I see.

I think alot of factors come into play. However, it is funny to me that ppl may have been "smarter" back then but yet in this day we have more technology than back then. If America has been dumbed down, I think many factors play a role: junk foods, too much Sugar and preservatives affecting brain behavior, lack of study discipline, too much tv, abuse and how someone was raised.
BTW, some of the questions you have asked people may remember but it has been so long since they've been in school that the information is so far in the recesses of their minds. Tweet