tayco Loc: Wisconsin

Does anyone believe that our youth is getting dumber not smarter? I have a true story that happened to me recently.

At my work place we often bring snacks to share with co-workers. Sometimes sweets and sometimes not. On this particular day I decided to make a healthy bean dip with avacado. Everyone loved it. I work with a variety of age groups from 16 to 56. One particular girl just could not get enough of it, and told me more than once how good it was. Finally, after she told me for probably the 5th time i told her i was glad she liked it, but I could not be held responsible for her flatulence. As a joke of course. She looked at me and said "what is that" I said really!!?? She said "no, I dont know what that is" she is 23 years old and did not know what that was?? Isn't that a 7th grade spelling word that kids all get a joke out of??

I told her to go ask her boss what it was, thinking his reaction would be funny. Sick humor I know! She did, but she couldn't pronounce it, so he had no idea what she was talking about. So instead, she decided to ask another co-worker. She is not that bright, but between the two of them, they came up with "fraudulent" The 23 year old girl went to lunch and did not come back. She quit on the spot because she thought i was accusing her of being fradulent!

When the rest of us heard what happened, i did feel really bad. But on the other hand was just trying to have a little humor in a sometimes very stressful job. So that is why I am banned from bringing bean dip to work and for using words with more than 2 syllables. Just wondering if this is the dumbing down of our youth, or is this an isolated instance. Funny story I thought. What is your opinion?

madcapmagishion

On a brighter note, do you really what anyone that "dumb" (your description, I might have used naive)working in a company that you rely on for your livelihood/employment with?

As an example I was conversing with a young fellow the other day, and found out he couldn't write cursive or tell time from any clock other than a digital one, nothing that had any time hands on it anyway. If it said 9:05 he was OK if it looked like _/ he was lost. BTW ... this young man was working in a garage, fixing very expensive sports cars and my Mercedes. So he wasn't dumb by any meaning, just poorly educated by the current school systems.

jadeast Loc: Virginia

I know people with degrees (sometimes more than one) Who are in the same boat. some who are quite wealthy who can't read or write. I feel that a lot of people here on UHH find it easier to ask a question, the answer to which is ofetn wrong, than locate the answer from a reliable source.

sarge69 Loc: Ft Myers, FL

In the army we called them

Intellectual Idiots.

I had a Lt like that at Ft Monmouth, NJ. Extremely intelligent but socially lacking.

Sarge69

PrairieSeasons Loc: Red River of the North

I had a physics professor forty five years ago who couldn't draw a clockwise or counterclockwise symbol on the board without first looking at his watch and making circles with his opposite index finger.

tlbuljac Loc: Oklahoma

there for the grace of God go I

BW326 Loc: Boynton Beach, Florida

My first good job was at an automotive parts store. One of the mechanics came up and requested a 'can of slack'. Not being very bright about things automotive, I immediately assumed it was some kind of solvent or adhesive. When I asked, "What is that?" he knew he had hooked a live one and proceeded to get very explicit about what it looked like, "They usually keep 'em back on the corner shelf. They're in a red spray can. If you're out you'll need to have someone order some more."
Of course I couldn't find a "can of slack" back there so I went to the asst parts manager and told him we would need to order "some more cans of slack". Of course, he was instantly aware of what was going on and proceeded to tell me to call our automotive supplier and request a "case of slack" in the spray cans. After getting the supplier on the line, and after a long pause on his end, he said,"We've already got a case on delivery for you and it will be there this afternoon. It's on the same order as the 55 gal barrel of sailboat fuel."

I said, "Thank You", hung up the phone and sometime on my way back to tell the assistant manager... it dawned on me what a can of slack and sailboat fuel really were.

jadeast Loc: Virginia

We keep them next to the left handed hammers and wrenches.

jadeast Loc: Virginia

we also had a lot of requests for of metric adjustable wrenches.
I think the one we got the most mileage out of was when we sent a kid into a sporting goods store for a muff diving mask.

BW326 Loc: Boynton Beach, Florida

Oh, that's just plain EE-VELLL!

:D :D :D :thumbup:

Ol' Frank Loc: Orlando,

In the very old days of telephone dial systems installation, we asked the newbies to ask the boss for the "key to the outgoing trunk".

Remoman Loc: Someplace Remote Near LA

I love these.

I have done a lot of backpacking in my day.
Once my wife and I went into a formerly very specialized store with very knowledgeable employees.
It had just become a chain and had got rid of the knowing vets and hired kids.
I was in the area where backpacker's dehydrated food was sold.
I asked a girl of about 16 to show me where the packets of dehydrated water were kept.
She looked at me with wide eyes and asked what that was.
I told her that on long trips, it was much too heavy to carry a lot of water so I just brought along dehydrated water powder.
I told her that when I was thirsty, I would just put in an envelope of dehydrated water powder, add water, and shake it up and I would have water.
Satisfied, she spent the next half hour searching the backroom while I tried on hiking boots.

On another occasion, I was looking at new backpackers tents and commenting on how new technology had made them much lighter than the one I had had for several years.
I told the young man that most of the weight was in my tent poles.
I told him that I had just read, in Backpacker Magazine, of lightweight, inflatable tent poles.
I told him that they were just small rolled plastic tubes that one could blow into to inflate.
I asked him to see if he could find any.
He was gone a long time and when he returned, he would not speak to me.

BW326 Loc: Boynton Beach, Florida

EE-VELLL!!!
:thumbup:

Remoman Loc: Someplace Remote Near LA

Now for a serious reply.
Many youth are very ignorant of vocabulary - especially of words that have any perceived sexual connotation.
Many youth have are absolutely ignorant of or have very skewed ideas about history.
Also, many youth have are absolutely ignorant of or have very skewed ideas about science and math.
Sadly, much of this is not attributable to lack of schooling or poor or ghetto teaching.
Many otherwise bright students have gone to fundamentalist oriented church schools been home schooled using fundamentalist curricula.
I respect anyone's faith belief but do these parents realize the permanent damage they are doing to their children?

madcapmagishion

I feel that most of the blame can be laid on the public school systems, That just teach to a particular standardized test. A standardized test that's required by that particular State's Education Board. Which says that all students must pass or the school fails and therefore loses money/funding.