Over A Century Ago
Here are some of the U.S. statistics for 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
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 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 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.
