Tuesday, November 15, 2005

~100 Years Ago~

The year is 1905. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!

Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1905 :

The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.
With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.
The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home .
Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education.
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacist said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."

Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.
And I forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and posted it on the blog in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. It staggers the mind.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

It does boggle the mind! I'm so glad that bathtubs and showers are standard fixtures today. (for the most part, anyway).

230 murders... if only we could say the same for today!

I wanted to rub your cat's belly in that pict. :) 'course, he'd probably claw me apart for doing so! LOL

bornfool said...

I wonder what things we do or beliefs we have now that people will be laughing about in 100 years.

Erin said...

My great-grandmother was born in 1905. She isn't with us anymore, but I loved her stories of the 'old days' when I was a youngin'.

230 murders? I think there has been that many in the closest big city to my town.

It's a shame.

Catherine Detweiler said...

I am 47, so that first stat hit home with me!

Oh, and hello, Michele sent me.

srp said...

My mom and dad were both born in 1928 and they were both born at home, even then. I'm not sure about that egg yolk thing for shampoo. Wait, now we have them with protein and placenta in them....bet they put egg yolk in some and just call it something else on the lables.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

My Lord, Judy..it sure does boggle the mind! I'm still contmplating that $11. phone call!

Leanne said...

Wow... and to think we managed to produce 'normal' offspring.

Michele sent me btw.
I am blogrolling you hope you don't mind!

Peter said...

Loved this one Judy, as you know I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, it really is amazing the progress, (in most things at least) in what can be a single lifetime.

Weary Hag said...

All I know is ... even if I had to become a lady of the night, you could bet your bottom dollar that had I been around in those days, my house would have been one of the 8% with a darned phone in it! hahaha