where have all the words gone?

A trivia tidbit:

Since 1960, the working vocabulary of Americans has dropped from 25,000 words to 10,000 words.

I think that is very sad.

According to my trusty online thesaurus, I could have used such words as "disheartening," "lachrymose," "lugubrious," or "pitiable."

But who talks likes that?

sigh.

Oh, and "tragic." That would have worked too.