wonderful fun facts...thanks wprice -----Original Message----- From: Anna Price <AnnaPrice@ndp.com> To: TXWILLIA-L@rootsweb.com <TXWILLIA-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 4:04 PM Subject: [TXWILLIA] fun facts about 1900s >i thought this might be fun as you shake the leaves of your family tree! > > >>Fun Reading! anad maybe some interesting facts, too. >> > >> >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. >> > >> >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. >Texas is neither Southern nor Western. Texas is Texas >Anna Houston Price, FLMI, ACS >FiServ NDP - Client Services >Off: 512-345-1922 > >