I briefly considered using this clip for tomorrow, but it’s too depressing to post on Independence Day. Instead, we’ll let this serve as a warning on the eve of the nation’s 234th birthday. If you can’t do any better than the people in this clip interviewed by the Tonight Show’s Jay Leno in his Jaywalking segment, turn on the History Channel and try to catch up before tomorrow morning. And who saves the day in this clip?

If you want the right answers, get Grandpa to answer them, a message I heartily endorse. Hopefully, he took Jay’s advice and sat his family down with a history book or two, but in fairness, it looks as though plenty of Americans don’t have a clue about their own history.

Addendum: The First Mate and I have been watching a tremendous collection on the Founding Fathers and the American Revolution from the History Channel — a 14-DVD set that we hope to complete some time tomorrow. I’ll have a post about it for the Fourth of July, so keep an eye out for it. (Disclosure: Purchasing from the link below will result in compensation for me at no additional cost to the purchaser.)