How much do Canadians think they know about the USA?
Lets find out right now! In response to Rick Mercer’s "Talking to Americans" where he convinces Americans that Canada’s Parliament is a giant National Igloo melting from global warming.
So now it’s time for a USA trivia contest for Canadians! Answer these:
1) What is the capital city of the United States of America? Where was it originally?
2) True or False: Presidents in the United States are elected directly by the people, whoever has more votes in the country, wins the presidency.
3) True of False: The USA has 1-dollar paper currency but used to have 2-dollar bills also! The USA also used to have 50-cent half-dollar coins, and the USA ALSO has relatively new dollar coins mainly for change machines on subway transit systems.
4) Who was the first president of the United States of America?
5) Is it true that on at least one occasion, a Canadian was crossing the US border and got interrogated because the car had holes showing that got mistaken for bullet holes? Do you know with 100% certainty that this happened to at least 1 Canadian?
(Answers will be provided shortly)
haha one of the Canadian posters told the story regarding question #5 and I remembered it 
Poster #2, you’re very smart. One thing you omitted knowledge of, the US capital was at one time, Philadelphia and got moved to Washington, DC because of its more convenient centralized location. Washington, DC was swampland and bought from Maryland and Virginia and later partly returned to Virginia because the land was not being used effectively for Federal Govt. purposes.
see I told you
I am happy there is Canada and can see myself making the move up.
Actually 2) is false. They 16-year old was correct. It is false not because of Bush-Gore, but because the US presidential election is really determined by electoral votes in each state.
The ONLY reason there’s voting in US presidential elections is to provide a consensus for the "electors" to cast their votes in the best interest of their constituents.
The interpretation of this is that there be elections, and the election laws are determined state by state. As for recounted votes or errors, it only becomes a Federal issue when states do not complete the voting process within a specified deadline, which is why the Bush-Gore election became a US Supreme Court issue, which is controversial regardless because it got more complicated than that even.
Obviously I could research on the net, get all the answers right, and that would either impress you that Canadians know so much or convince you that we cheated and looked up everything. So I will answer them from simple memory of what I have been taught and learned about USA. Obviously some may be wrong but I’m hoping I am pretty accurate. So here goes:
1)
The capital of USA is Washington, in the District of Columbia.
I THINK the original capital was considered Philadelphia, where the declaration of independence was signed on July 4th, 1776. But I seem to remember something about the capital being moved and was at one point part of (or located in) Baltimore, Maryland.
Canadian history buffs also like to boast that British troops stationed in Upper Canada during 1812 went down to Washington and burned down the original "White House", in retaliation for the US attack and ransacking of York, which is now Toronto.
2)
False - Gore was more popular in the last election (popular vote), but Bush got in because his party won more seats. And if I remember correctly, a lot came down to winning seats in Florida, where there was an issue with ballots being thrown out because the chits were messed up. Doesn’t President Bush have a brother who is in government in that state?
3)
True about which part? Yes they use dollar bills - I have some in my possession right now. And yes they used to have silver dollars and half dollars, as I have some in my coin collection. I know they had two dollar bills also, but they were either pulled from circulation or no one uses them, I think someone told me that people thought the $2 bill was "unlucky" and so they never caught on. I was not aware that they have new $1 coins, but am not surprised. The lifespan of a dollar bill is relatively short, while the coins last much longer.
4)
George Washington was the first president of the United States of America. I can also name you several others (Garfield, Lincoln, Taft, Hoover, Grant, Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr. Clinton, Bush Jr) but don’t ask me who came before who or in what years. Garfield, Lincoln, and Kennedy were all assasinated. Reagan survived an attack by John Hinkley (saw that on TV and still have the news clippings)
5) Nope. Cannot tell you 100% so the answer I have to give is false. But since that is really not a question you would find on a show like Jay Leno’s Talking to Canadians, I don’t think that really matters.
It’s too bad that you did not continue and give us a good ten or more questions to answer about USA ranging from history to culture to US law. It was actually quite fun to try and jog my memory… was almost like an episode of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" - lol
1) What do Americans know about anything that:
a) …they’re fed from their ‘news agencies’
or
b)…..is outside of their own country?
Settle down. You’d obviously be shocked and awed by what everyone else in the world knows about the US.
1) Washington DC
2) false
3)true
4) washington
5) .. what kind of question is this? what does it have to do about knowledge of America?… i don’t know…
5) I was pulled into secondary inspection while crossing the Peace Bridge in Ft. Erie/buffalo for having "bullet hole" stickers on my Dodge 600 SE. Now if you are not a car buff, a Dodge 600 is a K car, and was the first driveable vehicle I ever owned. This was back in/around 2002. They actually wanted me to peel them off before continuing on my way. Needless to say that was/will be the last time I ever went into the US.
Try asking the average american ONE question about Canada.
1.) Washington D.C. (Originally Philadelphia)
2.) True that she/he is elected directly, but not by popular vote. Just ask Al Gore.
