Brits appear are just as ignorant as Americans
Posted on February 8th, 2008 by bile Categories and Tags: Uncategorized, Arthur Conan Doyle, Britain, Charles Dickens, education, Entertainment, Florence Nightingale, India, Mahatma Gandhi, Richard, schooling, UK, United Kingdom, Wellington, Winston Churchill 6 Comments »Britons are losing their grip on reality, according to a poll out Monday which showed that nearly a quarter think Winston Churchill was a myth while the majority reckon Sherlock Holmes was real.The survey found that 47 percent thought the 12th century English king Richard the Lionheart was a myth.
And 23 percent thought World War II prime minister Churchill was made up. The same percentage thought Crimean War nurse Florence Nightingale did not actually exist.
Three percent thought Charles Dickens, one of Britain’s most famous writers, is a work of fiction himself.
Indian political leader Mahatma Gandhi and Battle of Waterloo victor the Duke of Wellington also appeared in the top 10 of people thought to be myths.
Meanwhile, 58 percent thought Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective Holmes actually existed; 33 percent thought the same of W. E. Johns’ fictional pilot and adventurer Biggles.
UKTV Gold television surveyed 3,000 people.
Many people like to poke fun at polls like this taken which show >50% of people believe in angels, confuse the 10 planks of the Communist Manifesto with our founding documents, or think the Bill of Rights is extreme, or don’t know the who, what and whys of our history. Well it looks like the average Brit isn’t all that different.
