PRESS RELEASE: Triviala
Written: Thursday 14th May, 2009
DUMB AND DIMMER
NEWS COPY
Celebrity-obsessed Brits are now more clued up about their favourite stars than they are about key historical events, a study revealed yesterday (Wed).
While 90 per cent of adults knew the names of the Beckham's three children only 46 per cent knew John Major was Prime Minister during the first Gulf War.
And although 85 per cent knew Chelsea and England star Ashley Cole's wife's name is Cheryl only 67 per cent knew when the last General Election took place.
It also emerged that 77 per cent know Kerry Katona's first husband was Bryan McFadden but 20 per cent don't know February 29th was a Leap Day.
Incredibly, one in 10 believed it was either February 30th or 31st.
A spokesman for www.triviala.com said: ''We were genuinely surprised that so many British adults are confused about general history - even more recent events such as the Beijing Olympics left folk floundering.
''However, when it came to celebrities, all of a sudden our respondents were knowledgeable and inspired, quickly coming up with the right answers time after time.
''Although we were surprised at the greater celebrity knowledge of the quiz's respondents, perhaps it's just symptomatic of our celebrity-obsessed culture, with gossip stories rather than solid news providing most of the headlines in some sections of the media.''
A third of Brits thought the last General Election was in 2008 when it was in 2005.
Eleven per cent believed Winston Churchill was British Prime Minister during the First Gulf War which took place 1990 to 1991, while four in 10 thought it was Margaret Thatcher.
One in ten named former athlete Linford Christie as Britain's top medalist at the Beijing Olympics - despite the fact he hasn't run professionally for more then a decade.
The quiz also revealed 21 per cent had no idea that D-Day - the anniversary of the Normandy invasion on June 6th 1944 - was in the 1940s.
Five per cent of people mistakenly thought the Pearl Harbour naval base bombed by the Japanese in 1941 was in Ireland.
Fifteen per cent had no idea Beethoven composed Symphony No.5 with other suggestions including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bach - and Massive Attack.
And 25 per cent of people didn't know Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa; 17 per cent thought it was Van Gogh, four per cent thought it was Leonardo DiCaprio and four per cent thought it was Damien Hirst.
One in five adults didn't know that Iran used to be called Persia. One in ten said it was formerly Portugal and a further eight per cent thought the answer was Rome.
But while people struggled with basic general knowledge 61 per cent correctly identified Liz Dawn as playing Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street for 34 years, and 41 per cent knew Peter Andre and Katie Price wed in 2005.
Sixty per cent knew Versace designed the infamous safety pin dress worn by Liz Hurley to the 1994 premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral.
ENDS
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/5317755/Britons-know-more-about-favourite-celebrities-than-history.html
Research conducted by global market research company www.onepoll.com
