It Could Be Worse Week: The 1900 House

So, lets tell a long, rambling story to get us to our point. Back about five years ago or so I was sitting in a hair salon, waiting patiently for the future Mrs Titan to have something or other done to her hair. Anyway, I was desperately searching for something to read that wasn't about celebrities sleeping with other celebrities, or the 50 Best Ways to Satisfy My Man. I ended up picking up the manliest magazine in the joint, O Magazine.

It it was an article about Oprah herself, or maybe her friend or something, going to visit the set of a PBS reality show called Colonial House. The first thing to catch my eye: PBS reality show. Wow, what was the world coming to? Then I read a little about the show. Since then, Mrs Titan and I have seen three of the "House" series.

This weekend, however, we watched the first of these, 1900 House. So, what is the House series? Well, they set up a house (or in later cases a village or community) with period accurate items, and then a family (or multiple families) live there for three months. The 1900 House was filmed in Britain in 1999 and featured the Bowler Family. The Bowlers, made up of a mom, dad, three daughters, and one son, had to deal with 1900 living for three months, and their adventures were fascinating.

They are forced to live as if in 1900, so no electricity, just gas lamps,. No central heating, just a range (kinda like a big cast iron stove). No indoor toilet, but they do have indoor running water (with no hot water heater, just a boiler in the range). They have no dishwasher, no shampoo, no washer or dryer, and are not allowed to eat or use any products that weren't commercially available in 1900 London.

This show (and the others like Colonial and Frontier House) is the best at showing what life was really like in these times. Not only are they only allowed to use items that would have been used, but they do their best to stick to the social and moral norms of the society at the time. The women need to be fully dresses in corsets and dresses at all times. They are not allowed to take jobs outside of the home, and they actually seem to have to work harder than the men.

This show is a fascinating look at history and at who we are now. How spoiled is the average American or Briton (this is the worst in Frontier House)? We take so many things for granted, and I, for one, am very happy that we live when we do. These shows do not glamorize the past, they show the past for what it really was: hard. Anyone with any interest in history and how far we've come should check out these shows, there is a list of sequels at the end of this link. I hope Outback House or Schwarzwaldhaus 1902 (Black Forest House 1902) come out on DVD some day!

So, it could be worse, you could be living 100 years ago and have to work twice as hard to accomplish half as much.

Also, if you're a woman, it could be worse, you could be a second class citizen who is barely recognized as contributing to society.

Nothing has made me more greatful to be a modern American than these shows. Please rent them and check them out. And PBS, please make more reality shows, I like the way they show the best of people, not the worst. Thank you.