30 Times People Failed At Geography So Badly, They Made The Internet Facepalm (New Pics)
Most of us have been there: you post something online that you’re 100% sure is the absolute truth, flexing those big cognitive muscles of yours… only to realize that you made a mistake. You blush. You start sweating. You realize that you’ve made an utter fool of yourself. On the internet of all places! And now, your blunder will forever live in the Internet Hall of Infamy, also known as the r/facepalm subreddit.
The online community is full to the brim with people making epic mistakes. But few of them are as painful to see as when someone boasts about their [cough] ‘deep’ knowledge of geography [cough]. For anyone even with a rudimentary knowledge of geography, the posts you’re about to see might make you lose a bit of hope in humanity. Put on your safari hats, scroll down, upvote the worst geo fails you’ve seen, and don’t forget to share your unfiltered opinions in the comments, dear Pandas! Just remember not to feed the F-grade students…
Once you’ve completed the trek through this list and if you feel like you’d love to go on another humorous adventure, then you’ll probably love Bored Panda’s previous article about facepalm-worthy geography fails. Check it out right over here.
This post may include affiliate links.
You Can Only Pity Such People
When You Dont Know What You’re Talking About
"And Ted, the Moderna Vaccine was partially funded by Dolly Parton!"
Blindly Playing Yourself
Detroit has a lot of abandoned homes. I took my Spanish friend to tigers baseball game and as we drove through Detroit he asked me why it looked like Europe after WWIi
Look, Pandas, we all had our favorite and least favorite subjects back in school. For instance, yours truly always enjoyed history, literature, and biology. Math, on the other hand, was a pure nightmare. For me, personally, geography fell squarely in the middle of the pack.
The subject itself was incredibly interesting. After all, who doesn’t enjoy learning about volcanoes and global cultures, and drawing maps in class? However, a lot of this enjoyment rose and fell depending on the teacher. Some were very strict and gave you awful grades for failing to memorize all of the important geographical locations around the world. Others, however, made the subject fun, relatable, and, well, not a chore.
Virtue Signalling
They Don't Teach Flags In High School Geography?
More Liberian Flag Confusion
Hm, I somehow expected the dumbest /most non-educated blogs in the top 5, but here the posts deteriorate even the more I scroll down... 🫣🙄 (PS: I posted this comment when this post was around #18... 😬)
It’s not surprising that some people are completely awful at geography. After all, the world is full of folks who fail at math, science, history, and all the other subjects that some of us know and love. You’ll never find a subject where everyone’s a pro.
Yahoo Answers Might Be Gone, But We Still Have Quora
Uhm, boss? I can't come to work tomorrow. I've just developed a headache that's gonna last for at least three days. 🤦♀️
Oh dear God this bollocks again! The English language (that a lot of Americans speak please note ENGLISH not American) consist of a lot of European words. There is no American language, you just spell and pronounce words differently
I'm American and sometimes I'm embarrassed by my countrymen. This is one of those times. Ugh. Please. Most of us aren't like this, but why must the minority become the stereotype. It makes me sad to see. (I really shouldn't type when I first wake up. Coherence goes way down.)
That's true, there are endless questions like this just designed to spark controversy and increase page hits.
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I didn't know England was capable of speech. *finds a random country and gives it elocution lessons*
Doesn't Quora have some kind of points system based on the number of questions you ask and answer? Sometimes wonder if people are just trying to get points 😐
Yep, and it's monetized. Quora really fell off a cliff when they started that.
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i spend a lot of time on quora. people ask a LOT of really effing stupid questions on quora. it's actually quite impressive, tbh...
Ah well you see this is why I suggested to mankind we all speak Hedgehog instead
Well, considering the amount of poo that the hedgehogs I feed leave behind, including on their dinner plates, it probably equates to the amount of s**t plenty of humans speak.
Load More Replies... Wait until this person realises that Canadian speaks French. Or is it French speaks Canadian?
Also: why did they name English, an American language, after a European country instead of calling it - oh, I don't know - American? There must be some far fetched reason?
Whoever wrote this, if they were being serious, doesn’t know much about America, which makes me wonder if it’s someone who was not born in America. Say what you want about American education but we are taught that we were former British colonies who rebelled against them. We know that. It’s part of our whole identity.
