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And in 150 years, folks will be referring to your time as the most horrid thing that could ever befall a person. Your time will be considered unbearable. It will be considered downright stone aged
Ya know, if I'm around in 130 years and folks are waxing poetic about today, romanticizing it as some sort of 'best time in history', I fully intend to tell them they're idiots. lol
Because while it certainly wasn't that bad, there was much to be improved upon as well.
IMO, romanticizing any period as somehow superior only demonstrates an uninformed student...
I saw this video on making cough syrup of almost 1880 style and wished to share with others who long for those better days. Until the sixties it was easy to get the same sorts of medicine over the counter. I remember that wonderful cough syrup Cheracol from my childhood and a bit later. It contained codeine which really soothed a sore throat and allowed sleep. In 1880 it would have more likely been opium so that what we'll use. Your vet should have Paregoric for animals with diarrhea. That's what you want to use. Follow the recipe in the video substituting an ounce of Paregoric for an ounce of the honey or molasses. I knew an old timer in Colorado who swore by it as a cure for insomnia. Lest anyone think I'm advocating drug use I wish to state that I despise street drugs and the people who use them. We're discussing legitimate home remedies and patent medicines here.
In 1880 there was a variety of medicines containing varying amounts of both alcohol and opium as well as different flavorings so people could try various brands until they found their favorites. Horehound wss popular; I'm providing a link to Amazon that has horehound and other flavors. I'm also linking to an interesting Wikipedia article on Paregoric that has some good historical information.. Different sources of honey and molasses can really affect the taste as well.
If you ever run across bottles of Paregoric, Laudanum, anything marked as having narcotics or anything labeled as bitters be sure to save them even if they're empty. People collect these actively. Old bottles aren't the only glass items of value. Insulators, jars, and any handblown iems are well worth your interest. Really old full items with nice labels bring bucks.
There used to be (perhaps there still is) a product called Rock and Rye. Made by several distillers it was simply rye whiskey with rock candy dissolved in it and was often claimed to help a bad cold. Some of the old timers loaded it with lemon juice.
Misty Prepper has a number of other interesting videos. She also uses a traditional cookstove and has no microwave.
Although I like my "stuff" as well as the next person, and I agree 100% with you, HiW, about the great "stuff" they had in 1880, let me go on record as saying that nothing worthwhile in life is really about "stuff".
What makes life worthwhile is free, and it's the same for many people, as it was in 1880. Good friends, good food, a good wife, supper with family around the table, the look in a grandchild's eye when they first see a lighted Christmas tree, a barefoot walk on the beach just after sunset with someone special, or spying a moose lumbering through the woods, not 100 feet ahead of you.
There are some things about human nature that never change...not in 1380, 1880, or 2080. Thank goodness they don't! It gives me hope...hope that the globalist forces of evil plotting against us will fail, hope that young folks will someday get bored with their smartphones, hope that during my remaining years I will not see war, hope that people will once again treat each other kindly.
Although I like my "stuff" as well as the next person, and I agree 100% with you, HiW, about the great "stuff" they had in 1880, let me go on record as saying that nothing worthwhile in life is really about "stuff".
What makes life worthwhile is free, and it's the same for many people, as it was in 1880. Good friends, good food, a good wife, supper with family around the table, the look in a grandchild's eye when they first see a lighted Christmas tree, a barefoot walk on the beach just after sunset with someone special, or spying a moose lumbering through the woods, not 100 feet ahead of you.
There are some things about human nature that never change...not in 1380, 1880, or 2080. Thank goodness they don't! It gives me hope...hope that the globalist forces of evil plotting against us will fail, hope that young folks will someday get bored with their smartphones, hope that during my remaining years I will not see war, hope that people will once again treat each other kindly.
Human nature can be a wonderful thing!
No one feared government agents breaking down the door in 1880. There was no law on the books allowing the government to imprison or even kill people without trial. That did happen under Lincoln, but his death signaled the end of those practices for akmost a hundred and fifty years. The only ''stuff'' that seems to be a product of freedom is the same ''stuff'' that the government has a history of taking or regulating or taxing out of reach of the individual. Pain killers, gold, guns, private assets all fall into the "should be controlled by the government because the people are too stupid'' category.
