'U.S. Americans' cashing in
on Miss Teen USA mistake

With "U.S. Americans" going crazy over an incoherent answer by Miss South Carolina Teen USA, it was inevitable "such as" that some of the people who "don't have maps" would try to cash in on the phenomenon.

Already, merchandise is in production featuring the famous flub by 18-year-old Lauren Caitlin Upton, and video parodies are making the rounds as well.

Miss South Carolina Teen USA Lauren Caitlin Upton appears with host Mario Lopez during Miss Teen USA Pageant on NBC Aug. 24, 2007

As WND was the first to report, Upton was attempting to answer a final question during the Miss Teen USA pageant in Pasadena, Calif., Aug. 24.

When asked about the reason why some Americans could not locate the U.S. on a world map, Upton said:

I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps, and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and, uh, the Iraq everywhere like, such as and I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., er, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future for our children.

Now, BusteedTees.com is among the first to market T-shirts featuring a plain blue color, and a white sash with Upton's entire response printed on it.

BustedTees.com marketing a T-shirt featuring the infamous answer by Miss South Carolina Teen USA

Ironically, WND found the $14.99 top itself has two obvious mistakes in the transcription of Upton's quote, as it twice mentions "Iraq," while Upton infamously referred to "the Iraq."

Another entrepreneur is hawking world-map T-shirts on eBay.

"It's a real good All American T-shirt, made somewhere else on the world map," the ad states.

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The incident has also sparked the creativity of some short filmmakers who have produced and posted spoofs online.

One features a young blonde wearing a South Carolina sash strolling down the street when she witnesses a car accident. When a man involved asks her to call 9-1-1, she asks in a panic, "What's the number?!"

Video spoofs of the Miss Teen USA gaffe are appearing on the Internet

The phenomenon has also been relentlessly mocked on national television.

ABC's late-night host Jimmy Kimmel actually broke out a chalkboard to try to explain to his audience what Upton was trying to say.

ABC's Jimmy Kimmel analyzes Lauren Caitlin Upton's infamous answer

"Some people out there in our nation don't have maps," he quoted her as saying. "That's actually true. I had a neighbor that didn't have a map. And I loaned him a map and he never returned it and now I actually don't have a map."

Just before the pageant took place, Upton said she had originally entered the realm of beauty pageants to improve her personal communication skills.

"When I first started pageants, I wanted to build up my communication skills for interviews for college and for jobs," she said. "I was determined to prove I was able to accomplish anything I put my mind to."

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