What a difference a mere century makes

What a difference a century makes. This piece was recently sent to me and was originally designed to mark the centenary of the Model-T Ford, which first rolled down the line in 1908 and changed everything. I’ve added a few editorial comments of my own.

Not that the Tin Lizzie was the first automobile as such – they’d been around for more than a decade – but it was the first ‘everyman’ car and as such inspired other manufacturers to produce equally inexpensive conveyances.

So, what was life like back in the day of that first Model T. Mainly what it was like was amazingly different from what we have come to accept as being the norm in our society.

So, taking a look at 1908 – and it serves well to remember there are people still walking the planet who were actually around at that time – what did it look like?

In North America:

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

In the US there were only 8,000 cars 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 1908 was 22 cents per hour.

The average 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 took place at home

Ninety percent of all doctors had no college education. (but they did make house calls). Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and 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 (eww), and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo. Imagine what that smelled like by the end of the month. Don’t think I’d want to be doing much hair nuzzling.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason. (I believe there are people who yearn for such a thing to return, alas – screw them old huddled masses. Anyway, that Statue of Liberty sentiment was in the US)

Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas was only 30. Lots of room at the Blackjack tables and no Celine Dion, as far as we know.

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

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

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't 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 pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.'

Of course, considering the fact that dental care was brutal and inept a body can understand why hard drugs had a certain appeal.

And, while on the topic, people – men especially – consumed much more alcohol per capita than is consumed today despite handwringing over alcohol abuse. Indeed pre-prohibition boozing levels have never been approached since repeal.

On the other hand, there were no rehabs and no AA.

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire US. Today a death toll of 230 would represent a slow weekend.

People actually wrote letters rather than emailing.

Women could not vote and wouldn’t be able to for another decade.

Jim Crow laws were fully in effect, and not just in the South.

Property developers reserved the right to be exclusionist in terms of race or creed.

There was no genuinely effective birth control other than abstention.

Only the rich traveled and the average person lived his or her life in the town of birth and many in their lifetimes journeyed no more than 50 miles from home.

On the whole, I think I'd rather stick with what we have now. As screwed up as we are, at least we have a little more comfort.