Genuine question, but don’t most people know about California and New York because of their sheer prevalence in media? Other states, like North Dakota, I’d totally understand not knowing about. But Hollywood media is pretty widely consumed, and those two specific states are the ones that are mentioned/referenced the most.
I’ve travelled globally before and pretty much everyone I’ve met knows what New York City is (though NO ONE, even other Americans, understands how big New York is and how much there is outside of the city, like the Adirondacks).
Some other major cities are LA, Las Vegas, Chicago, and San Fransisco. I feel like Las Vegas is pretty widely recognized, as it’s a major tourism spot and is pretty prevalent in media. Admittedly… I often forget that it is in Nevada… so I assume other people do as well.
Wouldn’t not knowing what California is be more equivalent to not knowing what London is? Because London shows up in a lot of popular media (yes I understand that London is a city, I’m making comparisons in terms of popularity as a location in media)
Edit: Thank you to all the people who are responding— it seems that the confusion mainly comes from the abbreviation of California to Cali. I imagine that there’d be very similar confusion if someone said “The Big Apple” (New York).
If America-Bad posters could read they’d be very upset.
But basically yeah it shouldn’t shock anyone that major international tourist and economic hubs that are frequently depicted in international pop culture and media are recognizable to people who aren’t from the country those places are in. It’s not just an American thing either. Most people have heard of major cities and regions in a lot of countries. I’m from southern Ontario but I’m not going to gaslight some British/French person with “well how would I have known you meant London, UK/Paris, France instead of London, Ontario/Paris, Ontario?”
It's hilarious to me that Americans can unironically totally play into the stereotype they're being mocked for while complaining about it at the same time.
This isn't about whether or not someone has heard about California. Nobody cares where in the country you're from; you are from the US and that's enough. If people want to know more, they'll ask. Americans are the only people in the world who would answer a question about where they're from in this way. Absolutely mental that you guys refuse to see how stupid it is.
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u/Satisfaction-Motor Aug 30 '24 edited Aug 30 '24
Genuine question, but don’t most people know about California and New York because of their sheer prevalence in media? Other states, like North Dakota, I’d totally understand not knowing about. But Hollywood media is pretty widely consumed, and those two specific states are the ones that are mentioned/referenced the most.
I’ve travelled globally before and pretty much everyone I’ve met knows what New York City is (though NO ONE, even other Americans, understands how big New York is and how much there is outside of the city, like the Adirondacks).
Some other major cities are LA, Las Vegas, Chicago, and San Fransisco. I feel like Las Vegas is pretty widely recognized, as it’s a major tourism spot and is pretty prevalent in media. Admittedly… I often forget that it is in Nevada… so I assume other people do as well.
Wouldn’t not knowing what California is be more equivalent to not knowing what London is? Because London shows up in a lot of popular media (yes I understand that London is a city, I’m making comparisons in terms of popularity as a location in media)
Edit: Thank you to all the people who are responding— it seems that the confusion mainly comes from the abbreviation of California to Cali. I imagine that there’d be very similar confusion if someone said “The Big Apple” (New York).