Flashback to the last US total solar eclipse

While total solar eclipses happen about every 18 months, it's been 99 years since one crossed the United States from sea to shining sea. That's why Monday Aug. 21 will be such a big event.

What was the world like the last time this happened?

1. World War I was in its final months
While Americans at home were looking up at the eclipse, soldiers in Europe were in the mist of the "Hundred Days Offensive." The offensive essentially pushed the Germans out of France, forcing them to retreat beyond the Hindenburg Line, and was followed by an armistice.


2. More people died from a massive flu pandemic that broke out the same year
The Spanish flu of 1918-19, it would kill between 20 and 50 million people. It infected about one-third of the planet's population.


3. Daylight saving time became official
Daylight saving time became official when Congress signed it into law on March 19, 1918. Now many people would like to see it repealed.


4. Woodrow Wilson was president
The 28th president of the United States was in his second term.



5. Renting an apartment cost $178 a year on average
That may not seem like much now, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that the average family income was $1,518.

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