Unusually Stupid Americans: A Compendium of All-American Stupidity (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: proverbial widow, minimum bid, Unusually Stupid Americans, The Idiot Next Door, Dennis Kozlowski (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

What?s been said about their work:

?Exceedingly amusing.??The Washington Post

?Cruel but funny.??Playboy

?Brilliantly stupid.??The Wall Street Journal

?Like eating popcorn. You can?t stop.??The Dallas Morning News

?You want stupid? Check this book.??The Houston Chronicle

?Sinfully delicious.??Fort Worth Star-Telegram

?Wickedly funny.??Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

?Enormously funny.??The Star-Ledger

?Fabulous.??Elle

?Perfect on-the-john entertainment.??Stuff -- Review

Review

What’s been said about their work:

“Exceedingly amusing.”—The Washington Post

“Cruel but funny.”—Playboy

“Brilliantly stupid.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Like eating popcorn. You can’t stop.”—The Dallas Morning News

“You want stupid? Check this book.”—The Houston Chronicle

“Sinfully delicious.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Wickedly funny.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Enormously funny.”—The Star-Ledger

“Fabulous.”—Elle

“Perfect on-the-john entertainment.”—Stuff

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Villard; 1st edition (October 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812970829
• ISBN-13: 978-0812970821
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #195,951 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars American Outrageousness, May 10, 2004

By	Bryan Carey "Bryan Carey" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Funny (but sometimes frightening) Book, November 3, 2003

By	Jazz Fan (USA) - See all my reviews

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.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny collection of acts made by stupid Americans!, November 22, 2004

By	Blaine Greenfield "eclectic reader" (Belle Meade, NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.