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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   937 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Here's a highway map

Keep in mind that outside cities these might not be paved, might not even be gravel, just an old dirt road.

As far as Miami in particular, I suspect many of the photos are from 20s and 30s or that many 1910s are referring specifically to 1918 or 1919 or so. Spot the introduction of cheap enough residential AC in the population growth presented below.

Year 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Population 4,955 11,933 42,753 142,955 267,739 495,084 935,047 1,267,792 1,625,781 1,937,094 2,253,362

I was guessing 1915 because that’s when growth accelerated but I’m seeing more like 1940’s when it became affordable. I don’t see it in data.

30s for luxury, 50s for middle class residential, 60s-70s for working class. I suppose it isn't that visible because early doubling and tripling by decade, but the additional hundreds of thousands really were only possible because of AC units instead of high ceilings and porches and other classic ways of mitigating heat in humidity.

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