I may be biased as I'm Scottish, but I never understood how the UK, England, and Britain terms were confusing. From an early age, I wrapped my head around the fact that the US comprises 50 states and the District of Columbia. The UK is basically the same, only smaller. Several smaller regions make up a nation, each with a local government and an overarching one. It's not that complex. All Texans are American, but not all Americans are Texans. All English are British, but not all British are English. It's so similar a concept, yet for some reason, Americans act like it's complex. Edit: I'm not arguing that every non-Brit should know the makeup of the UK. I just find it weird that most Americans seem to get confused when it's explained to them despite it being a similar concept to their own country. North America: A land mass, not a country. United States of America: A nation. "America": Informal term for the nation. Texas: A state with its own culture that's one part of the nation. California: Another state with its own culture that's one part of the nation. Great Britain: A land mass, not a country. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: A nation. "Britain": Informal term for the nation. England: A constitute country with its own culture that's one part of the nation. Scotland: Another constitute country with its own culture that's one part of the nation
I think it’s just the awful geography education in America - when people don’t know what a continent is, or can’t name 3 countries, then I can understand. But otherwise, it’s pretty simple tbf until you start accounting for islands and remote territories
There are countless videos on RUclips showing Americans struggle to answer basic questions about the US that even someone in the UK wouldn't struggle to answer, it seems the US education system is letting an awful lot (but not all obviously) of them down.
I lived in the U.S. for a few years. A lot of the people I met, although extremely kind and nice, had very little education. I was asked how long does it take to drive to England (I told one of my regular customers I was moving back to England with my wife, giving him the benefit of the doubt I told him Great Britain, part Europe. He still asked if it was a long drive), when Game of Thrones was popular I was asked about when we killed all the dragons and also I was asked if I new a bloke from Dumfries (I lived most of my life in East London). It was an interesting time over there.
Many Americans can not answer basic geographical questions about their own country, let alone other countries. You ask em to find Jordan on a map, they probably wouldn't even know Jordan is in the middle-east, let alone know where the middle-east is. My favourite one still remains from a celebrity special of' are you smarter than a 5th grader' and the question came up, "Budapest is the capital of what European country", not so much for not knowing the answer is Hungary, but that the contestant says, "this might be a stupid question but I thought Europe was a country"... which isn't even a question. I'd have to admit, I can't place all the states, but I think I could place more states correctly than the average American.
The differences are that England makes up about 90% of the UK population, and the parliament at Westminster is both the English Parliament and the UK Parliament.
Had an argument the other day where an idiot read a news story about a court case in Ireland and had responded ‘typical English for you’. He refused to accept that Ireland was not even in the UK, let alone England.
I'm surprised the whole bad teeth stereotype wasn't mentioned since it seems to be so widely believed in the US. According to studies, the average Brit actually has better oral health compared to the average American. We're just not as obsessed with false whitening and straightening or cosmetic work.
I agree, but where did the American misconception come from? I've met a number of Americans who have been surprised that they don't see rotten teeth everywhere here.
@@chrystalfrost1775 I think it was American soldiers coming over to the UK during WW2 who saw the UK during a period when many things were either rationed or not available due to priorities lying elsewhere due to the war effort. Shortly after the war ended Clement Atlee replaced Winston Churchill as Prime Minister and his government introduced the NHS, our socialised healthcare system which includes heavily subsidised dentistry.
@@michaelscott7166 I’m not sure about that, although you may be correct but my doubts come from the fact that the British diet in WW2 was the healthiest it has ever been and I remember seeing an American chat show in the early eighties in which a British female guest smiled to reveal blood actually colouring her right front teeth, before that I had never heard Americans say anything about British teeth but certainly did after that.
@@hitime2405 Indeed! It's widely believed by scientists,that we as a nation were at our healthiest in the 30's and 40's,despite a war! One look at almost any British photograph from that era would seem to endorse that fact.
The Queen's "work" was not really like the work normal people do. Riding around in the back of a luxurious Bentley, get out and go for a tour around a factory, talk to some people, get back in the Bentley and drive home.
@@gaynormainwaring1853 The captive ones are better in several ways; they're easier to cook than the wild ones and if you get ones that have been fattened on the spent grains from whisky distilleries, well they are very delicious - and you know they've lived a happy sozzled life!
Being from Coventry I’m happy to explain the story of Lady Godiva. Prior to the Norman invasion her husband Leofric was the Earl of Mercia, one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that had been absorbed into the Kingdom of England. The Earl had tax raising powers, and Leofric had set a high tax rate. This was causing the people of the area to suffer. Lady Godiva pleaded with him to reduce taxes. He said he would do it only if she rode naked on a horse through the streets of Coventry. He didn’t think she would agree but she did (according to the story) The people of Coventry all stayed in their houses with their windows covered to allow her to do this without being watched. However a man named Tom (Peeping Tom) sneakily looked through a window to see her. He was apparently then hit by lightning and blinded. Whether or not that happened is debatable. However she was definitely a real person, and one of the few Anglo-Saxon nobles to survive the Norman Conquest. She funded the building of several churches and convents in the area. There is a large statue of her in the centre of Coventry.
Hello fellow Conventrian! The Godiva clock in Broadgate was built by apprentices from The Tech. My Dad worked as an electrician for the council and used to fix it.
@@AlmosttheGoodlife Unfortunately, I am not a Coventrian. I just grew up there, from 1953 - 1973. I have happy memories of the City and still love the football team. I lived at 22 Bayley Lane for a short while. I worked at Owen Owen 1969 - 1973. My sister, however, was born in Keresley.
Something that not only Americans but plenty of Brits don’t know is that it’s not the power that the Monarch holds (which is limited by Parliament) but rather the power he/she can withold from other individuals.
And the Commons / Lords expect their laws......our laws , to override any royal foible.......justly........shame our.politicians are crappy,.power made slags....
The gate that you admired in the Buckingham Palace section is called Canada Gate. It was a gift from Canada, then the Senior Dominion of the Empire, presented to London as part of a memorial to Queen Victoria. It is quite beautiful.
If you’re interested in learning about British monarchs an excellent starting point is Horrible Histories’ Monachs’ Song. The show is a comedy programme about history aimed at older children but massively entertaining to adults as well. The monarch song lists all the kings and queens from 1066 to Elizabeth II with some historical info set to a massively catchy tune.
@linpollitt: one of my sons, who has learning disabilities, was taken to see a stage show of Horrible Histories. When he came out, he looked puzzled and said, "I didn't know that Queen Elizabeth I was black". I replied, "Neither did anyone else!" It's a good job that we have Horrible Histories to set the record straight for us ! 😡
You are correct about the mistaken belief about the swans. Another Watchmojo video you watched a few days ago on wierd British laws said that all swans belonged to the queen. Most Watchmojo videos are filled with inaccuracies, not just small but often big or total BS.
I watched something recently in which a fictitious character described another as having "a British accent"; there's no such thing! We have either an English, Scottish or Welsh accent, or northern Irish.
Actually I have used the term “British” accent. It’s the only thing that work when you recognize that it’s British but can’t actually differentiate England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. I can often tell but never want to assume because I know calling a Scotsman English would put me on host shit list. I felt British was the most appropriate description while still conveying about where they’re from. Maybe I’m wrong for doing it….. I guess we’re going to offend someone no matter what we do.
Actually I have used the term “British” accent. It’s the only thing that work when you recognize that it’s British but can’t actually differentiate England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. I can often tell but if I’m not certain I don’t guess. I just say British, kinda covers the bases. I know calling a Scotsman English would put me on his shit list pretty quickly. I felt British was the most appropriate description while still conveying about where they’re from. Maybe I’m wrong for doing it….. I guess we’re going to offend someone no matter what we do.
He He . I love the misconceptions of us in the UK. i was in LA in1994. And the general feeling i got from you most hospitable Americans was , everyone thought i was Australian. But i do have a Plum Voice ( Posh ). Love the channel. Merry Christmas across the pond. Be well.PEACE
You'd think that the Brit narrating the video may have at least done some research into the pronunciation of some of the London place names he mentioned if he wasn't sure! Clerkenwell is pronounced Clarkenwell, and Southwark is pronounced Suth'rk...definitely not South Wark! 😁
I was talking to a Canadian couple while in Cuba and they asked where I was from, I said Wales, to which they replied "Oh England!". I sharply said they were from the USA... they got the point 😅
@@philipnorris6542 Politically, sure. But we have our own language, which is older than English, our own culture, or own Government. Of the fluent speakers of the six living Celtic languages, half of them speak Welsh, despite the fact our population is less than half that of either Scotland or Ireland. Welsh is the only living Celtic Language that is NOT considered endangered by UNESCO. We may be politically linked to England, and frankly I *support* the Union, but that does NOT make us English..... Maybe you see the point now? If you do, well diolch yn fawr. If not... well screw you....
In the 1950's I was walking home from school in a pea souper (dense fog). Traffic was crawling along at walking pace and coppers were guiding the buses by walking in front with a flaming torch. Some of my school mates got lost on their way home.
Same years I got home from school and my dad asked if I'd seen mum. I hadn't but she had gone to fetch me (about 7) from school. A couple of hours later she arrived home, having got lost on the nearby common. I just followed the shortcut I used so I could pocket the money.
