There Are 50 Reasons Why We're in Global History's Greatest Period

With the constant barrage of bad news, it may strike some as odd that 92 percent of Americans believe they have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season.

But a Motley Fool article listed 50 reasons we are living through the greatest period in world history. Basically, we’re living happier, healthier, longer lives with more time to enjoy leisure and more conveniences than earlier generations could have ever imagined.

Reason number one on the list is that "U.S. life expectancy at birth was 39 years in 1800, 49 years in 1900, 68 years in 1950, and 79 years today." That’s the result of countless healthcare breakthroughs over the past century. "In 1900, one percent of American women giving birth died in labor. Today, the five-year mortality rate for localized breast cancer is 1.2 percent." In other words, "Being pregnant 100 years ago was almost as dangerous as having breast cancer is today."

As I wrote in The Sun Is Still Rising: Politics Has Failed But America Will Not, "Societal changes take place so slowly that we rarely see them unfold on a day-to-day basis. Our culture and lifestyles adapt so quickly to new technology that we soon can’t remember life without the latest innovation. But when we look back over any significant period of time, the scale of change is truly breathtaking."

The Motley Fool article was written in 2014, but the data and trends are just as relevant today. The big takeaway is that the 92 percent who say they have a lot to be thankful for are right.

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.