Why Don’t Americans Know the World Map? | Podcast

Hey there, and welcome back to the podcast! Today, we have a fun and maybe a little bit surprising topic: Why don’t Americans know the world map? Have you ever met an American who couldn’t find your country on a map? If you have, you might have been a little shocked. But don’t worry—I’ll explain why this happens. And trust me, it’s not because Americans are not smart! So, let’s talk about it!

One big reason is… well, America is big. I know it can be confusing when you look at the world map, but if you click on www.thetruesize.com, you’ll find out that the United States is bigger than Europe itself. The United States is like 50 small countries in one. There are 50 states, and each one has its own cities, laws, and culture. I bet you don’t remember the names of all of them. For many Americans, learning geography means knowing the states, not other countries. Imagine if you had to learn the name of every single state, every capital city, and where each one is located—it’s a lot! Well… I know that in Slovakia we tend to do that, but they don’t learn all of the countries by heart. 

Also, traveling inside the U.S. feels like traveling to different countries. You can fly from New York to California, and it takes six hours! That’s like flying from Slovakia to Dubai. So, many Americans don’t think much about the rest of the world because their country already feels huge.

Another reason? The school system. In the U.S., geography isn’t the most important subject. Schools focus more on math, science, and history. Of course, kids learn about other countries, but they don’t study world maps in detail.

Think about it—how often do you use geography in your daily life? Unless you love maps or travel a lot, you probably don’t think about them too much. And for Americans, it’s the same. And this is the most hurtful point for me, because I’m a geography teacher and I just love the subject! But yeah… when you have Google maps, you don’t need to know everything. 

Speaking of travel, here’s another reason: many Americans don’t have passports. In Europe, it’s normal to visit other countries. If you live in Slovakia, you can easily drive to Austria, Hungary, or Poland in just a few hours. But in the U.S., you can drive for 10 hours and still be in the same state!

Also, flights to other countries are expensive. A trip from New York to London is over 6 hours, and a flight to Australia? Almost 20 hours! Because of this, many Americans only travel inside their own country, and they don’t need to know about places far away.

Another funny reason? American TV and news focus a lot on… you guessed it… America! If you watch the news in the U.S., most of it is about what’s happening inside the country. In many European countries, the news talks about different parts of the world. But in America, unless there is a big international event, people don’t hear much about other places.

So, if people don’t hear about Slovakia, or Argentina, or Thailand, they don’t think about them very much. And if they don’t think about them, well… they probably don’t know where they are on the map!

Of course, this doesn’t mean all Americans are bad at geography. But some funny moments have gone viral. You might have seen interviews where Americans were asked to find Europe on a map… and they pointed at Australia! Or someone thought Africa was a country, not a continent!

But let’s be fair—there are also Europeans who can’t find American states on a map. So, maybe it’s not just an American problem!

So, what do you think? Do these reasons make sense? Next time an American doesn’t know where your country is, don’t be too hard on them. Maybe just show them on a map and have a good laugh together!

That’s it for today’s episode. Thanks for listening! If you liked this topic, share it with a friend. And I’ll see you next time. Bye!