Modern Standard of Living History Truths!

We often take our modern standard of living for granted. By understanding our history, we can be grateful for our progress.

I find this especially important in a time when people tend to criticize anything even slightly negative.

Without a doubt, we’re living in the most incredible era in human history, and a lot of our modern comforts stem from the Industrial Age.

Sure, the solutions from that time might seem insane now, but in two hundred years, people will likely say the same about our era. It’s all about perspective!

My goal here is to help you familiarize yourself with our industrial past so that you can better shape the future and appreciate the progress we’ve made with today’s technologies.

1. Horses in cities

Today, vehicles connect us like never before, especially in the US, where vast distances separate towns and cities. They also help transport essential supplies everywhere.

But before vehicles, we relied heavily on horses for transportation. The scenes from old Western movies of people traveling by horse and carriage were real life.

In 1890, thousands of horses roamed the streets of New York City, pulling streetcars, assisting with deliveries, and more. Estimates range from 100,000 to 200,000 horses in the city, so let’s assume a staggering 150,000.

Now, let’s break down some numbers. An average horse weighing around 1,000 pounds produces about 31 pounds of manure and 2.4 gallons of urine daily. This translates to:

• 31 pounds x 150,000 = 4,650,000 pounds (2,325 tons) of manure produced daily
• 2.4 gallons x 150,000 = 360,000 gallons of urine produced daily

And for a whole year:

• 2,325 tons x 365 = 1,700,000,000 pounds (848,625 tons) of manure produced yearly
• 360,000 gallons x 365 = 131,400,000 gallons of urine produced yearly

It’s mind-blowing! And we can’t forget the side effects from all this waste:

• Terrible smells infiltrating every street
• Swarms of flies buzzing around
• Cleanup crews constantly clearing streets and removing dead horses
• Tens of millions of acres of managed farmland to feed the horses
• Public health crises from the spread of diseases. One journalist with Appleton Magazine in 1908 stated that each year, 20,000 New Yorkers died from “maladies that fly in the dust, created mainly by horse manure.”
• Loss of mobility due to waste covering every corner of every street

People needed horses, and it’s all they knew, so they put up with the problems they caused. At the same time, thousands of horses were overworked to death, and horse cruelty was rampant. In 1880, it was reported that New York City removed 15,000 dead horses from its streets.

2. Sailing ships

In the 1800s, during the age of sail, life was tough. Imagine being wet and cold on treacherous open waters for weeks, with cramped living spaces, poor food, and widespread disease.

Outbreaks of serious diseases like measles, scarlet fever, typhoid, smallpox, and tuberculosis were common. The youngest passengers were hit hardest, and it wasn’t unusual for babies and children to die during these journeys, leading to low morale on board ships.

Today, airplanes are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 9% of such emissions from America’s transportation sector. But how many people would choose to travel overseas by ship, even a modern one? Not many I know. We all want our quick mode of transportation.

Yet, we still complain about 12-hour flights in climate-controlled cabins.

3. Housework

Before modern technology, housework was seriously a full-time gig.

Not to take anything away from today’s housewives and househusbands, but they’ve got nothing on their counterparts from over a hundred years ago.

Back then, there were no modern luxuries like plumbing and electricity – the stuff we now take for granted.

So, whether you liked it or not, manual labor was a huge part of life and essential for your family’s survival.

Here are some examples of how different housekeeping was:

• Cooking: you’d haul clean water from the well for drinking and cooking, then lug the dirty water back outside.
• Food: hunting and growing your own fruits and veggies were the norms. Preparing fires in the house to cook food took up a big chunk of the day. Often, families used coal, turning the kitchen into a hot, smoky, and smelly place.
• Clothes: you sewed your own clothes, as buying them was too pricey for many.
• Laundry: washing clothes one by one by hand and hanging them to dry was the way to go.

So, our modern kitchen and cleaning appliances are like machine servants, replacing the work of entire families who did housework from dawn till dusk, day in and day out!

4. Freshwater

Back in the day, folks didn’t have access to proper water filtration. This meant water-borne diseases were rife, and cholera was the real deal. In less than 24 hours, cholera could take you out, and in the 1800s, it claimed millions of lives.

But a clever scientist named John Snow discovered that outbreaks were linked to drinking water sources. He found that contaminated water was making people sick, thanks to water pump contamination. Snow also discovered that chlorine was a potent purifier, making contaminated water safe to drink.

As populations swelled, cities began constructing dams to meet the growing demand for clean water. Dams not only generated power but also provided a vital source of water for cities when rainfall was scarce.

In short, chlorine and dams were essential for city growth. Freshwater is, unsurprisingly, just as valuable as fuel sources.

