Happy Birthday, Oklahoma!!!

So, if you are like 99.9% of the US population, you wouldn’t know that Oklahoma turns 100 this year. Yeah I didn’t know either until signs starting popping up around OKC referring to it being a Centennial year. Businesses are closing and everything! It's a pretty big deal. I had no clue we were such a young state. I took Texas history in school so how would I know? (By the way, I was SHOCKED to learn Chaz didn’t have Texas history in grade school…seriously.) Anyway, I say all this because our local newspaper ran a very interesting article on what life was like back in 1907. I thought it was amazing how times have changed in just 100 years so I thought I would post it here:

US Statistics for the year 1907:

-The average life expectancy in the US was 47 years old (Yipes! Dd they retire at 25??)
-Only 14% of the homes in the US had a bathtub
-A 3 minute call from Denver to NY City cost $11
-There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved roads
-The max speed limit in most cities was 10mph
-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-$400 a year
-More than 95% of all births took place at home
-Most women only washed their hair once a month using Borax or egg yolk (yummy!)
-5 leading causes of death in the US were: 1)Pneumonia & the flu, 2) Tuberculosis, 3) Diarrhea, 4) Heart Disease and, 5) Stroke
-The American flag had only 45 stars: Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn’t been admitted to the Union yet
-The population of Las Vegas was 30
-There wasn’t Mother’s Day or Father’s Day
-2 out of every 10 US adults could not read or write
-Only 6% of Americans had graduated from high school
-Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner drug stores. Back then, pharmacists said “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach bowels and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.”
-There were about 230 reported murders in the US

The second to the last fact kills me...and probably a lot of other peole in the process. No wonder everyone lived to the ripe old age of 47!

Happy Burfday, Oklahoma!!!