Pop Quiz!

Yes, it really is a pop quiz! I was just reading Yahoo News! (I really have to stop that. Really!) and was frightened by a story. Maybe "mortified" is a better word, but at least this is more interesting than Adam’s Block, which I told you about yesterday.

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) complied a 33 question test designed to measure the level of a typical American’s civil knowledge. They surveyed 2,508 people and 164 of those 2,508 people said that they have held an elected office, so they divided the results into two groups. Those who had been elected to public office and those that hadn’t. Easy enough.

Apparently, though, the questions are the test weren’t as easy as making to categories of respondents.

The average overall score for people who have never held an elected office: 49%
The average score for the 164 people who said that they had been elected to a public office: 44%

“NO WAY!” I said to myself, “ That CAN’T be right. Just where exactly is this test and how can I take it?”

I found it here. 33 questions. It took me just a few minutes to complete this test and I should tell you, I am smack dab, halfway between doses of my extra strength Vicodin, too. I wouldn’t operate a motor vehicle or a power tool, but I did take the test.

And what did I score? Well, lookee here.....87.88%.


It’s 1 AM, I’m in terrible pain and stoned on Vicodin and I still scored and 87%.

How the heck can the average of the general public be 49%. That’s frightening to me. Since I know my readers are people of superior intelligence and are always teaching me new things, I am conducting my own study and challenging you to take the quiz and share your score.

No cheating, of course. If I see notes written on anyone’s hand, I’ll have to send you to the principal’s office and whack you with a ruler. Unless, of course, you'd like that and then I'll have to think of something else.