This would be sad until you realize some conservative states have pretty much banned all books..and it shows
HA HA HA HA HA oh. Oh, that wasn’t a brainless joke? Sorry. My bad.
Doesn't Quora advertise itself as a social network for intelligent people or something?
Let us take this with a grain of salt because Quora, like Yahoo, is a troll/dumb on purpose haven.
English comes from England, you nincompoop. Why aren't you speaking a Native American language?
I can’t tell if this is a real question or one of those people that posts random dumb questions on Quora
The ENGLISH language originated in ENGLAND. People from England went to different parts of the world and took their language with them. That is why Australians speak English, New Zealanders speak English, Indians and people from Pakistan speak English, South Africans speak English, Canadians speak English, people from the United States speak English. And many other people speak English also in the world.
This is what I wish would show up on my Quora feed, instead I am getting increasingly alarming questions about people stalking their therapists. I am interested in questions about how a therapist would feel if (x) and administrative questions, but yikes!
Well, it used to be that Quora paid people to post questions. But you had to post a LOT to make even a little money. I read that they have now stopped this policy but haven’t verified that. I can only assume people just ran out of ideas as to what to ask questions on. 😂
If the question had been “Christopher Columbus ‘found’ America, and he was Italian while his work was funded by Spain, right? Why does America speak English and not Italian or Spanish?” The OP question would be dramatically less painful to read. Still painful. But less, at least.
If not for one of those quirks of history, Americans could be speaking any one of around 300 languages spoken by the native indigenous people who’d lived on the continent for at least 40,000 years, or else a Scandinavian language, like Norwegian, Danish or Swedish, as there were established Viking settlements in Newfoundland exactly 1000 years ago, and signs possibly as far south as Georgia.
Heard them claim on QI (fact-based comedy quiz) on Friday that the native indigenous people migrated originally from Siberia 15000 years ago. Though reading more on it there is a great deal to say that migration was more varied (though doesn't necessarily make their specific point untrue) https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/first-americans-how-and-when-were-americas-populated.
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I guess if they genuinely didn't realise and wondered why all the others had their own but this one little island didn't. I guess this one does require actually being there in person to realise the reasoning behind but it's really really on the thin edge of not putting 2 and 2 together. Mind you, it could be a reflection on their education. I'm hoping it's a very young person. As, even I am struggling to see a legit honest durp moment.
It may be worth pointing out that this ‘one little island’ had an empire that stretched across most of the world, and doesn’t just have one language: as well as English, which has many regional variations, there’s Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, Cornish, spoken in the far South-west county of Cornwall, and Manx, spoken on the Isle of Man, which sits in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland.
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Hmmmm.....I wonder why animals don't speak English? Even American animals.
"Quora: We're Yahoo! Answers but we have a fancier name. Which is even more embarrassing when stupid s**t like this goes viral."
Yeah, why can't the English just speak one of those foreign European languages, instead of English. Jeez.
I know that there are Creationists that truly believe that the Earth was created in 6 days, 6000 years ago, but I'm starting to suspect that some Americans believe the Earth was formed on July 4th, 1776.
I dunno.... Maybe ENGlish was....... invented in ENGland...... If being stupid was a crime, these people would have life in prison.
F-ck me I sent too early- I meant to say "I go on Quora whenever I need a good laugh, this is a good example!" Apologies!
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you'd be surprised at jst how common this belief is.... ESPECIALLY in the US *face palm*
Those English people don't speak English correctly anyways... I'm American.
Americans are the one who made changes to the language!
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England is a country.. as are Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
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Ah, Yeah. I Swear It's Always Us Americans Who Don't Realize There's A Country Called Georgia
It's hard to have sympathy for people bad with geography and maps when they post dumb comments on the internet that has Google earth, maps and all kinds of reference material. I used to have to walk to the library to find out information. Now even Wiki has disambiguation pages to help sort out all the Georgias.
Ah Yes, "Time-Zones"
However, this doesn’t excuse someone from being ignorant about basic things. You know, common sense stuff like how time zones work, what language is spoken in the United Kingdom, what the map of your country looks like, and knowing that there are currencies besides the dollar used around the globe. We all make mistakes. But it’s a bit embarrassing when you don’t have a working knowledge of the basics of geography.
