Model R Ford 1909Always indebted and inspired by GA, she kindly forwarded yet another interesting email, which this time offers an interesting historical perspective on life in the United States 101 years ago.
The year is 1909, now one hundred years ago. And what a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1909 :
The average life expectancy was 47 years.
Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.
The average 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 took place at home.
Ninety percent of all 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 were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and 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,regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help..
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire US
95 percent of the taxes we have now did not exist in 1909
100 years is but a spec of time...yet life with motor vehicles is what we consider to be "the world as it should be" esp in North America. We seem so bent on the idea that progress is economic growth...what happens to the 6-8? billion of us when it all comes to grinding halt? I'd like to see some stats on oil and gas production 100 years ago compared to 2010...and while your at it Aubs...do some research into how dependent the avg person in a "developed" country on anything related to fossil fuels. ie...the power to send this message..the equip I'm writing it on...the lights on in this room...the plastic desk..the plastic coffee cup lid....etc...You know what I mean? Seems to me that if you look back a 100 years....maybe 1 percent of our goods would have been petroleum related??? Now get to work on that for me will ya?
ReplyDeleteAubs is putting to bed his dissertation. Good idea,but i will be unavailable to pursue this at this moment in time. Please feel free to make a start on this yourself and let me know how you get on. xx
ReplyDeleteslacker :)
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