• JJROKCZ
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        1 year ago

        Western european countries would definitely do better. Every time I see one of those videos of a guy on the street asking people geography the Americans are completely worthless but and random european is almost perfect. Americans can’t even get their states of our own country correct

    • zeppo
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      1 year ago

      Why would they be guessing Arkansas?

        • zeppo
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          1 year ago

          I know it’s a rhetorical question, but briefly. I ate a burrito in Fort Smith, stayed at a crappy motel by Fayetteville one time in the shadow of Jesus billboards, and drove through Little Rock. It was very “natural”.

            • zeppo
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              1 year ago

              It was a very average burrito in a sit-down Mexican restaurant, one of those places that has a nice building and atmosphere but seems to cater to a midwestern palate. I think it was La Huerta Grill. Probably would have been better any state to the Southwest of there. Looking at the map now, if I was there again, I’d go to a pupusa place… those are always super good.

    • Ddhuud
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      1 year ago

      I would like to know the context of this survey. Who in the world gets asked where is a country and points to the middle of the sea

    • Pandantic [they/them]@midwest.social
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      1 year ago

      To be fair, I bet there is a town named Iran in the US. There’s a Cuba, Bolivia, Lebanon, and others.

      Okay, I just looked it up and no, but you can see where I coming from - lots of places named after foreign countries/cities. It probably is stupidity, but with included confusion.

      • Xusontha@ls.buckodr.ink
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, I see what you mean but the majority is still most likely stupidity (though there is probably at least one because of that)

      • jaybone
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        1 year ago

        I wonder if it asked them to point out “the country of Iran.”

        Of course people also confuse cities and states. Like on the game shows, people will say things like Los Angeles when they mean California, and vice versa.

    • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      A large chunk of them, well over half, had the general part of the world right. Honestly better than I expected.

      • Turun@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, I’d say ~50% are close enough to be considered basically correct.

        Rip Italy though.

      • jaybone
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        1 year ago

        It skews pretty far into Europe though, which surprised me.

        • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          It does, yes. A lot of them are centered around the Persian gulf, so there seems to be a strong “it’s around here somewhere” approach.

    • cmbabul
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      1 year ago

      There’s at least chance that some of those are just folks that hate whatever state they pinned in hopes it would be bombed

    • masquenox@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      TIL there’s a disturbing amount of USians who think Iran is actually Atlantis.

  • Siegfried
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    1 year ago

    Jokes aside, there is no better way to learn geography than studying war. Shit just starts sticking in your brain.

    Americans you are not alone

    • JJROKCZ
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      1 year ago

      A game called terra invicta (HOI4 mixed with xcom) has really been helping my modern geography of late

  • Wage_slave@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Ahhh yes, Iran Alberta, Canada.

    Go for the food, stay for the bread festivals. It’s when we sing the score from Fiddler on the roof and sacrifice a bear in the name of our sponsors, Phil’s pork 'n beans.

    Good Ol’ Iran, Alberta. Fuckin’ love that place. Go there, you tell Jimmy, Bill from Ottawa says hello!