If you type "The Queen" into any search engine our late Queen will be the top result she was that beloved by the world not just the UK and Princess Diana just a beloved if not more so and again around the world. Both women were amazingly wonderful people and are sadly missed.
Richard III's bad reputation is somewhat due to history being written by the winners and some dramatic licence on Shakespeare's part. Rival royal households back then were probably as bad as each other. The recent discovery of Richard III's remains is worth looking into. Elizabeth I's reign from 1558-1603 was very eventful. The state (or colony as it was then) of Virginia was named in her honour.
Quite so, Richard III was deposed by Elizabeth I's grandfather so portraying Richard as anything other than a villain who received his just comeuppance would be unwise to say the least.
Big Ben, the great bell, is slightly out of tune due to a repaired crack caused by the designer not knowing enough about what he was doing and using a hammer over twice the weight limit for the bell. Cut out and repaired, it's this which causes the bell to be out of tune, have a unique tone and to be a beloved sound of the UK.
Richard III was found under a car park in Leicester, car park covered the ruins of Greyfriers Church. It is quite interesting, numerous videos about it.
Steve. London Fog was really thick and awful. It was so bad in 1952 that it was called the “The Great Smog Of London”. It was so bad that traffic in the city came to a halt. London lies along the River Thames. The most common form of home heating was coal in open fires. We were also still running mainly steam trains. The smoke from house chimneys and the railway engines combined with a light fog caused a thick fog, nicknamed a ”Pea Souper”. Smokeless coal is a legal requirement now, trains are diesel or electric now, London also has a traffic law that only allows fewer vehicles in the city on the pain of a fine. By the way there is a US company called London Fog that make overcoats and other outdoor gear. Was this company a result of the so-called historic fogs, or was it the reason why throughout the US every body thinks London is always foggy.
@petersymonds4975. Pea soup fogs were far more common in the cotton and wool mill towns of the north of England and other industrial towns ( the Black country etc. ). These areas did most of the experiencing - Londoners and media did most of the complaining.
@@donaldhoult7713 Exactly! ....... I'm still a working man (but don't ask the boss) ... but I can remember Pea Soupers! You could literally not see your hand in front of your face! There were many cases of bad chests when that happened ..... little to do with factories, more to do with every home having at least one coal fire going!
Richard 111 is fascinating, more so because his remains disappeared until 2012, when he was found under a car park, thus ruining Tudor myth that he had large hump!
I fell in love with Richard III when I was at school and our history teacher told us to go and read Josephine Tay's 'The Daughter of Time'. Wonderful book! And do look into the story of them finding his grave, only a few years ago - just amazing.
I'm so glad that you love learning about my country. And that you have a fair knowledge too. Hopefully one day you'll come to visit. But the first thing you have to do is go in the pub and have a pint. Hope to see you soon in our wonderful country. from UK 🇬🇧👍👍
In a nutshell, the story of Lady Godiva is that her husband refused to reduce the excessive taxes on the people of his lands unless she rode naked throught the streets of Coventry. She called his bluff by doing just that - having arranged for the townspeople to stay indoors and not look- which they undertook to do. Apart from one young man called 'Tom' who spied on her. This is the origin of the term 'Peeping Tom' for anyone with voyeristic inclinations. As said here- not a true story. We don't have Godiva chocolate here, so no idea what the origins of this name is.
Noone who watches you would you to expect the massive ammount of information you're watching to be remembered. Don't worry about any of that keep enjoying yourself discovering things that interest you,.
I love the part at the end of the film 'Mrs Doubtfire', where 'she' is broadcasting a kids' TV programme. In a broad, faky Scots accent she says she is from a land faraway, called England. The collective scream from across the border can almost be heard in the English Channel.
I always found that strange that someone in the film couldn't differentiate the accents. I don't know which country winced more everytime Mrs Doubtfire spoke. 🤣
Hi Steve, great channel and I love your reactions. But if you really want to check out your British and Irish ancestry, do not listen to or watch MojoUK. They are full of wrong information and you will learn next to nothing. Be careful of which video's you react to Steve, there is a lot of rubbish out there put together by people who will believe anything they are told, which applies to some comments on your channel. You say 'I must check this out' and I agree, if you wish to learn. But use the right sources and don't expect the RUclips community to always give you the right answer. All the best, Mike
In the 50s there was a huge push to clean the air. As a child I remember being sent home early from school because the fog was getting worse and it would have been dangerous walking home in it.
Another misconception is 'warm beer'. Most in UK today drink Lager or Guinness and it's drunk cold, plus in pubs beer is generally drunk on draught (tap), in a pint glass of 20 Fluid ounces in the UK not 16 fluid oz as in the States (20% larger). Only children and poseurs drink it direct from a bottle! During WW2 lagers were very rare and US military in the UK only had access to British Ales which actually taste of beer, these are usually drunk at @ 11-13 Centigrade (Cellar temperature), hence 'warm' by US standards. Colder and the flavour of the beer is lost. Probably the reason why 'most' US lager beer is drunk so cold?
I live in Coventry and the statue in the centre of town is our Lady Godiva. Her statue is naked, however, her riding naked really meant she did not have any jewellery or anything posh on.
I live in a small rural ex mining village, I see rats almost weekly passing through my garden, but there are some allotments just around the corner and a bunch of farms so I guess food is pretty plentiful. They dont cause us any problems though
Lady Godiver was said to have complained to her husband about the poor people not being able to afford newor better things to eat or wear, so he told her to go naked through the town and he would think about what she had said, and she did just that.
Fog wasn't exclusive to London. Most of Britain's industrial cities were prone to dense fogs in the days when all domestic heating, factory power and electrical generation came from burning coal. I can remember a childhood friend walking into a lamp post he had hadn't seen because visibility was down to three feet.
Hi David, yes when I was a youngster, teenager at secondary school we had high vis arm bands on foggy/smoggy days walking to and from school. (Bolton).
@@markwolstenholme3354 I’m now in Coppull but my mum still lives up Tottington Rd in Bolton. A lot has changed since I was a kid in the 50s. You can actually see Rivi Pike on most days.
@@markwolstenholme3354 Where I lived the council used to place paraffin flares on street corners to help the traffic find its way? They were a sort of brass watering-can with a wick in the spout and a naked flame. Nobody touched them, but these days kids would be throwing them at each other!
Can we just dismiss the myth that London is the only city that used to be enveloped in fog. I’m 75 and well remember the fog (which was really smog) in the heavily industrial city of Manchester. Quite literally on foggy (smoggy)days there used to be a man walking in front of each bus and holding a flame lamp in order to guide the driver along the route correctly. On foggy days in my childhood we used to walk and guide ourselves to school by touching walls all the way. Literally on two occasions I held my hands up at arms length away from my face and COULD NOT SEE MY HANDS because the “fog” was so thick.
We had days like that in Burnley too. Walking down the side of the carpet factory, we had to count the drainpipes so that we didn't fall down the boiler room steps!
Yep. My parents hail form Manchester and I grew up in the north west myself. Since the industrial heartland of this country was the north and midlands, I would expect the majority of the smog would be centered around those areas and not the south east? I remember cleary my folks telling me about the "Pea-souper" fogs particularly around Trafford Park (where my dad used to work).
I went to school in the 50s and 60s and we had fog and smog due to coal fires, I remember my mum taking me to school with a scarf wrapped around my mouth and nose as it was bad to breath it in
Re fog. When I was about 7 (1960) there was one morning when I literally could not see my outstretched hand in front of me. To get to school (the other end of the street I lived on) I had to run my hand along the hedges and fences of the homes. The really scary part was crossing the 2 roads where I just had to hope I was walking in a straight line and would find the hedges on the other side. That was a frightening walk to school.
There are dialects as well i.e. different words. Old words frequently survive in places and the same word can be something different! A cob is a small horse in Wales and other areas but a crisp crusted bread roll in the Midlands. Crumpets and pikelets are the same thing for toasting. Crumpet has a best ignored 🙁 meaning.
I have an ancestor who lived in Coventry at the time of Lady Godiva. Being a gentleman and fearing she would be cold, he lent her his gloves. I was outside a small exhibition in a back street cul de sac behind the Angel pub in Islington. There were a number of people sitting around, smoking etc, when I saw a large rat strolling nonchalantly down the middle of the road.
When I started work, I sometimes had to ride home on my motorbike, tapping my foot on the kerb to check it was still there. Many a time, I got completely lost in the fog. The term 'can't see hand in front of your face' really did apply. Even into the early 80s, I can remember fogs so thick that driving was a seriously dodgy proposition and there were numerous very serious pile-ups on motorways. This is one reason that British and European cars have rear fog lights - even if hardly anyone knows how to use them. I haven't encountered a fog like that for decades, but we do have fogs regularly here on the Dorset coast, just not as bad as they used to be in the Midlands.
Also called Pea-soupers cos the fog/smog was so thick. I remember them too as a child of the Black Country and it’s industry. There were indeed times you couldn’t see a hand in front of your face.
If you're interested, there are a number of RUclips videos about 'Big Ben', particularly the recent renovation of the actual structure of the tower, the clock face (4 of them) and the clock mechanism. It is a sign of how popular it is, about 4 years ago, many people lined the nearby streets to hear the last chimes before the bell was silenced and the clock then removed
Excellent reaction as ever and upvoted, but I noticed that the narrator of the video being reacted to had a seemingly English accent but unaccountably used several US pronunciations during it. ‘Dye-nasty’, ‘South-walk’, ‘Clurkenwell’ and several others that I have already forgotten. Is this so that US viewers will feel more comfortable? I mean, if they asked a local Londoner the way to Southwark (‘Sutherk’) and the local chap politely pointed out how it’s actually pronounced, the US visitor would be quite justified in saying ‘No, you’re wrong there. I saw a RUclips video and this English guy said it was ‘South-walk’. Perplexing.
