Ignorance to Make You Gasp

A few years back, I was shopping with a coworker/friend of mine for Xmas.
I spotted a friend of mine, who I hadn't seen in a while.
This friend of mine had grown up in a commune, and somehow it got mentioned in the conversation. He was arranging a big potluck at 'his house' (really it was an old apartment complex with a bunch of poor young folks, kinda fringey squatters really lol).

My coworker's face got all red, and I could tell she was getting uncomfortable when I said 'yeah, I might drop by'.

As we're walking away from him, going on our happy way, she says "How can you be friends with a Commie?! And who in the hell does he think he is being in a shopping mall, I thought they didn't agree with malls!"
I told her "He's not a communist. No offence, but do you even know what a communist is?"
"Of course I do! They are the ones collecting welfare. They believe in collective living."

That's ignorance.

Scary ignorance at work: a girl came in for training once, when I was doing home care, and part of her duties included giving medication as well as recording for the day.
So I show her what to do, and how to count the pills (shouldn't have to show this, but you'd be amazed). Obviously, we want to know how much medication every one was receiving.

She couldn't read. She couldn't write. She couldn't count.
Every night, I would go over the sheets and there would be huge problems with the pill count.
The journal was empty. So I had tested her to see if she could indeed comprehend written words by asking her to read something for me (with a pretense, of course).

I fired her. That's dangerous ****. How the hell did she get hired? There were plenty of girls there who were learning English for the first time in their life, who knew more than this 'educated' canadian born. How the hell did she graduate? (Special classes - but that is my own personal spiel Smile

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Roberta wrote:

Some years ago I went to the local video store to return a tape. The cash registers weren't working. The clerk was in a panic. I told him to calm down. "How much is the tape?" I asked. "Three seventy-four including tax." I gave him a five. He stared at me. I told him to give me $1.26 change. He said, "How do you know?" I told him I figured it out in my head. "Oh, wow."........

A tip for any of you who have kids, and want them to be a wizard at mental arithmetic.

Two effective ways I know, are to:-

1. Get them a job in a street market, working on a fruit and veg stall (unless they have those damned electronic tills, of course). They'll be doing mental sums all day long....and god help them if they get it wrong, as the customer will soon let them know about it.

2. Get them to play some serious darts, preferably with grumpy, impatient darts players who are 50+ years old.
Whenever I played the "regulars" as a teenager in my local pub, I had to work out the total score of my darts (this also involves working out extra sums when the darts landed in "doubles" or "trebles") and subtract that total from my previous score.
I was probably allowed about ten seconds to do this whole exercise, otherwise I'd be grumbled at mercilessly.

Does wonders for the brain, a bit of serious "pressure"!

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Roberta wrote:

he quickly learned that kids in New York City had some very strange ideas about what was where. Fact is, we had no idea what was where.

Roberta you gave me a chuckle there...

Sometimes it's not really ignorance or stupidity, but um, the feeling of importance of one's place in the world causes some to not know what is where.

Remember this classic New Yorker magazine cover below?

http://www.cs.ru.nl/~freek/pics/steinberg.jpg

Albeit, I grew up in that little section right across the Hudson River called New Jersey, but at least I was in Bold Lettering.

Back in the day when I was being schlepped all over the country by the ex-husband, there were several occassions where I'd tell relatives and friends from back East..."I'm in Wisconsin....I'm in Oregon...." and there was often this feeling of..."Oh....I know where that is, kinda, it's ""out there"" somewhere, isn't it?"

I don't know how many times my family would ask me "where's Austin?"
OK....it's right smack in the middle of the state.

I know from growing up there that it's not stupidity, it just doesn't seem something worth remembering.

BTW Austin is still right in the middle of the state. Deep in the Heart of Texas.

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the map reminds me of a joke from my hometown - hamburg/germany .
the citizens of hamburg are quite sure that they alone represent what's good about germany , or let's say northern germany .
since the city proper is situated on the north bank of the elbe river , everything to the south is considered somewhat suspect .

when the new students had their first class at university , the 'herr professor' wanted to find out from what part of germany they came .
so he finally came to the last student in the last row .
when questioned about his hometown , the student answered :
"i'm from hannover , herr professor " .
"ah , you sit with student mueller then , he is from braunschweig ; i like the students from 'southern germany' to sit together " .
(hannover and braunschweig are about 200 km to the west of hamburg and certainly are not in southern germany - except when you decide to come to hamburg :wink: ).
hbg

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hbg, Are you really "dangerous?"

