A Slice of Life in 1905
What a difference a century makes! Here are
some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1905:
- The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47
years.
- Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. 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 U.S., 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 people, California was
only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
- The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel
Tower!
- The average U.S. 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 U.S.
took place at home.
- Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college
education. Instead, they attended so-called
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 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 in the U.S. were: (1)
Pneumonia and influenza (2) Tuberculosis (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 only
30!!!
- Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea
hadn't been invented yet.
- There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
- Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or
write.
- 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 pharmacist 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 in the U.S. had
at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the
entire U.S.
- And I forwarded this from someone else without
typing it myself, and sent it to you in a matter
of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in
another 100 years.
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