Miss South Carolina pageant contestant’s incoherent map answer sparks media ridicule

138 Teaching Minds In this way: “T personally believe, that U.S. Americans, are unable to do so, because uh, some, people out there, in our nation don’t have maps, and uh... I believe that our education like such as in South Africa, and the Iraq, everywhere like such as... and, I believe they should uh, our education over here, in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa, and should help the Iraq and Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future, for us.” Millions of Americans upon hearing this interview, which was re- played on every television outlet, thought this response was both very funny and an indication of how stupid Miss South Carolina was. Most adults feel that they know what intelligence looks like and that they know what stupidity looks like. Everyone agreed about the absurdity of this response. It was, after all, incoherent, and this was obvious to anybody. Miss South Carolina was given another chance to answer the question on the Today Show on NBC, some days later. Here is a description of what happened from the MSNBC website: She explained Tuesday that she was so overwhelmed by the moment she barely heard any of the question. “Everything did come at me at once,” she said. “And I made a mistake—everybody makes a mistake—I’m human. Right when the question was asked of me, I was in shock... I would love to re-answer that question.” Curty [of the Today show] obliged, reading the entire question as it had been asked during the pageant. This time, Upton [Miss South Carolina] was ready. “Personally, my friends and I, we know exactly where the United States is on a map,” she said. “I don’t know anyone else who doesn’t. If the statistics are correct, I believe there should be more emphasis on geography in our education so people will learn how to read maps better.” She came back later in the show to deliver a flawless explanation of lunar eclipses. Held up on the Internet as the quintessential dumb blonde, Upton was an honor student in high school. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023884