Thread: Ten Things Americans Don't Know About America

By the way, Deborah, that American guy we met in Cyprus didn't know what a water pipe (hookah) is.

Do you mean that he heard the terms "hookah" or "nargile" or "water pipe" and he didn't know what kind of object was described by the terms?

Or do you mean that he saw a hookah and thought it was a marijuana bong, rather than a pipe that's generally used for tobacco?

Or do you mean that he saw a hookah and thought it was a vase for flowers (i.e., he had no idea that it was used for smoking something or other)?

These are three very different levels of ignorance!

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Do you mean that he heard the terms "hookah" or "nargile" or "water pipe" and he didn't know what kind of object was described by the terms?

Or do you mean that he saw a hookah and thought it was a marijuana bong, rather than a pipe that's generally used for tobacco?

Or do you mean that he saw a hookah and thought it was a vase for flowers (i.e., he had no idea that it was used for smoking something or other)?

These are three very different levels of ignorance!

I know what a hookah is, but only because I eat middle eastern food. I also know what a bong is, and that it is not the same thing as a hookah.
But I wouldn't assume someone is completely ignorant just because they don't know what a hookah is.

The kind of ignorance that really bothers me, is the kind like I mentioned previously, the guy who thinks people in Moscow, Russia are STILL standing in line to buy bread. That is a clear sign of someone who has been propagandized their entire life, and not only doesn't QUESTION the propaganda, but insists even when confronted with REALITY, that the propaganda is STILL TRUE.