In a recent poll taken by Gallup, one in four Americans couldn’t correctly identify the country from which we declared our independence 225 years ago. One in six of our citizenry did not recognize the connection between July 4th and the birth of the United States. (Source: The Gallup Organization.)

In the first quarter of 2001, the Home Shopping Network offered an attractively-priced digital camera. They sold more than 20,000 in one day. A few days later, ten percent of these customers returned the camera dissatisfied, saying that they couldn’t find anywhere to load the film. (Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.)

Conclusion? We can rest, assured that Americans are smarter about their shopping habits than their history.