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Playinghardball

(11,665 posts)
Mon May 19, 2014, 02:06 PM May 2014

Are We Really This Stupid? the Proof Shows that Sadly, Yes, We Are!

How dumb is the general population? I dare not answer this question, and will instead allow the proof to speak for itself. When Newsweek recently asked 1,000 U.S. citizens to take America's official citizenship test, 29 percent couldn't name the vice president. Seventy-three percent couldn't correctly say why we fought the Cold War. Forty-four percent were unable to define the Bill of Rights. And 6 percent couldn't even circle Independence Day on a calendar. I was sent an e-mail filled with these statistics, and it blew my mind.
ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE READY FOR THIS? The following questions were set in last year's GED examination. These are genuine answers from 16 year olds, and they will one day breed as well as run our country.

Q. Name the four seasons
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists

Q. How is dew formed
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire

Q. What causes the tides in the oceans
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed

Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election

Q. What are steroids
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs

Q.. What happens to your body as you age
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery

Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes
A. Premature death

Q. What is artificial insemination
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow

Q. How can you delay milk turning sour
A. Keep it in the cow

Q. How are the main 20 parts of the body categorised (e.g. The abdomen)
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A, E, I,O,U..

Q. What is the fibula?
A. A small lie

Q. What does 'varicose' mean?
A. Nearby

Q. What is the most common form of birth control
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium

Q. Give the meaning of the term 'Caesarean section'
A. The caesarean section is a district in Rome

Q. What is a seizure?
A. A Roman Emperor.

Q. What is a terminal illness
A. When you are sick at the airport.

Q. Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A. Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and they look like umbrellas

Q. Use the word 'judicious' in a sentence to show you understand its meaning
A. Hands that judicious can be soft as your face.

Q. What does the word 'benign' mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight

Q. What is a turbine?
A. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head

More at: http://voices.yahoo.com/are-we-really-stupid-proof-shows-sadly-8404459.html

29 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Are We Really This Stupid? the Proof Shows that Sadly, Yes, We Are! (Original Post) Playinghardball May 2014 OP
Falls under You can't make this shit up liberal N proud May 2014 #1
What does 'varicose' mean ? dipsydoodle May 2014 #2
Yes, very close veins seveneyes May 2014 #18
For one, some of these answers are clever for 16 year olds. NCTraveler May 2014 #3
That's some scary stuff MissMillie May 2014 #4
I wish I could pretend surprise here nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #5
Crazy, although I'll give the benefit of the doubt on the 2nd one. Xyzse May 2014 #6
At least he realizes the importance of filtering out the canoeists pinboy3niner May 2014 #9
LOL, absolutely. Xyzse May 2014 #11
Most of those are a) obviously deliberate and b) very funny. Donald Ian Rankin May 2014 #7
Agreed Metatron May 2014 #23
yep d_r May 2014 #28
I call bullshit alcibiades_mystery May 2014 #8
Me too. I am fairly certain the GED exam is multiple choice... dorkzilla May 2014 #10
The questions are fake, as you note alcibiades_mystery May 2014 #13
It doesn't pass the smell test for me, either n/t deutsey May 2014 #17
I think so, too. Fredo Corleone May 2014 #22
All this proves is something that every parent of a teen already knows: Duer 157099 May 2014 #12
I call "shenanigans", at least on the GED part. Behind the Aegis May 2014 #14
Obvious email forward bullshit that's been circulating for years alcibiades_mystery May 2014 #15
The GED part for sure. The first part...that's probably true. Behind the Aegis May 2014 #16
Jay Leno used to do "Jaywalking," Archae May 2014 #19
"Are We Really This Stupid?" johnp3907 May 2014 #20
Well, I sure don't want to take it rock May 2014 #21
I have to admit-- Jamaal510 May 2014 #24
I'm not sure myself. Erich Bloodaxe BSN May 2014 #27
What *is* evidence of (adult) stupidity is one of the questions at the link. Donald Ian Rankin May 2014 #25
....... Louisiana1976 May 2014 #26
is someone getting paid to write this? d_r May 2014 #29
 

NCTraveler

(30,481 posts)
3. For one, some of these answers are clever for 16 year olds.
Mon May 19, 2014, 02:19 PM
May 2014

Second, they apparently have better grammar and spelling skills than many here, myself included.