I've noticed that on other videos in that series. The narrator isn't as clued-up as he'd like to think and he obviously doesn't take the trouble to check when he doesn't know something, he just continues to spew inaccuracies across the globe.
@johnkemp8904. I've met quite a lot of them and have never known an American accept that he was wrong on any matter. I lived in Dent - a village of Yorkshire ( now considered in Cumbria ). An American stopped his car and demanded to know where the M6 was to be found. Having been told that he'd passed it some 12 miles back he strongly disputed the fact; so I, being a typically polite Englishman ( I am not British! ) demurred to his obvious superiority in the matter of local geography and left him to continue up the 15 feet wide main road through the valley. I rather enjoyed the event!
I lived in London until I was 21 and 1 place I visited a lot is Blackheath, which is just outside Greenwich Park, the reason it was called this is that a lot of people who died of the plague were buried there
Im English, from Coventry was born on Spon Street which is where Lady Godiva rode her horse, My Mum Scottish and father Irish, you defiently have a Scottish look about you. I can see you drinking whiskey in a Scottish pub and later kicking off outside the local chippy ! lol
Hi Steve, please look up Fred Dibnah going to "Big Ben", there will be a video on here somewhere. it's only seeing a person next to it when you get the full scale of just how big it is...
Richard III is interesting & slightly more complicated. Until fairly recently, it was indeed thought that Richard was not really the hunch-backed villain portrayed by Shakespeare. Perhaps he was not even hunch-backed at all? It was thought that it was based upon just one portrait, & even that might have been 'meddled with' after the original painting [ nothing new about 'photoshop' ]. And then, a few years ago, remains were found beneath a car park in Leicester, which were thought possibly to have been him. DNA examination of remains, & comparison to known distant relatives has lent credence to the notion that these really ARE the remains of Richard. And the skeleton in question certainly does show very significant scoliosis [ curvature ]. The Princes in the Tower & other details remain up for grabs.
Two skeletons of children were found during restoration work I think near the foot of a Tower of London stairs. Before DNA etc not much could have been done. No idea what happened to the remains. A complicated era as Richard was supposed to be arranging for the coronation of his nephew before the brothers disappeared.
@Reacting To My Roots This is a nursery rhyme derived from the Great Fire of London we sang as children in school in the play ground .. as you can tell i am an middle aged woman...😊😁 London’s burning, London’s burning, Fetch the engines, Fetch the engines, Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Pour on water, Pour on Water.
It used to be foggy because of all the coal fires in london... when i was young 60 years ago even with no fog.. the air pollutiin was so bad that if you spent a day in london and then blew your nose it would com.. the out black..the soot used to coat the inside of your nose .. godiva chocolate is i beleive a belgium make.... not generally sold in the UK..but you see it in the duty free in airports...
RE fog. Here's one for you. When I joined London Transport as a London Bus Driver with a conductor we had a small cabinet under the bus stairs that contained flares. On really bad days - and I experienced two or three in the early 70's, when vision was really bad the flare was lit and the conductor walked in front to guide the driver.
He's American.. Most people tho aren't from the UK would probably make the same mistake! He's interested and wanting to learn about the UK so that's cool you're not going to know everything:')
Nor can he pronounce "Clerkenwell" correctly. I'd guess he might be Welsh, or somewhere that direction, so it could be understandable (albeit not great research!)
The Clean Air Act in 1956 where people were restricted in burning coal to warm their homes eased the fog problems. In 1952 London experienced a huge smog (smoke mixed with fog). It lasted for quite a while and the air pollution was so bad that many people died of respiratory problems. I come from Coventry and the legend of Lady Godiva is still recognised there with a statue in the town centre and a Godiva Pageant (I think) every five years. Near to Lady Godiva's statue is a fantastic clock. As it strikes the hour, doors open and Lady Godiva rides across the front of the clock. Doors above open and a man called Tom looks at Lady G. All of the other citizens refused to look at her, but he did and was struck blind as a result. Hence the nickname, Peeping Tom. At the end of the display, the doors close until the next hour.
I also remember a 3 day smog in Coventry in about 1967. We lived in the Broad Lane district, which was a smokeless zone. i.e you could only burn coke in a fireplace.
@@silverknight4886 Now you mention it, I vaguely remember it. I lived in Radford which was also a clean air zone. Instead of burning coke, which was expensive, I had gas fires installed instead. The other fog I remember was in Nottinghamshire. On teaching practice, a coach picked us all up from our schools and drove us back to college. The fog was so thick the bus driver crawled along at walking speed and we took it in turns to walk along the edge of the pavement, tapping the bus so the driver knew he was still on the road. We arrived back over 4 hours late, frozen and starving. Quite an adventure.
@@Boogledigs I had to go to a garage on Broad Lane (nr what was the Hawthorne) usually on a Sunday to pick up 2 x 28lbs bags of coke. I struggled to get them on my shoulders, but once I had that done, easy peasy.
I've seen a video on YT about the restoration of the Elizabeth Tower - I think it was called Inside Big Ben's Makeover. May be good for you to check that out.
Richard 111 is a big subject and still generates a sort of controversy. You can look into his finding. Of Richard 111 in my home city of Leicester . His second funeral was on TV re buried in Leicester cathedral it is definitely worth looking into
I watched the burial ceremony and found it quite moving which surprised me. It was remarkable how many people lined the route of the procession for a King who had so long ago.
I was watching some of your older videos such as “ 10 things in British culture that is impossible to explain to a non Brit” and I would love to send you the stuff you need and instructions on how to make a nice English tea
It’s always good to learn. This guy is learning things about Britain and I’m learning that some Americans have an interest in the wider world. Sorry, that was harsh. I did learn something though, so thanks.
I recommend checking out videos on Shetland: it's the most northerly place in UK and a lot of British people don't even know about. You can check out the accents, the many different islands with most uninhabited, dialect, festivals like Up Helly Aa (viking fire festival), wildlife, weather, daily living etc. I live here and when I moved a surprising amount of people from England asked if I had electricity 😅
Hope you are doing well with the recent cold weather and snow in the Shetlands. We are about to get hit with it here in Chicago in about a day and a half. We have no geographical protection (mountains) from the North Pole, so we get the Arctic blasts and worse, polar vortexes every winter. It comes straight down through Canada. Hopefully we will keep our power and heat.
@MaryAnne Brown we got our power back on Sunday after a week of none, the snow collected on the powerlines pulling them down and snapping at least 3 poles. Luckily we have community halls and homes with generators that allowed people to come stay warm and make hot food and hot water bottles to take home. We're expecting more snow before the winter is out but hopefully knee height overnight!
Someone who came from one of the Hebridean islands, who I met in the Army, told me they had no electricity where he lived and then got very angry with me when I believed him. His idea of a joke but some people don't help themselves. 😀
They have to have the Monarchs mark to be owned. Done by the Swan Uppers. If they don't have the Monarchs, Vintners or Dyers mark they are not owned. Only applies to Mute Swans. The other breeds are not owned.
I was brought up in the Northern factory, mill, coal mining town, Leigh. I remember as a kid finding our way home from our mate’s house by feeling along the brick back yard walls of the terraced houses. You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. We thought it was great at he time.
The Queen favourite residents was Windsor Castle 🏰, I was lucky to live there for 35years, saw nearly all the royal at one point or another and a fond memory for me was see Diana and the then young boys in a black Daimler in the Royal Mews, she said hi and asked what I was doing.
Another great reaction video. The only thing that irks me a little (and it's nothing to do with your content) is these videos about the UK that only ever focus on London. There's a whole country to discover with each region having a rich and fascinating history.
British cities used to be very foggy, especially when chimneys belched out smoke the whole time. Since the Clean Air Act it is no longer the case. I remember smoggy days in my teens in the 50s. I've never heard of Godiva chocolate. I think that's just someone using the name. To be fair the rat thing is often believed here too, but it's just not true. I had rats come into my home during lockdown when they couldn't find food and they were very cute but they had to go. And I didn't catch anything from them.
The youtuber must have been a member of the Richard 111 society. Because he was a hunchback his nephews disappeared when he was on the throne and he was a usurper.
Having scoliosis doesn't mean he was a "hunchback". He probably walked with a slight limp, but it wouldn't have been that obvious. Historians today think that it's a case that if you're wanting to discredit someone, it's easier to create a great exaggeration than a complete invention.
A northern Ireland person will always call themselves Irish even though they are proud to be British. What's not hardly spoken of is Cornwall, at one time in history it was an independent country even with its own language. Very few can still speak nowadays. But I've never heard it.
The Elizabeth Tower has never been called "St Stephens Tower". It was just 'The Clock Tower' until it became the Elizabeth Tower. St Stephens Tower is the small spire in the middle of the Palace of Westminster.
London had a fair bit of fog up until the Great Smog of 1952, when 6,000 Londoners died. That led to the passing of the Clean Air Act of 1956. Prior to that, London was nicknamed “The Smoke,” because of the air pollution issuing forth from factories.
