This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine!
The year is 1909.
Just over one hundred years ago.
What a difference a century plus makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1909 : ************ ********* ********* ******
The average life expectancy was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles
Of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph .
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.
The average 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 took place at HOME .
Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which Were condemned in the press AND 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.
The Five leading causes of death were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!!!!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea
Hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 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 the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'
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6 comments:
wow! the most stunning one for me was 47 as the average life expectancy. is that in the u.s.? i wonder what the breakdown was between the rich and the poor.
Let's hope the whole world doesn't turn out the way Las Vegas has! Gaaahhh ... when my parents were growing up there, the pop was about 5K ... by the time I was growing up there in the 1950's, the pop was still only about 100K ... today over 2million, half of which are living in foreclosed homes!
10 MPH ... hey if we go back to bicycle or solarpower cars, that sounds okay! and of course I need OTC Heroin for my acne ... RIGHT, Mistah Jones!
I was thinking in our lifetimes the changes we've seen:
Black & white tv to color
reel to reel recording
cassette recording
CD's
DVD
High Def
Cell phones
WOW....that's mind boggling. Those are some serious mind blowing numbers in the timespan of 100 years.
I found your blog incidentally via Enigma4ever because you commented on the death of Jon Swift. What a loss to our loosely linked blogging tribe.
I like your blog. Just watched the pill factory video...very amusing and true.
Welcome Shy Ann, yes it was sad news to hear of Jon Swift's passing.
Thanks for the blog compliment.... if you like sarcasm, you can often find it here.
I tried to check out your blog, but not one publicly listed?
Just wondering.
Thanks for visiting~ come again.
I have seen some changes in my own short lifetime. Who'd have thought we'd all be running around with our own personal communication devices like they did on Star Trek? I refer to cell phones and blackberries of course.
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