At the turn of the 20th century, 1901, one in ten American's couldn't read or write. At the turn of the 21st century five in ten Americans can't read or write, nor add or subtract. Progress
Some of us may remember some things close to these
itemized stats and most of us realize the amazing
changes, which occurred during the 20th Century,
but the contrasts of what was in 1901 as opposed
to what is in 2001 are awesome.
Now that the 21st Century has finally arrived, it
might be fun to look back at the beginning of the
last century and see what it was like. Read on!
The average life expectancy in the United States
was 47.
Only 14% of the homes in the United States had a
bathtub.
Only 8% 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 US and 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 twenty-first most populous State in the
Union.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel
Tower.
The average wage in the US was twenty-two cents an
hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400
per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000
per year, a dentist $2500 per year, a veterinarian
between $1500 and $4000 per year and a mechanical
engineer about $5000 per year.
More than 95% of all births in the United States
took place at home.
Ninety percent of all US 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 cost 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, either as
travelers or immigrants.
The five leading causes of death in the US 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.
Drive-by-shootings -- in which teenage boys
galloped down the street on horses and started
randomly shooting at houses, carriages, or
anything else that caught their fancy -- were an
ongoing problem in Denver and other cities in the
West.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was thirty.
The remote desert community was inhabited by only
a handful of ranchers and their families.
Plutonium, insulin, and antibiotics hadn't been
discovered yet.
Scotch tape, crossword puzzles, canned beer and
iced tea hadn't been invented.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
One in ten US adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high
school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available
over the counter at corner drugstores. |
