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Winter 2003
PDF version 
Life for most Americans is measurably
longer, less physically demanding, and more comfortable
than it used to be. And if there are days when you have
your doubts — days when the past seems more appealing
than the present — here are a few things to remember.
Longer Lives
Average life expectancy for an American
born in 1900: 47.3 years.
Average life expectancy for an American
born in 2000: 76.9 years.
Source: National Center for Health
Statistics
Less Drudgery
“[In the early 20th century]
the urban working-class family tended to live in cramped,
dark apartments; ate large amounts of bread with little
jam or butter; wore remade and mended clothing; stayed
mostly within walking distance of home except perhaps
for going to work; attended church or temple as their
main social activity; and had little money to spend
on treats or gifts. Severe economizing was required
to attain even this austere life-style. Any economic
mistakes, such as buying uncomfortable shoes or a cut
of spoiled meat, meant temporary deprivation for the
family since their budgets could not accommodate the
replacement of these items. The bleakness of everyday
material life provided little relief from the difficult
physical labor of husbands and the exhausting housework
of wives.”
Source: American Standards of Living 1918-1988,
Clair Brown, Blackwell Publishers, 1994
Greater Comfort
In 1890, 24 percent of U.S. households
had running water, and 13 percent had flush toilets.
And “without running water, housewives had to
haul 10,000 gallons a year into the kitchen, laundry,
or bath.”
In 1900, 3 percent of U.S. households
had electric lighting.
In 1920, 8 percent of U.S. households
had a washing machine. One percent had a mechanical
refrigerator; 48 percent had an icebox.
Source: Pursuing Happiness,
Stanley Lebergott,
Princeton University Press, 1993
“By comparison with the conveniences and comforts
widely available in developed
economies at the end of the 20th century, everyday life
two centuries ago was most akin to what we know today
as ‘camping out.’”
Source: “The Worldwide Standard
of Living Since 1800” Journal of Economic Perspectives,
Winter 2000, Richard A. Easterlin
More Variety
“Of 30,000 new products introduced
in grocery stores after 1960, some 25,000 did not survive
to 1980. Of 84,933 introduced between 1980 and 1990,
86 percent did not survive to 1990.”
Source: Pursuing Happiness,
Stanley Lebergott
Princeton University Press, 1993
The Smell Test
At the start of the 20th century,
New York City had close to 150,000 horses, each of which
produced 20-25 pounds of manure a day.
Source: The Good Old Days —
They Were Terrible, Otto Bettmann,
Random House, 1974
The world’s first underarm
antiperspirant, Mum, hit the market in 1888. The term
“B.O.” (short for “body odor”)
first appeared in a 1919 advertisement for Odo-Ro-No,
an underarm deodorant cream for women.
Source: Jane & Michael Stern’s
Encyclopedia of Pop Culture, Jane and
Michael Stern, Harper Collins, 1992
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