Subject: Re: 100 years > > > > > > 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. > > > > 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. > >