1917 - Very interesting statistics

1917 - Very interesting statistics

My mother sent me an email recently that got me thinking. It was titled "The year is 1917 One hundred years ago." Below is the text it contained. (formatted to make it easier to follow.)

I unfortunately have no idea who the original author is. If I did, I would cite them here. (and thank them for the inspiration.)

Anyway, I include my thoughts below the quoted text.

BEGIN QUOTE:

1917 - Very interesting statistics

The year is 1917 "One hundred years ago." (What a difference a century makes!)

Here are some statistics for the Year 1917:

• The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
• Fuel for cars was sold in drug stores only.
• Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
• Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
• The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
• The average US 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 took place at home
• Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND 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.
• The Five leading causes of death were:
  • 1 Pneumonia and influenza
  • 2 Tuberculosis
  • 3 Diarrhea
  • 4 Heart disease
  • 5 Stroke
• The American flag had 45 stars ...
• The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30.
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.
• There was neither a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day.
• Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
• And, only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
• Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner drugstores.
• Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!" (Shocking?)
• Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help...
• There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

 

I am now going to forward this to someone else without typing it

myself. From there, it will be sent to others all over the WORLD all in a matter of seconds!

 

It is impossible to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

 

END QUOTE: 

As it turns out, both of my matwenal grandparents were born that year meaning their mothers (my great-grandmothers) were pregnant that year. I knew those great-grandmothers and I used to sit at my their knees and listened. (Both of them 90s.)

I have often recalled the story of one of them shaking her head and giggling when my mom expressed concern over Steve, (My Brother) driving and dating. The implication was worry over kids “parking” "When we were his age, the horse knew the way home." she said with a glint and a wink. Suggesting that in her day they could “park” while the buggy made it’s own way home. {{{Scandalous}}}

 

Within their own lifetimes, (My Great Grandmothers' saw)

• Horse and Buggy gave way to the car.

• First flights to Man on the moon and regular space shuttle flights.
• WWI
• WWII
• Korea
• The Dust Bowl
• The Great Depression
• Red Scare - A cold was - and the fall of the wall
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• Vietnam - And a whole slew of international conflicts
• Israel became a country and fought its own wars
• Radio
• Telephone
• Television
• Atomic bombs
• The microchip
• The ERA
• Legalized abortion
• Calculators
• Cellphones
• Personal computers

My generation has seen some of those things move or improve but there is really no generation in history that has seen this level of technological change within a single lifetime. And that was in less than 100 Years

 

Their generation saw:

• Einstein
• Kennedy
• Nixon
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Ronald Ragan
• Nelson Mandela
• Churchill
• Roosevelt
• Idi Amin
• Jim Jones
• Billy Graham
• Adolf Hitler
• Stalin
• …and countless others.

 

They came in at the end of the civil war and if not for geography would likely have encountered former slaves. (They were in Indiana)

To have seen what their eyes saw and lived through such dynamic change is mindboggling. 

Just the lists above make my head spin.  They lived through it and witnessed it.  Likely with no idea just how much they are seeing… It really is amazing.