I Think I'm Dumb, or What's the Capital of Australia?

Last night, I was trying to prove to Alfie (the 16-year-old) that Americans aren't as stupid as the rest of the world thinks we are. Then he asked, "Okay, so what's the capital of Australia?" And I had no idea. I guessed Sydney, which I knew wasn't right. Do you know the capital of Australia? Without Googling it? What about Brazil? Argentina? What about Canada even?

It's sad how little I knew. I consider myself fairly well-educated, but I have never been taught the capitals of most other countries. Have you? I mean, I can name the capitals of almost all fifty states in the U.S., and I can show you where, geographically, most countries are, but I've got some studying to do...

I try to be aware of current events around the world, and I generally know what's going on in other countries, but maybe I just know enough to be dangerous. How do you learn the history of every conflict that the U.S. has been in, let alone the rest of the countries in the world? It's an almost impossible task if you haven't been taught well throughout school. But I'm going to read as much as I can. Starting with All the Shah's Men which I've started about three or four times, but never finished.

If I ever have kids, they have to be more educated about the rest of the world than I have been up until now.