I've seen that name before.

The state of California has about 12% of the country's population. Not quite the same thing as a "vast majority".

That's funny, I only ever see the police using them.

I guess it all depends on the teacher you get and how much freedom they are given to determine the course curriculum. My Humanities class in high school (mid-90s, Texas public school) was all about the history of Hollywood and the entertainment industry of the 20th century. I remember we watched a lot of TV too -- from Black Adder to Tiny Toons. I remember my big group project involved recording hours and hours of television to edit together a compilation of the commercials illustrating various advertising and marketing techniques, and then presenting it to the class.

She was a weird teacher. I liked her OK, but she was weird. She was just this side of the "man-hating lesbian" stereotype, and she definitely treated male students differently than female students, but she never ruffled my feathers too much.