1903-2003

[KenpoTess]

THE YEAR 1903"

Bob Hope just died at the age of 100. It's time to revisit where we
were a century ago. This ought to boggle your mind .

The year is 1903, one hundred years ago... what a difference a century
makes.. Here are the U. S. statistics for 1903....

The average life expectancy in the US was 47.
(this would of terrified me back then~!)

Only 14% of the homes in the US had a BATHTUB.

Only 8% of the homes had a TELEPHONE.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.

There were only 8,000 CARS in the US 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 tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in the US was $0.22/hour.

The average US worker made between $200-$400/year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000/year, a dentist
$2,500/year, a veterinarian between $1,500-$4,000/year, and a mechanical
engineer about $5,000/year.

More than 95% of all BIRTHS in the US took place at HOME.

90% of all US physicians had NO COLLEGE education. Instead, they
attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost $0.04/pound. Eggs were $0.14/dozen.
Coffee cost $0.15/pound.

Most women only washed their HAIR once a month and used BORAX
or EGG YOLKS for shampoo.
(ewwww)

Canada passed a law prohibiting POOR people from entering the country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death in the US were:
1. Pneumonia &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 were no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

One in ten US adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from HIGH SCHOOL.



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."

18% of households in the US had at least one full-time SERVANT or
domestic.

There were only about 230 reported MURDERS in the entire US.

Just think what it will be like in another 100 years.

*disclaimer* I don't testify to the validity of any of these tidbits, it was just passed on to me and I just thought it was interesting to see the changes

 

[Bob Hubbard]

In 1900,
- Buffalo was home to the captains of industry, world leaders, and other famous notables including: Millard Fillmore, Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), actress Katherine Cornell as a girl, and author F. Scott Fitzgerald in his childhood.

- Buffalo based Larkin Soap Company is the largest in the world.
- Frank Lloyd Wright begins designing a number of maasterpiece buildings in Buffalo.

In 1902
- Buffalonian Willis Carrier invents the air conditioner.

Other notes on Buffalo in the early 1900s:

-Population
Buffalo is the 8th largest city in the US in terms of population.

- Auto Industry
Thirty independent automobile companies will operate in Buffalo during the first quarter of the 20th century, producing among them the Kensington, the Babcock Electric, and the Pierce. The two most famous are the Thomas Flyer and Pierce-Arrow.

- Brewing Industry
In the early 1900's, Buffalo boasted 25! brewerys.


In 1910 Buffalo is still the greatest grain port in the world, and shows every sign of so remaining. Because of its superb shipping and storage facilities - the dozen or so gigantic steel elevators that line the lakefront handle two million bushels of grain daily - Buffalo is second only to Minneapolis as a milling center.

Grover Cleveland, President of the US, was also mayor of Buffalo, Sheirif of Erie County, and Govenor of NY.

Both The J. N. Adam & Co. and AM&A's Department Store were founded in Buffalo


Man....what a difference 100 years makes.

 

[michaeledward]

Originally posted by KenpoTess
One in ten US adults couldn't read or write.

I wonder if we have made any improvement on this statistic. Sometimes, I think not.

Mike

 

[Rich Parsons]

Originally posted by KenpoTess

The average life expectancy in the US was 47.
(this would of terrified me back then~!)

Yes, this would be a bad thing to the largest growing bracket in the USA of those over the age of 60

Originally posted by KenpoTess
Only 14% of the homes in the US had a BATHTUB.

I hope they had a river or a pond or a bathtub out side. I know I stink if I do not shwer regularly.

Originally posted by KenpoTess
Only 8% of the homes had a TELEPHONE.

Now, people believe it is their right to have one, and to also have a cell phone . I did fill out a poll during my divorce. I did not have a TV let alone a VCR or DVD player or Cable or satelite, yet I had a phone line. I had no phone though, because I only used it for teh COmputer to get online , and a cell phone to call 911. I was out of all know areas in the poll. Now today many people use just cell phones and no land lines as you can get better rates for local service with cell phones then with land lines. Just the difference of 5 years has made a big difference.

Originally posted by KenpoTess
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.

This is $11 in 1903 where the average wage was $0.22. Think about it.

Originally posted by KenpoTess
There were only 8,000 CARS in the US and only 144 miles of paved ROADS.

Yes, and Michigan and the Greater Detroit area still has the first 144 miles as stood back in 1903. NO patching and no repaving. (* Feel free to insert you favorite city name *)

Originally posted by KenpoTess
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

And the Maximum speed of cars was around 10-18 mph. They had large cyclinders which would produce lots of torque not necessarily speed, and this would allow you to go through the foot of mudd in thsoe unpaved roads. Later in the 20's the high speeds started geting up towards 28 mph.

Originally posted by KenpoTess
The average wage in the US was $0.22/hour.

The average US worker made between $200-$400/year.

$0.22 * 40 hours * 50 weeks gives $440. Therefor, conclude that either this number ($0.22) is skewed high from some of the data, or the they did not work 40 hours a week 50 weeks a year. Such as they worked on the farms, no pay wage and then also worked elsewhere?

Originally posted by KenpoTess
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000/year, a dentist
$2,500/year, a veterinarian between $1,500-$4,000/year, and a mechanical
engineer about $5,000/year.

