Posted on 11/26/2002 1:40:09 PM PST by Fiddlstix
Very interesting 100 years
The year is 1902, one hundred years ago ...Here are some U.S. statistics for 1902:
- The average life expectancy in the US was forty-seven (47).
- Only 14 Percent of the homes in the US had a bathtub.
- There was no birth control
- 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 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 in Paris,France.
- 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, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
- More than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at home.
- Ninety 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."
- Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee cost 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 were no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
- One in ten US 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 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."
- Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
- There were only 230 reported murders in the entire US.
....What a difference a century makes.
Yes. That is correct, in a sense
Times were much different back then. The word Literate also had a much different meaning. My Grandmother had a 6th grade "education". My Grandfather (her husband) had an 8th grade education. (Those Grandparents were on my Mothers side of the family)
Neither of them were considered "Literate" by the standards of those days. Yet, (And I do remember very well) they were both very "well read" people.
By todays standards, they might well be college professors.
Now, as far as my own parents were concerned......
My Mom & Dad both "graduated" high school at the 10th grade level.
I remember my Mom talking about how, only 2 years after she graduated high school that it became 11 years till matriculation and then just a little over 1 year later it became the 12 years which we still have even until this day
The word "Literate" back then did really mean a "man of letters". Almost everyone could "read & write". (It was all they had..... there was no "Radio, Movies, TV, computers, etc.)
But
Being "Literate" back then meant "Not having to go to a Dictionary" to "look up" a word.
It was a different time & place.
My Grandfather on my fathers side had only a 4th grade education and yet read much. It is remembered that he would read several publications and then go down to the old "barber shop" and "quote word for word" what he had read and then engage the others in discussion.
(He was in his '80's at the time)
God Bless
OK...I read something about this that made a lot of sense...
Child deaths were crazy high back then. Children dying at birth and shortly thereafter skewed the average age down by a LOT! Once a person made it past 4 (Or something like that), the average age was around 65...
So basically, it's not that we're keep ourselves alive that much longer, we've just figured-out how to keep our babies alive in the first place.
I had never thought of that...It gave the subject a lot of Prospective.
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
I'm sorry...That's just NOT right!!
Indeed, you make a very good point
I, myself, had my first "real job" back in 1958. I was paid $0.25 per hour (and Glad to get it)
I paid $0.10 for Gasoline. I could go to the "old A&W drive in" and eat & drink (soft drinks) all I wanted to for $0.15 to $0.40 (depending if I wanted to be a Real "Big Spender)
Times have surely changed
(Within my short time span on this old earth)
A lot of truth in that.....
To "make" 15 miles a day was "High Speed" back in those times
I believe Dean Kamen's new invention, the modified Stirling engine that will produce purified water as a by product, will be a God-send to Millions of people in the third world.
Also a Very Good Point
Back in thise days, almost anyone who "made it" beyond their 12-13 birthday had a reasonably good chance to survive 'till 70-80 years of age.
It was the very high infant mortality rate that made the averages stay low
You must remember, we are talking about a whole 'nother period of history
nothing like we now know it
----------------------
That was the famous 1918 flu epidemic that killed hundreds of thousands or millions.
I'm a real young pup, 32, but I'm very aware of our "Real Living Costs" and how they compare. When someone get nostalgic and says "Gas was only 10 cents a gallon back then!" I remind them that they only got 30 cents an hour pay back then, too.
Look at your example. Let's increase your pay to $8.00 an hour, not a bad wage for someone starting off today in a reasonable market. Now let's increase your gas by the same ratio. $3.20 a gallon. Hmmm. Ok, now a fast food joint after work. $4.80 on the low end, $12.80 as a big spender. That's a little high for a extra-value meal from a fast food place, and about right for a sit down meal at a "neighborhood" type joint (Applebys, Fridays, etc) on the high end. Not somewhere you would eat at a lot on $8.00 an hour, but a nice date place.
Indeed, the good old days had a lot to look back on with wistful thoughts of what was, but we are living in a pretty blessed society today if we think about it.
None other than an Email which I received and Posted here as entertainment.
I should like to say this......
While I, myself, might question one or two statements in said Email......
From personal experience (As an older person), I can say most of these statements are reasonably correct
-------------------------------
It's probably right Diarrhea is caused by a large number of diseases that weren't understood or named as yet.
I'm Sorry Too!
Your youth and inexperience are showing, Johnny
(Put a "sock" in it)
Why the person who sent me this Email chose to use the word Diarrhea, I don't know
I do know this.........
Back when I was a kid we didn't even use that term. We called it, "having the scrowers" or "south texas dysentary"
There are many things that can cause Diarrhea such as Typhoid and others
Don't try to tell me that Nobody can "Die" from "losing too much body fluids....Not 'till you;ve seen it, baby boy!
(And please refrain from using BOLD type)
(I don't like to be Hollered at)
Thank You
They ought to reinstate that law.
My comment, as I am sure is understood by anyone else reading it, meant...
"Dying of Diarrhea must be horrible...Dying that way is just NOT right!"
SO RELAX!!!.
If it weren't for government subsidies, the relative cost for food would be even less.
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