses 1938 $3.85 
Complete Modern 10 piece bedroom Suite $79.85
Steak 1938 1LB 20 cents 
New Emerson Bedroom Radio 1938 $9.95 
History of Radio
Shaefer Pens 1933 from $3.35 
Plymouth Roadking Car 1938 $685 
Emmerson 5 tube bedroom radio $9.95 
Howard Deluxe Quality silk lined hat $2.85 
Cotton Chiffon Volle Girls Frock $2.98

Price: $11.98

Chevrolet 1935 Master Deluxe

New Master De luxe Chevrolet with improved master blue flame engine, pressure steam oiling , cable brakes and shock proof steering

$560

Example of a house for sale

1934

Stucco Bungalow

Oakland California .

5 room stucco bungalow , breakfast room , separate garage, delightful location

$3,750

Events 1930'S

Shantytowns form consisting of wood and cardboard in the United States. They are often referred to in history as Hoovertowns after President Hoover

The 30's were a time when the depression caused by the wall street crash in late 1929 caused the world to undergo a fundamental change in lifestyles , and as part of the change some new radical politics became popular as seen in the rise of Fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism

The 30's also provided a strange phenomenon never repeated where bank robbers and murderers were thought of as celebrities ( a sort of modern Robin Hood ) which in truthfulness they did not rob from the rich to give to the poor just to rob and murder any who got in their way.

The wearing of Sunglasses became popular in the 30's

Music 1930s

Big band or swing music becomes popular (from 1935 onward)

Popular Culture

The Film Wizard of OZ
Gone with the Wind
Action Comics continued to grow and Superman is seen in a comic for the first time
Some of the Most Well Known Movie Stars of the Thirties
Clark Gable couple of his films from the 30's
Gone with the Wind and Mutiny on the Bounty
Shirley Temple couple of her films from the 30's
Stand Up and Cheer! and Bright Eyes 
Joan Crawford couple of her films from the 30's
Forsaking All Others and Possessed 
Will Rogers couple of his films from the 30's
Judge Priest and Life Begins At Forty 
Fred Astaire couple of his films from the 30's
Swing Time and Follow the Fleet 
Ginger Rogers couple of her films from the 30's
42nd Street and Flying Down to Rio 

Sporting Changes In The 30'S

Baseball 
National Baseball Hall of Fame starts with the first players to be chosen Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Babe Ruth
Joe DiMaggio starts his career at the New York Yankees taking the crown over from Babe Ruth who retires.
To help with falling attendance due to the depression, night games are started.
Live Radio broadcasts of baseball games begin to encourage fans to help sell tickets
Basketball 
National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA holds first championship tourney in 1939 which Oregon won.
Association Football (Soccer) 
As it's popularity grew, teams in Britain and later the rest of the world bought in managers who instituted a greater degree of Professionalism, tactics and stricter Training regimes taking the game to new levels.
The first world cup is played in Uruguay in 1930 which the home team won.
American Football 
Goalposts were moved from the back of the end zone to the front of the Endzone
NFL Championship game Introduced Between Eastern and Western divisions
The NFL Draft Introduced
Ice Hockey 
Toronto Maple Leafs Win Stanley Cup
Great 30's Depression Hits Ice Hockey Teams
For More Sporting history, Origins, Events and Changes, Please Check Out Our New Sports History Section. 

Technology 30'S

After the fast pace of technology change in the 20's the 30's did still see some advances including
The Jet Engine
Tea Bags Are introduced and sold Commercially
The First Photocopier Invented but not commercial available till 1948
The BBC broadcasts a wider range of Television Programmes until the Outbreak of War in 1939 and TV stays off the air until 1946 , many of the technical staff are used during for the development of Radar for the war effort
The continued increase in use of Radio for entertainment and the refinement of the Airplane for travel
1930's when the airships LZ127 Graf Zeppelin and LZ129 Hindenburg operated regular transatlantic passenger flights between Germany and both North and South America.

Inventions The Year Invented Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )

Ballpoint Pen ----- 1938 Hungary by Laszlo Biró - also called a biro (UK)
BBC Television ----- 1932 England first regular TV broadcasts (London)
Catseyes ----- 1934 England by Percy Shaw - for lighting roads
Electric Razor ----- 1931 USA by Jacob Schick
Electron Microscope ----- 1933 Germany by Ernst Ruska
Frequency Modulation FM ----- 1939 USA by Edwin H Armstrong - sound by radio waves
Helicopter ----- 1936 Germany by Heinrich Focke
Jet Engine ----- 1930 England by Frank Whittle
Nylon ----- 1931 USA by Wallace Corothers - artificial silk
Magnetic Recording ----- 1936 USA audio tapes
Photocopier ----- 1938 USA by Chester Carlson
Polaroid ----- 1932 USA by Edwin Herbert Land
Radar (for Aircraft) ----- 1935 Scotland by Robert Watson-Watt
Radio Telescope ----- 1932 USA by Karl Jansky
Sticky Tape ----- 1930 USA