The Blast in the Past

Things are rather gloomy these days. As a tonic (warning?) I offer a few terrifying facts about the last giant crash. For more information, have a look at the timelines from NPR's Marketplace and The American Experience.

* The speculative run that preceeded the crash started in 1922. Between 1922 and 1929 the Dow quadrupled in value, from 100 to 381 points.

* The crash, apparently, was triggered by an economist named Roger Babson who said, " ... sooner or later, a crash is coming, and it may be terrific."

* The crash started in October of 1929, but the Dow kept going down until 1932. By the time it hit bottom, it had lost 89% of its value.

* The stock market crash led to bank runs which caused hundreds of banks to fail.

* The Hoover adminstration didn't enact a rescue plan until 1932 (The Glass RFC Recovery Act, 47 Stat. 5)

* It took over 25 years for the Dow to get back to 381. People who bought stock in 1929 didn't get ahead until 1954.

Are you cheered up yet?