What Things Were Like In The Year 1900

Daniel 12:4, “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

An American Classroom In The Year 1900

In the year 1900...

• The average life expectancy in America was 47.3 for women, 46.3 for men, and 33 for blacks.
• Only 14% of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
• 18% of American households had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
• Only 8% of the homes had a telephone.
• Policeman arrested women for smoking in public.
• A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.
• Sugar cost $0.04/pound. Eggs were $0.14/dozen. Coffee cost $0.15/pound.
• 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.
• Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populated state in the Union.
• There was $46,000,000 in the U.S. Treasury.
• The average wage in the U.S. was $0.22/hour.
• The average worker made $12.98/week for 59 hours.
• The average American worker made between $200-$400/year.
• A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000/year, a dentist $2,500/year, a veterinarian between $1,500-$4,000/year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000/year.
• More than 95% of all births in the U.S. took place at home.
• 90% 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."
• 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 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, Nevada was 30.
• One in ten American adults couldn't read or write.
• Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.
• Only 5 percent of households consisted of people living alone while 20 percent had seven or more people.
• Electric traffic lights had not yet been invented.
• Fewer than 1 percent of the nation's men and women (age 15 and over) were divorced.
• There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.
• Public school students were led each day in prayer and Bible reading.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
• There were no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
• Radio and TV had not yet been invented.
• The Ice Cream Cone had not yet been invented.
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
• Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• Coca Cola contained cocaine.
• 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."
• Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.

Wow, I don't know about you dear friend, but after reading those startling facts, I am grateful to have lived in the latter 20th and early 21st century. We are so blessed today! I am more than amazed how much the world has advanced in KNOWLEDGE, and in man's ability to travel TO AND FRO, over the past century. We are living in a time of fulfilled Bible prophecy.