I used to be surprised by such things, but now I'm not. Search for "things Americans believe" or something similar; it's not exactly the same kind of knowledge

I used to be surprised by such things, but now I'm not. Search for "things Americans believe" or something similar; it's not exactly the same kind of knowledge respresented in the article, but it gives you an idea of the range of understanding out there: * Only 38% can name all three branches of the U.S. government (executive, legislative and judicial) One-third are unable to correctly name any of the branches. [5] * Only 78% know that the first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. [5] * Only 51% know that a two-thirds majority vote by Congress is needed to overturn a presidential veto. [5] * 29% of Americans cannot name the Vice President [4] * 18% believe the Sun revolves around the Earth [1] * 37% of voters believe global warming is a hoax (in 2013) [3] * 21% of voters say a UFO crashed in Roswell, NM in 1947 and the US government covered it up [3] * Over 25% believe in Astrology [2] * 13% of voters think Barack Obama is the anti-Christ [3] * 15% of voters say the government or the media adds mind-controlling technology to TV broadcast signals [3] * 5% believe exhaust seen in the sky behind airplanes is actually chemicals sprayed by the government for sinister reasons [3] (5% seems low? Have you talked to 20 people today? Also: That's over 15 million Americans.) * 4% of voters say they believe “lizard people” control our societies by gaining political power [3] (Over 12 million Americans) ------------- [1] http://www.gallup.com/poll/3742/New-Poll-Gauges-Americans-General-Knowledge-Levels.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/3742/New-Poll-Gauges-Americans-Ge... [2] http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind04/c7/c7s2.htm http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind04/c7/c7s2.htm [3] http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/04/conspiracy-theory-poll-results-.html http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/04/conspiracy-t... [4] http://gawker.com/5783852/nearly-one-third-of-americans-dont-know-who-the-vice-president-is http://gawker.com/5783852/nearly-one-third-of-americans-dont... [5] http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/new-annenberg-survey-asks-how-well-do-americans-understand-the-constitution/ http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/new-annenberg-sur...