This is basically an email I received, but I thought it was worth sharing to show how different life is now from a mere 100 years ago. For instance, did you know that in 1909 the average life expectancy was 47 years?

Other things that were different 100 years ago were:

– Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub. (I can attest to this. When I bought my house 15 years ago, the only bathroom was an outhouse).

– Only 8 percent 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 average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour. (huh?)

– The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year, though 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.

– 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.

– 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.

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

– Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

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

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

And now, here I am “blogging” on a computer that has doubled in memory and decreased in size in the last two years. I can’t imagine where we’ll be in another 100 years!