Who’s dumb – the Americans, the Russians, or the questions being asked?

Everybody's seen the video clips of Americans answering general knowledge questions, and generally, getting them wrong. A pair of Russians decided to do the same thing, to show that "dumb" people can be found anywhere, if you ask the right questions.

The question that left American passers-bys the most stumped was "Think of a country that begins with U". Recycling that example, along with some quiz fodder, an anonymous pair of Moscovites took to the streets of the capital, video camera in hand. The clip was recorded in 2007, but has only become popular on the Russian Web in the past few weeks. The first part shows the people who got the answers right.

“They don't know anything but what is around them - but they are not dumb”

Catherine Trubetskoy was born in Montmorency (north of Paris) to a Russian family. At 14 she moved to the Soviet Union. In 1988, she moved to the US. Now she lives between Paris and Washington and works for humanitarian organisations.

In my opinion generalisation is already dumb. I have been to many countries and you have different kinds of people everywhere. Even in Africa, where most of them are not educated, they don't know anything but what is around them - but they are not dumb, they can laugh, they have a sense of humour etc... What is dumbness first of all? A lack of knowledge or a lack of intelligence? And who am I to judge a Russian, a French person or an American?"

Posted on YouTube by "112813531".