Fri Nov 17, 6:35 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A restaurant in the southwestern US state of Arizona that proudly admits to trying to finish off its customers has introduced a new item on its menu -- the "quadruple bypass burger".

The burger at the "Heart Attack Grill" restaurant is stacked with four beef patties, cheese, onions, tomatoes and fried bacon, and weighs in at only 8,000 calories, more than three times what the human body needs in one day.

Patrons who have no appetite for the "quadruple bypass burger" can opt for the "triple" or "double-bypass".

"It's not good for one's health but it's only a joke," John Basso, who opened the restaurant 10 months ago, told AFP.

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McTag wrote:

Eva wrote:
A week ago, my son ran in a big race. I took him down there and waited at the starting line with him until the race started. Several groups went before his 2k race. There was a 5k, a wheelchair race, racewalkers, then the 2k...each five minutes apart. An announcer on a very loud speaker told each group when to line up, and which races would come next.

There was a group of college-age girls behind us in the 2k group, wearing their race numbers on their college T-shirts. We all watched the racewalkers line up and start, then the announcer said we would be next.

One of the girls watched the racewalkers start and asked her friends, "Are we gonna hafta WALK the 2k?" None of them seemed to know the answer, so they turned to me. (I was the only "older" person close by, so naturally I must be the authority, right? ) "Do you know if we have to walk the whole way?"

I should have said yes. I really should have. I mean, I had a camera with me and everything.

I don't understand this. She knew she was in a race, but didn't know if there was motorised transport to the finish? But if she had to go on foot, she didn't know she had to hurry, i.e. run?

She was signed up to run the 2k, but got confused when she saw the racewalkers start and wondered if she was going to have to racewalk, too. (shakes head) Obviously, she and her friends hadn't listened to the (very loud) announcer.

Good thing their race wasn't scheduled after the wheelchair race or they might have wondered if they needed a wheelchair!

PAY ATTENTION, girls!

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Slappy Doo Hoo wrote:

There are stupid people out there?

GASP.

What Slappy said.

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Gee where do I begin? What I notice most is how ignorant people have become of nature. A few examples:

A little girl, about 8 years old, asked me when our rabbits lay eggs (confusion due to the Easter bunny, I assume).

A grown woman asked if we had any "potato bushes". I told her I didn't know what she wanted. She explained she had heard home grown potatoes tasted the best and she would like to grow some. She wanted what she bought at the grocery store. I told her they don't grow on bushes, but rather under the ground as part of the root. She was shocked and said" "Don't they get all dirty?"

Grown man calls and has a few trees he is looking for - a maple, a oak and "a Christmas tree", we determine the "Christmas tree" is a spruce. He wants all the trees to be at least 6 feet tall. He wants them delivered to an address in Manhattan. I assume they are for a roof garden and tell him these are not what I would recommend because they do not over winter well in unprotected pots and roof winds tend to damage them. He tells me not to worry, he is going to grow them indoors, as a little forest, in his living room. He also asks me if they are heavy because his apartment is a five story walk up. Rolling Eyes

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Flushd, the experiences you relate don't surprise me, but they scare me.

Thanks for the tips, Lord E.

Chai Tea, Thanks for finding and posting that cover. I thought of it as I wrote. The fact is that our responses were a combination of a "feeling of importance" and ignorance. All the people at my school had received their lower education in New York City. We never learned what all the states were and where they were. So combine a feeling importance with ignorance, and you have a map that looks, well, just about right to me--and a professor and his wife rolling on the floor with laughter at where native (and ignorant) New Yorkers thought all the states were.

Thanks for the clarification, Eva. I, too, was confused.

Green Witch, I confess to having some confusion about how potatoes grow. I didn't think they grew on bushes; I know they grow underground. I just couldn't figure out how people knew where they were under the ground. I learned that something sticks up above the ground that lets you know a potato is there. As for the man who wants to grow a forest in his apartment, what can I tell ya?

Gala, Yes, there a plenty of stupid people in the world. But there's a difference between stupid and ignorant.

A woman I worked with (a college graduate, native New Yorker, professional in a large Manhattan corporation) during a conversation with me said that something was "kikey." I couldn't believe my ears. I said, "It's what!?" She repeated that it was "kikey." I stormed out of her cubicle, stormed into my office, and slammed the door. She knocked. She was totally bewildered. What was wrong? She had no idea that the term was an insulting and derogatory term used when referring to Jews. Stupid? No. Ignorant? Staggeringly so.