Try being "British" and trying to remember your history there is so much of it we go back thousands of years that's a lot of history. Also when asked I tell people I'm English I was born here brought up here and had my family hear but I have Scottish, Welsh and Irish ancestry what a headache
Here you go something for Christmas (1914 | Sainsbury's Ad | Christmas 2014) (The Big Night | Sainsbury's Ad | Christmas 2018) (Meet the Kids Behind ‘The Big Night’ | Sainsbury’s Ad | Christmas 2018 ) and last but not least (John Lewis Christmas Ad 2016 with Buster The Boxer Dog ) three ads this is how we do Christmas Oh by the way Merry Christmas!!!
The plague referred to in the video is a later outbreak of bubonic plague that killed about a quarter the population of London in 1665. That outbreak came to be known as the Great Plague of London. The outbreak three centuries earlier, which we now call the Black Death, was the most devastating pandemic in recorded history, killing between 30% and 50% of the population of Europe. I agree it is well worth looking into.
I'm from Coventry, lady Godiva,( Godgifu litt. God's gift) was an Anglo Saxon noble and land owner in Mercia of which Coventry was the major town. She was married to earl Leofric. He tried to impose a poll tax on the people of Coventry and Godiva said she would ride naked through the streets of Coventry. This was in the 1040s about 980 years ago. The tax was cancelled n Coventry. Godiva tomb is thought to be in the oldest parts of the excavated Cathedral. We are very proud her and she is one of Coventry 's badges to this day.
My Dad said during the ‘Pea- Souper’ fog in London in 1952 (when he was 10) that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. The Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968 outlawed the burning of coal in homes and industry.
You could and still can burn coal at home and in industry that's how some of our electricity is generated, but it has to be a certain type of coal (smokeless).
G'day Mate. If you really want to learn accurate British history (and historyin general) then i have to recommend Horrible Histories. It was meant for kids, but its so well done that adults love it just as much. And a lot of their videos are on RUclips. They mixed in clever writing and whit, to deliver nice little nuggets of information. And they are very well know for their songs. The best video to start you of with, actually fulfils one of your requests. This is a complamation of various different songs. But it does have the most valuable one first. And it will teach that our late Queen was the Queen Elizabeth 2 (Queen Elizabeth the 2nd) never just Queen Elizabeth, as that's a bad faux par. But an understandable one. But as you do seem ,even to learn, this video will be a great help. ruclips.net/video/7DW4N5gaDOc/видео.html
London WAS buried under fog, at times, in the 1950s to early 1960s. I remember feeling my way to and from school, touching any walls or hedges. You got black around your nostrils from breathing in the bad air and you could not even see the pavement. It was very difficult but no vehicles could move anyway.
Also remembering that Great Britain covers England, Wales and Scotland simply because they exist on the biggest island in the British isles. It’s great being a synonym of big. It always makes me laugh when our politicians talk about ‘putting the great back in Britain “.
I think it dates back to the Normans - in French the name for Brittany is Bretagne, so to differentiate it they called Britain "Big Brittany", Grande Bretagne.
@@jamesdignanmusic2765 Actually it dates back to the ancient Greeks! The first ever mention of this name was by Ptolemy, in 147 AD who called Great Britain "megale Brettania" and Ireland "mikra Brettania" (Little Britain), these being the two most significant islands in the archipelago Prettanike (the British Isles). Medieval European scholars would have been familiar with his writings. The name "Little Britain" did not stick for Ireland and Geoffrey of Monmouth was using the terms "Britannia Major" for Great Britain and "Britannia Minor" for Brittany in modern day France c1146 (in Norman times, as you say). The title "Great Britain" in English first appeared in a treaty in 1475 between the English and the Scots. It referred specifically to the island as the two kingdoms were still separate at that time.
I might be a bit biased since I've always been interested in history and see a lot of older versions of other countries, but I always found it obvious that "great" didn't actually mean great as in "good", but great as in "big" or "all encompassing". The main example I know of Great being used outside of English is Germany. Hitler wanted to build the most powerful Germany in history, "Gross Deutschland". But even in English you have other examples such as London (the city), then you have Greater London (the city plus surrounding area). Or Manchester and Greater Manchester (same rules as London). It always baffles me that politicians use the "put the great back in great Britain" argument, because as long as the British isles are unified (excluding Ireland), Great Britain will always exist. The full name of the UK even the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Meaning calling the UK "Great Britain" is just outright wrong. If they wanted just Great Britain, we'd have to give up Northern Ireland and all overseas territories such as the Falklands and Gibraltar.
That would be Elizabeth the 2nd my friend, not Queen Elizabeth (7 September 1533 - 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603
There was a great documentary in the last couple of years about the preservation and maintenance of Big Ben. If you can find it it's worth a watch, cool to see the inside of the tower at least
I may be biased as I'm Scottish, but I never understood how the UK, England, and Britain terms were confusing. From an early age, I wrapped my head around the fact that the US comprises 50 states and the District of Columbia. The UK is basically the same, only smaller. Several smaller regions make up a nation, each with a local government and an overarching one. It's not that complex. All Texans are American, but not all Americans are Texans. All English are British, but not all British are English. It's so similar a concept, yet for some reason, Americans act like it's complex.
Edit: I'm not arguing that every non-Brit should know the makeup of the UK. I just find it weird that most Americans seem to get confused when it's explained to them despite it being a similar concept to their own country.
North America: A land mass, not a country.
United States of America: A nation.
"America": Informal term for the nation.
Texas: A state with its own culture that's one part of the nation.
California: Another state with its own culture that's one part of the nation.
Great Britain: A land mass, not a country.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: A nation.
"Britain": Informal term for the nation.
England: A constitute country with its own culture that's one part of the nation.
Scotland: Another constitute country with its own culture that's one part of the nation
I think it’s just the awful geography education in America - when people don’t know what a continent is, or can’t name 3 countries, then I can understand. But otherwise, it’s pretty simple tbf until you start accounting for islands and remote territories
There are countless videos on RUclips showing Americans struggle to answer basic questions about the US that even someone in the UK wouldn't struggle to answer, it seems the US education system is letting an awful lot (but not all obviously) of them down.
I lived in the U.S. for a few years. A lot of the people I met, although extremely kind and nice, had very little education. I was asked how long does it take to drive to England (I told one of my regular customers I was moving back to England with my wife, giving him the benefit of the doubt I told him Great Britain, part Europe. He still asked if it was a long drive), when Game of Thrones was popular I was asked about when we killed all the dragons and also I was asked if I new a bloke from Dumfries (I lived most of my life in East London). It was an interesting time over there.
Many Americans can not answer basic geographical questions about their own country, let alone other countries. You ask em to find Jordan on a map, they probably wouldn't even know Jordan is in the middle-east, let alone know where the middle-east is. My favourite one still remains from a celebrity special of' are you smarter than a 5th grader' and the question came up, "Budapest is the capital of what European country", not so much for not knowing the answer is Hungary, but that the contestant says, "this might be a stupid question but I thought Europe was a country"... which isn't even a question.
I'd have to admit, I can't place all the states, but I think I could place more states correctly than the average American.
The differences are that England makes up about 90% of the UK population, and the parliament at Westminster is both the English Parliament and the UK Parliament.
And Dick Van Dyke's English accent IS NOT representative of OUR ACCENT.
We've never forgiven him.
Same applies to Mel Gibson's Scottish accent.
Cor blimey Guv'nor! Strike a light!
You should hear them try speaking Scots?
Arrrgh !! Wonder if they could understand my cousin's in Cornwall!! 🥴🥴
@@orwellboy1958 oh hell ye,freeeeeedooooom
One of the most ridiculous myths about the U.K. is that everything stops for tea and cakes at 4 PM every day. I don't know anyone who does that.
or that we have a full English everyday.
Yes but we should have a full English breakie in the mornings and tea & cakes at 4pm and now we wonder whats wrong with our country !
It certainly doesn’t stop! I wish 😂
I thought it was 4:20 pm
Many in Kenya do, funnily enough.
Had an argument the other day where an idiot read a news story about a court case in Ireland and had responded ‘typical English for you’. He refused to accept that Ireland was not even in the UK, let alone England.
Maybe he's not caught up with the news yet. He'll get to the Irish Free State in 1922.
Put that down to falling educational standards......
I'm surprised the whole bad teeth stereotype wasn't mentioned since it seems to be so widely believed in the US. According to studies, the average Brit actually has better oral health compared to the average American. We're just not as obsessed with false whitening and straightening or cosmetic work.
I dont
I agree, but where did the American misconception come from? I've met a number of Americans who have been surprised that they don't see rotten teeth everywhere here.
@@chrystalfrost1775 I think it was American soldiers coming over to the UK during WW2 who saw the UK during a period when many things were either rationed or not available due to priorities lying elsewhere due to the war effort. Shortly after the war ended Clement Atlee replaced Winston Churchill as Prime Minister and his government introduced the NHS, our socialised healthcare system which includes heavily subsidised dentistry.
@@michaelscott7166 I’m not sure about that, although you may be correct but my doubts come from the fact that the British diet in WW2 was the healthiest it has ever been and I remember seeing an American chat show in the early eighties in which a British female guest smiled to reveal blood actually colouring her right front teeth, before that I had never heard Americans say anything about British teeth but certainly did after that.