3.) True, but the one dollar coin failed. poor management by currency makers and people collecting them made the dollar coin fail. the coin had Sacagawea on it.
4.) George Washington
5.) It is possible, though I can’t say for certain it did.
1) What is the capital city of the United States of America? Where was it originally?
Washington D.C. (For my American Friends - That is short for District of Columbia)
No idea where it was before but my wild guess is Philadelphia
2) True or False: Presidents in the United States are elected directly by the people, whoever has more votes in the country, wins the presidency.
False - whoever has a brother in Florida and can force the court system to declare him President is President.
3) True of False: The USA has 1-dollar paper currency but used to have 2-dollar bills also! The USA also used to have 50-cent half-dollar coins, and the USA ALSO has relatively new $1 dollar coins mainly for change machines on subway transit systems.
This looks like more than one question but you only get one answer true. That’s a guess - Don’t know about the transit ones.
4) Who was the first president of the United States of America?
George Washington
5) Is it true that on at least one occasion, a Canadian was crossing the US border and got interrogated because the car had holes showing that got mistaken for bullet holes? Do you know with 100% certainty that this happened to at least 1 Canadian?
This is a new one on me but sounds like good old American paranoia at work so another guess - true!
1. The capital is Washington in the District of Columbia. And everyone that watched The Sixth Sense knows it used to be Philadelphia.
2. False, The president is the one that gets the most electoral votes.
3. True
4. George Washington
5. Customs does all kind of bullshit stuff. They probably have..
more than americans know about canada thats for sure.
1) Washington D.C. is the current, But Philadelphia, New York and Baltimroe were also capitals in the past.
2) True
3) True
4) George Washington
5) What the Fuck kind of question is that?
Well you’ve already answered about half the questions! Jeez.
I do know that the states have a very complex voting system in relation to ours in which states’ votes are given more weight depending on their population size. The candidate with the largest % of votes in a state wins the state and the ‘points’ it comes with. It’s entirely possible to win the election but lose the popular vote. If you won a few of important states like New York, California, Florida, etc with a low margin, you could win over a candidate who won a much higher number of total votes. Gore did.
First President -> George Washington. Possibly. I can also list the youngest president and that Ford was the only president that wasn’t at all elected by the government - both the Vice president and president died, leaving him to take control. I have a real affinity for random and useless facts.
I do believe that about currency. It sounds practical to have loonies for the subway, as bills can be hard for machines to read. They’re a bigger hassle to use. And the rest makes sense as well. Many countries at some time had 2$ bills, 50 cent pieces and other monetary units. Britain’s coinage is still rather like that (1p, 2p, 20p, 50p, 1pound, 2pound - I mean, why you need a 2 cent piece in this day and age when you’ve got a onecent piece is beyond me).
I can also name the states in alphabetical order thanks to a very long roadtrip in which the only book my mother packed as a children’s atlas. It came in handy when the trivia round of Frosh Week rolled around.
I wouldn’t be surprised re: bullet holes. In my hickville town people put stickers on their cars that purposely look like bullet holes. It’s ‘cool’.
In all seriousness, though, those are pretty real questions. The Rick Mercer report asked some pretty basic things. Like does Canada have the 24 hour clock. Did they have staplers or a newspaper. Should we bomb Saskatchewan (a province northish of Montana). I mean honestly. Not so difficult. It’s not like he asked where the last spike of the CPR railway was hammered in.
Your comments before we get a chance to answer are a pain! So I have jumped ahead but I think I know most of them
1.Washington, D.C.
Philadelphia before that.
2. I like that other person’s answer about having a brother in Florida and a garrote around the judiciary’s neck That’s not word for word but it’s close and means the same.
3. True I think
4. George Washington ( too easy!)
5. Really? Well I suppose it is possible seeing as how Americans judge everyone by themselves.
Wow! I never knew all those University courses on Geography and History would pay off… here we go..
1) Washington DC - Original Capital was Philadelphia, PA
2) False, Presidents are elected by the Electoral College.
3) True
4) George Washington of course
5) It wouldn’t suprise me.. i want to say "yes" I know.. but I’ve never of it so I can’t say that for certainty.
1) What is the capital city of the United States of America? Where was it originally? Washington D.C. It was originally New York?
2) True or False: Presidents in the United States are elected directly by the people, whoever has more votes in the country, wins the presidency. No. There is some other complicated thing behind that.
3) True of False: The USA has 1-dollar paper currency but used to have 2-dollar bills also! The USA also used to have 50-cent half-dollar coins, and the USA ALSO has relatively new $1 dollar coins mainly for change machines on subway transit systems.
True
4) Who was the first president of the United States of America?
George Washington
5) Is it true that on at least one occasion, a Canadian was crossing the US border and got interrogated because the car had holes showing that got mistaken for bullet holes? Do you know with 100% certainty that this happened to at least 1 Canadian?
Not that I know of.