19/20, for some ungodly reason I said that South America was the leading area for oil production.
And some cites about world religions:
Those religious surveys can get very politically charged–entire countries, such as Russia and Germany (with its state-mandated church taxes!!) and the UK, are simply lumped in as ‘Christian’. American Muslim leaders have lately been accused of exaggerating their numbers, for example, and it can be very politically sensitive, esp. since the government relies on the churches themselves to report the info.
I know plenty of Christian Indians and Africans. And we have a entire continent that is almost all Christian–South America. Desmond Tutu was just on The Daily Show, for example. There’s also the Arabs like the Copts and Maronites. All considered Christians.
98% of the French surveyed knew where Italy was.
97% of the Italians surveyed knew where Italy was.
Stuff like that embarasses my membership of the human race.
We should all be thankful that the test didn’t demand that we be able to locate some of the tougher countries, like Suriname, Brunei, or Burkina Faso! And one of these days, I really do need to study a map of West Africa - I can reliably locate Nigeria (since I’ll be traveling there soon to pick up my $20 million from the son of the former finance minister, of course), but if asked to point to, say, Togo or Senegal, I’m in trouble.
The countries in the test that were demanded to be located were countries that would label anyone who would get it wrong mentally unstable in some way. That’s in my opinion of course. The countries should be known by everyone given the times. Maybe not Sweden though, as survey results mean something.
Did anyone else have a jigsaw puzzle of the world? I had a wooden one of Africa, where you fit the countries together, and a cardboard one of the rest of the world.
My mother was born in Zimbabwe, we asked where it was, she bought the puzzles. I still think of countires in the colours they were on those jigsaws. So, if you don’t think your kids know enough about geography, there are cheap, simple and fun ways of teaching them.
Hmm, everyone seems to have done unusually well.
:dubious:
I got 16/20.
19/20 here. I’m with Chuck on this one. Yeah, geography is nice to know, and, I dare say, important, although at the same time unnecessary to the day-to-day existance of Joe-Hans-Franco-Lars-Abdul-Francois six pack. Most people live, work, and play in a reasonably tight circle.
Some travel, and interact, with people from other countries (and especially so with the EU, what with the proximity and all) but really, people like to be close to where they call home, and honestly, I don’t need to know where on a map Iraq is, to know we shouldn’t be there.
This is undeniable. But wouldn’t it be better to know.
Yes, most people can live there lives with little or no general knowledge about the world at large. Does this mean that such knowledge is not worth having? Or that we should be apathetic in the face of evidence that it is lacking?
Er - on that question, the US was dead last. US 25% correct, Italy 34%, Mexico 35%, and so on up to Sweden 55%.
Which makes it even more shocking.
Yes, I meant they came 8th in the test overall. Should have been clearer.
I didn’t have the world jigsaw myself as a child, however both my kids did. I would hope they would get the same 20/20 score I did on that easy survey test.
Which must make it terribly disappointing when you step off the plane. 
19/20, El Ninõ got me.
And I have ZERO interest in geography. All my friends lack at my pathetic knowledge of any geographics beyond the most basic level. I don’t believe those test results for a second. Were the tests graded somehow, or just anonymous “for fun”? I’m thinking a large amount of people were having their fun at the pollers’ expense. “Young US adults”… You mean schoolkids? Let me guess, they were made to take a pointless ungraded geo test and allowed to leave when they were done with it.
So do I. Not the jigsaws, though, just the atlases and maps I had at hand as a child. Canada is yellow, Ontario is pink or light green or white, Quebec is dark yellow. Manitoba is red or dark orange, Saskatchewan is dark green and Newfoundland is pink.
The United States is green or grey, Germany is sorta pink, Japan is green, China is yellow, and so are Iceland, Chile, and Morocco. But Mexico and Portugal are purple. I could go on… Anybody want to know what colour your home is? 
Yes it is. Japan isn’t exactly an unimportant country. People should at least know where it is. Anybody who get defensive about this is just stupid.
If a kid from a western country does not get to 15 years old without being able to get a very high score on that test they have either being doing nothing or their local system has let them down IMO.
19/20
Stupid dodgey monitor. I thought the number for the Pacific Ocean was 60 not 30.
I would have tanked the Sweden question too, if they had included the number for Norway in the possible answers.
I agree, it’s a good thing they did not include the African countries. I can name the Mediterranian, (some) east africa, South Africa, and Cameroon. Once you hit the interior, I’m toast.
yojimbo, I wouldn’t limit that to kids of western countries. Kids in every country should know this stuff. If a child’s excuse is that he spent his school years hawking shit to tourists so his family could eat, the system’s really let him down.
I lived in Jakarta from 12 - 16 and the local kids (not especially rich kids either) had an incredible depth of knowledge about my country. Australia made a huge attempt to engage with the region at that time and Indonesia felt that educating its children about the neighbours was important. I don’t think they have such a neighbourly view of us now.
As a Geographer (Well, Planner really) I am always mystified by coworkers lack of mapping knowledge. I remind myself that they’re not geo-centric like me but still…
I must say, however, that they have me completely beat when it comes to such important subjects as fictional characters on TV or the state of pop-divas hair styles.
As for useless knowledge, can anyone here (or anywhere) know in advance which knowledge will never be needed? My friend keeps using the word “Immobilized” in place of “Immolated.” I told him that although it was unlikely to ever be a choice for him, it would be quite important if it did.
Or perhaps they were concentrating on things that were, how shall I say it, USEFUL such as math, language, and science?