What a difference a century makes! Here are some U.S. statistics for 1902:
- The average life expectancy was forty-seven (47).
- Only 14% of homes had a bathtub
- Only 8% of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
- There were only 8,000 cars and 144 miles of paved roads. Maximum speeds 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 U.S. was 22 cents an hour.
- The average 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 $5,000 per year.
- More than 95% of all births took place at home.
- Ninety percent of all U.S. physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as substandard.
- Sugar cost$.04 a pound; eggs, $.14 a dozen; coffee $.15 a pound.
- Most women washed their hair once a month; used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
- The five leading causes of death in the US were:1. Pneumonia and influenza; 2. Tuberculosis; 3. Diarrhea; 4. Hear 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 U.S. adults couldn’t read or wrote. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
- Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to ohe pharmacist, heroin clears the complexion, give buoyancy to the mind, regulated the stomach and bowels, and is “a perfect gardian of health.”
- Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
- There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.
Then again, some things haven’t changed in the last one hundred years. God was Ruler of the Universe; Christ was man’s Savior; the Gospel was God’s power to save; the church was made up of the saved; heaven was wonderful; hell was horrible…
“For I am the LORD, I change not… Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever” – Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8
There is no power on earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, pure, simple, and useful life. Booker T. Washington
A diplomat is someone who always remembers a woman’s birthday but never remembers her age. Robert Frost
The commonest fallacy among women is that simply having children makes one a mother—which is as absurd as believing that having a piano make on a musician Sydney J. Harris.
All of this bulletin was copied from Glad Tiding of Good things; from the Jacksonville church of Christ.
