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Grave question to the Americans

Mr Spice

Emperor
Joined
Oct 17, 2001
Messages
1,250
Location
Sweden
There is something that I have been wondering about and just *have* to ask you. Why do most of you never write the name of your country in the "Location"-field? :confused:

Almost every single American on this board that actually gives a real location either writes "town, state" or just "state", but never country. The shiny counter-example would be Dillo with his "USA, BABY!!!", but he is very alone.

Luckily, I am Swedish and therefore have godlike knowledge of geografy, so whatever obscure place you are from I will recognize it. And the few times when I choose to have forgotten, I still recognize you as Americans for obvious reasons... :cool:
But if I were to write "Bastuträsk, Västerbotten" or "Ödeshög, Östergötland" would you have any clue of where that was?

This is no biggie by the way (despite the headline), I just thought it would be fun to know.
 
I wonder how many Americans even know where Sweden or India is on the map. Come to think of it how many Americans can recognize a world map;)
 
Originally posted by allhailIndia
I wonder how many Americans even know where Sweden or India is on the map. Come to think of it how many Americans can recognize a world map;)

I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that.

Anyway, about the America question, most of the people on here are Americans or Canadians so I just put city and state; it would be redundant to put USA on there too since 75 percent of the members know about it. Also, most of us who bother with city and state don't put the real city name of where we live, we (or at least me) just round it off to the nearest large city. I say Salt Lake City, but I'm really a few miles away from the actual city in a borrough called Sugarhouse.

If I had said Sugarhouse, would you have known where I was? What if I had said Moab, or Durango, or Bethlehem (where I used to live in the ole days) Would you know where those cities were?

...or Springfield...There's 60 cities in the U.S. called Springfield.
 
As a serious question, how accurate are those e-mails cruising the internet and the media reports that a fair proportion of college graduates in the U.S. can't actually point to the US on a world map?

And really, what proportion of Civfanatics members are from which countries?
 
Originally posted by ainwood
As a serious question, how accurate are those e-mails cruising the internet and the media reports that a fair proportion of college graduates in the U.S. can't actually point to the US on a world map?

Do you really have to ask? This kind of thing is fine when its just meant to be a joke but it gets a bit ridiculous when people start actually believing things like this. Simply ask yourself the percentage of people in your country that could point to your country on a world map and there is your answer...
 
Originally posted by Dell19


Do you really have to ask? This kind of thing is fine when its just meant to be a joke but it gets a bit ridiculous when people start actually believing things like this. Simply ask yourself the percentage of people in your country that could point to your country on a world map and there is your answer...


Yes, I really do have to ask.

You must remember that US citizens tend to be a bit more inward-focused than most other cultures. Many have never even left the cities that they were born in, and have no desire to either. Therefore, if some of them have little interest in the outside world, why would they know where other countries or their own are?

Notice that I "just asked", because I actually find this hard to believe.
 
Originally posted by Mr Spice
Luckily, I am Swedish and therefore have godlike knowledge of geografy, so whatever obscure place you are from I will recognize it.

I'm afraid that I don't see how this follows at all. Maybe we should resurrect the Cumulative Geography quiz to find out how much you really know about it!
As to where I'm from, then I don't care what you think about it. I appreciate that with some threads your nationality will influence your response, but for the vast majority it shouldn't. If I support military action in Afghanistan, does that make me an American? And if I don't then what does that make me? You will find all kinds of people in every country so trying to append particular traits to nationalities is just racial stereotyping, plain and simple. I hope that you're not trying to do that. The vast majority of posters here are from the US, so trying to find out where particular people come from won't be that exciting anyway. If you really want to know, why not send them a PM or look back on their previous posts?
 
Hah I got asked where I was from all the time when I was travelling and I always replied 'London', and a few people asked why I didn't say England. I guess I'm a little arrogant, but it cuts to the chase.

There was a funny time in Rio when a guy was speaking to some brazilians and he said he was from Philadelphia, and they said "Where?". For a lot of people the US is the world, so it's hardly suprising is it?
 
Originally posted by ainwood



Yes, I really do have to ask.

