100 Years Ago...

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Solid Lifters

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...the year is 1904 ... one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! 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.

Although the first heavier than air flight had taken place mid-December 1903, all powers that be in science, government and the common man did not believe it.

And, this item came to me from someone else without their typing it and it was posted here in a matter of seconds!

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years ... it staggers the mind.
 
Wow, pretty amazing stuff. 👍 I don't think 99% of the people today would survive in 1904.
 
You should change the thread title to "101 years ago"... :rolleyes:
 
Diarrhea kills? How? Just losing so many fluids and needed substances at once or what?

When doing a report on The War Against drugs, it seemed a lot of what are now illegal drugs were once considered miracle drugs. Pretty strange, eh?

Also, Event, why would it be 99 years ago? I could see your point if you said 101 years ago.
 
Event Horizon
You should change the thread title to "99 years ago"... :rolleyes:
Well, you see Horizon, the year has to end in order for it to count. You can't compare the year of 2004 with facts about 1904 until it has ended. Facts of 1904 were taken after it had ended, and so likewise with 2004. 1904 to 2004, which now have both ended, equals 100 years. It ain't that hard if you think about it.
 
Very interesting facts about 1904... Eggs were expensive!
 
Amazing statistics! Really shows how far society has advanced in such a relatively short time period.
 
Blake
Probably not :lol:

Makes you think though - if 2 of 10 US adults were illiterate and only 6% of the population graduated, how did the US become the country it is today?

The same most likely goes for every first-world country on Earth.
 
Wow. I was too tired last night... :banghead: Work sucked ass....
 

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