21 Statistics That Prove the Past Was Shockingly Different

When you put time on a grand scale, it would appear that change is something that takes a very long time to happen. But take a quick snap of any given era, and you'll quickly see how that really isn't the case.

With the help of timecop Auntiememe, we've put together some snapshots from history that show how quickly surprising changes can happen.

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Entry by AM Smiley

The average man is nearly 30 lbs heavier today than in the 1960s. 2 160 140 120 180 100 200 80 220 60 240 40 300 leporiy 260 20 0 280 5 9 73 4 5 3 4 3

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Entry by AM Smiley

Think college students are getting more lazy and 2 entitled? 3 3 Well, twice as many students have jobs today as compared to 30 years ago. Between 70

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Entry by AM Smiley

TV viewing has plummeted 27% among young adults in just the last four 2 years. 8 3 713 3 5 3 9 2 2 Between the first quarter of 2011 and the fourth qu

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Entry by AM Smiley

Drug use in teenagers has been steadily declining over the past 20 years. 8 27 percent of American 8th, ioth, and I2th In 1997, that graders reported

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Entry by AM Smiley

Think more teens than ever are having babies? They're not. Teen pregnancy rates have dropped nearly in half since the ' 5s. 100 100 90 90 Birthrate le

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Entry by AM Smiley

Smoking has gone down by half since the'5os. In 1954, 45% of Americans reported smoking cigarettes in the previous week. In 2014, that number was down

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Entry by AM Smiley

We're spending half as much time searching for porn. 8 In 1998, 20% of searches on the Internet were for porn. By 2008, that number had dropped to 10%

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Entry by AM Smiley

The population of the United States has more than tripled since 1900. The U.S. population was 76 million in 1900, and 281 million in 2000. CRACKEDGON

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Entry by AM Smiley

The number of young young adults getting married has halved since the '6os. Number of 18-31s living with a spouse in 1968: 56%. In 2012:23%. 3 4 wpesc

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Entry by AM Smiley

Moving back in with your parents is nothing new. In 1968, 32% of 18 to 31-year-olds lived with their parents. In 2012, that number jumped to 36%. IT h

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Entry by AM Smiley

52.3% of Americans are unhappy 8 with their jobs. In I987, only 38.9 T ofworkers polled were unhappy. 2 2 And despite all the advances in technology o

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Entry by AM Smiley

In I9IO, Americans would have had an average IQof7oby today's norms. G Our mean IQ today is 130 to 150, depending on the test. IQ expert James Flynn e

9
Entry by AM Smiley

The richest I6o, 000 families in America now own as much as the poorest I 145 million families. 30% 25% 20% we3 O 15% 83 t 10% total of % CR N & 1o 19

8
Entry by AM Smiley

U.S. homicide rates are at their lowest point SincE 1962. 8 3 1 8 3 3 3 U.S. homicide rate in 1962 and 2010: 4.8 per 100,000. web ebacthiveaghebnooroa

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Entry by AM Smiley

Since 1950, 90% ofall the large fish in the ocean have disappeared. This includes open ocean species including tuna, swordfish, and marlin, and large

6
Entry by AM Smiley

Since the ' 7OS, the high school dropout rate has been cut in half. The dropout rate in 1970 was 14.6%. 4 In 2014, the rate was 7.1%. Percent of US jo

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Entry by AM Smiley

Rate of college completion for the U.S. population2 25 and over in 1970: 11% 3 Rate of college completion for people 34% aged 25-29 in 2013: w.census.

4
Entry by AM Smiley

Alcohol is causing a lot more problems today than it did 40 years ago. In 1974, 12% of Americans surveyed said drinking has been the cause of trouble

3
Entry by AM Smiley

Birth rates in the U.S. are the lowest they've been since we started keeping track. Fqure Trendsin thasr 000 women ages 15-44): SCC Ye8r950-2013 150 1

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Entry by AM Smiley

There are ten times as many people over 65 today as there were Iooyear ears ago. In 1900, there were 3.1 million Americans over 65. In 2000, that numb

1
Entry by AM Smiley

Senior citizens are getting STDs in record numbers. 4 5 3 4 From 2007 to 2011, chlamydia infections among 2 Americans 65 and over increased by 31 perc