From the 1929 crash and FDR's New Deal through Social Security, Pearl Harbor, Executive Order 9066, D-Day, and 1945.
Golden rules (General American pronunciation): vowels and silent or glide letters (w, h, y) carry no digit · silent letters are ignored (knife /naɪf/ → 28) · doubled letters count once (bell → 95, hammer → 34) · sound, never spelling, decides.
| Date | Event | Peg word | IPA | Digits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Wall Street Stock Market Crash ("Black Tuesday") triggers the Great Depression | hen +pie /hɛn/ + /paɪ/ | /hɛn/ + /paɪ/ | 29 |
| 1933 | Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Hundred Days launch New Deal agencies (CCC, FDIC, TVA, AAA) | mummy /ˈmʌm.i/ | /ˈmʌm.i/ | 33 |
| 1935 | Second New Deal passes the Social Security Act, Wagner Act (NLRA), and Works Progress Administration | ham +owl /ˈhæm/ + /aʊl/ | /ˈhæm/ + /aʊl/ | 35 |
| 1939 | World War II begins in Europe; U.S. passes "Cash and Carry" neutrality revision | mop /mɑp/ | /mɑp/ | 39 |
| 1941 | Lend-Lease Act aids the Allies; Atlantic Charter signed; Pearl Harbor attack brings the U.S. into WWII (December 7) | wreath /ɹiθ/ | /ɹiθ/ | 41 |
| 1942 | Executive Order 9066 authorizes Japanese American internment; U.S. Navy wins decisive Battle of Midway | iron /ˈaɪ.ɚn/ | /ˈaɪ.ɚn/ | 42 |
| 1944 | D-Day Allied invasion of Normandy (June 6); GI Bill funds veterans' education and housing | oar +arrow /oɹ/ + /ˈæ.ɹoʊ/ | /oɹ/ + /ˈæ.ɹoʊ/ | 44 |
| 1945 | Yalta & Potsdam Conferences; atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki end WWII; United Nations founded | arrow +wheel /ˈæ.ɹoʊ/ + /ˈwiːl/ | /ˈæ.ɹoʊ/ + /ˈwiːl/ | 45 |
1929 — On Black Tuesday in Manhattan, a startled hen flaps onto Wall Street and tips over a warm apple pie as share prices collapse and the Great Depression begins. (n → 2 · p → 9)
1933 — During FDR's First Hundred Days, a bandaged mummy steps onto the Capitol steps to unwrap the New Deal alphabet agencies—the CCC, FDIC, TVA, and AAA—to revive the economy. (m·m → 33)
1935 — Under the Second New Deal, a honey-glazed ham and a watchful owl sit beside Congress as lawmakers pass the Social Security Act, the Wagner Act (NLRA), and the Works Progress Administration. (m → 3 · l → 5)
1939 — As World War II erupts in Europe, dockworkers scrub the pier with a thick cotton mop while the U.S. passes the Cash and Carry neutrality revision. (m·p → 39)
1941 — After the Lend-Lease Act aids the Allies and the Atlantic Charter is signed, a solemn evergreen wreath drifts across calm waters following the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor that brings the U.S. into WWII. (ɹ·θ → 41)
1942 — In a sobering year, a heavy black flat iron weighs down dusty western tracks where Executive Order 9066 authorizes Japanese American internment, even as the U.S. Navy wins the decisive Battle of Midway. (ɚ·n → 42)
1944 — On D-Day, June 6, a wooden oar rests on the Normandy beach beside a feathered arrow pointing toward veterans' education and housing funded by the GI Bill. (ɹ → 4 · ɹ → 4)
1945 — After the Yalta and Potsdam conferences and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki end WWII, a feathered arrow leans peacefully beside a golden wooden wheel as nations found the United Nations. (ɹ → 4 · l → 5)