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Roberta, I've known my best friend for over 30 years now, and he's lived in NYC for some time. He's definately never lived close to nature (eww...all that dirt) Once we were walking down the street and he pointed out some tourists who were clearly lost and not from that area. He made a comment that it must be mind boggling for some people who were (as he put it...) from KANSAS or something to be here.

I said, "yeah, but you need them more than they need you"

Huh?

I said if all the tunnels and bridges and water transit were closed off, you'd run out of food and medicine and all kinds of stuff pretty quickly. He'd never given any thought to how isolated from life necessaties he was living on a little rock surround by water.

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When I was accepted at Widener Law School (which is in Delaware), a friend asked, isn't that near Montana?

No, that would be the Dakotas. Oy.

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My Daughter works part time in a small rural town supermarket. American tourist wants to pay with an American based credit card that they dont accept. (No visa, mastercard, or amex association.) He was most annoyed they couldn't accept his card, eventually he calmed down and said "well here's some cash" and handed over a handfull of US $$.

Sorry sir we only accept AUst Dollars in Australia

His wife was nice though and came and rescued him with her visa card.

I worked with a Kiwi he hadnt been over here long. One day out in the field it began to rain, good rain, heavy rain, in no time at all we were soaked. Kiwi pipes up and says my god the rain here in Aust is really wet!..... Um whats it like in NZ dry?

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Chai Tea, It's easy to spot lost tourists. In fact, for many yearts I was able to spot tourists, even those who seemed to know where they were going. Not so easy to do these days. Clothing is no longer regional; cameras are small and inconspicuous. On more than one occasion I've helped tourists get where they wanted to go; I even took them where they wanted to go a few times. I'm aware that the city can be an overwhelming place.

I'm also aware of how isolated we are--from nature. I spent my childhood summers in the country--farmland. (Once got lost in a cornfield.) I understood about vegetables growing and how dependent we city folks are on farmers and ranchers for food. However, I just found potatoes a mystery. Now I know. I miss the night skies--seeing stars.

Jes, Montana, Maryland. Jeez. Don't be so picky.

Dadpad, When I was traveling in Europe many years ago, I heard an American tourist ask a native shopkeeper, "What's that in real money?" I was embarrassed for the entire United States of America. LOL about the wet rain. Maybe it is dry in NZ.

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Re: Ignorance to Make You Gasp

Roberta wrote:

Two days ago I was at the local pharmacy. I needed talcum powder. Couldn't find it. Found a clerk. Asked where the talcum powder was. She said, "What's that?" I said, "Talcum powder?" She nodded. I explained what it was. She recognized it from my description and sent me to the right aisle.

This put me in mind of something that happened several years ago. I was spending Christmas with friend. My friend's husband's sister invited a friend who brought her daughter along. A nice enough kid, a senior in high school. After dinner we played Scattergories. The question--Name a place in North America that starts with a B. The kid's response, "Belgium. Is that in North America? I don't know where North America is."

How is it possible that a person can reach adulthood--and work in a pharmacy--and never have heard of talcum powder? How is it possible that a person can get to be a senior in high school and not know that she's in North America? Wouldn't the United States of America be a clue?

Are these people flukes? Freaks? Am I being naive in assuming that people know certain fundamental things? Are my ideas of what constitutes fundamental unrealistic?

Still gasping.

I think they are mildly retarded!

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I had a cousin who had grown up in Chicago. He loved strawberries. One summer, when he was (i think) seven, he came to stay with us. One evening at supper, my Grandmother said the strawberries were getting to be ready to pick, and that we would all fall out in the morning to pick strawberries.

My cousin was very excited, especially as we told him he could eat a few while we picked. He turned up at breakfast the next morning wearing shorts. We told him to go put on long pants, which seemed to perplex him. Then we went out into the garden, got down on our hands and knees, and began picking berries. He stood there, stock still. My brother looked up and told him to get busy. He didn't move. My other brother stopped, looked at him, and asked if anything were the matter.

He says: "They're layin' in the dirt!"

"Yeah, so?"

He gave up eating strawberries.

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I can only imagine what store clerks in England would do if they had not gone decimal with their money.

"Uh, that'll be two pounds . . . uh, two pounds ten and seven. . ."

"Right, here's three pounds, two thruppence and two hapennies--i'd like you to give me a crown and two half crowns in change, please."

"You'd like what?"

Is that why you folks went decimal with your currency, LE?

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Setanta wrote:

I can only imagine what store clerks in England would do if they had not gone decimal with their money.

"Uh, that'll be two pounds . . . uh, two pounds ten and seven. . ."

