Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

[Evo]

Did anyone watch "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" last night?

The woman that didn't know how many feet were in a yard? The question - When Timmy stands on Johnny's shoulders their combined height is 2 1/2 yards. How many feet is that?

Her answer after thinking about it quite a while - 352 feet, she wasn't sure that was right so she chose to use the fifth grader's answer of 78 feet. Was the host joking about this contestant having been home schooled? I didn't catch all of that part of her school background. She said she knew this was chemistry and her old chemistry tutor (I guess that helped home school her) would be angry about her missing the answer.

OY VEY!

 

[G01]

That show really makes me want to shed tears for this country!

The fact that the question, "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" is a serious question whose answer may be yes or no, is just sad!

I don't know how you grow up in America and don't know how long a foot is. I thought it was obvious that the average height of an American is somewhere between 5-6 feet (she must know how tall she is right?), yet she thinks two fifth graders stacked on top of each other are 352ft tall?? Wow, sometimes I think FOX breeds their own subspecies of people for these shows!

 

[radou]

That show really makes me want to shed tears for this country!

The fact that the question, "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" is a serious question whose answer may be yes or no, is just sad!

I don't know how you grow up in America and don't know how long a foot is. I thought it was obvious that the average height of an American is somewhere between 5-6 feet (she must know how tall she is right?), yet she thinks two fifth graders stacked on top of each other are 352ft tall?? Wow, sometimes I think FOX breeds their own subspecies of people for these shows!

Yup, there are a lot of morons. But then again, maybe they're paying her to talk nonsence in order to make the show more "interesting". I mean, a part of the people will watch it again, just to see some other silly answer.

 

[neutrino]

Timmy has 2 feet and Johnny has 2, too, so I'd say 4.

 

[G01]

Yup, there are a lot of morons. But then again, maybe they're paying her to talk nonsence in order to make the show more "interesting". I mean, a part of the people will watch it again, just to see some other silly answer.

Yeah, I guess we may be partly to blame for watching the stupid show! If we didn't find it interesting FOX wouldn't air it.

 

[Evo]

I'm into watching horror and I can't think of anything more horrifying than some of the answers given by contestants.

 

[G01]

I wonder how some of the people on this show function in real life?? What can they possibly do for a living if they don't know this stuff?

 

[D H]

I wonder how some of the people on this show function in real life??

They do have one thing going for them: These are the people who elect the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth. Ouch.

 

[Evo]

I wonder how some of the people on this show function in real life?? What can they possibly do for a living if they don't know this stuff?

The host even gave her hints like "so, your saying the height of two boys is equal to the length of a football field?" I thought for sure that would snap her back into reality, no, that just made her think 78 feet was more realistic.

 

[D H]

I first came across this show channel surfing. The host asked "Are all birds, mammals, yes or no?" The contestant said yes. At least the fifth grader said no in this case.

The show is like a train wreck. We have to watch the disaster unfold. The disaster, unfortunately, is our country.

 

[Evo]

The question for the two identical twins - Where is Mount Everest located?

A) The Alps
B) The Andes
C) The Himalayas

They couldn't decide between the Alps or the Andes, so they went with the Alps.

 

[Kurdt]

Well one must say that shows like these are entirely rigged. They aren't going to let the smartest people on are they because that wouldn't be very entertaining. It would be interesting to see some properly recorded statistics on the subject.

I think there was a showin UK that was similar where they had a bunch of adults who complained that exams were getting easier to take a GCSE exam with their kids but I didn't watch it. No doubt they picked the parents that did the worst.

 

[-Job-]

I'm sure there is at least one 5th grader question you can't answer correctly, so stop "hypocritizing."

 

[G01]

The host even gave her hints like "so, your saying the height of two boys is equal to the length of a football field?" I thought for sure that would snap her back into reality, no, that just made her think 78 feet was more realistic.

So, working in the lab I'm in this summer, I've done some things that make me feel like an idiot. The people on this show make me feel like a genius, it it evens out!

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I'm no smarter than I was when I was a 5th grader, just more experienced.

 

[Moonbear]

I'm sure there is at least one 5th grader question you can't answer correctly, so stop "hypocritizing."

