1906

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 7:32pm

This is for you Neddy!


The year is 1906.
One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1906 :
************************************

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 wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per 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. 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 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.
Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least
one full-time servant or dom estic help.

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

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 7:35pm

It's hard to imagine what the next 100 years has in store...

My grandparents were born around this time, and when I think of all the technological advances that they saw in their lifetime... It has to have been thriling for them!

From the first flight to a man on the moon. The mind boggles at it all.

[mominator]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 7:37pm

I just love reading things like this. Must be the frustrated history major in me.
Now one may wonder what will life be like in another 100 years?

Updated On: 6/27/06 at 07:37 PM

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 7:38pm

Flying cars perhaps?

[mominator]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 7:40pm

"Meet George Jetson!"

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 7:54pm

Oh, fun!

My great-grandmother was born in 1900 or 1901. (Yes, she lived through the earthquake!) She died several years ago, but this is still a fun read because she mentioned some of these things. :)

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 8:01pm

Thank You!

Wow that is bizzare.

My favorite is still that Diarrhea was one of the five leading causes of death.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 8:37pm

Totally tempted to go listen to Ragtime now.

[CanadianSnowbird]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 8:43pm

I love that the only thing mentioned about Canada is that we didn't allow poor people in. We're all such snobs up here :P

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 9:14pm

SweetQ, you forgot to mention that women wore ankle-length skirts and petticoats and very tight corsets.

The 20th Century must have been a wonderful time in which to come of age. Just compare the early 1900s (say 1906) to the late 1900s (say 1996) -- a big change! Now, think of what 2096 will be like. That is, if we make it that far.

Updated On: 6/27/06 at 09:14 PM

[meggsison]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 9:20pm

They should have the statistics for 2006 in there also. It would be cool to compare. Or I could just know what everything is now, that'd be cool too.

But wow, I wonder what the next 100 years will bring.

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 9:22pm

Do you think we will?

[hannahshule]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 9:24pm

I love that kind of stuff. I personally believe that I was born in the wrong generation...I would have loved to live around that time. (despite the hardships)

[iHeartMyGeek]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 9:55pm

So, I was really bored and decided to compare then to now. Unfortunately, the site I found only compared 1901 to 2001, but the stats are still interesting.

1901-The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.
2001-The average life expectancy in the U.S. is 70 years.

1901-Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
2001-95% of the homes in the U.S. have a bathtub.

1901-Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
2001-94% percent of the homes have a telephone

1901-A three-minute call from Denver to New York City
cost eleven dollars.
2001-A three-minute call from Denver to New York City costs fifteen cents.

1901-There are 22,000,000 cars in the U.S. and 2,400,000 miles of paged road.
2001There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles
of paved roads.

1901-The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
2001-The maximum speed limit In most cities is 55 mph.

1901-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.
2001-The most populated state is California and has almost five times as many people living there are the most populous state then, which was New York.

1901-The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower at 986’.
2001-The tallest structure in the world is the KTHI TV tower at 2063’.

1901-The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.
2001-The minimum wage is five and a half dollars, there around.

1901-The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
2001-The average U.S. worker makes $21,700 a year.

1901-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.
2001-Accountant-$75,000. Dentist-$118,000. Veterinarian-$63,000. Mechanical Engineer-$52,000.

1901-More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at HOME.
2001-Only 2 percent of all births in the U.S. take place at home.

1901-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 the government as "substandard."
2001-All doctors get a medical degree.

1901-Sugar cost four cents a pound.
2001-Sugar costs forty-nine cents a pound.

1901-Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
2001-Eggs cost 99 cents a dozen.

1901-Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
2001-Coffee costs $1.89 a pound.

1901-Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used
borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
2001-Most hygienic women wash their hair daily or bi-daily and use shampoo.

1901-Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from
entering into their country for any reason.
2001-Pretty much anyone can go to Canada.

1901-Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
2001-Five leading causes of death in the U.S. are:
1. Induced abortion.
2. Heart disease
3. Cancer
4. Pulmonary disease
5. Pneumonia and influenza

1901-The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!!
2001-The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, is 404,288

1901-Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.
2001-only about 5% less, actually.

1901-Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
2001-82% of Americans are high-school graduates.

1901-Morphine, cocaine, and heroin were sold over-the-counter.
2001-They are now illegal, though still widely used.

http://www.e-scoutcraft.com/activities/last_century.html

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 9:57pm

"1901-There are 22,000,000 cars in the U.S. and 2,400,000 miles of paged road.
2001There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles
of paved roads."

I think someone might have mixed these up

[iHeartMyGeek]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 10:03pm

Lol, oopsie.

Well hey, I work on the thing for half an hour, there's bound to be a mistake somewhere!

[wexy]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 10:07pm

It was the year of the all Chicago World Series.
The White Sox nicknamed "The Hitless Wonders." upset the favored Cubs.

[Kringas]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 10:10pm

2001-Five leading causes of death in the U.S. are:
1. Induced abortion

Huh?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 1:02am

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

That's not correct. Iced tea was being served before 1906. In fact, it was very popular at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 9:26am

Kringas--I thought the same thing.

Are they speaking of the mother, or the unborn fetus?

Is this a little pro-life, or pro-choice item?

EDIT: In that case, I nominate politics as the number one killer in America!

Updated On: 6/28/06 at 09:26 AM