Americans Show What They Don’t Know About WWII
If you need me, I’ll be drowning my sorrows in a giant bottle of whiskey
I always found Jay Leno’s “Jay Walking” segment depressing. He would wander around Los Angeles, conducting man on the street interviews with passers by, most of whom showed complete ignorance about very basic American history questions. I never found it humorous, I found it disheartening, but also context for why things are the way they are.
This video is no different. Who fought in World War II? Who was Hitler?
¯_(ツ)_/¯
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Thanks to the Colleges of Education, schools purpose is now indoctrination rather than education. Orwell’s Winston Smith spent his time in the Ministry of Truth re-writing history so nobody would know the truth.
The left needs government controlled schools to maintain this level(depth) of ignorance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrXaQu_qGeo
Published on Apr 16, 2013
With its famous opening scene at a Harvard graduation, this classic of education research brings into sharp focus the dilemma facing all educators: Why don’t even the brightest students truly grasp basic science concepts? This award-winning program traces the problem through interviews with Harvard graduates and their professors, as well as with a bright ninth-grader who has some confused ideas about the orbits of the planets. Equally useful for education methods classes, teacher workshops, and presentations to the public, A Private Universe is an essential resource for science and methodology teachers.
Look on the bright side, Kemberlee.
They could all name all of the Kardashians, and who Miley Cyrus is dating.
“Kardashians” “Miley Cyrus”
Who?
WWII Triva:
A US Navy submarine is officially credited with destroying an allied submarine.
A US Navy destroyer served in the Japanese Navy.
A Royal Navy submarine accomplished the only recorded kill of an enemy submarine while both boats were submerged.
A Kriegsmarine (German Navy) commerce raider was a sailboat.
The Battle of Surigao Strait is noted for three “lasts” in naval combat.
Unless somebody beats me to it, I’ll post the answers (with links) later this afternoon.
And now, the answers:
* A US Navy submarine is officially credited with destroying an allied submarine.
On 8 July 1945 Royal Netherlands Navy submarine O-19 ran aground on Ladd Reef in the South China Sea. With the tide going out, the crew was unable to pull off. They were rescued by USS Cod (SS-224), which then destroyed O-19 by gunfire.
http://www.usscod.org/info.html
http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cod.html
http://legacy.wkyc.com/story/news/local/cuyahoga-county/2015/07/11/uss-cod-commemorates-70th-anniversary-of-rescue-mission/30007365/
* A US Navy destroyer served in the Japanese Navy.
USS Stewart (DD-224) was damaged in combat on the night of 19-20 February 1942 while serving in the southwest Pacific. She was drydocked at Surabaya, but fell off the keel blocks when the dock was flooded, causing further damage. Demolition charges were detonated and she was abandoned in place when the port was evacuated on 2 March. She was subsequently hit by at least one Japanese bomb. When the Japanese captured Surabaya, they raised and repaired Stewart, and commissioned her in the Japanese Navy as Patrol Boat No. 102. She was recaptured by American forces in August 1945.
http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/stewart-ii.html
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/224.htm
* A Royal Navy submarine accomplished the only recorded kill of an enemy submarine while both boats were submerged.
On 9 February 1945, HMS Venturer detected U-864 off Bergen, Norway as the German submarine was returning to base to repair a malfunctioning engine. After tracking U-864 for over three hours while both boats were submerged, Venturer fired four torpedoes, hitting and sinking U-864 with the fourth. Coincidentally, after the war, Venturer was sold to Norway and commissioned as Utstein. The wreck of U-864 was found by the Royal Norwegian Navy in 2003.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Venturer_(P68)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-864
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_9_February_1945
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwari1/p/venturer864.htm
http://www.thefinertimes.com/WW-II-Sea/the-sinking-of-a-submarine-u-864.html
* A Kriegsmarine (German Navy) commerce raider was a sailboat. [Note: Error on my part; this was a World War I incident]
In 1916-1917, 3-masted windjammer SMS Seeadler operated as a commerce raider for the German Navy in both the Atlantic and Pacific, finally being wrecked on a reef off the French Polynesia island of Mopelia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Seeadler_(1888)
* The Battle of Surigao Strait is noted for three “lasts” in naval combat.
