In the summer of 1900...
- The average life expectancy in the United States was 47.
- Only 14% of the homes in the United States had a bathtub.
- Only 8% of the homes had a telephone.
- A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.
- There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved roads.
- The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
- 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 populated state in the Union.
- The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
- The average wage in the US was 22 cents an 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 $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% of all births in the United States took place at home.
- 90% of all US physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
- Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were 14 cents a dozen. Coffee cost 15 cents 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 in the US were:
- Pneumonia and influenza;
- TB;
- Diarrhea;
- Heart disease;
- Stroke.
- The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
- The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30. The remote desert community was inhabited by only a handful of ranchers and their families.
- Plutonium, insulin, and antibiotics hadn't been discovered yet. Scotch tape, crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
- There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
- One in 10 US adults couldn't read or write.
- Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.
- Some medical authorities warned that professional seamstresses were apt to become sexually aroused by the steady rhythm, hour after hour, of the sewing machine's foot pedals. They recommended slipping bromide, which was thought to diminish sexual desire, into the women's drinking water.
- Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
- 18% of households in the United States had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
- There were about 230 reported murders in the US annually.