[Facts from =
the book "When My Grandmother Was a Child" by Leigh W. =
Ruttledge, which begins, "In the summer of 1900, when my =
grandmother was a child…"]
*The average =
life expectancy in the United States was =
forty-seven.
*Only 14% of =
the homes in the United States had a bathtub.
*Only 8% of =
the homes had a telephone. A three minute call from Denver to New York =
City cost $11.00
*There were =
only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved =
roads.
*The maximum =
speed limit in most cities was ten 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 (more than twice the height =
of the Pyramids in Giza)
*The average =
wage in the US was twenty-two 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 $2500 per =
year, a veterinarian between $1500 and $4000 per year, and a mechanical =
engineer about $5000 per year.
*More than 95% =
of all births in the United States took place at =
home.
*Coca-Cola =
contained cocaine instead of caffeine.
*Punch-card =
data processing had recently been developed, and early predecessors of =
the modern computer were used for the first time by the government to =
help compile the 1900 census.
*18% of =
households in the United States had at least one full-time servant or =
domestic.
*There were =
about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S. annually. (Last year there =
were nearly 500 homicides in Chicago alone)
~~
Dr Bob Griffin =
[email protected] =
www.grif.net
"Jesus =
Knows Me, This I Love!"