The government has worked hand in hand with various undesirables in the war on Christmas. Government education regulators pushed sex education whose only purposes were the destruction of the concept of virtue, traditional two parent homes with parents who took their vows seriously, and now working very hard to convince people that both a father and mother are necessary, that two fathers or two mothers engaged in an unnatural relationship is just fine, We may wonder how long it will be until the so-called hate crime laws will prevent all unapproved criticism and activities. There are already schools and workplaces where the very word ''Christmas'' is forbidden, where no one may be criticized for any sort of bizarre behavior, where tobacco, a mild stimulant, is forbidden, but where marajuana, the gateway drug to the world of shadows, is actively encouraged.
I agree with you that the stuff qua stuff is often unimportant, but noting the stuff that's forbidden and the stuff that's allowed is a good measure of a society. What will a Christmas celebration in the home be in a few more years? Will children be instructed to report on their parents to government teachers if they failed to call it "Winter Holiday" or some other approved term? Will celebrating Christmas become a hate crime in itself? How many good wives will exist when girls and boys are told that it's normal, natural, and proper to experiment from the earliest age?
Illegitimate birth rates have skyrocketed during the past fifty years. The traditional family is almost the exception. The government supporters love it. When there's no family structure the state can determine what and how children are taught. The government and their allies have become masters of demonization. It's already unacceptable for Whites to be proud of their race or Christians of their religion. Can the day be faraway when loyal husbands and faithful wives will be the victims of the same contumely? They already openly attack the family. Never forget the ''It takes a village.'' movement. We don't hear about it today, but they haven't forgotten it.
The government has worked hand in hand with various undesirables in the war on Christmas. Government education regulators pushed sex education whose only purposes were the destruction of the concept of virtue, traditional two parent homes with parents who took their vows seriously, and now working very hard to convince people that both a father and mother are necessary, that two fathers or two mothers engaged in an unnatural relationship is just fine, We may wonder how long it will be until the so-called hate crime laws will prevent all unapproved criticism and activities. There are already schools and workplaces where the very word ''Christmas'' is forbidden, where no one may be criticized for any sort of bizarre behavior, where tobacco, a mild stimulant, is forbidden, but where marajuana, the gateway drug to the world of shadows, is actively encouraged.
Anything that is not sustainable...this too, shall pass.
Prior to the eighteen-seventies photography was what's called wet plate. The photographer coated the glass plate with a chemical mixture, took the photograph, then developed the plate while it was still wet. Exposures were still long but not as long as in the days when subjects wore neck braces to prevent movement. Develping could take all day. During the seventies the dry plate was invented and improved. It could be coated ahead of time, first with gelatin, then with chemicals and dried. The photographer exposed the plate when he wished. It didn't require immediate development, but the development process was lengthy and required many chemicals. Unlike wet plates, dry plates were perfect for industrial production.
People loved photographs; even very small towns had professional photographers. But while it was possible for an amateur to do everything that taking a picture entailed it would have required real dedication. I suspect that there were some but not many in 1880. However, homes would have been filled with photographs. Commercial operations could supply them at very reasonable prices.
George Eastman and investor Henry Strong founded the Eastman Dry Plate Company on January 1st, 1881. Eastman had developed what he considered a better coating process along with a machine to coat the plates. He marketed a plate camera which could later be fitted with reels when he invented paper-backed film and put it on the market in 1888. His first roll fim camera which was the first amateur camera was made of wood. It contained a roll of film long enough to hold a hundred pictures. When the user had exposed the whole roll he would send the entire camera back to Eastman. The camera would be returned to the user with developed negatives and prints and loaded with fresh film. The camera cost $25, pricy for the time, but they were very successful. The big event came in 1900 when Eastman introduced the first Brownie at a price of $1. Everyone could afford it. He never expected to make money on the camera; he built his fortune on the sale of film and chemicals.
Notice how small and light the Brownie is.
These little rascals are doing the sort of thing that cats and dogs have always done. This is from a carte de visite of the eighteen seventies. Don't worry; there's a link below the photo. Be sure you click the link; there's something for everyone, even bleeding heart liberals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carte_de_visite#
Last edited by Happy in Wyoming; 04-06-2015 at 05:07 AM..
