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Since there are so many topics about "iconic" cities or even name recognition in places like Zimbabwe or Uzbekistan (newsflash: most people in either place don't think about American cities as much as people who post on the City vs. City forum on a site called City Data do), what cities would you not excuse someone IN THE UNITED STATES of not hearing of before?
I'll start:
New York City
Los Angeles
Chicago
Washington DC
San Francisco
I feel like at the very least, every American should have at least have heard of these places once, twice, or even in passing. Note: I don't think most people could tell you off the top of their head what the population of each of these places are, as much as you could name me the most populated cities of India, China, or Russia are off the top of your head either.
If you want to add, feel free.
Also, given that something like "State Capitals" is tested on frequently in elementary school, at least 30/50 should just jump out at people (+ or - how old you are/quality of school you went to).
Landmarks like "Mount Rushmore", "Grand Canyon" I feel are things most people have at least have some sort of knowledge of.
I'm just trying to combat the idea that I see frequently in threads that people simply "have never heard of the place." That's dumb. Even places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New Orleans, people have heard of. Lets be real here.
Honestly, those are the only 5 cities, that I think would be inexcusable.
There really is only one city everyone is guaranteed to know whether they watch TV and have the internet or not and that's Washington D.C. Even that's only because every student is required to learn about it extensively in school. If someone never went to school and had no access to TV or the internet, they may not know any cities really.
Phoenix and Fort Worth over Philly, Boston, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Denver and Houston? lol!
Quote:
Originally Posted by speagles84
San Antonio over Atlanta and Boston? Really? Pittsburgh Cleveland and New Orleans not even on the list and Memphis is on there?
I don't think the list was in any particular order. Also, judging by his name, he lives on the west coast and is going to more familiar with Phoenix and San Antonio than Boston or Philly.
I don't think the list was in any particular order. Also, judging by his name, he lives on the west coast and is going to more familiar with Phoenix and San Antonio than Boston or Philly.
No, his list seems like it was in order:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahawksfan33
1. New York City (it's by far the most famous one)
2. Washington D.C. (it's a close second)
3. Los Angeles (I believe that it's easily the most famous city in California and on the entire West Coast, even though a couple of cities are close competition for that title)
Also, he's closer to Denver and LV, but he thinks they might be less known than SA or Fort Worth, which are farther. The whole list is just . But its whatever.
Honestly, those are the only 5 cities, that I think would be inexcusable.
I find it inexcusable that this stuff is up for debate at all, especially in 21st century America. There's so much information out there, and with the advent of things such as smart phones, is really accessible to the average person.
I don't think the relative order of cities matters as much as just even knowing anything about the place in general. I may not be able to tell you the exact address of the Capitol Building in DC, but I can tell you what it is.
I may not be able to point out right away where the Golden Gate Bridge is on a map, but I sure know where it is.
I'm not trying to boost one city over another by starting this thread, BTW, but really at what threshold does not knowing something speak to how low our standards have gotten?
Anywhere with Historic Signifigant
Boston
New York
Los Angeles
New Orleans
Washington
San Francisco
Philly
St. Louis
Detriot
Chicago
Then people should know Small places with Important events like
Harpers Ferry
Lexington &Concord
Appomattox
Lowell
Trenton
Gettysburg
Honolulu (pearl Harbor)
Waco
Littleton, CO (Columbine
Newtown
Shanksville,
the person is an American
Anyone else I would excuse ignorance because it's not their country.
Last edited by btownboss4; 04-20-2014 at 06:17 PM..
I don't talk to people born in this country who haven't even heard of Sheboygan, Kalamazoo, or Billings. I don't expect a person to necessarily know which state or much if anything about these towns, but I do expect the names to ring a bell. I try to surround myself with folks who can play Trivial Pursuit at least decently. Unfortunately, the percentage of the population in the United States that can is pathetically small. As a country, we should be extremely embarrassed. Routinely I get the impression that FOB friends of mine who have English as their second language know more about this country than other friends of mine that are born here and educated in the American public school system. Yikes
I had a recruiter from Orange County ask me once about my undergrad college - where it was, what it excelled in, etc. He definitely played the stereotype of the insular *dumb* OC resident (he looked at the rankings and was shocked he had never heard of it). My undergrad is one of the top ranked schools in the country/world, but it's not in SoCal so he (a USC grad) didn't know about it. Hmm...well I gave up immediately because at that point I knew I wasn't passing by the gatekeeper. That company's loss
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. But its whatever.
