Atlanta ranked 4th most literate city
Reading is FUNdamentil, says London PETA protester.
We may be rude, but at least Atlantans is good with books.
A study by some college in Connecticut ranks Atlanta as the forth most literate major U.S. city, trailing only Washington D.C., Seattle and Minneapolis. Atlanta was ranked forth last time to.
City rankings was based on several facters, including newspaper circulation (hooray!), book perchases, education level of residents and library infurmation.
The Los Angeles Times laments the dumness of Californians, who are surely responsible for that cities 59th position, by making fun of the smartest city in America, Washington D.C.
“Considering the fact that it appears that no one in Congress reads the laws they vote on, this is remarkable news,” the Times writes in parentheses, which means they were too scared to just come out and say it.
I wonder about these ranking myself, since New York City is tied with Austin, Texas, for 22nd and we know neither one of them be that smart.
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84 comments Add your comment
cheerfortech
January 26th, 2012
2:53 pm
If we are the 4th most literate, please change the forth to fourth on the link to this story!
Kathryn
January 26th, 2012
3:01 pm
“Atlantans is good with books”? Maybe the rest of us average into the fourth most literate, but the man who wrote this is certainly pulling down that number.
Realcondo
January 26th, 2012
3:04 pm
It’s a joke. You’re bringing our sense of humor ranking down.
Mike
January 26th, 2012
3:05 pm
I thought “satire” like this went out with “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
George Mathis
January 26th, 2012
3:06 pm
Note: This is a humor blog. Don’t take it too seriously.
Lee
January 26th, 2012
3:11 pm
dumBness. duh. Rankings WERE based. Are all of these errors on porpoise?
Fayefan
January 26th, 2012
3:11 pm
“…book perchases..”
Seriously??????
There’s plenty of illiterate people around here, please don’t diss the more intelligent ones.
Robyn
January 26th, 2012
3:17 pm
Fix the spelling in purchases, dumbness, information, factors……nevermind, just delete the whole article and let someone literate write it!!! OMG
jeffrey d
January 26th, 2012
3:26 pm
And here I thought the obvious intentional spelling errors were…obvious
Johanna
January 26th, 2012
3:36 pm
LOL!…I appreciate the mid-afternoon funny! Thanks!
BigDawg
January 26th, 2012
3:51 pm
This is a bogus study! How about testing students only without cheating scandals in schools?! How are the SAT scores in the City of Atlanta?! Poor, just like Georgia, I guess. I live in Atlanta and am from GA, so no outsider bashing here, just the pitiful truth from a teacher.
BigDawg
January 26th, 2012
3:52 pm
Professor with Ph.D., so I know something about bogus methodologies of studies.
amy
January 26th, 2012
3:53 pm
@jeffrey d: the spelling errors are easy. the real kicker is in the grammatical errors, a nuance that seems to have escaped many of the indignantly literate commenters thus far. ;]
Anne
January 26th, 2012
3:53 pm
Was this tongue-in-cheek? This is the most poorly written article I have ever read concerning literacy. The writer must not be from Atlanta.
amy
January 26th, 2012
3:55 pm
well, if you have to ask…
Nina
January 26th, 2012
4:00 pm
“level of residents and library infurmation.”
…Love it. Just love it.
Chelsea
January 26th, 2012
4:02 pm
This article made me laugh out loud at my desk. The comments from the people who are too stupid to understand that it is a joke make the article even better. Kudos.
cheerfortech
January 26th, 2012
4:06 pm
Could it just be that some of us are playing along with the joke? I thought the article was very funny, too.
OJ
January 26th, 2012
4:06 pm
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….. To the writer, you should have passed this story on to someone with a better understanding of when to use “are” and “is,” as well as someone who knows how to properly use the word FORTH and FOURTH.. SMH
Leslie Long
January 26th, 2012
4:08 pm
Glad someone caught forth (fourth) – but they missed Atlantans are (not is); to at the end of the paragraph, which should be too (meaning also), City ranking were (not was); facters (factors); purchases (not perchases); library information (not infurmation) and dumbness (not dumness – this is truly unbelievable. A cursory “spellcheck” would have caught all of these mistakes.George, and I cannot believe your editor caught NONE of these egregious errors. Am certain our ranking would drop dramatically if this type of output was considered.
The 27th
January 26th, 2012
4:10 pm
Amen Chelsea!!! I was just about to post pretty much the same thing.
Tramond
January 26th, 2012
4:13 pm
“It’s a joke. You’re bringing our sense of humor ranking down.” “And here I thought the obvious intentional spelling errors were…obvious” < This!!! LOL! I knew someone was going to think they were a genius commenting on the blatant errors.
whm
January 26th, 2012
4:15 pm
I think a fuw of you is wownd to tite to injoy this artikl. You need to git down off your high horse.
