Why is this the $8000 question?

I am signed up to receive IMs from MillionaireIM whenever someone in the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? hot seat uses his/her audience lifeline. I was just IM'd this question:

Which of these is not a directional abbreviation that appears on a standard compass?

A: SSW
B: EES
C: WNW
D: ENE

Is it because it's hard to remember what acronyms spell out to be when you're in the hot seat, or because America is stupid?

I would be 100% more sympathetic if the game had a timed element to it, but you can take up the entire show thinking about the answer to the question if you really want to.

(I apologize in advance to anyone who doesn't know the answer and thinks this is a hard question.)