THE YEAR 1904

The year is 1904, one hundred and two years ago.

What a difference a century makes!

Here are some of the U.S. statistics for 1904:

• 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.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
• The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents an hour.
• 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 population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was 30.
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
• 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 availableover the counter at corner drugstores.
• According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion,gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach andbowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
• Eighteen percent of households in the U.S had at leastone full-time servant or domestic.

Barb Altmaier