Please learn basic US geography (kinda long)

[draggar]

Considering the average US citizen could NOT point out on a map where they live, I'm not suprised.

If you don't believe me, when I was in high school we had a geography test. We were each handed a map of the US (with Alaska and Hawaii on the side) and the numbers 1-51 (one number for DC). We had to name each state.

Only 2 of us got a 100% (I was one of them). Over half the class failed the test.

Over half the class also got the state we lived in wrong!

Most common mistake was people put down California for Florida. I guess they see all the movies of California beaches and think it's got to be Florida!

[Seshat]

Most common mistake was people put down California for Florida. I guess they see all the movies of California beaches and think it's got to be Florida!

Florida Dreaming
On such a winter's day.

I wish they all could be Florida Girls.

Welcome to the hotel Florida.
Such a lovely place.
Such a lovely face.

Florida here we come
Right back where we started from.



Nah. The two states just aren't interchangeable.

[blas]

Please don't take offense to this anyone.......but if someone is so dumb that they can't pinpoint on a map the state that they live in, they should go back to elementary school, and have no business moving on to college until they know basic geography. Bonus points if it's a map with every state border drawn on it. I can understand not being able to pinpoint the exact spot in the state of which they live,....but still... Wait, what am I talking about?

Most of the kids at the university here are going to be the next big thing in corporate, the next president, the next big whatever......but most of them have forgotten their ABCs and can't count higher than 10. That and over half of them have already been ran over or "nearly drowned" or DID drown in the river after thinking they were invincible. I tell you, NEVER build a college by a river or by a very busy street full of bars.

[Banrion]

Fun Fact: We were never in danger of having Quayle as President. While he was the Vice President, it would require that he be voted into office were the president rendered incapable of finishing his term. The Speaker of the House would be next in line.

^-.-^

Acutally, The speaker of the house takes over if both the President and Vice President are incapable of performing their duties. The Vice President automatically assumes the Presidency in the event that the president is incapacitated.

[draggar]

Actual call (not by me, read about on several news wites including ones like CNN and FoxNews):

SC: Sucky Customer (who was apparently a US representative)
CSR: Customer servce rep

SC: I was expecting a room with an ocean view and all I see is the city.
CSR: OK, I can look that up for you, what's your information
Blah blah blah
CSR: I see the problem, sir, your hotel is in Orlando, Florida. There are no ocean view rooms there. It's in the middle of the state.
SC: I know that, but don't treat me like I'm stupid. I've seen maps and Florida is a very thin state!

(Note: Fort Lauderdale to Naples - 2 hour drive, Stuart to Fort Myers - 2.5 hour drive (two closest driect routes across the state from me).

[draggar]

Florida Dreaming
On such a winter's day.

I wish they all could be Florida Girls.

Welcome to the hotel Florida.
Such a lovely place.
Such a lovely face.

Florida here we come
Right back where we started from.



Nah. The two states just aren't interchangeable.

Maybe they could be?

Heck, this is where all the snowbirds go to so they are thinking of Florida in the winter and you haven't seen the Florida girls I take it?

[draggar]

Heh, why am I thinking of Montgomery Burns right about now?

There's a NEW Mexico?

[Barefootgirl]

or while we're on the subject, Quayle on his recent trip to Latin America
"I wish I had studied Latin so I could speak with these people"

I'm not defending Dan Quayle, I'm really not...but he never said that about Latin America. He said a LOT of other incredibly stupid and ignorant things, but never that one;

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/quayle.htm

However, and i promise faithfully that this is true, once I met a careers officer who said roughly the same thing to me. I was in my third year at secondary school, and had vague ideas that I might want to go into the Diplomatic service. I talked to this careers chap at school who asked me what languages i was studying. When I told him I was studying French and Latin, he said, utterly deadpan, "that'll be useful if you go to Latin America, of course..." With hindsight, I think he was joking.

[MystyGlyttyr]

Now, I won't say I'm perfect with geography...I can identify almost all the states, but all those square ones towards the west confuse me and I won't even lie about it. However, I have to think if I lived in one of them, I would darn well know where it was!

You think geographical confusion is fun, try working in a twin city. Here's an actual snippet of conversation I've had.

"And is that located on the Arkansas side?"
"No sir, it's on the Texas side."
"Where's Texas?"
...oh you'd better be high... "It's west of Arkansas. If you keep driving west, you'll hit it." *note, in our area, that's the case*
"What's west?"
*hangs up*

[Jester]

The two states just aren't interchangeable.

Lovely beaches.

Too many tourists.

Tons of insane people.

Way too many fads that come from there.

Way too many fads that ARE there.

Serial killers.

Retirees.

Ridiculous traffic.

Corrupt government bodies.

Corript police forces.

Drugs.

Highway shootings.

Fun in the sun.

Great weather.

Tons of boats and other water sports.

Disney.

Myriad tourist destinations.

Super Bowls.

Pro sports teams.

Conventions.


You're right, there's no similarity between California and Florida at all.

[Jester]

NEVER build a college by a river or by a very busy street full of bars.

Me and millions of college students around the country thank our respective gods you were not in charge of where our colleges were located in relation to bars.

[reformedwaitress]

Please don't take offense to this anyone.......but if someone is so dumb that they can't pinpoint on a map the state that they live in, they should go back to elementary school, and have no business moving on to college until they know basic geography. Bonus points if it's a map with every state border drawn on it. I can understand not being able to pinpoint the exact spot in the state of which they live,....but still... Wait, what am I talking about?

So, this is a slight soap box rant, but this is the exact problem I have with shows like "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?".

I can understand needing to know the state you are in, but honestly, there is no reason for a 30-something year old that is not in the business of travel to have to be able to point to on a map all the 50 states or all the countries in the world and name them. There was some figure the other day of how like 80% of Americans couldn't find Iraq on a map. Know what? That doesn't bother me. There are other things that are more important for them to remember than random things that fifth graders know purely and simply because they have just recently learned it.

Why do I need to know the capital city of Montana? Or which particular state is Illinois? Yes, I have guesses at them, but there's no reason for me to need that information. And if I do, I can look it up. There are many many things that are more important to me and that I need to remember than "basic U.S. geography".

Now I agree if you are traveling somewhere, you need to be sure you know what state you are going to. But really, why do I need to know there's a Wilmington in Delaware? And while I do know that Delaware and N.C. are not next to each other, unless I was traveling to one, this information is really of no use to me.

So, not to start a fight, but I really don't see why it matters if fifth graders are "smarter" than adults. They aren't. The questions they are being asked are specific to what the fifth graders just learned. Fifth graders lives and what they file in their brains often revolve around "what's going to be on the test". Ask them again in a year and most of them couldn't tell you. Heck, ask em in a month and most of them couldn't tell you. It's making Americans as a whole look stupider than they are and shows like that really grate on me. I refuse to watch them.

(Yes, I know there really are some STUPID people in this world, but a lot of those questions are things there is NO REASON for an adult to need to know off the top of their head. Americans as a whole are really not as stupid as the media wants to make us out to be. But of course, there are exceptions to every rule. )

*steps off soapbox*

[Kilamon]

It's apparantly a nationwide joke. Just watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE I'm so glad that I actually knew the answers to these questions.

[mariamousie1]

I live in London. No, it's not in England, it's in Canada. A lot of people on the internet get confused about that one.

[Cia]

I live in a rectangularish state south of another retangularish state south of Canada.

Looked at a colored map of the US once and somebody asked me which state I was from and I answered while pointing at it "The yellow one."