This is basically an email I received, but I thought it was worth sharing to show how different life is now from a mere 100 years ago. For instance, did you know that in 1909 the average life expectancy was 47 years?
Other things that were different 100 years ago were:
- Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub. (I can attest to this. When I bought my house 15 years ago, the only bathroom was an outhouse).
- 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 average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour. (huh?)
- The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year, though 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.
- More than 95 percent of all births took place at home.
- Ninety percent of all doctors had no college education.
- 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.
- 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 was only 30.
- Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
- Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
- Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
- There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.A.
And now, here I am "blogging" on a computer that has doubled in memory and decreased in size in the last two years. I can't imagine where we'll be in another 100 years!
2 comments:
How very interesting Jessica !
Sounds like a time I'd like to have lived in.
Me too! I think we were a lot stronger back then - physically, emotionally and morally.
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