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Ash
Consider the tires on your car. Chances are that they have some raised letters, and even more that the lettering is in white (or infrequently blue).
Other than purely for decoration, is there any reason for whitewall/white writing on the sides of auto tires?
Answer
Whitewall tires or white sidewall (WSW) tires are tires having a stripe or entire sidewall of white rubber. Early automobile tires were made entirely of natural white rubber, however, the white rubber did not offer sufficient traction and endurance so carbon black was added to the rubber used for the treads. Using carbon black for the tire tread only resulted in tires on which both inner and outer sidewalls were of white rubber. Later, entirely black tires became available, the still extant white sidewalls being covered with a somewhat thin, black colored layer of rubber. Should a black sidewall tire have been severely scuffed against a curb the underlying white rubber would be revealed, it is in a similar manner that raised white letter (RWL) tires are made.
The status of whitewall tires versus blackwall tires was originally the reverse of what it later became, with fully black tires requiring a greater amount of carbon black and less effort to maintain a clean appearance these were considered the premium tire; since the black tires first became available they were commonly fitted to many expensive luxury cars through the 1930s. During the later part of the 1920s gleaming whitewalls contrasted against darker surroundings were considered a stylish if high-maintenance bit of "flash", still too flamboyant for those with conservative tastes however. The popularity of whitewalls as an option increased during the 1930s, automobile streamlining and skirted fenders eventually rendered the two-sided whitewall obsolete. The single-sided whitewall remained a desirable option through the 1970s, becoming a hallmark of "traditional luxury" along the way.
Whitewall tires or white sidewall (WSW) tires are tires having a stripe or entire sidewall of white rubber. Early automobile tires were made entirely of natural white rubber, however, the white rubber did not offer sufficient traction and endurance so carbon black was added to the rubber used for the treads. Using carbon black for the tire tread only resulted in tires on which both inner and outer sidewalls were of white rubber. Later, entirely black tires became available, the still extant white sidewalls being covered with a somewhat thin, black colored layer of rubber. Should a black sidewall tire have been severely scuffed against a curb the underlying white rubber would be revealed, it is in a similar manner that raised white letter (RWL) tires are made.
The status of whitewall tires versus blackwall tires was originally the reverse of what it later became, with fully black tires requiring a greater amount of carbon black and less effort to maintain a clean appearance these were considered the premium tire; since the black tires first became available they were commonly fitted to many expensive luxury cars through the 1930s. During the later part of the 1920s gleaming whitewalls contrasted against darker surroundings were considered a stylish if high-maintenance bit of "flash", still too flamboyant for those with conservative tastes however. The popularity of whitewalls as an option increased during the 1930s, automobile streamlining and skirted fenders eventually rendered the two-sided whitewall obsolete. The single-sided whitewall remained a desirable option through the 1970s, becoming a hallmark of "traditional luxury" along the way.
What do you see as elements of the Jazz Age which are important to American culture today?
lindsaysus
Answer
Same elements, just a different time period.
The lifestyles of young men and women in the 1920s were as shocking to their Victorian-era parents as the 1960s "hippie" generation was to Americans who came of age during World War Two, or as "Generation Next" is to parents who grew up in the 1970s. Each succeeding generation seems to be born to shock its parents, and the children of the twenties were no exception.
In reaction to uncontrollable forces around them â war, science, society â young people everywhere sought answers in places once considered unthinkable, both morally and physically. Ellen Welles Page, a young woman writing in Outlook magazine in 1922, tried to explain why this was:
Most of us, under the present system of modern education, are further advanced and more thoroughly developed mentally, physically, and vocationally than were our parents at our age. ⦠We have learned to take for granted conveniences, and many luxuries, which not so many years ago were as yet undreamed of. [But] the war tore away our spiritual foundations and challenged our faith. We are struggling to regain our equilibrium. ⦠The emotions are frequently in a state of upheaval, struggling with one another for supremacy.
In their attempt to come to terms with their place in this new world, young people began acting out â trying to test their new boundaries with more and more outrageous forms of behavior. Wilder music, faster cars and shorter skirts were just a few symptoms of this strange postwar era called The Jazz Age.
Same elements, just a different time period.
The lifestyles of young men and women in the 1920s were as shocking to their Victorian-era parents as the 1960s "hippie" generation was to Americans who came of age during World War Two, or as "Generation Next" is to parents who grew up in the 1970s. Each succeeding generation seems to be born to shock its parents, and the children of the twenties were no exception.
In reaction to uncontrollable forces around them â war, science, society â young people everywhere sought answers in places once considered unthinkable, both morally and physically. Ellen Welles Page, a young woman writing in Outlook magazine in 1922, tried to explain why this was:
Most of us, under the present system of modern education, are further advanced and more thoroughly developed mentally, physically, and vocationally than were our parents at our age. ⦠We have learned to take for granted conveniences, and many luxuries, which not so many years ago were as yet undreamed of. [But] the war tore away our spiritual foundations and challenged our faith. We are struggling to regain our equilibrium. ⦠The emotions are frequently in a state of upheaval, struggling with one another for supremacy.
In their attempt to come to terms with their place in this new world, young people began acting out â trying to test their new boundaries with more and more outrageous forms of behavior. Wilder music, faster cars and shorter skirts were just a few symptoms of this strange postwar era called The Jazz Age.
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