Jim Sutherland
January 26th, 2012
4:16 pm
…last time “to,” in a story about literacy, priceless.
Rodney
January 26th, 2012
4:20 pm
LoL ” Some college in Connecticut”
Michael Gearon, Jr.
January 26th, 2012
4:24 pm
Too bad you can’t read the start time on sports tickets and arrive on time. Or at all.
Ben
January 26th, 2012
4:32 pm
Yeah and if the south had won the civil war we’d be 1st.
Stevelb1
January 26th, 2012
4:36 pm
“Atlanta was ranked forth last time to.” Shouldn’t it be too not to in that sentence? Just saying.
PattyB
January 26th, 2012
4:39 pm
This was just too funny! I think the comments from people were just hilarious. The picture is great too. Enjoyed the laugh for the day.
A.B. Normal
January 26th, 2012
4:47 pm
Obviously written by a ‘gra-jee-ate’ of Atlanta Public Schools. Bah-ha-ha-ha!!!!!!
Craig Jones
January 26th, 2012
4:48 pm
More literate than New York, Boston and San Francisco? Certainly not more literary. What kinds of books, magazines and newspapers are they basing this on?
dan
January 26th, 2012
4:48 pm
Joke or jerk?
Margaret Parker
January 26th, 2012
4:49 pm
Does and editor not check spelling and grammar?
Suresh
January 26th, 2012
4:53 pm
How that would be possible if people can’t even write fourth!!!!!
Carpetbagger
January 26th, 2012
4:58 pm
What a joke!
scott
January 26th, 2012
5:01 pm
i dont beleve this article…too much ignorance in metro atlanta
Nandan
January 26th, 2012
5:03 pm
City rankings was based on several facters, including newspaper circulation (hooray!), book perchases, education level of residents and library infurmation.
Typo: Facters instead of factors.
gkingii
January 26th, 2012
5:03 pm
Must be a joke. “…city rankings was…” Really?
gkingii
January 26th, 2012
5:04 pm
“…facters…”???
gkingii
January 26th, 2012
5:05 pm
“…neither one of them be that smart…” ??
gkingii
January 26th, 2012
5:05 pm
“…dumness…”???
J W
January 26th, 2012
5:10 pm
Simply having the resources available is not just cause for ‘guessing’ at a 4th place ranking. It doen’s matter how many resources you have if people do not take advantage of them and actually absorb and understand what is presented.
One glance at any Atlanta TV news station report will reveal just where the literacy level really is.
Yankee61
January 26th, 2012
5:13 pm
If it’s a humor blog you should have included a tag line that identified it as such. I see no humor in poor grammer — especially in this state with its poor educational system. You should be a role model.
Harvey D. Pooka
January 26th, 2012
5:14 pm
Booyah! Just look at the pretty picture —– I guess that is what the writer of this article, or the printers typesetter, was doing when they referenced: “facters”, “perchases”, “infurmation”.
BELLYPANEL
January 26th, 2012
5:17 pm
Dude…Ya Done Did Good!! B^)
Peter
January 26th, 2012
5:18 pm
Grate news!
the bishop
January 26th, 2012
5:27 pm
I didn’t read it, I was just looking at the picture.
Calvin G. Sims, Sr.
January 26th, 2012
5:29 pm
There are so many grammatical errors in this article that I am sure they are intentional…Please God!!!
Go Falcons
Eyenstine
January 26th, 2012
5:35 pm
(Note to article’s author: the college study focused on reading, not spelling.) That said, before anyone starts popping champane corcks, let’s not forget that Georgia ranks 40th in the Best Educated Index. That’s our highest ranking ever.
In other words, Georgians ain’t the sharpest knives in the drawer by a long shot, but they shore can read.
ATL native
January 26th, 2012
5:39 pm
I m not shure what the pitcher of the PETA gurl up abuve has to do with the litteret rankings, but who kares? YeeHAW!
Susan Stover
January 26th, 2012
5:39 pm
George Mathis, didn’t read past your second sentence – forth fourth to two too – yikes.
Lee
January 26th, 2012
5:49 pm
I’ve always wondered what type of job “birthers” had…now I know one of them wrote this…or may he/she got help?
Geech
January 26th, 2012
5:53 pm
Mr. Marthis,
I ain’t never seen no better writin’ in my life. Not since Uncle Teemus was writin’ the Skeeter Branch Daily Devotional for Skeeter Branch Baptist Church down in Sheebogee, GA.
Your Friend,
Geech
Old Geezer
January 26th, 2012
5:56 pm
Amazing that no one has blamed Bush or the republicans yet.
Huh???...
January 26th, 2012
5:56 pm
I SERIOUSLY object! Clearly these people do not attempt to communication with the people I do on a daily basis. My neighbor (who works for Gwinnett Co Schools) cannot spell “snake”. Believe me, I’ve seen her try!