I can understand some wrong answers when nervous because you're being watched and on TV, such as the one about Mt. Everest...that's one of those details that you really never need to know unless you're planning to travel there, so I can understand it escaping the brain of an adult, especially when nervous. But, the example in the OP is more disturbing, and really gets at the lack of common sense that is becoming so prevalent. I could see someone making a minor arithmetical mistake there that they come up with 9 feet or 6 1/2 feet or something like that, but to not have any sense of something commonly used all the time, that of yards and feet, that they don't even notice the ridiculousness of an answer like 352 ft or 78 ft, that's scary.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I don't know where Mount Everest is.
Thank goodnesss for Google.

 

[DeadWolfe]

That show makes me want to commit suicide

 

[G01]

That show makes me want to commit suicide

Imagine how the contestants must feel when they loose!

 

[morphism]

I don't know where Mount Everest is.
Thank goodnesss for Google.

I don't either - never really had to know where it was.

 

[Evo]

Without googling, where is Mt Kilimanjaro?

Hey we can do our own version of the show.

 

[moose]

Imagine how the contestants must feel when they loose!

How can they possibly lose? Nearly all of them leave with AT LEAST 5 thousand dollars.

I will be honest and say I can't answer a bit of their history questions.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Without googling, where is Mt Kilimanjaro?

Milky Way, but I cheated. I googled it.

 

[Evo]

Milky Way, but I cheated. I googled it.

Since your fifth grade partner answered correctly, you just won $25,000! (I knew I should have been more specific with that one. )

This has to be the only show where missing all the answers makes you rich.

 

[chroot]

Without googling, where is Mt Kilimanjaro?

Eastern Africa.

I will defeat you all.

- Warren

 

[NateTG]

The show is really 'how nervous can Jeff Foxworthy make you?' The whole idea is that the questions are braindead easy, but that Foxworthy gets to squeeze people. That's why they have the lights and the 'lock in' and endless needling. It's all about putting the contestants under stress.

Imagine how the contestants must feel when they loose!

I'd make an ass of myself in public for $25,000 , and cry all the way to the bank.

Well one must say that shows like these are entirely rigged. They aren't going to let the smartest people on are they because that wouldn't be very entertaining.

It's certainly a set-up. I'm not sure that the contestants are in on it though.

 

[mattmns]

I have watched the show a few times. Personally, I think the show is way too ... You will see the rest of my post after this commercial ... slow. They seem to extend 10 questions into one hour which I find ridiculous. As for the questions, I probably get a little more than half correct, so there are a few I don't know. I guess I never learned (or remembered) these silly things. I have no clue where Mt. Everest is (I'm sure it is not in the US, nor Europe, I would guess the Himalayas). There was also a question about how many months have 31 days, another thing I have no idea about. I do think it is silly to not use some common sense with the question about the height of two boys, but the show is anecdotal; I am sure they could find a person with a PhD in Physics (or anything else), that would miss a few questions.

 

[Evo]

They just recently had a rocket scientist and a Yale graduate. The Yale grad did rather well. A number of contestants had been High School Valedictorians.

 

[Evo]

There was also a question about how many months have 31 days, another thing I have no idea about.

Just remember this rhyme _

30 days hath September, April, June and November
all the rest have 31
except February which has 28 and leap year it has 29

 

[mattmns]

Question: If y = 3x and 3x = 12, what does y equal?

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Off topic I know, but I looked up Kilimanjaro on wikipedia:

The highest point is Uhuru Peak on the volcano Kibo, 5,895 meters (19,340 ft). Kibo has a 1.5 mile wide crater on the top of it. As the highest point in Africa, Uhuru Peak is one of the Seven Summits. The summit was first reached by the Marangu army scout, Johannes Kinyala Lauwo [1871-1996 (sic)], who climbed it nine times before realizing it contained an inner crater.

Even a 5th grader could have found a 1.5 mile wide crater.

 

[NateTG]

Even a 5th grader could have found a 1.5 mile wide crater.

Not if it's covered by a glacier, or it's heavily eroded.

 

[moose]

Question: If y = 3x and 3x = 12, what does y equal?

I cried during that one.

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

I cried during that one.

Was this a question on the show? (I ask since it is posted here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070322171749AAKnCej) as well, and the solver said to divide the 2nd equation by 3 first... but whhhyyyy. )

I watched it once, someone said that the word bookkeeper only had 2 instances where a pair of letters appear. (presumably she thought it was spelt bookeeper). But I never saw anyone give an answer that was that embarassing

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

I found a video of the episode Evo mentioned here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5825625767496547673&q=smarter+than+a+5th+grader&total=181&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=9