Are you smarter than Miss America?

September 27, 2001 2:42 PM

Are you smarter than Miss America? She got 6 out of 8 right. How'd you do?
posted by me3dia (75 comments total)

I got 7, and only because I misread question 5 as pertaining to only ex-presidents. Should I go start getting fitted for the evening gown competition?
posted by zempf at 2:47 PM on September 27, 2001

There's only one living President. The others are ex-Presidents. Flawed question drafting.
posted by mikewas at 2:49 PM on September 27, 2001

Congratulations. You are smarter than all five Miss America Finalists, including Miss America herself.

Well that's a load off.
posted by skallas at 2:52 PM on September 27, 2001

I got 6, but I can never be Miss America--I'm Canadian. Never mind me being a guy.
posted by ashbury at 2:52 PM on September 27, 2001

8/8
Anyone who wasn't sleeping in Civics class should ace this.
posted by Umpqua at 2:52 PM on September 27, 2001

Son of a Sea Biscuit. I was also stymied by the wording of the living Presidents question. Baskets! I am as smart as Ms. Washington D.C.
posted by Stretch at 2:53 PM on September 27, 2001

Well, I got 5, so there. My excuse? I'm not American.
posted by chrismear at 2:55 PM on September 27, 2001

3 - screw IQ tests, at last we've found a reliable test for intelligence, suppose I shoul really morally quit mensa now..

Ain't that more a US History test than anything else?
posted by Mossy at 3:01 PM on September 27, 2001

i got a 7, only because of that diabetes question. who knew mary tylor moore had diabetes? i thought it was carol burnett (actually i guessed).
posted by moz at 3:06 PM on September 27, 2001

I got seven -- I actually blew the question about the Declaration of Independence. :P I started humming the Schoolhouse Rock rendition of "We the people..." and had mentally attached *that* to the Dec. of Independence...
posted by metrocake at 3:06 PM on September 27, 2001

7/8 and I'm a Scot... Where's my tiara?

Wonder how she'd do on a Scottish version? Also, if the page is trying to say 'Miss America is smarter than you think', then so what? I reckon that anyone who assumes that all beauty queens are stupid has already demonstrated their own ignorance.
posted by jiroczech at 3:07 PM on September 27, 2001

Umpqua:

You learned about Mary Tyler Moore in Civics class? Man, I'm getting old.
posted by electro at 3:09 PM on September 27, 2001

I can't believe I forget Carter. Ok, well maybe I can.
posted by electro at 3:09 PM on September 27, 2001

Wow. I got 8, but I'm ugly as sin. I can see how the presidential question was tricky, and I just guessed on the Mary Tyler Moore question (who cares?).

But some of those questions . . . I don't want anyone representing my country in anything if they didn't recognize the beginning of the Declaration of Independence.

It's kind of like the driver's test. I don't mind sharing the road with someone who doesn't know the stopping distance of a car on wet pavement, but I don't want someone who doesn't know what a stop sign is to have a license.
posted by kcmoryan at 3:09 PM on September 27, 2001

7. Damn that Mary Tyler Moore. Damn her.

(Actually, I skipped it, meaning to go back and guess, but forgot.)
posted by arco at 3:09 PM on September 27, 2001

I got 8/8...but I guessed on Mary Tyler Moore.

mikewas: I think it goes, once a president, always a president. When referring to Jimmy Carter, for example, it is formally correct to say President Jimmy Carter, not former- or ex-president.
posted by mapalm at 3:11 PM on September 27, 2001

I'd like to know which questions Miss America got wrong.

I think the question about presidents is perfectly fair. Technically, it need not be stated that a former president is an ex-president. If the term of address is retained, why not the term of reference.
posted by rschram at 3:11 PM on September 27, 2001

Anyone who wasn't sleeping in Civics class should ace this.

I stayed awake in Civics (because the Civics teacher was a redneck football coach who would have smacked you if you had fallen asleep), and I don't recall us ever covering appearances by Emmy-winning actresses that would take place 26 years in the future.

That said, I got 7/8, missing only the Mary Tyler Moore question.
posted by chuq at 3:12 PM on September 27, 2001

"Son of a Sea Biscuit!"?! (Stretch's post) hehe! sorry, that just cracks me up. Nice phrase. :-)
posted by jiroczech at 3:13 PM on September 27, 2001

I got 7/8, but I have posed nude, so my future is doomed to be filled with making bad movies and bubble gum R&B.
posted by machaus at 3:14 PM on September 27, 2001

8/8!

