Response to Annette Bowen. (AnnieG - Jimerson Liddell is mentioned below, so I claim this really isn't off-topic.) Annette >> We city dwellers don't have much occasion to know about bushels or acres. We buy things in pounds and our lots are measured in feet. I do know what a rod is, thanks to genealogy,(but have you ever heard of a rood?) Yeah, I met a "rood" working behind the counter at Burger King the other day. Annette >> Schools don't teach diacritical marks any more. A teacher friend was told to put masking tape over the long and short marks on a chart she had on the wall. I was never taught diacritical marks until high school French. However, we Alabamians had to learn English as a foreign language. Annette >> All the countries and capitals of Europe have changed since 1895. A lot of them have changed since I took geography in school. The question was subtler, asking for European republics. France, on her Fourth Republic, is the only one I can think of. Before WWI 1914-1918 all the rest UK, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany (Prussia, Bavaria, Swabia, Palatinate, etc.), Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Greece and Turkey were mostly monarchies ranging from ceremonial to autocrat, and a few military dictatorships. Maybe the cantonal federation of Switzerland was called a republic. (This came off the top of my head, and is subject to correction.) Annette >> I think we may be reverting to the times when spelling didn't matter. Fixed spelling is relatively recent (compared to the life of the English language.) Jimerson Liddell (my grandfather's grandfather) was a grown man, a landowner in Jefferson, before Webster taught America how to spell. I'm told that French congealed about two generations earlier. While English has silent letters, French has silent words. Written French and spoken French have diverged more than English. Written Chinese stabilized 1500+ years ago. North China and south China write the same sentences, but cannot understand them spoken aloud. Should spelling change to meet demand? A resounding YES! (This has been a public service announcement on behalf of future historians, who will thereby obtain employment translating ancient 20th century texts.) Annette >> Our children are learning things that nobody had dreamed of in 1895 (and a lot of things we'd rather they didn't know!) Kids today really are smarter than we were. IQ tests (SAT, ACT, GRE, etc.) have to be re-normed every few years. Today's average kid will score 5 or 10 percent higher on the same tests you and I took. (The Little Devil on my shoulder says, "Nah, kids today are dumber than ROCKS, they just have more TESTABLE KNOWLEDGE than we did.") Bruce __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree