EMAIL: THE YEAR 1904
My responses are in Italics
"The more things change - the more they remain the same".
The average life expectancy in the US was 47-years.
Insurance company records (that go back 150+ years) show that anyone reaching the age of 50 in the year 1904 could expect to live another 25+ years (about the same as today). What kept the 'life expectancy' level so low at that time was infant mortality and the lack of safety regulations in the work place. It is interesting to note that many Native Americans (with the exception of alcoholics) and residents of Puerto Rico had the highest 'life expectancy' of any ethnic or race groups at that time. However - as soon as the 'civilized foods' such as sugar, flour, and other refined carbohydrates became a regular part of their diet, their 'life expectancy' fell way down to the level the rest of us enjoy. They became 'modern civilized people', with diabetes, arterial sclerosis, acid reflux, etc. Hey - but the Natives hooked us on tobacco! OK - nobody wins!
Only 14% of the homes in the US had a bath tub.
Does that mean they had less bath tub accidents? What we had in 1904 was open ditches and sewerage systems that dumped everything raw into our rivers and lakes - a far greater health hazard then splashing around the wash tub in the back yard every Spring!
Only 8% of the homes had a telephone. A 3-minute call from Denver
to New York City cost $11.00!
A normal household today has the cable tv, DSL computer modem, a couple cell phones, a beeper service, and the old land line phone too. Let's see - with pro-rating the investment into the computer, phones, tv, and adding that to the cost of the services and individual charges, that comes to about $300-$400 a month. Oh ya - we are coming out a lot cheaper today!
There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144-miles of paved roads.
The problem we have today is bad drivers and terrible road maintenance, so there is still only 8,000 cars and 144 miles of paved roads that are un-damaged!
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
On South Florida's freeways that is still the average speed during the 12 hour 'rush hour'!
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 populous state in the Union.
The census back then only counted white heterosexual males over 21. Now that they count everyone - sure California is at the top. And California still only has 1.4 million white heterosexual males! Nothing has changed.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower in France.
Must have been a Frenchman that wrote this flawed piece of work.
The average wage in the US was 22-cents an hour.
Most the population worked and lived in rural areas, so they either worked for themselves (un-reported income) or were paid with part of the production (food stuffs). But comparing what you could buy with 22 cents in 1904 to what you could buy with today's minimum wage - nothing has changed.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
Read my above statement
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 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.
That money supported as good a life style for those professions in those days as it does today - with a lot less stress. There was not that many 'toys' to buy then either. And you need to factor in today's expenses for a 'shrink' - an expense they did without in 1904, due to the way they lived.
More than 95% of all births in the US took place at home.
Most lived on the farm, far from doctors or hospitals - the mother would be working around the farm again after two days rest. Okay - this one has changed.
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."
Modern medical schools are supported by today's 'snake oil' salesmen - the pharmaceutical companies that heavily influence the school's curriculum. Any wonder why our overall health has not improved in 100 years? And the US health system is considered sub-standard by many of the other so called advanced nations. I guess those countries do not have the right mix of government lobbyists, ambulance chasers, and greedy drug companies.
Sugar cost 4-cents a pound. Eggs were 14-cents a dozen.
That is about how much of your tax money is being spent by congress to subsidize the producers of those products today. Now that is progress?
Most women only washed their hair once a month and used Borax or
egg yolks for shampoo.
Still the best shampoo for freshness and protein. Try it!
The five leading causes of death in the US were [in order of frequency]:
1.Pneumonia and Influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5.Stroke
With the advent of the modern diet of refined sugars and starches (and with doctors using 'snake oil' to mask symptoms) - we have only managed to invert the order of disease on that list.
The American flag had 45-stars, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico,
Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
This might have been a conspiracy to make us get rid of the old flags and buy new ones. The 'flag lobby' needs to put more pressure on congress to allow in the territories of Samoa, Guam, the Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. They can do it one territory at a time over the next twenty years to keep up sales - a well known marketing strategy. Canada and Mexico will be ready for incorporation after that.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
That number is now the average age of the residents of Vegas AND the average amount of dollars left in the pockets of departing tourists from that city.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented
yet.
What a boon to civilization those three have been!
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Commercialism expands with literacy and the ability to market - communications have been hijacked by salespeople!
One in ten US adults could not read or write.
Present day literacy and the desire to read or write (most would rather watch tv) leaves us with about the same numbers - 10%.
Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.
The majority of today's high school grads are merely 'processed through the system'. That does not mean they have 'a high school education'.
Marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available over the counter
at corner drug stores. 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."
OK - so now you have to buy that stuff UNDER the counter.
Eighteen percent of all households in the US had at least one
full-time servant or domestic.
That number looks about right for today's households - especially in border states (CA, NM, AZ, TX) where illegal wet-back help is readily available. U.S. territories like Guam and Puerto Rico have millions of people on U.S. welfare. Those residents use your tax dollars to pay for servants brought in from the Philippines for Guam & Saipan, and the Dominican Republic for Puerto Rico. This is another form of 'Foreign Aid', because those illegals send home so much of your tax money that they get from our welfare recipient citizens. So the money really is doing some good - in a round-about way. That other un-official 'Foreign Aid' - the huge amount of drug money sent overseas, will continue as long as the value of drugs is kept over-inflated by the 'War on Drugs'. Unfortunately this aid money is basically used to make governments unstable in South America and Asia.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire US.
There is only about that many ‘regular’ murders now - if you take out the drug related murders created by the 'War on Drugs', the 'car rage' shooting from people wanting to go over 10 mph, and the family shooting over the remote.
Like I said - the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Brian the Heretic
30 Nov '04