PDA

View Full Version : What a difference a century makes


02-27-2002, 04:21 AM
This was emailed to me, so I can't vouch for it. Maybe Vince, Oz, or Old Man Ciaffone can give us a feel for what it was like in the old days.


The year is 1902, one hundred years ago ... what a difference a century

makes.


The average life expectancy in the US was forty-seven.


Only 14 Percent of the homes in the US 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 US 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 US was 22 cents an hour. The average US 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 US took place at home.


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."


Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee cost 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 US 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 were no Mother's Day or Father's Day.


One in ten US 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 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."


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


There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.

02-27-2002, 11:12 AM
the average life expectancy was so low because a lot of babies didnt make it past their first year, and children died of diseases.


ive actually heard that life expectancy once you get to be about 15 or 20 years old has been pretty constant since (here i forget, it was like 1850 or 1900 or something, maybe even farther back, i think the point was that once you accounted for this(early deaths), better sanitation accounted for almost all life expectancy increases ).


brad

02-27-2002, 12:48 PM
"One in ten US adults couldn't read or write."


We've made gigantic strides here. In only 100 years we'ver reduced the national adult illiteracy rate from 10% to only 9%, according to the 1993 National Adult Literacy Survey (9% of adults are "functionally" illiterate, half of these are "totally" illiterate, revised report).


According to the World Bank, 54% of adults in lesser developed countries are illiterate, women have much higher rates.


But, hey, canned beer. The miracle of the invisible hand!

02-27-2002, 01:08 PM
Great post. Women washing their hair only once a month and death by diarrhea are the ones that frighten me. i've women like that and have gone through some nights where that kind of death seemed imminent (and desirable).


"More than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at home."


The first American president born in a hospital was Jimmy Carter. I would have thought families with money, like the Roosevelts or the Kennedys, would have opted for hospital births, but I guess using their own medical people and midwives at home was preferable.

02-27-2002, 06:57 PM
I'm a history student doing my thesis on the post Cold War/pre alien invasion era and came across this thread. So, I thought I'd travel back in time and give you some future tid-bits. Here are what things are like 100 years in your future- the year 2202.


The average life expectancy in what used to be the United States is 93.


32 percent of the homes have a sonic shower. 67%+ have an antiquated water shower/bathtub system.


Telephones no longer exist. Although, similar communication devices in what you would call computers are used. Technically, computers no longer exist either.


Motor vehicles are still the most common form of individually owned transprotation. And, is still the preferred setting for teenage mating rituals.


Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, Tennessee, and California are now individual nation states but are now part of a larger unified alliance consisting of North America, South America, and Europe.


The tallest structure in the world is the Interplanetary Embassy in Atlanta.


The average wage of Alliance citizens is $6.70 Alliance Dollars. Adjusted for inflation, this would be a 3.4% decline in wages compared to your time.


More than 98% of all births take place in Genetic Conditioning Centers.


Most physicians are required to complete at least four years of post-graduate medical education and six years of post-graduate legal education.


Sugar and coffee have become massive off-planet exports. Egg comsumption has dramatically dropped.


It has become fasionable for women to shave all their body hair, including their head hair.


Canada no longer exists as a nation state.


The five leading causes of death in the Alliance are:


1. Orion viral infections


2. Sexually transmitted diseases


3. Natual causes


4. Heart disease


5. Cancer caused by radiation


The American flag is now used as a symbol of protest at anti-Alliance demonstrations.


The population of the Greater Las Vegas area is in excess of 19,000,000. It is one of the 10 most populous regions in the Alliance.


Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea are still commonplace.


Mother's Day and Father's Day are not officially recognized holidays.


3% of adults are functionally illiterate. The equivalent of a high school education is required by the state.


Marijuana, heroin, and morphine are all available through state run facilities.


11% of households in the Alliance have at least one full-time servant or domestic.


There were no murders according to official Alliance agencies.

02-27-2002, 09:15 PM
death by diarrhea...


To make it worse, I think 1902 was pre-Charmin.

02-27-2002, 11:02 PM
nm

02-28-2002, 04:06 AM
I think this speaks to human nature more than our society in particular. It's not like it's that hard to learn how to read if you have ANY desire or even the dimmest spark of intelligence. It's not like the opportunity to learn how to read is kept only for the elite.


The 9% is probably a steady rate accounted for by abject morons, the totally lazy, and the handicapped and thus won't ever change.


natedogg

02-28-2002, 11:51 AM
"It's not like it's that hard to learn how to read if you have ANY desire or even the dimmest spark of intelligence."


Of the people that studied a foreign language in high school or college, how many do you suppose can read that language?

02-28-2002, 11:57 AM
Are you saying the literacy rates are the English literacy rates? What a biased stat!


Anyway, in that case, the 9% also takes into account the high levels of immigration america practics and will likely continue to practice. Because lots of people come here who have never seen or heard or read a word of english, but are just fine with Korean or Latvian. The immigrations rates were also high a century ago so that would help explain the steady rate.


I still think most of the reason for a flat rate of "illiteracy" (however we define it) is due to the steady rate of morons, the totally lazy, and outright handicapped.


natedogg

02-28-2002, 12:53 PM
It's funny, just this morning I was thinking back to an article in a kids magazine I read in the 70's, that predicted cable tv and pay-per-view.


I remember thinking that cable tv was a concept I could grasp, but using the tv to TRANSMIT an order? NAHHHH!


If you told me then what the internet would be like today, and how digital cameras would make Fotomat obsolete, I'm sure you would've been locked away for even DREAMING stuff like that.


Bobby