This came in my e-mail today. Given the previous post on Creature Comforts, I thought I’d share it.
\nThe year is 1902 , one hundred years ago… what a difference a century makes. Here are the U.S. statistics for 1902….
\nThe average life expectancy in the US was forty-seven.
\nOnly 14 Percent of the homes in the US had a bathtub.
\nOnly 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
\nA three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
\nThere were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved roads.
\nThe maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
\nAlabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
\nThe tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
\nThe average wage in the US was 22 cents an hour.
\nThe average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
\nA competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 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.
\nMore than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at home.
\nNinety percent of all US physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as “substandard.”
\nSugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee cost fifteen cents a pound.
\nMost women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
\nCanada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.
\nThe five leading causes of death in the US were:
\n1. Pneumonia and influenza
\n2. Tuberculosis
\n3. Diarrhea
\n4. Heart disease
\n5. Stroke
\nThe American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn’t been admitted to the Union yet.
\nThe population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
\nCrossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented.
\nThere were no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
\nOne in ten US adults couldn’t read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
\nMarijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.”
\nEighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
\nThere were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.
\nJust think what it will be like in another 100 years. It boggles the mind!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This came in my e-mail today. Given the previous post on Creature Comforts, I thought I’d share it. The year is 1902 , one hundred years ago… what a difference a century makes. Here are the U.S. statistics for 1902…. … Continue reading