# Winston Churchill was a Mythical Character



## MontyCircus (Feb 4, 2008)

...says 23% of Britons in a UKTV Gold television survey...

Also in the top ten of "Real people thought to be fictional" are Mahatma Gandhi and the Duke of Wellington.

And 58% thought Sherlock Holmes was a historical person.

It just makes you sad for the world... 

Quarter of Brits think Churchill was myth: poll - Yahoo! News

Quarter of Brits think Churchill was myth: poll

Sun Feb 3, 7:12 PM ET 



LONDON (AFP) - Britons are losing their grip on reality, according to a poll out Monday which showed that nearly a quarter think Winston Churchill was a myth while the majority reckon Sherlock Holmes was real. 

The survey found that 47 percent thought the 12th century English king Richard the Lionheart was a myth.

And 23 percent thought World War II prime minister Churchill was made up. The same percentage thought Crimean War nurse Florence Nightingale did not actually exist.

Three percent thought Charles Dickens, one of Britain's most famous writers, is a work of fiction himself.

Indian political leader Mahatma Gandhi and Battle of Waterloo victor the Duke of Wellington also appeared in the top 10 of people thought to be myths.

Meanwhile, 58 percent thought Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Holmes actually existed; 33 percent thought the same of W. E. Johns' fictional pilot and adventurer Biggles.

UKTV Gold television surveyed 3,000 people.


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## GOLLUM (Feb 4, 2008)

That's pretty amazing stuff really.

Who would have guessed this of the British?...


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## j d worthington (Feb 4, 2008)

Ummm... you might want to consider the source... and the number. Neither one is particularly impressive; certainly not for making such a claim....


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## daisybee (Feb 4, 2008)

ha, that's kinda funny. 

online polls aren't exactly bullet proof methods of gathering intel however-who can take it seriously?


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## The Ace (Feb 4, 2008)

The hard part was _finding _3000 people who watched UK gold.   Most of us are sick of 'The Vicar of Dibley,' and,'Only Fools and Horses,' 90% of UKTV Gold's output.


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## gully_foyle (Feb 4, 2008)

Maybe they were confusing Winston Churchill with Paddington Bear.


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## The Ace (Feb 4, 2008)

gully_foyle said:


> Maybe they were confusing Winston Churchill with Paddington Bear.



Always thought he was real.


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## daisybee (Feb 4, 2008)

The Ace said:


> The hard part was _finding _3000 people who watched UK gold. Most of us are sick of 'The Vicar of Dibley,' and,'Only Fools and Horses,' 90% of UKTV Gold's output.


 
Ha! 

Dibleys Top 40 moments seems to be on a loop, the staff have left the building....Shhh!

Rupert is real not Paddington!


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## The Ace (Feb 4, 2008)

Sorry daisybee, I always get those two mixed up.


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## daisybee (Feb 4, 2008)

Ace, you are forgiven-just remember, Rupert wears the snazzy pants, and Paddington flashes what he shouldn't! No self respecting REAL bear would wear a coat and no pants. Nice hat though.


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## MontyCircus (Feb 6, 2008)

j. d. worthington said:


> Ummm... you might want to consider the source... and the number. Neither one is particularly impressive; certainly not for making such a claim....


 
If you mean the number of people in the survey, 3000 is a rather large sample actually.  I'm pretty sure it's large enough to use for Britain.



daisybee said:


> ha, that's kinda funny.
> 
> online polls aren't exactly bullet proof methods of gathering intel however-who can take it seriously?


 
The article didn't say it was an Internet poll.  If so, then you're absolutely right, but I doubt that it was.

Still, those numbers do seem ridiculous...hmm...


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## Wiglaf (Feb 6, 2008)

3000 is an adequate sample, the question is was it a random sample and how many refused to respond?


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## JDP (Feb 6, 2008)

It might be more accurate if it had said 'Quarter of UKTV viewers think Churchill was myth'.


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## The Ace (Feb 6, 2008)

Reminds me of a throwaway line from, 'Two Pints;'

"He's so stupid, he thinks Casablanca is a real place."


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## daisybee (Feb 6, 2008)

montycircus said:


> If you mean the number of people in the survey, 3000 is a rather large sample actually. I'm pretty sure it's large enough to use for Britain.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
I guess I can't imagine how a tv channel could poll that many people that's all, and UK TV Gold isn't exactly BBC 1.


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## j d worthington (Feb 6, 2008)

Well, though others have more or less answered for me, what I meant was that 3000 -- especially when that 3000 is made up of an almost certainly unscientific television poll -- are hardly representative of the populace of any country.... 

That some people do believe this I wouldn't doubt. But too many are still alive who were around when Churchill was, for it to be a very large number of the general populace. A general belief that something which is (in fact) fictional is, instead, fact (such as Holmes, or the Angels of Mons), is much more common and easily explained, as such figures both fill a psychological niche/need for mythologizing, and because there is seldom directly opposing evidence to such a belief that is commonly accessible without searching for it; whereas, with someone as prominent as Churchill, artifacts of his existence are rather widespread, from photographs to his presence in history books, to his personal belongings which have been preserved....


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## Connavar (Feb 6, 2008)

What its funny its some small time tv that decides how stupid so many millions Brit are.


3000 is nothing, i would be more worried if BBC had made the poll with 10000.


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## Vladd67 (Mar 1, 2008)

I would like to know what the questions on the poll were


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## tangaloomababe (Mar 1, 2008)

Originally posted by montycircus



> UKTV Gold television surveyed 3,000 people


 
You really have to worry where they found some of these people with responses like that.  Still in a way I guess as time goes on and people get lost in history, maybe there would be an excuse to mix up the real with the fictional.  Not with characters like Mahatma Gandhi or Churchill though!!! Maybe movie have a lot to answer for!


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## Drachir (Mar 3, 2008)

Don't ever underestimate the lack of intelligence of the average citizen.  There have been numerous examples of interviewers taking the mickey out of the average citizen over basic knowledge.  One American talk show host, Jay Leno is famous for going out in the street and asking passersby qusetions that they should know - like the name of their first president or even the current president, and getting completely blank stares.  

One Canadian comedian actually made a one hour mockumentary in which he interviewed Americans about mythical events in Canada.  The amount of igorance displayed was astounding.  Interestingly one of those interviewed was presidential candidate Mike Huckabee who was conned into believing Canada's parliament building was called the "national igloo."

Ona another occasion Americans were asked if the land-locked province of Saskatchewan should be bombed to protect the seals.  Most of those interviewed answered in the affirmative.  

BTW I don't think Canadians are any more informed.  We simply happen to know a bit more about the USA than most Americans know about Canada.


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## Lacedaemonian (Mar 3, 2008)

I could be a right twat and argue that all of those people are mythical or works of fiction.  It could be done.


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