In 1905 ............

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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 and only 144 miles of paved roads in the U.S.

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 $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.

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 washed their hair only once a month, and they 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 iced tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every ten 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 a 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.

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years!
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Don't know if this was humor, but it sure was entertaining !!
P.B.
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Wow - my house was built in 1906! Happy birthday to my house.
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We have had three women in our family die in the last 4 years who were all over 100 years old - I was always amazed that they stayed sane with all the change in their lifetimes...amazing, eh?

Scott
 
You know, while I am used to these cool things, I am in awe, and frankly, don't take them for granted.
I spend a lot if time in museums though, so maybe some of us just appreciate these things?
Happy belated b-day to your house too!

Scott
 
Most people now gripe if they can't find spot to park within 50 ft of a store.

Obesity is now rampant.

There are how many medicines to make willy stand?

Heart Disease is still a major killer and cancer has moved in.

We still haven't figured out that sticking with moral code binds a society together.

Still gotta clean the toilet, the house will need painting and those fancy non-clog gutters are out of reach to the average guy. Some stuff never changes!
 
ScotB and Papa Bear: My house was also built in 1906. Great vintage for homes! The original claw-foot tub had a manufacture date of Oct 15, 1905 on it we found when renovating the bathroom - still have the tub.
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Pablo: "Most people now gripe if they can't find spot to park within 50 ft of a store.

Obesity is now rampant."

Connection??? I don't get the whole circling and holding for the "best parking spot". People talk about it like parking ten feet closer to the door is a symbol of status.
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I love it when I park well away from the store and make it to the door before somebody sitting there waiting for the prime spot to open up. Fewer dings on the door too.
 
Every now and then I park in a prime store frontage parking place. The other day I was trying to back out and someone got right on my bumper to make sure no one else got the space first. Well, I couldn't back my car out without hitting that vehicle. I finally had to get out of my car and go back into the store before they would leave.
 
Mormit: We reconditioned our 5" clawfoot too! It's beautiful. The porcelain is almost 100% perfect - we got it for $75! Too bad I had spend ~$2200 on new hardware - but well worth it.

We are trying to think of a nice plaque to have made for the front of the house - we live in an historic district in Pasadena and this is one of the oldest ones on the block.

Glad to hear of others in the same situation - those that buy new, drywall monstrosities with particle board stairs don't get the beauty of the old homes.

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Scott
 
mormit...same here. Our upsairs bathroom we kept as an original setting with cast iron clawfoot tub and pedestal sink. We sprayed the tub exterior in "dusty rose" with gold claws, bone color interior surface. I love the old original doors in every room with the brass knobs.
P.B.
 
PB: ours is a nice turquoise on the outside with beautiful chrome hardware and nickel-plated claws.
Isn't the old stuff grand?
I have to say though that we have lived for 10 years here and finally are getting central heat/AC!
The house has nothing except a fireplace - WHICH I LOVE - but it will be nice to have some modern convenience here.
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Scott
 
I saw that too.

That was back in the days where doing something, rather than auditing it was considered important.

I think that all of us engineers should go a month without offering our services to the world, and then the beancounters and auditors follow suit.

Heck, some businesses function better when the CEO is away.
 
Reminds me of an interesting fact I read somewhere.

In Roman times, the time it took to go from Rome to London was about a month. Horse riding across Europe and taking a boat across the channel.

In 1900, it still took about a month. Transportation hadn't changed much.

Nowadays, it's what, an hour or two? Hop a flight at the airport, no problem. Big changes in just a century.
 
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