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Life in the United States in 1904
Average life expectancy was 47.Only 14 percent of homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were 8,000 cars and just 144 miles of paved roads.
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 populous state in the Union.
More than 95% of all births took place at home.
90% of all physicians had no college education.
Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
The five leading causes of death were: 1. Pneumonia & influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke
And worst of all,
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
Here is the link, thanks to www.geekpress.com for the pointer. And read Michael at 2blowhards.com for some further commentary, excellent as always.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on April 2, 2004 at 07:28 AM in History | Permalink
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