For rural drivers, a skill never needed. Wal*Mart and other shopping giants pour blacktop over acres of once-farmland soil, and put all the shopping in nice little rows, like cattle at the food trough.

For urban drivers, a skill used every day, unless you use the public transportation.

Useless factoid: San Francisco has an estimated 33% fewer parking spaces than there are cars, on any given day. The only reason they sweep the streets twice a week is to make sure nobody camps their yuppie SUV for too long.

Useless factoid: Manhattan drivers need to call the garage at least an hour before they want their cars; it takes that long to untangle the valet-packed iron puzzle. It's like the Towers of Hanoi game, moving one Buick at a time.