In 1916 only 14 per cent of all homes in the US had a bathtub. The speed limit in most cities was 10mph. One in 12 people had a telephone. And it wasn’t very mobile.
Marijuana, heroin and morphine were available over-the-counter at your local drugstore. The Eiffel Tower was the world’s largest structure. A loaf of bread cost seven cents. There were 230 murders in the whole United States.
In the health world, 95% of births took place at home. The world’s first blood transfusion was carried out. And incredibly, ninety per cent of all doctors did not have a degree. Ninety per cent! The five leading causes of death were pneumonia and the flu, tuberculosis, diarrhea (dysentery), heart disease, and the stroke.
What was the average life expectancy for a man 100 years ago? Just 47 years.
So we’ve come a long long way in 100 years.
Big Pharma now own our governments.
Big food has gifted us the obesity epidemic.
Vaccines are forced upon us and are killing our children.
Toxins in our food, air and water are rising exponentially.
And we spend way more on war than would eradicate poverty worldwide for decades.
Halcyon Days? I’d love to know your thoughts.
Yes, we’re malnourished, ingest toxic foods and are less physically fit than 100 years ago. And yet we’re living longer – many with chronic conditions admittedly, but not most of us. Puzzling…..
There was a much higher rate of infant mortality at that time.
Here is a quote on life expectancy form Wiki –
National LEB figures reported by statistical national agencies and international organizations are indeed estimates of period LEB.
In the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, LEB was 26 years; the 2010 world LEB was 67.2 years. For recent years, in Swaziland LEB is about 49, and in Japan, it is about 83. The combination of high infant mortality and deaths in young adulthood from accidents, epidemics, plagues, wars, and childbirth, particularly before modern medicine was widely available, significantly lowers LEB. But for those who survive early hazards, a life expectancy of 60 or 70 would not be uncommon. For example, a society with a LEB of 40 may have few people dying at precisely 40: most will die before 30 or very few after 55. In populations with high infant mortality rates, LEB is highly sensitive to the rate of death in the first few years of life. Because of this sensitivity to infant mortality, LEB can be subjected to gross misinterpretation, leading one to believe that a population with a low LEB will necessarily have a small proportion of older people.[
With all these so called health statistics, people are frustrated with suffering and crawl in their life until death. I don’t consider this as growth because we were on the wrong side of scientific growth. Change should be there on the perception of life to live better and happily.
No one is bothered about these statistics other than people with vested interests and believe that money can buy happiness.
Dr. Sreekumar
I can still hear my hardworking Grandpa yelling at us, “What are you girls doing watching TV in the daytime?” It was always either “you need to get outside and work! or you girls get in the kitchen and help Grandma” He ALWAYS had a chore for us so we wouldn’t be caught sitting down.
I’d rather live a quality shorter life than a longer low quality one. When we isolate age from other factors, it appears we have more life now than we did less than a century ago. However, that statistic tells nothing about the quality of lives then and now.
Longevity is earned by knowing how to care for ones health, rather than just prolonging one’s life. Dan Beutner’s book The Blue Zones gives us some great suggestions for obtaining a longer quality life. I consider it a MUST READ for every US citizen and other citizens of the world who emulate our SAD lifestyle.
Trevor, I agree with all of your remarks: why “cure” anyone, there is no profit in it! Medications are used to keep us living longer but our quality of life is declining.
All of us need to take control of what goes into our bodies, exercise, and use preventative measures like relieving stress daily to take an active part in our well-being. That also includes taking high doses of Vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals discussed on Dr. Saul’s website: http://www.doctoryourself.com.
We need to become our own authority and take steps to improve our health. Start with the information presented here and check out Dr. Andrew Saul’s website for the latest and documented health reports.
We are not living longer, we are dying longer.
Perfectly apt synopsis!
This article mentions the five leading causes of death in 1916. But it lists six. I’m not trying to be a wiseass. I thought the author might like to change it.
Pneumonia and the flu were linked together in the report.
Hi Trevor, Loved your movie; shared it with others. Nevertheless, the number one cause of death in the USA is abortion. More American parents kill their children each year than the combined totals of deaths from cancer and heart disease. One out of six Americans have now died due to abortion; the death toll is approaching the percentages of lives lost in the European Black Plague.
Thus, it would be helpful to factor in abortion as a cause of death in life expectancy in the USA and see how it has impacted mortality rates since most people in the USA die before they are given a chance to live.
Let us pray the rosary every day that God will deliver us from the red plague of abortion
Does 100 years make a beneficial difference from the perspective of todays individual?
Most interesting Trevor. Imagine in 2114 how we may find we’ve gone ‘back to the future’ – where water is so scarce that one full bathtub has to do for the whole family (children and women first please). Where motorised transport has disappeared and speed limits are reduced to safe walking speeds. Where the cancer risk from excess electromagnetic exposure has resulted in social rejection of the mobile phone.
Big Pharma and Big Food have so pushed society to a near apocalyptic state that I believe they now face extinction as the population awakens to the dangers. Of course, if enough of us don’t waken in time then the scenario above could prove to be a post-apocalyptic reality for the few that survive; and 47 years may be an optimistic life-expectancy in a fallout filled environment – always assuming that procreation is still possible!
Yet even at 11:59pm there’s time for humanity to turn it all around. Actually, all we need to do is live fully, collectively and respectfully in each moment with a holistic consciousness. Just as the body heals itself when placed in a non-toxic environment, so mankind and our planet will heal itself when we realise and live our Oneness.