The Year(s) in Review

            This time of the year there is a lot written about the happenings the past twelve months. Recently I received an e-mail looking back at how things were 100 years ago. Being a history outfit it seems appropriate to include these facts in our newsletter even though few relate to aviation. So this is how things were in the year 1905 –

• The average life expectancy in the United States was 47 years.
• Only 14% of the homes in the United States had bathtubs.
• Only 8% of the homes had telephones.
• A three-minute call from Minneapolis to New York cost $10.50.
• There were less than 8,000 cars in the U.S. driving on only 144 miles of paved roads.
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
• Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Tennessee were more populated than California which had a mere 1.4 million residents and ranked 21st in population.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower
• Average wage in U.S. was $.22/hour. A competent accountant made about $2,000/yr, a veterinarian around the same, a mechanical engineer about $5,000.
• More than 95% of births took place at home.
• 90% of all U.S. physicians had no college but rather attended medical schools which were condemned in the press and by government as being “substandard”.
• Sugar cost $.04 per pound; eggs were $.14/doz; coffee $.15/lb.
• Most women washed their hair once a month using borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• The five leading cause of deaths were (1) Pneumonia and influenza (2) Tuberculosis (3) Diarrhea (4) Heart disease and (5) Stroke.
• The U.S. flag had only 45 stars – The population of Las Vegas was 30 souls.
• Marijuana, heroin and morphine were available over the counter at the corner drug. store. According to one pharmacist, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health”.
• Eighteen percent of U.S. households had at least one fulltime servant or domestic.
• There were only 230 reported murders in the entire United States.

AND IN AVIATION

            The U.S. Army Board of Ordnance and Fortification turned down the Wright Brothers offer to sell one of their machines to the army. In a letter to Congress, the brothers argued that their airplanes could carry on reconnaissance flights and transport messages. However, they could offer no proof that their machines work.

            In Washington, the British military attaché broke off negotiations with the Wright Brothers for purchase of one of their machines. The War Office had asked for an advance demonstration, but the Wrights were unwilling to show the machine without a guaranteed deal.

            And in France, there were explosive scenes at a meeting of the aviation committee of the Aero-Club when the truth about the claims of the Wright Brothers to have mastered powered flight were challenged. This followed the publication of a letter from the Wrights describing flights of up 38 minutes conducted in Dayton this fall. The reports of several witnesses have been verified by journalists, yet one group within the Aero-Club refuses to believe them. The controversy is likely to continue as long as the Wright Brothers refuse to fly their machine in public, for fear that their methods of construction would be revealed to competition.

Have a Great Holiday Season and Come Visit Us!!!!!