This scene, from a Turkish martial arts movie from the mid-1970s, “Karate Girl,” is considered the worst movie death scene ever. Watch it, and know that this scene cannot possibly be unseated from its throne.
The Not So Common Knowledge of the Masses
The Pew Research Center asked people four questions to determine their knowledge of current events:
- Which party controls the House of Representatives?
- What’s the current unemployment rate?
- What nation does Angela Merkel lead?
- Which presidential candidate favors taxing higher-income Americans?
Seem like pretty basic, easy questions to me. However:
- Only 14% of the general public got all four questions right. (Seriously? Those are easy questions.)
- About 17% got all four questions wrong.
- Rachel Maddow’s audience did the best: 38% got all four right.
- Readers of the New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the Economist all placed above 30%.
- MSNBC viewers did better (21%) than the audiences of Rush Limbaugh (19%), CNN (17%), and Fox News (16%). This affirms other studies I’ve heard which show that Fox News viewers tend to be ill informed (try this, this, this, this, and this for example). But note to MSNBC: 21% ain’t nothin’ to brag about.
- USA Today readers and viewers of the network evening news coming in last at 15%. That kind of surprises me. I only read USA Today when I’m traveling, so I picture USA Today readers as well-traveled folk. But maybe they just read the entertainment section.
So how did people answer the questions?
- 54% knew that Republicans controlled the House.
- 52% knew the unemployment rate was about 8%.
- 22% knew Angela Merkel led Germany.
- 66% knew that Obama was more supportive of increasing taxes on the wealthy.
And these are the people who will be–yes, ever so, uh, thoughtfully–electing our next president.
