Miss USA contestants fail to name country’s Vice President

[1]

Contestants of the Miss USA pageant were unable to name the Vice President of their country when they were quizzed in the contest.

And most did not know the colour of the waves of grain mentioned in the song 'America the Beautiful' - a mainstay of classrooms across the country.

On his Bravo show 'Watch What Happens Live', Andy Cohen asked a selection of the women to answer questions about the United States, the Daily Mail reported.

Cohen, who is hosting the contest Miss USA 2012 this weekend in Las Vegas, asked 11 contestants representing Eastern states to name the Vice President but only five could correctly name Joe Biden.

The women from Vermont, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia and Maine fell short, as they giggled helplessly at the camera or clutched their hair.

"I don't know anything about politics," Miss Massachusetts wailed, while Virginia opted for the safest answer to any pageant question: "World peace."

Others, from Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and West Virginia, confidently named Joe Biden .

Cohen, who will host the competition with Giuliana Rancic, then turned to the Western states to ask, "In America the Beautiful, what colour are the waves of grain?"

Of the seven women, three correctly guessed "amber" - with suggestions ranging from "tan" to "grey".

Failing to reach the right answer along with girls from California, New Mexico and Arizona, Montana asked if she could 'phone a friend'.

Finally, Cohen quizzed seven women from the South to prove they knew FBI stood for Federal Bureau of Investigation.

All of the women, from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Arkansas, answered correctly.

Miss USA 2012 will be broadcast from the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday.