Ronnie Polaneczky: People who should know, should know

I ONCE BOOKED a carriage ride through Old City and was floored when my tour guide mentioned, with awe, that, during the Civil War, "about a  thousand people  died!"

The number was, um, actually closer to 600,000, including deaths in battle and by disease.

While her gaffe made me laugh, I can only imagine the black eye it gave to other tourists' impressions of the city - assuming that most knew enough about our country's bloodiest war to recognize a false fact when they heard it.

So I'm hep for the new legislation that, come fall, will require Philadelphia tour guides to pass a written exam covering the basics of Philly and/or American history.

In fact, I think we should look at other areas in which we, the vulnerable public, are entitled to facts, not fiction, from those we deal with as ...