California 159 Years Ago
On 9 September 1850, California became a state.
The people had no electricity.
The state had no money.
Almost everyone spoke Spanish.
There were gunfights in the streets.
.
.
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So basically, in 159 years, nothing has changed except the women had real boobs and the men didn't hold hands.
A tip of the turban 
to reader Bernard Wishnia for this email tidbit.
N.B. It should be noted that the email may not be entirely correct, the US Census of 1850 (page 3) shows only 6,454 Mexican-born inhabitants of California out of a total population of 92,597. The Gold Rush brought tens of thousands of out-of-staters and thousands of Mexicans left California territories upon statehood. However, it's a joke, so I won't nitpick the rest of the details.
