99% of the world population, and maybe 90% of the American and Continental population. Probably you, back then.
In 1900 60% of the US population lived in rural areas
www.census.gov...
By 1900 most American homes had been fitted with indoor plumbing, however most rural areas still had no such luxuery. Those without plumbing used the outhouse by day and the chamber pot by night. The next morning they threw the contents of the chamber pot out the window or back door. They had no idea that living next to stewing sewage would lead to diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid. They drank water from wells that were next to the sewage they produced and often died in the process.
www.ci.green-bay.wi.us...
Not all city dwellers had indoor plumbing
Many rural and urban American homes still did not have running water at the turn of the 20th century. Rural families without indoor plumbing obtained their water from rain barrels and windmill-pumped underground wells, while city dwellers got water from water-hauling tank wagons, street hydrants, and public water mains. The lack of running water in the home meant that chamber pots and outhouses were the primary collectors of human waste.
www.pbs.org...
Horses were still default transportation and were the primary source of military transportation throughout World War One.
New York City 1900
www.squidoo.com...
Crossing the Rhine 1918
www.landscaper.net...
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk...
In 1900, more Americans died from tuberculosis than from cancer. Each day millions of horses deposited some 25 pounds of manure and urine on city streets.
www.digitalhistory.uh.edu...
The last cholera epidemic in the United States wasn't until 1911.
The sixth cholera pandemic was a major outbreak of cholera from the years 1899 to 1923. It killed more than 800,000 in India then erupted in the Middle East, northern Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe.[1]
The last outbreak in the United States was in 1910-1911 when the steamship Moltke brought infected people to New York City. Vigilant health authorities isolated the infected on Swinburne Island. Eleven people died, including a health care worker at Swinburne Island
secure.wikimedia.org...
For most people, the changes started about 1900 give or take 20 years.
