Given national TV, 16-18 years old, and the judges' ability to pre-prep any number of impossible/unaswerable questions.......What kind of response would you come up with in 35 seconds that would somehow seem reasonable for a question that honestly couldn't be answered in a 100 page college thesis? Granted the chick pretty much blew it.... Yet..... how is she supposed to come up with a reasonable answer in 35 seconds for.... the lackluster performace of overpaid, lazy, underachieving teachers.... mis-spent local and federal taxpayers $, competion for young peoples' attention from the likes of Sponge Bob/Star Wars/Brittney/MTV/Grand Theft Auto & QVC, and the lack of parental guidence or mentors in todays' youth, (not to mention) parents' inabilty to "parent", peer pressure, media hype and the freakin I-pod....? She blew it..... yet personally as a college grad, business owner and overall above board memeber of society, I'm not sure I could come up with a reasonable/plausible/believable off-the-cuff (unprepared) answer to that question within 35 seconds on national TV..... could you?? People are so harsh (like yourslef) because they/you are not or will not ever put forth the effort, sacrifice or dedication to even atttempt to be in a postion which allows you to fail on such a grand stage. If that were you, your sister/brother, your mother or any other close relative would you be as willing to promote their humiliation? IMO, if you were asked the question in that postion you'd piss your pants, nevermind being able to articulate any sort of reasonable answer. As far as I can tell your skills are limited to "cut and paste" I feel bad for the girl...no need to promote it! It's pretty easy to judge from the cheap seats.
Not every guy will figure it out. Not every guy will get it. But that girl is beautiful in so many ways, that most will not see it. Only the "blonde" aficionados know what it is I'm saying
The judges are not expecting thesis level answer. They are just expecting her to come up with a BS story that sounds good. The question is testing her impromptu skills as well as her ability to deal with pressure. And yes, I expect her to come up with something that at least make sense. Do I feel bad for the girl? No, because she chose to be in public eyes. It is not like they picked a random girl and put them in the spot. Those girls knew they will get asked random questions. In her case, she had an idea but couldn't organize them in time. I hope you are kidding, because I think any reasonable person will be able to answer that question. (maybe not correct, but good BS answer at least) You said you are a business owner. Do you ever talk to clients? I hope your business doesn't involve speaking to customers or deal with negotiation. Because the clients will ask a lot tougher questions than that and they will expect a GREAT answer. Yes, I can cut and paste. I can also "copy and paste." No need to list my skills since I have nothing to prove. The point is... We all laugh at stupid stuff and this was one of them. And don't take it so seriously.
She was on the Today show this morning explaining what a lunar eclipse is. She sounded really well informed. So apparently she is not in hiding because of the poor answer during the pageant. This shows she is pretty strong as a person and would probably be able to laugh off this pageant thing in a few years IMHO. BT
No. Maybe, instead of giving "teachers" with questionable degrees another raise, we should put some maps in the classroom like we had when I went to school. That way college freshman might learn that the Mississippi does not end in Georgia. The actual mid-west is in Kansas, and that American is too loose a term. North America includes Canada and South America does not include Panama. Just one corollary to your excellent point. You do not need to own a map. You only need a L I B R A R Y. Finding where Chad or Iran lie is only slightly more difficult than finding Wal-Mart. E-Loan knows this. That's why they say, "people are smart."
Pageant Contestant Re-Answers Question Aug 28 12:50 PM US/Eastern View larger image http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8RA55O01&show_article=1 Caitlin: 'I'm Sitting Here Laughing at Myself' COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - This time, the question was a little easier for Miss Teen South Carolina. After being stumped by a Miss Teen USA pageant question on live television Friday night, Lauren Caitlin Upton's confused, mangled response has been drawing a lot of attention. The 18-year-old got a chance to redeem herself Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show when she was again asked why one-fifth of Americans can't locate the U.S. on a map. "I would love to re-answer that question," Upton said. "Well personally, my friends and I, we know exactly where the United States is on our map. I don't know anyone else who doesn't. And if the statistics are correct, I believe there should be more emphasis on geography." That was much better than her previous response, which included "U.S. Americans" and mentions of South Africa and "the Iraq." A YouTube video of Upton has drawn a couple million hits and thousands of comments, many of them with harsh remarks for the Lexington High School graduate who plans to attend Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. Upton was taking her flubbed answerand the attentionin stride. "Everything did come at me at once. I was overwhelmed and I made a mistake. Everybody makes a mistake. I'm human," she said Tuesday. "I seriously think I only heard about one or two words of the actual question." Upton's former principal Creig Tyler remembered her as a well-rounded student. "She took college-prep and honors courses and performed well," Tyler told The (Columbia) State newspaper. Miss Teen Colorado Hilary Carol Cruz won the crown. Upton was third runner-up.
She's a really pretty girl. "Some people don't have maps" hahaha... for those of you that tried to rationalize and say that it was a hard question, you're blinded by her looks and making excuses for her stupidity. If that were an ugly, fat girl no one would be making up for her lack of brains, everyone would be saying she needs to put the cheeseburger down and pick up a book. All she had to say was that people don't know because they haven't been properly educated due to the fact that the U.S. education system is lacking and more tax dollars should be spent on that rather than space exploration or something of a similar nature. I mean, Christ, what does Iraq have to do with that? The question was basically asking why Americans are so dumb. She could've started it off as "In MY case..." Ha.
I am not so sure about that. She's at best semi-hot - probably not the best in the contest. However, who remembers any of the others now? If it was calculated, then it was great PR, and it sure was smarter than Donald Trumps little tart last year. There is, after all, an automatic PC presumption that everybody is going to give her a mulligan on this one and not call her dumb right out there in public. It wasn't dumb, it was just authentic and cute, because she was nervous.
I don't know if the right term is hot, but I would not see her as having any physical flaws. And I think she has spun this well to her advantage. My oldest daughter want to go to ASU and it would be funny if she met her there. BT
IF she can find it!! North Carolina is NORTH! NORTH! NORTH! UP! UP! UP! UP! Just fun'n. She was under enormous pressure and a time limit. And a question that she wasn't prepped on.
And then Totally redeemed herself... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070828/ap_on_re_us/miss_teen_south_carolina Oh and I like Turtles..
I just spent the weekend with the mom of Miss Texas. I just wish it was her daughter that had screwed up. It would have been years of fun teasing her.
He shoots he scores! This was hilarious. But is anyone else beyond baffled at how 1/5th of American's cannot locate the U.S. on a map? No child left behind was such a great idea! (rolling eyes)
Oh, where do we begin.... maybe she will will wind up on America's Got Talent.... but we all know what would happen on Foxworthy's show..
I'm baffled by where this statistic came from. I can't believe 20% of the US is that dumb. Unless you count babies, and the elderly with Alzheimers. Lies, damn lies, and statistics.
The problem is that teachers are far more concerned with their salaries and free benefits than they are about teaching. I spent hours correcting my son's teacher's corrections. Spending more tax dollars on this debacle is like throwing dollars at a flat tire and expecting it to re-inflate. Professionals do not unionize. Professionals bargain based on unique qualifications and credentials. Unions foster mediocrity and protect incompetence. Some people don't have maps? A lot of people don't have maps. A lot of schools don't have maps. Why bother? Nobody teaches geography anymore. What is the headwater of the Mississippi? Where is it's delta? Where is Iraq? Where is Austria? Can you name the capitals of the States? What are the capitals of South American countries. Since PAP is famous here, what do we know about Australia? What troublesome little country lies directly north of Australia? Some of my best friends live directly above Montana. Any idea what that is? I give up. IMHO.