Imagine Being This Uneducated
I would like to see them redo the General Lee with that flag. Also The Hazard County Bobsled Team would make an interesting sequel.
America Is The Whole Globe
Canada Is A Country In Eastern Europe! Read A Book, Bro
Nobody’s saying that you should be at the level of a PhD candidate (and even they make silly mistakes!), but you have to at least be aware of your place in society and the world at large. It’s perfectly possible to spend your entire life not knowing what’s beyond the borders of your tiny little town, but it’s debatable how much fulfillment you’d find living this way.
I Posted A Picture On Another Subreddit About A River In The Country Georgia And This Person Had A Lot To Say
And then they don't even use the American flag emoji as they declare how American they are -_-
Someone Didn’t Pay Attention In Geography Class
Where Is Ukraine?
Almost all of the r/facepalm geography fails are related either to ignorance or arrogance. Sometimes, both! People either don’t know basic facts. Or they think they know something, only to be proven very, very wrong.
In cases of extreme embarrassment, your instinct is probably to shy away and defend yourself. However, that’s really not the best approach because it may lead to deep-seated feelings of shame further down the line.
Dunno What To Say
Geography
A Girl At Work Drew What She Thinks The Map Of The USA Looks Like. She's Almost 30 With 2 Kids. The Nc Public School System Has Really Failed Her
No, the mature way to react is to lean into your embarrassment. Embrace those uncomfortable feelings. Show everyone that you do feel embarrassed. Acknowledge that you’ve made a mistake. That might actually work out in your favor and improve your reputation—through humility, you become more likable.
Someone's Geography Needs Some Upgrading
Nordic Countries Misunderstood
Getting Offended Over The Name Of A Country
Bored Panda I’m gonna need to have a serious talk with whoever decided to censor the country N***r. The COUNTRY WITH THE CAPITAL OF NIAMEY, to be clear, since it’s not letting me say it
Previously, during an interview with Bored Panda, geography and cartography expert and land surveyor Patrick McGranaghan shared his thoughts about the state of the subject. He pointed out that some students see geography in a pretty negative light. Meanwhile, geography isn’t a priority in some schools.
"I think that a lot of geography ignorance comes from the lack of geographic instruction in schools. Schools have an increasingly long list of subjects that must be taught and geography is losing its share," he shared with us.
I Guess He’s Half Right
Nick Adams was born in Australia. In 2010, Adams served as the PR consultant for The Halloween Institute, a march to make Halloween a public holiday in Australia. It was later revealed those who 'protested' were paid actors. Nick Adams is a top-shelf, class-A, bona-fide, full-blown idiot, and Australia does not want him back, thank you.
I Thought The USA Was The One Bad At Geography, I Swear To God, (UK Politics Subreddit)
Ah Yes, Germany Flag Fridge Magnet
"Geography has this reputation of rote memorization of things like countries and capital cities. This is not exciting to most students," the land surveyor and geography enthusiast told Bored Panda earlier. "The way to encourage geographic learning is to make it exciting.”
Geography Is Hard
Asian/Chinese Currency
i strongly recommend that you & your wife stay home, where, we all hope, that you’re safe & able to function on your own dude
Amsterdam = Country
"This may be by including geography lessons in learning about different cultures around the world. Geography is a component of current events and there needs to be an emphasis on how these events are occurring in a geographic context. Geography should not be taught in isolation, it should be tied to some context such as history, the physical Earth, culture, or travel.”
Peace And Harmony
Definitely The Shape And Flag Of Colorado
Countries On Map Of Africa Labelled Incorrectly On Gcse Geography Paper
Get your child a GLOBE for their room. They will grow up knowing the basics of geography.
Or at least a world map. This whole post gave me a headache.
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Would anyone like to know why my flat has a huge map of the world up on the wall? I have a daughter, she’s lived here since she was 6, she’s now 12. That map has been used for discussions about where certain foods come from, where humans originated from, where countries are that are in the news, how we travelled and discovered new peoples, y’know, stuff that helps a child learn about the world around them and helps them place themselves in it.
Same reason I have an analog clock with Roman numerals in my kitchen. I didn't want them to be forever confused because not all clocks are digital or have easy numbers.
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At what point does dumb become too dumb to run for office ..?
