America in 1904: What a Difference a Century Makes!
It's amazing how much, and how little, things change over time. Take a look at America a shade over a century ago (1904) based on a series of one-line statistics shared during a history lecture at the University of California, Berkeley:
The average life expectancy in the U.S.was 47 years old.
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 only $11.
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 residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world.
The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents an hour.
The average U.S. worker made between $200-$400 a year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 a year; a dentist $2,500 a year; a veterinarian between $1,500-$4,000 a year; and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 a year.
More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home.
Ninety percent of all U.S. physicians didn't have a college education; instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
Sugar cost 4 cents a pound (and less than 6 pounds per year were consumed per person on average in processed foods or drinks); eggs were 14 cents a dozen; coffee cost 15 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.
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.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
One in 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans were high school graduates.
Coca Cola contained cocaine.
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."
Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.
