In 1919...

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valeriedl

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This will boggle your mind!

What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1919:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for cars was sold in drug stores only.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower .
The average US wage in 1919 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year.
A dentist earned $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! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND 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 neither a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write And, only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner drugstores.
Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!" (Shocking?)
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.

It is impossible to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.
We've come a long way....OR have we?
 
Hi valeriedl,

This is amazing! I love history and my Grandparents were married in 1918. I can remember my Grandma telling me
that a loaf of bread was 5 cents and she and my Grandfather got by on $20.00 a month with 3 kids. Thank you so much
for sharing this info. I really love it. I wish you only the best of luck and May God Bless You!:)

Sue
 
Thanks for sharing Valerie
I love any type of trivia whether it be to do with history or entertainment etc.
I’ve had both my nan and my parents tell me what it was like when they were growing up and raising their kids.

So much different to now 🤷‍♀️
 
Amazing how things change 😏

I got one of those "booklets" from a Cracker Barrel that says something along the lines of "When you were born...." or something to that extent. Gives the basics (ie gas cost this, average salary was that, things that JUST came out, things that hadn't been heard of before etc). Basically everything you just did for 1919. Very interesting.
 
I love reading about this sort of stuff, especially the history of science and medicine. I got a book for christmas that i'd had my eye on for ages, and it's a history of medicine starting from waaaaaaay back. It's amazing the stuff that people believed would heal them. Like cocaine for a cough, tapeworms to lose weight, cigarettes for health, even trepanning, eugenics and phrenology. I find it fascinating :)
 
I also love reading about these types of things. I also tell my sons how different things are now from when I was a kid, & what my father told me about when he came to the US to do his Ph.D. in the 1960's.
 
If you think about it, technology-wise, it's funny how far we've come via computers and internet. "Back in the day" it took an entire room (and then some) to have a "computer" and it could only do simple things. Then we started having home computers that were bulky, but hey, they were home computers. Then the good-ole internet came along. However, it was dial-up and depending on how many people were "on it" you might not get on (or you might get kicked off!) You'd get the good beeps, "Sorry, we could not connect you" or however it went. It was an EXCELLENT day when you could IMMEDIATELY get connect AND if it was somewhat "fast." 😂 A megabyte?? WOW! Gigabyte?? You're kidding me...

Now, you have immediate internet anywhere you go (some for free). As far as computers go, if you have a cellphone, you have a FULL computer... IN YOUR POCKET! You have a camera. Can watch movies. Listen to music (what's a CD player?? Or better yet. what's a cassette player?? A record player? Ehhh?). Send instant messages (text and email). Play games... and the list goes on and on.

That's where I look at technology (possibly) destroying us. Not via the way of "The Terminator" (ie a robot machine taking over and killing everyone), but more-so that people won't know what to do if it all the sudden (somehow)....disappears. How are farmers going to bring in the crops without a tractor (for everyone else; meanwhile, what's a farm, some people may ask). How will people get to and from work? How are messages going to be sent? How are houses and roads going to be built? etc

Sounds like simple things, but if all people are taught is how to turn a key or push a button (ie keep up with the latest technology), then they're not going to know the core principles of how things work when it didn't exist. Long multiplication?? Who needs that when I have a calculator! Writing letters?? I'll just send a text message/email. Besides, it has autocorrect and looks better than my writing plus it gets there a lot faster. Again, sounds simple, but people might not be taught how to write (eventually) and only taught how to type. Oops! No computers. Now what?

Kinda reminds me of WALL-E. People forgot how to walk 😂
 
I know what you mean about kids not learning many core things. Some schools have actually stopped teaching cursive! There are often times when you have to sign your name--how would you do that without learning cursive? Also, if a child can't write in cursive, they wouldn't be able to recognize those letters. The words probably would look like scribbled lines if presented with something written using cursive.
 
I'm of that generation where i had a black and white tv and a record player in my room, and have sort of grown up with technology as it advances. Man am i glad that facebook didn't come along until after i'd finished high school and my first run of college. The things we got upto in college when i was 16-18, i'm glad to have no record of! I mean, we had 800 hectares of land to run around in, a pub on campus, endless fields and golf courses, a river to go swimming (and skinny dipping!) in. At that time computers were only just becoming mainstream in the schools and colleges, and i'm talking circa 2002 here, it's not like it was 50 years ago :LOL: I marvel at the graphics on my PS4 now when the first console we had was a Spectrum ZX, where you had to wait aaaaaaages for the game to load on the casette. I sound like an old fogey but i'm still 33 lmao.
 
