Statistics From 1904

[Jay]

Here are some statistics (mostly of the U.S.) for 1904 that I read in a community newsletter. I don't know the accuracy, but they seem reasonable. They caused me to reflect about them.
- The average life expectancy was 47 years.
- Only 14% of the homes had a bathtub and only 8% had a telephone.
- A 3 minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.00.
- There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
- The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 miles per hour.
- Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state.
- The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
- The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour. The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 a year; a dentist $2,500; a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000; a mechanical engineer $5,000.
- More than 95% of all births took place at home.
- 90% of all physicians had no college education. Instead they attended medical schools, many of which were considered "substandard".
- Sugar cost 4 cents a pound. Eggs were 14 cents a dozen. Coffee was 15 cents a pound.
- Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
- Canada had a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.
- The 5 leading causes of death: pneumonia/influenza; tuberculosis; diarrhea; heart disease; stroke.
- The U.S. flag had 45 stars. Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii were not admitted as states yet.
- The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
- Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea had not been invented yet. (I would have used air conditioning and zippers as examples.)
- There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
- 2 of every 10 adults could not read or write. Only 6% had graduated high school.
- Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at drug stores.
- 18% of households had at least 1 full-time servant or domestic. (This is the one in the list I find the hardest to believe. Maybe they did not count renters as households.)
- There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S..

[Quicksilver]

Wow, that is interesting. A lot of them really make me grateful for what I have today, like shampoo and telephone! But it wouldn't be so bad if sugar was $.04 a pound.

[Capt.Rutlinger]

I think the situation in Europe was a bit worse because afterall it was the time of immigration to the US

[firelupe]

That's really interesting, and suprising!

[Wolfyu]

I like those prices. This is very interesting, Jay. Thanks for sharing.

[TerrierMom]

The prices aren't as good as they seem when you take into account people were getting paid an average of 22 cents per hour, though.

[ScottBommarito]

Very interesting Jay.

[KittyCatt]

Thats very interesting. I think my town had the same stats in our newspaper a while back...