Watch Harvard Students Struggle to Name the Capital of Canada

The Harvard Crimson aimed some friendly fire at its fellow Cantabs when a “roving reporter” asked them to name the capital of Canada and filmed their answers.

Responses from the undergraduates at the #1 ranked school in America included:

“Um, I don’t know.”

“Probably Vancouver or something?”

“Alberta? That’s not right.”

“Oh my god, I don’t know.”

So, LOL, everyone laugh at Harvard kids. Unless you’re Canadian, where this video has received a lot of disappointed-but-not-shocked press today.

Just kidding, if this shocks you, it should not. Firstly, this video seems edited for comedic effect, sifting for the most entertaining stumbles. Second, a 2011 survey found that just 48 percent of Americans could name Canada’s capital. (Quick, what is it? Yeah, stop laughing.) Sure, sure, Harvard kids should be a step above, in theory. And they are. The way you can differentiate the ignorant Harvard students from the ignorant everyone else is that the Harvard students, at least, seem ashamed of themselves.

Fact is, Americans just aren’t that geographically apt, and universities don’t really ask them to be. High school curriculums don’t either. In fact, an informal poll, conducted by me just now, revealed only one (of two GChat correspondents) could name Canada’s capital. “At least, I didn’t say provinces like these dumb [redacted],” the one who got it wrong said.

The capital of Canada is Ottawa, by the way.