What it was like to live 100 years ago.

rondetto

The year is 1910, just over one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!

Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:

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The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

Fuel for this car was sold in chemists only.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bath.

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 tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !

The average wage in 1910 was 22 pence per hour.

The average 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 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 pence a pound.

Eggs were fourteen pence a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen pence a pound.

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 and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

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.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner chemists.
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 percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE UK. !

barbara12

Hi Ron
I really enjoyed reading that, must say we hadn't got a bath when I was young..1950s..not 1010 may I add..

villier

Thanks for that Ron very interesting........Marie

frogmorton

Very interesting read there Ron.

Showed the kids too

Heroin is actually pretty bad for the skin though methinks

Surely egg yolk didnt wash hair?!



Love

Toni xxx

rondetto

Thanks, nice to look back at how our parents and grandparents lived.

frogmorton

Gosh I hadn't thought that it was that far back Ron my Dad was Hungarian so they would have been there....

Possibly even less telephones etc.

Love

Toni xxx

knuckleduster

Interesting reading Ron.

Referring to Barbara's comment about not having a bath in the 1950's, we had a summer and a winter bath . A tin one in the kitchen in front of the gas stove during the winter and the upstairs one in the summer where the hot water came from an enormous geezer which made the whole house shake when lit.

During the 50's/60's I can remember my aunt washing her hair in something strange when she didn't have any shampoo but for the life of me I can't think what it was. And she was a firm believer in it being unwise to wash your hair when women had their you know whats.

Janet xx

tjt6768

I like the sound of those chemists Ron. Lol
Pity Rehab isn't with us any more, he'd have first hand knowledge haha...

I remember when I was a kid not having a bath, just a tin one in front of the fire. And the shared outside loo :shock: and that was only in the 70's.. Lol

tkachev

My Nan was one of those poor servant people in 1910. She lived for 100 years and 1 month so leaving school at 13 and working for a pittance obviously did her some good. However her Mum died in childbirth, another statistic which thankfully has changed for the better.

Elizabeth

rondetto

I remember as a kid, we didn't have a fridge. Just a cold slab under the stairs. Sometimes there was maggots in bacon if it had been left there for some time.

tjt6768

mmmmm, maggoty protein.. Lol