1902 - 2002
The year is 1902,
only 100 years ago. . . .but what a difference one century makes.
The average life expectancy in the US was forty-seven. (Wow)
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. (You're kidding!)
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. Cholera (mostly
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.
Eighteen percent of
households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the US.
THOSE WERE THE DAYS !!!??