Life 101 years ago…

[Shadowgirlau]

Read this article this morning and thought it quite good. of course I have read something similar once before. It isn't until you read it that you realise just how far things have gone; it is an American perpective.




Posted June 15th, 2010 by Sarah N

The year is 1909. What would your life have been like? Read on for some amazing facts:
101 years ago:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !
The average US wage in 1909 was 22 cents an hour.
The average US 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 took place at HOME .
Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
Were condemned in the press AND 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 the country for any reason.
The Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars ….
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 10 adults couldn’t read or write and
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 pharmacists said, ‘Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,
regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health’.
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help ….
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

Plus one more sad thought …. 95 percent of the taxes we have now did not exist in 1909.

[minnie]

95 percent of the taxes we have now did not exist in 1909.

Here's an interesting tax:

Stamp duty was first levied in the UK in 1694 to pay for the war with France. Although initially only planned for four years, it proved such a good earner for the government that it was never repealed.

Once they get us to accept them they never go.

[Shadowgirlau]

You can say that again
Bit like the tolls isn't it? they put a toll on something to pay for it and then leave it in place for years after what ever it was was has been paid off.

Kathleen

[minnie]

Sydney Harbour Bridge comes to mind with tolls... it was paid and then they had to have toll for upkeep.

Vicki

[Shadowgirlau]

Well we aren't alone in doing this type of thing. NZ comes to mind for hubby as he was telling me there was a bridge built in Tuaranga years ago which was supposed to have a toll on it for something like 5 yrs and which was still enforced until recently. They say that the toll paid for the bridge something like 10 times over. Not surprising. Seems many countries use these as revenue raisers.

Kathleen

[childoftheearth]

My Mother-in-Law (who passed away about five years ago) was born in 1910, so she actually remembered those times. She lived through two world wars, the first as a child, and the second as a new mother (my husband was born in 1940, during an air-raid). My Father-in-Law was away fighting in North Africa when my husband was born, he didn't come home until the end of the War.

Mum went back to work after her baby was born, which was unheard of, even though married women were being recruited into war industries they were exempt if they had children below school age, much less babies. Mum had worked for an engineering firm before she married, and with the men being "called up" she was needed. According to my Husband (who went on to work for the same company) Mum's knowledge of electric motors and transformers was legendary in the industry. If the opportunities which women have today had been open to her I believe she would have become and engineer (Go Jo!) Mum continued to work for the same company until she reached retirement age, about 40 years in total.

Mum saw everything from everyday dresses that swept the floor to track pants, from horse-drawn trams to jet aircraft (some of which were built by her company). The most amazing thing about her was that she always moved with the times, she was comfortable in track pants. Instead of being intimidated by the pace of change, she was always interested in anything new. If she was still with us I am sure she would have a lap-top and a mobile phone today.

Mum definitely did not live in the past, and rarely mentioned it unless someone asked, I only know about her life before I met her (she was nearly 70 then) from my Husband, and the odd snippet that came out from time to time.

Although we now accept, and even expect, change in our lives I don't know if any future generation will see such radical changes in one lifetime. They obviously bred them tough back then, or maybe that was just Mum!

Cheers
Elaine

[minnie]

Hi Elaine,

She's sounds like a really interesting lady.


Vicki