Comments on: Miss S.C. Teen USA's Geography Pop Quiz.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:38:42 +0000

omg shes like my idol!!

We're doomed. Dooooooomed!

By: omgirl

omgirl — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:30:47 +0000

omg shes like my idol!!

By: Ã¶zi

Ã¶zi — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:05:45 +0000

hi justin!

thanks for the research. the german wikipedia states that the dry valleys are in fact drier than atacama and sahara. i tried to find some more english info on that, but couldn't.
i actually heard about the dry valleys from stephen fry's show "quite interesting", where they talk exactly about this question. i think it was episode one, maybe someone else here remembers that.
anyways, i totally agree with you that i wouldn't want to spend my vacation in either one of them - then again, atacama has these funny intriguing lines and drawings...

By: Justin

Justin — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:00:10 +0000

Oh no I got the Canary Island question wrong! Coming from People Magazine those were pretty tough questions. A few I had to guess between 2 options (indonesia one, and the south africa one because there are a couple of countries inside it)

I'm betting they did that on purpose so we would have to go through the agony of listening to her correct us.

I did find the part where she laughed and smiled at the end of each segment kind of funny. Also did anyone notice when she almost tripped over archepalegic (however it's spelled).

As for the first question did some research into the first question Ozi, and according to Wikipedia (I know not the best source but I'm not going to put that much effort into this!). Anyways according to wikipedia, the Atacama desert is the driest place on earth. dry valley is described as ONE of the most extreme deserts. You can't just look at precipitation as a method of determining dryness, you must also look at water coming into the area. The article on the Dry Valley states that the area is "relatively" ice free, and that during the summer it receives water from glacial run off.

I have also seen a couple of educational programs that say Atacama desert is the driest place on Earth.

Either way, they are both pretty hostile places to live!

-Justin

By: [sigh]

[sigh] — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:03:05 +0000

The concept reminds me of someone who failed a drunk driving test and now has to do public service by giving anti-drunk driving talks.

That's the risk of public speaking. Anything you say can and will be used against you.

By: Ã¶zi

Ã¶zi — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:08:58 +0000

too bad question 1 on the test already doesn't offer the right answer, which would be Dry Valley in antartica, which is far drier still than the atacama desert. atacama had rain some 400 years ago, dry valley didn't for several thousands at least.

By: Vorpal

Vorpal — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:34:15 +0000

I think she's doing great. She's having fun with her notoriety. She's showing the emotional poise on the People site that she displayed that time she ran out the clock during a question she wasn't prepared for in front of millions without breaking a sweat.

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:16:10 +0000

You guys are so harsh! I thought it was great that she got a job after all that hubbub (of which we, of course, contributed to!).

By: biltmore

biltmore — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:02:38 +0000

Cripes, ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!

Just come straight and say that you didn't listen to the question, and that your rambling made you look like a moron.

This is getting rediculous.

By: Atomic

Atomic — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:20:56 +0000

She could read the phone book. I don't think her appeal is intellect, faux or real.

By: Jason E

Jason E — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:01:03 +0000

Wow. I really feel like she's smart now. Give it a rest. You're only making yourself appear more and more pathetic with each one of these attempts at validation.

You want my approval? Just say something like, "You know what? I just got crazy nervous, and I sounded like a moron. At least everyone got to laugh."

Don't go on TV and the internet spouting off scripted trivia and speeches to try and convince the world that you're actually this great intelect.

That actually is more difficult to sit through than watching you blow that question.