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Most of us have been there: you post something online that you’re 100% sure is the absolute truth, flexing those big cognitive muscles of yours… only to realize that you made a mistake. You blush. You start sweating. You realize that you’ve made an utter fool of yourself. On the internet of all places! And now, your blunder will forever live in the Internet Hall of Infamy, also known as the r/facepalm subreddit.

The online community is full to the brim with people making epic mistakes. But few of them are as painful to see as when someone boasts about their [cough] ‘deep’ knowledge of geography [cough]. For anyone even with a rudimentary knowledge of geography, the posts you’re about to see might make you lose a bit of hope in humanity. Put on your safari hats, scroll down, upvote the worst geo fails you’ve seen, and don’t forget to share your unfiltered opinions in the comments, dear Pandas! Just remember not to feed the F-grade students…

Once you’ve completed the trek through this list and if you feel like you’d love to go on another humorous adventure, then you’ll probably love Bored Panda’s previous article about facepalm-worthy geography fails. Check it out right over here.

#1

You Can Only Pity Such People

You Can Only Pity Such People

aaravaryaman Report

#2

When You Dont Know What You’re Talking About

When You Dont Know What You’re Talking About

Weak_Significance_97 Report

#3

Blindly Playing Yourself

Blindly Playing Yourself

okiedokie64 Report

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Jeremy Bayer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Detroit has a lot of abandoned homes. I took my Spanish friend to tigers baseball game and as we drove through Detroit he asked me why it looked like Europe after WWIi

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Look, Pandas, we all had our favorite and least favorite subjects back in school. For instance, yours truly always enjoyed history, literature, and biology. Math, on the other hand, was a pure nightmare. For me, personally, geography fell squarely in the middle of the pack.

The subject itself was incredibly interesting. After all, who doesn’t enjoy learning about volcanoes and global cultures, and drawing maps in class? However, a lot of this enjoyment rose and fell depending on the teacher. Some were very strict and gave you awful grades for failing to memorize all of the important geographical locations around the world. Others, however, made the subject fun, relatable, and, well, not a chore.

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#5

They Don't Teach Flags In High School Geography?

They Don't Teach Flags In High School Geography?

beerbellybegone Report

#6

More Liberian Flag Confusion

More Liberian Flag Confusion

flopsychops Report

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zububonsai
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hm, I somehow expected the dumbest /most non-educated blogs in the top 5, but here the posts deteriorate even the more I scroll down... 🫣🙄 (PS: I posted this comment when this post was around #18... 😬)

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It’s not surprising that some people are completely awful at geography. After all, the world is full of folks who fail at math, science, history, and all the other subjects that some of us know and love. You’ll never find a subject where everyone’s a pro.

#8

Ah, Yeah. I Swear It's Always Us Americans Who Don't Realize There's A Country Called Georgia

Ah, Yeah. I Swear It's Always Us Americans Who Don't Realize There's A Country Called Georgia

lazarushelsinki Report

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Mason Kronol
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's hard to have sympathy for people bad with geography and maps when they post dumb comments on the internet that has Google earth, maps and all kinds of reference material. I used to have to walk to the library to find out information. Now even Wiki has disambiguation pages to help sort out all the Georgias.

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However, this doesn’t excuse someone from being ignorant about basic things. You know, common sense stuff like how time zones work, what language is spoken in the United Kingdom, what the map of your country looks like, and knowing that there are currencies besides the dollar used around the globe. We all make mistakes. But it’s a bit embarrassing when you don’t have a working knowledge of the basics of geography.

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#10

Imagine Being This Uneducated

Imagine Being This Uneducated

astronaut12 Report

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Mason Kronol
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would like to see them redo the General Lee with that flag. Also The Hazard County Bobsled Team would make an interesting sequel.

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#11

America Is The Whole Globe

America Is The Whole Globe

kayserfaust Report

#12

Canada Is A Country In Eastern Europe! Read A Book, Bro

Canada Is A Country In Eastern Europe! Read A Book, Bro

jombrowski Report

Nobody’s saying that you should be at the level of a PhD candidate (and even they make silly mistakes!), but you have to at least be aware of your place in society and the world at large. It’s perfectly possible to spend your entire life not knowing what’s beyond the borders of your tiny little town, but it’s debatable how much fulfillment you’d find living this way.

