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Dan Rowden · Post by **Dan Rowden** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:41 pm

Philosophaster · Post by **Philosophaster** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:44 pm

Haha, I just watched that one. That has to be staged, though. Are there really so many Americans that dumb walking around? I've encountered some stupid ones in my day, but hardly anybody like that.

Katy · Post by **Katy** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:53 pm

Philosophaster wrote:Haha, I just watched that one. That has to be staged, though. Are there really so many Americans that dumb walking around? I've encountered some stupid ones in my day, but hardly anybody like that.

I dunno I've found a few and there weren't that many in the video it just cut between them quite a bit. I would like to know how many people they interviewed for how long to get that.

BTW, I didn't come up with United States for a country starting with U. I got Uzbekistan and Ukraine...

Dan Rowden · Post by **Dan Rowden** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:18 pm

Philosophaster wrote:Haha, I just watched that one. That has to be staged, though. Are there really so many Americans that dumb walking around? I've encountered some stupid ones in my day, but hardly anybody like that.

Yeah, I'm sure it was heavily edited, but still that's a lot of really dopey people..

David Quinn · Post by **David Quinn** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:59 pm

This is one of my favourite Chaser moments:

Free Money

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Katy · Post by **Katy** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:39 pm

David Quinn wrote:This is one of my favourite Chaser moments:

Free Money

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See, I told you Americans aren't the only ones who are idiots.

And I could have made money, too. I always take the pamphlets just 'cuz it costs them money...

Elizabeth Isabelle · Post by **Elizabeth Isabelle** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:41 am

Philosophaster wrote:Haha, I just watched that one. That has to be staged, though. Are there really so many Americans that dumb walking around? I've encountered some stupid ones in my day, but hardly anybody like that.

Yes, there are. I had to bring in a map to one place I worked to prove that New Mexico was part of the United States, but that New England was not a state. There were 20 or 30 people insisting that New Mexico was part of Mexico, and that New England is a state. There was not one person in the debate that agreed that New Mexico was a state or New England was not until I brought in proof, and even then some of them were not convinced about New England - they thought they just couldn't find it. It is that bad.

Elizabeth Isabelle · Post by **Elizabeth Isabelle** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:44 am

David Quinn wrote:This is one of my favourite Chaser moments:

Free Money

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I think Americans would have taken the money.

DHodges · Post by **DHodges** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:19 am

Elizabeth Isabelle wrote:Yes, there are. I had to bring in a map to one place I worked to prove that New Mexico was part of the United States, but that New England was not a state.

Just curious, where was this? (Hopefully not in New England or New Mexico!)

Anyway, for people in other countries, when you read statistics like 80% of Americans (or whatever it is) can't find England on a map, don't take it personally. It's just that most Americans are really stupid.

Elizabeth Isabelle · Post by **Elizabeth Isabelle** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 2:29 am

No, it was in Florida.

David Quinn · Post by **David Quinn** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:23 am

Elizabeth,

I think Americans would have taken the money.

You may be missing the point of the prank. It doesn't have anything to do with what Americans would or wouldn't do. It has more to do with the Chaser crew challenging Australian social conditioning in a very amusing and insightful way.

Even though Australians value money very highly, perhaps not as highly as Americans do, but still pretty highly nonetheless, those Australians on the street were still unable to break out of their social conditioning and accept the money that was clearly on offer to them. Their eyes could see the money being offered to them, but their conditioning immediately interfered with the seeing process and effectively rendered them blind. It's a classic example of the power of mental blocks.

I love that sort of thing. It is the kind of humour that Diogenes used to express in his life.

That this prank might not work in America, who are under the thumb of a different set of social conditionings, doesn't matter. I'm sure an American version of the prank, tailored towards American conditioning, could be set up just as effectively.

However, I'm not so sure that an American show could pull it off with such simplicity and subtlety.

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Elizabeth Isabelle · Post by **Elizabeth Isabelle** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:27 am

Actually I did catch point of the prank, and was making a cross-cultural comment comparing Australian conditioning to American conditioning.

David Quinn · Post by **David Quinn** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 11:47 am

This is quite funny as well:

A Proposal

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Katy · Post by **Katy** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:02 pm

Elizabeth Isabelle wrote: Yes, there are. I had to bring in a map to one place I worked to prove that New Mexico was part of the United States, but that New England was not a state.

This is fairly common, actually. In '96 the Atlanta Olympic committee got sued for refusing to sell tickets to someone in NM during the time when only people from the US could purchase tickets.

Another humerous example was the student in my class who suddenly sat up and went "holy shit! The USSR collapsed!?"
Yes. And probably before you were born. Sheesh.

It's weird though, I don't think Americans are generally stupid. We're fairly decent in math and science. We just suck at geography and political science type stuff. Maybe it's more an effect of where our schools are concentrating effort. I worked in a middle school for a while and found that the teachers regularly gave up social studies time in favor of science.

Aaron Mathis · Post by **Aaron Mathis** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:33 pm

I'm not sure if I'm diluting the genius of the humor going on over here - but I'm unable to resist sharing my joy:

Tom Cruise - put to good use

Aaron Mathis · Post by **Aaron Mathis** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:39 pm

Where are the men in the crowd cheering this guy on?

Cruise controlled

Dan Rowden · Post by **Dan Rowden** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:26 am

Aaron Mathis wrote:I'm not sure if I'm diluting the genius of the humor going on over here - but I can't resist not to share my joy:

Tom Cruise - put to good use

Ah, if only life could truly imitate art....

GENIUS FORUMS

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Maps are Un-American