Very Interesting.....

Like most couples, the husband and I usually don't go to sleep as soon as we get into bed; we spend a little time relaxing. I usually like to read, and sometimes he'll click on the television. (I really don't like watching TV in bed, so I just bury my nose in my book.)
One thing the husband enjoys at this time is watching shows on the Korean channel. Granted, he can't speak Korean very well, but he gets a kick out of the shows. Sometimes they're soap operas; most of the time it's a variety show. But the other night, he clicked on the TV, and they were broadcasting a Korean game show.

There were two contestants, standing on opposite sides of a podium, "Family Feud" style. The gameplay was pretty straightforward... the contestant would pick a "topic," and the host would ask the contestant a question. Right or wrong, he would then turn to the other contestant, he would pick a topic, and so on. They were pretty tough questions; in the brief time that we were watching the show, there was only one correct answer. There was a unique aspect to some of the questions; at one point, a contestant was asked a question and had thirty seconds to google an answer using a computer at the podium.

One important detail: The show had English subtitles.

This is pretty rare. I've seen subtitles on the soap operas before, but never on any of the other shows. Curious as to how difficult the questions would be, I paid a little more attention than I normally would.

So... one of the contestants picks the category: "U.S.A."

Now, knowing the love for American pop culture in most Asian countries, my ears pricked up when I saw the category. What would the question be? I was completely prepared for something involving Britney Spears or Brad Pitt.

Well, this show shut my stereotyping mouth toot sweet.

I'm paraphrasing, but the question was something along the lines of:

"What chemical did the American Military use as a weapon in a 2005 attack on the city of Fallujah in Iraq?"

My eyes BUGGED out of my skull.

Now, here's where my memory is fuzzy... the moment was over so quickly, I can't remember if they said "use," or "illegally use."

So... the "U.S.A question" on this show was about the illegal use of chemical weapons, and not about the color of Tom Cruise's car.

Looks like, in some ways, we are beginning to be known for our war atrocities, rather than our pop culture dreck.

I just find that very interesting.


(The contestant, by the way, answered the question incorrectly, no matter how loudly I screamed "White phosphorous!!!" at the screen. I don't know if his wrong answer is a good or bad thing. Tip toe through the cross-posts with me...)