#13

I Posted A Picture On Another Subreddit About A River In The Country Georgia And This Person Had A Lot To Say

I Posted A Picture On Another Subreddit About A River In The Country Georgia And This Person Had A Lot To Say

whitebathingsuit Report

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David Martin
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And then they don't even use the American flag emoji as they declare how American they are -_-

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Almost all of the r/facepalm geography fails are related either to ignorance or arrogance. Sometimes, both! People either don’t know basic facts. Or they think they know something, only to be proven very, very wrong.

In cases of extreme embarrassment, your instinct is probably to shy away and defend yourself. However, that’s really not the best approach because it may lead to deep-seated feelings of shame further down the line.

#18

A Girl At Work Drew What She Thinks The Map Of The USA Looks Like. She's Almost 30 With 2 Kids. The Nc Public School System Has Really Failed Her

A Girl At Work Drew What She Thinks The Map Of The USA Looks Like. She's Almost 30 With 2 Kids. The Nc Public School System Has Really Failed Her

Katewalsh83 Report

No, the mature way to react is to lean into your embarrassment. Embrace those uncomfortable feelings. Show everyone that you do feel embarrassed. Acknowledge that you’ve made a mistake. That might actually work out in your favor and improve your reputation—through humility, you become more likable.

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#19

Someone's Geography Needs Some Upgrading

Someone's Geography Needs Some Upgrading

Innocent_Killer Report

#21

Getting Offended Over The Name Of A Country

Getting Offended Over The Name Of A Country

BalkanTrekie Report

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Tabby_Sohee
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bored Panda I’m gonna need to have a serious talk with whoever decided to censor the country N***r. The COUNTRY WITH THE CAPITAL OF NIAMEY, to be clear, since it’s not letting me say it

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Previously, during an interview with Bored Panda, geography and cartography expert and land surveyor Patrick McGranaghan shared his thoughts about the state of the subject. He pointed out that some students see geography in a pretty negative light. Meanwhile, geography isn’t a priority in some schools.

"I think that a lot of geography ignorance comes from the lack of geographic instruction in schools. Schools have an increasingly long list of subjects that must be taught and geography is losing its share," he shared with us.

#22

I Guess He’s Half Right

I Guess He’s Half Right

Lexi_The_G Report

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Gustav Gallifrey
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nick Adams was born in Australia. In 2010, Adams served as the PR consultant for The Halloween Institute, a march to make Halloween a public holiday in Australia. It was later revealed those who 'protested' were paid actors. Nick Adams is a top-shelf, class-A, bona-fide, full-blown idiot, and Australia does not want him back, thank you.

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#23

I Thought The USA Was The One Bad At Geography, I Swear To God, (UK Politics Subreddit)

I Thought The USA Was The One Bad At Geography, I Swear To God, (UK Politics Subreddit)

an_reddit_man Report

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"Geography has this reputation of rote memorization of things like countries and capital cities. This is not exciting to most students," the land surveyor and geography enthusiast told Bored Panda earlier. "The way to encourage geographic learning is to make it exciting.”

#25

Geography Is Hard

Geography Is Hard

SquishyNiko Report

#26

Asian/Chinese Currency

Asian/Chinese Currency

cornplantation Report

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Gini Sarver
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i strongly recommend that you & your wife stay home, where, we all hope, that you’re safe & able to function on your own dude

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#27

Amsterdam = Country

Amsterdam = Country

Surer123 Report

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Jay Son
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean, more than once I've had a convo go like "where are you originally from?" -"the Netherlands" "huh? -"Holland" "umm" -"Amsterdam?" "Oh yeah! Coffeeshops!" 😑

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"This may be by including geography lessons in learning about different cultures around the world. Geography is a component of current events and there needs to be an emphasis on how these events are occurring in a geographic context. Geography should not be taught in isolation, it should be tied to some context such as history, the physical Earth, culture, or travel.”

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#29

Definitely The Shape And Flag Of Colorado

Definitely The Shape And Flag Of Colorado

A-reddit_Alt Report

#30

Countries On Map Of Africa Labelled Incorrectly On Gcse Geography Paper

Countries On Map Of Africa Labelled Incorrectly On Gcse Geography Paper

tyw7 Report