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21 incredible facts about the world 100 years ago

Perhaps you've seen that viral list of facts about what life was like in 1915, which was printed in the latest issue of The Tower (a monthly publication of a gated community in Florida).

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Or maybe you saw the very same list of of facts years ago, when it said it was about 1906, or 1902, or 1900.

The origin and sources of the original list are unknown, but the idea is provocative: What was life actually like 100 years ago?

vintage ad car life old-fashioned
Magazine ad, 1915. William Creswell / Flickr

We decided to find out. Not all of the data we dug up references 1915 precisely, but we got as close as we could with accurate and trustworthy sources — all of which are linked below.

The results paint a fascinating portrait:

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saratoga springs new york 1915 vintage
Broadway in Saratoga Springs, New York, ca 1915. Sanna Dulloway / Flickr
  • In 1915, many practicing doctors in the US had been educated haphazardly since, according to the National Library of Medicine, "medical schools had become mostly diploma mills." That slowly began to change when the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, considered the first modern medical school, opened in 1893.
  • In 1915, a dozen eggs cost 34 cents; a gallon of milk cost 18 cents; and a pound of coffee cost 30 cents.
  • In 1910, agriculture was the most common industry Americans worked in. (By 1920, it had been surpassed by manufacturing; today, it's service jobs.)
  • In 1915, the three leading causes of death in the US were heart disease, pneumonia/influenza, and tuberculosis.
  • In 1915, canned beer, modern supermarkets, and Barbie dolls had not yet been invented.
  • In 1915, the US did not have an official national anthem.
  • In 1910, 7.7% of Americans said that they couldn't read or write, a sharp decline from 1870, when 20% said they were illiterate. (True rates of illiteracy may have been higher, since these were self-reported.)
  • In 1900, only about half of American children between five and 19-years-old were enrolled in school. Ending formal education after eighth grade was typical.
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