In 1900, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.

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1. Saba
   

   Back then, only 4 percent of the population was older than 65 and, according to the Society for Neuroscience, most of them weren't doing so hot. Today, the average life expectancy is more than 77 years. So why are we living, and staying healthier, longer? There are a number of reasons, most of them related to health care. Since 1900, vaccinations have increased; we've improved safety standards for everything from workplaces to transportation; and we've developed medical breakthroughs that are making once life-threatening injuries, chronic ailments and illnesses curable, or at least controllable. But, according to the CDC, the biggest change has been in infant mortality. It's no coincidence that, as life expectancy rates have increased, mortality rates for babies have fallen by 90 percent, while rates of maternal deaths have dropped by 99 percent.

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