Events dwarfed by pop culture (Reuters) Updated: 2006-08-16 09:56
NEW YORK - Three quarters of Americans can correctly identify two of Snow
White's seven dwarfs while only a quarter can name two Supreme Court Justices,
according to a poll on pop culture released on Monday.
 'American Idol' season
five winner Taylor Hicks performs on NBC's 'Today' show at Rockefeller
Center in New York June 1, 2006. [Reuters] |
According to the poll by Zogby International, commissioned by the makers of a
new online game on pop culture called "Gold Rush," 57 percent of Americans could
identify J.K. Rowling's fictional boy wizard as Harry Potter, while only 50
percent could name the British prime minister, Tony Blair.
The pollsters spoke to 1,213 people across the United States. The results had
a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
Just over 60 percent of respondents were able to name Bart as Homer's son on
the television show "The Simpsons," while only 20.5 percent were able to name
one of the ancient Greek poet Homer's epic poems, "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey."
Asked what planet Superman was from, 60 percent named the fictional planet
Krypton, while only 37 percent knew that Mercury is the planet closest to the
sun.
Respondents were far more familiar with the Three Stooges - Larry, Curly and
Moe - than the three branches of the U.S. government - judicial, executive and
legislative. Seventy-four percent identified the former, 42 percent the latter.
Twice as many people (23 percent) were able to identify the most recent
winner of the television talent show "American Idol," Taylor Hicks, as were able
to name the Supreme Court Justice confirmed in January 2006, Samuel Alito (11
percent).
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