Thread: Why 1/5 of Americans can't find the US on a map

As espoused by Miss teen South Carolina.







I don't believe that 1/5 can't find the US on the map, if I could go outside right now, with a map, I guarantee 99% of them would be able to find it. They watch the news, they read papers.

but i bet they would floss thier teeth after eating the map.

In New Orleans, I got asked how long it would take to drive by car to Australia.

I am surprised the figure is so low.

And Miss teen South Carolina is a stunning example of Southern totty is she not.

But would you accept a BJ ?

Even if you had said 10 times "now it's suck don't blow OK?" and she had nodded 10 times would you still go for it?

Originally Posted by Sir Burr

In New Orleans, I got asked how long it would take to drive by car to Australia.

No shit?

unbelievable...

^
Fraid it's true.

Originally Posted by Sir Burr

^
Fraid it's true.

I'd blame them James Bond movies.

Nah...there's very little international news on the TV and in the newspapers. So, not really surprising.

Perhaps they just didn't understand the question...

want ta get working on that worlds biggest thing

as of today , lost the title re casino's

Originally Posted by Hootad Binky

Such ignorance is common to the lower fifth of most population. Saw the lass in question on a clip last night on Letterman; she suggested quite rightly the reason most Americans don't know where the US is is because they don't have maps! But then she started babbling about South Africa and helping Asians. She certainly is a stunner, though.




Surely the education system, the curriculum and syllabus are at fault?

Don't know about her brains but she sure is beautiful.

how can you tell with all that war paint ??

I bet this whole thing will make her famous: the American Dream in action!

Or maybe they're still using Ronnies old map in school...

Shameless cut and paste from a blog, but food for thought.

One of the most amazing things about travelling around Europe is the concept of "intelligence until proven stupid". Let me explain. In America, the media, many corporations, and our government cater to the people as if we are a bunch of morons. You can see this in many aspects of life, just watch the evening news or any of the many talk shows during the day to see. There are countless organizations, with our government being the largest, making laws, doing studies, and reporting results that all have an overlying tone telling us what's good for us. From the Surgeon General telling us what to eat and drink to the cheesy financial analysts on CNN telling us what to invest in, there are so many people telling the "masses" what's best for them. There are so many people to help you out, especially in the security realm since Sept 11th.
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You can't walk three feet in the airport without running into an employee to direct you where to go, usually yelling at the top of her lungs. You can't turn on the TV or the radio without listening to some boob tell you what's good for you, what you should and should not do, what you should and should not say. We have become a society of ignoramuses because many of us just sit there and nod heads to this constant drabble of people telling us what to do. This has been exacerbated by the constant fear instilled by the media and our government of impending doom due to the next inevitable but completely unknown terrorist attack (probability: 100%). In America we are "stupid until proven intelligent" - evidence in our recent history of inverting the age-old concept of "innocent until proven guilty". In Europe this is just the opposite.
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In Europe, it is assumed first that you know what life is about, how to get around on your own, how to think for yourself, what your ailments are and what to do to help yourself. If you know yourself well and are intelligent enough to do what you have to do, you can find anything you need without the aid of agencies, support groups, consultants, or approval from a middleman. Not to say that there aren't laws and governing bodies, in fact there are many, but they do not try to solve every tiny problem that should be handled by society and local communities - this is the main reason why cities and towns in Europe are all so different and hold an identity that stretches back thousands of years. It's refreshing to experience a part of the civilized world that doesn't always cater to the masses and certainly doesn't think for you if you can't figure something out. If you don't have the means or desire to communicate in some way to help yourself, then you will be left in the dust.

Maybe tha media is to blame.

Once again, Newsweek’s U.S. editors have chosen a stupid cover for Americans while filling all three international editions with interesting, in-depth articles about disturbing topics Americans should know. Last time — just three weeks ago — the international editions’ cover story was “Losing Afghanistan.” The U.S. dummies got a cover story about a lesbian who takes pictures of celebrities.
It’s even worse this time around.
Once again, the international readers get a serious, sobering story about something that’s not looking so good. It’s a 2,000-word piece with reporting from three continents about all the various species that are suddenly vanishing off the face of the Earth due to rapid climate change.
U.S. readers get another story about the gay dude who quit Congress weeks ago. (Jesus, even we’re sick of Foley and it’s pretty much the ideal story for a political porn site like Wonkette.)
The cover’s art direction is aimed at the crucial retard demographic, too: Giant Leering Foley Face with a little cut-out Bush figure running from Giant Leering Foley Face and two great big simple words, one of which starts with a freakin’ smiley instead of the actual letter.
It gets worse.
The international edition has the damning background to the North Korean nuke test: One year ago, Washington and Pyongyang made a deal and everybody was happy:

On Sept. 19, 2005, North Korea signed a widely heralded denuclearization agreement with the United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea. Pyongyang pledged to “abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs.” In return, Washington agreed that the United States and North Korea would “respect each other’s sovereignty, exist peacefully together and take steps to normalize their relations.”