You must remember that US citizens tend to be a bit more inward-focused than most other cultures. Many have never even left the cities that they were born in, and have no desire to either. Therefore, if some of them have little interest in the outside world, why would they know where other countries or their own are?

Notice that I "just asked", because I actually find this hard to believe.

Where do you get your information? Most Americans I have met want to visit other places, and I have never met someone who has spent their entire lives never leaving one city (Except for some of the young).

Keep in mind that there are financial and geographical constraints upon many people. I live in Ohio (In the USA). If I want to go to a warm beach and not spend a fortune, I go to Florida, USA on a journey of over 1,000 miles. Where would the same 1,000 mile (1.610 KM) distance place you from any European country? If I want to see some interesting natural and historical sites I might make a 3,000 mile (4.830 KM) journey to California, USA. That many Americans stay within their own country and or continent in their travels is hardly surprising, and to my mind is more a function of finances and geography than lack of interest in other places.

As far as American geographic knowledge goes, in general it probably isn't as good as much of the world. However, don't be fooled into thinking that most Americans can't use a map, or can't locate their own country. If Jay Leno interviews a couple of people on the streets of LA (Los Angeles, CA, USA) who can't locate the US on a map, it is not exactly a scientific study. Showing dozens of people who can locate it doesn't make for good TV.


As to where Sweeden and India are:

Sweeden: That cold place wedged inbetween Norway and Finnland.

India: Southern Asia where the crystal clear waters of the Ganges flow.
 
I changed my location to reflect the request; the main reason I didn't put it in there is because this is the first board I've posted on regularly that has so many international people on it.

Like Knowltok said, Americans can travel extensively without leaving the country, therefor many never do.
Also, geography is not considered an important subject in American schools at all. I don't know if I consider that a bad thing because knowing the location of Armenia & Botswana is really superfulous information to most Americans, and I'm sure most people around the world.

Originally posted by ainwood
Many have never even left the cities that they were born in, and have no desire to either.
I don't know anyone that has lived in the same town their whole life, and I know many Americans. On the contrary, by English & German families BOTH live in the same town they have lived in since the turn of the century. My German family still lives in the same HOUSE they have had since the 1920's, and the eldest daughter moved in next door with her husband. Now THAT is lack of mobility.
 
Originally posted by KT2:
India: Southern Asia where the crystal clear waters of the Ganges flow.

:lol: Hey - maybe you don't know that much about the rest of the world after all! ;)
I would bet that more Americans can find their nation on the map than could Russians. In fact, as a proportion of the population, as many Americans would be in the dark as to their global location as would Swedes or the inhabitants of most other developed nations.
And don't believe everything on TV!!!!!!
 
Originally posted by ainwood You must remember that US citizens tend to be a bit more inward-focused than most other cultures. Many have never even left the cities that they were born in, and have no desire to either.
I have read an article about this years ago, I don't remember when or where and I couldn't find it on the internet either. In the article they compared the number of times a US citizen would move with the number of times a European would move in their whole life. It turned out that Americans moved a lot more than Europeans.
Anyway, what is the need for Americans to know so much about geography, they've got their own country which is huge. Knowing the geography of America is as much is knowing the geography of Europe I think. Personally I know some states in the US by name and location, then I know one or two capitals of those states and that's it. I don't feel the need to know US geography as I've never been to the US and don't plan to do so in the near future. I think most Americans feel the same way about Europe.
 
Mr. Spice,

I take offense at your singling out Dillo as the only one to put USA in his location! (j/k:D)

I have had USA in my location field since I registered, since this is the first board where I regularly post that has such a large international population. And yes, I browsed and 'lurked' for several months before I registered, so I knew there was a strong international presence.

However, like BlueMonday, I don't put the actual city where I live. Bellevue may be the third largest city in Nebraska (except on UNL football days - then it's Memorial Stadium in Lincoln - GO HUSKERS!), but who knows where Bellevue is? Nearly everybody (in the US, anyway) knows where Omaha is (at least that it's somewhere in the middle of the country, where all the cows and corn are:lol: ).

