General Chat

I'm sure we all know some pretty useless info. I was thinking it might be a good basis for a quiz. ie you ask a question that you know not a lot of people probably know the answer to. The person who gives the correct answer is then the next one to ask a question. Does that make sense?
No googling unless it lasts a really long time with no answer.
Anyway I'll begin with a fact I was told last night and was surprised by:


In 1908 what was the population of Las Vegas?

Well, it was only founded in 1905 so I'm guessing it can't be much.

HA.... google is a wonderful thing.

30! good grief... I was expecting a hundred or something.

I cheated too lol. but look at this

THE YEAR WAS 1908
This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1908. Here are some statistics for the Year 1908 :
The average life expectancy was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour.
The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .
Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as “substandard. “
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from Entering into their country for any reason.
Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!!!!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea Hadn’t been invented yet.
There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.” ( Shocking? DUH! )
Eighteen percent of households had at least One full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE ! U.S.A. !
Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.
IT

Marion...that was all poor Sally's next questions PMSL

I found out through that being sent to me!
I had imagined maybe it was in the 10s of thousands. But 30!!!!
Anyway over to Summer Scribe for her to pose us a question.

Um uh...what? I didn't know it was round robin... Gah. um... that'll teach me to read the whole post and not just the question LOL. Gimme a sec.

Which was the first country to issue postage stamps? Bonus points for the closest guess at the year.

france

Nope

Emm, Germany?

Great Britain? 1886

Did you cheat Jac or are you a smarty pants ? lol

No to both - thick as pig manure - just a lucky guess, if I'm right - pmsl

Better get your question ready if you are right.

coeee SS where are you?

GB is correct Jac, well done. But the year is wrong. Anyone wanna take a guess? Does it help if I tell you it was the Penny Black?

(sorry I got caught up in my uni work)

Did you all give up on me? :-(

No - just dont want to cheat and google it!

I'll try 1895?

Earlier

last stab - 1837!