THE YEAR 1905:
One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!
Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1905 from the United States Bureau of the Census:
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. Several states were giving favorable consideration to requiring license plates and driver's licenses for anyone who wished to own/operate one of these machines. Plates and licenses for machines were still mostly optional things, but the fact that there had been some 'hit and run' accidents unsolved was leading the various states (all 45 of them) to think strongly about regulation. Many citizens protested that such requirements would be an 'invasion of their privacy'.
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 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 $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 using Borax soap or egg yolks.
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 or other problems with the bowels; 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. Indian Territory (which is to say, Oklahoma) would come along later that year; Arizona and New Mexico would not become states until 1912.
While Chicago had the reputation of rail capital and hog butcher of the USA, and Salt Lake City, Utah had the monicker of 'crossroads of the west' for about a decade (since the 1890's) when Utah had become a state rather than the Mormon territory of Deseret, and the oil capitol of the world was Tulsa, Indian Territory, but not many folks lived in the desert, so the population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30 people!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced 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. Illiteracy was more common in southern states and rural areas. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school, which was considered an institution of higher education. About 1 percent had graduated from a college or university.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists were permitted to prescribe these things and said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, aides in moving the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!) Marijuana was perfectly legal and was also considered to be of great medicinal help.
Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help. Dinner usually was an 'elegant' hour-long affair at which the entire family would gather to eat.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S. that year, and five deaths which were of questionable circumstances (that is, if they were or were not murders). Most Americans possessed a weapon and were trained in its use.
Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years, in 2105. It staggers the mind.