"I am so smart!
I am so smart!
S M R T!
I mean, S M A T!"
posted by mathowie at 3:16 PM on September 27, 2001

my girlfriend started watching the pageant maybe 2/3 of the way through...she said to me 'you can't make fun of these girls, they're probably all smarter than you'....i sort of snickered...and then when the first question came up, about the statue of libery, and either 2 or 3 out of 5 got that question wrong, i was just howling with laughter.
posted by chacal at 3:26 PM on September 27, 2001

Anyone who wasn't sleeping in Civics class should ace this.

Um yes. Mary Tyler Moore and her crusade for stem cell research was a major focus of my civics class.

I was sleeping when I took this. (So sue me if I made a 4).
posted by glenwood at 3:28 PM on September 27, 2001

godDAMNIT. damn that mary tyler moore, and that one president i didn't remember. carter, reagan, bush, clinton, bush. who is the last one? damnIT.

oh well, 6 out of 8 ain't bad.
posted by sugarfish at 3:31 PM on September 27, 2001

I got 6, but I'm a brit.

I wonder if I could be miss america

...and I'd like to thank Jesus and my family and metafilter.
posted by agoldfish at 3:35 PM on September 27, 2001

8/8.

I am so smart. S-M-R-T
posted by corpse at 3:36 PM on September 27, 2001

7 out of 8. I got the "When in the course of human events..."?" question wrong. I only know the constitution starts with "We the people . . ." And as always, I guessed wrong when given a 50/50 chance.
posted by tamim at 3:36 PM on September 27, 2001

who is the last one? damnIT

Ford. Who knew?

I got taken in by the Betty White reference at the top, so only 7/8 for me. (Thought I was beating the system.)
posted by gleuschk at 3:39 PM on September 27, 2001

I am so smart. S-M-R-T.

*sigh*

That should be: "I is so smart."
posted by arco at 3:48 PM on September 27, 2001

8/8 Declaration of Independence.
posted by bjgeiger at 3:49 PM on September 27, 2001

The quiz suggested, i take Miss Oregon out for dinner.
posted by Zool at 3:54 PM on September 27, 2001

I guess I didn't learn about MTM in civics class - but I watch way too much TV - that's how I knew that one. My apologies if I offended anyone who paid attention (or didn't pay attention) in civics class.
posted by Umpqua at 3:55 PM on September 27, 2001

I was on acid in civics class, I guess thats why I only got 5 right. STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! *smacking closed fist into forehead*
posted by Jeremy at 3:57 PM on September 27, 2001

I got 6, and I used commonsense or guessed each one. The only one I knew was that France gave the Statue of Liberty to the US.
posted by wackybrit at 4:04 PM on September 27, 2001

7 out of 8. Guessed on MTM. Stupid me didn't remember that W was alive as well.

*pointedly avoiding the bad joke that should follow*
posted by KoPi_42 at 4:12 PM on September 27, 2001

Eight, baby! Woo-hoo! I even beat a Canadian!
posted by Mo Nickels at 4:13 PM on September 27, 2001

8 outta 8 -- wooHOO!! In yer face, Phyllis George!
posted by RavinDave at 4:27 PM on September 27, 2001

I got seven right. The diabetes question was my downfall.

Hey, this is unrelated, but does anyone else think the new Miss America kinda looks like Jenna Elfman?
posted by mrbula at 4:28 PM on September 27, 2001

I, like so many others, didn't consider our current Prez in that Presidents question. 7 out of 8....shall I run some victory laps because I've watched TVLand enough to know MTM was diabetic?
posted by Oriole Adams at 4:30 PM on September 27, 2001

Mary Tyler Moore's testimony before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
posted by varmint at 4:31 PM on September 27, 2001

i got 6. not bad for a canuk.
posted by jedwin at 4:40 PM on September 27, 2001

Side note; Homer says S-M-R-T and then he corrects himself by saying it correctly while the house burns around him.

I'm compensating for my 6/8 score by being a know-it-all.
posted by jragon at 4:49 PM on September 27, 2001

I got 7/8...missed the presidents thing because I misread it as ex-presidents (put down 5 instead of 6) and the only way I knew the MTM bit is because I have diabetic family members and was quite interested in the hearings on research.
posted by Electric Elf at 5:06 PM on September 27, 2001

hincandenza, I agree with you (and Slate), but most journalists keep using the people's old titles.

In a distantly-related note, Larry King kept calling John Ashcroft "General" the other night. Hmmm...was Mr. Ashcroft in the military, or is Larry King clueless?

Oh, and I got 6 of 8, missing the same two everyone else did.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:12 PM on September 27, 2001

8/8 - and as to the Ashcroft question, are you sure that Larry King wasn't saying "attorney general?" (Which is still weird, but not nearly as weird as "general.")
posted by Dreama at 5:26 PM on September 27, 2001

I got 'em all. And if I got 'em, they're pretty damn easy.
posted by dogwelder at 5:27 PM on September 27, 2001

7/8, only because of the Betty White trick question.

