I was horrified when i saw this....



Britons are losing a grip on fact and fiction - with nearly one in four believing Winston Churchill and Florence Nightingale are myths and more than half thinking Sherlock Holmes actually existed.

In a new survey, 47% of people thought that Richard the Lionheart, the 12th-century English king, was a myth.

They were also under the impression that Charles Dickens, one of the most famous writers in English literature, was a fictional character himself.

Indian political leader Gandhi; Cleopatra, ruler of ancient Egypt; adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh; British military leader Bernard Montgomery; and Boudica, famous for leading a major uprising against occupying Roman forces, were all thought to be characters dreamt up for films and books.

Britons thought fictional characters like Sherlock Holmes and pilot Biggles were real, according to the survey of 3,000 people commissioned to celebrate UKTV Gold's forthcoming Robin Hood season.

Over half of those questioned (58%) believe that the detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his novels of the late 1880s actually lived in Baker Street, with sidekick Watson.

Historical figures and the percentage of Britons who believe they are myths:1. Richard the Lionheart (47%)2. Winston Churchill (23%)3. Florence Nightingale (23%)4. Bernard Montgomery (6%)5. Boudica (5%)6. Sir Walter Raleigh (4%)7. Duke of Wellington (4%)8. Cleopatra (4%)9. Gandhi (3%)10. Charles Dickens (3%)

Fictional figures and the percentage of Britons who believe they are real:Sherlock Holmes (58%)Biggles (33%)



People have heard of Biggles?????
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I watched a film yesterday, Idiosyncracy I think it was called.
Having read this, it could almost be a documentary.
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wow, they surveyed 3,000 people...


i didnt know there was that many window lickers in the county...

Biggles was / is cool
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I saw that film. About America in the far future. I thought is seemed quite an accurate portrayal of the decline in US IQ levels and the state their nation will be in by that time.

As for that survey. It doesn't surprise me at all. I bet most of those surveyed were not native British anyway! They would probably deem it to be racist to actually ask a white British born person something in the street as it would be taking away the ethnic minority groups rights to be questioned!
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That is a very good point harrison.They probably would have had to ask some white/brittish people, but it wouldn;t surprise me if there were percentages of each that they had to stick to.
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Personally I think "deport the lot of them". Make Britain British again!

Why should we put up with people living in our society who have no interest in learning to speak English, or integration into our society.
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I think you're under estimating the stupidity of the british. It wouldn't surprise me if most of those surveyed were white british as most so called foreigners have a better knowledge of British history and literature than "Native British" do.
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Well OK, if they interviewed anyone from an inner city, or under the age of 26 then the likelihood is that 80% of that demographic wouldn't have a clue!
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personally i think that survey should of included people that had completed High School
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