Thread: Wow! What a "100 Years Can Do"

The year is 1905. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!

Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1905:

* The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.

* Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.

* Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

* A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.

* There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., 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 people, 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 U.S. was 22 cents per hour.

* The average U.S. worker made between $200-$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 U.S. took place at home.

* Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education. Instead, they attended so-called 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 that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

* Five leading causes of death in the U.S. 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 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 U.S. 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 pharmacist said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.”

* Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

* There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

It staggers the mind.