yes, the title is written correctly: more than 1 out of 3 Americans can't find the United States on a map of the United States

Quote :

" Poll: 37% of Americans Unable to Locate America on Map of America Washington, D.C. -- According to a Gallup/Harris poll released Monday, a full 37 percent of American citizens are incapable of identifying their home country on a map of the United States. Of the 1,400 residents surveyed, the most common incorrect responses placed the more than 230-year-old territory in the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans (19 percent), the space where Mexico would appear were it in fact included on the map (10 percent), and inside the word "America" written just above the northernmost states (6 percent). "On the whole, these figures should be construed as somewhat disappointing," Gallup spokesman Keith Ventner said. "Especially the two percent that believed the United States was located on the map's color-coded inset legend. I think we as a nation likely could have done without seeing that." When asked to reveal the identity of the giant America-shaped landmass found on the map, several of those polled were decidedly varied in their answers. "That thing definitely looked familiar," said autoworker and father of three Ed McConnell. "And my gut told me there were probably a whole bunch of Americans there. So I had to go with 'Iraq.'" ... Stuart Weiss, senior sociology professor at Boston College, said although these findings may be surprising to some, they're by no means atypical. "The sentiment of many Americans is that there's little intrinsic value in studying a map of a place you're already at," noted Weiss. "It'd be like driving to Graceland and then asking for directions once you've arrived. Not much point." Shirley Matheson, a part-time Arby's employee residing in Dayton, Ohio, apparently would agree with Weiss's assessment. "I live in the U.S.A., so why would I need to know where America is? Or the United States for that matter?" "

12/16/2008 1:28:28 AM

1400 people isn't that many for a survey that's supposed to represent 300 million people

not that I want to defend this mass stupidity

12/16/2008 2:22:38 AM

Obvious satire. Were you one of the 1400, Fuchsia?

Oh, and take a statistics class to learn about population sampling and sample sizes.

12/16/2008 2:26:55 AM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-shehori/poll-37-of-americans-unab_b_150933.html

Quote :

"Washington, D.C. -- According to a Gallup/Harris poll released Monday, a full 37 percent of American citizens are incapable of identifying their home country on a map of the United States. Of the 1,400 residents surveyed, the most common incorrect responses placed the more than 230-year-old territory in the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans (19 percent), the space where Mexico would appear were it in fact included on the map (10 percent), and inside the word "America" written just above the northernmost states (6 percent). "On the whole, these figures should be construed as somewhat disappointing," Gallup spokesman Keith Ventner said. "Especially the two percent that believed the United States was located on the map's color-coded inset legend. I think we as a nation likely could have done without seeing that." When asked to reveal the identity of the giant America-shaped landmass found on the map, several of those polled were decidedly varied in their answers. "That thing definitely looked familiar," said autoworker and father of three Ed McConnell. "And my gut told me there were probably a whole bunch of Americans there. So I had to go with 'Iraq.'" Other guesses as to the nature of the mystery country included "Hollywood," "Palestine," "The Shire," and "Club Med Punta Cana." The map used in the poll, with erroneous America locations in red Stuart Weiss, senior sociology professor at Boston College, said although these findings may be surprising to some, they're by no means atypical. "The sentiment of many Americans is that there's little intrinsic value in studying a map of a place you're already at," noted Weiss. "It'd be like driving to Graceland and then asking for directions once you've arrived. Not much point." Shirley Matheson, a part-time Arby's employee residing in Dayton, Ohio, agreed with Weiss's assessment. "I live in the U.S.A., so why would I need to know where America is? Or the United States for that matter?" Added Matheson: "As long as there's still room on that map for all three of those countries, I'm sure everyone will keep getting along just fine." Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security sees the Gallup/Harris poll results as a blessing in disguise. According to Secretary Michael Chertoff, the nation would be better off if these numbers skewed even higher. "Personally, I believe if fewer people in this world could spot America on a map, we'd have a much better chance of avoiding national tragedies like 9/11," said Chertoff. "You can't attack a country you can't find." Of the respondents actually capable of pinpointing America on the map of America, their accuracy decreased considerably with each additional query about the country. Asked for the name of the U.S. capital, those polled placed Washington, D.C., fifth behind "Minneapolis-St. Paul," "Mount Rushmore," "America City," and "Whitewater." Despite Americans' seemingly underdeveloped sense of their own geography, history and domestic policy, they did score high points on the issue of patriotism, calling America "the greatest country in the world" (47 percent), "the best state of all the Unites States" (31 percent), and "a place to definitely explore when I finally get my passport" (22 percent)."

I always knew people were stupid, but.....damn.