Four days later, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sweeping financial sanctions against North Korea designed to cut off the country’s access to the international banking system, branding it a “criminal state” guilty of counterfeiting, money laundering and trafficking in weapons of mass destruction.

In other words, for some perverse reason we’ll never know, Washington signed the thing and then deliberately provoked Lil’ Kim so he’d break the deal and let the neo-con nuts have a new “regime change.” That seems like something a few people in America might like to know, right?
Wrong! It would only confuse and anger Americans, who have enough problems already! That’s why the new U.S. edition is filled with important little tiny short articles such as “Parties: How to Have Fun,” “Rock Music: Secrets of ‘Shredding’” and a very special 400-word article about how 77% of Americans spend most of their time praying to their dead relatives’ ghosts, which are everywhere these days

Originally Posted by Sir Burr

In New Orleans, I got asked how long it would take to drive by car to Australia.

Well, go on, how long would it take to drive from New Orleans to Australia ? A genuine question deserves an honest answer.

More
I think this topic deserves its own thread.

Are Americans Stupid? - Statistics, Studies and Research

Dmitri June 9th, 2007
We made a couple of posts concerning people’s perception of Americans around the world and the things American tourists do to enforce that perception. Now we come to the next part; are there any statistical data that gives any indication in favour of the world perception of Americans? The answer is yes, there is and I have compiled it right below, in this very article. Sources quoted, you can check them out for details on the studies and research methods.

USA scores the lowest in national average IQ among the developed countries of the world, at a national average score of 98. The data is obtained from IQ and Global Equality by Dr. Richard Lynn (professor of Psychology, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland) and Dr. Tatu Vanhanen(University of Tampere, Finland) who have done extensive research on the subject spanning several years. The national average IQ score of Americans at 98 is below 22 countries (including Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, North Korea and China). The low Intelligence Quotient (IQ) score of United States puts the Americans at a lower intelligence level on an average as compared to the other industralised nations.

The mathematical skills and abilities to process mathematical problems put America on a weak spot. American high school students scored 483 in the test Program for International Student Assessment. The average scores of American students were way below those of top scoring countries like South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, etc. all of whom scored between 503 and 544 (significantly higher than US scores). Mathematical skills, scientific temper and the ability to apply mathematical knowledge are essential in the present world and they are the roots of logical and scientific reasoning. If this becomes a weak point, a person’s ability to fare well in science, logical and anaytical thinking would suffer as well.

Another study as a special report by ABC showed that in scientific and mathematical skills, an average Belgian kid scored better than a skilled American. By age fifteen Americans fell behind 25 countries in this test. They scored worse than countries which spend much less in education. The report also states that in US, mediocrity is encouraged by monopoly of public school and opportunity based scholarships, which is hurting the academic ability of Americans when compared to the rest of the world. Yes, monopoly hurts because there is no competition to better oneself against, but when it comes to countries with lesser quality of education it says something. Those countries are not well off either but in spite of that they do better than US.

“American adults in general do not understand what molecules are (other than that they are really small). Fewer than a third can identify DNA as a key to heredity. Only about 10 percent know what radiation is. One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth, an idea science had abandoned by the 17th century.” This is an excerpt from an article by New York Times which did a study and survey of Americans to determine their awareness. Coming from a nation which does not teach the science of evolution, discourages a scientific outlook of the world and a lot of emphasis is laid on religious faith and education, the results are hardly surprising.

Now with all these statistics and research data it is up to you, the reader to decide if Americans really deserve the ’stupid’ tag. As with any nation, there are always exceptions which means not all Americans fit these statistics. But a majority of Americans do which creates the average data at a lower level than the other countries.

Well, the topic is why geography ain't too good with them 'merikans - not another septic-bashing...OK?

In my research I came upon an article about the latest thing, baby name consultants.
They can't even name their own kids without outside help.
What next?

Self-obsessed parents-to-be have one more thing to worry about: What to name the little testament to themselves once Mommy poops it out. You don't want your little angel to be like every other Madison in her class. The solution? Baby-naming consultants.

Last fall, John Bentham, 36, a Las Vegas theater producer, and his wife, Shannon, 29, who runs a nonprofit foundation, says they felt "enormous pressure" to find a strong-sounding boy name. "I wanted a name that would look good on a marquee or a political banner," Mrs. Bentham says. Though they had agreed on the letter "j," none of the names they came up with -- Jude, Julian, Jake, Jason, or John Jr. -- seemed original enough. They hired Ms. Walker and Mr. Reyes, who produced an 11-page list of possibilities, including Jackson. In March, the Benthams welcomed little Jackson Dean into the world.

Walker and Reyes are a couple who offer "name consultations and workshops," and charge you fifty dollars a pop to help make sure that your Paolo isn't some pedestrian Paul. One California woman dropped nearly $500 to have a numerologist make sure the name she chose had "positive associations." Parents of America, we implore you: Save your money for the nursing home you're going to need when your offspring, bitter about a lifetime of "Anderson"ness, refuses to take you in during your declining years.

It's not a general lack of maps...

^
That 'map' has been posted on here ad naseum...