My aunt Kathy forwards me a lot of random email, but there was one today about American life in 1904 that caught my attention. Here are some tidbits:

The year is 1904, one hundred years ago... what a difference a century makes.

* The average life expectancy in the US was 47.
* 14% of the homes in the US had a bathtub; only 8% of the homes had a telephone. Home record
players or radios, gas or electric kitchen appliances, and of course televisions were unknown.
* 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.
* The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year. A competent accountant could
expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000.
* More than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at home.
* Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee cost fifteen 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 in the US were Pneumonia and Influenza; Tuberculosis; Diarrhea;
Heart disease; and Stroke.
* The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
* There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
* One in ten adults couldn't read or write; Only 6 percent of Americans had graduated from high school.
Women would not have the right to vote for seventeen more years.
* Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According
to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach
and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
* 18% of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
* There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.

Just think what daily life will be like 100 years from now. It boggles the mind.