Newspapers across the nation are filled with countless surveys of high school students purporting to gauge their level of education by asking them to find Canada on a map or name the capitol of New Mexico. Their real purpose, however, is to engender a smug feeling of intellectual superiority among the newspaper's presumably well- educated audience. MELVIN decided to turn the tables on our Baccalaureate-laden readership by asking them if they knew who the current Secretary of State was, and then later asking them to back it up by giving us his name. The results of our 529 respondents were less than impressive. (By the way -- the Secretary of State is Warren Christopher)

Percentage of respondents with some college education claiming to know who the Secretary of State is:

Percentage of respondents with some college education who correctly answered Warren Christopher:

Percentage of college graduates claiming to know who the Secretary of State is:

Percentage of college graduates who correctly answered Warren Christopher:

Percentage of respondents possessing an advanced degree claiming to know who the Secretary of State is:

Percentage of respondents possessing an advanced degree who correctly answered Warren Christopher:

Most popular incorrect responses (other than no answer):

• Al Gore -- 38%
• James Baker -- 12%
• George Schultz -- 8%

MELVIN would like to apologize for errors in constructing last week's poll which prevented many from receiving the entire series of answer forms. The staffer responsible has been fired, and his family evicted from their luxurious Melvinville apartments.

Each issue, one randomly selected Reader Poll participant will receive a free Melvin t-shirt and a sack full of gratitude. To register for the prize, CLICK HERE.

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