The opportunity to share this anecdote pops up every few years here on FT.
CIrca 2006, I was sitting in a restaurant on the Santa Cruz (CA) Boardwalk. It was a clear enough day that you could just see the tip of the Monterey Peninsula across the water. The couple at the next table asked the waitress, with a southern accent, if that was Hawaii.
I 100% believe that there are folks who just don't grasp distance.