Why are so many US americans extremely ignorant about other societies?

[Brandon]

(societies and/or world geography)

Someone from South Carolina asked me today where I’m from. I said “Ontario.”  He then asked me if that was in Asia. I reminded him that Canada has 10 provinces and that if he jumped in a car right now, he could arrive in Ontario before midnight (although obviously the pandemic restrictions could stop a person at the border, by I digress)
 

I once told a guy from California that it’s illegal to own homes in Canada because they’re all owned by the Queen of England and we just rent them from her. He immediately believed me and replied “wow! But I can totally believe that because you guys up there do some weird things huh?”

 

So please, my neighbours to the south, could you learn some basic geography.

 

- Sincerely, your neighbours

[Dustparticle]

5 minutes ago, Brandon said:

(societies and/or world geography)

Someone from South Carolina asked me today where I’m from. I said “Ontario.”  He then asked me if that was in Asia. I reminded him that Canada has 10 provinces and that if he jumped in a car right now, he could arrive in Ontario before midnight (although obviously the pandemic restrictions could stop a person at the border, by I digress)
 

I once told a guy from California that it’s illegal to own homes in Canada because they’re all owned by the Queen of England and we just rent them from her. He immediately believed me and replied “wow! But I can totally believe that because you guys up there do some weird things huh?”

 

So please, my neighbours to the south, could you learn some basic geography.

 

- Sincerely, your neighbours

It not just americans, it is all around the world or all square world.

[Thesauron]

(societies and/or world geography)

Someone from South Carolina asked me today where I’m from. I said “Ontario.”  He then asked me if that was in Asia. I reminded him that Canada has 10 provinces and that if he jumped in a car right now, he could arrive in Ontario before midnight (although obviously the pandemic restrictions could stop a person at the border, by I digress)
 
I once told a guy from California that it’s illegal to own homes in Canada because they’re all owned by the Queen of England and we just rent them from her. He immediately believed me and replied “wow! But I can totally believe that because you guys up there do some weird things huh?”
 
So please, my neighbours to the south, could you learn some basic geography.
 
- Sincerely, your neighbours

Are you familiar with the legal and political situation on Greenland?

Most people only pay attention to what affects their daily lives.

[Sister Twister]

33 minutes ago, Dustparticle said:

It not just americans, it is all around the world or all square world.

It is us in the UK , I was shocked when Cheyrl @bagwell1987 told me Moose was real , I thought they were like unicorns label and legend.

[dove]

1 minute ago, Maria Keerie said:

It is us in the UK , I was shocked when Cheyrl @bagwell1987 told me Moose was real , I thought they were like unicorns label and legend.

That’s surprising given that they are often shown on Nature programs. 🙂 I’ve never seen one in person unless it was many years ago in a zoo, but they are often on various Tv shows, even the news when they invade people’s yards looking for something to eat, or when they disrupt traffic crossing a road. I’ve always liked the look of their long faces. 😊

[Sister Twister]

4 minutes ago, Dove said:

That’s surprising given that they are often shown on Nature programs. 🙂 I’ve never seen one in person unless it was many years ago in a zoo, but they are often on various Tv shows, even the news when they invade people’s yards looking for something to eat, or when they disrupt traffic crossing a road. I’ve always liked the look of their long faces. 😊

I know , its crazy but iv never seen them before not even in nature programs , I really thought they were made up - that fits into @Brandon .category id say ! but now I know about them , I love them I keep looking up videos of them.

[GodlyDevotion]

I once had a voice call with someone and I told him where I come from — Africa. Next thing he says, "Oh cool, that's one nice country." I didn't know what to say, lol.

 

I grew up learning about geographical locations around the globe since childhood. And I think it's important to travel, and if you can't, at least venture into the internet to learn more about the world beyond your area. 

[Qapla]

When I tell someone I live in Florida they inevitably ask me if I know "so-and-so" who lives in Miami. They are shocked to find out that I am 350 miles north of Miami. They usually say something like, "I didn't know Florida was that big" ... and yes, many from Canada have said this!

 

Additionally, many people seem to think that all of Florida has weather like Hawaii - From the norther state line with Georgia to the Keys Florida sits between the 30.9991° N parallel to the 24.545° N parallel and sits in two time zones east-to-west. This precludes the weather in the whole state being as tropical as Hawaii ... and yet many, including those from Canada, this we have warm weather all year long.

 

Some people, including many from Canada that I have spoken to, do not seem to realize that Florida not only has a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean but also a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico.

 

I don't think it is only a US thing that people are unaware of all the specifics about a country or land they do not live in and may not have ever visited.

 

[Brandon]

9 minutes ago, Qapla said:

I am 350 miles north of Miami. many from Canada have said "I didn't know Florida was that big"

 

In our defence, miles haven't been taught in schools for like four decades so they might not know what "350 miles" even means 🤣

But i know what you mean. "do you know Bob from [giant landmass]?" is definitely something i have also gotten before 😌️

Edited January 6, 2021 by Brandon

[Tortuga]

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

So please, my neighbours to the south, could you learn some basic geography.

You are north of us? 