Any American who scores less than Miss Oregon (6/8) really should read up a little.
posted by Loudmax at 5:38 PM on September 27, 2001

Dreama, he said just "General" at least three times.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:47 PM on September 27, 2001

7/8, i too got the presidents one wrong. guessed on mary tyler moore, who the hell is she?
posted by adampsyche at 5:54 PM on September 27, 2001

i got all 8 right. woot! i should be miss, excuse me, mrs. america.

i always thought of doing a math proof as my talent demo when i competed in a beauty pageant. i bet it would be more entertaining that watching one woman after another sing some swelling aria.
posted by meep at 6:11 PM on September 27, 2001

8 for 8. of course, i would be disqualified for an inability to walk in heels while wearing a swimsuit.
posted by shinyj at 6:33 PM on September 27, 2001

Well, I got three right, but I think that's okay because I'm not an American. I got two right by guessing, and the only one I knew for sure was who gave the US the Statue of Liberty. I don't know why I know that.

However, if I was an American, I would hope that I would get at least 7/8, because I'm sure I would have guessed the diabetes question wrong again anyway.
posted by animoller at 6:48 PM on September 27, 2001

Referring to a(n) (anything) General (that is, Attorney, Surgeon, Auditor..) as simply "General" is something I've heard of before.

As an example, I had a co-worker who had previously worked for (then) Attorney General Preate in Pennsylvania. The standard greeting for Mr. Preate by all employees was "Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, General."
posted by mattee at 7:16 PM on September 27, 2001

7 out of 8? "But that's unpossible!"
posted by lotsofno at 7:24 PM on September 27, 2001

Hmm, speaking of quizzes, Generals and such....here's a good bar stumper, name the SEVEN uniformed services of the United States....hell, I'll even give you five (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard). No arguing over the Navy and Marine Corps being the same one, regardless of how you count it there are still two more. Name 'em.
posted by m@ at 7:36 PM on September 27, 2001

Bravo, Hal, you're now smarter than Miss America and most of the members of the American Legion.

Prize? Umm, yeah. A trip to Atlantic City and an autographed photo of Bert Parks.
posted by m@ at 7:46 PM on September 27, 2001

Is it just me, or do the contestants in say the Miss Hawaiian Tropic look so much better than Miss America? Or maybe my media-saturated brain automatically equates bikini=good?
posted by owillis at 7:51 PM on September 27, 2001

8 out of 8, But I completely guessed on two of them...I am gonna go shave my legs now, and see how I look.
posted by bradth27 at 8:59 PM on September 27, 2001

I got 8 for 8...nanny, nanny, poo-poo!

Extra credit and my eternal respect to the first on to answer this simple question correctly: How do you pluralize attorney general?
posted by msacheson at 8:59 PM on September 27, 2001

attorneys general or attorney generals
Refer Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
posted by bjgeiger at 9:07 PM on September 27, 2001

bjgeiger, I've always heard "attorneys general" and thought it sounded funny but must be correct.
posted by msacheson at 9:29 PM on September 27, 2001

8/8 and I didn't guess on any of them. Though I can't for the life of me figure out how, I actually knew that MTM spoke to congress about stem cell research.

The seven uniformed services though, that was a stumper. I'd have guess NASA rather than NOAA.
posted by aladfar at 9:34 PM on September 27, 2001

Hey, I got 7/8, and I guessed on at least three.
Who says Miss America can't be lucky also?
More important in my book than nice hooters...
posted by a_green_man at 9:55 PM on September 27, 2001

What about the ATF (Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms)? Are they uniformed?

P.S. 6/8
posted by philfromhavelock at 9:59 PM on September 27, 2001

8/8 ^_^
posted by Satapher at 10:02 PM on September 27, 2001

6/8. I'm not American.
posted by Wet Wednesday at 10:31 PM on September 27, 2001

bjgeiger, I've always heard "attorneys general" and thought it sounded funny but must be correct.

It's correct newspaper style. I forget the other weird plurals, except for passers-by and mothers-in-law.
posted by rcade at 5:31 AM on September 28, 2001

I got 8. I liked Civics and history class.
posted by Budge at 7:55 AM on September 28, 2001

2/8. I wonder how Americans would do in a similar quiz with a British slant. Probably better than 2/8!

(I'm trying to think how many Prime Ministers are currently alive. I make it 5. Anybody disagree?)
posted by salmacis at 8:40 AM on September 28, 2001

5/8....at least I can to count to 10, well 8.
posted by Voyageman at 1:53 PM on September 28, 2001

7/8 here. Goddam stem cells.
posted by ed at 4:27 PM on September 28, 2001