h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What was the likelihood that as an orphan in America in the second decade of the last century you would live to see adulthood?

Google and Wikipedia are forbidden.

There are klaxons, naturally; so be bold, preferably interesting but never obvious.

Good luck.

1920s orphan = soldier age in WWII, so that knocks down the figure

though the ave. age of the combat soldier in WWII was 26

in vietnam it was 1919-19-19-1-1-1-9-9-9-9- 19

But the second decade of the 20th Century is the 1910s, not the 1920s!

Correct Mal, the date I have in mind specifically in 1915

It's not 19 Taff, but I'm not asking for average age, but average chance of survival.

Once we get that I'll be moving onto the hopefully Quite Interesting reason why.

Not much to go on, Clive....

Go crazy!!!

His nearest relatives lived in Japan, and he was taken there..

Lived in Hiroshima, survived. Evacuated to Nagasaki, survived that as well. Actually died of old age in the latter stages of 2009....



GT

60%

Lower.

Wrong forum GT?

Does it make a difference whether we're talking about male or female orphans? And these are humans, right?

Also, "America" is rather ambiguous, perhaps on purpose, knowing you. North, South, Central, United States of?

50%

I don't think it mattered.

Yes it is rather. I had some difficulty tracking down any specific regions, I found some papers published but they were all subscription only access, so just have to settle for this somewhat vague nature of the statistic, I am afraid.

Closer but still too high.

1/3

Were orphanages closed down to 14 year olds after the Great Crash, and mosta them died?

Is 'Germ' significant????



GT

Lower.


Nothing to do with the financial crash, oddly - that may well have upped the number of orphans, but it had no direct impact on the nature of the 'threat' if I can put it like that.

When have you ever known me to craft a question that didn't have significant word-play.

3 %

the spanish flu hit the world in 1918 and killed more than died in WWI

13.7%.

Germ is 'karyon' in Greek (and what a carry-on this is), good idea could be 'bon idee' in French.

Did carbonide kill 80% of American orphans in 1930?

Is this literal "seeing" - was there something causing blindness? - or are we being poetic?

I don't trust you