Southside High School,
Selma, Alabama
The
Past 100 Years
Think about the
advances we have made in the past 100 years (i.e., from 1907 to 2007). It
is simply amazing and truly staggering, and I am sure you will agree. From
transportation to communications to life expectancy...virtually any and all
areas of our lives have been greatly improved in the past 100 years. Read
below, I am sure you will find it all very interesting.
THE YEAR 1906
The year is 1906
One hundred years ago
What a difference a century makes
Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1906
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The average life expectancy in the US was 47 years |
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A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars |
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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 |
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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 |
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The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower ! |
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The average wage in the US. was 22 cents per hour. The average U.S. 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 |
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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 the government as "sub-standard" |
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Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound |
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Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo |
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Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason. |
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The Five leading
causes of death in the U.S. were:
|
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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 |
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Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet |
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There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day |
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Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school |
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Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. 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." ( Shocking ? ) |
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Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic help |
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There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE US |
