Remember geography class when you learned where all the countries were located on a map? Well, apparently, most Americans these days have forgotten their geography lessons. In fact, a recent survey revealed that only 11 percent of adults were able to point out the USA on a map of the world! OK, I know my geography is bad, but not that bad!
Jimmy Kimmel Show Tests Americans on Geography Knowledge
The Jimmy Kimmel Show recently asked random people on the street to identify just one country on a map of the world. You won’t believe the shocking results … most couldn’t name even one country correctly on the map. See the amusing video below for a few good laughs:
The Los Angeles locals were asked to identify just one country on the map of the world, but they couldn’t even locate the United States. I’m pretty sure their eighth-grade geography teacher would be ashamed. One woman mistook Russia for the U.S., one man said Alaska was Greenland or Iceland, and one woman pointed out Australia when asked where Europe was located. Funny stuff! Well, except for the fact that they were dead serious.
Teenager Saves the Day
The best part of the video is when a pre-teen shows up and correctly identifies all of the countries on the map. Even the countries in South America and Asia. Phew! There may be hope for humanity after all.
Unbelievable Statistics Showing Most Americans Need a Geography Tutor
Intrepid Travel surveyed 2,000 U.S. citizens and showed them pictures of famous landmarks. While 68% of the respondents said they were knowledgeable about these landmarks, the results said something entirely different:
- 9% thought the USA was the largest country in the world. (It’s not. Russia is.)
- 3% of Americans actually did not know where the White House was located. (It’s in Washington, D.C.)
- 57% didn’t know the Grand Canyon was located in Arizona.
- 13% thought Alcatraz was in New York. 11% didn’t know where it was. (It’s located in San Francisco Bay in California.)
Who Cares About Geography Right?
Is it even necessary to know much about geography? Why is it even important? According to the Website LearningPlunge, geography was once an integral part of the education system in the U.S.
”Up until the early part of the 20th century, geography mattered in education. It was an expectation for all educated citizens in our country to learn geography. Geography was specifically taught as one of the four core subjects: reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography. There was a reason for this. As early as 1776, founders of our nation including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson understood the value of learning geography; it was practical and useful, and should be taught to instill a national identity. The new citizens of America should learn geography to understand how and where they fit into the new nation and within the world.”
Unfortunately, over time, learning geography is not emphasized in today’s school compared to the past. “Even though educating our children about geography should remain important, it has slowly disappeared from the focus of teaching,” according to LearningPlunge. “Students, however, still need to understand how and where they fit into our nation and within the world. Geography IS important.”
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
Want to test your own knowledge of world geography? Take this WorldAtlas.com quiz and find out what your geography IQ is. Then you won’t be caught off guard if you run into the Jimmy Kimmel Show on the street!