[Brandon]

56 minutes ago, GodlyDevotion said:

I told him I'm from Africa. Next thing he says, "Oh cool, that's one nice country."

ya that's pretty bad. You'd think by 2021 people would know africa isn't one gigantic country.  I found this neat website recently that lets you compare sizes of places by letting you pick countries to outline, and then you can move them around wherever you want while keeping the true size accurate (only the earth's poles are distorted, as all 2D maps are). https://thetruesize.com/
 

here's the US, India, and China (rotated about 30° or so), plopped down onto the african continent:

[Amygdala]

An American woman once asked my brother in Canada where all the igloos were located. This was in the city of Vancouver, BC.

 

One time a friend and I from Toronto were visiting Florida and called for a taxi to pick us up at our accomodations, and take us to Disneyworld. After the taxi arrived some 1/2 hour later, we found there were 2 people driving inside the taxi. On the passenger side was the driver's son who was eating McDonald's. American flags were flying on his mini-van taxi. After we got in, the driver proceeded to turn around and then asked us if we knew how to get to Disneyworld. I just looked at him in disbelief. We eventually got there.

[Brandon]

22 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

You are north of us? 

if you're in certain parts of California, you can actually be north of certain parts of Ontario! (latitudinally speaking)

It’s always a surprise when people first learn that the very tip of southwestern Ontario is at a lower latitude than parts of California-- source: Macleans

 

 

14 minutes ago, Lieblingskind said:

there were 2 people driving inside the mini-van taxi. On the passenger side was the driver's son who was eating McDonald's

I had a similar experience with an uber, but an official taxi company? that's very... dare i say... floridian

Edited January 6, 2021 by Brandon

[Amygdala]

That was around 2002/2003. 😅

[New World Explorer]

2 hours ago, Thesauron said:

Are you familiar with the legal and political situation on Greenland?

Yes, rare earth and uranium project, that is well underway creates a lot of political controversy..... LOL 

[Ludwika]

I find it amusing how many people think New Zealand is in Australia! 

[New World Explorer]

1 minute ago, Ludwika said:

I find it amusing how many people think New Zealand is in Australia! 

And it's not? ...LOL 

[Brandon]

3 hours ago, Thesauron said:

Are you familiar with the legal and political situation on Greenland?

Since greenland is our neighbouring country, obviously I know a great deal about it. However...

 

"what about greenland?" would be an incredibly stupid defence from someone who just assumed the biggest part of canada was "in asia" -- don't you think??

[Old]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

if you're in certain parts of California, you can actually be north of certain parts of Ontario! (latitudinally speaking)

It’s always a surprise when people first learn that the very tip of southwestern Ontario is at a lower latitude than parts of California-- source: Macleans

Having lived in Crescent City I would never have guessed. 

[Ludwika]

And it's not? ...LOL 

Turns out, I'm your neighbour, not your flatmate

Sent from my WAS-LX2 using Tapatalk

[Shawnster]

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

If you're in certain parts of California, you can actually be north of certain parts of Ontario! (latitudinally speaking)

The same is true for certain parts of Michigan.

 

 

[Hope]

4 hours ago, GodlyDevotion said:

I once had a voice call with someone and I told him where I come from — Africa. Next thing he says, "Oh cool, that's one nice country." I didn't know what to say, lol.

 

I grew up learning about geographical locations around the globe since childhood. And I think it's important to travel, and if you can't, at least venture into the internet to learn more about the world beyond your area. 

To be fair... why would you say Africa rather than the country you are from?  Europeans, Asians, South Americans usually identify by country, don't they?  I hear many people- African and not, very often make blanket statements, i.e. "as an African, that's an African thing, Africans do this or that"- like it's all one country. 🤷🏽‍♀️

 

Africa has 54 countries that are quite different to each other... seems like it would help if everyone was more specific than mentioning an entire, massive continent as an identifier.. 🤔

[Sheep]

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

Since greenland is our neighbouring country. . .

Greenland, eh? I flew over it once. It looked about like this...

 

 

Yeah. Looks green to me.

[Brandon]

3 minutes ago, Hope said:

seems like it would help if everyone was more specific than mentioning an entire, massive continent

Considering Ontario is bigger in land and population than many countries, this was also my reasoning in saying “from Ontario” rather than “from Canada,” which to me is very vague and just doesn’t feel right. I have probably visited 10% of this massive country—the second largest country in terms of area.

 

but I was proved wrong by the other person’s lack of geographical knowledge. Accidentally confusing someone by saying the name of the very large broad place you live (I’m talking about Ontario) and assuming they’d know what it is is probably the same reason why brother Kayode @GodlyDevotion said “Africa” — maybe he previously said the name and people had no idea what it was / where it was. So eventually, you stop trying... 😓

[Qapla]

3 hours ago, Brandon said:

if you're in certain parts of California, you can actually be north of certain parts of Ontario! (latitudinally speaking)

 

1 hour ago, Shawnster said:

The same is true for certain parts of Michigan.

 

There is a little trivia question that often has people giving the wrong answer:

 

If you go DUE SOUTH from Detroit Michigan, what is the first foreign country you come to?

 

Most people will name Cuba or some South American country .. the actual answer is 

 

Yes, CANADA!

 Windsor, Canada is due south of Detroit.

 

I have even had several Canadians who guessed South American countries.