Dwarfs better-known than US justices: poll

[Rose Siding]

Three-quarters of Americans can correctly identify two of Snow White's seven dwarfs while only a quarter can name two Supreme Court justices, according to a poll on pop culture.

The poll by Zogby International has been commissioned by the makers of a new game show on pop culture called Gold Rush.
...
Asked what planet Superman was from, 60 per cent named the fictional planet Krypton, while only 37 per cent knew that Mercury was the planet closest to the sun.

Respondents are far more familiar with the Three Stooges - Larry, Curly and Moe - than the three branches of the US Government - judicial, executive and legislative.

Seventy-four per cent identified the former, while 42 per cent identified the latter.

Twice as many people (23 per cent) were able to identify the most recent winner of the television talent show American Idol, Taylor Hicks, as were able to name the Supreme Court Justice confirmed in January 2006, Samuel Alito (11 per cent).

http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200608/s1715009.htm

[tanyev]

1. And that is why the Bush Administration is so confident they will

get away with everything they are doing.

[enlightenment]

2. sigh.

:banghead:

[LiberalFighter]

3. That would be a good question to ask others we know

name all of the justices on the SC. (That is repugs we know)

[noonwitch]

4. Pathetic ignorance on the part of the citizens

You know, this is why I don't hate most conservatives/freepers. At least they, like most of us, care enough about their country to learn the names and the positions of those who are running it. They, like us, vote regularly. We disagree about issues, sure, but at least both groups participate in the democracy we have, that thousands have sacrificed to build and protect.

It's the mush-heads who don't know the difference between a congressperson and a senator that get me (I had a coworker, a woman with a master's degree, ask me what the difference was). I think that they account for most of the "undecided" voters, and the ones who just don't vote at all.

Apathy and stupidity are what will kill our democracy, not conservatism or liberalism.

[Jackpine Radical]

5. How many could name what planet

Dick Cheney is from?

[yorkiemommie1]

19. How many know who Dick Cheney IS???

lol

[davekriss]

6. That explains so much! (eom)

[AngryAmish]

7. Shouldn't it be dwarves?

[Kailassa]

16. Yes, "dwarfs" is a verb. Obviously ignorance is rampant

when such mis-spelling makes it into the headline
of an article about American ignorance.

Butt then, if its maid it passed the spell chequer, it has two bee rite.

[Irreverend IX]

34. The spelling "dwarves" was actually invented by J.R.R. Tolkien.

"Dwarfs" was considered correct when he wrote Lord of the Rings, but because of that book "dwarves" has become acceptable as well.

[happyslug]

8. So, Billions are spent to "teach" people what to buy....

The Drawls are a product of Disney and advertised by Disney so that Disney can make money off the Drafts. The same with Superman and even the Three Stooges, corporations SPEND millions to teach you about what the Corporation can make money on.

As to the Supreme Court Justices and the Three Branches of Government, no one is spending money to teach these to ANYONE outside of School, and even inside school they are minor parts of ALL that is taught in School.

I am sorry, YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE SUCH POLL RESULTS AS LONG AS ADVERSING IS LEGAL. Corporations use Advertising to "Teach" us what they want us to know. It does NOT pay Corporations to teach us about the Government, for the Corporation do NOT make money from such teachings. Corporations will only teach us what will make them money and that is why you will always have poll results like this one.

[pitohui]

9. well most of us can't afford to buy a judge

so mass advertising wouldn't be directed at us in that circumstance

i'm not altogether convinced that it is completely wrong that large numbers of people consider the supreme court justices beneath their notice and attention, these people may think they're celebrities and rock stars but the reality is that they're bought and sold by the GOP like everybody else...so maybe we shouldn't be memorizing their names and encouraging our children to do so...without the supreme court there would have been no stolen election

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

10. ouch

[w4rma]

11. It's where the money is.

Disney makes a lot of money from Snow White and the seven Dwarves, therefore Disney wants to saturate the market with as much information about the movie as possible so that folks are more inclined to see it, often, and buy related merchandice.

However, many very wealthy people *lose* money when the public is well-informed about their government so the money is used to confuse people and turn people away from learning more about their government.

