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Average Joe
Jan 11, 2006, 10:13 AM
So what do you think the next 100 years will bring ?


Some of this is true, some ???, some good, some bad....

Turn the clock back to the year 1905, a little more than one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the US statistics for the year 1905:
The average life expectancy in the US was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of homes in the US had a bathtub.
Only eight percent of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.
There were only 8,000 cars in the US 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 US was 22 cents per hour.
The average US 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 US took place at home.
Ninety percent of all US 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 Canada for any reason.
The five leading causes of death in the US 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, Nev. was only 30.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 US adults couldn't read or write.
Only six percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner drugstores. Back then a 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 US had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire US.

What will the next 100 years bring?

CatdaBrat
Jan 11, 2006, 10:37 AM
the thing that bothers me most about where we are heading is the increasing lack of patience. people freak out and go crazy just because they have to wait at a traffic light or pass on blind curves because the car in front of them isn't going 95 mph and screeching tires. i see another red-light runner in the valley caused a fatal accident to three men just recently.

we can't stand waiting in line at the grocery store or gas station (or anywhere) ... we can't stand waiting for dial-up internet service instead of high-speed, we hate being put on hold or getting voice mail, we don't like waiting for anything, be it food, entertainment, whatever. We even crab if an elderly person who has difficulty walking gets in front of us.

A lot of our complaints are justified, because we all have seen that sometimes service is unreasonably slow. But it really is scary when you think about all the cases of road rage and other such things. What happened to courtesy?

Just my opinion, but I think that if we all practiced patience, it would have a positive effect on every aspect of our lives.

Coldwolf
Jan 11, 2006, 11:39 AM
According to my Century book of Facts,1903...in 1903 the tallest building in the US was the Washington Monument at 555 feet, followed by St Patricks Cathedral in NY at 328 ft.

The expectation of Life had a wierd formula. At birth, expectation was 28.15 years. On his first birthday, he could hope for 36.78 years. If the child made it to 10, he could expect another 39.23 years, at 15 expectancy was 36.17 more years. If he survived to the ripe age of 45, he's proven his health and could expect almost 24 more.

The largest seating capacity in the US was Madison Square Garden, seating 8433 people.

Oh, the population of the United States was 76,303,387 of which 9,249,547 were foreign born.

Compulsory education laws had been passed in 29 states, and 2 territories. California required all children 8-14 to addend at least two thirds of the school term, for 12 weeks consecutive.

Parvo Pup
Jan 15, 2006, 06:09 PM
Due to chronic obesity, early onset diabetes and the pigeon flu, life expectany is once again 47 years.

Because of water shortages - 14% of homes share a bathtub with their neighbor.

There are no more telephones - cellular implants took care of that decades ago.

A 3 minute call costs $1100 adjusted for inflation.

Cars? Oh yeah - that must have been before the Middle East oil fields were torched during Gulf War 15.

Because you can only ride a bike to work - the speed limit is once again 10 mph.

Arkansas now has the largest population with a reported 135 million after Walmart imported the entire country of Mexico to staff their global shipping depot.

The tallest structure in the world is the 5,000,000 room retirement hotel in Phoenix Arizona called "Boomer City".

The average wage is now $42.75.... and they STILL want another cost of living increase!

The average worker lives in Pakistan.

A competent accountant earns $2,000,000 per year - but has also spent at least 3 years in prison for tax fraud.

Over 95 percent of births took place on the Fox Reality Show "Here's Looking at You Kid".

90% of doctors have college degrees - but only 10% of patients survive the wait for an appointment.

Sugar no longer exists. Eggs no longer exist. Coffee no longer exists. Soylent Green does exist.

Most women have no hair after it was discovered that shampoo caused menopause.

Canada melted off the map after Global Warming.

The five leading causes of death in the U.S. were 1.Heart Disease, 2.Pigeon Flu, 3.Fox News, 4.Comet HaleBopp disease and 5. Fox News.

Las Vegas still refuses to disclose its population figures because "what happens here, stays here."

Canned air hadn't been invented yet.

There was no My Third Step Mom's or Mom's New Boyfriend Day.

Two out of 10 US adults STILL can't read or write - but they did graduate on time.

Marijuana, heroin and morphine were legalized in hopes that their abuse would thin the population of Fresno.

Due to houseprices - 18% of households ARE a full-time servant.

There were about 230 reported murders last second.

What will the NEXT 100 years bring?

concerned
Jan 15, 2006, 06:46 PM
Who knows? Will Mexico be our 51st state?