This is the essence of what I was getting at. You've elaborated on what I was getting at. It's somewhat pointless to ask on a test when the U.S. Civil War end

This is the essence of what I was getting at. You've elaborated on what I was getting at. It's somewhat pointless to ask on a test when the U.S. Civil War ended. A much better indication of intelligence and knowledge is to ask why it didn't end sooner. Not too long ago people would spend hundreds of dollars (thousands in today's money) for a set of encyclopedias. Now, with Google, Wolframalpha etc. such a product has no use. The cost to find knowledge has dramatically decreased the past 15 years. Education has not caught up with this reality.