@@hitime2405 Indeed! It's widely believed by scientists,that we as a nation were at our healthiest in the 30's and 40's,despite a war! One look at almost any British photograph from that era would seem to endorse that fact.
Queen Elizabeth worked up till two days before she died! Amazing woman!
Bit of a stretch saying work is it not
@@terasinamead3638 Royal duty really is a job and is something serious which needs to be taken care of
Depends which Queen Elizabeth you mean!!
She never worked a day in her life.
The Queen's "work" was not really like the work normal people do. Riding around in the back of a luxurious Bentley, get out and go for a tour around a factory, talk to some people, get back in the Bentley and drive home.
If you ever visit Scotland it's worth going to the mountains to see if you can get some pictures of the wild haggis.
😊🤣🤣
😯😂,
I’ve only tasted the captive bred! 😂
Don’t let the little beggars sink their teeth into your sporran.
@@gaynormainwaring1853 The captive ones are better in several ways; they're easier to cook than the wild ones and if you get ones that have been fattened on the spent grains from whisky distilleries, well they are very delicious - and you know they've lived a happy sozzled life!
Reading and learning all history is a great way to fire the imagination , your doing well Steve 🇬🇧
Being from Coventry I’m happy to explain the story of Lady Godiva.
Prior to the Norman invasion her husband Leofric was the Earl of Mercia, one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that had been absorbed into the Kingdom of England.
The Earl had tax raising powers, and Leofric had set a high tax rate.
This was causing the people of the area to suffer.
Lady Godiva pleaded with him to reduce taxes. He said he would do it only if she rode naked on a horse through the streets of Coventry.
He didn’t think she would agree but she did (according to the story)
The people of Coventry all stayed in their houses with their windows covered to allow her to do this without being watched.
However a man named Tom (Peeping Tom) sneakily looked through a window to see her. He was apparently then hit by lightning and blinded.
Whether or not that happened is debatable. However she was definitely a real person, and one of the few Anglo-Saxon nobles to survive the Norman Conquest. She funded the building of several churches and convents in the area.
There is a large statue of her in the centre of Coventry.
I remember when they built The Godiva Cinema at the junction of Tile Hill Lane and Fletchamstead Highway. No longer used as a cinema I believe.
Hello fellow Conventrian!
The Godiva clock in Broadgate was built by apprentices from The Tech. My Dad worked as an electrician for the council and used to fix it.
@@AlmosttheGoodlife Unfortunately, I am not a Coventrian. I just grew up there, from 1953 - 1973. I have happy memories of the City and still love the football team. I lived at 22 Bayley Lane for a short while. I worked at Owen Owen 1969 - 1973. My sister, however, was born in Keresley.
@@silverknight4886 it’s an Evangelical church now I think
@@AlmosttheGoodlife
I used to love seeing it on the hour when I was little
For info Clerkenwell is pronounced Clarkenwell and Southwark is pronounced Sutherk - I'm surprised the guy in the video didn't know this.
I'm here for this comment. I live in Suvuk lol
@@mooocows Don't be shy - it's suffuck.
He also said error for era.
Something that not only Americans but plenty of Brits don’t know is that it’s not the power that the Monarch holds (which is limited by Parliament) but rather the power he/she can withold from other individuals.
And the Commons / Lords expect their laws......our laws , to override any royal foible.......justly........shame our.politicians are crappy,.power made slags....
Someone needs to explain to Mojo how to pronounce 'Southwark'. Clue - it DOESN'T rhyme with South Fork.
This is the comment I was searching for! Suthark lol.
Yep and clerkenwell!
The gate that you admired in the Buckingham Palace section is called Canada Gate. It was a gift from Canada, then the Senior Dominion of the Empire, presented to London as part of a memorial to Queen Victoria. It is quite beautiful.
If you’re interested in learning about British monarchs an excellent starting point is Horrible Histories’ Monachs’ Song. The show is a comedy programme about history aimed at older children but massively entertaining to adults as well. The monarch song lists all the kings and queens from 1066 to Elizabeth II with some historical info set to a massively catchy tune.
They ought to update it
Damn Horrible Histories that is a throw back
Actually Horrible Histories is educational as well as fun. They turn history into songs and sketches but the facts are totally correct.
@linpollitt: one of my sons, who has learning disabilities, was taken to see a stage show of Horrible Histories. When he came out, he looked puzzled and said, "I didn't know that Queen Elizabeth I was black". I replied, "Neither did anyone else!" It's a good job that we have Horrible Histories to set the record straight for us ! 😡
I believe that Big Ben was cast in the same foundry as the Liberty Bell.
Gold Star for you Sir.
Top of the class today
You are correct about the mistaken belief about the swans. Another Watchmojo video you watched a few days ago on wierd British laws said that all swans belonged to the queen.
Most Watchmojo videos are filled with inaccuracies, not just small but often big or total BS.
Watchmojo is just clickbait and is generally best avoided.
I agree. I am not English I'm Welsh and proud of being Welsh!
Agree, I answer to British (at a push) or Welsh, but NEVER English.
Why did they ask you if you are English…were you speaking English and not Welsh?
I'm English and proud. I'm definitely not Welsh and happy with that. 😂😂😂
But are you proud of being British?
@@marionbrayshaw1003 not all Welsh people speak Welsh..
I watched something recently in which a fictitious character described another as having "a British accent"; there's no such thing! We have either an English, Scottish or Welsh accent, or northern Irish.
Actually I have used the term “British” accent. It’s the only thing that work when you recognize that it’s British but can’t actually differentiate England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. I can often tell but never want to assume because I know calling a Scotsman English would put me on host shit list. I felt British was the most appropriate description while still conveying about where they’re from. Maybe I’m wrong for doing it….. I guess we’re going to offend someone no matter what we do.
Actually I have used the term “British” accent. It’s the only thing that work when you recognize that it’s British but can’t actually differentiate England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. I can often tell but if I’m not certain I don’t guess. I just say British, kinda covers the bases. I know calling a Scotsman English would put me on his shit list pretty quickly. I felt British was the most appropriate description while still conveying about where they’re from. Maybe I’m wrong for doing it….. I guess we’re going to offend someone no matter what we do.
@jeanine: that's a fair point and, thinking about it, I might even generalise a European accent for the same reason 😊.
@@lynnhall8720 thanks for seeing my point. It’s weird to have someone listen to logic.
He He . I love the misconceptions of us in the UK. i was in LA in1994. And the general feeling i got from you most hospitable Americans was , everyone thought i was Australian. But i do have a Plum Voice ( Posh ). Love the channel. Merry Christmas across the pond. Be well.PEACE
Yes me too!
You'd think that the Brit narrating the video may have at least done some research into the pronunciation of some of the London place names he mentioned if he wasn't sure! Clerkenwell is pronounced Clarkenwell, and Southwark is pronounced Suth'rk...definitely not South Wark! 😁
I suspect he might be an Australian faking a British accent!
When you hear that tv tabloid voice you know there has been little research performed.
@@paulnorman6821 No watching these, they're just lazy!
Or even like suhthuhk, in a non-rhotic accent like Standard Southern British English.
@@barneylaurance1865 Or if you're a South Londoner like me, Suvuk!
I was talking to a Canadian couple while in Cuba and they asked where I was from, I said Wales, to which they replied "Oh England!". I sharply said they were from the USA... they got the point 😅
You lost me!
@@geoffreycodnett6570 England is a neighbor of Wales. USA is a neighbor of Canada. Clearer now?
@@KaiHenningsen England and wales are politically joined, the States and Canada are only joined geographically.
@@philipnorris6542 The point fella is making is that “some” people don’t know the difference..
@@philipnorris6542 Politically, sure. But we have our own language, which is older than English, our own culture, or own Government. Of the fluent speakers of the six living Celtic languages, half of them speak Welsh, despite the fact our population is less than half that of either Scotland or Ireland. Welsh is the only living Celtic Language that is NOT considered endangered by UNESCO.
We may be politically linked to England, and frankly I *support* the Union, but that does NOT make us English.....
Maybe you see the point now?
If you do, well diolch yn fawr.
If not... well screw you....
In the 1950's I was walking home from school in a pea souper (dense fog). Traffic was crawling along at walking pace and coppers were guiding the buses by walking in front with a flaming torch. Some of my school mates got lost on their way home.
Same years I got home from school and my dad asked if I'd seen mum. I hadn't but she had gone to fetch me (about 7) from school. A couple of hours later she arrived home, having got lost on the nearby common. I just followed the shortcut I used so I could pocket the money.
I got my bus fare to and from school twice a day. Worth it when you got a bar of chocolate in exchange for running home.
If you type "The Queen" into any search engine our late Queen will be the top result she was that beloved by the world not just the UK and Princess Diana just a beloved if not more so and again around the world.
Both women were amazingly wonderful people and are sadly missed.
Richard III's bad reputation is somewhat due to history being written by the winners and some dramatic licence on Shakespeare's part. Rival royal households back then were probably as bad as each other. The recent discovery of Richard III's remains is worth looking into. Elizabeth I's reign from 1558-1603 was very eventful. The state (or colony as it was then) of Virginia was named in her honour.
Quite so, Richard III was deposed by Elizabeth I's grandfather so portraying Richard as anything other than a villain who received his just comeuppance would be unwise to say the least.
