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What The Us Was Like 100 Years Ago!


twiSSSted

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Maybe this will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1905 one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!

 

Here are some of the U.S. statistics for 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 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 residents, 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 an 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 $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. physicians had no college education.

 

Instead, they attended 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 prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.

 

The 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 30!!!

 

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.

 

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

 

Two of 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.

 

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated high school.

 

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 bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!)

 

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

 

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

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Maybe this will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1905 one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!

 

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

 

Two of 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.

 

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated high school.

These ARE staggering statistics! Today...

 

Five of 10 U.S. adults can't read or write.

 

Only 4 percent of all Americans graduate high school.

 

:jester:

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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 bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!)

 

 

 

Who needs alcohol? :jester:

Edited by twiSSSted (see edit history)
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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 bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!)

 

post-2901-1255635168_thumb.jpg

 

this was sold by the company now known for Bayer aspirin

 

:seeya:

 

 

nothing has changed...this use to be a 150 lb. Rottweiler :eek:

 

post-2901-1255636169_thumb.jpg

Edited by desrtrat (see edit history)
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Some pretty good information there. Although I did find one error, Iced tea. Two cookbooks, "Buckeye Cookbook" published in 1876, and "Housekeeping in Old Virgina" published in 1877 had recipies for Iced tea. Also it was common to see Iced tea during the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

 

One tidbit of info The US started construction of the Panama Canal in 1905.

 

:flag:

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