Hitler wasn't real, says one in 10 historically challenged Britons
 

*Sigh*

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...04/ixhome.html

British people are ignorant of some of the most important events and people in this country's history, a new survey has revealed.

As well as an inability to recall the dates of military victories and the personalities involved, there is also huge confusion about which characters and battles are fact and fiction.

One in 10 of the 2,000 adults questioned in the survey commissioned by Blenheim Palace thought that Adolf Hitler was not a real person, and half were convinced that King Arthur existed.

Almost three-quarters did not know that the Battle of Blenheim took place 300 years ago, even though it is one of the greatest British military triumphs. Fewer than one in eight had heard of John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, who led the British to victory against the French and for whom the palace was built by the nation as a reward.

A quarter of the adults were unsure whether the Battle of Trafalgar was a real historical event, and more than half thought that Horatio Nelson commanded British troops at the battle of Waterloo. Similarly, one in seven Britons did not know that the Battle of Hastings was real.

The lack of knowledge was greeted with alarm by historians. Tristram Hunt, the historian and television presenter, said: "Perhaps more worrying is the apparent merging of fact and fiction. There has always been myth and legend in history, but these findings show that there is a real need for clear understanding. There is a clear challenge here for academics to engage with a popular audience."

John Hoy, the chief executive of Blenheim Palace - the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill - said that he was amazed that so few people had heard of the battle in whose honour the palace was named.

"By defeating the forces of Louis XIV in the War of the Spanish Succession, John Churchill changed the history of Britain and Europe. It was such a momentous event that it led Queen Anne to bestow Blenheim Palace on Churchill as a gift from 'a grateful nation'.

"The problem for many people is that they associate history with dry and dusty dates and facts. Once they realise that history is about people - the way we used to live and the way we live now - it becomes more relevant and exciting."

Researchers also found that respondents struggled with modern history. One in five believed that Harold Wilson was prime minister during the Second World War. Confusion about Britain's historical figures was laid at the door of Hollywood films, such as Braveheart, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Almost half the adults surveyed believed that Sir William Wallace was not a real person, and a quarter were convinced that Robin Hood was.

One in 20 thought that Conan the Barbarian, a character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, was a genuine person. Some also believed that Lord Edmund Blackadder and Xena Warrior Princess, characters from television series, were real.

Children are similarly ignorant of British history. Thirty per cent of 11 to 18-year-olds in a recent survey thought that Oliver Cromwell fought at the Battle of Hastings. A similar proportion did not know in which century the First World War took place.

However, Peter Furtado, the editor of History Today magazine, said that history teaching had been praised by inspectors as excellent. "There has been a greater emphasis in schools on dates and historical timelines," he said.

"In a way, there is just too much history and the most we can hope is that pupils are inspired to learn more and continue with history study.

"People have always been inspired by fiction to learn history. Many historians talk about the fact that a rollicking good read or film caught their imagination. It means that some people are inspired to find out more. Inevitably though, some people will get the wrong end of the stick."

Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, was designed by the architect Sir John Vanbrugh and built between 1705 and 1722 in honour of the British victory over Louis XIV of France at Blenheim, a small village on the banks of the River Danube, in 1704.

i wish that this type of topic was just dropped - he was real - it did happen and learn and move forward..

those dumb fucks

Why would you want this kind of topic dropped?! It's not people trying to convince other he wasn't real, it was a test to normal people and 10% of them didn't even know he was real. That's just sad.

More History Idiots you put in a room...more bullshit comes out.
The same about the idiots that talk about art...and what the artist wants to tell with his art......

I tell you...the artist was just bored maybe and wanted to make a nice work...finish

The People today tell you a whole 3 hours story about a picture or a statue......the creator would laugh..maybe

The average Brit is just as fucking stupid as the average American.

Give a Brit a tabloid newspaper and a can of lager and he's as happy as a pig in shit.

Except that the pig is more intelligent... handsome... hygenic...

Who's jesus ?

in an 1980's survey of a New York school 3 in 10 children thought milk only came from a supermarket - they didnt know it comes out of a cow

So we know that 10% percent of Brits are idiots. That doesn't say much. No country is idiot-free.

hahaha :1orglaugh

10% didn't know that Adolf was real. 10% is not the number of idiots. I'm sure it's higher


:glugglug

Wow... kind of makes you sick eh?
Like how handicapped do you need to be to think Hitler didn't exist?

No doubt, 10% of idiots is too low for any country. But we know for sure that at least 10% of them are idiots.

... of what? 2-year olds?

I don't think I wanna know :)

to be honest, them thinking Arthur is or was real is more astounding than Hitler.

folks Merlin did NOT exist, however, Hitler certainly did

hahaha

the brits tried to creep into Chalmette during the Battle Of new Orleans, guess what... due to communication back then.

the war already called off for almost 2 months, and guess what.

3000 Brits lost their lives as they crept into a trap.

hardly ZERO lives in New Orleans, yet all brits were wiped out.

whenever Brits come up, i recall playing on those battlefields as a kid, hearing the war stories and being told that the fileds were covered in bodies and ghosts still remain there.

lots of uncalled for death.

haha that's horrible.. and i thought the girls on leno who thought hilters first name was timmy was bad..

