The World in 1899 the year a car broke 60 miles an hour

About a million telephones were working in America, and most of them sat in offices, shops and hotels. To call someone you walked to the drugstore, gave the number to an operator and waited while she plugged the wires together by hand.

Life back then

Most homes were lit by oil. Every evening someone filled the kerosene lamps, trimmed the wicks and wiped the soot off the glass. Gas jets hissed in the halls of better houses. Electric light belonged to theatres, department stores and a few rich blocks downtown, and people walked over in the evening just to stand under it. In the country, a bright night still meant the moon.

The year in 8 events

• ⚔️Feb 4 Fighting starts in Manila between American and Filipino troops. The Philippine-American War begins.
• 🌲Mar 2 Mount Rainier in Washington becomes a national park, the fifth in the country.
• 💊Mar 6 Bayer registers the name Aspirin in Berlin.
• 🏎️Apr 29 Camille Jenatzy drives an electric car past 100 kilometres an hour, about 66 miles an hour.
• 🥊Jun 9 James J. Jeffries knocks out Bob Fitzsimmons and takes the world heavyweight title.
• 🎖️Oct 11 War breaks out in South Africa between Britain and the two Boer republics.
• 🦁Nov 8 The Bronx Zoo opens to the public in New York.
• 💥Dec 15 British troops are beaten at Colenso in South Africa. It is the third loss in seven days, a run London calls Black Week.

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