Apparently, there are too many people who are not.
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? premiered last night on FOX, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. It is quite possibly the saddest thing I have ever seen. In a culture that includes Jeopardy! and Who wants to be a Millionaire?, I find it depressing that this show has made it to the air.
However, I've been told that I'm being too hard on these people. After asking around my office today, I have discovered that there may be a larger pool of possible contestants for this show than I could have dreamed...
So, I ask you the following questions. These are the questions from the show last night. I am giving each and every one of my readers the benefit of the doubt and assuming that you will know - without assistance of ANY kind - the answers to the questions. Please tell me if you think these are above or below the 5th grade level. Also - if there are any that you wouldn't know right off your head - feel free to admit that - we're all friends here.
1. In what month do we celebrate Columbus Day?
2. True or False? In the wild, polar bears feed on penguins.
3. If the area of a triangle is 16 square inches, and the base is 8 inches - what is the height of the triangle?
4. Who was the first US president to be impeached?
5. Name the ship the pilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England, to the Plymouth Colony in America in 1620.
6. Part of a person's sleep cycle is called the REM cycle. What does REM stand for?
FYI. Questions 1,2,3 and 4 were not answered correctly by a UCLA graduate (US History major). He had to "Drop out of school" and look into the camera and say, "I am not smarter than a 5th grader."
1. Don't know- don't care.
2. False
3. I'm very sad with my geometric abilities right now...
4. Jackson
5. The Mayflower
6. Rapid Eye Movement
Posted by: ChiquitaQ | Wednesday, 28 February 2007 at 04:06 PM
1. October2. False--penguins are south pole, polar bears are north3. I teach band, not math4. Again, I teach band, not history5. Mayflower6. Rapid Eye Movement
1, 2, and 5 seem like things a 5th grader should know. 3, 4, and 6 are too advanced or too detailed in my opinion.
Posted by: iflash | Wednesday, 28 February 2007 at 05:08 PM
Answer to No. 1 -- It's October. However, if you were in the state you were born, you would not celebrate Columbus Day. You would celebrateNative AmericanDay. How's that for a UBI?!
Posted by: CMartinw4 | Wednesday, 28 February 2007 at 06:06 PM
Okay.1. October2. I was going to say true, but you people look smart. False.3. 4 inches4. Lincoln5. The Mayflower6. Rapid Eye Movement.1 and 2 are too detail-oriented for 5th graders to know, and 6 seems a bit out there. But the rest...well, they should know that. (Am I right on #4?)
Posted by: icequeen097 | Wednesday, 28 February 2007 at 09:16 PM
Oh man. I am SO smarter than a 5th grader. 5th graders are stupid.
1. October (first Monday, isn't it?)
2. I'm goin with false. Polar Bears eat fish.
3. 4 inches. Area of a triangle is 1/2 x base x height. I feel like everyone should know this.
4. It was the dude after Lincoln.
5. Mayflower.
6. Rapid Eye Movement.
I think 5th graders should know all of these with the exception of number 2. Well, maybe not number 6 either.
Posted by: whiskeyzipper | Wednesday, 28 February 2007 at 11:53 PM
Did Leah really just say Lincoln for the first president impeached? Does it count if he's impeached by adifferentunion, as in the south? I really hope that's what she was going for, even though I don't know if that really happened. Anyway, I'm sure polar bears would eat penguins if they were around them, but iflash is correct in that they live on different poles. And I should know.
Posted by: angegg | Thursday, 01 March 2007 at 02:09 PM