Thats bad... us won't do much better

You'll get the same figures wherever you do this type of survey.

Some people are idiots, who'd have thunk it?!

so just what the hell was your point by posting this on a webmaster board?

I think Hitler's real. And there's no point arguing
whether he's real or not. He had already killed
many innocent lives and I think right now,
he's already burning in hell.

Hitler was real? Does King Arthur know this?!

I think Peter Pan is real :1orglaugh

If they belive hard enough then Hitler isn't real!

http://www.supostal.com.ar/wallpaper...eterpan_02.jpg

you shouldnt think that much

Who cares about "Britain?"

Where did these guys live, in a cave?

hahahahaha

LOL! Only in US...

Average IQ by Country:
http://www.sq.4mg.com/NationIQ.htm

Hong Kong 107
Korea, South 106
Japan 105
Taiwan 104
Singapore 104
Austria 102
Germany 102
Italy 102
Netherlands 102
Sweden 101
Switzerland 101
Belgium 100
China 100
New Zealand 100
United Kingdom 100
Hungary 99
Poland 99
Australia 98
Denmark 98
France 98
Norway 98
United States 98
Canada 97
Czech Republic 97
Finland 97
Spain 97
Argentina 96
Russia 96
Slovakia 96
Uruguay 96
Portugal 95
Slovenia 95
Israel 94
Romania 94
Bulgaria 93
Ireland 93
Greece 92
Malaysia 92
Thailand 91
Croatia 90
Peru 90
Turkey 90
Colombia 89
Indonesia 89
Suriname 89
Brazil 87
Iraq 87
Mexico 87
Samoa (Western) 87
Tonga 87
Lebanon 86
Philippines 86
Cuba 85
Morocco 85
Fiji 84
Iran 84
Marshall Islands 84
Puerto Rico 84
Egypt 83
India 81
Ecuador 80
Guatemala 79
Barbados 78
Nepal 78
Qatar 78
Zambia 77
Congo (Brazz) 73
Uganda 73
Jamaica 72
Kenya 72
South Africa 72
Sudan 72
Tanzania 72
Ghana 71
Nigeria 67
Guinea 66
Zimbabwe 66
Congo (Zaire) 65
Sierra Leone 64
Ethiopia 63
Guinea 59

I regularly laugh at Jay Leno's idiot spots. He had someone the other night who thought London was the capital of Paris.

First of all it isn't 10% it is 10 out of 2000 or .5%. Second every country has them. I don't know of all the battle that canada has taken part in and we have only been around since 1867.

Brits are crap at history. You're crap at mathematics. :winkwink:

As long as there are idiots on this planet we don't have to worry about our income, so I personally don't care about them as long as they have CCs. :)

Oops I missed the "One in" at the start lol guess I should pay more attention.

hahaha, that's funny as hell... although there's lots of stupid people in every country.

There was a show on here in Canada a while ago... they'd go to the US and ask people questions about Canada and some of these idiots would ask "Canada? what state is that in?", etc... funny shit.

Some people are fucking idiots....the most important figure of the 20th Century and people are unsure as to his existence...fools.

Coming from a dumb fucktard yank, with a fuckwit for a President, a (bad) actor as Governor of California and yet <i>another</i> war you can't win... that's toooooooooooo fucking funny :1orglaugh

King Arthur did exist but he wasnt a King, he was the bastard son of a king and a warlord.

LOL..heard it on the radio though, quite sad, have these people dropped out of kindergarten or what ?!?

I agree...that doesn't proof anything,
you'd find guys like that enough in germany too...

seems like Europe leads...I call this ownage :1orglaugh

well, together, we prove that IQ doesnt mean shit when it comes down to 'making money SKILLS'

1. Luxembourg $48309.28 per person
2. United States $35991.96 per person
3. Bermuda $34893.45 per person
4. San Marino $33429.35 per person
5. Norway $32797.17 per person
6. Switzerland $31891.17 per person
7. Cayman Islands $30285.68 per person
8. Iceland $30071.43 per person
9. Belgium $29127.94 per person
10. Canada $29002.91 per person
11. Ireland $28974.50 per person
12. Denmark $28842.66 per person
13. Japan $28699.55 per person
14. Austria $27808.28 per person
15. Aruba $27384.11 per person
16. Netherlands $27107.50 per person
17. Monaco $27077.49 per person
18. Hong Kong $26845.47 per person
19. Australia $26631.88 per person
20. Germany $26214.12 per person
21. Sweden $25985.33 per person
22. France $25888.77 per person
23. Finland $25776.44 per person
24. United Kingdom $25426.55 per person
25. Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) $25278.05 per perso

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/eco_gdp_cap

this thread is about intelligence not money

perhaps 10% of people resented being asked a stupid question, and just said he didn't exist.

What's equally as amazing is the people who just take research at face value and don't question the method, or reliability at all.

this doesn't prove shit.. wages might be much higher in the US