After working in public school for 34 yrs. all I've seen in a decline in education. As you mentioned Sabbo they have done away with cursive written and now students and teachers depend upon a computer or their cell phones for everything. Academically in my area education is at it worst and give it a few more yrs. and it wouldn't surprise me to see kids going to school on line at home. I even have had to work with teachers who go on line to find out how to spell a word and when I tell them to look it up in the dictionary they have told me it takes to long and it's to hard. I had to laugh a few times when the internet went down at school and the staff didn't know how to teach class. I told a few of my friends just get the textbooks out and have students take turns reading and then write some questions on the board but all I heard was the following: "That's to much work and it's to hard." I'm glad I'm getting near retirement. Here's wishing all of You Well and May God Bless You!

Sue
 
My younger son is in 8th grade. They don't have physical textbooks for some of their classes! He doesn't have an actual print book for either his math or social studies class. They only have online textbooks. It's okay for subjects like math that don't involve a lot of reading, but kids spend so much time on screens as it is that they shouldn't have to do their reading from a screen.
I can understand why they may give college students the choice between print & e-textbooks. They have to buy their own textbooks. My older son is a university sophomore, & often tells me about the difference in cost between versions of the same textbook: online, & print (new or used). I thought books were expensive when I was in college, was I wrong! Even online versions can be $100+.
 
I know what you mean about kids not learning many core things. Some schools have actually stopped teaching cursive! There are often times when you have to sign your name--how would you do that without learning cursive? Also, if a child can't write in cursive, they wouldn't be able to recognize those letters. The words probably would look like scribbled lines if presented with something written using cursive.
I’m not a fan of cursive, only because I have trouble reading it half the time and I’m in my early 40s 🤦🏼‍♀️, but I’m sure the younger generation would struggle even more now

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If you have a cellphone, you have a FULL computer... IN YOUR POCKET! You have a camera. Can watch movies. Listen to music (what's a CD player?? Or better yet. what's a cassette player?? A record player? Ehhh?). Send instant messages (text and email). Play games
Where I work majority of the workers were born in the 90s or 00s, makes me feel old as I feel old enough to be their mum 🤦🏼‍♀️. Only ones older then 30 are myself, the bookeeper, the boss and the coworker out the front.
The boys have 2 breaks, smoko (morning tea) and lunch, every time I go out to the workshop when they’re on their breaks they’re on their phones 🙄.
I said to them once how would they survive when I was in my teens and mobile phones weren’t in yet 🙄🤦🏼‍♀️.

I do take a peek at my phone if I get a chance on my break but I’m usually so busy most days I don’t get time.
if all people are taught is how to turn a key or push a button (ie keep up with the latest technology), then they're not going to know the core principles of how things work when it didn't exist. Long multiplication?? Who needs that when I have a calculator!
I used to live near a elderly lady in her 80s, who worked in retail when she was younger, before she got married. She used to tell me how she’d go to a shop and shake her head at the young cashiers who had to rely on the machine to tell them how much change to give you and gone were the days where they counted back the money. She didn’t even own a calculator or had ever used one.
 
I even have had to work with teachers who go on line to find out how to spell a word and when I tell them to look it up in the dictionary they have told me it takes to long and it's to hard.

I'm a horrible speller and the teacher always told me to 'sound it out' and help me do it.


I’m not a fan of cursive, only because I have trouble reading it half the time and I’m in my early 40s 🤦🏼‍♀️, but I’m sure the younger generation would struggle even more now

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That's really funny because I was actually thinking about that last night. People will probably think that cursive is some type of code lettering and have to figure the code to get the message.


I get so mad when I'm out with people who spend more time on their phone, doing who know's what, than they do talking to me or talk to anyone around them. My brother is a good one at doing this. There was one time when he was with a girl friend at a holiday party and they were actually texting each other. I really started yelling at him once when we together at a family event, one that we don't see the family members that often. My parents actually yelled at me and told me that it was ok for him do it!!!!!!!
 
