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I stand corrected.

The stupidest question I've ever been asked came from a hair stylist in the very first beauty salon that I went to in the US when I was 16, a few months after my arrival in the country. She asked me where I was from, so I said "I'm from Hiroshima." And came the question:

"Oh my god. Are there, like, buildings there?"

I think I just said "Yes, of course there are" or something simple like that because I couldn't speak much English back then. I wish I'd said something like "Are you, like, totally stupid or something?"

But then again, she probably isn't the only american who is ignorant about the aftermath of the a-bombing. She is probably the majority.

Oh, I have another one. God, things start to pop up in my memory one after another.

"What part of Japan is Hong Kong?"

This one was from a sophomore at my high school. I laughed and told her Hong Kong is not part of Japan. She looked offended that I laughed, and said "Well, I don't know Asiaaa." Obviously not.

She may be an extreme case, but again, she isn't the only american who is ignorant about Asia. She left school the following year to attend a ballet conservatory somewhere. I wonder if she ever figured out where Hong Kong is.