THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR

It’s time for reflection.  Here are statistics about life in the United States in 1905.

The average life expectancy was 47.

Only 14% of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8% had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.

There were approximately 8000 cars 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.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage was 22 cents an hour and the average worker made between $200 and $400 annually.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year and a mechanical engineer about $5000 per year.

More than 95% of all births took place at home.

90% of all 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 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.

The five leading causes of death were pneumonia and influenza, tuberculosis, diarrhea, heart disease and stroke.

The American flag had 45 stars.  Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska had not yet been admitted to the Union.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 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 adults could not read or write.

Only 6% had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin and morphine were available over-the-counter at local corner drug stores.  (Back then, pharmacists told customers, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is a perfect guardian of health.”)

18% of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were 230 reported murders in the entire country.

And to quote — sort of — the late Walter Cronkite: “That’s the way it was in 1905.”

Happy 2022!