Anecdata on the Downfall of North American Civilization

[nimrandir]

Fellow Escapists,

Tonight, during a session of the 1 vs. 100 Live beta, one of the early questions read:

Which of the following did Benjamin Franklin NOT invent?

Bifocals, the Franklin stove, or Lightning

Over half of the audience believed Mr. Franklin did, in fact, invent lightning. These good people were of the opinion that a natural phenomenon for which several ancient civilizations had gods was an American invention.

Should I begin hoping for the Zerg and/or Borg to assimilate us now, before we slide any further down the slope, or is there some other way to restore my faith in humanity?

 

[Berethond]

Restore faith?
<url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM02oyWWxNY>That's what Dream Theater is for.

People are idiots, get over it.

 

[Calobi]

So, wait, you're telling me I got that question wrong?

But seriously, there really is not much hope left for humanity. Luckily, we have kittens. Kittens are cute and tend to make us better people. So, I would say to restore your faith look at pictures of kittens.

 

[KindofaBigDeal]

Who was Benjamin Franklin?

 

[RebelRising]

Please tell me the wording of the question was fumbled.

Please.

 

[Leorex]

people know what they need to know.

 

[Biek]

Fellow Escapists,

Tonight, during a session of the 1 vs. 100 Live beta, one of the early questions read:

Which of the following did Benjamin Franklin NOT invent?

Bifocals, the Franklin stove, or Lightning

Over half of the audience believed Mr. Franklin did, in fact, invent lightning. These good people were of the opinion that a natural phenomenon for which several ancient civilizations had gods was an American invention.

Should I begin hoping for the Zerg and/or Borg to assimilate us now, before we slide any further down the slope, or is there some other way to restore my faith in humanity?

That reminds me, didnt america claim ownership over outer space? If so, that makes me wish for extraterrestrials to show and bomb/lazer/zap the hell out of the white house like in independance day.

 

[nimrandir]

Please tell me the wording of the question was fumbled.

Please.

I may not have worded the question verbatim, but the word 'not' was definitely capitalized in the onscreen text. I was flabbergasted when I was the only member of my quartet of players to get the thing right; it only got worse when Chris Cashman informed us of the overall failure rate.

 

[Skeleon]

The Borg only assimilate technology that is of interest to them. I guess we'll end up as biomass for The Swarm.

As much as I'd like to point my finger and laugh, the general European populace isn't much smarter nowadays.

 

[dmase]

Idiots... he didn't invent lighting he invented kites. Gosh thats like philosophy 101 right there.

 

[Raregolddragon]

That is why we have a class system that one can go up and down it.

We weed out the lesser humans. After all not all men are equal.

 

[Leorex]

Fellow Escapists,

Tonight, during a session of the 1 vs. 100 Live beta, one of the early questions read:

Which of the following did Benjamin Franklin NOT invent?

Bifocals, the Franklin stove, or Lightning

Over half of the audience believed Mr. Franklin did, in fact, invent lightning. These good people were of the opinion that a natural phenomenon for which several ancient civilizations had gods was an American invention.

Should I begin hoping for the Zerg and/or Borg to assimilate us now, before we slide any further down the slope, or is there some other way to restore my faith in humanity?

That reminds me, didnt america claim ownership over outer space? If so, that makes me wish for extraterrestrials to show and bomb/lazer/zap the hell out of the white house like in independance day.

no, i think there is actualy a law that says that outer space belongs to everyone.

read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty

 

[captainwalrus]

It's an easy mistake to make. Franklin was pretty hardcore. I mean, did you know Ben Franklin and Chuck Norris are locked in an eternal struggle for the soul of mankind?

 

[vampirekid.13]

So, wait, you're telling me I got that question wrong?

But seriously, there really is not much hope left for humanity. Luckily, we have kittens. Kittens are cute and tend to make us better people. So, I would say to restore your faith look at pictures of kittens.

 

[Skeleon]

Spoiler

So, wait, you're telling me I got that question wrong?

But seriously, there really is not much hope left for humanity. Luckily, we have kittens. Kittens are cute and tend to make us better people. So, I would say to restore your faith look at pictures of kittens.

Gaaah, toxoplasmosis, away with it, get it off me!

 

[MasterSqueak]

So, wait, you're telling me I got that question wrong?

But seriously, there really is not much hope left for humanity. Luckily, we have kittens. Kittens are cute and tend to make us better people. So, I would say to restore your faith look at pictures of kittens.

This.

 

[SilentHunter7]

*snip*

Well, he did famously discover that lightning was a form of static discharge by flying a kite in a thunderstorm. It's kind of reasonable that someone would just see lightning, and read too much into it. Like I frequently do on True/False questions on tests.

It's an easy mistake to make. Franklin was pretty hardcore. I mean, did you know Ben Franklin and Chuck Norris are locked in an eternal struggle for the soul of mankind?

Or this.