Our Dumb World
OCLC 474118895 | | |
Our Dumb World is a parody of the standard desk atlas created by the staff of The Onion and published by Little, Brown and Company on 30 October 2007. It is The Onion's first book of entirely original content since 1999's Our Dumb Century.
The book, written in the satirical paper's editorial voice, contains entries for nearly every country on Earth, including detailed maps, feature articles, and humorous stereotyped descriptions of regional history and customs. For example, Romania's entry is subtitled, "Bram Stoker's Romania."
There are eight distinct sections of the atlas. In order, North America, South America, Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Extra. Included in the Extra section are the Northern and Southern Poles and Greenland, which is "larger than Africa and South America combined."
The visual style of the book has been compared to
to illustrate the cultural differences of various nations, often mocking racial stereotypes with satirical comments. Each section contains "facts" about the nation, a brief history, and other information.Elements of the book have been transferred to an electronic format available on the paper's website and as a layer on Google Earth. Our Dumb World is also available as an audio book.
Contents of Our Dumb World
The book starts off with an introduction written by T. Herman Zweibel, talking about his dislike of foreign countries, and his travels during his youth to various places around the world. Opposite this introduction is a picture described as the earliest copy of Our Dumb World, supposedly from the year 1621. This contradicts
Next is a history of cartography, continental drift, and various strange maps.
United States
This series of pages starts with a joke about the American Dream and inequality, as well as showing statistics about the country, as well as a ridiculous map with an unhelpful key. Information of the map includes a rhubarb forest in Minnesota, a stuffed animal militia in Montana, and Disney suing a girl in Florida for wearing a Goofy shirt that she had just bought from them. We then see a long history from the Native Americans '[wasting] several millennia' naming various geographical features, to George Washington starting a tradition of politicians lying (he supposedly claimed he was incapable of this), to millions driving to Washington DC to protest global warming.
The atlas then covers the Northeast, regarded as the only place that could be inhabited by the Pilgrims, and being incredibly smug about being the first part of the country to have gained independence. New York's entry is centred entirely around
Afterwards, 'Our Dumb World' looks to the South. Florida is supposedly home to vast extermination camps for Jews.
The atlas then claims that the Midwest consists solely of driving, and boring flat land, and extends this by saying that the entirety of Illinois has been paved over, to the point where a man can drive down the wrong road and raise the wrong family for the rest of his life. Kansas is so fundamentalist that it has banned joblessness, civil rights, and education, and is preparing to do the same with death. Michigan is completely closed down. The people of Ohio are patriotic to the point of insanity. Missouri is a Mark Twain novel bought to life. The inhabitants of Winsconsin are horrifically unhealthy. Iowa is inhabited by impoverished bankrupt farmers. North Dakota is completely empty. The entire point of Nebraska is to act as a massive roadblock. All that the people of Indiana do is watch things. People from all over America are forced to go on holiday to South Dakota at least once in their lives.
Next, the book covers the West. Everything in Texas is larger compared to the rest of the country. The only thing of note about Arizona is the Grand Canyon, here referred to as the Grand Hole. Wyoming's inhabitants round up homosexuals. Idaho is most famous for its iron ore, rather than potatoes, which is used in a number of things, and tastes delicious when covered in butter and sour cream. Coloradans suffer extreme altitude sickness, causing them to undergo extreme religious fervour. Everyone in Nevada has lost it big in Vegas. Montana is a massive preserve for various distinctive crazy people. The women of Utah are all married to Mark Whitmer. The existence of New Mexico is considered dubious, a nod to UFO conspiracies. The only exciting thing to happen in Oklahoma was when a tumbleweed rolled through in 1912.
Looking at the Pacific Coast, the book details how some pioneers wandered up and down the coast, or went into the sea, or went back east after encountering the place. The people of Washington are disinterested with anything that is not coffee. Oregon is home to a large number of conservationists, whose number is declining into becoming endangered. California is home to disillusionment from lower classes, and denial of anything going wrong from the upper classes.
Finally there comes a section about the 'bull**** states'.Alaska is 'needlessly unspoiled' with the article obsessing over exploiting its resources. Hawaii is completely centred around tourism, though people rarely leave their hotel rooms. Finally, the people of Minnesota are incredibly stupid, supposedly having said nothing intelligent since their state was founded.
Rest of North America
The atlas first shows us
The book then moves on to Central America, first showing
The tome then shows us the Caribbean island nations. First,
South America
The atlas then moves onto the next section, about South America, opening with
Africa
Next we come to the Africa section. First comes
Middle East
The altas then gives us a look at the Middle East. In
Europe
The
Asia
The tome then shows us Asia, with China's most produced product being Chinese people. Tibet is constantly annoyed by tourists.
The Armenian account speaks of how the Armenian genocide was forgotten. The notes on Georgia say that it is extremely Christian to the point of stupidity. Azerbaijan's record claims that its practice of Islam has become very lax.
The notes on Turkmenistan centre around former president Saparmurat Niyazov and the country's obsession with him even after his passing. The situation has not improved for Tajikistan, yet people are happy for its independence. The account of Uzbekistan is about apparently interesting information about the country portrayed in a boring manner. Kazakhstan's log speaks about its great size. Kyrgyzstan's record describes the country as being constantly humiliated. Mongolia's entry constantly references the Mongol Empire.
The statements on North Korea have been replaced with ones fabricated by the North Korean government. South Korea is supposedly number 2 in all categories. Taiwan is described in such a manner as to resemble a cheap plastic toy (such things were often made there at the time). Japan's people were apparently affected by the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and became incredibly vulnerable.
Australia
The work then shows us Australia, with the country that provides the continent's namesake being pestered by the hosts of various documentaries. Papua New Guinea is completely destitute as a consequence of its geography and biosphere. Samoa's inhabitants are morbidly obese. The Marshall Islands are apparently still affected by the nuclear tests done during the 1950s. Guam (In truth a US territory rather than a country) is dominated by the military. The inhabitants of Palau are apparently all pathologically lazy. Vanuatu apparently wants all outsiders to stay away. The entry for Tonga claims that the writers made the country up, with ridiculous 'facts' about it. Finally, New Zealand is apparently created specifically for Hollywood blockbusters.
The Polar regions
Finally, the atlas shows us the polar regions of Earth. The article on the North Pole denies the existence of Father Christmas before asking 'Where do all the presents come from?'. The entry for Antarctica talks about how terrible it is there, and the effects of climate change on it. Last of all, the log for Greenland claims that the island is the largest landmass in the world (referencing the Mercator projection), as well as it being named 'Greenland' due to Erik the Red being bad at naming things.
Critical reaction
Critical reaction to Our Dumb World has been generally positive with reviewers praising the humor and use of satire.[2][3][4] In the New York Times, William Grimes called it "an astoundingly offensive guide to the states of the union and the countries of the world, compiled on the premise that all countries are ridiculous and contemptible" and found it "sophomoric, transgressive and intermittently brilliant."[5]
See also
References
- ^ Cary Darling. "Onion's 'Our Dumb World' could pass for what it's mocking". Chicago Tribune. 3 January 2008. 5.
- ^ Jones, Malcolm (2007-10-30). "The Onion's Excellent 'Atlas'". Newsweek. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
- ^ "'Dumb World' is Vivid, Enthralling Misinformation". NPR. 22 December 2007. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
- ^ Jackson, Margaret (2012-05-26). "The Onion has unreal appeal". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
- ^ William Grimes, "From the Glove Compartment to the Shelf." New York Times. 23 November 2007