第一百零六篇: 美国人的常识发生了怎样的变化

A lot of the changes were unsurprising.

很多变化则是意料之中的。

Likewise, migraines are much better-known now — the migraine question went up from #25 to #6, perhaps reflecting better awareness of the disease.

同样，偏头痛在现在已经家喻户晓——偏头痛的问题从25号上升到6号，这或许反映出人们对疾病更加警觉了。

A lovely little study from Kent State University has revealed how American students in 2012 performed on a comprehensive test of general knowledge that was developed in 1980.

肯特州立大学曾做过一个有趣的小研究，对2012年的美国学生就常识方面进行综合实验，显示出他们表现如何，这个实验也是自1980年发展而来的。

Many of the questions concern 1970s pop culture and it’s to be expected that no-one know them today.

在20世纪90年代涉及通俗文化的许多问题，正如料想的一样，时至今天已经没人知道了。

By comparing the results on each question with the original scores from college students three decades ago, the changes in knowledge were made clear.

通过将每个问题的结果与三十年前大学生的原分数相比，可以明确得出常识改变了。

Now it’s down to #249. That Franklin discovered lightning to be a form of electricity, and that Paris is the capital of France, have also slipped down the list.

现在已经跌到249号了。富兰克林发现了闪电也是电的一种形式以及巴黎是法国的首都，这些也从列表中下滑了。

That Antarctica is the largest desert on Earth (it is) was #50 on the 1980 knowledge charts.

南极洲是地球上最大的沙漠，（这现在是）曾经是1980年知识图表中的50号。

Maybe reflects the success of the Discovery Channel.

或许可以反映出探索频道的成功？

However, other results are more interesting. Knowledge of hockey has increased.

然而，其他的结论更加有趣。关于曲棍球的常识却增加了。

Curiously, knowledge that cheetahs are the fastest land animal has rocketed from #93 to #10.

奇怪的是，关于猎豹是陆地上速度最快的动物这个常识已经从93号飙升到10号。

Some things have been forgotten, however.

然而有些东西已经被人们遗忘了。

30% of people thought Baghdad was the capital of Afghanistan-wonder why), while 21% believed Budapest to be the capital of India (maybe they thought “Buddhist”).

30%的人认为巴格达是阿富汗首都（想知道为什么吗？），而21%的人认为布达佩斯是印度的首都（也许他们认为是“佛教徒”的缘故？）。

The wrong answers were also quite fun.

错误的答案通常也十分有趣。

11% thought dynamite is called dynamite because it was invented by a Mr. Dynamite, and my favourite,7% said that the layer of fat that whales have is called “flubber”.

11%的人认为炸药之所以被称为炸药，是因为它是被一位炸药先生发明的，以及我最感到有趣的是，7%的人说鲸鱼身上的脂肪层是“飞天法宝”。

12% thought Mount Everest was in the Appalachians.

12%的人认为珠穆朗玛峰位于阿巴拉契亚山脉。