Most Common Folks in the USA today live better than King Louis XIV of France did
Posted on 12/24/2014 7:27:13 AM PST by SeekAndFind
As we go into this Christmas week, you should count your blessings that you live in 2014. Would you prefer to live as the French King Louis XIV did (1643-1715), or as you do today? The average low-income American, who makes $25,000 per year, lives in a home that has air conditioning, a color TV and a dishwasher, owns an automobile, and eats more calories than he should from an immense variety of food.
Louis XIV lived in constant fear of dying from smallpox and many other diseases that are now cured quickly by antibiotics. His palace at Versailles had 700 rooms but no bathrooms (hence he rarely bathed), and no central heating or air conditioning.
One hundred years ago, John D. Rockefeller was the richest man in the world. He did have bathrooms but still no air conditioning. Like Louis, he and his family were still in constant danger of dying from what would now be quickly treatable aliments or accidents. Rockefeller could travel by train or steamship, or very short distances by the newly invented automobile on largely dirt roads — luxuries not available to Louis XIV.
Louis and Rockefeller had many servants to gather and prepare food for them, but they could not get fresh food out of season and had a tiny choice of food compared with anyone who has access to a modern supermarket, where one is increasingly able to purchase prepared meals of far higher quality and variety than anything Louis or Rockefeller could obtain.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
‘Folks’
DRINK!
Oh, sorry! I thought we were listening to 0bama’s incoherent ramblings again...
This is a point my friends are tired of hearing me make. We live the easiest existence ever enjoyed by the human animal...and listen to us bitch.
Is this supposed to be a feel good article to make us feel better about being reduced to peasants? Sure we have modern day conveniences but almost every aspect of our life is now bring monitored and they are figuring more and more ways to secretly screw in addition to socio-economic pressures brought on by being a 24/7 connected society. I will lay bets that times were less stressful back in the day just harder times but hey it’d be a great physical fitness plan.
So true.
Where?
I think the royals of the past led pretty good lives. Great, great luxury. And before sugar became available to them, great teeth!
“I will lay bets that times were less stressful back in the day “
Would you explain how this could possibly be true.
Seriously, when just staying alive was a major chore.
I say the same things. People don’t get it.
I tell them to think about how things would be if you had to hunt for your food, build your own shelter, sew your own clothes, make your own heat, etc, and advanced economy removes these burdens for common people.
We are so blinded by our blessings and wealth.
“Reduced to peasants”? really? You missed the glaring point of the article.
You don’t have to start the day grinding wheat to make bread.
You don’t worry about a thousand diseases likely to kill you by age 40.
You don’t live in a shack with inside temperature just a few degrees better than outside.
You don’t put spices on food just to conceal the taste of rot.
You don’t spend your life a few miles from birthplace because walking hundreds of miles sucks.
You don’t worry about having too many mouths to feed.
You don’t worry about those mouths dying by age 5.
You don’t struggle to acquire enough calories for you & yours to survive (never mind balanced nutrition).
Stress? If you weren’t stressed then, it was because you’d come to grips with the fact that life was nasty, brutish, and short. If you’re stressed now, it’s because you make up s#!^ to worry about because your brain is wired to cope with stress and will invent it just to have something to cope with.
> “I will lay bets that times were less stressful back in the day “
Would you explain how this could possibly be true.
Seriously, when just staying alive was a major chore.
I’m talking purely from a mental standpoint. It’s pretty apparent they were worn out physically from the myriad of chores they had to do just to stay alive but then again I wasn’t there. This is all conjecture of course...: )
In Middletown, USA
Downside of that is now the stupid and evil have plenty of free time.
More like Sometown, Somewhere, USA.
They didn’t have obama phones nor sported grills.
Have a Merry Christmas...: )
Queen Victoria or Andrew Carnegie could have spent their entire fortunes, yet never been able to possess an iPad.
We are so blinded by our blessings and wealth.
BINGO!
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