Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

So, I was playing Fifth Grader on Facebook, and the following question came up.:

In what month do we celebrate Independence Day?

Well, I thought it was a "gimme". Let me say off the top that I am not American. Still, I think that when the greatest superpower in our lifetime, perhaps of all time, celebrates their birthday every year for over 250 years now, people would notice--wouldn't ya think? I mean, c'mon--the question didn't even ask for the exact date. And it provided four possible answers! Ai carumba.

Judging by the names of the people I was playing against (good, Christian names), and other factors, I have to assume that most of the players were American. Would you be surprised if I told you that five out of the ten contestants got the question wrong? You are NOT smarter than a fifth grader.


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Brilliant CSI's? I think not.

What's up with every location in every episode of CSI taking place in the dark? The CSI geniuses are smart enough to find a kidnapped person from a single clue of a wasp larva burnt to a crisp found in the wheel well of an abandoned car, but they're not smart enough to turn on the lights in their lab to examine evidence? The biggest item in the crime unit's budget must be for flashlight batteries. Gimme a break.

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Another Ivy leaguer, this one from Cornell, was on the show. The previous three all flunked out.

The $50,000 question was: Which Great Lake does Pennsylvania border? The contestant said "I didn't even know Pennsylvania bordered a Great Lake". The first thing that entered my own mind was "Hmm, there must be a good reason they named it Erie, Pennsylvania."

He took a wild guess since it was "free"--that is, if he answered incorrectly, he wouldn't lose any money. He guessed "Erie". None of the classmates said "Erie".

I don't have a degree from anywhere, let alone an Ivy League school, and I'm not even an American but the answer came to me in a flash.

He knew enough to quit when he heard a question he did not know the answer to and "dropped out".

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The next contestant clearly wasn't as smart. When faced with the $5,000 question "If you were in Mexico City and walked due west, which is the first ocean you'd run into?" He had no idea, and therefore chose to "peek" at his classmate's answer. It correctly was "Pacific" and he agreed.

How could anyone not know that walking west from any point in North America would have you arrive at the Pacific Ocean? This character actually said "I've never been to Mexico City and that's what's giving me pause". I guess this man in his 40's still hasn't grasped that whole "directions" concept.

Needless to say, he wasn't smarter than a fifth grader.