Not everyone is cut out for book-learning and that’s ok. Realistically, being able to name, say, every capital city in the world isn’t actually that useful. However, knowing the difference between a city, a continent and a country is possibly the bare minimum someone should still be aware of.
We’ve gathered some of the most wild examples of the Americans saying things that are simply an indictment of their education system. So get comfortable as you scroll through, prepare to be deeply confused and disturbed, be sure to upvote your favorites, and share your thoughts in the comments below.
#1 French, Spanish, Latin Are Dead Languages
#2 America Is The Reason You Have Cars
#3 “It’s Color Not Colour”
Americans come to the world with the same enthusiasm that they bring to all-you-can-eat buffets: idealistic, in good intentions, and blissfully unaware of what they’ve loaded onto their plate. Part of the reason is simply geographical size. In a nation where driving to the next decent supermarket can take three hours (hyperbole, but still), boarding a train to another country and crossing borders seems as distant as taking a camel through Death Valley.
Most people grow up wandering beaches in Florida or Montana’s small towns and believe that “world travel” is merely a longer car trip, tolls optional. Another baddie is our school curriculum that sometimes treats world history as an appendix to learning about American history. Students can rattle off the causes of the Civil War in excruciating detail but stall when asked who governed India prior to 1947.
#4 In Europe You Can’t Buy Utility Knifes
#5 “England Doesn’t Speak English They Speak British. America Speaks English”
#6 “No One That Speaks English Writes In Celsius.”
It’s not really a conspiracy and is more cramming all factoids about domestic politics into textbooks that would make War and Peace seem short. When foreign capitals and cultures get a paragraph wedged at the rear of the book, it’s easy to graduate with honors in U.S. geography and a passing mark in “Everybody Else’s Land.”
#7 This Is Self Explanatory
#8 Solar Panels Run Off Power Plants Which Are Powered By Fossil Fuels
#9 Modern Europe, Japan And China Is Less Than 75 Years Old
And then there’s the media bubble. Turn on most cable news channels or social media feeds, and you’ll find a nonstop loop of domestic stories punctuated by headlines like “Trade Talks with Some Country You’ve Never Heard Of.”
#10 I Figured Out How European Time Works And It Was Like A Lightbulb Went Off In My Brain
#11 “France Has Like 100 People In It”
On a video talking about US insurance and healthcare
#12 Ah Yes, The Ever Trusty No-Internet WiFi Technology
International coverage often pauses long enough to mention a crisis before switching back to celebrity gossip, political theatrics, and sports highlights. With algorithms serving up more of what keeps viewers clicking, little wonder that an average American might recognize every Kardashian but not the prime minister of a neighboring country.
#13 No One Goes To Europe For The Food
#14 On A Post With A Recipe That Measures With Grams
#15 Americans With Water vs. Europeans With Water
Language plays its part too. In many European countries, you’re more likely to encounter people who speak three or four languages by high school graduation. In the USA, however, learning something besides English is typically presented as an after-school elective for extra credit rather than as a required ability. Why bother, after all, if everyone else “speaks English”?
#16 “Pretty Sure Scale Wise The Entireity Of Europe Would Fit Between NY And Chicago.”
#17 ‘Im Proud To Be Irish’
#18 “They May Have Created The Language But We Perfected It”
This monolingual concept can make visitors lost not just because they can’t read signs and menus, but because they’ve lost the mental exercise of navigating the world in another language.
#19 “Euro-Poors Do Not Believe In Refrigeration”
#20 “Our American Language”
#21 Calls People Out For Bad Grammar. Also, Has Bad Grammar
Financial and logistical barriers erect a last shell of insulation. Passports used to be trinkets rather than necessities, and the cost and inconvenience of visas even deter inquiring minds. Holiday budgets are spent on the cost of flights, little left to go and visit museums or chat with locals when you’re there. It’s easier and cheaper to binge-watch a foreign drama on Netflix than to fly to its filming location, and you get subtitles instead of jet lag.
#22 The Holy Trinity Of Trying To Teach Someone What Prefixes Are
#23 You Can’t Arrest Somebody Without Their Consent In Europe
#24 There Is Not, And Never Has Been Fascism In America
Under a post about American scientist who wants to move to Europe.
There are such barriers, though, that there is hope: every American who finally gets that Europe is not a Midwestern state, or that Africa is a continent, not a country, gets closer to being a world citizen. A spoonful of humility, a sense of humor, and the ability to say you’ve been blissfully unaware are where it begins. And who knows, once you observe the world doesn’t end at your state line, you might find that the smorgasbord of human experience tastes a lot more delectable than you ever imagined.
