My roommate in college was from South Dakota. One night, we were talking about Mt. Rushmore. I guess to kids from South Dakota, learning that Mt. Rushmore is in your state is like learning your ABCs. He figured everyone knew where it was, but I told him that there are probably a lot of people on the coasts who don't. He was shocked. I set out to prove it through a survey, using a technique I used a lot back then: Calling strangers on the phone.

I called six numbers at random in New York City, one in Hawaii, and 21 in Los Angeles. Here were their responses, transcribed exactly from my original scoresheet, which I obviously just found:

NY
1. Don't know/Virginia
2. Never heard of it
3. One of the Dakotas (then said North)
4. Don't know
5. Georgia
6. Never heard of it

Hawaii
1. Dakota (guess North)

LA
1. Never heard of it
2. "Your mama's ass"
3. South Dakota (took 5 minutes to get it out of him)
4. Doesn't know, never heard of it
5. Never heard of it
6. Ask someone else, she said
7. Doesn't know
8. Doesn't know, her brother said N. or S. Dakota, he guessed South
9. Didn't know, said New York
10. Doesn't speak English
11. Doesn't know
12. Montana
13. Arizona
14. Didn't know
15. "Don't understand nothing"
16. "It's a little late for a survey"
17. Montana, Nebraska
18. Washington
19. Been there, S. Dakota
20. Don't know, never heard of it
21. Don't know (little late for survey)

So three out of 27 people from NYC or LA (or Hawaii for some reason) who understood the question knew or could guess what state Mt. Rushmore was in. That's one in nine, or 11.1 repeating percent. But that was 1994. Try your own survey today! (I bet even less people know.)

Just now, before reading this list to someone I know, I asked them where they thought Mt. Rushmore was. "Virginia?" "No." "Did anyone else say Virginia?" "Let's see....yes, the first person."

Red Sox v. Yankees, 7:15. NESN.