The US in 1908

[Dog]

THE YEAR 1908.

This will boggle your mind. I know it did mine!
The year is 1908.
One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1908 :
************ ********* ********* ******

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

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 1908 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. Diarrhoea
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 ice tea
Hadn't yet been invented.

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

Two out of every 10 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 pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.' ( Shocking?)

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. !

Now I forwarded this from someone else without typing
It myself, and sent it to you and others all over Canada & U.S.A
Possibly the world, in a matter of seconds!

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

   


        Do you know what happened this week back in 1850, 158 years ago?

     California became a state.
        The State had no electricity.
        The State had no money.
             Almost everyone spoke Spanish.
              There were gunfights in the streets.
            So basically, it was just like  California today; except the
            women had real breasts and the men didn't hold hands..

[Squirl]

Yeah makes you wonder how people called them the good old days. 

[John_C]

That's great Dog.  The year my father was born.  I would guess thing weren't any better in rural Ireland. The Irish revolution was just around the corner, and a potato famine or two.

[peternap]

That's interesting Dog, but needs to be taken in perspective.
Wages...I remember making 2.25 an hour, which was a darn good job then, and having more buying power tan when I made ten dollars an hour.

Even though they didn't have many cars, most people had a horse and carriage.

Doctors and lawyers, would read medicine or law. In fact, my father read law to take the bar and it is still allowable in Va. I think we may have turned out a better quality professional that way.

The number of adults that are functionally illiterate is still very high despite at least some high school.

Hard drugs are still easily available, they just cost more because of their illegal status.

While our lifespan now, is much longer, we are breeding superbugs and diseases like aids, that will eventually catch up with us.

Sending email and typing this post are amazing....but it has also allowed the government and nearly anyone else to look at every aspect of my life, within seconds of their request.

What will happen in 100 years, unknown. Technology does not travel in a straight line and we are burning up resources at an unbelievable pace.

We could be back to making flint tools. 

 

[Windpower]

these guys are predicting the US will look much like this in a few years


http://www.europe2020.org/spip.php?article586&lang=en

[Dog]

I live in an old house. I had a conversation yesterday with a woman who was born in it 90 years ago. I live in the center of a small town with a great deal of history, beautiful architecture and conservation land. Hearing her stories about the bath tub that was in our small kitchen, all the children born here and the large number of family members living in a small home, (it's duplex style which is nice because you have another family on the other side), the horse and buggies, how hard people worked, how tight money was, how people helped each other out, how the neighbors all knew each other.

She does feel like those were the good old days even though things were hard. Her father even sent money over to Sweden to help out his father.

I have to bring up the government because I'm so annoyed. I was feeling positive for a minute there 
No one was looking for a government handout back than! People worked hard and helped each other out. The government was in the business of keeping our country safe and this was the land of opportunity for hard working people. We weren't taxed to death and mandated to follow so many rules. I'm referring to  "fines" and "fees" to raise money.

Sympathy to the driver who was roaring along at 25mph in a 10mph zone.

That stuff is already ramped up good around here. You'll receive a GIANT ticket. Forget about disputing it.  I took time off and went to City Hall an tried. TWICE. Ended up with me and this arrogant cop before a judge. (cost me $20 bucks for this prvledge)Other "defendants" were making excuses. I confronted the cop head on because this was a clear speed trap situation. I had my peddle to the medal going 40 in a 30. ( un-posted btw) I saw them up head. Lights flashing on both sides of the street... Double speed trap 
Of course I took the foot off the gas. Jerk pulls me over. Hands me a $200 ticket for going 40. Actually throws it me. No power issues there...for about 2 months, 2 cops pulled as many cars over as possible and fined. I believe enough people spoke up. The road is now posted at 40mph. My point is be prepared and beware of traffic violations aimed at creating revenue. It can end up costing a lot in the end.

Peter, I completely see your point. The woman who I was speaking with had commented on how much more necessities cost these days compared to back than. I did say to her that it is all relative.

We have to make the best of the times we live in. I'd hate to only shampoo once a MONTH! I always wonder what the heck people smelled like back than...? 

[Squirl]

Due to technology we will never get back to those days.  We just have more information and infrastructure.  Penicillin alone will prevent us from a life expectancy of 47.

[Squirl]

The average wage was .22 per hour.  The minimum wage is 7.50 an hour.  The average price of eggs was .14 or 40 minutes of work.  The average price of eggs is 1.50 or 12 minutes of work at the minimum wage.

[Squirl]

I read this email a few years ago.  It got me to go to the doctor.  It reminded me of an exchange my father had with my grandfather.  My grandfather was yelling at my father to go to the doctor for an ear infection.  My father didn't want to go.  So he looked at my grandfather and said, "yeah, well what did they do in the old days?"
"They went deaf." My grandfather responded.
Fast forward.  I was very sick curled up in a ball on the floor.  I read this email a few days earlier. I though to myself what did they do in the old days.  They died.  I went to the doctor.

"Eighteen percent of households had at least
one full-time servant or domestic help." - Jim Crow laws were still in effect across much of the south.  This also shows the massive disparity of wealth.  There was almost no middle class. There was the very wealthy 18% and the very poor 80%.

I would rather live now.

[MountainDon]

Absolutely. I'd rather live today as well.



One thing to remember about that 47 years life expectancy... One reason life expectancy figures were low back then was due to the great numbers of children who died in infancy from childhood diseases we not don't worry about. Two or three deaths at an early age lowers the average quickly.

[Terry]

Absolutely. I'd rather live today as well.



One thing to remember about that 47 years life expectancy... One reason life expectancy figures were low back then was due to the great numbers of children who died in infancy from childhood diseases we not don't worry about. Two or three deaths at an early age lowers the average quickly.

Also, many women died in childbirth.

[considerations]

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

The operative word here is "reported".   

When I was very small, we didn't have indoor plumbing.  That was in the 1950's.

I was in Georgia in 1998, and there were residences in some of the rural areas that weren't plumbed.

There are a few places out this way that still aren't.   

Fascinating article, thank you for sharing it.

[ScottA]

There was a time when being well off meant you had enough food to eat.