h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I mean, c'mon, are people who own websites really that stupid?

This is almost as bad as the woman I heard on the radio once talking about Einstein inventing the light bulb!

A friend of mine met people in the southern United States who had never heard of Ireland, wondered whether it was out of state, and when told it was in Europe wanted to know whether she had driven from Ireland. I think most Irish people would at least be aware of the (water filled) gulf that separates them from such people.

or pray for it if it didn't exist.

In answer to the question in the subject line: a f*****g idiot.

Any more questions?

Well, to be fair, I conducted a little mini-poll with the eleven-year-old. She told me where Australia was and what language they spoke, but she had no idea where Austria was or what language they spoke.
I quickly informed her.

Who is this person that can't distinguish Australians from Austrians? It is so obvious the Austrians are the ones with the funny hats and the Australians are the ones with the other funny hats.

KENT

I agree with Kent, but if you wear Australian style funny hats you look, as Billy Connolly would put it, windswept and interesting, whereas if you wear Austrian funny hats you look a complete plonker. Unless you happen to be in Austria, where the reverse is true. Or unless you are one of those annoyingly stylish people who can dress outrageously and still look cool.

Which is interesting, because 'complete plonker' is exactly how I would characterise somebody who didn't know the difference between Austria and Australia, although I would make allowances for being eleven.

Well, I just asked the spousal unit and she knew. She who has trouble telling the difference between Thai and Vietnamese...and doesn't know the difference between Indonesia and Malaysia, Madagascar and Mauritania...

I wonder how many forum posters know that London is 'nearer' to Moscow than Auckland is to Sydney.

Replace the word 'nearer' with 'closer' and confusion really takes over.

Replace 'London' with 'Washington' and you will realise why world safety depends on the USA installing their Star Wars missile protection system facing inwards, not outwards.

Y'know, for once, I think you've come up with a non sequitor.
I mean, I understood what you were saying, but I can tell the difference in sound between a 1300 Volkswagen engine and a dual port 1600 as it goes down the street.

I assume Loony's point was about the general lack of geographical knowledge in the world.
Which is just true.
So I guess the definition, as far as I'm concerned, of someone who doesn't know the difference between Austria and Australia, is;
A person whose education system has failed them in ways I dare not even think about.

Geographical perceptions can throw up some funny results.

The British think of the USA as being "on the other side of the Atlantic" and a place where it is cold in winter. What they don't realise is that every square inch the main Continental USA is to the south of England as well. It came as a bit of a surprise to me initially.

You know what? When I first came on the net I went out and bought a globe. I was stunned at my ignorance of where a lot of places were. I'm better now, and my son will not have to find out what a thickie he is about the world in the way I did.

I did, however, know that Australia is not Austria.

There are plenty of confused people around the internet! Check out the queries asked at the Sydney Olympics Web site (courtesy of Loony) A437825

shazz

Mina, thats a really good move giving your son access to a globe at a young age. My mother gave me cheap globe when I was about 5 years old. The rest of the family thought she was mad and that I would just kick it to bits or something. They were wrong, in later years at school I was the only one who had a coherent picture of the way the world fitted together, which gave me a major advantage over all the other kids.

(Except of course the bit about the USA being not only to the left of Cornwall, but down a tad as well.)

Don't worry. I keep losing Idaho. And Maryland.

How would you describe ...

Educationally Challenged would be the closest answer. They may be very bright but if they've never bothered to find out then how are they to know?

Could be Dyslexic?

They were writing about someone who was born in Austria and they referred to him as an 'Australian' four or five times...depsite the fact that they quite clearly stated that he had lived in Vienna for awhile. Is there a Vienna in Australia?

The Australian tourist city of Surfers Paradise likes to think it is some sort of Antipodean Venice.

Actually looking like something really bad that has been transplanted from the US state of Florida, it features million-dollar houses and hotels built alongside man-made canals.

That reminds me of that place in Israel where a guy wants to build a resort hotel on the only spot of coast that a certain migratory bird uses to rest on it's way from africa to europe and back....and he wants the b****y birds to find someplace else, cause they don't have any money...