25 Percent of Americans Unaware that Earth Rotates the Sun

About 25% of Americans don't know that the Earth rotates the sun. A poll from the National Science Foundation was the bearer of the bad news.

You might be thinking that a minute sample size was taken among a population of the severely uninformed, but evidences suggests otherwise. The National Science Foundation conducts a poll to measure scientific literacy each year. This year, 2,200 people were asked ten questions about physical and biological sciences, and about one in four people did not know that the Earth revolved around the Sun; a proven scientific fact that was discovered in 1543 by Nicolaus Copernicus.

The average score of the ten-question test was 6.5, which is equivalent to a D in most elementary, middle, and high schools. More unsettling statistics can be found in this Discovery News article. But on the whole, there are always similar "polls" that seem to attempt to belittle the intelligence of Americans. NPR revealed a poll documented in this USA Today article that found 49% of Americans didn't know that antibiotics do not kill viruses in addition to 52% disagreeing that humans developed from an earlier species of animals.

And if these polls (which are sometimes dubious) don't convince you, the New York Times ran an article a few years back that documented proficiency in history among elementary, middle, and high school students. It highlighted performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. The test revealed that only 20% of fourth graders, 17% of eighth graders and 12% of high school seniors were proficient on the history exam. The test was given to 7,000 fourth graders, 11,800 eighth graders, and 12,400 twelfth graders. Most were unable to identify why Abraham Lincoln was an important historical figure or note the significance of the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education.

So next time your science or history teacher smacks your desk when you're drooling two minutes into a nap, you can blame the lack of knowledge of the everyday person shown by these polls and tests.