History/ justice is almost always decided by the winners
Good job Queen Elizabeth was a virgin though because Slutsville would have been a terrible name for an American state!
Richard lll was looking for sex, he was shouting A whore, a whore, my kingdom for a whore.
The state/colony of *Virginia* was named in honor of *Elizabeth I?* What's wrong with this picture?
There is an awesome film called darkest hour. Part of it is about the great fog but the entire film is a great way to learn about Churchill
@irenemay4050. It is one way to hear the multiple myths about Churchill.
Big Ben, the great bell, is slightly out of tune due to a repaired crack caused by the designer not knowing enough about what he was doing and using a hammer over twice the weight limit for the bell.
Cut out and repaired, it's this which causes the bell to be out of tune, have a unique tone and to be a beloved sound of the UK.
Richard III was found under a car park in Leicester, car park covered the ruins of Greyfriers Church. It is quite interesting, numerous videos about it.
I’ve been found in some weird places after a night out, but he must have been REALLY drunk!
Richard of York gave battle in vain
Steve. London Fog was really thick and awful. It was so bad in 1952 that it was called the “The Great Smog Of London”. It was so bad that traffic in the city came to a halt. London lies along the River Thames. The most common form of home heating was coal in open fires. We were also still running mainly steam trains. The smoke from house chimneys and the railway engines combined with a light fog caused a thick fog, nicknamed a ”Pea Souper”. Smokeless coal is a legal requirement now, trains are diesel or electric now, London also has a traffic law that only allows fewer vehicles in the city on the pain of a fine.
By the way there is a US company called London Fog that make overcoats and other outdoor gear. Was this company a result of the so-called historic fogs, or was it the reason why throughout the US every body thinks London is always foggy.
Isn't Los Angeles another city that was famous for its smog?
@petersymonds4975. Pea soup fogs were far more common in the cotton and wool mill towns of the north of England and other industrial towns ( the Black country etc. ). These areas did most of the experiencing - Londoners and media did most of the complaining.
@@donaldhoult7713 Exactly! ....... I'm still a working man (but don't ask the boss) ... but I can remember Pea Soupers!
You could literally not see your hand in front of your face! There were many cases of bad chests when that happened ..... little to do with factories, more to do with every home having at least one coal fire going!
Smog - a horrible mixture of smoke and fog.
Richard 111 is fascinating, more so because his remains disappeared until 2012, when he was found under a car park, thus ruining Tudor myth that he had large hump!
I fell in love with Richard III when I was at school and our history teacher told us to go and read Josephine Tay's 'The Daughter of Time'. Wonderful book! And do look into the story of them finding his grave, only a few years ago - just amazing.
I'm so glad that you love learning about my country. And that you have a fair knowledge too. Hopefully one day you'll come to visit. But the first thing you have to do is go in the pub and have a pint. Hope to see you soon in our wonderful country. from UK 🇬🇧👍👍
You don't charge into the enemy by yourself and kill a dude in a duel when you have a limp and a hunchback lol
In a nutshell, the story of Lady Godiva is that her husband refused to reduce the excessive taxes on the people of his lands unless she rode naked throught the streets of Coventry. She called his bluff by doing just that - having arranged for the townspeople to stay indoors and not look- which they undertook to do. Apart from one young man called 'Tom' who spied on her. This is the origin of the term 'Peeping Tom' for anyone with voyeristic inclinations. As said here- not a true story. We don't have Godiva chocolate here, so no idea what the origins of this name is.
Damn you put alot if effort in this. Very useful I never knew thank you
Disgusting 🤢
they also say Tom was struck blind after looking too and a smaller amount of versions say Tom died on the spot
Godiva Chocolate is Belgian started 1926.
Noone who watches you would you to expect the massive ammount of information you're watching to be remembered. Don't worry about any of that keep enjoying yourself discovering things that interest you,.
I love the part at the end of the film 'Mrs Doubtfire', where 'she' is broadcasting a kids' TV programme. In a broad, faky Scots accent she says she is from a land faraway, called England. The collective scream from across the border can almost be heard in the English Channel.
I always found that strange that someone in the film couldn't differentiate the accents. I don't know which country winced more everytime Mrs Doubtfire spoke. 🤣
Wasn't she supposed to have been born in Scotland worked as a nanny in England, London, then moved to the US.
In theory she HAD come from England?
Really enjoy your insights in to our history and culture, you're learning!
Hi Steve, great channel and I love your reactions. But if you really want to check out your British and Irish ancestry, do not listen to or watch MojoUK. They are full of wrong information and you will learn next to nothing. Be careful of which video's you react to Steve, there is a lot of rubbish out there put together by people who will believe anything they are told, which applies to some comments on your channel. You say 'I must check this out' and I agree, if you wish to learn. But use the right sources and don't expect the RUclips community to always give you the right answer. All the best, Mike
A lot of people don't know this but the bell has a very distinctive sound because it has a crack in it.
The chimes should sound again this New Year after years of being under repair.
London Fog was Smog.
This led to the slang name for the City "The Smoke" some people still use this it.
In the 50s there was a huge push to clean the air. As a child I remember being sent home early from school because the fog was getting worse and it would have been dangerous walking home in it.
Lady Godiva is also cockney rhyming slang for a five pound note, called a fiver
Another misconception is 'warm beer'. Most in UK today drink Lager or Guinness and it's drunk cold, plus in pubs beer is generally drunk on draught (tap), in a pint glass of 20 Fluid ounces in the UK not 16 fluid oz as in the States (20% larger). Only children and poseurs drink it direct from a bottle! During WW2 lagers were very rare and US military in the UK only had access to British Ales which actually taste of beer, these are usually drunk at @ 11-13 Centigrade (Cellar temperature), hence 'warm' by US standards. Colder and the flavour of the beer is lost. Probably the reason why 'most' US lager beer is drunk so cold?
Can confirm, never had a warm beer that wasn't my own fault. All the beers I've ever had from a pub/bar have been cold regardless of type
11 Fahrenheit is way below freezing.... Did you mean Celcius/Centigrade?
I’m a bit older than most. Lager isn’t my thing and only Guinness should be quaffed cold. Cold beer doesn’t do it for me.
@@alanmon2690 Thanks, I should have proof read it.
I live in Coventry and the statue in the centre of town is our Lady Godiva. Her statue is naked, however, her riding naked really meant she did not have any jewellery or anything posh on.
I live in a small rural ex mining village, I see rats almost weekly passing through my garden, but there are some allotments just around the corner and a bunch of farms so I guess food is pretty plentiful.
They dont cause us any problems though
Lady Godiver was said to have complained to her husband about the poor people not being able to afford newor better things to eat or wear, so he told her to go naked through the town and he would think about what she had said, and she did just that.
Fog wasn't exclusive to London. Most of Britain's industrial cities were prone to dense fogs in the days when all domestic heating, factory power and electrical generation came from burning coal. I can remember a childhood friend walking into a lamp post he had hadn't seen because visibility was down to three feet.
Hi David, yes when I was a youngster, teenager at secondary school we had high vis arm bands on foggy/smoggy days walking to and from school. (Bolton).
@@markwolstenholme3354 I’m now in Coppull but my mum still lives up Tottington Rd in Bolton. A lot has changed since I was a kid in the 50s. You can actually see Rivi Pike on most days.
I remember Glasgow when I was a kid having some real pea soupers.
@@markwolstenholme3354 Where I lived the council used to place paraffin flares on street corners to help the traffic find its way? They were a sort of brass watering-can with a wick in the spout and a naked flame. Nobody touched them, but these days kids would be throwing them at each other!
Thank you for the video! Happy holidays to you and yours! ❤😊
Can we just dismiss the myth that London is the only city that used to be enveloped in fog. I’m 75 and well remember the fog (which was really smog) in the heavily industrial city of Manchester. Quite literally on foggy (smoggy)days there used to be a man walking in front of each bus and holding a flame lamp in order to guide the driver along the route correctly. On foggy days in my childhood we used to walk and guide ourselves to school by touching walls all the way. Literally on two occasions I held my hands up at arms length away from my face and COULD NOT SEE MY HANDS because the “fog” was so thick.
We had days like that in Burnley too. Walking down the side of the carpet factory, we had to count the drainpipes so that we didn't fall down the boiler room steps!
Yep. My parents hail form Manchester and I grew up in the north west myself. Since the industrial heartland of this country was the north and midlands, I would expect the majority of the smog would be centered around those areas and not the south east? I remember cleary my folks telling me about the "Pea-souper" fogs particularly around Trafford Park (where my dad used to work).
According to a lot of news outlets though the only thing north of London is Scotland 😂
@@nataliesiddle8507 And there in lies the problem with this country..
I went to school in the 50s and 60s and we had fog and smog due to coal fires, I remember my mum taking me to school with a scarf wrapped around my mouth and nose as it was bad to breath it in
Really enjoyable video and very interesting to find out the truths.
Re fog. When I was about 7 (1960) there was one morning when I literally could not see my outstretched hand in front of me. To get to school (the other end of the street I lived on) I had to run my hand along the hedges and fences of the homes. The really scary part was crossing the 2 roads where I just had to hope I was walking in a straight line and would find the hedges on the other side.
That was a frightening walk to school.
Have you done a video about the diverse accents in the UK?
Some of them you need a translator for 😂
Some of the accents, Brits need translators for, forget about overseas visitors
You talking bout Yorkshire accents
@@ab_railways_original yeah, amongst others.
