Street Smarts

Kofi Anan is a drink? True or False? asked the questioner...

Images from this YouTube video.

(MANAMA, Bahrain) - On several occasions recently, TV hosts have conducted random street interviews revealing that the average American is incredibly uninformed.

For instance, when one passerby was asked “Which state does KFC come from,” he answered, “What, the chicken? I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

The interviewer carried on with “Ok. Do you know what KFC stands for?”

The answer he got was “Kentucky Fried Chicken, right?” He seemed unable to identify Kentucky as the state.

Others were asked, “Who's in the coalition of the willing?”

The answers given included: “I have no idea.” “Kuwait.” “Afghanistan.” “Iraq.” “Iran.” “New Zealand.”

“What's the religion of Israel?” questioned the interviewer.

The answers from different respondents included “Israeli?” “Muslim?” “Islamic?” “Catholic probably.”

Admittedly, the producers may have edited these encounters to include only the ignorant respondents. Even if that were true, it’s distressing to see how many stupid answers a number of randomly chosen people can give.

“Name a country that begins with U,” requested the interviewer.

Answers included, “Yugoslavia?” “Utah?” “Utopia?” “A country? Uhhhh...” None of them could connect what should have been an easy choice from United States, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and more.

“Who won the Vietnam War?” asked the interviewer.

“We did....hahaha.” Said another, “Were we even in the Vietnam War?”

“Who is Fidel Castro?” asked the questioner.

“A singer?” responded the passerby.

Perhaps many don’t follow the news and know very little about the world, but anyone with the simplest education should be able to correctly answer: “How many sides does a triangle have?”

Answer: “Damn...four?” “There's no sides...one?”

If it wasn’t obvious that the people on the street were Americans, the next question assured all that they weren’t British.

“What's the currency used in the United Kingdom?”

One answer: “What is the United Kingdom?” Another:

“Possibly American money.” And yet another: “Queen Elizabeth’s money. That's all I know.”

Kofi Anan is a drink? True or False? asked the questioner.

“Coffee's a drink.” “Coffee 'n what?” “It sounds like a law firm.”

Four people were asked, “Who is Tony Blair?”

One answer: “I don't even know him.”

“Any guess?” asked the moderator of the other three.

“Skater?” “Actor?” “Linda Blair's brother.”

Americans should know “Which countries are in the Axis of Evil?”

Not quite: “Ehm. I know Germany is one of them. I'm not sure about the others.” Or “Ok. California.” How about “Jerusalem.” Try “New York” “Florida?” Safe bet: “I think all of them.”

“Who was the first man on the moon?” asked the interviewer.

“John Glenn.” “Armstrong walked on the moon but I think it was a Russian. I'm not sure.”

A knowledgeable doubter answers “Well, I can tell you, some people don't believe that happened. They believe it was REINCARNATED in Arizona somewhere.”

“How many world wars have there been?”

“Three!” said one.

Make life easy for the man or woman on the street with a true or false question: “Star Wars is based on a true story. True or false?”

Answer: “True.”

Not everyone, other than a history buff, born after WWII could handle this: “What are Hiroshima and Nagasaki famous for?”

“Judo wrestling?” was the brilliant uncertain response.

Could those who had never travelled to France know, “How many Eiffel towers are there in Paris?”

“I say about ten.”

I once wrote an article saying that Americans are ignorant but not stupid. But once they recognize their ignorance and continue to wallow in it, they're stupid.

Throughout his life as an educator, Dr. Paul J. Balles, a retired American university professor and freelance writer, has lived and worked in the Middle East for 40 years - first as an English professor (Universities of Kuwait and Bahrain), and for the past ten years as a writer, editor and editorial consultant.

He’s a weekly Op-Ed columnist for the GULF DAILY NEWS . Dr. Balles is also Editorial Consultant for Red House Marketing and a regular contributor to Bahrain This Month. He writes a weekly op-ed column for Akbar Al Khaleej (Arabic). He has also edited seven websites, including bahrainthismonth.com, womenthismonth.com