British Historical Survey - good grief

[2099net]

There's been a survey carried out in the UK to see how historically literate the British are. After all our country has such a wonderful history, surely we must have a more than superficial knowledge of it.

No - not really.

Here's some of the results.

63% believed Ethelred the Unready (A English King) was a fictional character
42% believed William Wallace (Braveheart) was a fictional character
40% believed Benjamin Disraeli (A British PM) was a fictional character
38% believed Genghis Khan was a fictional character
33% believed Benito Mussolini (Dictator) was a fictional character
11% believed Adolf Hitler (Dictator) was a fictional character
9% believed Winston Churchill (A British PM) was a fictional character

52% believed The Battle of the Bulge was fictional
48% believed The Battle of Little Big Horn was fictional
44% believed The Hundred Years War was fictional
32% believed The Cold War was fictional
15% believed The Battle of Hastings was fictional

OK - so what about fictional characters and events?

57% believed King Arthur was real
27% believed Robin Hood was real
5% believed Conan the Barbarian was real
3% believed Richard Sharpe was real
1% believed Edmund Blackadder was real (in all of his incarnations one would assume)
1% believed Xena, the Warrior Princess was real

more shockingly are the following events

6% believed the War of the Worlds was real
3% believed the Battle of Helm's Deep (from LotR) was real
2% believed the Battle of Endor from Return of the Jedi was real
1% believed the Planet of the Apes was real (but, that the future, not history isn't it?)
1% believed the Defeat of Humanity by Cyborgs in Battlestar Galactica was real - good grief these people must think Galactica '80 actually happened. I suppose it must have been state of the art war reporting with fearless embedded reporters! Gee, I don't even want to remember Galactica '80!

Lord help us all if this is the standard of people's education. These people actually have the right to vote at our next election!

[Ludwig Von Drake]

Also in American most people who are citizens wouldn't be able to pass the citizens and natrualization test.

[Maerj]

Those 1% items on the survey are most likely people just trying to be funny. Don't most polls have a + or - 3% rate thingie? If you look at it like that, it's not too, too bad. Maybe?

[Bashful]

Just how old were the people who participated in the survey? Maybe age has something to do with the answers...

[PatrickvD]

2099net, I read about it in a dutch newspaper.... maybe this is just entertainment... I was shocked

[MickeyMouseboy]

Oh no the American Disease is spreading!

[karlsen]

It is one thing to not know the old stuff like William Wallace (I only knew about him because of Brave Heart).

But it is more desturbing that pepople don't know about Benito Mussolini, and even more that nobody knew about Hitler and Churchill.

I don't belive that I would pass that test with a 100% but I would not be as stupid as those answeres.

[2099net]

Yeah, but to be fair, William Wallace isn't YOUR history, but it's ours. History to do with the war is shared history. British people should know about William Wallace.

[Loomis]

33% believed Benito Mussolini (Dictator) was a fictional character
11% believed Adolf Hitler (Dictator) was a fictional character
9% believed Winston Churchill (A British PM) was a fictional character
[...]
57% believed King Arthur was real
27% believed Robin Hood was real

I find the top two disturbing, and the third the MOST disturbing (given it was a British poll).

However, there is some evidence to suggest the latter two were historical figures, albeit not worthy of all the deeds credited to them.

Then again, you have to question who is answering these surveys.

How many of us normal people actually stop for the people with clipboards in the street? Or actually listen to the whole spiel from the tele-marketers? People who do these things WOULD think Churchill was fictional.

[Rebel]

Who is Richard Sharpe?

[Loomis]

Who is Richard Sharpe?

He was the title character in a series of historic/period fiction by Bernard Cornwell.