Also, next time I hear someone from the other side of the Atlantic refer to Americans as geographical idiots, I can just point out this link:http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/12/29...reut/index.html-John

There are geographical idiots everywhere I suppose.Man that is really bad. Don't all the flights from Germany to Australia, go EASTBOUND? Surely he would know that.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2530 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8, WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian

True, true. Many stories just like that one, too. My French buddy who's a pilot (I'm American) landed on runway 3 when he was cleared for 30 (might have been 2 instead of 20). BIG mistake, and wasn't noticed until he had already landed (says something about the ATC on duty that day, too!). He basically got a slap on the wrist, but LOTS of embarassment as well.PeterASEL, VFR license

Nice find, that just cracks me up.Jeff

There was also the Ryanair flight that landed at Ballykelly airbase by mistake, thinking it was Londonderry! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4857962.stmNot to mention the B52 that flew non stop from the US to the Farnborough Airshow, but did its low pass at Blackbushe instead! http://www.ainonline.com/Publications/farn...04/d3b52p2.html

That gave me a good laugh :)

Yeah, this story should be a good proof that geographical idiots are everywhere and what even worse - they can even use computers. ;)Michael J.

its true, geramny - australia flight do go eastbound as in the uk.

Hi John - Actually I think the problem is much deeper than that - the worldwide trend of "Education" (cough, cough - Splutter - choke - laugh hysterically) is toward the reliance on "technology" instead of our brainsSome examplesHow many teachers in your country under the age of 30 can actually spell using your "Official Language"?How many people that work behind counters in any business can actually work out "change" without a calculator?How many University Gradates cannot function without a keyboard?How many Engineers have any idea of geometry without their "palms"? - can they actually estimate the height of a building by just "looking" at it?How many people that you know can tell the time of day (within 15 mins) by looking at the sky?How many people do you know that can navigate (quite accurately) by looking at their watch (Oh Gee - mine is digital - actually I havent worn one in years and am never late for an appointment) and the sky at close intervals?GPS's - let me tell you a funny storyA few years back I was contracted to produce a "report" for a LARGE Govt Dept about some quite remote country in my countryI did (and was quite satisfied with the remuneration) - BUT when they discoverered that I did NOT possess a GPS but used such "OLD fashioned things" like a paper map and a silly compass - they then re-let the contract to verify my results at a figure 300% more than they had paid me PLUS all the helicopters and ancilliary "ground crews" associated (Incidental Expenses)I must admit to having a quiet chuckle about the fact that my report was "deemed" correct - even though, as a taxpayer I had a VERY sour taste in my mouth about a government department just wasting an aweful LOT of my moneyThe "system" is breeding the idiots - no matter what country they come from - Ol'F@rts are slowly dying off - and they are taking their knowlege with them - but - after all - is that not the sublime vision of the Romans - it has just taken longer to achieve than they envisioned

>>The "system" is breeding the idiots - no matter what country>they come from - Ol'F@rts are slowly dying off - and they are>taking their knowlege with them - but - after all - is that>not the sublime vision of the Romans - it has just taken>longer to achieve than they envisionedYou mean, pretty soon, no one will know how to "do" anything?Sometimes I get that feeling too.In my field, for example, I find myself increasingly being in the minority of people who draw plats and maps using scale and protractor.Everyone else uses computer platting programs, which are nice but sometimes not as flexible as I'd like...RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

I don't see what the problem is as long as people can still get their work done. True, it is annoying when the guy at Starbucks with the broken cash register can't subtract 3.76 from five dollars. However, I think the mistakes that "technology" has prevented is worth it. I'd rather rely on a digital watch than looking at the sky any day. We aren't forgetting how to do things, we're just doing it in different ways.

Don't you think it's a bad thing, when a person cannot read a traditional watch, and can only read a digital watch?RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

>Starbucks with the broken cash register can't subtract 3.76>from five dollars. This I wouldn't despair. But when one needs computer to subtract 3.50 from 5.00 (I have seen this in my local retail store) then it is scary ...Michael J.