What a Difference 100 Years Can Make
The year is 1902, one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes.
Here are the US Statistics for 1902.
1. The average life expectancy in the US was 47.
2. Only 14% of the homes in the US had a bathtub.
3. Only 8% of the homes had a telephone. A 3-minute call from Denver to
New York City cost $11.00.
4. There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved roads.
5. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
6. 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 populated state in the Union.
7. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
8. The average wage in the US was 22 cents an hour.
9. The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
10. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 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.
11. More than 95% of all births in the US took place at home.
12. 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."
13. Sugar cost 4 cents a pound. Eggs were 14 cents a dozen. Coffee cost
15 cents a pound.
14. Most women only washed their hair once a month and they used borax or
egg yolks for shampoo.
15. Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country
for any reason.
16. The five leading causes of death in the US were:
A. Pneumonia and influenza
B. Tuberculosis
C. Diarrhea
D. Heart disease
E. Stroke
17. The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii
and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
18. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was 60.
19. Crossword puzzles, canned beer and iced tea hadn't been invented.
20. There were no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
21. One in ten US adults could not read or write. Only 6% of all Americans
had graduated from high school.
22. 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."
23. Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time
servant or domestic.
24. There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US!
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