The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.
The average wage in the U.S. was $0.22/hour, for an annual income of about $500/year. The 40-hour work week had not yet been invented.
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.
18% of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
Only 14% of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Only 8% of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute telephone call from Denver to New York City cost $11 (and that was back when the average wage was $0.22 per hour, meaning that you had to work 50 hours to pay for that telephone call).
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.
Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Tennessee all had larger populations 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 95% of all births in the U.S. took place at home.
90% of all U.S. 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 4 cents per pound. Eggs were 14 cents per dozen. Coffee cost 15 cents per pound.
Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.
The five leading causes of death in the U.S. 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 had not yet been admitted to the Union.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
There was 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.
Coca Cola contained cocaine. Marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available over the counter at local 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."
Just think what it will be like in another 100 years.