The American public again does itself proud

[Izzy]

More Americans know who Harry Potter is than Tony Blair, according to a survey commissioned by producers of an online game show based on modern pop culture.
Of the 1,213 US citizens questioned by polling firm Zogby International, 57% knew of JK Rowling's boy wizard.

That compares with the 49.5% who could name Tony Blair as the British prime minister when asked.

Organisers insist the aim of the poll was to gauge how effectively popular culture information is disseminated.

"These results are not about how 'dumb' Americans are, but about how much more effectively popular culture information is communicated," said Professor Robert Thompson of the Bleier Centre for Television and Popular Culture in Syracuse, New York.

Krypton factor

According to pollsters, the findings suggest Americans have a more detailed knowledge of The Simpsons than they do of classical literature and are more aware of Superman's home planet than those in our own solar system.

Six out of ten people surveyed knew Homer Simpson's son was named Bart. Asked to name one of Homer's epic Greek poems, however, only a fifth could name either The Odyssey or The Iliad.

Sixty per cent of the respondents knew Superman hails from Krypton, meanwhile, compared to the 37% who knew the closest planet to the sun was Mercury.

There was a similar disparity between the 74% who could name the three members of comedy act the Three Stooges - Larry, Curly and Moe - and the 42% who could correctly name the three branches of the US government - judicial, executive and legislative.

The survey was commissioned to publicise Gold Rush, an "interactive reality game" hosted by the AOL website.

How do Americans do it? The same results appear again and again in surveys by all manner of groups

Are they just incredibly self absorbed? The product of a dismal education system? Naturally stupid?? Or are each and everyone of these surveys done by Al- Queada?

Personally i blame MTV, its invariable responsible for everything bad in the world

[SLCPUNK]

And people wonder why we were so easily duped into a war against a fake threat..............duh.

[Jim]

I know a girl who thought that Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden were the same person.

I'm not sure if we have all too much to brag abouts on our side of the ocean.

(Or, our side of Russia...

... Maybe, our side of China, these days)

[Guns N RockMusic]

That's really sad and pathetic.  More Americans vote for american idol than the US presidency.  But what do you expect when a retard, a welfare receipient and high school drop out's votes all count the same.  The only thing I hate about these polls is how quickly US Haters will appear and mock this reality (as any intelligent person would) but if given these same questions, they'd fail just as badly. 

[Where is Hassan Nasrallah ?]

i think american a very nice.
but i know the us enough to understand how it is harder for an american kid to access culture and an open-mind than for an european kid.

[anxious tomato]

Hey, at least they know the three stooges! I didn't even know that. Well done, America!

[Where is Hassan Nasrallah ?]

Hey, at least they know the three stooges! I didn't even know that. Well done, America!

the marx brothers ? those are obnoxious.

[Neemo]

it's just the american way...genreally americans know alot about the USA but their knowledge of other countries is sketchy at best...on the other hand USA is such a powerful country so lots of info about it is known to non-american citizens..what do european countries know about china or japan or africa? not a whole hell of a lot i bet

I got a couple questions for non-canadians

who is the political leader of canada? and what is their title? what's a double-double?

[Mom]

it's just the american way...genreally americans know alot about the USA but their knowledge of other countries is sketchy at best...on the other hand USA is such a powerful country so lots of info about it is known to non-american citizens..what do european countries know about china or japan or africa? not a whole hell of a lot i bet

Good point, not that I excuse the general ignorance of the public it's not as if we have another single country that is so powerful that people feel compelled to learn a lot about it (I have a hunch your average American knew a lot more about Russia from 1946-1992 than they do now). But still more know Harry Potter than Blair? Jesus....the scope of popular culture.

[2NaFish]

meh, ask the right question to the right person and you'll get the answer you want.

[Guns N RockMusic]

it's just the american way...genreally americans know alot about the USA but their knowledge of other countries is sketchy at best...on the other hand USA is such a powerful country so lots of info about it is known to non-american citizens..what do european countries know about china or japan or africa? not a whole hell of a lot i bet

I got a couple questions for non-canadians

who is the political leader of canada? and what is their title? what's a double-double?

