Johnny Hates to Read

First question: Who was the Revolutionary War fought against? No clue.

Second question: Who were the two sides in the Civil War? Here at least one of the college students ventured an answer: “Let’s see. It’s called the Civil War. So, it must have been the civilians against whomever was in power.”

In addition, none of the “students” (of what? one wonders) could say how many senators there are.

Where could such comical ignorance have come from?