Finding America On A Map

[wind_magic]

I have heard this a few times, that 1 in 5 Americans couldn't find the United States on a map. I think this time I heard it in reference to some teenage beauty pageant contestant or something. Whatever the case, I must have finally heard it one time too many because it suddenly registered in my brain and I started to wonder if that was actually true. Because it simply can't be true. I mean if you really think about it, how could that be true ? So I went looking for a source.

I never found a source for that statistic. I did find other surveys that had similar kinds of statistics, and not all about Americans, some other countries as well where apparently people did not do much better with Geography. One survey of young adults under 25 said that 11% couldn't find the United States on a map. Another survey before the Iraq war had 1 in 7 young people being able to find Iraq on a world map, the other 6 didn't have a clue where it was, and some picked places as wild as Europe and South America for Iraq's new home.

Other interesting things I found was a survey that found that 3 in 10 Americans couldn't find the Pacific Ocean on a map, and that only 1 in 2 could find the state of New York. Like an urban legend that won't go away I also did find a lot of references to the statistic that says 1 in 5 Americans can't find America on a world map, but I never did find the actual source of that. And it doesn't seem to be only in America either, though some countries score well in the surveys including Germany and Norway, many other countries scored low on different surveys too, and even Germany and Norway didn't get "A" grades.

So ... here is what I am getting at ...

Sit back for a minute, really. Lean back in your chair and just look at the screen a minute. Seriously.

Now. Seriously. Try to imagine for a minute that you don't know where Iraq is. It's possible someone might not know that. Maybe you were really busy and weren't keeping up with the news or you never really "got into" Geography, so you might not know where a country like Iraq is. Unlikely, but somehow possible. Hey, do you know where Bhutan is ? Probably, but maybe you don't, you might have to kind of glance at a map for a reminder.

Now ...

Try to imagine what state of mind you have to be in to not know where the freaking Pacific Ocean is on a map. I mean I'm being serious here. Really, close your eyes a minute and contemplate it. Try to think what kind of a person doesn't know where the Pacific Ocean is. How does a person not know where the damn Pacific Ocean is ?? I'm being totally serious here. What the hell is going through somebodies freaking mind that doesn't know where the damn Pacific Ocean is ? I mean that's so bizarre, can you even put your mind in a place like that, in a place where you look at a map of the world and can't point to the Pacific Ocean ? Can you even imagine that ?

I mean seriously ... if you can't find the Pacific Ocean, what else don't you know ? I mean, does somebody that doesn't know where the Pacific Ocean is know where coffee comes from ? Do they have any idea where the rain forests are ? Do they know how big China is compared to Japan, do they even know where China and Japan are ? Do they know why the Sun rises in the east ? Do they even know it rises in the east ? Seriously, what kind of thoughts go through somebodies brain that doesn't know where the Pacific Ocean is on a world map ? Again, 3 in 10 people couldn't find the Pacific Ocean on a map.

And once you get your brain wrapped around that, consider this again.

There are people in this country, maybe as many as 20%, maybe more like 10%, who can't find America on a map. Who can't find the country they are living in on a map of the world ? I mean, look at a map, you probably have one nearby, or imagine a globe in your mind. Sit there for a minute and try to wrap your brain around the concept of looking at a globe and just drawing a blank, I mean a complete blank. I mean maybe you recognize that it is, in fact, a globe that represents the earth, because it has blue and brown on it, and the shapes look kind of familiar. But when you look at it you can't find America on it. Or the Pacific Ocean, not without leaning down and really studying it to read the little words and try to find it like a crossword puzzle.

I bet you can't even imagine it. I mean I bet you can't even put your brain in the kind of place it would have to be in to imagine not being able to find something like the Pacific Ocean on a globe. What must you be thinking to not know something like that ? Does someone like that even know where electricity comes from, what must they even think about electricity ? Do they know where gasoline comes from ? Do they even know what gasoline is beyond it just being the liquid they get at the gas station and go pay for with their credit card ? Do they have any idea how the engine in their car works ? Can they change a car tire ? Do they even look under the hood at the engine, maybe they don't even open it! Maybe the car engine is like, oh I don't know, like the mysterious workings of an elevator, something that is hidden away and they don't want to even know anything about it. Do they know what function oil plays in their car engine ?

I know this is quite a lot to write about something so silly, but it just struck me as really odd tonight for some reason. Like I said in the beginning, I guess I just heard that statistic ... 1 in 5 Americans can't find America on a map ... I must have heard it one too many times and it finally just stuck in my brain. And then it rolled around in my brain a little, and I realized that I just couldn't believe it, it can't possibly be true. Because how could someone not know that ? I mean seriously, no joking around ... HOW COULD SOMEONE NOT KNOW THAT ? How could someone not know where the Pacific Ocean is on a map ? How could you live in this world and not know something like that ??

I mean I think a lot of us go around and talk about things, some complicated things, and assume that people know what we are talking about. Sure, you get some people and they kind of look at you funny and for a moment you think, you know ... maybe they just aren't sure of the details so they don't want to get into a discussion like that. Or I don't know what you think, something. But I might have to like change my whole outlook and start experimenting on people in conversations just so I can understand my world better if it's really true that 3 in 10 Americans don't know where the freaking Pacific Ocean is. I mean maybe MY WORLD is screwed up if that's true, maybe I have been over estimating people all along and maybe that has caused me problems I didn't realize if 3 in 10 Americans don't know where the Pacific Ocean is on a map. Because somebody that doesn't know something like that couldn't possibly have any freaking idea what a lot of us are even talking about most of the time.

I still don't know if I even believe it, it is just too hard to imagine. But some of these statistics seem real enough, and some of the reports even have anecdotes that include what people actually said as responses. And yeah, a lot of people really don't know some of this stuff.

[bestfriend]

When I went to elementary school, there was a map of the world on the wall. I think they took it down when they took the American Flag down.

[ebs001]

Wind Magic, There is no country called "America" so perhaps 80% or 90% of US citizens are wrong because they are claiming to be able to find a country that doesn't exist. It's the United States of America.

[tdw]

Originally Posted by ebs001

Wind Magic, There is no country called "America" so perhaps 80% or 90% of US citizens are wrong because they are claiming to be able to find a country that doesn't exist. It's the United States of America.

Makes it even sadder that they can't find an entire continent.

[sailingdog]

See my thread about blondes....

[CapnHand]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Guyfm...related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdYK1...related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEgHSseHkU0&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFe2q...related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_Pv5...related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA7tqls7fOw

[Sapperwhite]

Hello Canada, our Eskimo neighbors to the south!

And yes, I do think ground forces go into Saskatchewan.

[ebs001]

Sapper, you're not allowed to call us "Eskimos" anymore. We are "Inuit". Eskimos are a football team from Edmonton, Alberta. I think that's in Diraq and everywhere such as.
I re-visited the blonde link and she refers to the people of the United States as US Americans. So it would appear she may even know the name of the country in which she lives.

[Sapperwhite]

Congratulations on 800 miles of paved road Canada!

[PBzeer]

Why teach geography, which is a rather definite subject, with right and wrong answers, when you can teach some psycho-babble horse hockey that has no right or wrong answers, thereby ...... ensuring no one fails? Modern education at it's finest.