When I was little, there were certain assumptions I made about life.
I thought pretty much everyone lived to be 100, except my parents, who I assumed were immortal millionaires, and I firmly believed no song would ever replace Genesis’ “That’s All” in my Fisher-Price cassette tape recorder.
Naturally, as an idiot child, I was wrong on pretty much all counts.
Casey PhillipsWeird Al Yankovich’s “Dare To Be Stupid” eventually ejected Phil Collins and Company for well and good. Despite my hopes for a rich inheritance, my parents were squarely in the lower end of the “thousandaire” economic bracket. They’re still alive and kicking, though, so perpetual life isn’t off the table yet.
As to living to 100, I was about 30 years off my estimated life expectancy – thanks, science – but experts predict that infants born in 2057 could reasonably expect to become centenarians.
Even if it becomes more common down the road, however, I think joining the triple-digit club will remain special. It’s an undeniable biological accomplishment, and barring someone inexplicably living to see 200, a century stands a good chance of being the ultimate milestone age for the foreseeable future.
The likelihood of seeing my own 100th birthday is statistically slim, but I do a bit of online research every January to appreciate just how different the coming year must be for those lucky few centenarians who have beaten the odds and survived to today.
Here are a few interesting comparisons between 2016 and 1916 to bring up at your next cocktail party. Extra points if you mistakenly offer them up to a true-blue centenarian.
* Value of a dollar, adjusted for inflation: $21.77
* U.S. population in 1916: 102 million
* World population in 1916: 1.8 billion
* Adjusted price of a dozen eggs: $7.40 (34 cents in 1916)
* Adjusted price of a pound of butter: $7.80 (36 cents in 1916)
* Best-selling book of 1916: “Seventeen” by Booth Tarkington
* Famous births of 1916: Jackie Gleason, Walter Cronkite, Kirk Douglas, Betty Grable, Gregory Peck and Roald Dahl
* Notable inventions of 1916: Stainless steel, radio tuners, Lincoln Logs, supermarkets (Piggly Wiggly), the hamburger bun, light switches and the tow truck (by Chattanoogan Ernest Holmes, no less)
As you sally forth into 2016, take a minute to appreciate the fact that you live in an age when butter and eggs are fairly cheap, your steel pans are stain-free and you can scan the airwaves to find a station playing Genesis songs.
Oh, what a time to be alive.
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205.