NationStates Jolt Archive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3537162.stm

Where did they get Gandalf? Must be Peter Jackson using his mind Control powers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3537162.stm

Where did they get Gandalf? Must be Peter Jackson using his mind Control powers.Yeah. Everyone knows it was Aragorn that defeated the Pirates of Umbar/Spanish Armada...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3537162.stm

Where did they get Gandalf? Must be Peter Jackson using his mind Control powers.
Survey of 16-24 year olds? The same reason Jedi is nearly an official British religion.

That's classic!

Survey of 16-24 year olds? The same reason Jedi is nearly an official British religion.

I heard that as well. Although I couldn't find the link for that, so this had to do.

That's classic!

It's also two years old...

Survey of 16-24 year olds? The same reason Jedi is nearly an official British religion.

Exactly. Did the result affect their grades? Did they get 5 quid for getting 90% right? No? Well then you can expect a lot of kids to mark down stupid answers. Not to say the kids new all the answers. I'm sure a lot of them didn't, but you can't trust a survey like this.

Exactly. Did the result affect their grades? Did they get 5 quid for getting 90% right? No? Well then you can expect a lot of kids to mark down stupid answers. Not to say the kids new all the answers. I'm sure a lot of them didn't, but you can't trust a survey like this.

It's still amusing.

And yes, it's old.

while 6% thought it was Tolkien's wizard Gandalf
oh they must have been taking the piss...

i mean, that's retarded :p


edit:

A third of 16 to 34-year-olds did not know that William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings, while more than a fifth of 16 to 24-year-olds thought Britain had been conquered by the Germans, the Americans or the Spanish.

oh dear :(

On average, only half of all age groups knew it was the Battle of the Boyne, in which Catholic King James II's troops were defeated by Protestant William III in 1690, that is celebrated by the Orangemen on 12 July in Northern Ireland.

Yeah, but why is the battle celebrated on the 12th?

oh they must have been taking the piss...

i mean, that's retarded :p


How could you resist putting that down? The temptation would be insurmountable.

How could you resist putting that down? The temptation would be insurmountable.
BBC: Which famous seaman defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588?

random chav: Gandalf, innit! lollololol... wicked.


i would :D :p (either that or Luke Skywalker...)



though this upsets me:

On average, only half of all age groups knew it was the Battle of the Boyne, in which Catholic King James II's troops were defeated by Protestant William III in 1690, that is celebrated by the Orangemen on 12 July in Northern Ireland.

cos i'm in that stupid half of the population :P


He said: "Battlefield Britain can put this right by giving viewers some of the most striking and vivid images yet seen of the violent events that shaped our history."

hooray for edutainment!

hooray for edutainment!
Bring back Time Commanders!

Bring back Time Commanders!
oh that show was the best!
i wanted to go on it! :D (think my many, many hours of preperation playing TW games would have stood me in with a good chance :P)

oh that show was the best!
i wanted to go on it! :D (think my many, many hours of preperation playing TW games would have stood me in with a good chance :P)
Ya think? ;) I always loved watching some accountant charge cavalry right into the front of a load of phalanxes. Heeheehee

I didn't know the battle of the boyne thing either.

BBC: Which famous seaman defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588?

random chav: Gandalf, innit! lollololol... wicked.

Or: "Huhuh...it says seaman...huhhuh..."

:p

Survey of 16-24 year olds? The same reason Jedi is nearly an official British religion.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/1271380.stm
Jedi is not nearly an official British religion. Nor will it be.

I never have any faith in surveys that display the supposed ignorance of our population. 1000 people, especially when split up into at least 3 different age groups, is not statiscally significant. The '16-24 year olds' could have been found in a mental hospital for all we know.

Ya think? ;) I always loved watching some accountant charge cavalry right into the front of a load of phalanxes. Heeheehee

I actually got more annoyed when they did the right thing and the game cheated them out of it. There was this one time where a team managed to charge their elephants into the rear of the enemy's pikemen. Now there are plenty of ways you can come to grief using elephants, but charging into the back of pikemen should have been a safe bet. The people at the back are unarmoured, probably less trained and certainly not expecting to be charged by several tonnes of pachyderm. But instead of the whole line running off like scared little girls, they take it in their stride, turn round like they're parading on Horseguards and stab the elephants to death. Bah!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/1271380.stm
Jedi is not nearly an official British religion. Nor will it be.

I never have any faith in surveys that display the supposed ignorance of our population. 1000 people, especially when split up into at least 3 different age groups, is not statiscally significant. The '16-24 year olds' could have been found in a mental hospital for all we know.
Boo! :mad:

Boo! :mad:
There is at least one Jedi Member of Parliament though.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3537162.stm

Where did they get Gandalf? Must be Peter Jackson using his mind Control powers.
Just another case of "the world being too much with us" to remember things from history. Sigh.

Just another case of "the world being too much with us" to remember things from history. Sigh.

I think you are ignoring the tendency of British people aged 16-24 to take the piss when faced by officialdom.

I think you are ignoring the tendency of British people aged 16-24 to take the piss when faced by officialdom.
Huh? A word or two of elucidation, please. :)

Huh? A word or two of elucidation, please. :)
We like to practice the form of humour known as sarcasm in an attempt to annoy those perceived as being 'authority'.

Huh? A word or two of elucidation, please. :)

It would appear that a multiple choice test was given, 6% of people aged 16-24 answered 'Gandalf' to this particular question. 1000 people were surveyed, so probably about 400 people fell into that age group, so we only have about 24 people answering 'Gandalf' that we know of.

Faced with a question like:

Who defeated the Spanish Armada?

a) Walter Raleigh
b) Sir Francis Drake
c) Horatio Hornblower
d) Gandalf


There is a natural tendency amongst British people to take the piss and give the obviouly ludicrous answer, particularly amongst the young. Why? Because they find it amusing. They may not have known the correct answer, but were able to spot the obviously incorrect one, and so went for it. Thus they don't appear stupid or ignorant to the person taking the test, but rather cocky and self-assured (or so they believe).

Huh? A word or two of elucidation, please. :)
When posed with a question in an poll, particularly one they don't care about, the average British youth will think up witty and/or smartass answers to the questions.