It’s time for another whimsical Tuesday Turnip Google search wherein I type a random phrase and we see what kind of interesting factoids “turn-up.”

Today I typed in “100 years ago” unearthing a whole pantload of fun factoids. The most interesting ones come from a list that was circulated between 2002 and 2004, so, technically, we’re now talking 100+, but you’ll still love these. The list was copied and recopied all over the web, but most come from these two sites:
“100 years ago…”
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30

The average life expectancy in the US was 47

Only 14% of the homes in the US had a bathtub

Only 8% of the homes had a telephone

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11

There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved roads

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph

One in ten US adults couldn’t read or write

Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school

Coca Cola contained cocaine

Marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores

And lastly, because it’s that time of year (from a completely different site): Saint Louis University football coach Eddie Cochems called the first forward pass in football 100 years ago, on Sept. 5, 1906