"I had a bonsai once... it died!"

Why do the general public has such a distorted perception of bonsai.

I am sure we have all had the same experience; you are introduced to someone and polite conversation flows and they enquire, “What do you do in your spare time” you tell them that you enjoy Bonsai and they invariably reply “I had a Bonsai once…it died” some times they respond with “Bonsai… aren’t those are the little Japanese trees they sell in the Mall, you have to trim the roots don’t you?”