Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

America in 1910

Warbaby

One Too Many
Messages
1,549
Location
The Wilds of Vancouver Island
A friend send me this and while it's a bit earlier than the Golden Era, I thought it was interesting enough to share with the Lounge crew.

1910FordModR.jpg

1910 Ford Model R​

The year is 1910
One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores.

Only 14 per cent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 per cent 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 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average American wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.

The average American 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 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 per cent of all births took place at home.

Ninety per cent of all 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 their country for any reason.

The 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, Nevada 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 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 per cent 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'.

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

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.A.
 

Shangas

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,116
Location
Melbourne, Australia
That was really interesting to read, thanks for showing it to us!

What I love reading about is how much prices have changed and what things cost back in the old days...
 

Paisley

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,439
Location
Indianapolis
Warbaby said:
...and a mechanical engineer [could expect to earn] about $5,000 per year.

That was more money than I made from engineering work the first year after I earned a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering and passed the eight-hour EIT exam.
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,763
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Warbaby said:
The Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

Five leading causes of death today (in the US, anyway) --

1. Heart Disease
2. Cancer
3. Stroke
4. Chronic lower respiratory disease
5. Accidents

(Pneumonia and Influenza, despite more than 60 years of antibiotics, are currently the 8th leading cause of death.)
 

Paisley

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,439
Location
Indianapolis
Swedish Hospital here in Englewood was founded in 1905 originally to treat TB patients. The sunny climate here was therapeutic for them.
 

Maj.Nick Danger

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,469
Location
Behind the 8 ball,..
Ahh, the good old days. I would not have had indoor plumbing or electric lights and a phone it seems, but at least I could shuffle down to the corner drugstore and assuage my pain with some heroin, coke, or some primo weed. lol
 

vitanola

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,254
Location
Gopher Prairie, MI
Warbaby said:
A friend send me this and while it's a bit earlier than the Golden Era, I thought it was interesting enough to share with the Lounge crew.

1910FordModR.jpg

1910 Ford Model R​

The year is 1910
One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores.

Only 14 per cent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 per cent 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 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average American wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.

The average American 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 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 per cent of all births took place at home.

Ninety per cent of all 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 their country for any reason.

The 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, Nevada 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 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 per cent 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'.

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

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.A.

A few errors. The car is a 1909 Ford Mode T. The model R was made in '06-07.

There were more than 8000 cars on the road in 1910.

8,124 cars were registered as of Jan. 1, 1900. Industry production in 1900 was 4,192 automobiles. In 1901 6700 (approx.) cars were built, in 1902 9016, 1903 11,235, 1904 18,000 (approx), 1905 24,251, 1906 33,299, 1907 and 1908 exact figures are not available, 1909 saw the production of 127,287 machines, and 1910 210,018 cars were made (Dept. of Commerce figures). In 1910, 85,000 cars were owned just by FARMERS.


The life expectancy numbers are similarly skewed. The life expectancy for an American man who survived to the age of majority (21) was upwards of 73 years. The low overall life expectancy figures were due to the great prevalence of fatal illness in childhood.
 

Tomasso

Incurably Addicted
Messages
13,719
Location
USA
Warbaby said:
The Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

.
What a way to go! :eusa_doh:
 

ScionPI2005

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,335
Location
Seattle, Washington
Vintage lover said:
William Howard Taft was President, weighing in at over 300 lbs.

I believe he was the one that got stuck in the White House bathtub...?

That's an amazing read WarBaby! Thanks for posting. It truly is remarkable how things have changed.
 

Undertow

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,126
Location
Des Moines, IA, US
LizzieMaine said:
And it was very often caused by salmonella, from drinking unpasteurized milk, unchlorinated well-water, or eating undercooked foods -- practices that are becoming increasingly popular again today. Back to the future!

Wow, astute observation! It's funny (and terrible) how history tends to repeat itself.
 

Vintage lover

A-List Customer
Messages
359
Location
In times past
I believe he was the one that got stuck in the White House bathtub...?
Yes sir, rumor has it that it took four men to get him out. Here is the bath tub made bespoke for the late president. Dimensions are 7 feet long, 3.5 feet wide.
taft-tub.jpg

Imagine the media circus that would ensue if the same thing happened today.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
109,298
Messages
3,078,221
Members
54,244
Latest member
seeldoger47
Top