HOW
THINGS WERE DIFFERENT IN 1904
The average life expectancy in America was 47.
Only 14% of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
18% of American households had at least one full-time servant or
domestic.
Only 8% of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.
Sugar cost $0.04/pound. Eggs were $0.14/dozen. Coffee cost $0.15/pound.
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 populated state in the Union.
The average wage in the U.S. was $0.22/hour.
The average American worker made between $200-$400/year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000/year, a dentist
$2,500/year, a veterinarian between $1,500-$4,000/year, and a
mechanical engineer about $5,000/year.
More than 95% of all births in the U.S. took place at home.
90% 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."
The five leading causes of death in the US were:
- Pneumonia and influenza
- Tuberculosis
- Diarrhea
- Heart disease
- Stroke
The American flag had
45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii
and Alaska hadn't yet been admitted to the Union
The population
of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
One in ten
American adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6% of all
Americans had graduated from high school.
There were only
about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.
And here some more facts from 1904:
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
There were no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
Most women washed their hair only once a month and used borax or egg
yolks for shampoo.
Coca Cola contained cocaine.
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 the
bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country
for any reason.
|