Scouser, brummy, geordie, scot, Wiltshire, Yorkshire etc etc.
There are dialects as well i.e. different words. Old words frequently survive in places and the same word can be something different! A cob is a small horse in Wales and other areas but a crisp crusted bread roll in the Midlands. Crumpets and pikelets are the same thing for toasting. Crumpet has a best ignored 🙁 meaning.
Yep, definitely need a star trek style universal translator to understand what chavs are saying.
I have an ancestor who lived in Coventry at the time of Lady Godiva. Being a gentleman and fearing she would be cold, he lent her his gloves.
I was outside a small exhibition in a back street cul de sac behind the Angel pub in Islington. There were a number of people sitting around, smoking etc, when I saw a large rat strolling nonchalantly down the middle of the road.
Was the rat smoking?
When I started work, I sometimes had to ride home on my motorbike, tapping my foot on the kerb to check it was still there. Many a time, I got completely lost in the fog. The term 'can't see hand in front of your face' really did apply. Even into the early 80s, I can remember fogs so thick that driving was a seriously dodgy proposition and there were numerous very serious pile-ups on motorways. This is one reason that British and European cars have rear fog lights - even if hardly anyone knows how to use them. I haven't encountered a fog like that for decades, but we do have fogs regularly here on the Dorset coast, just not as bad as they used to be in the Midlands.
Also called Pea-soupers cos the fog/smog was so thick. I remember them too as a child of the Black Country and it’s industry. There were indeed times you couldn’t see a hand in front of your face.
If you're interested, there are a number of RUclips videos about 'Big Ben', particularly the recent renovation of the actual structure of the tower, the clock face (4 of them) and the clock mechanism. It is a sign of how popular it is, about 4 years ago, many people lined the nearby streets to hear the last chimes before the bell was silenced and the clock then removed
Excellent reaction as ever and upvoted, but I noticed that the narrator of the video being reacted to had a seemingly English accent but unaccountably used several US pronunciations during it. ‘Dye-nasty’, ‘South-walk’, ‘Clurkenwell’ and several others that I have already forgotten.
Is this so that US viewers will feel more comfortable? I mean, if they asked a local Londoner the way to Southwark (‘Sutherk’) and the local chap politely pointed out how it’s actually pronounced, the US visitor would be quite justified in saying ‘No, you’re wrong there. I saw a RUclips video and this English guy said it was ‘South-walk’. Perplexing.
I've noticed that on other videos in that series. The narrator isn't as clued-up as he'd like to think and he obviously doesn't take the trouble to check when he doesn't know something, he just continues to spew inaccuracies across the globe.
@johnkemp8904. I've met quite a lot of them and have never known an American accept that he was wrong on any matter.
I lived in Dent - a village of Yorkshire ( now considered in Cumbria ). An American stopped his car and demanded to know where the M6 was to be found.
Having been told that he'd passed it some 12 miles back he strongly disputed the fact; so I, being a typically polite Englishman ( I am not British! ) demurred to his obvious superiority in the matter of local geography and left him to continue up the 15 feet wide main road through the valley.
I rather enjoyed the event!
I lived in London until I was 21 and 1 place I visited a lot is Blackheath, which is just outside Greenwich Park, the reason it was called this is that a lot of people who died of the plague were buried there
That is correct. And the dips that hid barrage balloons in the war
Im English, from Coventry was born on Spon Street which is where Lady Godiva rode her horse, My Mum Scottish and father Irish, you defiently have a Scottish look about you. I can see you drinking whiskey in a Scottish pub and later kicking off outside the local chippy ! lol
Greetings from Hillfields.
@@eyesofisabelofficial Hi, when i said Spon Street i meant "Spon End" i was being posh, im sure you understand why lol x
Whisky not Whiskey.
@markmarkie3076. Kicking off because the deep fried Mars Bars were all sold?
Hi Steve, please look up Fred Dibnah going to "Big Ben", there will be a video on here somewhere.
it's only seeing a person next to it when you get the full scale of just how big it is...
Richard III is interesting & slightly more complicated. Until fairly recently, it was indeed thought that Richard was not really the hunch-backed villain portrayed by Shakespeare. Perhaps he was not even hunch-backed at all? It was thought that it was based upon just one portrait, & even that might have been 'meddled with' after the original painting [ nothing new about 'photoshop' ].
And then, a few years ago, remains were found beneath a car park in Leicester, which were thought possibly to have been him. DNA examination of remains, & comparison to known distant relatives has lent credence to the notion that these really ARE the remains of Richard. And the skeleton in question certainly does show very significant scoliosis [ curvature ].
The Princes in the Tower & other details remain up for grabs.
Two skeletons of children were found during restoration work I think near the foot of a Tower of London stairs. Before DNA etc not much could have been done. No idea what happened to the remains. A complicated era as Richard was supposed to be arranging for the coronation of his nephew before the brothers disappeared.
@Reacting To My Roots This is a nursery rhyme derived from the Great Fire of London we sang as children in school in the play ground .. as you can tell i am an middle aged woman...😊😁
London’s burning, London’s burning,
Fetch the engines, Fetch the engines,
Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Pour on water, Pour on Water.
I remember this rhyme I was a child of the 70s 🙂
It used to be foggy because of all the coal fires in london... when i was young 60 years ago even with no fog.. the air pollutiin was so bad that if you spent a day in london and then blew your nose it would com.. the out black..the soot used to coat the inside of your nose .. godiva chocolate is i beleive a belgium make.... not generally sold in the UK..but you see it in the duty free in airports...
And yet there was no climate change!!
RE fog. Here's one for you. When I joined London Transport as a London Bus Driver with a conductor we had a small cabinet under the bus stairs that contained flares. On really bad days - and I experienced two or three in the early 70's, when vision was really bad the flare was lit and the conductor walked in front to guide the driver.
Slightly annoying and ironic that a commentator who is correcting misconceptions, can't even pronounce "Southwark" properly 🤣
He's American.. Most people tho aren't from the UK would probably make the same mistake! He's interested and wanting to learn about the UK so that's cool you're not going to know everything:')
@@XclusiveAaron I was talking about the narrator of the video he's watching, not Steve. Steve is okay, he's willing to learn as you say.
@@jonntischnabel Sorry, my mistake!👍
Nor can he pronounce "Clerkenwell" correctly. I'd guess he might be Welsh, or somewhere that direction, so it could be understandable (albeit not great research!)
It's the British guy who mispronounced Southwark. The one from Watch Mojo.@@XclusiveAaron
The Clean Air Act in 1956 where people were restricted in burning coal to warm their homes eased the fog problems. In 1952 London experienced a huge smog (smoke mixed with fog). It lasted for quite a while and the air pollution was so bad that many people died of respiratory problems.
I come from Coventry and the legend of Lady Godiva is still recognised there with a statue in the town centre and a Godiva Pageant (I think) every five years. Near to Lady Godiva's statue is a fantastic clock. As it strikes the hour, doors open and Lady Godiva rides across the front of the clock. Doors above open and a man called Tom looks at Lady G. All of the other citizens refused to look at her, but he did and was struck blind as a result. Hence the nickname, Peeping Tom. At the end of the display, the doors close until the next hour.
I also remember a 3 day smog in Coventry in about 1967. We lived in the Broad Lane district, which was a smokeless zone. i.e you could only burn coke in a fireplace.
@@silverknight4886 Now you mention it, I vaguely remember it. I lived in Radford which was also a clean air zone. Instead of burning coke, which was expensive, I had gas fires installed instead. The other fog I remember was in Nottinghamshire. On teaching practice, a coach picked us all up from our schools and drove us back to college. The fog was so thick the bus driver crawled along at walking speed and we took it in turns to walk along the edge of the pavement, tapping the bus so the driver knew he was still on the road. We arrived back over 4 hours late, frozen and starving. Quite an adventure.
@@Boogledigs I had to go to a garage on Broad Lane (nr what was the Hawthorne) usually on a Sunday to pick up 2 x 28lbs bags of coke. I struggled to get them on my shoulders, but once I had that done, easy peasy.
I've seen a video on YT about the restoration of the Elizabeth Tower - I think it was called Inside Big Ben's Makeover. May be good for you to check that out.
Richard 111 is a big subject and still generates a sort of controversy. You can look into his finding. Of Richard 111 in my home city of Leicester . His second funeral was on TV re buried in Leicester cathedral it is definitely worth looking into
Hahaha we have not had one hundred and eleven King Richards. The correct way to write it it using Roman numerals e g. Capital I KING RICHARD III)
I watched the burial ceremony and found it quite moving which surprised me.
It was remarkable how many people lined the route of the procession for a King who had so long ago.
Great content Steve. Love to hear your thoughts on our culture.
I was watching some of your older videos such as “ 10 things in British culture that is impossible to explain to a non Brit” and I would love to send you the stuff you need and instructions on how to make a nice English tea
I'm in my 70s and have never seen a live rat - thank heavens!
The Swan thing was a good rumour to have. People believed it and so left Swans alone. Otherwise we'd probably have eaten them all during WWII.
What makes you think they didn't?
Swan tastes horrid anyway. You only eat it once.
Richards remains were recently found in a now car park you should check it out very interesting, think a film has just been made about the find.
