The year is 1907.

Do these guys look OLD, or what? (Oddly, they're probably mostly in their teens!)

Just a measly 100 years back (as the crow flies)...    

     The average life expectancy in the USA was 47 years old.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the USA had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.

     There were only 8,000 cars in the USA and just 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 people, California was the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in the US was 22 cents-per-hour.

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

 A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year (an incompetent even more), a dentist made $2,500 per year, a veterinarian $1,500 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

     More than 95 percent of all births in the US 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 their country for any reason.

     The five leading causes of death in the USA were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza   2. Tuberculosis    3. Diarrhea   4. Heart disease   5. Stroke

     The American flag had 45 stars - Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.

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

  There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.  Two out of every 10 US adults couldn't read or write.

  Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.

  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."

     There were about 230 reported Murders in the ENTIRE USA.

And finally, consider this price rise on a commodity we use every day –

      On January 17 of this year, I filled my car for the now-bargain rate of $1.82.9 (AKA, $1.83), but by June 6, the price per gallon had soared to $3.28.9. According to calculations performed using the fingers on both hands and all my toes,that is an increase of $1.46, an average augmentation of more than one cent a day for twenty straight weeks!  JPM