Please tell me this is wrong...

Captain Peabody · Post by **Captain Peabody** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:22 am

Because, if not, I'll have to downgrade my opinion of England a few notches...

Apparently, the British are reaaaallllly bad at History

sunnyside · Post by **sunnyside** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:46 am

I was getting all primed to say "you find idiots in any country."

But Chuchill?!?!?! 23 percent!?!?!

Post by **Mikey** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 2:01 am

Wow. I mean... wow.

RK_Striker_JK_5 · Post by **RK_Striker_JK_5** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:45 am

That's beyond pathetic into realms of the obtusely pathetic.

Enkidu · Post by **Enkidu** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:39 pm

These surveys are all carried out with an agenda - to fill a slow news day story about falling educational standards, etc etc. It's easy, you just find the most blank eyed, shell suit wearing knuckle-draggers hanging around the bookies with a big bottle of tramp strength cider at 11am, and ask them a series of loaded multiple choice questions. Hey presto, one shock horror news story.
Search the net: There are plenty of clips of slack jawed, huge arsed, (whatever the American equivalent of a chav is) types failing to find Australia, Europe, Iraq, and even the USA on a map of the world, thereby backing up "America to go to war with countries they can't find on a map!" headlines.

Post by **Mikey** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:53 pm

Enkidu is absolutely correct - after taking another look, I noticed that the sample size was 3 000 people. That's not even enough to conduct a taste test with any scientific accuracy. However, I've seen the American equivalent enough, and I still get shocked because even one American who doesn't know where Washington, D.C. is - or one Briton who thinks that Churchill was a fictitious character - is a shining beacon of ignorance.

However, it is true that it is impossible to correlate 23% of a (probably not random) 3 000 person sample with 23% of England.

sunnyside · Post by **sunnyside** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 4:33 pm

Depending on how the survey was done 23% of 300 could be enough to strongly hint at something. Finding some drug addled guy on the street isn't hard but a good sample of 3000 is already different.

However, poking around a hair more.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... ory104.xml

It looks like the survey was of people under the age of 20. I rather wish they'd layed out more on the survey somewhere. But that alone may explain a lot.

Still though, unlike international geography, I would think Churchill would be someone that is taught in school. Sort of like George Washington in the states.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 4:38 pm

Yeah, I'd have thought that even the people with below average inteligence would know Churchill was real.

Thorin · Post by **Thorin** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 4:54 pm

Let's just point this out to you...

UKTV Gold television surveyed 3,000 people

Note: UKTV Gold, and 3000 people - I doubt this was surveyed in Oxfordshire, either. Maybe Liverpool and Birmingham

Things like this, though, really frustrate me. They have utterly and blatantly lied. 'Quarter of Brits think Churchill was myth' - what utter crap.

Captain Peabody · Post by **Captain Peabody** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:02 pm

...So it's not true?

Yyyyippeee! The British aren't all idiots after all!

Reliant121 · Post by **Reliant121** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:05 pm

No we damned well aint. Churchill a myth indeed...huh...

Post by **Mikey** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:13 pm

Well, the "lie" appears to be in the clause "quarter of all Britons", whereas it should have read "a quarter of the sample." The fact remains that there ARE people over there who think that Churchill was a fictitious mythological character.

Don't feel bad. Idiots are universal.

Post by **Captain Seafort** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:19 pm

Apart from the extremely narrow selection, there's also the question of whether at least some of the individuals in question were taking the mick. After all, according to the latest census there are over a quarter of a million Jedi in theis country.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:56 pm

How many Sith?

Post by **Captain Seafort** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:00 pm

Two there are, no more, no less.

No mention of any in the census though.