It's Winter Break! Bwog will be moving in slow motion.

Are You Smarter Than Miss Teen South Carolina?

A couple days ago, Miss Teen South Carolina was asked why she thought 1/5 of Americans couldn't locate the United States on a map. Her answer? Um...

So this afternoon, Bwog hit (newly-renovated!) College Walk and asked a sampling of Columbia students the same question.

Bwog: So why do you think 1/5 of all Americans can't find the US on a map?

Adebisi: Is that true? Public education is crap. The government wants it to remain that way.

Bwog: So why do you think 1/5 of all Americans can't find the US on a map?

Nelson: Let me think. I don't want to sound like that stupid South Carolina whatever.

More illuminating interviews after the jump...


Bwog: So why do you think 1/5 of all Americans can't find the US on a map?

Lee (left): (laughs) Oh the South Carolina question. (Adopts high-pitched voice) Oh, um, like South Africa they don't have maps, (pause). More maps!




Bwog: So why do you think 1/5 of all Americans can't find the US on a map?

Cliff: I would say because geography is not a requirement in schools anymore.

Jeff: I honestly don't know.

Cliff: Global warming? El Nino?

Amanda: Because the US is all the think about. The US is all that matters, not its relation to anything else.


Bwog: So why do you think 1/5 of Americans can't locate the US on a map?

Aleeza: I don't know, I'm Canadian.

Kristin: That's shocking. Not taught properly, I guess.

Aleeza: We Canadians all know how to find the States. I guess it's a neighbor thing.


Bwog: So why do you think 1/5 of all Americans can't locate the US on a map?

Thai (left): Most Americans are used to seeing Mercator maps which distort the poles.

See also: Stupidity

Posted by because : #1 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 2:34 PM
most americans are retards.

answer: UsWeekly doesn't have a map of the world.

glad to be of service.
Posted by vayner : #2 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 3:14 PM
impossible is locating america on a map.
Posted by omg : #3 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 3:19 PM
i love you BWOG!

more trivia!

where's canada?
Posted by So sick : #4 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 3:21 PM
I'm so sick of people ragging on Miss South Carolina. God, who wouldn't stutter and fumble her words in front of an audience of millions?
Posted by Norman Gorman : #5 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 3:49 PM
I assume Aleeza meant "neighbour thing."
Posted by Damn : #6 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 4:13 PM
Wow, she may not have the brains, but I sure as hell would help her locate a few things on a map. Southern girls are by far the hottest.
Posted by A Cartographer : #7 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 4:16 PM
I need work.
Posted by seriously?? : #8 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 4:23 PM
it looked like she had some kind of mental checklist of "impoverished nations" that she felt she had to mention in her answer to every question so as to appear "aware" and "magnanimous" and "charitable" enough to be crowned miss teen queen of the botched lobotomy jobs.
Posted by there's a difference : #9 (in reply to #4) · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 4:26 PM
between stuttering and not answering the question. it's not like she stuttered her way through an intelligent answer, she just didn't know what she was talking about.
Posted by lol : #10 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 4:32 PM
it's almost a trick question, since 1/5 of Americans are children
Posted by we need : #11 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 4:50 PM
we need to make cartography relevant to a new generation of map-users. Maybe if America looked more like an iPod or Michael Cera kids would find it easier to locate
Posted by and less than half : #12 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 4:51 PM
of kids can identify the Soviet Union on a modern map, and that county was almost triple our size
Posted by i dont think : #13 (in reply to #12) · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 4:56 PM
anyone can identify the soviet union on a map right now
Posted by lol : #14 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 5:08 PM
It's the one that says "United States of America" over it.

Posted by rjt : #15 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 5:19 PM
The dude whose answer involved the Mercator projection is awesome.
Posted by i see : #16 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 5:20 PM
After writing articles this summer that had nothing to do with Columbia, Bwog is now artificially creating connections to Columbia. Good journalism.
Posted by Duh! : #17 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 5:31 PM
Because Americans learn their geography when they invade other countries, and having the Marines invading the US would certainly not help approval ratings.
Posted by even if : #18 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 5:43 PM
she was stumbling on her words because of speaking in front of millions, her answer on good morning america about it wasn't too intelligent either.
Posted by And : #19 (in reply to #18) · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 6:38 PM
And talking on TV isn't speaking in front of millions?
Posted by John : #20 (in reply to #10) · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 7:29 PM
A) Kiddies take geography. B) Most of our Cold-Warrior parents can't tell the difference between the shape of one of the seven continents and that of any other. C) Don't discount the diapered classes: senile citizens and babies can't identify shit, and they make up a good ten to fifteen percent of the population.

The sad part is the pollster that came up with the figure probably didn't interview a representative sample of Americans.
Posted by also : #21 (in reply to #20) · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 7:44 PM
don't discount the fact that most Americans are DUMB AS FUCK.
Posted by i know why.. : #22 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 8:01 PM
it appears to me that 1/5 of americans can't spot their own country on a map because the other 4/5 will believe anything that a beauty pageant judge says as long as it sounds about right, places them in a superior majority and is backed up by ominous, unnamed, yet very official sounding "recent polls."

Posted by trick question : #23 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 8:16 PM
I mean clearly, at least some portion of the population (i have no idea what the percentage is) is blind, so wouldn't be able to find ANYTHING on a regular map, let alone America. And as most of my fellow posters have mentioned, another huge chunk of that 1/5 are little children and the elderly. Of course I'm sure some people are just stupid or weren't educated, just not the entire 1/5. :-)
Posted by this video : #24 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 9:01 PM
just doesn't get old.

also i don't mean to be an asshole but what was the old saying? "god created war to teach americans their geography"?
Posted by apologists : #25 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 10:29 PM
should take a freakin science class. 1/5 of Americans referred to 1/5 of ADULTS. And if you think that's not depressing, here's a little tidbit about all your peers: [external link to news.nationalgeographic.com]

Despite being quite funny, this post, and the aforementioned link are indescribably sad.
Posted by this... : #26 · reply · track
August 29, 2007 at 11:04 PM
is my favorite video on this topic ever:

[external link to www.youtube.com]

granted, they obviously cherry picked, but it really is pretty much just plain awesome.
Posted by props : #27 · reply · track
August 30, 2007 at 12:55 AM
to mario lopez for keeping his poise on that one
Posted by listen, : #28 · reply · track
August 30, 2007 at 1:13 AM
we've all been talking about Americans here. What about US Americans? Those are the ones South Carolina is referring to. South Africa. Asia. The eye-rack. Education. I believe.
Posted by cml : #29 · reply · track
August 30, 2007 at 1:50 AM
It's not so much that Americans are ignorant of geography in general but that their expertise is more in local geography, such as the locations of Target, Wal-Mart, and of course the Golden Arches. If you were from rural Tennessee and read that the average man in Jesus' time never ventured more than five miles from his home, would you care where your country was located with respect to the rest of the world?
Posted by yeah : #30 (in reply to #29) · reply · track
August 30, 2007 at 9:44 AM
it's not so much that Americans are ignorant of geography, but of everything that doesn't directly relate to them in general. And how direly they (we) will pay for such ignorance in the years to come.
Posted by i can't : #31 · reply · track
August 30, 2007 at 11:32 AM
even find the map :(
Posted by wait : #32 · reply · track
August 30, 2007 at 9:08 PM
so much for "Americans" being stupid:

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