Should Evolution Be Taught in Schools? Miss USA Contestants Respond

Miss USA contestants and the topic of evolution. Oil and water. 

First, before we get into critiquing their dreadfully atrocious answers, let’s give these ladies some credit. They’re pretty much expected to be perfect in every way, at all times, and that in itself can cause people to crack under pressure. 

But when confronted with the question “Should evolution be taught in schools?” it’s clear that these 15 Miss USA contestants — credited with the worst answers to the question — don’t know much about the topic at all. 

From making up words on the spot like “creationtism” to claiming we should leave it up to the government to decide whether we teach evolution in school, these women completely blew it. One of the most popular responses was to write evolution off as "just a theory," but a scientific theory involves much more than just a hunch.

In science, we have hypotheses, theories, and laws. Although a hypothesis is a proposed explanation, that doesn't mean it's just a random guess — it's based on prior scientific knowledge, observations, experience, and logic. Theories, on the other hand, are broad explanations for a variety of phenomena, but the word "theory" holds much more meaning in the science world than outside of it. A theory must be supported by ample evidence in order to be accepted by the science community, and about 97 percent of scientists agree with the theory of evolution. Lastly, a law is a statement based on repeated experimental observations, and it always applies under the same conditions. This video makes it painstakingly obvious that these ladies have no idea how much work and supporting evidence is required to form a scientific theory. 

And sorry to single you out Miss Louisana (3:20), but we’re not entirely convinced you know what evolution is. 

However, all jokes aside, this video should serve as a reminder that there’s still a surprising number of people who are completely unaware of some of the most important scientific theories to date. While the video is undoubtedly entertaining (and somewhat unsettling), society needs to work toward better science education. Hopefully, in the years to come, Miss USA contestants won’t be starting off their answers to a question on evolution with confused faces and “This is such a tough one.”