Ask yourself that question before embarking on this little piece sent to me today. What a difference 100 years makes, my dears.
THE YEAR 1907
This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine!
The year is 1907.
One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some of the U.S. Statistics for the Year 1907:
************************************
The average life expectancy in the U.S. Was 47
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 eleven dollars.
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 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist made $2,500 per year,
A veterinarian $1,500 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 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 pharmacists
Said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,
Regul! ates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian
Of health.”
There were about 230 reported Murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!
Now I sent it to you and others all over the United States,
Possibly the world, in a matter of just Seconds !!! !!!!!!
PASS THIS ALONG!!!!!
Just Try to imagine…..
What it may be like ….
In another 100 years !!!!!!!
IT STAGGERS THE MIND !!
I recently turned 50, and as a result of that I’ve been noticing how much things have changed in my measly little lifetime. Nurses don’t wear caps anymore. There’s no such thing as TV going off the airwaves late at night (as Lenny Williams sang in one of his laments to a lost love from the 80s). People used to dress up to go to a casino. If a woman showed up in church wearing pants and no hat it powered up the gossip mill. You had to physically get up to change the TV channel. You had to physically roll car windows up and down. You had to find a pay phone if you needed to call home. The average iron weighed about 10 lbs. And let’s not talk about the price of gas.
I spoke last year at my aunt’s 90th birthday party, and part of my speech addressed the massive changes that have occurred in American life. She was here before the invention of plastic, penicillin, and the PC. My father, who passed away in 1999 and who would be 96 years old now, remembered when there were more horses and buggies on the streets than automobiles, and often marveled at the progress man had made. He stayed active with new technology, surfing the Internet regularly.
The speed of technology is moving faster and faster. If you think things have changed in the last fifty years, just imagine how life will be like for our grandchildren!
Hey Bettye,
You remind me of quite a few “truths” about the past. I can only imagine what it will be like 100 years from now. Thankfully, I won’t be around to see it. LOL
All the best,
Dee
This was a facinating post. I can’t imagine the next one hundred years. Just like those before us could have never guess that one day houses could cost what they do. I believe my grandmother paid something like 23,500 for her house.