About geography, I think that in the U.S., like in any other country, people know the geography that is IMPORTANT TO THEM. That means for some, they have an incredibly detailed knowledge about their local area, but anything beyond a few hundred miles is a little hazy. Most can at least find the U.S., their home state and town on a map. Many of us who are interested in the whole world have no problem with international geography. Like I said, it is what is important to the individual.
 
Well as the Duke o' York put it, it is no more the crystal clear waters of the Ganges:(

It just proves my point that Americans know little about a country till an American gets blown to pieces there. Only then can they place it on a map. Of course this only for the majority of non-civfanatics in the US, I feel that most American Civfanatics have a decent knowledge of geography(that's what happens if you play a lot on the world map;)
 
well, swedish geography master, do you know where nahariya is? (and dont state the obvious, and dont search the internet, or look at an atlas).

BlueMonday, bethlehem is in Israel... sorta.. in the area. there is another bethlehem in the US?
 
A long time ago, when Usenet was still usable, we had a saying: "If sarcasm were posted on the Net, would anyone notice?"

I think that the "crystal clear waters of the Ganges" comment falls into that category.

As for identifying our country, I think that a few minutes' observation will show that the address form "City, XY" is standard for the United States. The US Post Office agreed on standardized two-letter abreviations for the fifty states back in the 1970's. I've seen similar abbreviations for Canada, but I don't know if they're official (I've seen both "QC" and "PQ" for Quebec, for instance).

Besides, the real reason we don't use "USA" in our locations is the same reason our Internet site addresses end in ".com" or ".edu" instead of ".us". The world is divided into "The United States of America" and "everywhere else", so you only have to identify your country if you're from somewhere else.
 
Erm, I think that knowltok2 was only joking when he suggested that the Ganges is crystal clear. ;) I can't think of any rivers that are crystal clear to be honest. Couple of streams and a few rills, but that's it. The greatest rivers in the world are mostly brown.

[edit] Oops, that post just made this one superfluous. :(
 
Originally posted by allhailIndia
Well as the Duke o' York put it, it is no more the crystal clear waters of the Ganges:(

It just proves my point that Americans know little about a country till an American gets blown to pieces there. Only then can they place it on a map. Of course this only for the majority of non-civfanatics in the US, I feel that most American Civfanatics have a decent knowledge of geography(that's what happens if you play a lot on the world map;)

Oh sh!td@mn!! I figured you guys could tell I was using sarcasm without a smilee. I know the Ganges is a dirty cesspool. I think Duke knew this, but you obviously missed it. Where in the world would I ever get the idea that the Ganges was crystal clear?

Also, even if I didn't know that the Ganges was filled with filth, how does that prove your point about American geographic knowledge? Does an American have to have knowledge of the relative sanitation in the major rivers of a country to be considered geographically well-versed? Your point may well be valid, but you can do better than siezing on a misread piece of sarcasm as definitive proof for said point.:mad:

Edit: I see that Duke did recognize the sarcasm, as did a few others.

Edit: Spelling
 
Originally posted by IceBlaZe
well, swedish geography master, do you know where nahariya is? (and dont state the obvious, and dont search the internet, or look at an atlas).

BlueMonday, bethlehem is in Israel... sorta.. in the area. there is another bethlehem in the US?

No sir, I do not. I don't claim to be a geography master in any field, let alone Sweeden or India. I would claim profiecincy with geopgraphy, and the ability to research what I don't know, but mastery of that particular field is beyond me.

Do tell where Nahariya is, but if people want to start a geographic quiz, we should start a new thread.
 
Originally posted by knowltok2
Keep in mind that there are financial and geographical constraints upon many people. I live in Ohio (In the USA). If I want to go to a warm beach and not spend a fortune, I go to Florida, USA on a journey of over 1,000 miles. Where would the same 1,000 mile (1.610 KM) distance place you from any European country? If I want to see some interesting natural and historical sites I might make a 3,000 mile (4.830 KM) journey to California, USA.

:eek: Only 1000 miles?!?! In my day we had to walk that far every morning to get to school. 3000 miles? Have to ride that far to get th' milk and papers! We got a lot of wide open spaces here. It is our biggest natural resource: nothing.
:p :lol:
 
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