• March 28, 2024

12 Crazy Facts About Life In 1910 America That Will Make You Appreciate Today A Lot

My son grew up in the electronics age and sometimes he can’t fathom my life growing up in the 1960s.  The things he takes for granted was science fiction in my day.  Our idea of a mobile phone is one that came with a mile of extensions.  We had just 3 channels on the TV except when the president decided to give a speech in which case you would likely miss Flipper.

So it was with great interest that I discovered the vast differences between my time and the 1910s.  Although in it’s own way, it was an era of marvelous inventions and technology, those innovations were taken for granted by time I was growing up.  It’s hard to be;lieve that families were able to survive on twenty two cents and hour in pay.  That’s a mere $450 or so a year.  That won’t even get you through the week today.

 These pictures will definitely make you appreciate where you came from and also make you appreciate where you are now. Life was quite a bit different back in 1910. People had way more pressing things to worry about other than being able to connect to wifi!

Talk about perspective. We really do live an exceedingly comfortable life compared to those who lived 100 years ago. Check it out.

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

 14% of the homes had a bathtub

8% of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10-12 mph.

The average American wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour, and the average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

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

  2. 99% of all doctors had no college education. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and the government as ‘substandard.’

  3. Eggs cost 14 cents a dozen.

  4. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

  5. Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.
  6. 20% of adults could not read or write and only 6% of Americans had graduated from high school.
  7. H/T Inspire More

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