Almost 1/2 of all Britons think King Richard the Lionhearted was a myth. A quarter of them think Winston Churchill and Florence Nightingale are, as well!
A recent survey of 3000 Britons revealed that a staggering number of them were unaware of which legendary figures are fictitious and which are historical fact. Amongst some of the more amazing were Gandhi, Charles Dickens, and Cleopatra - in addition to the aforementioned.
Over half believed Sherlock Holmes was real!
While the lines can become blurred over time, we Americans are often negatively compared to the British when it comes to our educational levels. In general, I am inclined to agree that Britons are better educated, so this study kind of took me by surprise.
For what it's worth, I honestly blame "infotainment" and "edutainment" programming for this... but maybe some knuckle-rapping is in order?
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
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