Inventions & Breakthroughs of December 1930
Gadgets, lab surprises, odd bets, and future-shocks from this slice of the calendar.
1 
Birds Eye Retail Frozen Foods
2 
Pluto Discovery
3 
Motorola Car Radio
4 
Twinkie Snack Cake
5 
Neoprene Synthetic Rubber
6 
Schick Electric Shaver Patent
7 
Differential Analyzer
8 
Turbojet Engine Patent
9 
BBC Mechanical Television Broadcasts
10 
Scotch Cellulose Tape
The Sounds of
Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year
HEADLINES ON December 21, 1930
Full News Archive
- Headline: Boston Chamber Hails Its Own 1930 Record. Impact: News snapshot: The item is small on its own, but it gives the date texture: a real notice, a real institution, and a real public record.. Fact: A small archive item can still reveal what people and institutions thought was worth printing..
- Headline: Champion Rudolph to Remain in East. Impact: News snapshot: The item is small on its own, but it gives the date texture: a real notice, a real institution, and a real public record.. Fact: A small archive item can still reveal what people and institutions thought was worth printing..
- Headline: Michigan State Signs Crowley to New Three-Year Contract. Impact: News snapshot: The item is small on its own, but it gives the date texture: a real notice, a real institution, and a real public record.. Fact: A small archive item can still reveal what people and institutions thought was worth printing..
- Headline: Title Bout Friday to Settle Dispute. Impact: News snapshot: The item is small on its own, but it gives the date texture: a real notice, a real institution, and a real public record.. Fact: A small archive item can still reveal what people and institutions thought was worth printing..
- Headline: Bomb Found on Porch of Camden Politician. Impact: Politics snapshot: Power was being negotiated in public, through officials, pressure groups, and policy fights.. Fact: Power was being negotiated in public, through officials, pressure groups, and policy fights..
- Headline: Rail-Water Rate Urged. Impact: Infrastructure snapshot: The fight is over movement: who gets through, who pays, and whether the modern city can keep from tying itself in knots.. Fact: Modern life was becoming a logistics puzzle: streets, tunnels, ships, trains, and money all competing at once..
- Headline: Boards Fix Commissions. Impact: News snapshot: The item is small on its own, but it gives the date texture: a real notice, a real institution, and a real public record.. Fact: A small archive item can still reveal what people and institutions thought was worth printing..
- Headline: Lewis Indifferent to Coolidge Criticism. Impact: Culture snapshot: Culture was doing what culture does in a hard year: selling glamour, distraction, status, and argument.. Fact: Culture was doing what culture does in a hard year: selling glamour, distraction, status, and argument..
Wall Street Time Machine
The Right Call: If you'd invested $1,000 in any one of these companies in 1930, here's what the stored 2025 dataset estimates.
Rank #1
JNJ
Johnson & Johnson
Price in 1930
$0.06
2025 dataset value
$3,433,940
Johnson & Johnson - If you invested $1,000 in 1930, it would be worth $3,433,940 today (3433.9x return)
Rank #2
PG
Procter & Gamble
Price in 1930
$0.25
2025 dataset value
$586,657
Procter & Gamble - If you invested $1,000 in 1930, it would be worth $586,657 today (586.7x return)
Rank #3
CVX
Chevron
Price in 1930
$0.31
2025 dataset value
$474,913
Chevron - If you invested $1,000 in 1930, it would be worth $474,913 today (474.9x return)
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Lincoln Logs
$120
Mickey Mouse Doll
$250
Marbles
$150
Tinkertoy
$50
Model Train Sets
$300+
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
Churchman's Cigarettes 'Boxing' Series
$100-$800
Godfrey Phillips 'Film Stars'
$50-$500+
Typhoo Tea 'British Land Birds'
$40-$250
Carreras Cigarettes 'History of Naval Dress'
$75-$400+
Wills's Cigarettes 'Cinema Stars'
$50-$350+