1. We Can’t Name All 50 States
Let’s start with the obvious: not everyone can list all 50 U.S. states. According to John Dodge of CBS News, only 45% of people could do name them correctly in a game. Some common states that get left out are Nebraska, Delaware, and Wyoming—places that don’t usually make headlines. It’s not a huge scandal, but it’s still surprising given that most of us learned the list in elementary school.
It seems like once we leave the classroom, a lot of that rote memorization fades away. People tend to remember the states they’ve visited or those in the news. Meanwhile, states in the Midwest or with smaller populations seem to get forgotten. It’s a good reminder that geography class might deserve a refresher later in life.
2. Many Americans Can’t Find the Pacific Ocean on a Map
It sounds like a joke, but in multiple surveys, a surprising number of people couldn’t correctly point to the Pacific Ocean. According to Bijal P. Trivedi of National Geographic, a survey found that nearly 30% of young Americans couldn’t locate it. This is the largest and deepest ocean in the world—and it borders our entire west coast! You’d think Californians at least would have us covered.
This kind of mix-up highlights a bigger issue: geography education in the U.S. is often underemphasized. Many students don’t go beyond basic state identification and never get a deeper understanding of world maps. That’s why you get adults confusing oceans or mistaking Africa for a country. Yikes.
3. We Misunderstand How Interest Rates Work
Despite being bombarded with credit card offers and mortgage ads, many Americans don’t really get how interest rates work. According to Annie Nova of CNBC, 1 in 4 adults don’t fully understand it. This is the kind of knowledge that affects real-life decisions, like borrowing money or saving for retirement. And yet, it’s often not covered in detail in school.
The lack of financial literacy has consequences, like falling into debt traps or misunderstanding loan terms. Some people don’t realize that paying the minimum balance on a credit card keeps you in debt for years. Others don’t know how a lower interest rate on a mortgage can save tens of thousands over time. This stuff isn’t just “nice to know”—it’s essential.
4. We Confuse Basic Science Facts
A lot of Americans struggle with basic scientific concepts. For example, a National Science Foundation survey found that about 25% of Americans didn’t know that the Earth revolves around the Sun. That’s a fact established in the 16th century, by the way. It’s a little scary that a quarter of people are essentially operating on pre-Copernican knowledge.
There’s also confusion over things like whether antibiotics kill viruses (they don’t), or what causes seasons (it’s the tilt of the Earth, not our distance from the Sun). These misunderstandings matter when it comes to things like health decisions or climate change. A well-informed public makes smarter choices. Sadly, we’re not always that public.
5. Most of Us Don’t Know What the Constitution Actually Says
Americans love to quote the Constitution—but a lot of us get it wrong. According to Chris Cillizza of CNN, very few Americans know what the Constitution says beyond “We the people”. And some think the First Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms (that’s actually the Second). It’s not just a trivia problem—it affects how people vote and debate.
People often confuse constitutional rights with general beliefs or political slogans. There’s also a tendency to forget how checks and balances are supposed to work. If we don’t understand our own system, it’s easier for misinformation to spread. That’s a real danger in any democracy.
6. We Think Africa Is a Country
You’ve probably heard someone say “I want to go to Africa” like it’s a single destination. In fact, 41% of Americans in a 2015 survey thought Africa was one country. It’s actually a massive continent with 54 distinct nations, each with its own languages, cultures, and governments. That’s like calling all of Europe “France.”
This isn’t just a geographical error—it leads to stereotypes and oversimplified narratives about an incredibly diverse region. People assume things about poverty, wildlife, or conflict without knowing where these stories originate. It also means we ignore thriving cities, tech hubs, and cultural powerhouses across the continent. Time to expand our worldview a little.
7. We Don’t Know How the Electoral College Works
Every four years, a lot of Americans are surprised by how our presidential elections are actually decided. A Pew study found that about 43% of people didn’t know how the Electoral College worked or what it did. Some even think the president is elected by popular vote directly. Spoiler: they’re not.
This confusion often shows up when someone wins the presidency without winning the popular vote, which has happened five times in history—most recently in 2016. People get frustrated with the system, but many don’t understand how it functions. Knowing the difference could change how we talk about reform. Or at least help avoid arguments at Thanksgiving.
8. We Can’t Identify More Than a Few Supreme Court Justices
You’d think with all the headlines about the Supreme Court, we’d know who’s actually on it. But surveys have shown that most Americans can’t name more than one or two justices. In a 2023 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, only 17% of adults could name even one. That’s pretty astonishing for a group with so much power over major national decisions.
