Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think it's all relative. Most New Mexicans can't name all five boroughs of New York, or more than a couple suburbs of Chicago or Los Angeles. It used to disappoint me greatly when I was out of town and had to explain I came from an actual state, but I realized that it's far more distant and thus less important for the people living in far-off lands.
Now if they ought to know better, like customs officials, then it's a totally different ball game.
There was a post here awhile back about a rattlesnake that someone had seen in the backyard, and the poster wondered if it could have been a Mojave.
So, I googled Mojave to see what the usual range of this species is....and came upon one site (reptilian knowlege or something like that, one of the first hits).
The author of the site had swiped a map from Wikipedia that showed the supposed range of the snake in question....and had labeled the states.
He labeled Texas correctly.....but for the state of NM, he had labeled it UT.
When I pointed out his mistake, and suggested that he correct it, he got very, very defensive...and accused me of ranting, etc. etc. etc.
This is a supposed adult that had a webpage that was supposedly meant to educate...and he comes up with crap like that.
He must have labeled the states himself, since the original graphic from Wikipedia was blank. It showed the states sans names, with a grayed area indicating the range of the Mojave rattlesnake.
It's difficult to fathom such ignorance.
It is all too easy to just look on a standard map to make sure that you have it right.
I think it's all relative. Most New Mexicans can't name all five boroughs of New York, or more than a couple suburbs of Chicago or Los Angeles. It used to disappoint me greatly when I was out of town and had to explain I came from an actual state, but I realized that it's far more distant and thus less important for the people living in far-off lands.
Now if they ought to know better, like customs officials, then it's a totally different ball game.
Exactly.
No, I cannot name all of those, but if I wanted to know, it is SO easy to look them up.
"About 11 percent of young citizens of the U.S. couldn't even locate the U.S. on a map. The Pacific Ocean's location was a mystery to 29 percent; Japan, to 58 percent; France, to 65 percent; and the United Kingdom, to 69 percent. Are Young U.S. Citizens Americentric?
Despite the threat of war in Iraq and the daily reports of suicide bombers in Israel, less than 15 percent of the young U.S. citizens could locate either country.
More young U.S. citizens in the study knew that the island featured in last season's TV show "Survivor" is in the South Pacific than could find Israel. Particularly humiliating was that all countries were better able to identify the U.S. population than many young U.S. citizens. Within the U.S., almost one-third said that population was between one billion and two billion; the answer is 289 million."
Kinda makes ya PROUD, doesn't it???????
My first days as Tourism Director in Clayton I had an argument with a guy from Texas. He was majorly ticked off that there was noborder control between New Mexico and Texas.
Most people here know I am from Ireland and its kinda sad that I know more about US States than people who were born here. I guess ignorance is bliss ....
If any US Citizen over the age of 18 does not know that New Mexico is a state, they are indeed an idiot. Ok, maybe that was a little harsh. How can some folks be so geographically challenged?
Ok, this same subject is posted about every two month, discussed in full and dies, just to be revived, but with a different heading.
yes, it is hard to believe some do not know (heck my mother in law didn't know) but as for the younger generations: they have very little geography in school anymore. Our granddauther (gifted and went through higschool taking all AP classes) didn't know Baja CA wasn't part of Ca..
Nita
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
