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From: David J Lindstedt <>
Subject: [NYNASSAU] LIFE IN 1902
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 13:00:22 -0400

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: One Hundred Years
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 23:33:24 -0400 (EDT)
From:

The year is 1902, one hundred years ago ...
What a difference a century makes. time
Here are the US statistics for 1902.
1. The average life expectancy in the US was forty-seven (47).
2. Only 14 Percent of the homes in the US had a bathtub.
3. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call
from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
4. There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of
paved roads.
5. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
6. 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.
7. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
8. The average wage in the US was 22 cents an hour.
9. The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
10. 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.
11. More than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at
home.
12. Ninety percent 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."
13. Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a
dozen.Coffee cost fifteen cents a pound.
14. Most women only washed their hair once a month and they used
borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
15. Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the
country for any reason.
16. The five leading causes of death in the US were:
A. Pneumonia and influenza
B. Tuberculosis
C. Diarrhea
D. Heart disease
E. Stroke
17. The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New
Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
18. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 60.
19. Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
20. There were no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
21. One in ten US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of
all Americans had graduated from high school.
22. 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."
23. Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one
full-time servant or domestic.
24. There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US!

And Ernie's #25 -- Oh, oh, oh, and the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
WAS CONSTITUTIONAL.



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• [NYNASSAU] LIFE IN 1902 by David J Lindstedt <>