#25 “It Is Spelt ‘Payed’ Outside Of America As In Australia, Brittain, And Other English Speaking Non American Countries”
#26 “NYC Has Better Asian Food Than Asia Does.”
#27 La Has A Bigger Economy Than The Whole Of Europe
#28 Keep That Commie Frenchness Away From Us
#29 “Niche Dialects Like British English”
#30 American Freedom And Liberty
#31 A Classic Celcius, Fahrenheit Thing
#32 “Europe Is The Size Of An American Parking Lot”. It Was A Video Of Cities In Europe vs. The Us
#33 Steve Irwin Is An American Hero From Australia
#34 My Brain Hurts
#35 “Alaska And Puerto Rico”
#36 Idiotic Commenter Doesn’t Know That Opposite-Sex Fraternal Twins Exist
#37 Fahrenheit Is The Only Measurement
#38 American Math
#39 The USA Invented… Peace On Earth
#40 “Europe Doesn’t Even Have Gasoline And Electricity Rn”
#41 “No One Counts Eastern Europe. We’re Not Visiting That”
#42 “Your Little Countries Are Not Big Enough To Be Recognised Separately.”
#43 “Does Anyone Know Where Portugal Is Actually Located?”
#44 “50 Of Whatever Weird Currency The Aussies Use Is Is Probably Like A Dollar American”
#45 “I Learned That In Europe, When Locals Asked Where I Was From And I Said “Minnesota, USA”…turns Out They Don’t Know Where That Is”
#46 Being An American In Any European Country Feels Like Being The Only Playable Character Around A Bunch Of Npcs
#47 Europe – No Ice Cubes
#48 Only The USA Is A Full Democracy, Rest Of The Democratic Nations Are Behind
#49 “Is This Military Time? What Country U In?”
#50 Rugby Players Are Just Big Guys That Didn’t Make It To The NFL
#51 “23 Stands For The Month”
#52 Remember Who Won The War Champ
#53 On A Post About Not Microwaving Metal
#54 Love Her Confidence
#55 Europeans Eat Melted Cheese Over Boiled Potatoes And Call It Luxury. In A Discussion Over Whether A Volvo Is Considered A Luxury Vehicle
#56 “USA Allows France To Exist”
Under a post on the french politician Glucksmann demanding back the statue of liberty..
#57 “Being Born In America Doesn’t Make You American”
#58 “No World War Nothing”
#59 “If Not For United States, Canadians Would Be Drinking German Alcohol And Stiff Arm Saluting!”
#60 “Literally All The Medicine Those Countries Use Is Developed Here.”
#61 “Isolate Us Statistics To White Wealthy Neighborhoods And We Match Anywhere In The World”
On a thread about the Finnish education system.
#62 “Completely Dominant In 5 Years”
#63 “This Is Going To Sound Really Stupid, But Outlet Plugs”
#64 “State Owned Grocery Store”
#65 “Pizza Is An American Invention, Not Invented In Italy”
#66 The Cherry On Top
#67 Do Titles Really Matter?
#68 Correcting Someone’s Spelling
#69 Absence Of Humour Detected
#70 Our Poop Is Solid
#71 If You Remove USA, The World Would Have No Culture
#72 All European Countries Are Poorer Than The Poorest Us State
#73 Ya’ll Are Poor, How Do You Even Have A Phone?
#74 “Most History Is Us History That’s Why”
#75 When Irish People Speak English, They Refer To It As Irish
#76 It’s Like Only One Country Exists
#77 Main Character Of The World
#78 “Everyone Wants To Come To America”
#79 America Has Objectively Done More Good For The World Than Any Other Nation
#80 ‘6.5mm Of Gas’
#81 Raw Milk Is The Newest Body “Cleanse”
#82 Mario Is Not Italian
#83 Apparently Only People In America Watch Stranger Things
#84 “More Complex Games Such As Football”
#85 “It’s Mine Boggling That People Don’t Understand That Canada Would Cease To Exist Without The United States.”
#86 “Just Because We Been Around For 200 Years And Are Better Than Everyone Else”
#87 “My Family Has Been In America For Nearly 400 Years, But My DNA Results Are Still 100% English”
#88 “Why Nobody Wear Socks But Americans?”
#89 Well That’s The Correct Format So
