Wire your home for 17.95 in 1914 (AC, phones, appliance, rooms)

[JD59]

It would be nice if prices didn't go up so high like now. Picture of a sign.

[Pitt Chick]

I doubt anyone would want to go back to 1914 wages to go with 1914 prices....

[eddie1278]

Cool picture. Back then homes were easy to wire. Balloon framing and no insulation for the most part.

que the Ultrarunner tangent in 3...2...1 ahaha

[reed303]

An inflation rate calc says that $17.95 from 1914 would be $426.94 today. Which could be a good price for 5 outlets. The ad appears to be from the local electric co, so wonder if this is a subsidized charge, kind of like cellphones today ?

[FabulousE]

Originally Posted by reed303

An inflation rate calc says that $17.95 from 1914 would be $426.94 today. Which could be a good price for 5 outlets. The ad appears to be from the local electric co, so wonder if this is a subsidized charge, kind of like cellphones today ?

I agree. I bet $17.95 didn't seem inexpensive to people back then.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by FabulousE

I agree. I bet $17.95 didn't seem inexpensive to people back then.

I bet it was a nice chunk of change. The average wage was about .22 or about $2 a day or 11-12 bucks a week.
In 1914...
The average house cost $6,156
The average automobile cost $550
The average wage was $577
The number of registrations for U.S. private and commercial automobiles was 1,664,003
The total road and street mileage in the U.S. was 2,666,000
The population for the U.S. and its territories was 108,745,383
The total track mileage for regional public transit systems was 45,454
There was only one U.S.-based airline that offered regularly scheduled passenger flights aboard winged aircraft, encompassing a total of 172 flights; 1,205 passengers; and 7,000 miles
The number of Major League Baseball teams was 24
The U.S. Congress consisted of 96 Senators, 435 Representatives, and 5 non-voting members
The U.S. Constitution had a total of 17 amendments
The annual average for the Consumer Price Index was 10.0
Today
The average house costs $218,200
The average automobile costs $28,150
The average wage is $44,670
The number of registrations for U.S. private and commercial automobiles is 124,136,450
The total road and street mileage in the U.S. is 4,078,000
The population for the U.S. and its territories is 308,745,538
The total track mileage for regional public transit systems is 1,550,000
There are 64 U.S.-based airlines that offer regularly scheduled passenger flights aboard winged aircraft, encompassing a total of 9,263,825 flights; 734,236,433 passengers; and 817,630,150 miles
The number of Major League Baseball teams is 30
The U.S. Congress consists of 100 Senators, 435 Representatives, and 6 non-voting members
The U.S. Constitution has a total of 27 amendments
The annual average for the Consumer Price Index is 229.594

[emm74]

I like that they also sold the lamps and the "electric labor-saving appliances" to use with your spiffy new outlets!

[wit-nit]

In 1914. The average annual income was $577. The average cost of a new car was $500 while a new house averaged $3,500 not $6,100. A gallon of milk (mostly sold by the quart) carried a 32 -cent price tag while a gallon of gas was 12 cents. A loaf of bread cost six cents.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...e+cost+in+1914

[Billy_J]

Note that was for just 1 outlet in each room only, 5 rooms maximum. I think they mostly used electricity for lights.

Also at one point, you could choose if you wanted DC (direct current) or AC (alternating current).