Tuesday, December 29, 2009

100 YEARS AGO

As we close our 2009 I thought it would be fun to share this piece about 100 years ago.

1909 Ford Model R


THE YEAR 1909 - 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!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults wouldn't read or write and

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE ! U.S.A.!

Plus one more sad thought; 95 percent of the taxes we have now did not exist in 1909.

I received this in e-mail. It was sent to others all over the WORLD - all in a matter of seconds! I have re-typed it here on my blog and it will go all over blog land.

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. IT STAGGERS THE MIND.

post signature

11 comments:

Mari said...

Those statistics are just incredible! What a change in those years, some for the good, others - not so much.

Mary said...

Wow, that's cool! Still...glad I didn't live back then. I don't like the washing your hair once a month part (whether it needed it or not, right?).

Danny Wright said...

I wonder how many people then scoffed at scripture like this:

Rev 11:7-9
7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.
NIV

because they saw it as impossible.

retha said...

Interesting
more people had 'maids' than finished school. Oh and the hair I am so grateful for the time I live in.

Sharon said...

That was very interesting reading.
I did not like the hair one.
I want to wish you a Happy New Year.

Sandra said...

Didn't like the one about the hair either. I wonder if they had to use the borax soap dry to soak up all the oil in the hair. :)

Saija said...

good list for sure!
and i loved your cookie & snow pics too ... the cookies must have tasted great after all that snow clearing!

blessings on your 2010!

Debra said...

Wow! That was fun to read. Sometimes I wonder if we would be better off and things were the same. But I guess not or we would not be communicating right now. Truly, it does stagger the mind!

... said...

interesting facts and figures. it's hard to imagine a world like this.

Anonymous said...

Absoultely incredible what time brings!

Happy New Year, Susan!

Maxine said...

Oh, my!