Light entertainment folks, roll up roll up

1 in 20 Americans don't know when 9/11 took place.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060809/od ... 0809145351 (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060809/od_afp/usattackspolloffbeat_060809145351)

7/11

[Bob]

Not exactly, Hom. You were in the 7/11, being open 24/7, during 9/11. 10-4?

Not exactly, Hom. You were in the 7/11, being open 24/7, during 9/11. 10-4?With Elvis and Lady Diana

Cedric reports that "1 in 20 Americans don't know when 9/11 took place."

I don't find that any more difficult to believe than I would expect, say, one in 20 Brits to know the date of the London underground attacks. Or one in 20 Spanish citizens to know the date of the train bombings.

OK sathorn, no need to get upset. But if you are asked this question: "when did 9/11 take place?" what would your reply be? Given that in the question ,lies a little clue. :cheers:

OK sathorn, no need to get upset. But if you are asked this question: "when did 9/11 take place?" what would your reply be? Given that in the question ,lies a little clue. :cheers:

But you forget Cedric, everywhere in the world there are the 'Paris Hilton' types who make up a small, if overly visible and audible percentage (possibly the 1 in 20). If it isn't happening to them, it isn't 'happening' and so a question such as 'when did 9/11 take place?' would not only mean nothing to them in terms of terrorist attacks, it wouldn't even register that this was a date.

Used to be that the 'dumb blondes' had some form of talent Marilyn Monroe, Goldie Hawn even our own (brits) lesser bimbo in the form of Diana Dors had something about them that was more than a low IQ, blonde hair and a sexy body (or big tits), now you have Paris, Jessica, and again our own Jade Goody or to a lesser extent Jordan, they get rich(ish) and famous based on nothing but appearing in the press @ events or by getting 'caught' with their tits out.

Come on, almost 90% of the Netherlands is blonde, and I bet ya that that same number would answer, nege/elf natuuuuuuuurlik!
I think what you are referring too are bottle blondes, my guess is that they might not have a clue.

Paris Hilton is slut and not even a very well off slut at that, I can see perfectly well why her little Greek tycoon called of the engagement. The family fortune is being held in a trust by a bunch of Catholic nuns, what little the grandfather got and what's left after he pops is divided amongst the masses, though I believe the nuns still retain by far the greatest chunk. She is no more than a working girl, doing tables for a shot a time. She is lucky if she even gets a couple of million from her family's 'fortune', never mind a husband that can keep her in baubles.

[Aunty]

Well I'm really thrilled that Paris Hilton aspires to be like a couple of other well known blonds of the modern age, Marylin Monroe and Princess Diana. And I hope for all our sakes she turns out just like them. Dead, and at a young age.

Instructed by Cedric and others who offered comments, I decided that I needed to learn more about the poll. My starting point was the link to the Yahoo news site (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060809/od ... 0809145351 (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060809/od_afp/usattackspolloffbeat_060809145351)). It was a short account, dated Aug. 9, that said that the report was published in the Washington Post. It also noted that "The Post telephone survey was carried out July 21-24 among 1,002 randomly selected adults."

I first went to the Post website and searched for the original post article but I was unable to find any link to the story. I then performed Google and Yahoo news searches. Both came up with the same link Cedric posted. There were also about a half-dozen other hits, but they all sourced back to the same news item from the French news agency "Agence France-Presse" (AFP). I was beginning to get a bit suspicious: why could I not find a reference to the poll at the Post site? why had no other news agency picked up on the story?

What I did locate was a reference to an article published in the Post on Aug. 9 that described a poll of 1,047 persons, stating that "Sixty percent of Americans oppose the U.S. war in Iraq and a majority would support a partial withdrawal of troops by year's end..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00405.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080900405.html)

I stopped by the local library and reviewed hard copies of the Post for the day the article was reported by AFP (Aug. 9). I also checked the editions on the day before and day after with negative results.

I believe that Cedric came across what was an amusing news item that made a certain percentage of Americans look stupid and posted it. Fair enough. Although I still contend that if you ask Brits five years from now what year the underground bombings occurred, you'll get similar results (even if you give them the month and day), I can appreciate the appeal of the story (the bimbo, Paris Hilton factors). What troubles me at this point is not the results of the "poll" but my fruitless efforts to date to confirm it and trace it to its source.

I suspect that some of the confusion among blonde Americans lies in the fact that the emergency number in the US is 911, which also happens to be the date of the event (the way Americans do dates)

9-1-1 is the number most communities use to report emergencies. It's not 9-11 because even non-blondes can find an "11" on the dial.

But I'm still waiting for someone to locate the Washington Post poll in question.

[Aunty]

9-1-1 is the number most communities use to report emergencies. It's not 9-11 because even non-blondes can find an "11" on the dial.

But I'm still waiting for someone to locate the Washington Post poll in question.


My suspicions are Sathorn that the whole thing is entirely made up and there is no poll, unless it was actually a poll of US teenagers or high school students or something like that. They wouldn't know what year it was, teenagers don't know anything! This is one instance where Cedric has been sucked in by his own anti-American bias me thinks.

Aunty I don't have an anti American bias.

Just because some typical American soldiers on a typical fine day in the war in Iraq, decided to murder a whole Iraqi family living nearby their outpost, so they could gang rape the underage daughter and then savagely murder her too, is any reason for an anti American bias, would you think?

Yes sathorn2, it is all an amusing and vicious French plot to undermine the fabric of society in the USA. No I don't believe if you gave a random selection of British adults (or even teenagers, blonde or otherwise) the answer to a question in a question, they would get it wrong with nearly the same percentage as adult Americans would. No I am not biased towards the British either. No not in the slightest.

