# Nearly a third of Texans think "The Flintstones" was a documentary **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 20, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814 "2010-02-20T22:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/21 "2010-02-21T09:37:23Z")
It’s scary how close to the mark this Family Guy vid is. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Ug-dJrdmc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Ug-dJrdmc) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/22 "2010-02-21T10:01:21Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > It’s scary how close to the mark this Family Guy vid is. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Ug-dJrdmc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Ug-dJrdmc) “If you look at the bones of a _Jesus_asaurus Rex…” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/23 "2010-02-21T11:30:30Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > It’s scary how close to the mark this Family Guy vid is. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Ug-dJrdmc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Ug-dJrdmc) The Kramer joke in that episode was actually the first time I’d seen Family Guy be subtle. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/24 "2010-02-21T14:27:55Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Wow. I’m not sure if I’m more amused at the “coloring hints”, the names of the crayon colors, or the suggestion that Jesus rode velociraptors bareback. He obviously went bareback. He sure isn’t going to use a condom. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/25 "2010-02-21T15:08:00Z")
> [@Snite](#): > > No matter what material is presented to a student, the student will only learn it if they care enough to pay attention. No amount of education reform will make highschool students care more. It’s really shocking how much apathy there is in today’s classrooms. For both my parents it’s their greatest source of stress. This is one key reason I can’t get too worked up about this sort of stuff. I find evolution fascinating, and have studied it on my own since I was a kid. But most people aren’t that interested; it’s fairly hard to understand on a serious level; and it’s such a tiny part of the overall curriculum. Even most of my well educated, non-creationist friends don’t understand it. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/26 "2010-02-21T15:19:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > My guess is that the OP is worried about Texas influencing the content of text books. > > Me, I’m not really worried. We are not going to see creationism taught in public schools. I wish I had your confidence, but I’m not quite sure of that. Where’s the state that actually mandated that they put stickers in biology books that basically say “evolution is just a theory, so who knows, believe what you want”? It’s interesting that over time the more we learn about the world, the harder the ignorant fight against it. You would think that the natural order of things would be that ignorant beliefs are gradually dying off, but creationism political/education movement was barely on the radar decades ago. The Texas board of education, for example, is basically one person short of going with the full God created the Earth in 6 days, then Jesus came down and rode some dinosaurs and then officially founded America as a Christian nation to be God’s favorite place on Earth curriculum. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/27 "2010-02-21T15:34:01Z")
I think everybody should read _[Not The Bible](http://www.amazon.com/Not-Bible-Sean-Kelly/dp/0345302494/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266766313&sr=8-3)_ and [_The Creation Memos_](http://www.amazon.com/Creation-Memos-Geoffrey-Atkinson/dp/0843110317/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266766396&sr=1-1). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/28 "2010-02-21T15:57:55Z")
Doesn’t democracy send cold shivers up your back sometimes? These people are _voters_! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/29 "2010-02-21T16:14:32Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Is Texas competing with South Carolina in a race to the bottom? The winner of that competition is whatever state has that “Museum” of Religion, or whatever it’s called. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/30 "2010-02-21T17:11:14Z")
The Creation Museum? That’s in Kentucky, just across the river from Ohio. Even the air in that place feels stupid. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/31 "2010-02-21T18:35:19Z")
Every time I see Kirk Cameron wax on the banana as proof of divine creation (although it’s as good as anything else) I want to show him a pineapple, say “What about this then, huh?” and then throw it at him. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/32 "2010-02-21T19:01:50Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > My guess is that the OP is worried about Texas influencing the content of text books. > > Me, I’m not really worried. We are not going to see creationism taught in public schools. No, but we are seeing schools more and more afraid to teach evolution, so they just don’t touch on the subject at all. This lack of education just feeds the ignorance. Americans poll this way on evolution because they’ve literally never been taught any better. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/33 "2010-02-21T19:08:15Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No, but we are seeing schools more and more afraid to teach evolution, so they just don’t touch on the subject at all. This lack of education just feeds the ignorance. Americans poll this way on evolution because they’ve literally never been taught any better. Which states don’t teach evolution? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/34 "2010-02-21T20:07:41Z")
