[voodoo]

CLUELESS ABOUT HISTORY

Britain is a nation of history dunces with many even believing Adolf Hitler never existed, according to a new survey.

A quarter of those interviewed were not sure if the Battle of Trafalgar was a real historic event, while one in seven did not know the Battle of Hastings really took place.



Researchers found that many of the 2,069 adults questioned could not tell fact from fiction.

More than one in 20 thought the sci-fi classic War of the Worlds, in which Earth is invaded by Martians, was a historical event.

Some even believed the Battle of Helm's Deep from the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Battle of Endor from Return of the Jedi actually took place.

Almost half of those asked thought William Wallace never existed and more than half believed King Arthur was real.

A quarter thought Robin Hood was a genuine historical figure, while one in 20 thought Conan the Barbarian was real.

Some of the respondents confused popular television series with fact, with some believing Edmond Blackadder and Zena Warrior Princess had existed.

The survey of adults aged 16 and over was commissioned to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Blenheim on August 13.

Yet the results showed that, despite being one of the greatest victories in British military history, nearly three quarters of the population had never heard of the battle.

John Hoy, chief executive of Blenheim Palace, said: "We set out to establish where the Battle of Blenheim stood in the nation's consciousness and were amazed to find out that so few people had even heard of the battle.

"We're determined to do all we can to change this.

That's it! No more TV for you people!

source: Sky News

[PacHead]

Robin Hood wasnt real ?

I guess I wouldve answered wrong on that question also.

[:XI:]

Originally posted by PacHead:
Robin Hood wasnt real ?

I guess I wouldve answered wrong on that question also.

Robin Hood is in the same boat as King Arthur, both are based on legends, but no one really knows who either one one was.

"The survey of adults aged 16" says it all really.

Oh, When I was in school, five years of history, we covered the Saxons, WWII and the Battle of little big horn... wtf?

[voodoo]

Originally posted by :XI::

"The survey of adults aged 16" says it all really.

"The survey of adults aged 16 and over..."

[lil'babykitten]

Originally posted by voodoo:
source: Sky News

They are actually part of the problem.

[voodoo]

Originally posted by lil'babykitten:
They are actually part of the problem.

And Fox, their counterpart in the US

[:XI:]

Originally posted by voodoo:
"The survey of adults aged 16 and over..."

I miss-copy-and-pasted, ok? I think all the people questioned were from my region too. :/

[mdc]

black adder did not exist. heh heh heh!

[Truepop]

More than one in 20 thought the sci-fi classic War of the Worlds, in which Earth is invaded by Martians, was a historical event.

Depends on how you look at it, They could have looked to the panic Americans went through when The Mercury Theatre did their radio drama.

[mixin visuals]

i would blame bush for that too then

[Spliffdaddy]

it's definitely Dubya's fault that Brits are clueless about history.

[mixin visuals]

Originally posted by Spliffdaddy:
it's definitely Dubya's fault that Brits are clueless about history.

thats what I thought too

[voodoo]

Originally posted by Spliffdaddy:
it's definitely Dubya's fault that Brits are clueless about history.

Heck why not? He's been blamed for so much he can hold on to one more blame can't he??

[Developer]

Originally posted by voodoo:
The survey of adults aged 16 and over was commissioned to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Blenheim on August 13.

Yet the results showed that, despite being one of the greatest victories in British military history, nearly three quarters of the population had never heard of the battle.

If I'm honest, I have never heard of that bottle too.

[Amorya]

Originally posted by PacHead:
Robin Hood wasnt real ?

I guess I wouldve answered wrong on that question also.

As far as I know, Robin Hood was actually a real person... although of course the legends were twisted a fair bit in the telling. I have a book of the stories of Robin Hood, with a preface showing all the historical evidence for his existence.

Amorya

[mitchell_pgh]

I don't consider people adults until they are 18, and even then, it's not until they are usually around 20+ that they really start getting in to history.

Most Americans can't name all 50 state capitals or even place every state with the proper name. I guess I don't see the big deal...

[rambo47]

I'm always comforted by knowing that at least Vlad Teped was real. Vlad ROCKS (rocked).

[:XI:]

Originally posted by Developer:
If I'm honest, I have never heard of that bottle too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blenheim

[MacsGalor]

Originally posted by mixin visuals:
i would blame bush for that too then

Wow thats about as ignorant as they are

[hagheid]

Amazingly 78% thought that Tony Blair was a woodwormed puppet controlled by some American primate. The other 42% thought his wife was attractive & should never have left the Spice Girls.

[quandarry]

forgetting their history is a good way to put all the misery and ethnic cleansing they perpetrated on the world in the past to pasture...yes i know they weren't the only ones.

[mattyd]

isn't it fun how we impose our "superior" way of life on unsuspecting civilizations, yet we have no idea how we got to be this way?

[ASIMO]

Does it really surprise you that the Brits fare no better?

Or some kids had fun with the survey.

[voodoo]

Originally posted by Amorya:
As far as I know, Robin Hood was actually a real person... although of course the legends were twisted a fair bit in the telling. I have a book of the stories of Robin Hood, with a preface showing all the historical evidence for his existence.

Amorya

Coool -- 1006 posts and no addiction. Your tolerance is high Amorya