We Have Been Modern For A Long Time And Don't Know It

     We all like to think of ourselves as modern. And who would not? Modern, up to date, in fashion or what ever you what you want to call it. 
    A documentary was on PBS the other day. It was about the Civil War in the United States. It was strong and to the point with many issues. But something to pick up on was the technology that they had. Much more than most would give them credit for. Yes there was electricity. They had a great working knowledge of metal working. They had photography. Fine furniture and the ability to build fine homes and buildings. Transportation was by horse or the railroads. But sill efficient. 
     Move to the 1870s and 1880s. They successfully performed surgery on then President Grant for his throat cancer. On a boat none the less in the East River in New York City as to no one was to know that the President was in dire straights. Like anything else is the availability to the masses is not wide spread. Therefore the latest technology is limited to the privy. 
     Let us talk about railroads for a bit. Many of the bridges used by railroads were built in the 1800s. Railroads were a primary transportation utility until the 1960s. For the most part all long range and heavy materials were moved by a railroad. Trucks were only used for short distances to deliver the goods to the ultimate user or distributor. Passenger trains were the way to get around. That is how you traveled long distances. They were comfortable and fairly fast. As you did not have to stop and get lodging and food. The train was always moving. With lodging, restaurants, observation cars, club cars, bar cars it had to be a cool way to travel. The United States also had a great interurban transportation system in place in many cities. For example when I used to live in Evansville, Indiana there were still traces of a train line that ran east to Hatfield, Indiana about twenty miles and west to Mt. Vernon, Indiana about twenty miles west. And I believe it was electric. This gave the people that lived in rural environments an opportunity to go to the city for work, visiting and shopping. What a great idea. Los Angeles, California had the Red Line which was a vastly greater example of what I just described. General Motors purchased the system and closed it. To sell cars. 
     The television was actually invented in the 1920s. They even had color. The United States, Russia and England were pioneers in television broadcast. A Hungarian was instrumental in it's invention. The United States had X stations operating in about 1931. I first found this out watching Bobby Jones golf instruction movies on the Golf Channel. They always started out in a certain fashion. The one that got me on a television was one that started in a wealthy persons home. He was watching the Bobby Jones movies on television! At least 25 inch none the less! 
     Telephones are unreal now. Everyone can not go to the bathroom without Spacebooking it to someone else. But there was a time when your phone was hooked to a wall and cord. Now home phones are a luxury if not an oddity. If I could afford it I would have a home phone as well as a cell phone. Be like a citizen with my number and address in the phone book! But then you get all those bothersome soliciting phone calls. But if you think about it the telephone was responsible for the internet, fax machines, data transfer all starting in the 1930s with the exception of the internet. Which if you take in account the fax, data transfer and mobile phones was in effect at that time. It is just that it was not in every household. 
     The older of media was the radio. The first commercial radio station in the United States was WDKA in Pittsburgh. A 50,000 watt station that ushered in a lot of other 50,000 watt stations that aided aircraft navigation. An aircraft could lock into the radio signal itself or a carrier beam sent by the station. If they did not care to listen to the normal programing.  Follow it to their designation regardless of the weather. These stations were called clear channel stations as other stations broadcasting on that frequency would have to greatly reduce their power at night so they would not interfere with the clear channel station. Pretty smart before radar and GPS.
     I could stretch this out into automobiles, aviation, ships, weapons and countless other things. Take home appliances. But I think I will save them for another post. You can look at this on your smartphone. But you are too busy looking at videos and Facebook I know.