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

This is going to be controversial, but I'm interested. Several things have made me think that some Americans have little or no idea where other countries are or what goes on there.

From today's Overheard In New York (http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/):

Woman #1: So I decided to celebrate turning 50 by traveling to Tibet.
Woman #2: Tibet? Where's that? London?
Woman #1: ...No, it's near China and Russia.
Woman #2: Oh. It's not like I don't like to travel but I went to Mexico once and it was stupid.

and

Teen guy #1: Well, I'm French.
Teen girl: I'm German.
Teen guy #2: Well, I'm from Spain so I guess we're all from Europe.
Teen guy #1: Spain isn't in Europe.
Teen girl: Dude, yes it is. Europe is like its own continent.
Teen guy #1: I was talking about Europe the country, not that little
island with England on it.

I remember reading in a Bill Bryson book that a survey was once done of I think 7000 US high school seniors, and 42% of them couldn't name a single country in Asia. Even the ones the US has been at war with in the last 60 odd years.

I also remember hearing an interview with a member of the Irish band B*Witched, describing an encounter with a US fan, whch went something like this:

Fan: So where are you guys from?
Band Member: Ireland.
Fan: Where's that?
Band Member: (a bit shocked) Europe.
Fan: Oh yeah, I think I've heard of Europe.

I realise these are extreme cases and all are hearsay, but are they symptomatic of a real problem? What do people think?

You think this is restricted to the USA?

I remember being the only one in my class in Geography at school who could point our Brazil on the map. I'm from the UK BTW,

An Irish friend of mine met a guy in North Carolina.

Where are you from?
- Ireland.

Is that out of state?
- Yes, it's in Europe.

Did you drive here from there?
- No, there's an ocean in between.

Fair point. How old were you at the time?

I'm British too, and I remember a friend of mine had no idea where New Zealand was.

Simpost.

Is that out of state?

About 15 or 16 I think. Definitely upper school anyhow.

Hmmm.

It seems a trend in conversations I've both seen and had around this subject that the deep South in the USA seems to be more insular than your average place...

Yes, I remember it well because it stunned me at the time.

I mean, I might struggle if it was Bolivia or something but I'd get the right continent and we were talking about one of the hugest countries in the world.

There's also an increasing tendency to strapline reports in newspapers with, say, 'London, England'. Bill Bryson comments on this too. I can understand it if it's somewhere small that no-one has ever heard of, but sometimes it's totally unneccesary, catering to the lowest common denominator.

In Australia it's pretty much a standing joke that the Americans (especially before the Olympics in 2000) would arrive looking for mountains and people in lederhosen (Austria)

Things have improved of late with Australians' success in American movies and such - but I think that most Aussies still accept that Americans are extremely USA-centric.

Isn't there some statistic somewhere that America has a very high percentage of people who never travel? No excuse , but ....

There are quite a few Londons in the States, you know.

Yes, but in most cases it would be pretty clear from the context that it was London in the UK. That was just an example anyway, it could just as easily be Tokyo, Japan.

The French has a similar insular attitude to travel. When the French government introduced a tax on all foreign holidays the equivalent of about £300 in modern money, nobody complained. The normal reaction of the man in the street was "Why would anybody want to go on a foreign holiday?".

and here's a question I remember from a website during that time from an American

Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule?

Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Whilst i don't applaud US standards in geography (and think it would be a useful restraint on George W. if he could only attack places he could find on a map in less than three minutes), I think this is a case of 'let he who is without sin...' etc etc.

I well remember at the beginnings of the falkland war the majority of my A level history classmates wondering why the Argentinians were invading islands off Scotland, and I well recall the wonderful letter exchange quoted to my father by an American colleague;

British Couple: Little Johnny is flying to New York. Can you meet him at the airport?
American couple. We're in California, why don't you meet him, you're nearer.

That is a good point. I'm just wondering whether people think that Americans sense of geography is particularly worse than other nations.

Any US researchers who have an opinion?

I have to admit that I wouldn't assume insularity on behalf of the person merely because they don;t know where somewhere is.

I have a hopeless knowledge of where places are, even quite large places, but a lot of interest in what happens there. I don't need to know exactly where it is to be interested in what goes on there.

I was surprised at where the Ukraine is, for example. I doubt I could place Georgia on a map, both of which have been in recent news.
I'm also constantly surprised at where Finland is, I'm always having to remind myself that it isn't an island like Greenland and Iceland. I always think Poland should be more northerly than it is. And so on. In fact, the geography of the worl din my head is very, very strange.

And, having admitted to all this shamefull ignorance, I shall now go and hide

I think Poland itself has gone both north south east and west in the last couple of centuries but that's another story

BTW, you can tell us where you're hiding if you like, we still won't find you