<p>My parents didn’t go to HS so no help there.</p>
<p>The only book from the Jaywalking session I read was Tale of Two Cities, but I knew the answer to them all. I always believed the Jaywalking segments because every day I see idiots around me. But the Harvard English grad? Tell me this isn’t so …</p>
<p>My theory is that people are ignorant today because they’ve never even heard of Shinola.</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay, there is always someone graduating at the very bottom of the class :)</p>
<p>Wait! I don’t want to get flamed. I’m not saying that people who don’t know the answer to these things are necessarily idiots. In fact, I’m saying that, unfortunately, lots of reasonably successful people wouldn’t know the answer to these questions. But the Harvard English grad? That’s got to be a lie or totally inexcusable. I wouldn’t allow myself to look that dumb for 15 minutes of fame and hate to think a Harvard grad would. </p>
<p>Anyway, I find lots of other ways to embarass myself all the time – they’re just not national televised. :)</p>
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<p>Well, I agree with you about that. But this is not about a generation gap. On most of these segments that I saw, there was a pretty good mix of ages. It’s not about making fun of young people. </p>
<p>There was a woman my age on one of them who said that Betsy Ross was “the lady who sewed a quilt in the back of the bus during the civil rights movement.” Her young daughter was mortified.</p>
<p>Hunt - I don’t know Shinola either, but I know s… from Shinola. Does that count?</p>
<p>Folks - people who know the answers aren’t funny. Jaywalking is not the late night equivalent of Jeopardy. Jay Leno is not Alex Trebec.</p>
<p>They edit through to find the funny ones - i.e the one’s with stupid answers.</p>
<p>Several points:</p>
<p>Remember that, by definition, half of the people are of above average intelligence and half are of below average intelligence. There are a lot of people out there who look perfectly normal, have good jobs and wear stylish clothes who really aren’t very smart IQ-wise. </p>
<p>Also, some people don’t read…ever…I remember talking to someone who admitted that he had never read a book. This was not a mentally challenged person. This was just a guy who had never seen the need or had the desire to pick up a book, open it, and read it.</p>
<p>Finally, back in the day, there were few choices on TV…three networks and maybe one independent station. If it was 5:30 pm CST and the TV was on, you were watching the news. With so few choices, we had a lot of common experiences. If Wizard of Oz was on TV, there was a good chance that everyone you knew had watched it. Now, if you only want to watch sports on TV, or cooking or televangelists, or shopping, you can do that.</p>
<p>…ALSO most of the wrong answers are FAKED.</p>
<p>I feel much better about myself now that you’ve posted the questions Nrdsb4, I did know the answers. Shew! </p>
<p>Funny thing about not knowing about SNL references. My husband and I lived in upstate NY from 1978 - 1982 without a tv so missed lots of good SNL. Who knew that we were missing a crucial part of our culture?? I’ve had to do a lot of studying to get up to speed on that.</p>
<p>That’s my husband’s theory. He may be right but I’m not sure.</p>
<p>When school started at the end of the summer of '69, most of my 6th grade classmates were not aware that we had put a man on the moon. I know, they were only 6th graders, but at my house, we were glued to the TV - I don’t know how a person could have avoided the moon landing. But yet, the majority of the families of those 6th graders did not find it important to make sure their kids were watching. Maybe the 50-somethings on Jay Walking are my old classmates!</p>
<p>kathiep - Make sure you catch up on the Monty Python and the Holy Grail lingo too. When you go to the garden store, you need to understand why people are joking about wanting a shrubbery - not too large or expensive. Oh, and the Rocky Horror lingo too.</p>
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Only if you at least know what Shinola is, or, rather, was. (If you’ve seen “The Jerk,” you might know.)</p>
<p>^^LOL:</p>
<p>[Doesn’t</a> know s**t from Shinola](<a href=“http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/114000.html]Doesn’t”>The saying 'Doesn't know ■■■■ from Shinola' - meaning and origin.)</p>
<p>If the supposed Harvard grad was telling the truth about herself…then she’s a very attractive, tall, provocatively dressed young woman who moved to LA shortly after graduation.</p>
<p>She might be very interested in making it to air on the Jay Leno show where lots of people can see her…including people who won’t give a damn about her knowledge of literature, but who are on the lookout for charisma, beauty, camera-friendliness, etc.</p>
<p>If that’s the case, she looks pretty damn smart in that segment.</p>
<p>As for the classic literature, I am familiar with all of the ones Jay mentioned, and have read most of them on my own. We didn’t read a lot of them when I was in school which always annoyed my Mom. She attended HS in the late 40’s/early 50’s and they apparently read a lot of classics.</p>
<p>D read very few in HS language arts, but when they did read them she seemed to be the only one who enjoyed them. Maybe that’s why she’s an english major.</p>
<p>Hanna, I’m never going to make it in Hollywood. :(</p>
<p>The works of Charles Dickens are widely read as part of high school curriculum at least in NY-my daughters both read A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations and either David Copperfield or Bleak House in honors English and AP Literature in high school.</p>
<p>My D lived at the public library as a child (and still does as an adult). Once when we were heading out for our weekly library trek our neighbor and D’s friend (also 8) asked where we were going. My D excitedly said we were going to the library and she should ask her mom if she could go with us. The girl said her mom wouldn’t let her go because a “library card costs too much money”. This mom was a nurse. And the dad was a construction contractor. These were not immigrants. I would tend to believe if these people were on JayWalking they would look like buffoons.</p>
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<p>Sadly, they don’t seem to be part of the curriculum where I am. ( I love Tale of Two Cities, which I read on my own).</p>