this is from an email that is going around and it ended up in my Inbox... so here you go....


THE YEAR 1906

Here are some of the U.S. Statistics for the Year 1906:

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 $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 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 had not been invented yet.

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

Two out of every 10 U.S. adults could not 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 the 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."

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.

That pretty amazing what 100 years of time can do to a country. It made us the most wealthy country in the world and the most hated country in the world. :kick: But no canned beer :jawdrop:

I was bored so I adjusted the dollar amount for inflation at 2005 rates. Here goes:

THE YEAR 1906

Here are some of the U.S. Statistics for the Year 1906:

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 ($225.76 in 2005. )

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.( $4.52 in 2005)

The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400(between $4104.71 and $8209.43 in 2005) per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000($41047.14 in 2005. ) per year, a dentist $2,500 per year($51308.93 in 2005. ), a veterinarian between $1,500( $30785.36 in 2005. )and $4,000 ($82094.28 in 2005. )per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000( $102617.85 in 2005. )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. .82 cents in 2005 costs

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. ($2.87 in 2005 costs)

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound. ($3.08 in 2005 costs)

Wow, you were bored. Interesting adaption though.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores

The good 'ol days:bang2: !

The good 'ol days:bang2: !
Yeah, many people don't realize that during the '20s, Booze was prohibited, but cannabis was not. US Congress didn't make it illegal until 1935, if I remember my history.
It is interesting how public attitudes ebb and flow with regards to drugs and alcohol.
Organized crime exists to supply the "bad habits" of people whose vice is currently illegal. There wasn't much Mafia before Prohibition. After the 21st amendment, (1933) their supply chain needed to find another profit making good. Hence the current prohibition against grass.

I think you used to be able to buy cocaine and heroin from the Sears & Roebuck catalog.

I saw this same note circulating for the year 1905 (http://www.dailyreckoning.com/Featured/progress.html). It's make you wonder where the "facts" come from.

Here's my 'put on all of this:

It is amazing that the Wright Bros made their first powered flight at Kitty Hawk in '03. In 1969, a mere sixty-six years later, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the moon.
Women got the vote (progress? ;-) ) and other lifestyle improvements:
Women are living longer thanks to advances in medical science, nutrition and sanitation. At the beginning of the century the median age of women (the point at which half are younger and half older) was just above 22 years. Now it is almost 37 years - the highest level in history.
The maternal mortality rate has plummeted. The rate dropped from 799 (per 100,000 live births) in 1920 to 7 in 1998.
The death rate of children under 1 year of age decreased more than 95 percent.
The infant mortality rate declined almost 93 percent.
Women now earn more than 41 percent of the degrees in Medicine and nearly 44 percent of the degrees in Law.
More women are leaving their jobs to stay home and raise their children.
The gap between median earnings of women and men who work year-round, full-time has narrowed substantially. The ratio now stands at 74 percent.
The 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote in 1920.
More women are serving in public office. Thirty-three women have served or are currently serving in the Senate and 185 women have served or are currently serving in the House of Representatives.
The first woman was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981, Justice Sandra Day O'Conner.

The average life expectancy in 1900 was 47, today it is in the 80s.
Infant mortality has gone from 1 in 10 to 1 in 150.
A farmer 100 years ago could only produce 1/100th of what a farmer produces today.
In the 1800's, almost all teenagers toiled in factories or fields full-time; now 9 in 10 go to school.
In 1900 the average American worked 2 hours to earn enough money to buy a chicken for food, today it's 20 minutes.
1995 marks the 100th anniversary of the Lumiere brothers' invention of the film projector, which created the movie industry.
One hundred years ago icebergs were a major climatic threat impeding travel between North America and Europe. 1,513 lives ended when the British liner Titanic collided with one on 14 April 1912. 50 years later jets overflew liners.
Only half of those aged 5 to 19 years old in 1900 even attended school, and only 62,000-6.4 percent of 17-year-olds-graduated from high school. A lone teacher instructed children of varying ages in courses such as reading, writing, arithmetic and history. Students sat in uncomfortable wooden benches and screeched out writing onto slate boards.There's always a downside:

Formal education was limited, some 6% of the population having graduated from high school, some 20% estimated to be illiterate. Now diplomas and degrees engulf resumes but the latest study estimates 41% of college graduates can’t write simple prose.
There was little, and no meaningful, agitation about the alleged evils of religion, more particularly the Christian; no rampant false notions about the (non-existent) Constitutional requirement of church - state separation; proportionately far less crime; no public tolerance, much less encouragement, of promiscuity, pornography and other perversions; and, of course, no welfare state.
The family and the social order need encouragement and protection. The transportation system needs innovation and mass transit lest in some urban areas one might walk faster than drive.
Our Nation, built upon, and dedicated to, Faith in God, needs reinvigorating.
Our schools and higher institutions need emphasis upon basic knowledge over social schemes and pseudo-academic mishmash.

no rampant false notions about the (non-existent) Constitutional requirement of church - state separation
It's called the establishment clause of the 1st amendment:thepan:
Besides protecting our freedom of speech, it also is there to protect us from zealous bible-beaters who want everyone else to be like them:cool:

As quoted from the constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It was the first thing they mentioned; moreso than the freedom of speech or assembly. Obviously they were the most worried about it:p

I won't even go there. Just take a look at the money in your pocket.

I won't even go there. Just take a look at the money in your pocket.

True, but what's to say that won't change? I mean, this is a country where we used to lynch runaway slaves:cool:. Things change in time...And just because something exists and has for a long time doesn't make it "right".