Main points 9/16/11

• Generally, everyone on the planet was dirt poor
• Farming rates incredibly high 80% to today's below 2%
• What about the past's incredible achievements, the natural wonders?
• most of the people were serfs, a rank barely above a slave
• they were obligated to construct buildings and give 30% of their wealth to the kings
• serfs' wealth and work went to the building of the monuments 
• No one has seen anything to compare with the work accomplished by 20th century western democracies
• Some of the rich and famous of the past died of causes that could be easily cured today
• Internet gives us access to a plethora of material resources
• Poorer peasants' experience
• Lucky to have pit privies: same streams to drink from that animals bathed and both animals and humans defecated in
• Only had wood
• took miles and hours per day to collect
• Inadequate Housing
• Early Urbanites' experience
• Travel via Horse
• 22 pounds of manure per day
• Trash thrown into streets
• 1/3 of agricultural land to feed horses
• Life Expectancy has risen since the 18th century to now for almost all countries
• 1/3 deaths were due to hunger 
• Much healthier today we are