Henry the 8th and his 6 wives is my fave - Elizabeth's dad
It’s always good to learn. This guy is learning things about Britain and I’m learning that some Americans have an interest in the wider world.
Sorry, that was harsh. I did learn something though, so thanks.
I recommend checking out videos on Shetland: it's the most northerly place in UK and a lot of British people don't even know about. You can check out the accents, the many different islands with most uninhabited, dialect, festivals like Up Helly Aa (viking fire festival), wildlife, weather, daily living etc. I live here and when I moved a surprising amount of people from England asked if I had electricity 😅
Hope you are doing well with the recent cold weather and snow in the Shetlands. We are about to get hit with it here in Chicago in about a day and a half.
We have no geographical protection (mountains) from the North Pole, so we get the Arctic blasts and worse, polar vortexes every winter. It comes straight down through Canada. Hopefully we will keep our power and heat.
@MaryAnne Brown we got our power back on Sunday after a week of none, the snow collected on the powerlines pulling them down and snapping at least 3 poles. Luckily we have community halls and homes with generators that allowed people to come stay warm and make hot food and hot water bottles to take home. We're expecting more snow before the winter is out but hopefully knee height overnight!
Someone who came from one of the Hebridean islands, who I met in the Army, told me they had no electricity where he lived and then got very angry with me when I believed him. His idea of a joke but some people don't help themselves. 😀
"Big Ben" has just been renovated, they have done an amazing job, it's worth checking out videos on the renovation.
Marked swans belong to the vintners or the dyers guilds, unmarked to the Queen (or King now, I suppose).
They have to have the Monarchs mark to be owned. Done by the Swan Uppers. If they don't have the Monarchs, Vintners or Dyers mark they are not owned. Only applies to Mute Swans. The other breeds are not owned.
I was brought up in the Northern factory, mill, coal mining town, Leigh. I remember as a kid finding our way home from our mate’s house by feeling along the brick back yard walls of the terraced houses. You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. We thought it was great at he time.
The Queen favourite residents was Windsor Castle 🏰, I was lucky to live there for 35years, saw nearly all the royal at one point or another and a fond memory for me was see Diana and the then young boys in a black Daimler in the Royal Mews, she said hi and asked what I was doing.
Another great reaction video. The only thing that irks me a little (and it's nothing to do with your content) is these videos about the UK that only ever focus on London. There's a whole country to discover with each region having a rich and fascinating history.
British cities used to be very foggy, especially when chimneys belched out smoke the whole time. Since the Clean Air Act it is no longer the case. I remember smoggy days in my teens in the 50s. I've never heard of Godiva chocolate. I think that's just someone using the name. To be fair the rat thing is often believed here too, but it's just not true. I had rats come into my home during lockdown when they couldn't find food and they were very cute but they had to go. And I didn't catch anything from them.
Godiva chocolate doesn't have a wrapper on
Another great video, Steve. 👍
Richard III did have a hunchback. When his body was found under a car park in Leicester a few years ago, they realised he suffered from scoliosis.
The youtuber must have been a member of the Richard 111 society. Because he was a hunchback his nephews disappeared when he was on the throne and he was a usurper.
Having scoliosis doesn't mean he was a "hunchback". He probably walked with a slight limp, but it wouldn't have been that obvious. Historians today think that it's a case that if you're wanting to discredit someone, it's easier to create a great exaggeration than a complete invention.
A northern Ireland person will always call themselves Irish even though they are proud to be British.
What's not hardly spoken of is Cornwall, at one time in history it was an independent country even with its own language. Very few can still speak nowadays. But I've never heard it.
The last native speaker of Cornish died over a hundred years ago.
I would never call myself Irish and know of no Northern Irish people who would call themselves Irish, simply because they are not Irish.
The Elizabeth Tower has never been called "St Stephens Tower". It was just 'The Clock Tower' until it became the Elizabeth Tower. St Stephens Tower is the small spire in the middle of the Palace of Westminster.
London had a fair bit of fog up until the Great Smog of 1952, when 6,000 Londoners died. That led to the passing of the Clean Air Act of 1956. Prior to that, London was nicknamed “The Smoke,” because of the air pollution issuing forth from factories.
Try being "British" and trying to remember your history there is so much of it we go back thousands of years that's a lot of history. Also when asked I tell people I'm English I was born here brought up here and had my family hear but I have Scottish, Welsh and Irish ancestry what a headache
Here you go something for Christmas (1914 | Sainsbury's Ad | Christmas 2014) (The Big Night | Sainsbury's Ad | Christmas 2018) (Meet the Kids Behind ‘The Big Night’ | Sainsbury’s Ad | Christmas 2018 ) and last but not least (John Lewis Christmas Ad 2016 with Buster The Boxer Dog ) three ads this is how we do Christmas Oh by the way Merry Christmas!!!
If you wanna know about the black death I highly recommend the book 'The Great Mortality' 👍
The plague referred to in the video is a later outbreak of bubonic plague that killed about a quarter the population of London in 1665. That outbreak came to be known as the Great Plague of London. The outbreak three centuries earlier, which we now call the Black Death, was the most devastating pandemic in recorded history, killing between 30% and 50% of the population of Europe. I agree it is well worth looking into.
I'm from Coventry, lady Godiva,( Godgifu litt. God's gift) was an Anglo Saxon noble and land owner in Mercia of which Coventry was the major town.
She was married to earl Leofric.
He tried to impose a poll tax on the people of Coventry and Godiva said she would ride naked through the streets of Coventry. This was in the 1040s about 980 years ago. The tax was cancelled n Coventry.
Godiva tomb is thought to be in the oldest parts of the excavated Cathedral.
We are very proud her and she is one of Coventry 's badges to this day.
Another one is the Brits have bad teeth, actually we are joint 4th in the World with Sweden, with the USA coming in at 8th (behind Mexico)
My Dad said during the ‘Pea- Souper’ fog in London in 1952 (when he was 10) that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. The Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968 outlawed the burning of coal in homes and industry.
You could and still can burn coal at home and in industry that's how some of our electricity is generated, but it has to be a certain type of coal (smokeless).
@@pillred5974 IF you are permitted a fireplace!
As a person from Coventry I am horrified to hear what they said about Lady Godiva
G'day Mate. If you really want to learn accurate British history (and historyin general) then i have to recommend Horrible Histories. It was meant for kids, but its so well done that adults love it just as much. And a lot of their videos are on RUclips.
They mixed in clever writing and whit, to deliver nice little nuggets of information. And they are very well know for their songs.
The best video to start you of with, actually fulfils one of your requests. This is a complamation of various different songs. But it does have the most valuable one first.
And it will teach that our late Queen was the Queen Elizabeth 2 (Queen Elizabeth the 2nd) never just Queen Elizabeth, as that's a bad faux par. But an understandable one. But as you do seem ,even to learn, this video will be a great help.
ruclips.net/video/7DW4N5gaDOc/видео.html
@mareky1234 And a lot of utter balderdash and misinformation. No way to teach children history.
London WAS buried under fog, at times, in the 1950s to early 1960s. I remember feeling my way to and from school, touching any walls or hedges. You got black around your nostrils from breathing in the bad air and you could not even see the pavement. It was very difficult but no vehicles could move anyway.
Also remembering that Great Britain covers England, Wales and Scotland simply because they exist on the biggest island in the British isles. It’s great being a synonym of big. It always makes me laugh when our politicians talk about ‘putting the great back in Britain “.
I think it dates back to the Normans - in French the name for Brittany is Bretagne, so to differentiate it they called Britain "Big Brittany", Grande Bretagne.
@@jamesdignanmusic2765 Actually it dates back to the ancient Greeks! The first ever mention of this name was by Ptolemy, in 147 AD who called Great Britain "megale Brettania" and Ireland "mikra Brettania" (Little Britain), these being the two most significant islands in the archipelago Prettanike (the British Isles). Medieval European scholars would have been familiar with his writings.
The name "Little Britain" did not stick for Ireland and Geoffrey of Monmouth was using the terms "Britannia Major" for Great Britain and "Britannia Minor" for Brittany in modern day France c1146 (in Norman times, as you say).
The title "Great Britain" in English first appeared in a treaty in 1475 between the English and the Scots. It referred specifically to the island as the two kingdoms were still separate at that time.
I might be a bit biased since I've always been interested in history and see a lot of older versions of other countries, but I always found it obvious that "great" didn't actually mean great as in "good", but great as in "big" or "all encompassing".
The main example I know of Great being used outside of English is Germany. Hitler wanted to build the most powerful Germany in history, "Gross Deutschland".
But even in English you have other examples such as London (the city), then you have Greater London (the city plus surrounding area). Or Manchester and Greater Manchester (same rules as London).
It always baffles me that politicians use the "put the great back in great Britain" argument, because as long as the British isles are unified (excluding Ireland), Great Britain will always exist. The full name of the UK even the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Meaning calling the UK "Great Britain" is just outright wrong. If they wanted just Great Britain, we'd have to give up Northern Ireland and all overseas territories such as the Falklands and Gibraltar.
That would be Elizabeth the 2nd my friend, not Queen Elizabeth (7 September 1533 - 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603
You think the Bristish/Uk thing is confusing. Try asking the Dutch where in Holland the Nederlands are....
There was a great documentary in the last couple of years about the preservation and maintenance of Big Ben. If you can find it it's worth a watch, cool to see the inside of the tower at least