Geographooey

Every once in awhile some edumacational organization or other surveys young Americans' geographical knowledge or lack of it, then moans about the results. I don't know why they pick on young people because I doubt that older Americans would do any better.

The results of the latest Roper Poll conducted for National Geographic show that:

A third of 18 to 24 year-olds can't locate Louisiana on a U.S. map, and 48 percent can't find Mississippi;

Sixty percent can't locate Iraq on a map of the middle east, and three out of four couldn't find Israel;

Fewer than 30 percent think it's important to know the locations of countries in the news.

Personally, I don't think this is anything new, nor particularly shocking. After all, a significant number of Americans still think that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11, and twelve percent think that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.

Morris Berman quotes travel agents who joke among themselves about people who call and say, "My wife and I are thinking about going to Hawaii, and we want to know whether it would be cheaper to fly or take the train."

I used to give a test consisting of a blank map of the states as part of my U.S. history class, and some of the names I got were priceless, such as Utha, New Hamster, and (no kidding) West Vagina.

I've long thought geography and history the most important subjects for anyone who wants to be informed about the world he or she lives in, but what do I know?