No state forbids it. It’s just that individual schools, on their own, are afraid to teach it with any depth, and some never mention it all. They aren’t prohibited from doing so, they just choose not to. Even the schools that cover it do so in a very shallow way, and spend maybe a day to a week on it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/35 "2010-02-21T20:31:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No state forbids it. It’s just that individual schools, on their own, are afraid to teach it with any depth, and some never mention it all. They aren’t prohibited from doing so, they just choose not to. Even the schools that cover it do so in a very shallow way, and spend maybe a day to a week on it. Which schools are this, and how many are there? How many schools “never mention it at all”? I’m talking today. In 2010. Also, since we are seeing “more and more afraid to teach evolution”, can you show that the trend has been increasing over, say, the last decade (or pick some other time period if you think the last decade isn’t representative). Honestly, I have no idea whether you’re right or wrong. I’d just like to see some actual data. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/36 "2010-02-21T21:06:08Z")
Well, part of it is just ancedotal, from my own experience working in public education, but [here](http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:c_FnZc2l104J:gseweb.harvard.edu/~faculty/singer/Papers/Afraid%2520to%2520Discuss%2520Evolution.pdf+public+schools+afraid+to+teach+evolution&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgb2aHHU36XxPvmxvMfNI8lqdPNRxKgsMko8ySDmemxTMquRgkgKQ-odF3CfRTZ7ANT-NjiNznNy_nXZb5gSFj1Ry2G_1EvLCv8KVxtN_RM30totLP_rbQDT4dpFbFDx0FIoBoE&sig=AHIEtbQSRoQArNIJcqyTWvk5slyn2uJLaA) is an illuminating article. Read the quoted material from the NY Times, in particular. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/37 "2010-02-21T21:17:46Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Well, part of it is just ancedotal, from my own experience working in public education, but [here](http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:c_FnZc2l104J:gseweb.harvard.edu/~faculty/singer/Papers/Afraid%2520to%2520Discuss%2520Evolution.pdf+public+schools+afraid+to+teach+evolution&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgb2aHHU36XxPvmxvMfNI8lqdPNRxKgsMko8ySDmemxTMquRgkgKQ-odF3CfRTZ7ANT-NjiNznNy_nXZb5gSFj1Ry2G_1EvLCv8KVxtN_RM30totLP_rbQDT4dpFbFDx0FIoBoE&sig=AHIEtbQSRoQArNIJcqyTWvk5slyn2uJLaA) is an illuminating article. > > Read the quoted material from the NY Times, in particular. My sense is these things come and go, but the general trend is that the creationists are losing. Especially since the SCOTUS decision in _Dover_. It may also be difficult to differentiate between poor teaching of evolution and just the general poor level of education, as a whole, in many school districts. Frankly, I’m much more concerned that kids don’t learn basic math and algebra than I am that they don’t learn the theory of evolution. It may be the foundation of modern biology, but how many people know and understand Quantum Mechanics (the foundation of modern physics)? As long as we’re not actually teaching creationism in science class, whether or not we teach evolution is pretty much a moot point, IMHO. Most people just forget that stuff anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/38 "2010-02-21T22:22:05Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Frankly, I’m much more concerned that kids don’t learn basic math and algebra than I am that they don’t learn the theory of evolution. It may be the foundation of modern biology, but how many people know and understand Quantum Mechanics (the foundation of modern physics)? You don’t need calculus to grok survival of the fittest. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/39 "2010-02-21T22:38:01Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > You don’t need calculus to grok survival of the fittest. You can teach QM w/o using calculus. But even then, most people don’t understand Newtonian Physics. How many understand what the Periodic Table of the Elements is? Americans, in general, suck at math and science. It would be great if we had a better understanding of evolution, but that would be way down on my list of things that we need to get better at teaching. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814/40 "2010-02-21T22:44:24Z")
My point was that these kinds of polls reflect a basic ignorance about evolution – not just a religious or philosophical opposition to the idea, but a fundamental lack of understanding about what the word even means and doesn’t mean. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-a-third-of-texans-think-the-flintstones-was-a-documentary/529814.md?page=3)