Customer Reviews

Unusually Stupid Americans: A Compendium of All-American Stupidity

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Brother and sister act Kathryn and Ross Petras have made a name for themselves in the publishing business by writing books about the silly, the outrageous, and the incredibly stupid members of society. This book follows that trend with chapters on stupidity as it relates to government, law, business, education, entertainment, taxes, and other subjects.

Some of the quotes and acts of silliness presented here were committed by well- known entertainers, politicians, sports personalities, and other famous people and they make for some of the book's most memorable and funniest moments. Al Gore, Bill Gates, Justine Bateman, Bob Ney (Ohio Republican representative), and other members of the fraternal order of the rich and famous are quoted in the book at length, showing how they either made a silly- sounding comment or twisted the truth to get themselves out of trouble.

Not all of the comments and acts of zaniness involved in this book center around the well-to-do. There are plenty of quotes and acts of stupidity committed by ordinary people too. And some of them will have you rolling on the floor with laughter while others will have you a little bit concerned about the condition of Americans and politics in general. Most of the stuff included in this book is flat out funny with nothing further to contemplate. But other things make you wonder if certain laws and/or conventional wisdom have gone too far. Like the case of some kids in a school getting arrested for allegedly possessing and distributed an illegal substance that turned out to be a package of grape kool- aid. Or a woman who stole a firecracker from someone's home, mistook it for a candle, was injured when it blew up, and then sued the homeowners for not labeling the stolen good as a firecracker.

Each chapter of this book is laid out in a reference- style format, with highlighted and bulleted text. In addition to the stupid sayings and actions, there are also lists that are unusual and often very funny. Like the "most unusual items ever auctioned at Ebay" or the "worst vehicles ever manufactured".

Overall, this is a fun and entertaining book that makes a great way to pass the time and a nice idea for a gift. It presents some of the unusual, wacky, and silly antics that famous people and ordinary Americans partake in each and every day.

With a title like this, I didn't know what to expect. And reading this book verified this. I laughed a great deal, but a lot of the material also made me think that perhaps we should consider this a warning. Are we Americans getting stupider? Given the material collected here (especially the "Prejudice" and "Government" chapters) I felt this might be evidenced. One thing I feel I should mention is that the authors are very evenhanded in skewering all sorts of people. There appears to be no "hidden agenda" in terms of exposing stupidity, which is very laudable. They say that stupidity happens regardless of party, color or creed. This is a good thing to see, by my standards.

Most important, though, these folks did make me laugh (and think). I enjoyed this book tremendously on both counts and do recommend it for others.

There's a statistic that says that one out of every three people out there in the nation is stupid. Consequently, if you look to the left and then look to the right . . . and if either person isn't stupid . . . then you must be the one who is.

I thought of this when I read UNUSUALLY STUPID AMERICANS by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras . . . this is a funny collection of lists, statistics, news items, quotations, and facts detailing stupid acts of Americans from all walks of life.

I laughed out loud at many of these . . . furthermore, they got me thinking about what if the authors included examples from around the world . . . methinks that they'd have enough material
for at least several books that I know that I'd certainly want to get.

What amazed me most was the fact that some of the "contributions" were from folks who otherwise were pretty bright . . . for example, award-winning adman Stan Freberg wrote the following-a full-page newspaper ad for a small Pacific Airline. Two months after the campaign
started, the airline went bankrupt. Perhaps the ad was involved.

Hey there! You with the sweat in your palms. It's about time an airline faced up to something. Most people are scared witless of flying. Deep down inside, every time that big plane lifts off that runway, you wonder if this is it, right? You want to know something, fella? So does the pilot, deep down
inside.

There were several other amusing tidbits; among them:
Three New Jersey townships--Upper Pittsgrove, Alloway and Quinton--in 1993 contracted for elevator inspectors, as per the orders of the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA). One problem: There are no elevators in any of the three towns. That's no excuse, according to a DCA
spokesman. The towns have to get and pay for inspectors, "otherwise, the Uniform Construction Code would no longer be uniform."

Lauderhill, Florida, held a ceremony in tribute to Martin Luther King's life at which a plaque honoring actor and activist James Earl Jones was unveiled. It read: Thank you James Earl Ray for keeping the dream alive. Unfortunately, James Earl Ray was Martin Luther King's
assassin.

There have been a number of complaints and lawsuits concerning secondhand smoke but perhaps none as mind-boggling as this one:
A Floridian filed a complaint with the state Division of Consumer Services, upset that he had been exposed to secondhand smoke.
He had attended a live theater performance of Noel Cowards' PRIVATE LIVES--and the actors on stage had, as the script dictated, been smoking.

I purchased this book for a trip to Europe and only once on the 11-hour flight did I find that the book has been scanned improperly (or whatever the mechanism is for getting it into a Kindle edition). Passages will stop, another passage will start, and without warning, the previous passage will eventually continue a few screens later. It happened frequently and enough that I could not continue reading the book. It seems like a great book and I'd love to read it someday, but DO NOT PURCHASE THE KINDLE EDITION!

I thoroughly enjoyed this read as it is one of my favorite topics. But it's also nice to see that I am not alone in the position of noticing stupid in many places as which is done in this book.
Robert E. Milliken author of Stupid In Montana As America.

The thing about Unusually Stupid Americans is that while there are some funny moments, many really fall flat. Some of the stupid anecdotes that are meant to amuse, just don't. They're just stupid picks of stupidity. There's much worse out there, we've all seen it, and it feels like the Petras didn't try very hard enough to gather the really good anecdotes. Don't get me wrong, at times, it was hysterical (and oddly bi-partisan), but sometimes, it was just completely dry. Some are hard to understand. Some categories are just random (You have your government, marketing, and then randomly, CARS. What? So I don't know, there was just a lot about this book that was oddly out of balance.

Rating: 2/5

Fun, lighthearted read when you want to feel smarter than the avarage rambling idiot. This book is filled with them and you'd be surprised at who they are.

Lots of little vignettes about various stupid, inefficient, or outright criminal things going on in American life. No one is spared, like the Simpsons or South Park they are equal opportunity offenders. Big government, big business, and mom and pop alike all have their foibles pointed out and their less brilliant decisions skewered. Lots of stats, lots of examples, breezy writing style- it's a great afternoon read or, more likely, a book to be picked up here and there and read randomly. It won't change your life, but it actually has quite a few important points to make in the midst of all the overall silliness. Most of all it is what you want in a humor book; it's actually funny.

Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras have produced another winner that is sure to make you laugh hysterically over the outrageous stupidity of people. This time, the subject is Unusually Stupid Americans, and unfortunately, it's hard to argue the point with all of these totally moronic examples! It's hard to pick a favorite from all the evidence, but it's really hard to beat the city that inadvertently "honored" Martin Luther King's killer, James Earl Ray. They had sincerely meant to honor James Earl Jones. But, why waste money on a proof reader for the plaque? (What could possibly go wrong?)

There is plenty to cringe over here. I'm just glad that the authors have never met me!

If you've ever wondered how stupid people really can be, all you have to do is pick up a copy of this book!

It's almost sad that it's so funny, but in the end the humor is well worth it.