30%

August 10, 2006 7:07 AM

[newsfilter] 30% of Americans don't know the year of the 9/11 attack. Fortunately 95% do know the month and day.
posted by delmoi (27 comments total)

This memory black hole is essentially the problem of the older crowd - 48 per cent of those who did not know were between the ages of 55 and 64, and 47 per cent were older than 65, the poll shows.

Oh. It's old people.

Big deal.
posted by interrobang at 7:11 AM on August 10, 2006

What time is Matlock on?
posted by psmealey at 7:12 AM on August 10, 2006

What interrobang said. If you're going for the "stupid American" angle, at least come up with something better than, "old people don't remember dates well."
posted by SeizeTheDay at 7:13 AM on August 10, 2006

I can't find the Washington Post article referred to in The Australian piece in the FPP-- anyone know where the original is?
posted by blahblahblah at 7:16 AM on August 10, 2006

NEWSFILTER: 30% of Americans do not know who's buried in Grant's Tomb.
posted by piratebowling at 7:17 AM on August 10, 2006

I can't find the Washington Post article referred to in The Australian piece in the FPP-- anyone know where the original is?

They may not have published an actual story about it yet.
posted by delmoi at 7:18 AM on August 10, 2006

A co-worker and I went through this this other day. He thought it was 2000. I've always hated calling it 9 11, to close to 9 1 1. September 11 is better.
posted by tomplus2 at 7:19 AM on August 10, 2006

I think part of this is caused by the use of the phrase "nine eleven" in media and in conversation. We rarely refer to "the attacks on the world trade center and pentagon on september eleventh, 2001" instead of the short, sound-bitey, easy-to-make-a-news-channel-graphic-out-of "9/11". I suspect many people may soon forget that the pentagon was also hit, because the photos and video of the world trade center attacks were shown so much more frequently than the pentagon attack.
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:22 AM on August 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

Perhaps they need some help (via).
posted by peacay at 7:26 AM on August 10, 2006

This means 1.5% of Americans under 55 can't exactly recall the year. Big whoop. With a margin of error of how big?
posted by yeti at 7:31 AM on August 10, 2006

Oh it's right at the bottom. 3%

Newsfilter: 101.5% of Americans under 55 remember the year of 9/11.
posted by yeti at 7:33 AM on August 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

What year was the War of 1812?

Between 1812 and 1814. Well, unless you count President Madison's ratification of the Treaty of Ghent as the true end date, instead of the date that the diplomats agreed to it, in which case it didn't end until 1815.
posted by Plutor at 7:37 AM on August 10, 2006

Y'know those old jokes about Ukranians and Polish people being dumb as rocks? Time to update the jokes books...
posted by five fresh fish at 7:45 AM on August 10, 2006

I blame the the Port Authority of NY & NJ for confusing the American public.
posted by horsewithnoname at 7:56 AM on August 10, 2006

Cookiebastard has also forgotten Pennsylvania.
posted by Joe Invisible at 8:05 AM on August 10, 2006

Fortunately 95% do know the month and day.
Sure...November ninth, right?
posted by uosuaq at 8:09 AM on August 10, 2006

I'm still puzzling over these numbers. 98.5% under 55 remember the year correctly, while 95% over 55 do NOT remember the year correctly.

This data seems too extreme.
posted by yeti at 8:11 AM on August 10, 2006

How long did the Hundred Years War last? (it's a trap!)

You'd be surprised at where you see errors related to 9/11...
posted by clevershark at 8:18 AM on August 10, 2006

[Newsfilter] 5% of Metafilter readers wonder if this post has any point other than the usual "Amerikkans r dumb" stuff.
posted by dsquid at 8:20 AM on August 10, 2006

Yes, remember this when you see a public opinon poll in the future, let alone cite one to support your POV.
posted by Heminator at 8:22 AM on August 10, 2006

This discussion will go nowhere until we find out how many of the 'don't remember' group are Christians.
posted by rocket88 at 8:28 AM on August 10, 2006

Bah! My last comment made no sense. That 98.5% [the 70% without the 95% of the 30% who are too old to know better] include old people who do know better. Even that's inaccurate without knowing how many under 55 got the answer correct.

I should have taken statistics.
posted by yeti at 8:35 AM on August 10, 2006

George Herbert Walker Bush: "November seventh, a day that will live in infamy . . ."
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:37 AM on August 10, 2006

My sister guessed 2002.

But, she correctly identified "Gone Daddy Gone" on the Gnarls Barkley album as a cover, so...she's not completely dense.
posted by ColdChef at 8:38 AM on August 10, 2006

How is that cover, by the way? I've been curious. Should Gordon Gano be worried?
posted by blucevalo at 8:40 AM on August 10, 2006

Some may call them old people, but George W. Bush calls them his base.
posted by Operation Afterglow at 8:40 AM on August 10, 2006

Momma always said life was like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes. No wonder the old folks always get their dates mixed up.
posted by Potsy at 9:02 AM on August 10, 2006