Tuesday, May 1, 2007

An Amazing Age

I started my day by reading a great post at my pal Suttonhoo's blog about The Economist article that says internet search sites are taking over porn sites in popularity. I've been thinking about the fact that my son knows that "Google" can be a noun or a verb. The other night after reading a book that we love called Buddy Booby's Birthmark, we Googled "red-billed booby" & "Galapagos tortoise" and he was able to see more pictures, and learn more about their habitat.

And this afternoon, I checked my email and noted that in the slew of email I get from the k-t support group that there was a live webcast of a vascular anomalies clinic from Boston Children's Hospital, and all I had to do was click on the link to watch these incredible doctors, some of the top doctors in the country, going over cases of children from all over the country with rare vascular disorders. The term Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome tripped off their tongues like they talked about it all day, instead of wondering how to pronounce it. I couldn't help but be fall on my knees grateful for this wondrous technology that is making this world smaller, more accessible, so that my son, by the time he is old enough to start making his doctor's appointments, will be able to say "here are a few websites that will give you the information you need", or "you can check out the webcast", or even just find others like himself.

Support, contact, knowledge. What an amazing age we live in.

1 comment:

anne said...

To add to the amazing-ness, I got this piece in an email from a friend this week. If it were 100 years ago, I would be dead, probably from Borax shampoo or herion use!

Here are some of the U.S. Statistics for the Year 1907:
************************************

The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years of age

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.

There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.

With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower

The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.

The average U.S. Worker made between $200 and $400 per year

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year; a dentist made $2,500 per year; a veterinarian $1,500 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. Took place at home

Ninety percent of all U.S. Doctors had no college education. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by 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 in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars, since Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day

Two out of every 10 U.S. 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."

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.A.