Kellie Pickler and some insight into America’s geographic ignorance

by Abha Malpani on

I had a good laugh this morning when I saw that World Hum had created a category on their weblog entitled “Hot Americans on Television Botching Geography Questions”, thanks to Miss South Carolina and more recently American Idol Kellie Pickler. She appeared on US television game show “Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader” and was asked what country Budapest was the capital of. She had never even heard of Hungary, and she thought Europe was a country.

Out of amazement and sheer shock, I decided to dig around a bit to get some sort of explanation for the general level of geographic ignorance in America — the world’s most powerful, ethnically diverse and wealthy country.

I came across a report on the American Geographical Society’s website addressing this issue in the US and it all seems to boil down to the American education system that doesn’t pay much attention to geography as a subject of study.

According to the paper, the ranks of Americans who have ever taken geography class in high school or university is low; most of the people who teach geography and set the content standards haven’t studied geography at a university level and don’t understand why they are even teaching it (!) Although the paper doesn’t give more details, it is an interesting read and talks about how the American government needs to embark on a “No American Left Geographically Ignorant” campaign.

I don’t have the answer, but something definitely has to be done. Do watch the video when you get a chance.

Geography Awareness Week Begins Today

by Kelly Amabile on

Out friends at Intelligent Travel remind us that National Geography Awareness Week kicks off today, and they’ve got a link to an awesome video of a young explorer who really knows her map!

The week-long event is a joint effort among various organizations seeking to promote and foster geographic learning. This year there is a special focus on Asia. Geography events and programing focusing on this part of the world will be sponsored by The Asia Society, The Smithsonian, Google Earth and ESRI. A good place to go for information about the week’s activities is National Geographic’s My Wonderful World. Google also has a page dedicated to exploring Asia.

Geography Awareness Week also includes GIS Day on November 14, a celebration honoring geographic information systems and the positive impacts of GIS technology around the world. Over 700 events are scheduled in over 70 countries.

Tim Cahill goes down Death Valley

by Abha Malpani on

If, in Tim Cahill’s words: “the sight of Death Valley National Park is something akin to scientific pornography for hard-rock geologists,” the piece he wrote on his travel there is soft-porn for the solitary adventure travel-writer.

Metamorphosis used to vaguely tickle my curiosity in geography class at school, but other than that, I have absolutely no interest in geology. I still managed to read Cahill’s detailed narration in National Geographic on Death Valley in one shot, without yawning.

For those of you who don’t know about Death Valley other than being a set for Star Wars, it’s a valley in California that is recognized as the lowest point of the Western Hemisphere and one of the hottest places on the planet; it covers an area of 3-million acres.

It’s called Death Valley after some explorers got lost there around 1845; although only one of them died, they all thought that it would be their grave.

What makes the place interesting other than it’s grim and forbidding name, is that it has sand-dunes as well as snow-capped mountains; multicolored rocks that move, and canyons. It is home to the Timbisha Shoshone tribe, and 1000 types of species and plants — 50 of which are not found anywhere in the world.

Cahill’s feature reads as if you were in an open museum of the Valley — he captures more than the essence of the place. So if you get a kick out of obscure geographical dwellings of our mother earth, you will love this article.

I suggest you start off by reading Cahill’s interview about the trip; then go on to the full article if it did something for you. The feature will be in print in National Geographic’s November issue.

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The reason why Americans are so bad at geography as explained by a 19-year old beauty queen

by Neil Woodburn on


So, why can’t 20% of Americans find the United States on a world map?

I’ve been asked this question a number of times while traveling, usually by Aussies or Kiwis who normally quote a much higher percentage when subtly mocking my fellow countrymen.

Frankly, I don’t know the reason why some Americans can’t find their own country on a map. It’s embarrassing.

Miss South Carolina has no idea either. She was recently asked this very same question by a judge at the Miss Teen USA contest and her baffling, Bushism-filled answer pretty much affirmed that she’s part of that ignorant 20% minority. Wow.

If you want a good laugh at the expense of a very pretty young woman, spend two minutes to check out the video above.

And to all you Aussies and Kiwis out there, you may now rest your case; I’ve no defense against this type of irrefutable evidence.

Extreme Geography in the United States

by Justin Glow on

Catherine’s post on the not-so-well-known geographical center of the United States got me thinking: there’s something fun and intriguing about visiting, say, the northernmost point in a country, or perhaps driving eastward until you can drive no further — if only so that you can say, “There’s no one further east than me,” unless there’s someone else standing next to you. If so you’ll have to say, “There’s no one further east than me…and this other person.” But somehow that’s not quite as romantic. Unless it’s a girl and you’re a guy and there’s a bit of chemistry going on. Anyway. Here we go:

All 50 states:

48 Contiguous:

P.S. This is my 500th post with Gadling. Woo!