Why doesnt half of the US population know where France/Iraq is??

Question

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE

Answer 1

Ask Bush, he didn't know until AFTER he gained (not won)the office of president.

Answer 2

Is the question why doesn't half of America know where France, and Iraq is? I so I have an answer. France is a world famous country, so everyone should. With Bush as President, he went, and FU(K3[) up the country and started a flippin war. Everyone should know were Iraq is. There is not reason. The only people I would think who don't know where Iraq is, is the Amish.

Answer 3

I know where France is and I can pretty much guess where Iraq is for the most part. They seem to show some type of map on the news every day with the war and all. I am not sure why though!
But I can tell you most homes and schools dont have maps unless they are needed or a specific project.

Answer 4

Because geography is usually considered to be a "trivia" topic, rather than something useful.

I cringe as I recall the difficulty to convincing some people that "New Mexico" is actually part of the United States of America.

France has been around for a while. Iraq wasn't recognized as a country until about 1932 when it was admitted to the League of Nations. Who wants to keep up with all the name changes? Beyond trivia buffs and folk with economic and/or family connections to the areas?

Answer 5

I'd guess that more than half the US population doesn't know where France or Iraq are, is because as a nation we are pretty arrogant.

As "small" as the world is getting with the ease of travel and the connection of the internet we need to know who's out there and where they are. They certainly know who and where we are!

Answer 6

The sad sad truth is people really ARE that dumb. Several years ago, I would have thought this to be common knowledge but, as Ive noticed lately, most americans aren't that smart, they just think they are. That, coupled with narrowmindedness makes for a sad state of affairs. Recently, I happened to catch about 15 minutes of NBC's "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" and you'd be surprised how often the answer is 'no'.

Answer 7

Only half???

Americans are very poorly educated and uninformed and naiive when it comes to anything outside of their borders. I have worked as a tour guide in several countries in Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada and it's an embarrassment to hear the sort of incredibly stupid questions that anyone in the industry knows that only an American could ask.

Answer 8

Because our educational system does a lousy job of teaching geography.

Students "locate" places on maps using the girds; they never simply get to know the world.

If they a) spent more time with globes (which are much more accurate than maps), and b) spent time on interesting questions, rather than memorizing mounds of trivia, more Americans would have more clue as to the sphere where we live.

Answer 9

The USA may be the last remaining place on the planet where you can be woefully ignorant and still earn enough to feed you family and buy a house! These people PAY TO VOTE a winner on "American Idol", for pity's sake!

Flying Spaghetti Monster Bless America!

Answer 10

They tend to limit their knowledge to USA.
Some years ago while I was giving a briefing on the Far East situation, an American lady asked me:"can you show on the map were is AGFAnistan? " before I could answer a Brit said:"it's close to ILFORDstan and KODAKYstan!".
The lady smiled thankfully and... wrote down the names of the states!
P.S. For the non-photographers : AGFA, ILFORD, KODAK are brands of films.

Answer 11

i'll just say sumthing- i've been educated in london, uk n i'm 14 n i know the answers to most of those questions...comparing uk n usa education...usa does a crappy job...
did u also know that over 50% of usa teens today have never heard of the holocaust?
when asked what is holocaust, these are popular answers given by teens:
no friggin idea
a rock band
a clothing company
a computer manufacturer