Okay, I just had to blog this. Entitled US Youth can't find Iraq, an article from CNN reveals the...

Okay, I just had to blog this. Entitled US Youth can't find Iraq, an article from CNN reveals the fairly embarrassing truth that only 13% of Americans 18-24 could find Iraq on a world map. But, infinitely better, tucked away at the bottom of the article is the finding that 11% of Americans aged 18-24 couldn't find the United States on a world map, either. I don't think I need to emphasize that point any further, really.
Update 2002.11.23: Take the test yourself.

I've been getting yelled at a little bit for not blogging recently, and there's some good stuff at the moment, so here you go:

  • Thank god we live in a democracy. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to charge £12 a ticket for a public autopsy, and that would be a tragedy. According to the article, "About 500 people [will attend] the public autopsy, which is to be shown on giant screens inside an art gallery. The organs are to be passed around the audience in trays." Charming.
  • Want a home that stands out? How about an airplane home? Yes, you too can live in an actual Boeing 727 stuck onto a bloody great pole. It's hurricane-proof! And if that doesn't interest you, what about a missile silo?
  • This guy is cool, although he takes blogging too seriously.
  • Ikea makes the best ads
  • I really shouldn't even be playing the Sims again, far less cheating. Get unlimited cash! Woohoo! Oh damn, was that my deadline?
  • Is it art, or is it just sexism?
  • The golden age of antibiotics is drawing to a close. Hope you're all ready to start dying of papercuts again.
  • Hone your browsing skills on the realistic web simulator, even if they are morons and confuse the Internet and the Web. It's this kind of thing that has people thinking my third year project is insane, rather than merely ambitious. I'm updating the web, people, not replacing TCP/IP!
  • Spin on this is very amusing as a UK-focussed version of the ever-popular Onion
  • Amazing pictures of the sun.
  • Joel on Software talks about the law of leaky abstractions, a great example of why inventing a web language that is only practically usable by machines is a bad idea (or in other words, yet another good reason to use Web2).
  • All hail Randy Bender! I'm embarrassed that this amused me.
  • A list of every music video Madonna has ever made. In case you missed any, download them now.
  • Some people are just intrinsically interesting. And he's met Madonna!
  • I feel an obsession coming on. God knows why I keep watching Smallville. The acting is awful and the plots are laughable, with plot-holes you could fly a plane through. I suppose there's my well-documented fascination with super-powers, and I suppose there are a few cute people scattered around, and the soundtrack is incongruously excellent. Or of course, it could just be the massive levels of sexual tension between Clark and Lex. In fact, I'm gonna watch an episode right now over dinner, and blog the other half of this backlog tomorrow, so look out for it.