sniff
Goodbye, literacy. We hardly knew ye…
OK, obviously I phrased that wrong. And I never really thought of “knowing how to read” as a skill. It was just something that happened around the pre-school/kindergarten/1st grade years.
But when you ask the question " What should EVERY American adult know how to do?", driving should be near the top of the list.
I agree with all of that except for #28. I have no idea why I should learn how to handle firearms. I’d sooner gnaw my own foot off than have one in my possession.
Beyond that, I have nothing to add. That was a pretty comprehensive list!
But, with a gun in your possession, you could shoot your foot off a lot more efficiently and with less long-term pain.
On the original list:
5. Change a diaper, and calm a crying infant or child. I’ve done both of these, but I’m of the general opinion that if I don’t have kids, it’s not my responsibility. I don’t have kids, and it’s easier just to tell the kids’ parent to change that smelly diaper, or get their damn, crying kids out of the cinema.
**9. Tie a necktie.**But if every American man can do it, there’d be zero need for any American woman, except for certain of the lesbian ones and the ones who have to work in those false-trendy chain restaurant bars (their uniforms have ties, don’t they?).
10. Braid a little girl’s hair. Kind of like number 5.
25. Check your car’s oil level, and change the oil and filter, yourself. As long as we’re limiting ourselves to “knowing how,” then this is okay, but I’m at the point where it’s cheaper to pay my mechanic to do it (time, hassle).
31. Survive for at least a couple of days in the wild (ie, have a grasp of very rudimentary survival skills). Which wild? P:
35. Skip a rock across a natural body of water. What’s wrong with dam water?
39. Write a check (you know, those slips of paper that folks used to use to pay bills, before e-bills and online bill paying?). Obsolete for most people.
47. Know your family’s general history, and the names of your ancestors at least 4 or 5 generations back. I fail this one, but that’s, what, 32 people, plus their siblings?
I’ll add to the list:
[ul]
[li]Understand capitalism, taxes, corporations, and the very basics of economics, and how wealth is created and that it’s not a zero-sum game.[/li][li]Understand the very basics of statistics. Not how to perform calculations, but to know what they mean and don’t mean.[/li][li]How to use a plasma cutter to cut through the bottom hull of a capsized ship. (Ya never know, ya know?)[/li][/ul]