The Year Is 1905

[dajarrel]

The year is 1905.

One hundred years ago.

What a difference a century makes!

Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1905:

The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent 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 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 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.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in the U.S. 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.

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 by the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart 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 only 30!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacist 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!)

Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.

And I sent this to you in a matter of seconds!

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

It staggers the mind.

[Hank Ellis]

Quoting wages and prices in 1905 dollars is interesting but to put it todays perspective you need to adjust the numbers using the Consumer Price Index. CPI was gained from http://minneapolisfed.org/Research/data/us/calc/

Adjusted to 2005 currency values:

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $237.44

The average wage in the U.S. was $4.75 per hour.

The average U.S. worker made between $4,317 and $8,634 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $43,170 per year,

A dentist $53,963 per year,

A veterinarian between $32,378 and $86,341 per year, and

A mechanical engineer about $107,926 per year.

Sugar cost 86 cents a pound.

Eggs were $3.02 a dozen.

Coffee was $3.24 a pound.

[AlamoShooter]

My grand father was in his early 20s , hadent met my grandmother yet , my grandmother was IN the Oklahoma land rush. She never said 'sonner' with out a snarl *@*`

My grand father was a photographer for the Mex American war and Poncho Via raids.

He was a quite man, died before I got out of high school

Dam now I feal old,

my grandfather's father would have ben in the civil war, Im not that old I did not know my grate grandfather.

How does that tie people to 100 years ago?

[JFD]

My father-in-laws mother was a Titanic survivor. She received $200 after all was said and done. I'm guessing that number would be a bit higher these days.

She refused to discuss the event.

[SiG Lady]

"The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!"

I imagine all thirty of those individuals are now rolling in their graves.

"With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union"

California USED to be a hip place to live. What a difference a gold rush makes.

[blackdragon]

Those 30 people are rolling in their graves, Cuz they are STILL the only "Locals"!

Ivan

[Flexmoney]

"In 1905, Browning and the Colt factory made another step toward meeting the Army's re­quirements with the development of the .45 ACP round. The Model 1905 pistol, made for this new round, was a scaled up version of the Model 1902. When the Army tested this basic design in 1905 and 1907, the results of these tests were finally encouraging enough to generate real interest in a .45 caliber automatic pistol. A formal competition was scheduled, with the promise of a rich contract for the winner."

http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/history/hist_dev.htm