100 Years Ago

Engineering & Science Humor - RF CafeThese engineering and science tech-centric jokes, song parodies, anecdotes and assorted humor have been collected from friends and websites across the Internet. I check back occasionally for new fodder, but it seems all the old content is reappearing all over (like this is). The humor is light-hearted and clean and sometimes slightly assaultive to the easily-offended, so you are forewarned. It is all workplace-safe.

Humor #1, #2, #3

The year is 1902, one hundred years ago... what a difference a century makes.

Here are some U.S. statistics for 1902.

  • The average life expectancy in the US was  forty-seven (47).
  • Only 14 Percent of the homes in the US 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 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 2first 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 an  hour.
  • The average US 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 in the US took  place at home.
  • Ninety percent 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 fourteen cents a dozen.
  • Coffee cost 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  prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.
  • The five leading  causes of death in the US were:
    • Pneumonia and influenza
    • Tuberculosis
    • 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.
  • Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
  • There were no Mother's Day or  Father's Day.
  • One in ten US adults couldn't read or write.
  • Only 6  percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
  • Marijuana, heroin, and  morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores.
  • Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
  • There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US (when most people carried guns!).
  • There were no computers or E-mail to send this on to you.