[corporatemedia]

12. Well, let's see, there's Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Horny....no, not Horny...

they put him on the Sumpreme Court.

[Jackpine Radical]

20. Umm, Sleazy, Dorky, Frumpy & Dweeb...

[KamaAina]

13. Isn't Dopey on the Supreme Court?

That'd make him a two-fer.. :eyes:

[corporatemedia]

14. I think that some of the Dwarfs are "double dipping" with jobs on SCOTUS!

[skip fox]

15. Why shouldn't we know them better? They've certainly done less

harm recently to the country than the clowns on the Court.

[damntexdem]

17. Hey, no fair: Snow White only had seven dwarves!

SCOTUS has nine justices! But name two Dubya appointees to the SCOTUS? Let's see -- aren't they: Snoopy and Sleazy? ;-)

[Buns_of_Fire]

18. This is an unfair poll

When you refer, in the same poll, to both the Justices of the Supreme Court, the Seven Dwarves, and the Three Stooges, well, of course people are going to start mixing them up!

So sayeth Justice Curly (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk).

[maseman]

21. I used to do a radio talk show

It was a call-in radio dating show at night. One night I had this 35 year old women on who was dumb as a box of rocks. I asked her if she knew who the President was (it was 1998) and she confidently said John F. CLinton.

I about fell out of my chair laughing.

[Slyder]

22. When I was a reference librarian

at a midwestern public library several years ago, two of our most common questions were members of the Supreme Court and the names of the Seven Dwarves. Both were in the Rolodex, along with Donald Duck's nephews, US Cabinet members, Seven Wonders of the World, and lots of other stuff we'd get asked almost daily. I suspect the public was just as ignorant of their government then as they are now. It just surprises those of us who read a daily paper and take an interest in the world and how it goes.

Incidentally, I can remember the entire Supreme Court, but I can only seem to remember six of those @^%*&*@ dwarves, and it is never the same one! Quirky? Smutty? Sleazey?

[Duer 157099]

23. It sounds like you used to have Google's job!

Really. :)

[flamingyouth]

24. kick

[T_i_B]

25. Harry Potter better known than Tony Blair in America, survey finds

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/08/16/uamericans.xml

More Americans know who Harry Potter is than can name Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to a new survey.

While 57 per cent of American citizens correctly identified JK Rowling's fictional teenage wizard, just 50 per cent could say who Britain's leader was, despite his close alliance with George W Bush, the American president.

The poll, commissioned by the producers of Gold Rush, a new online game on popular culture, also found that while more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of Americans could name two of Snow White's seven dwarfs, less than a quarter (24 per cent) could identify two of their country's nine Supreme Court justices.

Professor Robert Thompson, of the Bleier Centre for Television and Popular Culture, said the findings were not about Americans being stupid, however. "These results are not about how 'dumb' Americans are, but about how much more effectively popular culture information is communicated and retained by citizens than many of the messages that come from government, educational institutions and the media," he said.

[Idioteque]

26. I was just in Canada...

I asked my dad and my little brother if they knew who Canada's PM was. They, of course, had no idea.

I bet more Americans know Blair than they do Harper even though Canada is right next store. When my bro said he wasn't sure, I told him "You ought to know...all of the Canadians know who Bush is." :P

[Bretttido]

27. God damn Americans are ignorant! n/t

[Raine]

32. They're ignorant

for one thing because the media tells us more about Harry Potter and the Academy Awards than they do about Tony Blair. The fault lies with the media, they have failed in the job they are to do which is keeping the public informed on important matters.

[saigon68]

28. WE'LL CHANGE THAT--- HERE IS TONY

IN ALL HIS GLORY

[geomon666]

29. Well...

When Tony Blair becomes the main character of a hugely sucessful children's book, by all means, redo this poll.

This is just stupid.

[T_i_B]

35. Don't encourage them

Some Labour party spin doctor would probbably take you up on that suggestion!

[damntexdem]

30. Well, let's face it: Harry Potter does better work.

And the 7 dwarfs have more integrity than does the conservative bloc on the SCOTUS.

[Turbineguy]

31. Harry Potter is more believable

after all, he does magic stuff.

[ckramer]

33. Harry Potter is more logical

and be with morality.