September 11 -- what year? 30 percent of Americans don't know

[sabra]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060809/od_afp/usattackspolloffbeat_060809145351;_ylt=ArnrtaXH3JkyylylPgoybNSs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-

September 11 -- what year? 30 percent of Americans don't know Wed Aug 9, 10:53 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Some 30 percent of Americans cannot say in what year the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington took place, according to a poll published in the Washington Post newspaper.

While the country is preparing to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives and shocked the world, 95 percent of Americans questioned in the poll were able to remember the month and the day of the attacks, according to Wednesday's edition of the newspaper.

But when asked what year, 30 percent could not give a correct answer.

Of that group, six percent gave an earlier year, eight percent gave a later year, and 16 percent admitted they had no idea whatsoever.

This memory black hole is essentially the problem of the older crowd: 48 percent of those who did not know were between the ages of 55 and 64, and 47 percent were older than 65, according to the poll.

[Jacobin]

1. To be fair, 2002 was a long time ago.

.

[Dora]

3. And 2001 even further in the ever-receding distant past.

:)

[ovidsen]

4. Thanks for illustrating the problem, dimwit!!

I mean, everybody knows it happened in 1999, right?

:rofl::applause::woohoo::pals::woohoo::applause::rofl:

[Jacobin]

was trying not to wear out the sarcasm thingy

[ovidsen]

10. You mean that was sarcasm???

Well, it STILL made me spray coffee all over my monitor thingy!!

(Thanks pardnuh.. I needed that!)

[Jacobin]

13. I bit too dry?

Study goes on to say that the demographic that gets it wrong most often is like 54-65 age group or something.

heh heh.

[ovidsen]

25. Now you scared me!

I happen to be in that age group!

:dunce:

[Jacobin]

27. me, too

:hi:

[senseandsensibility]

2. chimp's base

They are allergic to facts of any kind.

[Lindacooks]

18. Yes, exactly.

These are most likely the 30% whose IQ is well below average as well.

[unpossibles]

5. NEVR FORGET!!!1!

to be honest, I sometimes forget what I had for lunch yesterday.

I'm not sure how you could forget something so big though.

[AndyA]

6. They would remember if a friend or loved one died on 9/11.

They would never, ever forget then.

[shain from kane]

7. Depends on how the question was worded. n/t

[shain from kane]

8. Osama been forgotten. n/t

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

9. Had To Be Prior To 2000......Wasn't Clinton At Fault?

I thought it was during Clinton's term.

[niyad]

11. this would be the same 30% who still favour the chimperor, right?

[MissWaverly]

12. I know that it was 2001 but I don't blame people for not knowing

When my mother died we had been awake for like 3 days straight, so to this day I can't really
say which day that she died because it was all one day. Since 9-11, they never allowed the
American people to have closure, it's been 9-11, terra, terra, terra, 9-11, this, 9-11, that.
Even the RNC convention was about 9-11. No wonder America is confused, because it never really
ended. We are still living this nightmare. The Patriot Act is in effect, the War on Terror
is still in effect, we are still in Iraq and Afghanistan and Bush is still in charge. One,
big, long nightmare.

[soothsayer]

14. I'm in the "I know what year, but who cares?" crowd. Sick of 9-11

frankly.

[Hoping4Change]

15. I think its very troubling as it shows how profoundly out of touch

Americans are with current events. Personally I am shocked.

[mitchtv]

16. 1973

sept11, the day Allende was murdered by Nixon/kissinger cabal

[AZBlue]

17. PLEASE tell me this is from The Onion!?

If not, I think I may throw up.

I'm so effin sick of dumb Americans who don't care about anything unless it includes Britney Spears, Brad & Angelina or a Survivor contestant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. My father is tired of hearing 9/11 everyday and would just as soon

forget the year. Before I begin, he has always voted pretty much Democratic but it is his belief that a country thrives when it learns it lessons and then moves on. Never forget the dead, but don't hang your hats on one moment.

[jsamuel]

20. did they do a party breakdown?

of course they didn't

but they did with "who is the current Secretary of State" and "who currently controls congress"

Based on the ages they said got it wrong, that would suggest it is mostly Republicans who "have forgotten 9/11"...

[Dob Bole]

21. Hopefully those are the people who aren't voting...

but probably not.

[underpants]

22. To be fair it was all the way back when Clinton was in office

so you know a lot has happened since then. We had to go in and invade Iraq once W got in there with the balls to do it and all.

:sarcasm: <--LOOK HERE!

[novalib]

23. 1963?

Didn't it happen in September, 1963?

I remember that Marilyn Monroe died in 1962.

[WinkyDink]

26. That was Pearl Harbor.

[novalib]

29. Pearl Harbor??

Pearl Harbor died in 1963?

I thought it was Minnie Pearl who died in 1963.

[ScreamingMeemie]

30. No No! Silly... Minnie is alive and well and living with Mickey

Mouse... last I knew.

[KamaAina]

24. 1992

On Sept. 11, 1992, Hurricane 'Iniki struck the island of Kaua'i, damaging nearly every building on the island (year-round pop. ~55,000). A few hotels are only now being rebuilt.

What? You mean something else happened on a Sept. 11? What are the odds? :eyes:

[Nikki Stone 1]

28. 95% of those who didn't know 9/11/2001 were over 55 years of age

That means almost all Americans under 55 DID know the year was 2001.

But what's with the 55-64 crowd? Does memory go that quickly over 50?