In October 1944, as part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, two Japanese task forces attempted to pass through Surigao Strait in the Phillippines to attack the American invasion force. They were blocked and destroyed by a task force under the command of Admiral Jesse Oldendorf. The two Japanese forces consisted of two battleships, three heavy cruisers, one light cruiser and eight destroyers. Oldendorf’s forces included six battleships (five of which had been sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor), four each heavy and light cruisers, 28 destroyers and 39 PT boats.
The “lasts”:
– This was the last time that battleships fired on each other in anger
– This was the last fleet action that did not include the use of aircraft
– This was the last naval battle that utilized the classic “crossing the T” maneuver
http://combinedfleet.com/battles/Leyte_Campaign#Surigao_Strait
http://www.angelfire.com/fm/odyssey/LEYTE_GULF_Surigao_Strait_.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf#Battle_of_Surigao_Strait_.2825_October.29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_T
Youth is a time of ignorance, not that the youth are aware of that. They know it all, just ask them.
Those young adults in the video don’t have an excuse, though. Those questions are so easy.
I just visited the beaches of Normandy and the American Cemetery with my lovely bride in March.
We can’t ever forget the price of our freedom for the sake of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedom.
Battle of Suriago Straits in Phillipines , I m pretty sure was the last Duel of battleships.
Yep, among other things.
Oh, I screwed up: the trivia about the German commerce raider refers to a World War I situation, not WWII. In any case, I’ll post the details later.
Probably the last time the Imperial Navy put to sea.
Nope. See “Battle of the Atlantic”, “Channel Dash” and “Operation Rheinubung”, among others.
Rusty: Nope, those were 3rd Reich Kriegsmarine operations of WWII not of the Imperial Navy.
Good sources of the end of WWII in the Pacific were histories written by Richard Frank and by D. M. Giangreco on Operation Downfall, outlining preparations for the expected invasion of Japan and the expected costs, both in blood and treasure.
However, personally not too much into how WWI ended, except some knowledge about the disaster created by Wilson’s demands upon that final peace treaty in 1919.
Last use of PT boats in combat?
Shoot, and there weren’t even any math questions.
But this is hardly a reasonable test. If some obnoxious putz like that interviewer waylaid me in the street, I wouldn’t tell her a thing, whether I knew the answer or not; I’d be too busy looking for an escape route.
https://youtu.be/4V4bmm6yJMw
That’s a much better demonstration of the same problem, as it deals MUCH less frenetically with kids who came from what most people would call “very good” schools.
It’s been featured here at LI before, but it bears watching annually, I think.
Over the years, History became Social Studies became Global Studies and now they don’t really study anything. They can tell you that Islam is the religion of peace but can’t tell you why people compare the Iran Nuke deal with Munich, or what happens when “good men do nothing.”
Back in the 60’s students even got a dose of Texas history along with world history. World history was mostly European history and I’d never been to Waterloo, but I had experienced the quiet reverence inside the Alamo and had seen the vastness of the Llano Estacado. Texas, ya gotta love it.
The left has been in charge of public education for a couple of generations now. There should be no surprise.
The moment I heard the interviewer ask “what were the two teams?” I realized that the only thing dumber than the responses was the person asking the questions.
“Teams”?! What, are we talking about a soccer match?
Me, I need a bottle of vodka. Happy VE Day/Victory Day, everyone!
Those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it. Mr. Hitler, call your office.
I’ve been following The Great War on you tube and have decided Vietnam was a walk in the park compared to WWI. The series the war week by week with some special episodes. It is here.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUcyEsEjhPEDf69RRVhRh4A
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast has a fantastic series of episodes on WWI. 6 episodes lasting about 24 hours total. Well worth your time.
To be fair, both Leno and these guys the most “doltish” answers. They rearely show a correct one. I doubt it is as bad as they would have us think.