August 05, 2004

» New survey says many of Britain's yoof think Gandalf defeated the Spanish Armada. In other news: yoof make up stupid answers to stupid survey questions

Almost half of 16- to 34-year-olds questioned in a BBC poll did not know that Francis Drake led the English fleet against Spain. One in five 16 to 24-year-olds thought it was Columbus, while one in 20 said it was Gandalf, the wizard from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

[...]

Showing the impact of Hollywood on history, 15 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds thought that when Orangemen march in Northern Ireland on 12 July, they were celebrating victory at Helmsdeep, a battle at the end of The Two Towers, the second novel in Tolkien's trilogy.