Roaring Revelations: 11 Entertaining Fun Facts from the Colorful Year of 1922

1. Babe Ruth's Party Animal Days

Before "The Great Bambino" vowed to part ways with his party animal lifestyle and alcohol-fueled shenanigans: Babe Ruth inked a three-year deal with the New York Yankees in 1922, bagging over $50,000 per season and becoming the highest-paid player of the time. This led to an impressive average of 41 home runs, a 217 OPS+, and a 1.233 OPS – all while securing two World Series appearances and the Yankees' first-ever championship in 1923.
Source => thisdayinbaseball.com

2. Insulin's Sweet Discovery

Before insulin threw the world's biggest sugar-block party: In 1923, Frederick Banting and John Macleod, along with their science squad Charles Best and J.B. Collip, scored a major win for humanity by snagging a Nobel Prize in Medicine for their sweet discovery of insulin – forever changing the lives of diabetics with a simple yet life-saving hormone injection.
Source => diabetes.org

Did you know President Calvin Coolidge took the presidential oath twice in 1923 due to doubts about authority? Find out the secret details of this historic double-swearing-in! 🤐🇺🇸

=> Fun Facts about The-Year-1923

3. Mummy's Curse & Harry Burton's Snaps

Move over, Ansel Adams, there's a new shutterbug in town who's snapping his way out of the mummy's curse: In 1922, Harry Burton took over 5,000 photographs of the mind-boggling treasures and artifacts found in Tutankhamun's tomb, using both black and white and color photography to create magnificent scientific records that doubled as breathtaking masterpieces.
Source => metmuseum.org

4. BBC's Broadcasting Beginnings

In the days when radio waves were the "new black" and listeners eagerly cranked up their wireless sets, a British brainchild emerged in London with grand ambitions of conquering the airwaves: In 1922, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was founded, heralding the beginning of an era in broadcasting that brought to life the world's first regularly scheduled TV service in 1936, delivered King George V's voice across the ether in 1932, and made Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953 a royal televisual feast for the masses.
Source => usnews.com

5. President Harding's Waffle Fix

How do you batter the cravings on a waffle lot of a scale? Just ask President Warren G. Harding, who couldn't resist those toasty treats: In 1922, the Girl Scouts of Washington DC operated two tea houses, including the popular Willow Point tea house, where President Harding frequently indulged in waffles made from his wife Florence's WWI-era recipe. The tea house was later managed by Congress, serving as a visitor’s center and office space, before being razed in 1987 due to flooding.
Source => gshistory.com

6. Charleston Dance Takes Over Broadway

Who knew dancing could be so scandalously fun? Charleston, the 1920s' uninhibited dancefloor delight, got itself some serious jazz cred on Broadway before shimmying its way to the mainstream masses: The dance made its debut in the 1922 all-black stage play Liza, but it wasn't until October 29, 1923, that it rocketed to fame in the Flournoy Miller/Aubrey Lyles Broadway show Runnin' Wild.
Source => chstoday.6amcity.com

7. Irish Island Split

In 1922, the Irish kicked up their heels and did a jig, striking their best Riverdance pose as they split their lovely island in two: the Irish Free State emerged from an emerald haze, encompassing 26 of 32 Irish counties, while the remaining six opted to keep calm and carry on with the UK, forming the autonomous region of Northern Ireland - a tale of destiny that would one day be completed in 1949 when the Irish went full republican and became a standalone independent unicorn of a country.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Elinor Smith's Daring Bridge Flight

Who needs an overpriced toll when you can fly under bridges for free? Why just cross one when you can make history crossing four: In 1928, 17-year-old Elinor Smith daringly flew her Waco 10 plane under all four of New York City's East River bridges, being the only pilot to pull off such a stunt, all while holding the women's solo endurance and altitude records.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. James Joyce's Scandalous Ulysses

Who knew James Joyce was such a rebel, stirring the literary pot like a mischievous Irish stew: In 1922, Ulysses faced obscenity charges in the United States, leading to its banning for over a decade, after The Little Review published a risqué section that ruffled the prudish feathers of the Comstock Act of 1873.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

10. Sober Sailors' Conference

Ahoy, Mateys! If ever there was proof that sailors can't hold their liquor, it was the year 1922 when they held a conference instead: The Washington Naval Conference negotiated three major treaties among top naval powers to reduce naval armament and East Asian tensions, while the attendees - including the United States - remained absolutely sober due to Prohibition.
Source => history.state.gov

11. Swedes' Cool Fridge Invention

In an era filled with jazz, flappers, and speakeasies, two Swedes were busy chilling with a "cool" new invention: In 1922, Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters unveiled the first absorption fridge, a miraculous contraption that made things cold through heat and could run on electricity, gas, or kerosene, revolutionizing the world of refrigeration.
Source => electroluxgroup.com