Answer on a general knowledge quiz.

General knowledge is a funny thing. What one person thinks is either 'obvious' or 'everyday knowledge' is often different to another person. My DH knows all sorts of things about sport that he considers general knowledge but is dull as ditch-water to me and I could tell him all sorts of things about children's writers that I think is useful knowledge!

I have a reasonable range of knowledge based on first hand experience, reading& discussion and taught education. Sadly many people have limited experience and do not read or discuss things with people! General knowledge in itself is not necessarily useful..unless doing a quiz/crossoword etc. i enjoy Mastermind and U C..but find Paxman a smug bastard..he's got the answers written down!

On holiday with my parents somewhere in the West Country aged about 8, my father stopped the car to ask a local whether they knew where Evelyn Waugh's house was. The reply he got was something along the lines of "she don't live round these parts" I never understood until years later why my parents found this so amusing. Evelyn, not really a good name for a bloke, no wonder he turned out bloody difficult! Maybe Ermintrude has a point!

I was sharing a funeral car with a very sweet catholic priest and as we drove down Baker Street I mentioned that there were actually people employed to answer letters written to Sherlock Holmes. He was absolutely thrilled - "That is SO BRITISH !!!" It quite made his day.

Last time I was in London I was accosted by an American tourist looking for Sherlock Holmes's birth place.

My ex used to come from the small village of Bladon, where Winston Churchill is buried in the churchyard, near Blenheim Palace. We observed an American tourist looking at the village school, saying 'I don't think much of the Palace, not from the back anyway'.

Oh heavens laidback, I'm usually happy if I manage one or two answers - must get back to the books

If I answer about 10 questions(usually the starter ones) correctly on university challenge I feel really pleased!

Harris and Donegal?

Am I the only one who howled out loud at tonight's clanger.
The prog. Break The Safe.
Q. The river tweed separates which two countries
A. ( from a police officer) Germany!!!!

myGDfor part of her uni course had to memorise the location of every country in the worls and the capital city of each country. she studied so hard and i was delighted when she scored 98 out of 100 only missing out on the correct location of 2 countrys, she e mailed me the geography knowledge quiz to try but i failed miserably. geography was never ny strong point though i think my general knowledge is passable.

Lack of general knowledge is a lack of curiosity, I'm amazed at the almost stupidity of some of the people. When I lived in New York someone said to me that I must really miss my family at Thanksgiving. Same person at a later date asked if we had fireworks on July 4th ! At work I'd just returned from a trip to Germany and a girl asked me if I was still suffering from jet lag. I'm always amazed at some peoples' general ignorance of simple aspects of the world around us.

Someone told me that when they visited Windsor Castle a few years ago an American was heard to say 'it's fantastic but what a pity they built it
so near to the airport'.

Merlotgran - it annoys me too - I think they are just trying to prolong their moment of 'fame'!

We spent a whole day looking round Warwick Castle (great place), and were about to take a walk from the car park to have a look at the area outside, this was about 4.30 p.m. A coach of American tourists had just arrived, and as they alighted one women asked if this was where the Queen lived. We returned to the car park about an hour later, and the coach was just leaving. Could not believe they had visited in such a short space of time.

Continuing with the theme of Americans on tour in Italy. On a conducted tour around Venice many years ago, a tour guide mentioned that she had ushered a party of Americans around the Doges Palace prison and had asked them whether they knew who the most famous inmate was, expecting someone would answer with Casanova, she was amazed that the only response she got was Al Capone!

Americans!

I was reading a book by a tour guide in Italy. He had an American client who wanted interesting things to see around Naples. He suggested Pompeii and explained that it was where the terrible volcanic eruption occurred in 79 AD. The American was amazed because he'd been old enough to read the papers during the 70's and hadn't seen anything about it!

In It To Win It is the one that raises our blood pressure.

In the good old days a contestant was asked a question and they answered it rightly or wrongly. Now they take ages to spit it out. We get, 'I'm leaning towards, It's not jumping out at me, It IS jumping out at me, I'm going with my first instincts.'

After all that faffing about, Dale Winton then asks, 'Would you like me to take that as your answer?'

YES!!!!! JUST GET ON WITH IT.

I love the expression on Jeremy Paxman's face when one of the teams gives an answer that is so, so wrong! He looks as if he has swallowed a turnip!
I can answer a lot of general knowledge questions myself, but I'm useless at questions about modern music and culture - though my granddaughters regard me as reasonably "cool"! I just love quizzes, the one place where I let my competitive side come to the fore (it's usually having a nap under a duvet somewhere).

I worked with a young girl who said things I could scarcely believe. She asked someone one day which sandwich they had bought from Subway today. The person said 'I had the manager's special'. She replied 'how come you were allowed to have that, you're not a manager'. !!!!

Your posts are so funny. I'm weeping with laughter!

PS , the sandwich bar , by the way !!

We were in Paris this time last year , and found there was A "SUBWAY",
we were quite astonished !!

I had a friend who visited Paris for a week and when she came back complained about the food. Thinking she had tried some strange French recipe I asked her what the problem was - she said she had problems finding a restaurant that sold fish and chips and couldn't find a McDonalds! (this was some years ago before they took over the world)

Yeah Greatnan, I felt sorry for Brendan too.

My son has related several stories about some very young colleagues in the clothes shop where he has worked since A levels and university. One girl in particular never ceased to amaze, she actually believed the moon and the sun are one and the same, and in another conversation she said to him "have you heard about that Hitler bloke, it's awful what he's doing, someone should stop him!" He tells me that this comment was not tongue in cheek!