American Engrish
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Seen in a North Carolina grocery store.American Engrish
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By Blogsdna
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July 11th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Hi NH,
Yeah, thats pretty amusing.
Along the same lines, the other day I caught a glimpse of the show “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” on Star World. I only bothered to watch one question. The question for, can you believe, US$25,000 was “What ocean lies on the East side of Africa?” The contestant thought a bit and concluded it was either the Pacific or the Atlantic. Sigh! He then settled for the Atlantic. Bigger Sigh!
What has happened to basic general knowledge in the world? OK, I know I am from Durban (hence the name durbanbay) and so should know the ocean is the Indian Ocean. But you could ask me what oceans are on either side of America and I would know!
I was thinking they should rename the show “How stupid are you anyway!” but then nobody would want to take part.
Good pic by the way. Have a great day.
Durbanbay
durbanbays last blog post..New Zealand 04 Pt. 4 – Hanmar to the Wild West Coast
thenhbushman
reply on July 11th, 2008 4:09 pm:
durbanbay » i would love that show! haha! never heard of it in Taiwan though. i like your title better!
July 11th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Hey there, Boo Boo great idea! Tell the ranger to look at the sign and I will grab the pic-a-nic baskets!
thenhbushman
reply on July 11th, 2008 4:06 pm:
Colby » good thing i had my mobile phone with me at least, or else you wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this one!
July 12th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Ar you smarter than a 5th grader is in it 2nd year (I think… maybe 3rd year) on TV here in the USA on FOX and its hosted by Jeff Foxworthy (you know… the “you might be a redneck if…” guy). Some of the questions people have gotten wrong on there makes me wonder if they sould rename the show to… Are you smarter than a 1st grader.
Now… what is wrong with “Pinic”… you don’t know what that is??? Thats when you go to a park or someplace for a nice lunch… and you don’t get to “see” anything
thenhbushman
reply on July 13th, 2008 9:41 pm:
mike01905 » more like “are you smarter than the dirt in my garden?”
July 13th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
no surprise there. i get a lot of emails from folks from the usa at my work and some of them look like they were really typed by 5th graders.
about durbanbay’s comment of american’s ignorance towards the world, no surprise there either. i know of people that have never left their own state and know little about the usa in general, let alone the world.
here’s a good example… take a look: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=smwRQPdKqKg
andress last blog post..retro post: russian adventures
thenhbushman
reply on July 13th, 2008 9:51 pm:
andres » the truth is, as you know – local people here are some of the most sheltered and isolated on the planet. the stereotypes and assumptions they have of the world are without peer, let alone the fact that most local people aren’t well traveled within their own small country! the only reason that everyone is so upset over Americans not knowing the answers to those questions is because the US is supposed to be the greatest country in the world. those people whom were selected clearly don’t travel and the truth is they have little reason to know the answers to those particular questions. how many such “surveys” have you seen of Taiwan? i bet i could come up with some real revealing questions.
now i bet if you took those same questions to Taiwan, and asked some of the Americans who live here, the results would have been quite different.
i just think that no one has the market cornered on dumb….
durbanbay
reply on July 14th, 2008 6:57 am:
Andres >> In my defence I never said anything about Americans. My exact words were: “What has happened to basic general knowledge in the world?” Although you perhaps thought I was referring to Americans by my comments on knowing which Oceans were on either side of America. MJ is correct when he says “no one has cornered the market on dumb.”
I have never been to America and may never go there (really no interest) so I would never presume to know much about Americans. Most of the Americans I have met abroad have been fairly knowledgeable about the world.
In South Africa we have some fairly ignorant people too. A few years ago I went back and a guy who is my age (mid-thirties) and who I have known since we were 17 was excitedly telling me about the security checks for a domestic flight in South Africa. I was very curious as to why and then I realized it was the first time he had ever taken a flight. Those people don’t know much about what is going on beyond South Africa.
What pisses most non-US people off is the presumption by some Americans (and here I don’t mean most) that we should know everything about America. I once had an American laugh at me because I didn’t know the name of the big lake in Wisconsin! I then asked him to name the capital city of South Africa. He couldn’t!
What amazes me about that TV show is how people are willing (and take pride in) showing off how stupid they are! Its just stunning.
Anyway my original comments and all comments after that were not meant to be prejudicial against America. Rather they were meant to highlight the growing ignorance in the world around us. Why is it important! Because if we allow it to grow we forget the lessons of the past (e.g. holocaust denialism) and are in danger of making the same mistakes.
Take care.
thenhbushman
reply on July 14th, 2008 10:29 am:
durbanbay » i think we’re all saying the same thing basically. that level of ignorance is embarrassing. in fact, the video that Andres referenced has even more ignorance showing than one might initially think. the person who posted it comes off with an air of superiority by stating:
“Here’s a vid about the avarage american people. This is the avarage intellectuel in the United States of America (a country that begins with you).”
i guess that’s why it’s called “You Tube” eh?
July 13th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
MJ, I’m in total agreement with you. Taiwanese folks (more like Chinese in general) are some of the most ignorant and racist people I’ve ever come across. I know some people who live in Taipei County that have only been to Taipei City a couple times in their lifetime. Some local folks can’t go a few blocks down the street without getting lost and not knowing their way home.
About the video, I know they probably interviewed thousands of people before they got those answers and edited it. I’m not expecting them to be experts at the various subjects asked (heck, there were a couple questions which I wasn’t sure of the answer) but I think there’s really no excuse to not knowing the answer to some of the questions asked.
andress last blog post..retro post: russian adventures
July 14th, 2008 at 11:10 am
MJ,
I was at a rest stop on the NJ Turnpike last week. Just looking at the people wandering through i kept wondering how did the US get to be the superpower of the world? Is the rest of the world even sloppier and dopier?
owshawngs last blog post..CMIL Cooks!
thenhbushman
reply on July 14th, 2008 6:32 pm:
owshawng » i know just what you mean. does every American white male wear a ball cap?? i remember when people used to dress up to travel. now they dress down. America has become a nation of leisure, apparently.
MJ Klein
reply on July 14th, 2008 6:49 pm:
When I Travel…. {seesmic_video:{“url_thumbnail”:{“value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/rYf7oYjrXD_th1.jpg”}”title”:{“value”:”When I Travel…. ”}”videoUri”:{“value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/tpCTa5pE6p”}}}
MJ Kleins last blog post..Weekend In Miaoli
July 27th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I don’t see why this needs a blog entry? I don’t get what the big deal is about pinic supplies???? Then again I was educated in America…
thenhbushman
reply on July 27th, 2008 10:34 am:
Mitesh Damania » it’s no wonder.
July 27th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Is it the price?
thenhbushman
reply on July 27th, 2008 5:25 pm:
Mitesh Damania » read the other comments and “see” if you can figure it out.