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The Year That Was - 1904

The year was 1904 ... one hundred years ago. What a difference a century can make.  Here are some of the statistics for 1904:

1. The average life expectancy in the US was 47 years.
2. Only 14 percent of the homes in the US had a bathtub.
3. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
4. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
5. 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.
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 populous 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.  (Making that $11 phone call very expensive.)
10. 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.
11. More than 95 percent 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 four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
14. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
15. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
16. Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.
17. The five leading causes of death in the US were:
    1. Pneumonia and influenza
    2. Tuberculosis
    3. Diarrhea
    4. Heart disease
    5. Stroke
18. The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska had not yet been admitted to the Union.
19. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
20. Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea had not yet been invented.
21. There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
22. Two of 10 US adults could not read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated high school.
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.

What may it be like in another 100 years?

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Print | posted on Thursday, August 05, 2004 7:13 AM | Filed Under [ Humor and Fun ]