The Year 1909...

THE YEAR 1909

The year is 1909.

One hundred years ago.

What a difference a century makes!

Here are some statistics for the Year 1909:

* 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 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
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 that prohibited poor people from

entering their country for any reason.

* The American flag had 45 stars.

* 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 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. 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'.

* Eighteen percent of households had at least

one full-time servant or domestic help.

* There were only about 230 reported murders in

the entire country.

The five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

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

Silver...

I received this from my sister Krissy. I loved the message so I am posting it here. Thanks, sissy!...

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
- Malachi 3:3

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says:

"He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."