The Transportation Revolution

Perhaps the biggest change in people’s lives was brought

about by the automobile. During the 1920s, the number
of registered motor cars in Canada more than tripled. The
number of cars on Canada’s roads increased greatly
during the 1920s. In 1920, only 407 064 vehicles were
registered in Canada. By 1930, this number had more
than tripled to 1 239 889. The most popular car was the
Model T Ford. Mass production techniques enabled the
Ford Motor Co. to sell these cars cheaply. A 1925 Model T
cost $424, and motorists flocked to buy them.

Cities began paving streets. Traffic jams and

collisions became more common, and air
pollution became a concern. People started
driving to work, which meant that they could
live father away from their workplace. This set
the stage for the development of suburbs.
Parking lots, gas stations, and road signs began
appearing. Rules for motorists were also
introduced. Ontario, for example, began
requiring drivers to hae licences in 1927. That
same year, speed limits were raised to 32
kilometres an hour in cities and 56 kilometres
an hour on country roads.

Businesses also discovered the advantages of

mechanized vehicles. Trucks could carry more
and make deliveries faster and more efficiently
than a horse and wagon. As a result, horse-
drawn vehicles began to disappear from
Canada’s roads.

The Traffic Light was invented in 1920. Though

electrified, it still required an operator to
manually cycle through the signals and monitor
the flow of traffic.
The Communication Revolution
By the 1920s, telephones were becoming essential in homes and
businesses. Telephone service improved steadily during the 1920s
and 1930s. Rotary dials began to appear in urban centres in the
1920s. This eliminated the need for every call to go through a
switchboard operator. Combined handsets – with the mouthpiece
and earphone in the same unit – were introduced in 1927.

More and more people were also discovering a new

source of information and entertainment – radio.
Gradually the radio was becoming the focus of
attention in people’s living rooms. As demand for
these conveniences rose, companies competed to
improve their design and make them more
affordable and reliable. Families across Canada
would gather to listen to programs such as The
Happy Gang or Hockey Night in Canada.

Movies (with sound) “Talkies” 1927

By 1920, the American movie industry was well-established.

Initially the movie studios in California turned out silent films, but
in 1927, The Jazz Singer ushered in the “talkies”. Like their
neighbours to the south, Canadians loved the movies and movie
stars such as Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin.
Household Electric Appliances
Most household electric appliances, such as washing
machines, cook stoves, and vacuum cleaners, were sold as
labour-saving devices for homemakers. Advertisements
promised homemakers that these `mechanized
servants`would reduce the time spent doing household
chores such as cooking, cleaning and laundry.

Some historians argue that electric appliances did not make

the lives of homemakers easier. They argue that advertising
influenced people to expect more of homemakers. With
their new electric appliances, “good” homemakers were
expected to keep their homes cleaner, their families better
fed, and their laundry brighter. Instead of having more
leisure time, homemakers faced an even longer list of
household chores.

The electric hair dryer

was invented in 1920
The Health Science Revolution
Advances in medicine and nutrition were also changing people’s lives. Science was conquering diseases that had killed
people just a few years earlier, and more people were becoming aware of the importance of a healthy diet. Canadians
led the way in making some of the discoveries that helped people live longer, more comfortable lives.

Antibiotics, such as penicillin, had not yet been

discovered, so death rates from injuries and infections
remained high. Still, the life expectancy of Canadians
crept upward. In 1921, a 20 year old woman could
expect to live only to about the age of 49. By the end
of the 1930s, a 20 year old could expect to live to
nearly 52.

In January 1922, Frederick Banting and Charles Best,

from the University of Toronto, injected Leonard
Thompson, a 14 year old with diabetes, with insulin (a
hormone produced by the pancreas to regulate and
digest sugars in the body). Once injected, Thompson
improved immediately. Though insulin did not cure
diabetes, this hormone changed it from a death
sentence to a disease that could be managed.

The Band Aid was invented in 1920. Initially it was one

long adhesive bandage with a channel of gauze running
down the middle that could be cut into strips as needed.
Q-Tips were also invented in 1920 for the purpose of
health and grooming.