I had an American tourist come up to me in central Hong Kong and ask me if I could point out the direction to China-Town! There is no argument with that, now is there?

Aunty there are many, many more people I wish dead right now rather than Paris Hilton. She has not yet fired my imagination enough to be wishing such things on her. I suspect Aunty is suffering from Paris envy! And there I was thinking she was a ladyboy?

... Yes sathorn2, it is all an amusing and vicious French plot to undermine the fabric of society in the USA. No I don't believe if you gave a random selection of British adults (or even teenagers, blonde or otherwise) the answer to a question in a question, they would get it wrong with nearly the same percentage as adult Americans would.

Oh lord Cedric, you need to mix more with the us Brits. I used to work in a University and you'd be amazed just how many of those young'uns didn't know their arse from their elbow. Having been brought up on computer games, and having years of access to the computer spell check, when you actually saw examples of their writing scrawl and inability to spell, you may get a different picture.


... I had an American tourist come up to me in central Hong Kong and ask me if I could point out the direction to China-Town! There is no argument with that, now is there?

I think he was coming on to you ;)


... Aunty there are many, many more people I wish dead right now rather than Paris Hilton. She has not yet fired my imagination enough to be wishing such things on her. I suspect Aunty is suffering from Paris envy! And there I was thinking she was a ladyboy?

Does anyone else have those moments when they think 'if I ruled the world', well I do, and everyday would NOT be the first day of spring! (musical ref' for anyone over a certain age). Whiilst I probably (hmm!) wouldn't actually wish Paris dead, I would have her relegated to some position which may match her talents, maybe she could spend all day with a poop-a-scoop going around cleaning up lap dogs doodoo's! Okay, other things that will happen 'when' I rule the world will remain secret for now, but when the time comes I will grant Aunty one wish (sorry Cedric, you teased Aunty too long so prepare to be boarded when Aunty gets her wish fulfilled). :cheers:

Batman I know my spelling isn't up to much, but I too grew up on computer games and fine education (partly) on that emerald islet. Ok a lot of advancements have improved these games no end, but I still think I benefited.
I don't think it is so much an issue of grammar or social aptitude, but one of a readiness to use the little grey cells. I thought, perhaps mistakenly, that spell cheque programmes in fact increased the users ability to spell. It has mine more or less, even though I am still a work in progress.
Artificial intelligence some call it, but I tend to think of it rather as virtual teaching, even subliminal education.

I cannot imagine anyone on the globe is more spoilt, aptitude wise, than American youth or even the whole population in general. Simply put, that society is such a mass instant gratification junkie, that if it has to think to answer a question, the question is not worth answering. Even if the truth is starring them straight between the eyes.

9-1-1 is the number most communities use to report emergencies

Quite wrong actually - and typical American attitude

112 is the Globally accepted number for emergency and the most used in countries

The USA will shortly change to 311 for calls to police etc for matters that does not endanger lives


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_number#Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_number#Africa)

[Aunty]

... Yes sathorn2, it is all an amusing and vicious French plot to undermine the fabric of society in the USA. No I don't believe if you gave a random selection of British adults (or even teenagers, blonde or otherwise) the answer to a question in a question, they would get it wrong with nearly the same percentage as adult Americans would.

Oh lord Cedric, you need to mix more with the us Brits. I used to work in a University and you'd be amazed just how many of those young'uns didn't know their arse from their elbow. Having been brought up on computer games, and having years of access to the computer spell check, when you actually saw examples of their writing scrawl and inability to spell, you may get a different picture.


... I had an American tourist come up to me in central Hong Kong and ask me if I could point out the direction to China-Town! There is no argument with that, now is there?

I think he was coming on to you ;)


... Aunty there are many, many more people I wish dead right now rather than Paris Hilton. She has not yet fired my imagination enough to be wishing such things on her. I suspect Aunty is suffering from Paris envy! And there I was thinking she was a ladyboy?

Does anyone else have those moments when they think 'if I ruled the world', well I do, and everyday would NOT be the first day of spring! (musical ref' for anyone over a certain age). Whiilst I probably (hmm!) wouldn't actually wish Paris dead, I would have her relegated to some position which may match her talents, maybe she could spend all day with a poop-a-scoop going around cleaning up lap dogs doodoo's! Okay, other things that will happen 'when' I rule the world will remain secret for now, but when the time comes I will grant Aunty one wish (sorry Cedric, you teased Aunty too long so prepare to be boarded when Aunty gets her wish fulfilled). :cheers:


Fatman you're my new hero!!! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Cedric, cooeeeee, Aunty's calling! :bounce:

On and by the way, I never knew Paris was a ladyboy. My god can you imagine a cock on that skinny carcass??? And besides she'd snap when you got on top of her. But you on the other hand..............................

awe, shucks, thanks fatman! I was just getting over my insomnia.

[manfarang-old]

stopped by the local library and reviewed hard copies of the Post for the day the article was reported by AFP (Aug. 9). I also checked the editions on the day before and day after with negative results.I went through my stack of Washington Posts destined for recycling and found the poll results on page A2 of the August 9 edition of the Post, entitled "Sept. 11, Er, Uh....Was It 2003?" The poll basically showed that of the 1002 adults interviewed, 5% didn't remember the month and day of the attacks on the World Trade Center, and when asked about the year, 30% didn't know or got the year wrong. What suprised me most was that almost 50% of those 55 and older were in the "wrong year/don't know" group. The ones most correct on the year were 45-54 (80%).