Xyzse

(8,217 posts)
6. Crazy, although I'll give the benefit of the doubt on the 2nd one.
Mon May 19, 2014, 02:23 PM
May 2014

Flirtation = Filtration

I can see how easily someone could do a typo or misspell that out of not paying attention.

d_r

(6,907 posts)
28. yep
Mon May 19, 2014, 03:52 PM
May 2014

I would have been a smart elick too if they made me take that test. You only live once.

ETA having read it again, I don't think they are real questions and answers.

dorkzilla

(5,141 posts)
10. Me too. I am fairly certain the GED exam is multiple choice...
Mon May 19, 2014, 02:31 PM
May 2014

with the exception of the writing skills portion which is an essay. I don't believe they care about the accuracy of the statement so much.

 

alcibiades_mystery

(36,437 posts)
13. The questions are fake, as you note
Mon May 19, 2014, 02:40 PM
May 2014

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty

BULLSHIT.

Q. What is the most common form of birth control

BULLSHIT

Q. What does the word 'benign' mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight

This is an old RACIST joke. It's not even close to plausible. I mean, honestly. I'm surprised one of the questions wasn't

Q: What is nacho cheese?
A. It's my cheese.

That's how dumb these so-called questions are. It's obviously made up.

I feel sorry for the people who believe this tripe. But I feel even worse for the young adults who have to deal with their condescension.

Fredo Corleone

(4 posts)
22. I think so, too.
Mon May 19, 2014, 03:32 PM
May 2014

In my state, you can't even take the GED until you're 18, so that's wrong right off the bat. The rest of it smells pretty bad, too.

Behind the Aegis

(53,959 posts)
14. I call "shenanigans", at least on the GED part.
Mon May 19, 2014, 02:46 PM
May 2014

The GED answers seem to be a joke. "nature abhors a vacuum" coming from a sixteen year old who doesn't understand the basic concept of tides? Unlikely. Now, sadly, the first paragraph, that I believe.

Behind the Aegis

(53,959 posts)
16. The GED part for sure. The first part...that's probably true.
Mon May 19, 2014, 02:50 PM
May 2014

I am amazed at the basic knowledge people lack when it comes to the US and are American. When I lived in New Orleans, I encountered people who though NOLA was the capital of Louisiana.

Archae

(46,328 posts)
19. Jay Leno used to do "Jaywalking,"
Mon May 19, 2014, 03:07 PM
May 2014

Walking around, asking simple questions that he'd get some really stupid answers to.

The worst part about this? These people are either already voting, or will be able to vote soon.

No wonder Teabaggers get voted in, far too often.

rock

(13,218 posts)
21. Well, I sure don't want to take it
Mon May 19, 2014, 03:28 PM
May 2014

I looked at the first question: Name the four seasons. And I thought, "Wha..! They already have names, you fool!"

Jamaal510

(10,893 posts)
24. I have to admit--
Mon May 19, 2014, 03:35 PM
May 2014

I don't exactly know why the Cold War was fought, either. All I know was that Reagan escalated it for some reason. In relation to this, though, I found this video by Thom Hartmann, and it was pretty sad. There are still many Americans out there, apparently, who know diddly-squat about their own government:

Erich Bloodaxe BSN

(14,733 posts)
27. I'm not sure myself.
Mon May 19, 2014, 03:49 PM
May 2014

I always figured we fought it because our 'cold warriors' were all terrified of the spread of 'communism!', with a side order of 'let's find more ways to put public money into private pockets'.

Donald Ian Rankin

(13,598 posts)
25. What *is* evidence of (adult) stupidity is one of the questions at the link.
Mon May 19, 2014, 03:41 PM
May 2014

5. The Revolutionary War was fought for independence from:

o Canada

o England

o Spain

o France

(The answer is, of course, "None of the above, it was the United Kingdom&quot .

d_r

(6,907 posts)
29. is someone getting paid to write this?
Mon May 19, 2014, 03:56 PM
May 2014

The headline:

Are We Really This Stupid? the Proof Shows that Sadly, Yes, We Are!
OMG! Your Kidding Me, Right?


Your kidding me. Your. Kidding me. Seriously?

ETA and it has been up there for four years!

Here are 286 examples of people copying and pasting this: https://www.google.com/search?q=%22last+year%27s+GED+examination%22
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