1066 and all that

[MinDonner]

So, during a transatlantic conversation about that "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" show last night, it became apparent that to this non-American, plenty of "obvious" questions were not obvious at all.

Who's on the nickel? What's the most common first name of US Presidents? Not only did I not know the last one, I had barely even heard of any of the gentlemen in question, much to the surprise of my American friend. Which got me wondering, how many other nations have facts that supposedly any 10-year-old would know, yet are not remotely common knowledge overseas?

1066 is the obvious British one. I doubt you'd find many Brits ignorant of that date (or at least I would hope not), but does it mean anything to anyone else? Might be fun to test the board's knowledge of each other's countries. :) (don't FG me. This is educational!)

3 British questions then:

What happened in 1066?

Which king burnt the cakes?

When people cycle from one end of the country to the other, at which points do they start and finish?

[S John]

What happened in 1066?

Which king burnt the cakes?

When people cycle from one end of the country to the other, at which points do they start and finish?

I know the first two. No idea on the last one.

Edit - at least I'm not sure what kind of answer I'm supposed to give for the last one. Are there specific set spots or something where people do that from? Like if you were going to hike the Appalachian Trail you'd start in Georgia and end in Maine?

[Altherion]

What happened in 1066?

I knew this, but I wasn't confident enough to post it without checking Wikipedia first. If it was not a British person asking in such a thread or if you had put the question the other way around (i.e. "What year did W do X?"), I might not have remembered.

Which king burnt the cakes?

When people cycle from one end of the country to the other, at which points do they start and finish?

Absolutely no idea.

And yeah, the pop quiz shows rely on "obvious" things that are only obvious if you are in tune with that particular culture.

[Ouroboros]

What happened in 1066?

Which king burnt the cakes?

When people cycle from one end of the country to the other, at which points do they start and finish?

1. Harald Godwinson impressed the French with his marathon like ability to run from one side of the country to the other.

2. Easy. Everyone knows Henry V, on top of being a brilliant military leader, was also a terrible cook.

3. Glasgow.

[Luzifer's right hand]

1066? I don't suppose you mean the Granada massacre?

Just kidding. The conquest of England by the Normans begun in that year.

The other questions do not ring a bell though.

[S John]

I only knew the first two because I'm abnormally interested in the period of British history between when the Romans left and 1066 - which includes the cakes incident.

Ideally, from a general knowledge standpoint - people ought to know the historical significance of 1066. Even Americans! IMO, the cakes thing is a bit more obscure and forgivable.

[ljkeane]

I only knew the first two because I'm abnormally interested in the period of British history between when the Romans left and 1066 - which includes the cakes incident.

Ideally, from a general knowledge standpoint - people ought to know the historical significance of 1066. Even Americans! IMO, the cakes thing is a bit more obscure and forgivable.

To be fair pre American Revolution British history probably has more relevance to Americans than to people from countries with less historical connection to the UK.

[Talleyrand]

So, during a transatlantic conversation about that "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" show last night, it became apparent that to this non-American, plenty of "obvious" questions were not obvious at all.

Who's on the nickel? What's the most common first name of US Presidents? Not only did I not know the last one, I had barely even heard of any of the gentlemen in question, much to the surprise of my American friend. Which got me wondering, how many other nations have facts that supposedly any 10-year-old would know, yet are not remotely common knowledge overseas?

1066 is the obvious British one. I doubt you'd find many Brits ignorant of that date (or at least I would hope not), but does it mean anything to anyone else? Might be fun to test the board's knowledge of each other's countries. :) (don't FG me. This is educational!)

3 British questions then:

What happened in 1066?

Which king burnt the cakes?

When people cycle from one end of the country to the other, at which points do they start and finish?

1. Norman Conquest

2. Alfred wasn't it?

3. John O'Groats to Land's End

[Lummel]

So, during a transatlantic conversation about that "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" show last night, it became apparent that to this non-American, plenty of "obvious" questions were not obvious at all.

er before getting to the other questions I'd have to ask how old is a 5th grader (roughly) and how much is a nickel?

[Seli]

The first one is easy, the others I've no clue.

Trying to think of some Dutch questions is proving to be tricky. It would be easier to have a "what did every 10 year old know 40 years ago", because rote learning was a bigger part of education back then.

