THE YEAR 1905

THE YEAR 1905 (Full Version)

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Mercnbeth -> THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 8:20:19 AM)
This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1905. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 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 people, 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 per 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. 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 into their country for any reason. 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 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 U.S. 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. Back then pharmacist said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!) Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help. There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S. And I forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and posted it here in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. It staggers the mind.

RiotGirl -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 1:06:32 PM)
Wow... thanks for posting that - i loved it

michaelGA -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 1:21:33 PM)
sounds like someone had way too much time on their hands...i, personally, skipped history because i deamed it useless information and has no workable function in the workplace. also, there's nothing i can do to change what has already happened, thus i have no interest in it...but that's just me.

HayaSierra -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 1:48:45 PM)
Wow, that is indeed neat. We don't really tend to think about this very often -- because we were not around "back then". Makes me indeed wonder what things will be like in 100 years with as fast as things change in the areas of technology and advancement!

windy135 -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 1:54:59 PM)
Interesting, I believe history to be a very important part of my life. I love reading about the past. What happened? To whom? Why?. I love learning it all!!!

michaelGA -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 1:56:43 PM)
alrighty then

Tantalus42 -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 2:11:25 PM)
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Also in 1905... No child was required to stand up in this country and pledge his/her allegiance to an inanimate object in order to prove they were somehow a good and loyal citizen.

IrishMist -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 2:33:16 PM)
quote: i, personally, skipped history because i deamed it useless information and has no workable function in the workplace. also, there's nothing i can do to change what has already happened, thus i have no interest in it...but that's just me. Michael...How could you say that history is useless? Everything that is around us today, everything that happens today, tomorrow, and the next year...happens because it has a basis in HISTORY. EVERYTHING. Including YOU. Your birth, your childhood...everything is part of history...your history...and you are wrong about there being nothing that can be done....change only comes around because history teaches us lessons...lessons that we learn from.... Mercnbeth...thank you for such a wonderful post [:)]

GoddessDustyGold -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 6:13:03 PM)
Wonderfully entertaining and thought provoking. But I have come to expect no less from Mercnbeth, which I why I always head to those threads! I do have a question, though. Did anybody else catch this, and wonder why only 14% of American households had a bathtub, but 18% of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help? I love reading things like this. Makes Me think, and reminds Me to be grateful that I live in the time I do.

Tristan -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 6:28:32 PM)
Interesting. However, I'm a little skeptical about the 230 "reported" murder number. People tended to enjoy drink and fighting then, and without the medical care we now have, bleeding to death was far more common. I read an interesting book called "Devil in the White City" about a serial killer in Chicago during the world fair in the 1890s. If I remember the statistics correctly, there were hundreds of murders per year in Chicago alone mainly due to alcohol and fighting.

michaelGA -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 6:36:59 PM)
in light of the reactions i get for responding to some similar replies, i defer to silence in this matter

seaturtle50 -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 6:50:47 PM)
quote: wonder why only 14% of American households had a bathtub, but 18% of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help? To give sponge bath? [;)] st50

LaMalinche -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/4/2006 8:55:08 PM)
Some of the math doesn't add up. Eggs are 14 cents a dozen, but the average hourly wage is only 22 cents. Plus figuring a 40 hour workweek (In reality more like over 50), the average wage earned per year is $457.60 (at 52 weeks in a year - if you subtract 2 weeks vacation as unpaid, it is $450.00 a year) but this states that the average wage was between $200 - $400. However, until the studies done in the 1920's about hours worked, the typical workweek was 54 hours. The stat on litteracy and schooling does not seem correct either, only 6% graduate high school but only 20% are illiterate? Hmmm, we have as higher or higher rate today of functionally illiterate people, yet a much higher matriculation rate. I wonder if the illiteracy rate for the time was actually lower, say 10%, just that so many immigrants were not literate in English. As litteracy has went down in the US as the change in information media has went from print to spoken/seen? Two other changes should be mentioned: women could not vote, and 18 year olds could not vote. Also, taxes were paid yearly instead of deducted from the paycheck. Ah well, fun thoughts anyway. Best LaMalinche

Tristan -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/5/2006 8:21:34 AM)
As for 14% of American households having baths, I think that most cities had public bath houses that people were going to at least through the 1920s. My grandmother used to talk about going to the bath house and also buying ice for the "ice box". That would have been in the 1920s. My guess is that in 1905, many houses still had gas lighting, but by WWI, most houses in the cities had electric.

GoddessDustyGold -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/5/2006 1:12:33 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: LaMalinche The stat on litteracy and schooling does not seem correct either, only 6% graduate high school but only 20% are illiterate? Hmmm, we have as higher or higher rate today of functionally illiterate people, yet a much higher matriculation rate. I wonder if the illiteracy rate for the time was actually lower, say 10%, just that so many immigrants were not literate in English. As litteracy has went down in the US as the change in information media has went from print to spoken/seen? Sorry, but I just had to... Literacy Has gone (not has went) Not even worrying about mentioning punctuation or basic sentence structure here. I was considered quite literate by the time I was in the fourth grade. I could read and write. I did not have to graduate from high school to be literate. I just continued My education. My grandmother only went through the eighth grade and she was quite literate, in two languages, I might add. I would say that our educational system should be looked to regarding the rate of literacy. It is unfortunate that so many students are passed on without the ability to read and comprehend. Yet, the bar continues to be lowered. quote: ORIGINAL: seaturtle50 quote: wonder why only 14% of American households had a bathtub, but 18% of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help? To give sponge bath? [;)] st50 Now that makes perfect sense! Smile And Tristan is also right. I had forgotten about the fact that bath houses were a common business at that time. Still, I woul drather have the sponge bath. W

subfever -> RE: THE YEAR 1905 (2/5/2006 10:48:59 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Mercnbeth This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1905. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 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 people, 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 per 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. 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 into their country for any reason. 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 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 U.S. 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. Back then pharmacist said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!) Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help. There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S. And I forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and posted it here in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. It staggers the mind. And cocaine was still an ingredient in CocaCola!

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