Of course, there are idiots in every country of every background or group.

And yes, there are smart Americans (not just book smart, but real-world smart). Sadly, they're in a major minority.

Roughly 85 percent of young Americans could not find Afghanistan, Iraq, or Israel (or Palestine) on a map, according to a new study.

Americans ages 18 to 24 came in next to last among nine countries in the National Geographic-Roper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey, which quizzed more than 3,000 young adults in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States. Top scorers were young adults in Sweden, Germany, and Italy.

Out of 56 questions that were asked across all countries surveyed, on average young Americans answered 23 questions correctly. Others outside the U.S., most notably young adults in Mexico, also struggled with basic geography facts. Young people in Canada and Great Britain fared almost as poorly as those in the U.S.

Among young Americans� startling knowledge gaps, the study found that:
� nearly 30 percent of those surveyed could not find the Pacific Ocean, the world�s largest body of water;
� more than half�56 percent�were unable to locate India, home to 17 percent of people on Earth; and
� only 19 percent could name four countries that officially acknowledge having nuclear weapons.

I urge you to take this little quiz: http://geosurvey.nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey/templates/question_1.html

TAKE IT! Test yourself and educate yourself (and while i'm at it, you better check yourself before you wreck yourself, YO).

But to add my own rage, today I met a 21 year old girl who thought 'Blink 182' was punk rock. I'm no punk aficionado, but I do know what is punk rock, and what isn't. Blink 182? Oh my.

I had a good laugh over that one later in class.

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