Boy, do I wish Engineers, made this ratio to doctors and dentists today. Yes, I am greedy. Sorry.

Originally posted by KenpoTess
Most women only washed their HAIR once a month and used BORAX
or EGG YOLKS for shampoo.
(ewwww)

I have to say EEEEWWWWWW!!!!! and YUCK! Women's long hair is one of the (Many) things I like about Women.

Originally posted by KenpoTess
Canada passed a law prohibiting POOR people from entering the country for any reason.

This is not really that bad or different than other countries, even the USA today. You have to have a skill or money to support yourself, to immagrate into the country.

Originally posted by KenpoTess
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.

The Power of Cheese took us to the Moon, and the Power of Greed built Las Vegas into what it is today

Originally posted by KenpoTess
Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from HIGH SCHOOL.

See Tess's Thread on 8th Grade Education

Originally posted by KenpoTess
There were only about 230 reported MURDERS in the entire US.

Reported Murders

 

[Chronuss]

Originally posted by KenpoTess
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

...boy, am I glad this changed.

 

[Cthulhu]

Let's not forget that the Wright brothers made their first successful flight in 1903. And a mere 66 years later, a man was walking on the moon.

And 100 years later, we can't even get a man out of low earth orbit.

Cthulhu

 

[Cruentus]

That would suck to die from diarrhea. If that was the third leading cause of death, then instead of people saying "my uncle died of cancer" like we commonly hear now a days, we would hear "my uncle died on the toilet.

Wierd..

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Nowadays, we have hundreds of fixes for it, both temporary and long term. Back then, there wasn't much you could do but tough it out. Its not so much the 'trots' killing you, its the rapid loss of water, electrolytes and other necessitys that kills you.

Even today, in India alone diarrhea still remains the main cause of childhood deaths - more than 600,000 children die every year, or 1,666 deaths per day!

Diarrheal Disease
Diarrheal diseases including cholera, shigellosis and rotavirus kill an estimated 2 million children each year. Children are more vulnerable to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances than adults, and diarrhea may quickly lead to death in the young, particularly among those who have vitamin deficiencies and other infections. Millions of children live in overcrowded communities with no access to safe water and adequate sanitation, making prevention of food- and water-borne diarrheal infections extremely difficult. Breastfeeding is the preferred way to prevent diarrhea in infants, as it avoids exposing the infant to impure water during the early vulnerable months of life. While nearly all fatalities attributed to diarrhea can be averted through the use of an inexpensive solution of glucose and sodium (oral rehydration solution, or ORS), repeat episodes are inevitable in the absence of safe water and improved hygiene practices. Without these, diarrhea will remain a leading global health threat for the world’s children.

 

[theletch1]

"my uncle died on the toilet.

Your uncle was Elvis?

 

[Jay Bell]

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."

As was arsnic! For many years, considered the ultimate cure-all...

 

[pknox]

Originally posted by Jay Bell
As was arsnic! For many years, considered the ultimate cure-all...

Well, if you take enough of it, you definitely won't have to worry about whatever it was that had been troubling you before (or anything else, for that matter).

 

[Jay Bell]

haha...very true. Arsnic addiction became rampid in England during the 1880's...of course, over time they were poisoning their bodies horribly. Awful stuff

 

[Chronuss]

Originally posted by Jay Bell
Awful stuff

...so is a posted 10 MPH speed limit..

 

[KenpoTess]

Originally posted by Chronuss
...so is a posted 10 MPH speed limit..

Methinks your generation would of perished living back then~!!!

 

[hardheadjarhead]

Tess,

My wife's grandmother was born in that year, and died just before her 99th birthday. She didn't quite make it to the century mark along with Bob Hope.

When she died I put together a list of things like that you included. I'll pass your list on to my wife and her family.

One thing I remember from MY list. 1903 was the year that the first Hershey's chocolate factory was made...in Derry Church, PA. (now known as Hershey PA). The significance of this was that chocolate, for the first time in history, was available to the common person. Before this time it was a luxury item for the rich.

I think, too, that the first wireless transmission was made by Marconi...and Teddy Roosevelt sent the first "round the world" telegram...to himself. It took fifteen minutes.

The major killer back then was tuberculosis. The first diagnosed case of death by coronary came some years later, if I recall. I'll have to get that book I have and check it.

Things like these make us keenly aware how far we've come in a short time. In Grandma Farquar's lifetime we invented flight and then sent a man to the moon.

Regards,


Steve

 

[Acronym]

if i had a time traveling car (a la Back to the future). I would go as fast as the car would go and see if i could inspire some legends.

 

[Chronuss]

Originally posted by KenpoTess
Methinks your generation would of perished living back then~!!!

gear heads shall live as long as imports still run the roads!! mwahahaa...

 

[KenpoTess]

Can you see me rolling my owls from here?

 

[Seig]

Originally posted by Chronuss
gear heads shall live as long as imports still run the roads!! mwahahaa...

You kids and your imports don't know what a real car can do. I'll put a 426 Hemi or a 440 GTX up against your stupid little four banger any day.

 

[RCastillo]

Originally posted by pknox
Well, if you take enough of it, you definitely won't have to worry about whatever it was that had been troubling you before (or anything else, for that matter).

I guess I discovered why I'm slowing down!