A viral image of a 1899 8th grade exam highlights the stark contrast in educational standards over the past century. Critics argue that modern education has shifted from core knowledge to social and political indoctrination, with recent school curricula focusing heavily on gender identity, race, and activism instead of foundational subjects like math, history, and science.

If you are like me, you brush your teeth—too vigorously, I’m told—with a plastic rack of plastic bristles. You use your plastic brush to lather a paste pushed from a plastic tube. When you have a cavity, you go to a dentist who might fill the hole with a plastic composite then sand it flush...