Today's kids are going to have a lot of trouble socially because of how much time they spend glued to screens. Its making it harder for them to know to react with others .
I use my computer mostly to do all the financial things, & shop online for things I need--especially if I know that I probably won't find the exact item in the store. I usually listen to music on my phone. I do these things when I'm alone, though--not when I'm in room full of friends/family.
 
🥴Start saving up for your retirement early! Today many kids don't know how to get by without a cell phone or computer. One day at school I asked students what a party line was on a phone and they all looked me like what are you talking about? I then told them I used to have to use
a pay phone and nobody knew what that was either. If we ever have a power outage I hate to see what kind of mess this country would be in.
A few yrs. ago we lost power for 2 days and the stores and banks were going crazy and they canceled school because they said they couldn't teach without the computers. That's nonsense! It just goes to show you that the world is getting more crazy each day in the computer and cell phone
world. Especially when it comes to education. Now give some of your kids or grand kids some math problems and see if they can do them without a calculator. Ask them if 12+12 =12. The answer is yes. 12 am + 12 hrs. = 12 pm.
Try the listening test say this to them once: "Washington's wife went to Washington to wash Washington's woolies while Washington's wash
women went on vacation in Wisconsin. How many W's in All?" Answer zero.

Have fun and May God Bless All of You!

Sue
 
Last year I was talking to one of the young guys who used to work at work, he was 24 and he was telling me how he looked after a friends baby. I asked how that went, he said ok but when it came to change the nappy (diaper) he had to you tube to see how to change it.

I asked him if it was cloth or disposable, he said dispoable. I said wow they are the easiest then told him how when i used to babysit in the early 90s it was all cloth nappies, you used to have to fold the nappie then pin it or there was a plastic thing to keep the nappy in place if you didn't want to use pins. No such thing as you tube back then and I dont think disposables were that popular just yet either lol.
 
I would love to see todays kids doing research for a paper the way we had to--using encyclopedias & other reference books. Some things have become too easy.
 
🥴Start saving up for your retirement early! Today many kids don't know how to get by without a cell phone or computer. One day at school I asked students what a party line was on a phone and they all looked me like what are you talking about? I then told them I used to have to use
a pay phone and nobody knew what that was either. If we ever have a power outage I hate to see what kind of mess this country would be in.
A few yrs. ago we lost power for 2 days and the stores and banks were going crazy and they canceled school because they said they couldn't teach without the computers. That's nonsense! It just goes to show you that the world is getting more crazy each day in the computer and cell phone
world. Especially when it comes to education.

I have no clue what a party line is, so I'd probably get that look too. :ROFLMAO:

I remember having an antenna for the TV and no remote to change channels.
Phones had cords and you to used a dial instead of push buttons. Think kids would be able to make calls?

There were pay phones everywhere. In 2005, 2 years after I got out of the hospital, I'd forget my cell phone at home and really needed to get a hold of my parents. I could remember where the pay phones were but all most all were gone. When I found one I kept putting a quarter in the slot but it wouldn't work, that's when I found out it takes 50 cents to make a call!

Nintendo was what you played your video games on. Super Mario Brothers was the best and the coolest ! Can you imagine kids play Pong? I loved it! The controller had a cord too.

Do kids know how to type now? I know they can 'speed type' on their phones but can they do it on a computer too? I'm not sire how many 'words per minute' (see if they know what that means) I can type on type writer(what's that?) or the computer keyboard but I know It's pretty fast. Takes me a good while to do it on the phone.
 
Hi Valeriedl,

Some students can type fast but many of them do much better texting on their phones. When I was in high school we had a typing class everyday and we would have to take a 3 min. typing test each day along with learning how to change the typewriter ribbon when it got woren out. Today students are to busy on the printer and Xerox machine printing out their homework or class research papers. I would love to go just 1 day or 1 wk. and make all the students and staff go back to what it was like in high school in the late 1970's and early 1980's and better yet, lets go back to a one room school house and they can use the outhouse to take care of things. I don't think to many kids or staff would like that today.

Now instead of playing Super Mario Brothers I want to go to the Atari games and play Pac Man :)
Here's wishing you only the best and May God Bless You!

Sue
 
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