1904

lrv

Joined
Sep 14, 2003
Messages
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THE YEAR 1904
Maybe this will boggle your mind, I know it did mine!
The year is 1904. One hundred and one years ago. What a difference a century makes!
Here are some of the U.S. statistics for 1904:
Schrade started production.
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 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 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.
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. 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 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 prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.
The 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 30!!!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two of 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "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.
There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.
Try to imagine what it maybe like in another 100 years .. it staggers the mind.
 
Remember the twilight zone the one with the actor Gig Young. I want to get off the train at wiloby. ( spelling? ). Sorry to be a wet blanket as usual, but don't count on another 100. In fact I would take bets but I sure won't be here to collect. Either way. LT
 
We should work on a time machine. Go back 50 yrs buy a few Schrades, get a few stocks in companies that have done ok. Jump forward 100 yrs see whats happening. Would sure be interesting.
TTYL
Larry
 
The past is the key to unlock the future it is the present which cannot be held onto and has no substance since it is the most fleeting constantly becoming the past and moving into the future. It is the most important since it is only through it that we have any say in what some call destiny.

If we can ever truly understand what time is it wouild be our greatest achievment and evolution.

However, until then I find a good watch helpful. LT.
 
That's an interesting list. My house was built in 1904, in New Mexico, which wasn't a state yet. I believe one of the bathrooms is original, so it was perhaps among the 14% with bathtubs. The central heat was added later; in 1904 the house had wood or coal burning stoves. The "carriage house" was literally for storing a carriage; I doubt there were any automobiles here in 1904. I don't think our house had electricity in 1904; the knob-and-tube wiring (still active) enters the upstairs via a later addition on the home.

-Bob
 
Ah, the good old days...

My cousin owns a big old house from colonial times (18th century I believe) in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, there is an old style pharmacy in one of the corners of the house, kept by him still in business after several generations. Inside the house, the library with all those old books , the old piano with chandeliers, the oil paintings on the walls.... I often used to visit and play there as a kid.

Some pictures of the Pharmacy:

http://www.nikonians-images.com/galleries/showgallery.php?cat=4047&ppuser=7691&password=&page=1

And around the town:

http://www.travel-images.com/mexico6.html

Luis
 
Awesome, Luis....

Thanks for sharing.

Glenn
 
Great picts Luis.
Reminds me of the drugstore of my youth. Had a lunch counter and creaky wooden floors.
I remember the 1st time I had to ask the druggest for what he had under the counter that now hang on the shelves. Of course they would always give you a tough time and ask "what size" or other such questions loud enough for the entire lunch crowd to hear and see a cold swet break out. :o
Who knew all the different types!
Boy have times changed
TTYL
Larry
 
They had different sizes??? :eek:

I thought they made x-large just for me :D

(We' re talking about shoelaces, right?)

Glenn
 
Now, they come in colors.....different textures.....multipacks......

Yeah, it's much easier to buy them now.....heck, you can even try them on! And, we've discovered several new uses for them here on the forums.

I guess progress IS great sometimes....I don't even mind shopping for them nowadays. You just can't overestimate the value of a nice, well fitting pair of socks!

Bill
 
I have plenty of those ping pong ball holders.

If you ever go to "Botica Santa Teresita", in San Miguel de Allende you may ask for some "agua de contraespanto", (anti scare water) a secret recipe that my grandma's sister used to prepare which is supposed to be good for the nerves (I'm assuming the authorities have not made it illegal due to the alcohol content).

Luis
 
There you go!
If Larry had imbibed in the anti scare water, he probably wouldn't have broken out in a cold sweat from buying those ribbed socks before his date that evening. Who knew??

Great pictures Luis... ;)

Bill
 
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