To answer your question directly: before their was electricity, people relied more on muscle power and the power of animals to accomplish work. Things like hauling water often meant using muscle power to pump it out of the ground, for one example. Also, people tended to live more in sync with the daylight. Early to bed (to save candles and lamp oil) and early to rise to take advantage of the sun.
If you are unaware of or can not afford a thing, it does not bother you that much. Many of the wealthy people were able to obtain this energy as soon as it was available. As the utility became more economical, more people were able to afford this new utility.
How many remember the pager prior to the cell phone becoming affordable.
. They first came on the scene and was only owned by doctors, attorneys and wealthy people. Then the technology was reduced to a chip no larger than your baby little finger nail and became inexpensive to mass produce.
The first cell phone was huge, you almost had to be a weight lifter to carry one of the earlier cell phones. then the chips became smaller, thus inexpensive and massed produced. You are no
As a young boy, we were unable to afford a telephone. When my family was able to afford a telephone it was what they considered a party line. There were three other families on the same line as you. You were assigned a number from 1-4. Based on the number of rings would determine if the phone call was for your house or not.
It took a couple of years before the telephone company reduced the party line to 2 families.
Let's go over something else we take for granted that was used for many years. There outhouses that were used by up to four or five families. These outhouses were places where you went to take a crap or pee. There was no running water to these facilities. A city worker and truck came by once a week to take the waste out. There was no toilet tissue, most used newspaper or some other paper to wipe themselves. These outhouses were constructed of wood and were about 3 ft by 3 ft, just enough for you to get in and sit down. There was a latch inside that you used to keep others from coming in while you were using this facility. Can you imagine to day using a public facility today?
When power became economical enough for most people to afford power, most only were able to have a single light hanging down from the ceiling. Very few had more than one electrical plug in each room as there were no appliances that would be used, except the radio.
I wonder what the hell we did before cell phones. My grandchildren cannot live without this critter.
Progress will continue. As you age, you will find things, in the future that will baffle you, because you did not or were unable to keep up with, the technology.
Your generation have no idea of what it is to live without a microwave or VCR. My generation learned how to adept and use this new technology.
What is foreign to one generation is common to another generation.
I hope this has been of some benefit to you, good luck.
"FIGHT ON"
I have spent many summers in a log cabin with no electricity, using kerosene lamps and candles for light (or a Coleman lantern), a wood stove for all cooking (and for hot water); fireplace for heat on a chilly night; conversation, card games or books for entertainment; had no need for any telephone or TV. We had a battery-powered CB radio for emergencies. Firewood and sunlight provided more than enough "power", most of the time.
Even today, that place only has "electricity" when someone needs it and turns on the gas-powered generator; no TV, no internet, and only spotty cellphone service. There are about 30 neighbors living exactly the same way and seeming to enjoy it.
Trust me... we had power way before 1992. Even back in 1965 when I was born. I don't think that there is any living person right now that has experienced living without power for any extended time period.
Yes, life was quite different 100 plus years ago. But nobody here could tell you that they have been there.
Maybe the better question is how did they survive without phones, kitchen appliances, tv, home lighting. You adapt with what you have to work with. There are several tribes still around that have no electricity. In this country are the Amish. If you live in an Amish area you could always ask them how they do it.
There are still millions of people who live without electrcity and millioms more that live without reliable electricsl power.
I myself spend about 6 months a year on an island that, when it works OK, only has electricity 12 hours a day . But we have blackouts that last for weeks, currently they have been without power since a big storm in mid summer
For light at nighttime, it was a candle or oil lamp. Without a fridge, people would use ice or just not keep perishable food sitting around. And BTW until 20 or so years ago the only phone anyone had was attached to the wall.
They didn't rely on it because they didn't even know what it was. If they did, they would be more wistful. What people did without power, well, they used their hands around the home, candles, fireplace, basic kitchen appliances and such.
Household conveniences tended to be a staff of servants who handled labor intensive cleaning, food preparation, etc. that machines do for us now.
Life was quite different before the Industrialized age.
The history of "Electrification" is given here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrifica...
"
The Pre-Industrial Sources of Power: Muscle Power"
http://www.historytoday.com/j-kenneth-ma...
There are still plenty of people in the world living with no electricity.
They did not have all of the appliances or conveniences that require electricity. They used wood burning stoves for cooking and heating, open window and doors for cooling, caves or basements to keep perishable foods cool and oil lamps for lighting. There were no radios, tvs, or electronic games. Life was simple.
I was born in 1992, so I grew up relying on power. It's made me wonder "what did people do before power and how did they ever live without it"? I rely on it for everything. My phone, my tv, kitchen appliances. Everything. How did people ever live without power?
Before "power" was found - there weren't the devices invented yet that needed "power".
cool
cook with fire. keep warm with clothes. lights were candles...
they made fire and just handled it, like you would have to.
ok ok