Isn't a double-double a burger from In N'Out Burger.  I've never been there myself as all the locations are on the West Coast, but I here they're fantastic.

[2NaFish]

the political leader of canada?? queen elizabeth?

stephen harper. prime minister. err, quadruple.



(like i said, "ask the right question to the right person and you'll get the answer you want".)

[Kujo]

U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.

What do you want, most people still think "Born In The U.S.A." is a positive song

Isn't a double-double a burger from In N'Out Burger.? I've never been there myself as all the locations are on the West Coast, but I here they're fantastic.

Yes, that is a Double Double. They are real and they are spectacular.

Not as good as a triple triple mind you.

[Elrothiel]

I'm gunna say one thing, it doesn't bloody matter if more young people know more about the Simpsons than the Odyssey and the Iliad!! For fuck's sake! The Odyssey and the Iliad are not publicised like the Simpsons is!! And of course more young Americans are going to know more about Harry Potter than Tony Blair. Tony Blair has fuck all to do with America! He's just Dubya's fuckbuddy! And why the fuck would a young person, American or otherwise, want to know more about politics when there's more fun things to do!?

These polls are just ways of saying how BAD the world of entertainment is! Entertainment isn't bad, it just doesn't include politics because people just aren't into it! And kids don't want to know about the Odyssey and the Iliad because it is learned about in school, and to them that automatically renders it boring... even if it isn't. Kids want something they can relate to, and there is no way that a kid would relate more to Odysseus than to Bart Simpson.

You can not compare those things to each other because they are in no way akin!!

Also, I'm pretty damn sure that Matt Groening (the creator of the Simpsons) has earned a shitload more money than Homer (the author of the Odyssey and Iliad). Reason: TV. They didn't HAVE TV back in the time of the ancient Greeks! They didn't have newspapers, magazines, the Internet, any of that!! All they had back then was word of mouth!

OH, and who the fuck wants to know about Tony Blair. I'm sorry, but I prefer to concentrate on my life and being happy than worrying all the time about what bogus changes he's going to make or which bandwagon war he's going to jump on the back of.

The only way these polls would be rendered valid would be if politics was publicized in the form of a television show other than the news, and if every school subject was turned into something entertaining... something that people would like.

But you can bet your bottom dollar that THAT ain't gunna happen for the next fifty to fifty million years.

[MCT]

That's really sad and pathetic.? More Americans vote for american idol than the US presidency.? But what do you expect when a retard, a welfare receipient and high school drop out's votes all count the same.? The only thing I hate about these polls is how quickly US Haters will appear and mock this reality (as any intelligent person would) but if given these same questions, they'd fail just as badly.?

Thinly veiled nihilistic assertions are funny. You're funny...

[Shirell]

SkynyrdGirl, you've gotta stop holding your feelings back....let it OUT!!!!

[Elrothiel]

SkynyrdGirl, you've gotta stop holding your feelings back....let it OUT!!!!

Not enough Caps Lock or exclamation marks or emoticons?

[Neemo]

stephen harper. prime minister. err, quadruple.

yay!!! you get a cookie

Isn't a double-double a burger from In N'Out Burger. I've never been there myself as all the locations are on the West Coast, but I here they're fantastic.

  maybe but as a Canadian dietary staple it's a coffee...double cream-double sugar

a triple triple is like coffee flavoured kool-aid

But still more know Harry Potter than Blair? Jesus....the scope of popular culture.

Does Blair appeal to the general US populace and have 6 books and 4 movies and toys and video games bearing his name? thats what i thought

Edit: Also i don't think Blair is frowned on upon by the Vatican

[Shirell]

SkynyrdGirl, you've gotta stop holding your feelings back....let it OUT!!!!

Not enough Caps Lock or exclamation marks or emoticons?

I'm hearing you!!!!

[Where is Hassan Nasrallah ?]

Also, I'm pretty damn sure that Matt Groening (the creator of the Simpsons) has earned a shitload more money than Homer (the author of the Odyssey and Iliad). Reason: TV. They didn't HAVE TV back in the time of the ancient Greeks! They didn't have newspapers, magazines, the Internet, any of that!! All they had back then was word of mouth!

 
THAT was the best thing i read on the internet ! EVER !!!! 

dude, you rock.