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Subject: 100 Years ago > > > > > 100 YEARS AGO > > It May Be Hard to Believe > > > > > From a book called WHEN MY GRANDMOTHER WAS A CHILD > > by Leigh W. Rutledge, which begins, > "In the summer of 1900, when my grandmother was a child..." > > > > The average life expectancy in the United States was forty-seven. > > > > Only 14 percent of the homes in the United States 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 US and only 144 miles of paved > roads. > > > > The maximum speed limit in most cities was ten 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 U.S. was twenty-two 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 > > > $2500 per year, a veterinarian between $1500 and $4000 per year, and > a > > mechanical engineer about $5000 per year. > > > > More than 95 percent of all births in the United States 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 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 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. > > > > 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 U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all > > Americans had graduated from high school. > > > > Some medical authorities warned that professional seamstresses were > > apt to become sexually aroused by the steady rhythm, hour after >hour, > > > of the sewing machine's foot pedals. They recommended slipping > > bromide -- which was thought to diminish sexual desire -- into the > > woman's drinking water. > > > > 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. > > > > Coca-Cola contained cocaine instead of caffeine. > > > > Punch card data processing had recently been developed, and early > > predecessors of the modern computer were used for the first time by > > the government to help compile the 1900 census. > > > > Eighteen percent of households in the United States had at least one > > full-time servant or domestic. > > > > There were about 230 reported murders in the U.S. annually. >> > >> > Curtis L. Clark Library Media Specialist Sherwood MD/SR. High School P.O. 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