100 Years Ago - Christmas 1904

Private Email | DECEMBER 24, 2004 | Unknown

[CHARLITE]

A 100 Year Difference

What a difference 100 yrs makes... The Year is 1904. Maybe this will boggle your mind, I know it did mine!

Here are some of the US statistics for 1904:
The average life expectancy in the US was 47 years.
Only 14% of the homes in the US had a bathtub.
Only 8%of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.00
There were only 8,000 cars in the US, 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 residents, 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 US was 22 cents an hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A 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.
A mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at home.
Ninety % 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."

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 prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death in the US 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 30!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two of 10 US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6% of all Americans had graduated high school.

Marijuana, 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 bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!)

Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.

And I forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and sent it to you in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years ... it staggers the mind.

[CHARLITE]

"Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

De-licing must have been a booming business back then.:)

[Straight Vermonter]

The average wage in the US was 22 cents an hour. The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

$0.22 x 2080hrs/year = $457.60

I guess they didn't work much.

[nopardons]

My grandmother turned 9,in 1904 and from "family stories",I can tell you that women in my family,not only washed their hair ore than once a month,but they used soap to wash it.

Not only did my great grandparents have a bathtub in their apartment,they had a working flush toilet...this was VERY rare at that time;even in Manhattan.

[ScottFromSpokane]

I always doubt unsourced lists like this.

[GAWnCA]

"$0.22 x 2080hrs/year = $457.60
I guess they didn't work much."

Did you ever stop to think, Most work was done on farms and outdoors, therefore you had to make the most of the weather. There was no such thing as a 2080 work year as there is today. In the summer work ran from before sun up until long after sundown. One other thing, $0.22 was a very good wage and more than likely not the norm. There was a lot of piece work and bartering labor for goods.

[RVN Airplane Driver]

Then a dozen eggs should cost over 3 dollars today....we have a bargain...eat more eggs..

[John Will]

MEs made more than doctors, wow.

[Jeff Chandler]

There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.

All the other stats are interesting, but this one, if true, is disturbing.

I doubt if it is accurate.

[Condor51]

There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.
I doubt if it is accurate.

---

Yeah me too.

However while searching for the REAL numbers I did find something interesting:

1967 -- The Chicago Teachers' Union was recognized by the Chicago Board of Education.

That explains the GOOD education I received in the Chicago Public schools -- I graduated HS in 1966!