Miss Teen USA Contestant Answers Hard Question
Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 09:21PM Bottom Line Up Front: Why must the Teen USA pageant ask such hard questions?
Miss South Carolina Teen USA Lauren Caitlin Upton didn't take home the crown, but no doubt this magnificent answer to the panel's tough question helped her in securing the #4 spot.
Q: 1/5 of Americans cannot find the United States on a world map. Why do you think this is?
A: I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because…. some.. people out there… in our nation….. don’t have maps and I believe that our education, like such as in South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should.. uh….our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S….. er, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for our children…..
God help us all.
My 11 year old daughter had a better answer.
- 1/5 of Americans are stupid, and
- 1/5 of Americans don’t know that USA stands for United States of America and believe it is a country called "Usa".
That would explain a lot. This is the spirit of the Miss Teen USA pageant.
RELATED POST:
The Joke that is Miss Teen USA (Tara Connor)
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Amy Proctor
FYI, here’s South Carolina’s Miss Teen USA on NBC after her infamous question flub. She tried to redeem herself.
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Reader Comments (21)
I vote this entry the best post of the weekend!
"Er...uh...people in U.S...Americans...uh...don't have maps...uh..."
Hello, duh!
My God, what's wrong with this girl? I know some smart women have won pageants, but she ain't one o' 'dem!
How about "the Iraq"... why does she call it that and what does that have to do with locating United States on a map?
Morally corrupt Donald Trump owns this pageant, as well as the Miss Universe-USA contestant. They room together and share an apartment in NYC where all they seem to do is get drunk and get @$*@#&. This is a pageant bankrupt of decency, invested in the sexualization of sleezy women.
Until I watched the video, I didn't realize you were being sarcastic with that opening sentence.
God help us, indeed.
lol did she not go to school?
I believe that children are our future, teach them well and let them embarrass us and prove that we have, indeed, arrived at hell in a handbasket. Welcome to perdition. The end is here.
And i thought aussies were dumb
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I think I almost choked on my lunch when she said, "Most Americans don't have maps." I couldn't help myself, I burst out laughing. Good grief! What the heck was she trying to say? Anybody? Anybody? How on earth did Mario Lopez keep a straight face?
She is a "dumb-blond"joke waiting to happen.
You know what's scary? She is our future....*shutters*
"1/5 of Americans cannot find the United States on a world map. Why do you think this is?"
Ummm, can you repeat the question? Does this include you and the senile folk, and the babies; or are we talking about the Democrats in the Senate? I would like you to specify your source please? Are you trying to say American’s are idiots and this source gives you pleasure, cough, cough! Did this statistic come from polling of Hillary Nancy, Boxer, Byrd, Kennedy and the cast members of Saturday Night Live? Let me pose the question to you ( questioner): Do you know what two countries share a boarder with the United States of America?
Better yet, this demonstrates that 4/5 of the people polled are actually smart! Doesn’t it dufuss? We suppose you are talking about a country eh? I never heard of any country named the “United States”.
Are you talking about Citizens of the United States of America? Or are you talking about Americans? Did you know there is a South America where Americans live? Or are you just a racist and do not want to acknowledge your fellow world citizens, punk?
She could have had a great and fun time with the audience. She lost because she did not take advantage of this idiotically posed question. I do not believe the stats ether. Geography is required by the 5th grade level. This question was a set up and she should have taken the advantage and “humiliated this poor fool.”
If she did, she would have won the contest.
I thought her attempt at intelligence was hilarious. I agree with Calpatriot that the question itself was stupid and confusing.
Leticia, I had the same reaction. Some Americans don't HAVE maps.. her inflection on that word was funny.
I don't like laughing at people when they're down or hurt. This girl, however, is a social statement on the Trump Miss Teen USA. You might recall the previous scandals from this pagaent last year.
My question is; why does a Southern Belle have a SoCal "Valley Girl" accent, does she go to USC?
She did screw... but I agree, for a stupid question you get a stupid answer. Besides what were the judges expecting with such an irrevelant question like this?
You can only wonder how would the other contestants answer this question?
Would they have done any better?
Yep, I must agree with everyone, what idiot posed the question in the first place??
On the Today show, she tried to redeem herself by re-answering the question.
I'm getting all kinds of action over at my You Tube account for posting this. 150,382 peole have viewed it and 730+ have commented. It's incredible how many people have something to say about this girl. She'll never be able to live this down, such as....
"She'll never be able to live this down"
how delightfully wonderful for you!
KEvron
This is just sad. I, as a well read, well cultured, and well traveled west coast American don't personally find this pathetic episode reflective of our nation as a whole. I do, however, think that some of our southern states are in trouble!
How can anyone who watched this not be convinced that South Carolina is full of idiots. This just gives merit to all of the hillbilly, inbreeding, bible thumping, change hating, intolerant jokes about the ignorance of people whole dwell in these pockets of our country; not to mention the damage done to blonde's everywhere!
The question, may be "stupid" (irrelevant probably would have been a better choice of words, for the point you were trying to make), but it sure as hell was not confusing:
"1/5 of Americans cannot find the United States on a world map. Why do you think this is?"
PLEASE...someone break down for me (because for the life of me I can't figure it out) what is confusing about this question? Those of you that do find this question confusing are probably in that "1/5 of Americans" category!
The least of this young lady's worries now should be geography (although I actually can see how she, as a southerner would have been confused; in souther states I'm sure they cut out maps along with Darwinism...myopic views of the world seem to reign supreme there). She should spend less time bleaching her hair & teeth, and more time reading and learning how speak articulately.
I LOVE AMERICA! I'm just glad I live in the civilized/intelligent part of it!
I award you no points...and may God have mercy on your soul.
Let me start off by saying this poor girl's future will be a joke. I'm sure nervousness mixed with anxiety and yes, a little lack of intelligence contributed to her answer. Second, welcome to reality in this country. We are indeed headed for trouble and the trouble is not just in the southern states, but everywhere you go. Our youth doesn’t realize the importance of a FREE high school education, and I would have to say most of the blame is on the parents, and society. We have been surpassed by the rest of the world in common world knowledge and it is our own doing. One thing I would like to point out that might be irrelevant to most, demoralizing for others, and funny to me, is the similarity of how our President speaks during speeches and how this poor girl answered her question; see the similarities? Wake up America!
OK now its everybody elses turn to answer the question...
ur, such as...
what are the facts?? why is this so?? Lets see what will be the points?maybe no points, right Billy
USC is not in the valley... and not everyone in Southern California has a "Valley Girl" accent. Sheesh! Unless Goat is talking about the University of South Carolina, then like, oh my gosh! Totally.
yeah, she did really bomb the question, but my guess is that she totally had a brain block and wasnt sure what to say. Espically when you get a question like that, its not really like the other questions if you look back on it. So she most likely just medded up big time, and hey, those things happen, hers just happened at the worst time.