The dumbest city in the U.S. is ...

Fresno, according to this examination of 55 metro areas with 1 million or more people. Raleigh-Durham is rated as the smartest.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-10-04/americas-smartest-cities---from-first-to-worst/

 

For the third time in a week, a list of "cities" includes a non-existent "city." This is the second to try to break news of the merger of Raleigh and Durham. Another one this week tried to say that Raleigh, Durham AND Chapel Hill has merged. Certainly not smart.

 

I can't believe Detroit was rated that high, (40), to be honest. My dealings with store clerks and bank tellers who can barely add and subtract would put it way farther down the list.

 

Folks here in Cincy (43rd) are pissed about the ratings' citation of book sales as an indicator, pointing out that the local library has the third-highest circulation numbers in the nation. So, we're not buying books, but going the frugal route and getting them from the library. (Me? I'm buying them, as my ever-shrinking bank account can attest. Guess I'm the dumb one.)

 

... and believe me, there are far dumber corners of the U.S. than Fresno.

 

It's a grouping of regional cities. Raleigh-Durham isn't the only grouping on there.

There was also Oakland-San Francisco-San Jose, as well as Grand Rapids-Battle Creek-Kalamazoo.


So it really should be region or metro areas, instead of a city ranking.

Even that isn't a great listing, there's a fairly big difference in comparing GR with Kalamazoo or Battle Creek

 

Bakersfield, Barstow...

Off the top of my head, I would have guessed Boston would have been No. 1 because of all of the colleges in the area.

I wonder if the people who did this poll ventured out anywhere in Durham other than Duke's campus.

 

They didn't venture anywhere, because the rankings were based on quantifiable factors described in the story.

 

Fresno is dumb only because it's a conservative post in California that hasn't pushed for independent statehood apart from their neighbors upcoast (San Fran) and downcoast (Hollywood).

 

Scribe, this is not the politics board. Take your paranoid crap back where it belongs.

 

Just explaining why Fresno is dumb. You don't think politics was part of the evaluation, be my guest.

 

I think he should be banned.