Gullible. Now, that’s something to think about. Isn’t it?
I imagine all of us have been gullible in our lives. That time when someone really put one over on us. And we said, “Really?” Only to see them react in laughter. When humans are gullible, we are easily persuaded to believe something that isn’t true. We’re credulous, or over-trusting in that moment.
I like to ask people: “Did you know the word ‘gullible’ isn’t in the dictionary?” And they say, “It’s not? Really?” And I laugh and laugh.
We’ve all fallen for something, sometime.
But don’t feel too bad about it. We’re all in good company.
In fact, a recent survey / study has found the most gullible state in America.
Yes indeed. All across this great land of ours, people are believing in the unbelievable.
And, apparently, this happens in some places more than others.
This new survey found that some myths are so pervasive that a majority of Americans believes them—and that the residents of some states believe a whole lot more of these myths than others.
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Here are the logistics of the study, in case you are interested. If not, just pass it over:
The survey, which was conducted by MRO Electric and Supply Company, asked 2,195 Americans across the United States a series of commonly accepted myths, based on a list compiled by Buzzfeed. Survey participants answered true or false to the different myths, and then MRO evenly weighted the answers to give each state a score out of 100. The closer a state was to zero, the least gullible they were deemed, while scores closer to 100 were considered the most gullible.
One important note: This survey didn’t include all 50 states. There weren’t enough participants in Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, so this data is based on just 44 states.
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So. Drum roll, please.
What is the most gullible state in America?
The winner of this dubious distinction is … Mississippi.
Yeppers. Mississippi earned a gullibility score of 69.2 out of 100.
As the survey notes, a whopping 53% of respondents in the Magnolia State strongly believe that a mother bird will abandon her baby if a human touches it.
By the way. It isn’t true.
Arkansas came in at a close second with a score of 68.9.
One in four people in Arkansas believe it takes a person seven years to digest swallowed gum.
Who else rounded out the top five? Here’s the list of the five most gullible states in America, with their respective scores:
1. Mississippi (69.2)
2. Arkansas (68.9)
3. North Carolina (68.7)
4. Nevada (66.4)
5. Pennsylvania (64.8)
Which common myths do most Americans believe?
The following are the myths that most survey respondents—in all states—fell for:
– One of the best methods for drying a wet phone is putting it in rice (78%)
– Sugar makes children hyper (72%)
– Daylight Saving Time was invented to support farmers (72%)
– Urine helps to relieve pain after being stung by a jellyfish (55%)
– Breakfast is the most important meal of the day (54%)
For the record. I’ve put people’s phones in rice after they fell or were thrown into our pool. It seemed to help, as all the phones survived.
Anyway. You probably want to know the least gullible state in America.
That would be Maine. It was rated “the most skeptical state,” with a score of 28.5, though it was closely followed by Iowa at 28.7 and Idaho at 29.9.
Maybe all the fine readers here would rate on the least gullible scale. Maybe we don’t believe every person unknowingly swallows multiple spiders in their sleep every year. Because we don’t. That would help.
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There’s a gullible side to the American people. They can be easily misled.
— Michael Moore
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“I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
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“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”
― Walter Langer
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Hey there. I got a bridge I can sell you.
