The Year 1903

I received this in a newsletter today. It makes an interesting counterpoint to the The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2007®, doesn't it?

The year 1903, one hundred years ago … what difference a century makes. Here are the United States statistics for 1903 ...

• The average life expectancy in the United States was forty-seven.


• Only 14 percent of the homes in the United States 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 United States and only 144 miles of paved roads.


• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.


• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.


• The average wage in the united States was 22 cents an hour.


• The average United States worker made between $200 and $400 per year.


• A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 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 United States took place at home.


• Ninety percent of all United States physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by government as "substandard."


• Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee cost 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 prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.


• The five leading causes of death in the United States were:

  Pneumonia and influenza

  Tuberculosis

  Diarrhea

  Heart disease

  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 Fathers Day.


• One in ten United States adults could not read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from High School.


• There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire United States.

Just think what it will be like in another 100 years.