5. Energy

Before renewable energy and electricity, people burned all sorts of unrefined solids to cook and stay warm, like:

• Coal
• Manure
• Wood

They burned these solids indoors, too – and who could blame them?

The harsh winters were freezing cold, so the decision to burn these solids was often a matter of life or death.

But can you imagine the pollution and toxicity levels inside some of these homes?

To make matters worse, burning wood releases more CO2 than oil, gas, and even coal for the same amount of heat. And to top it all off, many families didn’t have proper chimneys or vents to clear the smoke from their homes.

6. Vaccines, antibiotics, and sanitizing chemicals

Just over a hundred years ago, infectious diseases were the deadliest killers around. If you managed to survive, there was a high chance you’d be disabled for life.

Back in the pre-1900s, having a large family was a smart move because the child mortality rate was shockingly high. You hoped that at least a few of your kids would grow up and help the household.

But fast forward to today, and things are looking much better. The mortality rate in America has dropped a jaw-dropping 74%, and vaccines and antibiotics are the heroes behind this change.

Just check out the stats:

• 1860: 39.4 years
• 1900: 48.2 years
• 1950: 67.2 years
• 1980: 73.3 years
• 2020: 78.8 years

7. Plastic

Take a look around your home. I bet you’ll find plastic in your cupboards, fridge, on your walls, and in every nook and cranny of your house. It’s cheap, lightweight, water-resistant, and can preserve goods for ages. Plus, you can mold it into any shape you want!

But did you know that long before plastic, we used animal parts instead? We used bones from large whales, tortoise shells, and animal horns and antlers. Back in the 1800s, these animal parts were considered luxuries reserved only for the elite. However, this desire for luxury led to the near extinction of many animals.

It’s crazy to think that people even killed thousands of elephants just to make billiard balls. Yes, we almost wiped out one of the most magnificent animals that have ever roamed the Earth for a silly game. For every set of billiard balls, American manufacturers killed at least two elephants.

It wasn’t until Michael Phelan, a head honcho in the billiard industry, realized that elephants were going extinct that he decided to take action. As a businessman, he knew that the price for tusks would skyrocket due to basic supply and demand. So he offered a $10,000 reward (which is around $200,000 in today’s dollars) for a substitute material.

And six years later, John Wesley Hyatt invented the first synthetic plastic in 1869.

8. Crop protection

Did you know that without pesticides protecting crops, pests and parasites would destroy the foods we eat? It’s crazy to think that without them, there would be nothing left for us to enjoy.

But before modern pesticides, farmers used some seriously toxic substances to protect their crops. I’m talking about arsenic and hydrogen cyanide!

In the late 1800s, caterpillars destroyed many fruit trees, and farmers had to do something to protect their fruits. So they came up with the bright idea of combining lead and arsenic and spraying it on the fruit trees. It worked for a while until the caterpillars became resistant, and farmers had to spray more lead arsenate.

Unfortunately, this caused the soil to become contaminated with a build-up of lead and arsenic. And these elements don’t break down quickly, remaining toxic in the soil for decades.

But back then, these substances were necessary to feed the growing populations, especially since harsh winters struck every year, and food was in short supply.

9. Fertilizers

Ever paused and pondered how many folks it takes to feed the U.S.? Back in 2019, our population was a whopping 328 million, with 157 million hardworking souls in the workforce.

Now picture this: 78 million of ’em working on farms today. Insane, huh? Yet, once upon a time, that was the cold, hard truth.

In the early 1900s, almost half the workforce was bustin’ their backs on farms, feeding our great nation. Thank heavens for synthetic fertilizers that keep our soil fertile; otherwise, millions would be famished. Farming can wreak havoc on soil health, so these fertilizers are a necessary evil to keep our land healthy.

Just remember, everything about our modern lifestyle comes with a price. It’s a constant balancing act, and we gotta stay aware of that.

Conclusion

Each of these milestones forms the backbone of our modern lives. Put simply, you couldn’t enjoy your amazing life today without ’em.

Only when you know where we’ve been can you truly grasp why we can’t just snap our fingers and fix the world’s problems in a heartbeat.

Real life ain’t like the movies, folks!

The intricacies of today’s world are enough to make your head spin. It’s crazy hard to wrap our heads around all the tradeoffs that come with our tech. So, let’s learn from the past and cherish today’s innovations.

At the same time, we’ll strive to create even better tech as we grow. Just remember, change can feel slower than a snail when you’re living in the moment. That’s probably why we keep hearing, “why on Earth are we still burning coal in the 21st century?!”

Looking back, though, the shift will be crystal clear. Just like the leap from horses to cars in our history, which is now just a tiny blip on the radar.

What are your thoughts on the history of our modern standard of living? Do you think if people had a greater perspective on today’s modern standard of living, they’d appreciate life more?