Why are people so ignorant? This AM I saw a sign in a convenience store "TRY ARE NEW BAGELS." I pointed out to the clerk that ARE should be OUR. She just stared at me uncomprehendingly. God Almighty, how dumb can you get?
by 
debodun
ANSWERS: 29
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We used to have a local greengrocer who deliberately used signs like that to get people into the shop; while they were there pointing out that cabbiges should be cabbages he would sell them something else ;0)
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I'm surprised it didn't say, "Try Are New Bagel's," with the number of people these days who don't seem to know the difference between a possessive (bagel's) and a plural (bagels), and those who seem to put quotation marks around everything. :o)
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Grammar is at an all time low. To many people do'nt no nothing.
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Did you try the bagels?
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I know I don't have the best grammer, and some words aren't spelled right occasionally, but if I had to put my written words out for the public to read, I'd at least have someone else look at it first...I don't think grammer is a big deal in a ton of schools anymore, in ours, it wasn't. They taught, for a few years, "spell it like it sounds", that was important((((()))), wow, don't get me going...I've saved all "those spell how it sounds"from my daughters 1st and 2nd grade, oh my, terrible!!!!!!
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That stuff annoys me to no end as well, especially when people don't care to get it right.
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You should really try to not be so surprised by things like that....people are going to think you're weird.
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I just can't believe how dumb some of the kids in the school system are (thanks no child left behind).
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Jaysus. I went with my husband to IHop the other day to have a midnight breakfast. They're having this big patriotic-themed pancakes promotion with different types and toppings supposed to be related to different states (New York cheesecake, Boston cream pie, Red-White-and-Blueberry...). And right there, on the menu of a NATIONAL FOOD CHAIN, is "Louisiana Banana's Foster". You've got to be kidding me.
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I pointed out some flags to a convenience store clerk on Canada day which read Cananda he hadn't even noticed.
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Okay so thats quite dumb but she could easily be an absolute master at something else that you and I would be rubbish at...
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I blame the educational system more than anything. People with Masters Degrees or are even PHD candidates write me emails and believe me they write at a grade eight level. I mean, how did they get through high school never mind university? It boggles the mind.
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I have no idea, but it really pains me to see the English language butchered like that. A few days ago I was driving through a rural area near here, and noticed a hand-painted cardboard sign posted to a telephone pole. It said: "YARD SALD" I think the whole grammar thing is slightly more excusable, considering it can be more confusing than spelling, but it's still really irritating.
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I saw a sign not too long ago for exodic (exotic) flowers in a flower shop. The best one is the congratulations cards we used to pass around the office. The correct spelling is right there ON the card and people STILL spelled it congraDulations. Ughhhh.
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this is all because functional excelence is not what gets you noticed or promoted. here on answerbag I saw a question "is it normal for a 14 year old not to know there ABCs" I wanted to say it is if their parrents do not know the difference between "their" and "there"
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A guy I worked with ordered a dozen tacos at Taco Bell, got 10, went back for the other 2, and had to argue w/ the high schooler at the counter that a dozen was 12. When I was in college, going through the cafeteria line, there was a card in front of a vat of soup that read "Cream of Vegetarian Soup" (instead of "vegetable").
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not dumb - not educated , just passed thru the system -
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How dumb? You mean like my wife ordering a dozen chicken nuggets at the drivethru window at a Chik-fil-A and being told they don't have a dozen piece meal, but they have a 12 piece meal? Or are you talking CATASTROPHIC stupidity like this: http://www.answerbag.com/a_view/3558023 Top THAT one. I dare you!
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I really wish I had an answer for you, but seeing the daily examples of such ignorance is what has kept my desire to start my own very elitist country alive.
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The restaurant I worked for during high school always had misspellings on signs. The owner's wife wrote them all, from brocioli soup and potatoe chowder to chichen paprachache and lam chops....
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Debodun, be thagful were not like them an ahve an propper educaton . gosh wehn you think of whaet we mieght ahve beem ourself eh ? ther but for the greace of god !
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meybi dey djus don care.
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Its' teh internets fault i speak worst engl1sh.
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I see that all the time on here. While surprising and frustrating, I just try to ignore it.
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Well folks, don't worry, your language is not the only one that is being "used" like that... However, as a foreigner who still has his difficulties with your language, I can tell you one thing: Try to explain to someone why the "ough" in enough or tough is not like the one in though or thought, and then try to convince them not to write enuff or tough when it sounds exactly like stuff :) I have not seen "stough" yet, thow ;) A lot of the confusion when it comes to spelling English is due to the fact that you do not write it phonetically - or, at least, there are many exceptions to every rule. Then add a bit of a different accent and there you go.
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Perhaps this person is not a native English speaker? It always amazes me that one would not find someone to proof-read; one who has a command of the language. Assuming that this is someone from a foreign country who decided to move to the USA, WHY would one's first priority not be to learn the English language? If this person is American then I am disappointed though not surprised. This is, after all, a convenience store not MIT...
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I realize that spelling and grammar don't come as naturally to some people as others, but what I don't understand is how a kid can make it all the way through high school without being able to spell first-grade level words, or use an apostrophe. I see people here on AB spelling "what" as "wut", and stuff like that. If it's trendy and hip around your peers, fine, but this is a public forum. What kind of teacher allows a student to hand in essays and other schoolwork where "what" is spelled as "wut"? A kid like that needs some remedial help before moving on to the next grade. Oh, my! I almost submitted this, and noticed that I said, "I see people hear on AB..." THAT would have been embarrassing! I know how to spell, but sometimes I just start typing too fast. Who knows, maybe the bagel person has the same excuse.
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Now, if the sign continued, "YOUR GOING TO LOVE THEM".....that would take the cake...or the bagel. ;-)Using "YOUR" when the correct word is "YOU'RE" is one of my pet peeves.
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Let me get this straight... you're actually surprised/baffled by the fact that a minimum wage stock-girl at a mini-mart can't spell? It being a convenience store, I'd be amazed if she was even a native speaker of English. If you want to talk about mass ignorance, how about these: 1. two-thirds of American PhDs surveyed didn't know the Bible had 2 testaments. 2. a nationwide cultural literacy test given entering graduate students (MBA, Law, & Medicine) every year from 1988 to 1995 resulted in an average score of 8-11% each year. Most thought that the 5th Amendment was a rock group in the 60s, and that Double Jeopardy was the second round of the game show. 3. 35% of American college grads can't find France on a map. 4. The vast majority of Americans get their history from movies and pop books, and their political info and knowledge of current events from SNL and the Daily Show. 5. The US is the only country in the world that defines "scholarship" as "money for football players"
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