In which I mow, eat, and feel stupid. But not as stupid as that guy.
The night before last, Bread and I mowed. He drove the tractor, I drove the riding lawnmower. I mowed the orchard, and he mowed the other three acres. I had to stop for awhile at one point, though, to avoid mowing a frog to death. They really don’t do well trying to hop through grass.
The night before the night before last, Bread and I went out to dinner at Torino’s. During a lull in our own conversation, we overheard the man in the booth next to us, who was at least our age, ask the older woman he was with — his grandmother, I assumed — “…and when was the Depression? The sixties, right? Or was it the forties?”
Bread and I stared at one another for a moment, too shocked to even laugh. The sixties?!
Then again, nearly 30% of young Americans surveyed in 2002 could not find the Pacific Ocean. The PACIFIC OCEAN! So I guess it shouldn’t have freaked me out that much.
UPDATE: Rants is back up! Long live Rants the 9th!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
I went and took the survey at that Nat’l Geographic link and missed six out of twenty. *blush* My geography SO sucks.
I only missed one. I like world geography. My US geography sucks rocks though. The funniest thing: I used to teach Us GEO to high school exchange students in a summer camp.
Me: And, in Kansas (points to map), they grow corn.
Students: Steven, that’s Nebraska.
Me: Whatever. No one cares about the flat boring ones in the middle.
Your students used your first name? You were right, though — even those of us who live here don’t really care. -m
19/20… but I got lucky a bunch of times with the multiple choice map questions.
The only one I missed was the first one, population of the US. lol. How Canadian of me.
I love that my readership is smarter than me! -m
The sixties, the Great Depression? That’s so wrong. It had to be the seventies, right? I mean, polyester suits are enough to depress an entire nation! 🙂
That’s what I’m talking about! -m
Kids are stupid because their parents are stupid and don’t care if their kids end up stupid. And for other reasons, too.
Yay for successful site relocation! [snoopydance]
So you’re saying it’s nurture, not nature? -m
i’m too old for this. my parents, both of them, lived through the “dirty 30s” as they called the depression here. mom was just a little kid, my dad was in his teens through most of it.
i’m rather horrified that he didn’t know when the depression was. that means that he also doesn’t know about new deal and franklin delano roosevelt. heh…and me, a canadian does. ironic, no?
Everyone in the world (except, apparently, Mexicans) is better educated than Americans. -m
i got 3 wrong…the first two questions and the last one of where argentina is.
Having never seen Argentina, I suspect it’s imaginary anyway. -m
My link to your site is invalid… I should update it….
Don’t worry. A lot of people’s Eastern European Geography really sucks including mine. 🙂 I don’t know the difference among Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania…. I guess I can survive without knowing it. 🙂
They all look the same to me. 😉 -m
what? there’s a world outside of new york? pacific ocean? what’s that?
Yeah, this from the guy who got answered all 20 questions correctly! -m
per mush’s request:
i, fullofhype, am a genius. i’ve taken the survey, and i’ve scored 0/20. that is, i’ve gotten no wrong answers out of the possibility of getting 20 wrong answers. therefore, i am a genius. i say this to brag.
I’m so proud. -m
20/20
But, on a couple of them, the available choices were major hints as to the correct answer.
Again, I love having such smart readers. Yay! -m
Wow why do we even spend money edumacatin’ the yung’uns when they clearly be not payin’ no attenshun?
20/20 I always did oh so well on the geography questions in Trivial Pursuit.
I say: if you can’t find the US on a map, they should strip you of your citizenship and deport you to Antarctica, or a nation that will take you.
If you’ve been there, you certainly should be able to locate it on a map! -m
Deuce, MF, deuce. I only missed two!
[…] Bread sat at my desk and read all the posts on my index page this morning, while I lounged on the day bed in a pile of dogs, and he actually laughed out loud about six times. “I told you I’m funny!” I told him. Then he took that National Geographic survey and only missed two. Two! […]