1914: Then and Now

• 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

• 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

• The Panama Canal was opened, with the steamship S.S. Ancon becoming the first vessel to officially transit that water route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
• The first electric traffic light was installed between Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio
• The traffic cone was invented by Charles P. Rudabaker for use in New York City
• The Florida-based St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line operated as the world's first airline both using winged aircraft and offering regularly scheduled passenger flights
• The maiden flight of the Curtiss Model H seaplane, which was the first aircraft with trans-Atlantic range potential and major cargo-carrying capacity (setting the stage for international commercial air travel), occurred at Hammondsport, New York
• The Cunard Line's express ocean liner RMS Aquitania (nicknamed "Ship Beautiful"), which would become one of the longest-serving vessels of its kind and the last to be equipped with four funnels, made her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City
• Eric Wickman founded what would become Greyhound Lines, North America's largest intercity bus company, in Hibbing, Minnesota.
• The sales of Model T Fords surpassed 250,000
• The innovative New York City subway car AB Standard was introduced under the operation of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company
• The United States Power Squadrons, which is now the nation's largest non-profit boating organization, was established to help improve maritime safety and to provide classes in such related subjects as seamanship and navigation
• The Lincoln Highway Association, as a key means for promoting its plans for a transcontinental highway, launched a program of "seedling miles" to showcase paved and improved portions of that route; construction began on the first "seedling mile," a section of road made with cement pavement just west of Malta, Illinois.
• Georgia's Savannah Automobile Club first met to outline plans for establishing what would become a national network of connected roads collectively known as the Dixie Highway
• A meeting was held in St. Joseph, Missouri, to formally plan construction of the transcontinental Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway, which was completed in 1924 and stretched from New York City to Los Angeles
• The Butt Memorial Bridge, which was dedicated to presidential aide Major Archibald Butt two years after he lost his life in the sinking of the Titanic, was officially opened in Augusta, Georgia, and became the first memorial erected in memory of that maritime disaster
• Switzerland's Langwieser Viaduct, the first-ever railway bridge to be constructed of concrete, was completed
• Chicago's landmark Canal Street railroad bridge, featuring a main span that was the heaviest of any vertical-lift bridge in the U.S. at that time, was completed
• Hertford Bridge, popularly known as the Bridge of Sighs and linking the Old and New Quadrangles of Hertford College, was completed in Oxford, England
• John Francis Dodge and his brother Horace Elgin Dodge built their first automobile — the four-cylinder Dodge Model 30, which was originally intended to compete with the Model T Ford but ultimately became the first of a world-famous brand encompassing a variety of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles
• In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Post Office Department began using a fleet of government-owned-and-operated motor vehicles for mail collection and delivery
• U.S. Secretary of Interior Franklin Wright Lane entered into an agreement with the Office of Public Roads to create access roads for Glacier, Sequoia, and Yosemite National Parks
• The Alaska Railroad was established by Congress to facilitate economic development in what was then the Territory of Alaska
• The first major motorcycle race in the U.S. took place with the inaugural Kansas-based Dodge City 300, which was sponsored by the Federation of American Motorcyclists
• The Massachusetts-based Cape Cod Canal opened, shortening the trip between New York City and Boston by 66 miles
• Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company, the oldest privately held trailer manufacturer in the U.S. and the largest manufacturer of refrigerated vans, was founded by E.W. Bennett and H.C. Bennett
• Swiss road bicycle racer Oscar Egg set a new and longstanding official world record of 44.247 miles for the longest distance traveled by a bicycle in an hour's time
• Albrecht von Goertz, a noted automobile designer for BMW, was born in Brunkensen, Germany
• O. Winston Link, a photographer best known for his black-and-white images of railroads, was born in Brooklyn, New York

• President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother's Day in the U.S. and designating that it be held on the second Sunday in May
• Babe Ruth made his major-league baseball debut as a player for the Boston Red Sox
• Wrigley Field, the home ballpark for the Chicago Cubs and the second oldest active major-league ballpark, was built as Weeghman Park
• Charlie Chaplin made his film debut in the comedy short "Making a Living," and first appeared as his world-famous Little Tramp character in a movie later that year entitled "Kid Auto Races at Venice"
• World War I began
• Pope Benedict XV became the head of the Catholic Church
• The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank opened for business
• William F. Mangels received a patent for the popular amusement park ride The Whip, which consists of two circular turntable platforms on opposing ends of a rectangular base
• The Tinkertoy construction set was created in Evanston, Illinois, by Charles H. Pajean and Robert Petit
• The Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, the pioneer of the process for color movies, was founded in Boston
• The Mary Jane peanut-butter-and-molasses-flavored candy was first made
• Listerine became the first over-the-counter mouthwash sold in the U.S.
• The Wrigley Company's Doublemint chewing gum was introduced
• The Tasty Baking Company, which produces a line of snack foods under the brand name of Tastykake, was founded in Philadelphia by Philip Baur and Herbert Morris
• Garrett Morgan received a patent for a safety hood and smoke protector that was an early version of the gas mask
• Willis Carrier received a patent for an automatic control system that would help bring about modern air conditioning
• The first transcontinental telephone line was set up between New York City and San Francisco
• The foxtrot dance was introduced in New York City