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When I was stationed in Hawaii (25ID) I did have a couple of tourists ask where they could get their US dollars exchanged for Hawaiian money... I almost said that "2 coconuts, 5 shells, and a lava rock was the equivalent of $20 USD but I'd give them all that for $10." but decided that since I was in uniform, that probably would have been a bad idea.
In the UK we're not actually really taught about flags and geographical locations, unless the teacher wants to buts its not as standard. And there's very little taught about America so many have no idea of American states!
Not sure where you are in the UK, but certainly in the area I grew up in Scotland it's not like that. General geography was part of the learning in primary school (projects on different countries, history etc) and mandatory as its own subject for the first 2 years of secondary school.
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These are horrifying, and I haven't gotten through them all yet. But my main concern / question..... Aren't there idiots in countries other than the US. I mean, I know we unfortunately provide a huge, sadly high number of the world's idiots. But I'd feel better if there were examples of multinational idiots interest of just ours in the US. I tire of the idiocy here, and just have a shed of hope that we're not the only one plagued with excessive stupid.
Public education has been actively degraded for decades in favor of private schools, as a political goal, and the results speak for themselves.
I have a book on Japan with some interesting geography. Geography that said stuff like "Tokyo is a country" and put city locations in the sea/ocean. If this were a challenge post, I'd literally post this.
I mean Ok you don't want to learn about the world, at least learn about your own country it's a disgrace
We have access to more information than any other time in human history. I feel disappointed.
I was asked if Germany was close to Europe by an a-grade student
I use to work with a person who was from Kansas City, Missouri in the USA. They grew up there. They did not know that the city is on the Missouri river. She thought it was the Mississippi river.
I mean, it didn't state on many of these where the posters were from, but I can assume many are 'cause the school system is failing/
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Why are people (Americans) so resolutely sure of their wrong information?
Get your child a GLOBE for their room. They will grow up knowing the basics of geography.
Or at least a world map. This whole post gave me a headache.
Load More Replies... Would anyone like to know why my flat has a huge map of the world up on the wall? I have a daughter, she’s lived here since she was 6, she’s now 12. That map has been used for discussions about where certain foods come from, where humans originated from, where countries are that are in the news, how we travelled and discovered new peoples, y’know, stuff that helps a child learn about the world around them and helps them place themselves in it.
Same reason I have an analog clock with Roman numerals in my kitchen. I didn't want them to be forever confused because not all clocks are digital or have easy numbers.
Load More Replies... At what point does dumb become too dumb to run for office ..?
Load More Replies... When I was stationed in Hawaii (25ID) I did have a couple of tourists ask where they could get their US dollars exchanged for Hawaiian money... I almost said that "2 coconuts, 5 shells, and a lava rock was the equivalent of $20 USD but I'd give them all that for $10." but decided that since I was in uniform, that probably would have been a bad idea.
In the UK we're not actually really taught about flags and geographical locations, unless the teacher wants to buts its not as standard. And there's very little taught about America so many have no idea of American states!
Not sure where you are in the UK, but certainly in the area I grew up in Scotland it's not like that. General geography was part of the learning in primary school (projects on different countries, history etc) and mandatory as its own subject for the first 2 years of secondary school.
Load More Replies... These are horrifying, and I haven't gotten through them all yet. But my main concern / question..... Aren't there idiots in countries other than the US. I mean, I know we unfortunately provide a huge, sadly high number of the world's idiots. But I'd feel better if there were examples of multinational idiots interest of just ours in the US. I tire of the idiocy here, and just have a shed of hope that we're not the only one plagued with excessive stupid.
Public education has been actively degraded for decades in favor of private schools, as a political goal, and the results speak for themselves.
I have a book on Japan with some interesting geography. Geography that said stuff like "Tokyo is a country" and put city locations in the sea/ocean. If this were a challenge post, I'd literally post this.
I mean Ok you don't want to learn about the world, at least learn about your own country it's a disgrace
We have access to more information than any other time in human history. I feel disappointed.
I was asked if Germany was close to Europe by an a-grade student
I use to work with a person who was from Kansas City, Missouri in the USA. They grew up there. They did not know that the city is on the Missouri river. She thought it was the Mississippi river.
I mean, it didn't state on many of these where the posters were from, but I can assume many are 'cause the school system is failing/
Load More Replies... Why are people (Americans) so resolutely sure of their wrong information?
