posted November 26, 2004 11:02 PM         

Subject: the year is 1904

Year Is 1904 ..... one hundred years ago.... Very Interesting. Maybe this will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! What a difference a century makes!

Here are some of the U.S. statistics for 1904:

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 residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents an hour.

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. 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 was 4 cents a pound; Eggs,14 cents per doz; Coffee, 15 cents per pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.

The 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 30.

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

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

Two of 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated high school.

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 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.

There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.

... And I forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and sent it to all of you in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it could be like in another 100 years .. it staggers the mind.

Yeah, it really does!

posted November 27, 2004 01:58 PM         

It really is mind blowing. I was talking to LS about this in a string recently. She was telling me about her TIVO and what it can do, and all I could think was, "that's amazing!!" I was imagining what it will be like even just 10 years from now! The way technology is going now, everything is getting faster and better at lightning speed. I can't even imagine what will be going on another 100 years from now...............I also think we will be totally different human beings. Our third eyes will be open, along with our bodies operating totally different than they are now.

posted November 27, 2004 05:33 PM         

In 1917-1918, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 600,000 Americans and an estimated 40-50 million worldwide.

The average life expectancy was only 47 years. Most people didn't die of old age diseases...they didn't live long enough for them to develop...for the most part.

From what I've read, many Americans had never traveled more than 500 miles from where they were born and many more had never been out of the county in which they were born.

By comparison, we live pampered and exciting lives with a variety of jobs and entertainment that didn't even exist then.

So, I'll keep the 21 century and look forward to new developments in 2012.

posted November 27, 2004 07:47 PM         

Yeah give me the simple life too. A beach bungalow, instead of a penthouse, a Mercedes, instead of a Hummer, petunias, pansies and impatiens, instead of prize roses, a candle lite dinner for 2, instead of dinner at Dino's with the crowd and walks on the beach under the moon and stars, instead of a Hollywood party.