How Things Change Over 100 Years – 1909 to 2009

[I]The View from 1909[/I]

Here are some statistics from the year 1909:

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14% of homes had a bathtub.

Only 8% of homes had a telephone.

There were about 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The Lincoln penny was introduced.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.

The average 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.

More than 95% of all births took place at home.

Ninety percent of all doctors had no college education.

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 the poor from entering the country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death in 1909 were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea or dysentery

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 46 stars (Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska were territories.)

The population of Las Vegas was only 30.

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn”t been invented.

There was no Mother”s Day.

Two out of every ten adults couldn”t read or write and only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over- the- counter at drugstores.

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were only 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.

Nearly 95% of the taxes we have now, including income tax, did not exist in 1909.