I know how you Americans want to be educated. 
And how you don't have passports so won't be coming to England to experience this for yourselves. And if you do, you'll just visit the tourist areas and drink tea and eat scones. So won't see any of the real Britain......
So thought I'd post up some usual misconceptions.
I know I am opening myself up for some banter.... But I expect it...
If you are British, or know a lot about Britain, you won’t be surprised by the misconceptions below. However, you may be even MORE surprised to learn that in some places these things are believed! If you believe all or any of these points, sorry, but you are mistaken – but fortunately listverse is here to correct things. Here they are, in no particular order:
10
British Nation
Misconception: Britain is a country.
While “Britain” or “Great Britain” does refer to the general area, neither of them refers to a country. Britain is a general term for Wales, Scotland and England collectively, while The British Isles also includes Ireland (Northern and the Republic). England is most often incorrectly named in this way, and English people are often referred to as “British”. Northern Ireland is part of the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” which differentiates between the part of Ireland that is governed by England (hence the suspension of the Northern Ireland government in 1972 and the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002) from the Republic of Ireland which is a self-governing nation.
While calling an English person British is technically correct, it is quite unspecific in the same way that calling a Canadian person “North American” would be; only Britain is not a continent.
9
Warm Beer
Misconception: British people drink beer warm or room temperature.
I myself have heard this said a number of times but I have yet to discover where it comes from. Walking into a British bar and ordering a beer any way but cold would raise eyebrows just like everywhere else.
In fact, the most popular lager beers in Britain tend to be of the “Extra Cold” variety, and this applies to most bitter beers and ales too! Nobody likes a warm beer, the British included.
Having said that, most Americans like their Beer super cold, so an English beer may appear to be warm in comparison, but it is still cold. Chilling beer too much can damage its flavor.
8
The Book of British Smiles
Misconception: British people have bad teeth.
This one is commonly referred to in comedy shows poking fun at Britain, but is believed by many to be hard fact.
While a percentage, just like any other country, will suffer from dental problems, the standard of oral hygiene is generally very high. In fact, the shortage of available NHS dentists is a constant issue in England. Just like anywhere else in the world, a person with bad teeth is considered the slightly gross exception, not the rule in Britain.
7
God Save The Queen
Misconception: “God Save The Queen” is the National Anthem of England.
That’s right, I said England, not Britain. GSTQ is the national anthem of Britain, but not England itself. Despite this, even English people will insist that the song is our national anthem. This is not the case. Wales has it’s own national anthem, as do Scotland and Northern Ireland. What sets England apart is not that its national anthem is applied to the whole of Britain too, but that it in fact does not even have an official national anthem at all!
So what happens when (for example) England plays against Scotland in a game of football? We can’t both use GSTQ for the opening, this isn’t a problem for Scotland who can bring out their own anthem, but England’s choice will vary. Common stand-ins for when GSTQ cannot be used (for whatever reason) are “Land Of Hope And Glory”, “I Vow To Thee My Country” or “Jerusalem”. All of which are popular contenders for becoming the official anthem. Sadly none of them are official, and neither is GSTQ, which is only official for Britain itself.
People may be interested to know that God Save The Queen is the official anthem of New Zealand which is one of the very countries in the world which has two anthems of equal status. New Zealand’s other anthem is God Defend New Zealand.
6
Absolute Power
Misconception: The Queen is the ruler of Britain.
Did I hear you say “But she IS the ruler of England!”? Sorry, you’re still wrong. The monarchy has not had political power in Britain for a long time. Each British country has it’s own parliament and are ruled politically by their own Prime Minister.
While the monarchy does technically rule Britain, it does not have any power outside of ceremony. The Queen does not have power in Britain any more than she does in Canada and other commonwealth countries. All of these countries are technically “ruled” by the Queen, but she does not have power in any of them.
The British monarchy exists today mainly for ceremonial and tourist reasons.
And how you don't have passports so won't be coming to England to experience this for yourselves. And if you do, you'll just visit the tourist areas and drink tea and eat scones. So won't see any of the real Britain......So thought I'd post up some usual misconceptions.
I know I am opening myself up for some banter.... But I expect it...
If you are British, or know a lot about Britain, you won’t be surprised by the misconceptions below. However, you may be even MORE surprised to learn that in some places these things are believed! If you believe all or any of these points, sorry, but you are mistaken – but fortunately listverse is here to correct things. Here they are, in no particular order:
10
British Nation
Misconception: Britain is a country.
While “Britain” or “Great Britain” does refer to the general area, neither of them refers to a country. Britain is a general term for Wales, Scotland and England collectively, while The British Isles also includes Ireland (Northern and the Republic). England is most often incorrectly named in this way, and English people are often referred to as “British”. Northern Ireland is part of the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” which differentiates between the part of Ireland that is governed by England (hence the suspension of the Northern Ireland government in 1972 and the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002) from the Republic of Ireland which is a self-governing nation.
While calling an English person British is technically correct, it is quite unspecific in the same way that calling a Canadian person “North American” would be; only Britain is not a continent.
9
Warm Beer
Misconception: British people drink beer warm or room temperature.
I myself have heard this said a number of times but I have yet to discover where it comes from. Walking into a British bar and ordering a beer any way but cold would raise eyebrows just like everywhere else.
In fact, the most popular lager beers in Britain tend to be of the “Extra Cold” variety, and this applies to most bitter beers and ales too! Nobody likes a warm beer, the British included.
Having said that, most Americans like their Beer super cold, so an English beer may appear to be warm in comparison, but it is still cold. Chilling beer too much can damage its flavor.
8
The Book of British Smiles
Misconception: British people have bad teeth.
This one is commonly referred to in comedy shows poking fun at Britain, but is believed by many to be hard fact.
While a percentage, just like any other country, will suffer from dental problems, the standard of oral hygiene is generally very high. In fact, the shortage of available NHS dentists is a constant issue in England. Just like anywhere else in the world, a person with bad teeth is considered the slightly gross exception, not the rule in Britain.
7
God Save The Queen
Misconception: “God Save The Queen” is the National Anthem of England.
That’s right, I said England, not Britain. GSTQ is the national anthem of Britain, but not England itself. Despite this, even English people will insist that the song is our national anthem. This is not the case. Wales has it’s own national anthem, as do Scotland and Northern Ireland. What sets England apart is not that its national anthem is applied to the whole of Britain too, but that it in fact does not even have an official national anthem at all!
So what happens when (for example) England plays against Scotland in a game of football? We can’t both use GSTQ for the opening, this isn’t a problem for Scotland who can bring out their own anthem, but England’s choice will vary. Common stand-ins for when GSTQ cannot be used (for whatever reason) are “Land Of Hope And Glory”, “I Vow To Thee My Country” or “Jerusalem”. All of which are popular contenders for becoming the official anthem. Sadly none of them are official, and neither is GSTQ, which is only official for Britain itself.
People may be interested to know that God Save The Queen is the official anthem of New Zealand which is one of the very countries in the world which has two anthems of equal status. New Zealand’s other anthem is God Defend New Zealand.
6
Absolute Power
Misconception: The Queen is the ruler of Britain.
Did I hear you say “But she IS the ruler of England!”? Sorry, you’re still wrong. The monarchy has not had political power in Britain for a long time. Each British country has it’s own parliament and are ruled politically by their own Prime Minister.
While the monarchy does technically rule Britain, it does not have any power outside of ceremony. The Queen does not have power in Britain any more than she does in Canada and other commonwealth countries. All of these countries are technically “ruled” by the Queen, but she does not have power in any of them.
The British monarchy exists today mainly for ceremonial and tourist reasons.