Part of the issue is that justices don’t campaign or appear regularly in the public eye, so they feel distant. But these are the people who decide issues like abortion rights, gun control, and voting laws. Knowing their names—and their judicial leanings—can give us more insight into how those decisions come about. It’s civic awareness 101, and many of us are snoozing through class.
9. Many Americans Think We Speak the Most Languages in the World
A lot of folks believe that because the U.S. is diverse, we must be the most multilingual country. In reality, countries like Papua New Guinea and India are miles ahead of us when it comes to linguistic diversity. The U.S. has around 350 languages spoken, according to the Census Bureau. Papua New Guinea, by contrast, has over 800.
This misconception might come from the idea that diversity = language variety, but in practice, English dominates in daily life here. Many Americans are monolingual, and only about 20% speak a language other than English at home. That’s significantly lower than in Europe, where multilingualism is much more common. We’re not quite the polyglot paradise we imagine ourselves to be.
10. Most People Don’t Know What NATO Is
NATO makes the news every time there’s international tension, but lots of Americans still aren’t sure what it actually does. A Pew Research survey found that about one-third of Americans had never heard of NATO or didn’t know anything about it. It’s the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, formed after WWII to provide collective defense among Western nations. Basically, if one member is attacked, all members respond.
This alliance plays a critical role in global security, especially with Russia’s aggression in Eastern Europe. Not understanding NATO makes it hard to grasp why the U.S. is involved in conflicts that aren’t on our soil. It also contributes to skepticism about foreign aid and military spending. Knowledge of alliances helps explain why diplomacy matters.
11. We’re Clueless About Calories
You’d think in a country obsessed with dieting, we’d be better at estimating calories. But studies show we’re pretty terrible at it. A 2017 study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that people underestimate calorie counts in restaurant meals by an average of 200–400 calories. That’s not a small margin—it can seriously mess with health goals.
Fast food items especially trip people up. A “healthy” salad can have more calories than a burger once you add dressing, cheese, and extras. Nutrition labels are also confusing, and many people don’t know what serving sizes actually look like. If we’re going to make informed food choices, we need a clearer understanding of what we’re putting in our bodies.
12. We Don’t Know Our Own History Very Well
Ask around, and you’ll find that a surprising number of people think the Civil War was fought over taxes or state pride, not slavery. In fact, a 2017 Pew survey showed that only about half of Americans correctly identified slavery as the main cause. That’s a huge gap in understanding a defining event in our national story. The facts are clear—secession documents and speeches from the time spell it out plainly.
This misunderstanding isn’t just academic; it influences how we talk about race, monuments, and national identity today. When people don’t know the past, they’re more likely to repeat or misinterpret it. That leads to messy public debates and misguided policies. Knowing our history is essential for shaping a better future.
13. We Confuse Weather with Climate
How often have you heard someone say “It’s cold today—guess climate change is fake”? That’s a classic example of confusing short-term weather with long-term climate trends. Weather is what’s happening now; climate is the pattern over decades. But a Yale survey found that about 30% of Americans still don’t grasp this difference.
This confusion makes it harder to have productive conversations about environmental policy. People latch onto cold snaps or snowstorms as “proof” that global warming isn’t real. But climate change is about shifts in averages, not day-to-day fluctuations. If we can’t distinguish the two, we risk dismissing science that affects the whole planet.
14. We Struggle to Convert Between Metric and Imperial Systems
The U.S. is one of only three countries in the world that still uses the imperial system. And because we’re not exposed to the metric system often, many Americans can’t convert between the two. Ask someone how many kilometers are in a mile, or how many ounces are in a liter, and you’ll probably get a blank stare. It’s 1.6 km per mile, for the record.
This leads to problems in science, travel, and even international business. In 1999, NASA lost a $125 million Mars orbiter because one engineering team used metric and another used imperial units. That’s a high price for a miscommunication. If we’re ever going to sync up with the rest of the world, we’ve got some catching up to do.
15. Many Don’t Know Who the Vice President Is
This might sound unbelievable, but surveys consistently show that a surprising number of Americans don’t know who the current vice president is. In a 2021 poll, about 1 in 4 people couldn’t name Kamala Harris—even though she’d been sworn in months earlier. That’s not just a fluke; it happens with almost every administration. It seems like unless you’re at the top of the ticket, you’re easy to overlook.
The VP’s role has grown significantly in recent decades, often shaping policy and stepping in during crises. Not knowing who they are means missing out on half the executive branch. It’s like knowing Batman but having no idea who Robin is—even though he’s kind of important, too. At the very least, we should recognize the second-in-command.
