Hi Joan..... This may be 'sorta' off topic but nevertheless it is quite interesting............. Thanks for sending it....... Can you imagine not having a bathtub? Bunny ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joanne Perrier" <jperrier@humboldt1.com> To: <NEWGEN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2000 10:39 AM Subject: [NEWGEN] Off Topic......sorta > What a difference a century makes. > > In the summer of 1900... > > The average life expectancy in the United States was 47. > > Only 14% of the homes in the United States had a bathtub. > > Only 8% of the homes had a telephone, and most were party lines. > > A three minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11. > 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 populated 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 $2,000 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% of all births in the United States took place at > home. > > 90% 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 14 cents a dozen. > Coffee cost 15 cents a pound. > > Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or > egg yolks for shampoo. > > The five leading causes of death in the US were: > 1. Pneumonia and Influenza > 2. TB > 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. The remote desert > community was inhabited by only a handful of ranchers and their > families. > > Plutonium, insulin and antibiotics hadn't been discovered yet. > Scotch tape, crossword puzzles, canned beer and iced tea hadn't > been invented. > > There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day. > One in 10 US adults couldn't read or write. > Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from High School. > > Some medical authorities warned that professional seamstresses > were apt to become sexually aroused by the steady rhythm, hour > after hour, of the sewing machine's foot pedals. They recommended > slipping bromide, which was thought to diminish sexual desire, > into the women's drinking water. > > 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." > > 18% of households in the United States had at least one full time > servant or domestic. > > There were about 230 reported murders in the US annually. > > > > ==== NEWGEN Mailing List ==== > DON'T FORGET TO USE THE WORDS "THANK YOU" WHEN SOMEONE HAS DONE > YOU A FAVOR....ALSO WHEN SOMEONE HAS TRIED TO BE HELPFUL. >