There was no income tax; there were no gun laws. The frontier was disappearing, but it was still there. If a man had nothing but a horse, saddle, and gun he could build an empire. Government in this country was small; the only blemish albeit a terrible one was the Northern invasion and conquest of the CSA. There was no welfare, mandatory schooling, or laws against child labor; families decided these things. But there were colleges and universities. People loved learning and knowledge. Except for the most depraved, feminine virtue was praised. A man who outraged a woman more often than not paid a terrible price.
The Industrial Revolution was in full flower. People with an idea and a tongue silver enough to raise capital could realize the fruits of their genius. The British government picked an American firm, Pratt and Whitney to retool Woolrich Arsenal. American farmers had the steel plow and the reaper. Steam tractors were on the horizon. Steam railroads crossed the continent carrying passengers and freight; refrigerator cars carrying ice in the heat and charcoal stoves in the cold brought California oranges to New York bankers and fresh oysters from New York harbor to Colorado miners.
Prospects for the future had never been brighter; people knew that they were living in a very special time.
We can't yet bring back the customs and mores of those days of splendor for society as a whole, but we can do so to some extent in our private lives. We can if we wish build our private worlds which can offer the most independence possible in today's America.
We can begin by adopting as much of that earlier technology as possible. For now, we'll need to deal with rules and regulations we despise, but we can put them in the backs of our minds and live as best we can like our forefathers. I'm using a water windmill to pump my water into a cistern. I'm now planning to build another cistern up the hill so that I can have good water pressure without an electric pump to bring water from the cistern into the house. Later projects will include a wood or coal-fired boiler for hot water. I do know how to use a wood cook stove. I've had mine for almost fifty years; my mother on a Thanksgiving visit roasted a turkey and prepared the rest of the meal. She'd learned how to use a cook stove as a girl and really had fun doing it.
I just did something else, more psychological perhaps, but I believe very worthwhile. I moved my computers, fax, credit card terminal, and all but three electric lamps into one room. The three I left out date from 1940 or earlier. I do need phone out in the rest of the house so I don't miss business calls, but even in two days I find I'm using the computer only as an adjunct to my library. My lighting is now courtesy of the Aladdin Kerosene Lamp Co. I realize, however, that I need some smaller lamps as well. I believe Dietz lanterns may do the trick.
I've always worn a mechanical watch, but a modern one. However, for the last few days I've been carrying a pocket watch in a hunter case dating from about 1920.. I do need a repeater (a watch that gives the time with chimes as well as a dial) so that I can get the time in the dark. Radium dials are rather modern.
I found a photograph of President Cleveland and plan to place it in my office (not the computer room).
Now I'll mention the practical: I'll be able to go not just off grid but to a technology from a time when there was no grid. As I become physically less dependent on the modern world I'll become less socially dependent. When I finish typing this post I'll turn off the computer and leave the modern technology room. I'll be back, but in the meantime it will be 1880. If I look out a window I won't see a horseless carriage.
I'm not planning to give up modern medecine, arms, or anything else that can preserve life, e.g., modern fire extinguishers. But the fire and CO alarms will be in very inconspicuous places.
The survivalist wishes to be as free as possible. Self-sufficiency, largely incompatible with the modern age, is one of the best sources of freedom. There were fifty million people in this country in 1880. Let's hope that events will restore that number today. We'll live far better lives.
Considering that in 1880 the average lifespan was 46.5 years sort of takes the romantic edge off the times...........
Considering that in 1880 the average lifespan was 46.5 years sort of takes the romantic edge off the times...........
And considering that those who keep referencing this statistic obviously do not understand statistics, it sort of takes the edge off from the validity of your implication.
Can you cite the standard deviation? The coefficient of skewness? Outliers? The basic distribution of the data? If you can't, you should not be throwing "average" around. It means nothing.
Anyway, thanks for doing the driveby. It means a lot to us.
Why you gotta call him a drive-by ? He's got 26 posts in this forum, that's a start, not a drive-by; not ever bodys' gonna have thousands of posts, not everbodys' knows it all and some choose to read and watch the show. I've been a drive-by too, I guess since I joined in '08 and don't post regular too. You've mentioned this drive-by before - give us a break, brother in law...
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Was there amateur photography in 1880?