My favorite part:

Quote :

""That thing definitely looked familiar," said autoworker and father of three Ed McConnell. "And my gut told me there were probably a whole bunch of Americans there. So I had to go with 'Iraq.'""

[Edited on December 16, 2008 at 2:49 AM. Reason : ]

12/16/2008 2:47:56 AM

Quote :

"Obvious satire. Were you one of the 1400, Fuchsia? Oh, and take a statistics class to learn about population sampling and sample sizes."

I never underestimate stupidity. Excuse me for not knowing that Huffington posts ridiculous Onion-esque shit like this.

[Edited on December 16, 2008 at 3:00 AM. Reason : .]

12/16/2008 2:50:42 AM

uh oh, bitchiness imminent

12/16/2008 9:17:22 AM

wait, so does tww believe or no?

12/16/2008 9:37:16 AM

More importantly, does Hurley believe!!??

12/16/2008 9:41:40 AM

I'm a complete skeptic

12/16/2008 10:06:43 AM

Quote :

"I never underestimate stupidity."

Yeah, speaking of stupidity, this post:

Quote :

"1400 people isn't that many for a survey that's supposed to represent 300 million people"

12/16/2008 10:14:44 AM

Quote :

"I never underestimate stupidity. Excuse me for not knowing that Huffington posts ridiculous Onion-esque shit like this."

Don't underestimate your own. And the original post didn't even have the link to Huffington. All it takes is reading comprehension.

12/16/2008 11:44:17 AM

dont feel bad, furschia

when i first read the article, i only read about half of it or less, and i believed it. it wasnt until i re-read it i realized it was satire.

Quote :

"never underestimate the stupidity of the american public"

12/16/2008 11:55:10 AM

Quote :

"when i first read the article, i only read about half of it or less, and i believed it. it wasnt until i re-read it t-dub made me look a fool i realized it was satire."

12/16/2008 1:42:48 PM

This was the most Onionesque part:

Quote :

"Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security sees the Gallup/Harris poll results as a blessing in disguise. According to Secretary Michael Chertoff, the nation would be better off if these numbers skewed even higher. "Personally, I believe if fewer people in this world could spot America on a map, we'd have a much better chance of avoiding national tragedies like 9/11," said Chertoff. "You can't attack a country you can't find.""

12/16/2008 1:57:05 PM

I never knew the Huffington Post does satire like this.

Other than the content though, they don't have the usual disclaimers you see attached to things like this.

12/16/2008 2:13:49 PM

In support of fuschia - while 1400 is certainly sufficiently large, size is not always the problem, its selection bias. If you were to ask people in the sticks of Iowa about Obama v McCain you might conclude that McCain is the national favorite as you had a large sample. Same issue with class evaluations. Theyre around 30% right now. Its not the 30% that is problematic (as those numbers are sufficient in statistical terms), its who those 30% are. Typically its composed of 20% mad and 10% happy. (BAM)

12/16/2008 2:28:19 PM

Quote :

"it wasnt until t-dub made me look a fool i realized it was satire."

yeah, okay, if it makes you feel better about yourself to believe that, go on and believe it.


anyhow, i was hoping the thread would fool more people. you might notice i clipped out the less-believable aspects

unfortunately, someone else post the link early on, and that's what gives it away.





[Edited on December 16, 2008 at 4:40 PM. Reason : ]

12/16/2008 4:37:32 PM

I always viewed the huffington post as kind of a joke anyway, so it's no surprise they have joke stories on there.

12/16/2008 8:53:43 PM

bada bing bada boom!

12/16/2008 8:55:01 PM

isnt america considered to be the entire western hemisphere

12/16/2008 9:39:38 PM

Quote :

"I always viewed the huffington post as kind of a joke anyway, so it's no surprise they have joke stories on there."

Winner.

12/16/2008 11:03:01 PM

'Merica


Fuck Yeah

12/17/2008 2:24:22 AM

i personally believe that US americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps

12/17/2008 9:06:11 AM

and that percentage of uneducated foondarts got obama in office

12/17/2008 1:37:33 PM

you are an idiot

12/17/2008 1:40:17 PM

and yet so right

12/17/2008 1:40:43 PM

is that why obama won the college-educated vote, and mccain was appealing to the lowest common denominator in the last throes of his campaign?

12/17/2008 2:15:29 PM

joe_schmoe brings the funny...a welcome change.

12/17/2008 3:04:36 PM

even a blind squirrel sometimes gets a nut.

12/17/2008 3:37:24 PM

Quote :

"isnt america considered to be the entire western hemisphere"

The Spanish-speaking portion of North and South America broadly considers "America" to refer to both of those continents. Realistically, the world as a whole knows what the term is used to mean.

12/18/2008 4:33:30 AM