"Right, here's three pounds, two thruppence and two hapennies--i'd like you to give me a crown and two half crowns in change, please."

"You'd like what?"

Is that why you folks went decimal with your currency, LE?

That'll be a fin and 4 bits.

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Setanta, Strawberries grow in dirt?! That's it for me.

As for British money, it had me confused when I was in England. Stood there helplessly with my hand outstretched, money in my palm. Take what I owe you. No fun being a tourist. I got confused all over again just reading your post.

Speaking of being a tourist, I nearly passed out cold when I was told that something I wanted to buy in Italy was fifteen thousand lire. My friend (better at math than I) told me it was something like ten dollars. (This was a long time ago. Still remember getting light-headed and weak-kneed.)

Let's face it, ignorance ain't always bliss. Unless, of course, you're blissfully ignorant--you don't care that you don't know.

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Cub joined FFA this year through his horticulture class. The school FFA chapters in our county take turns running the FFA Barnyard at the state fair. Friday was our schools day to do so and I volunteered to be an adult chaperone.

First, the sign above a steer was labeled "Holstein Cow."

A cow with horns was constantly referred to as "He" - most people coming through using the "Cows don't have horns" method of identifying the sex of a bovine rather than looking at it's underside for accuracy, even when what is underside was quite easy to identify.

One kid, about 6 years old, came through with his parents. On seeing a chick with feathers missing on it's wings, he said "Mom, what's wrong with that one?" Mom was a few steps ahead and just said "I dunno."

Being the ever helpful person that I am, and with Mom just out of earshot, I said "There's nothing wrong with that one. You know when you go to the store and buy boneless, skinless chicken...?

The kid ran to catch up with Mom and said "Mom, that's one of those boneless skinless chickens."

Cubs horticulture / FFA teacher turned quickly to see what was happening. I just shrugged like I had no idea.

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Heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee . . .

I've never been to Angleland, but i learned the coinage from reading when is was still a boy.

Farthing--one fourth of a penny
Hapenny--one half of a penny
One penny
Tuppence--two penny coin
Thruppence--three penny coin
Groat--four penny coin, not minted now for centuries
Six pence--that's obvious
Shilling--equals twelve pennies, and twenty shillings equal one pound sterling
Florin--equals two shillings in the 19th century (previously, there had been an English florin worth six shillings in the middle ages--when the coin was "re-introduced" in the 19th century, there was a florin coin of about equal value--50 cents US at that time--in use in several European countries)
Half crown--worth two and one half shillings, that is, "two and six"
Crown--worth five shillings, one quarter of a poung
There was no ten shilling coin, but there was a ten shilling bank note, used primarily in Ireland and Scotland
One pound--equaled 240 pennies, twenty shillings; throughout most of American history, it was worth five dollars. That sank to under four dollars after the Great War, and fell again to about three dollars after the Second World War, then quickly to $2.80, and finally, in the 1960s, to about $2.40 (when an American penny equalled an English penny).
Guinea--equaled 21 shillings; just as merchants here would use $9.99 instead of ten dollars to fool the customer (and it works, i've known people to complain about the cost of a "nine dollar" pair of shoes marked $9.99), guineas were used to fleece the wealthy--so a horse sold for 200 guineas actually cost 210 pounds sterling.

Chai, the origin of the expression fin comes from a time when the denominations on American banknotes were rendered in Roman numerals--so a five dollar bill was a "fin" because the symbol used was V. A ten was X, and was called a sawbuck (what people also call a saw horse), and a twenty, XX, was called a double saw buck. Most linguists think that is the origin of "buck" to mean a dollar.

In the early 1500s, in a fit of stupidity, the German electors elected King Carlos of Spain to be the Holy Roman Emperor (he used bribery liberally). This was at the time of Martin Luther, and the Emperor, Charles V, tried to stamp out Protestantism. The Spanish were already fighting the French in northern Italy, so they moved their armies into central Europe to fight the German Protestants. Charles (Carlos) began to issue silver coins equal to the common German coin, a thaler. The "h" is silent, and it is pronounced "tah-ler." In the New World, that silver coin was called a Spanish Thaler, which was corrupted into "dollar." In the New World, everyone was always short of small change, so to make change, the Spanish "dollar" would be cut in half, the halves would be cut in half, and the quarters would be cut in half, and those would be called bits. Perhaps you remember cheerleaders in high school who would chant:

Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar
All for _____________ (insert hometown name here), stand up and Holler ! ! !

Sadly, most young people i've met in recent years can't read Roman numerals, and don't know what "two bits" means.

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Ignorance to Make You Gasp

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