Where do these people come from?

So in my previous life, I was a traveler -- one who did the weekly trip and spent most of my life living out of a suitcase. If you are or were in my previous profession, you know exactly what I do.

Anyway, my point is that traveling and specifically flying are easy for me and I have my routine down. Now, I have seen many things that surprise me but this one almost shocked me today. I was standing in line at security, shoes off and computer in hand (I did not take the jacket off just yet because I was wearing a cami). The woman in front of me apparently has not traveled in over 6 years (since pre-9/11). As she was going through security, they threw away some gigantic liquid she had in her bag and she had no clue why. She looked even more baffled when they asked her to take off her shoes and horrified when they asked her to take off her jacket. Me, on the other hand, I will strip buck naked if it gets me through the line faster ... but I digress. So, she did all that after some shock.

Then I go to my gate and sit for a LONG time (note to self -- never rely on colleague when planning travel because they haven't a freaking clue). And the woman from the security area sits next to me. Overhead, they make the typical security threat announcement (the national security level is orange ... blah blah blah). And she looks at me (in all seriousness) and says, "Security threat? What do they mean by security threat and what is code orange? Have we been attacked or something?"

It took every ounce of strength not to start laughing and say, "Hey lady, have you been living under a freaking rock?" Seriously though, where do people like this come from?