[S John]

er before getting to the other questions I'd have to ask how old is a 5th grader (roughly) and how much is a nickel?

I was in 5th grade in 1995 making me... 11 years old at the time. A nickel is worth .05 US dollars.

[Lummel]

Thanks S John! So you guys start school quite late, but then you all have kindergarten or something don't you?

[Horza]

Thanks to a massive advertising campaign in the lead up to the anniversary of Federation most Australians now know the answer to this question, but:

Who was the first Prime Minister of Australia?

And while I'm at it:

When was Federation?

Who first discovered Australia?

[S John]

Thanks S John! So you guys start school quite late, but then you all have kindergarten or something don't you?

Well I actually didn't account for my Summer birthday - I would have been 10 in 5th grade and the school year would have started in 1994 and ended in 1995. But most of my classmates would have turned 11 during the school year.

And yes, we have Kindergarten before first grade, I would have started Kindergarten at age 5 in 1989.

[Datepalm]

I know 1066 (reasonable general knowledge for any english speaker, imo, though definitely not 5th grader type stuff) and if it's 'extreme points of great Britain' then I know John o'Groats and Land's End, but the bicycle question and the cakes (I think i've vaugely heard of it...) leave me stumped. Dunno

[Antonius Pius]

The first one is easy, the others I've no clue.

Trying to think of some Dutch questions is proving to be tricky. It would be easier to have a "what did every 10 year old know 40 years ago", because rote learning was a bigger part of education back then.

I've been thinking about that too. All I could come up with was

1. when did Holland win it's independence?

2. who painted the Night's Watch? (which seems so fuckin obvious I hesitate to bring it up)

3. ...

A nickel is worth .05 US dollars.

I always think nickle means .10 ct, but then I think "nickle and dime", and I think nickle = .05 ct and dime = .10 ct, which I now fervently hope is true.

Who first discovered Australia?

James Cook? Not a clue about Q1 and 2.

[williamjm]

Edit - at least I'm not sure what kind of answer I'm supposed to give for the last one. Are there specific set spots or something where people do that from? Like if you were going to hike the Appalachian Trail you'd start in Georgia and end in Maine?

Traditionally the journey is done from what are popularly regarded as the most Northerly and Southerly points of the British mainland, John O' Groats in Scotland and Land's End in England (although the true extreme points are Dunnett Head and The Lizard).

Who was the first Prime Minister of Australia?

And while I'm at it:

When was Federation?

Who first discovered Australia?

I don't really know the first two. The name Lachlan MacQuarie sounds familiar, but I'm not sure if he was a PM. Was Federation about the 1890s? For the last one, the Australian Aborignes. I think the Dutch were the first Europeans to discover it?

[Horza]

For the last one, the Australian Aborignes. I think the Dutch were the first Europeans to discover it?

This is in the ballpark, the Aborigines were naturally the first people to discover the joint and only West Australians know the names of the cloggies who took one look at the place and said: 'Nee.'

[S John]

I always think nickle means .10 ct, but then I think "nickle and dime", and I think nickle = .05 ct and dime = .10 ct, which I now fervently hope is true.

Yes, that is true. I don't really know the origin of the terms, but to an American (not sure about the Brits) the terms 'nickel' and 'dime' are kind of synonymous with 5 and 10 even outside the monetary system. For example, a 'nickel' defense in (American) football is a defense with five defensive backs. A woman described as a 'dime' is one whom the speaker rates as a 10 (presumably out of 10) on the scale of hotness. Of course a dollar can also be a 'buck' and 100 dollar bills can be Benjamins. The term 'buck' also works for 100 when not talking about money. 'Jim weighs a buck-eighty' means that Jim weighs 180 lbs.

[Maltaran]

er before getting to the other questions I'd have to ask how old is a 5th grader (roughly) and how much is a nickel?

The British version of the show is called "Are you smarter than a 10 year old?", so I assume that's the appropriate age.

For the Dutch questions, I know Night Watch is a Rembrandt. As for independence, I'm going to guess late 1500s. 1580s, perhaps? I'm guessing this because it's roughly 100 years before William of Orange took the British throne.

Edit: I always remember which way round nickel and dime are because one of the random bits of trivia that I know is that dime is derived from dixieme, being the French word for tenth (so a dime is a tenth of a dollar).