JEM
January 26th, 2012
6:24 pm
Kathryn, Fayefan and Robyn are not very smart…
Happy to be from the South
January 26th, 2012
6:32 pm
No gull git of the poach and close dat do! Um fin to reed the funny’s!
The Devil You Say?
January 26th, 2012
6:32 pm
I did enjoy the tongue in cheek nature of the article, but enough already!
Jmoore
January 26th, 2012
6:41 pm
how about the author to this story can’t even spell PURCHASES. Yeah, great news paper circulation.
Jessica
January 26th, 2012
6:44 pm
Don’t get all worked up, people…it’s obviously a joke. (note correct use of apostrophe in “it’s”….haha)
Where'sTheHumor?
January 26th, 2012
6:49 pm
While the column is about an actual study, the attempt at humor by the puerile column writer through the use of poor grammar and misspellings far misses the mark. I’ve seen more intelligent humor in middle school student publications. Another black mark for a publication that has little regard in the journalism profession.
John
January 26th, 2012
6:56 pm
How literate can we Atlantans be as a group if so many commentors above caught only one or two of the glaring intentional spelling/grammar/usage errors in the column? So many of the comments are scary in their authors’ failure to recognize many of the planted mistakes, with comments focusing on just one of many misuses. Yikes, if we’re # 4, can folks in lower-ranked cities communicate otrher than by grunting?
Mahopinion
January 26th, 2012
7:04 pm
Geez Louise. I take it that journalists weren’t included in this survey. “Forth”. “Perchases”. I’d be laughing if it weren’t so pathetic.
Theron wasson
January 26th, 2012
7:04 pm
Literate city but the writer can’t spell simple words in reporting this information.
sheepdawg
January 26th, 2012
7:06 pm
newt will use this in the next debate to bolster the confidence of his stupid followers
Catwoman
January 26th, 2012
7:07 pm
We may be fourth in literacy, but dead last in reading humor.
Mel in Midtown
January 26th, 2012
7:20 pm
Obviously, the writer is not very literate – end of first graph: “too” instead of “to.”
Mel in Midtown
January 26th, 2012
7:20 pm
“Factors” not “facters!!”
Jerry Grillo
January 26th, 2012
7:33 pm
Deer George, I wood like to apologize fore the total miss understanding on the part of many of my fellow commentors, who apparently know the difference tween to and too, but missed the hole “breaking news HUMOR” thang near the top of this paige. Sum of us, at least, appreshiate a little tong-in-cheeek humor know and then. Mutch obliged. And hear’s hoping Mel, and Mahopinion and friends lighten up a little, and espeshully Where’sTheHumor, who is a genius among mortels, yet finds the time in his/her busy day to reed “a publication that has little regard in the journalism profession.” Then again, Gorge, this isun’t the funnyest thing you have written, and my sadd effort at copying you is allll the sadderr.
Kayleigh
January 26th, 2012
7:39 pm
It is a joke. Lighten up people.
Michael
January 26th, 2012
7:46 pm
fer shur.
Hugh Jass
January 26th, 2012
7:51 pm
Cheerfortech, You made my day. It is blatantly obvious that this article is tongue in cheek. You not getting it is actually funnier than the humor in the article.
K Bond
January 26th, 2012
7:57 pm
You spelled purchases wrong, dumbass.
Dr. Gray
January 26th, 2012
7:58 pm
Apparently the author of this article is from LA because there are several serious grammatical and spelling errors in this article.
Steve
January 26th, 2012
8:16 pm
ATL is an Airport, not a city . . .
Steve
January 26th, 2012
8:18 pm
Now that I think about it, with a headline that reads, “Where did ATL rank on literate city list?”, makes perfect sense.
Debbie
January 26th, 2012
8:31 pm
Wow. It is scary that so many of the people commenting didn’t get the joke. Great article George.
Debbie
January 26th, 2012
8:36 pm
I think it is really funny that some of these people only saw one or two errors.
James Vandeventer
January 27th, 2012
12:29 am
It would be nice if this article about literacy didn’t have spelling errors.
Fred
January 27th, 2012
11:21 am
Freaking hullareous Goerge. Funyist thing I’ve red all week.
randy hitt
January 31st, 2012
4:33 pm
Fourth most literate?….surely I must have read the headline wrong.
Deborah Lane
February 2nd, 2012
4:33 pm
You have got to be kidding me. This must be southern humor.
flip
February 9th, 2012
9:41 am
I knew it was a JOKE when I read the title….illiteracy isn’t a laughing matter. GA still ranks at the bottom of the education chain.
Cathy
February 17th, 2012
6:19 pm
Wow, good to know. I am so glad I moved to Denver, people are a little work ethic challenged and usually a little stoned but they can spell. Purchase and information….this has got to be a parody…I am sorry missed the joke. I hate being the last one to laugh.