. . . to be really shocked that some people don't know in which years both World Wars began and ended?

[squoosh]

Was saying to a friend at the weekend that I was really shocked when someone I knew admitted that they didn't know in which year WWII began.

The person I said this too then said 'hmmm, was it 1935 that WWII began? I think WWI was 1910'. And this from a really intelligent person too. I thought those were the sorts of dates that everyone just knew. Even if you've never studied history in any capacity surely those dates just seep into your mind via films and tv programmes etc.

AIBU?

YABU to be 'really' shocked. (Only read opening post)

AIBU to be really shocked when my born again (ex) friend asked me if the Holocaust was 'when Jesus came?'

That's something to be 'really shocked' about.

I'm a history buff, particularly wars but people forget dates etc from school. Some schools don't even teach about WWI and WWII

It's not about remembering random historical unimportant dates. Its two massive WORLD WARS. How can you possibly not know such basic facts?

I can remember dates, but not names of people. Not having a TV doesn't help, because I just don't see TV actor/resses so don't tend to know the names.Some people are brilliant at names but hopeless with dates.

Ds (age 5yo) can tell you all about WWII because he's fascinated by it. He thinks everyone else is as interested and as knowledgable. He can get very cross if someone says they don't know a fact that to him is obvious.

I'm threatening to do a week of being on rations to save money help him understand what it's like. He said only if he can build an Anderson shelter.

I don't think it is the fault of schools, or whatever.

Those two wars are mentioned widely in this country outside schools. There are allusions to the wars all over the place.

Like choceyes i was not educated in this country, the world war was not part of the curriculum at O'level, I was best student for history in my year.

I chose history at A'level in which we started to study "European history" for the firt time but it was so different from what i had done at O'level (Crimean war, treaties etc ) that i dropped it after the first term. Many of my friends who didnt do history for O'levels never mind A'levels really dont have a clue about the world war apart from what they've gleaned from films.

Ds has been studying the second world war, and ive found really interesting reading his books.

It's definitely not the fault of schools. I find it slightly exasperating when people blame the brief years of their education for gaps in general knowledge. You are allowed to learn stuff post 18 you know! What with, you know, books and the internet and telly and all that biz. . .

I don't know the dates. It doesn't bother me that I don't know the dates.

Just a thought squoosh, but is your friend from another country? WW2's only really thought of as 1939-45 in Britain because that's when we joined in - for Germany and much of Europe it was mid 1930s onward, for America it was 1941-45, for China it was 1937, for Italy it ended early, etc.

Nope, he's English.

YABU here are vast swaves of people who are completely uneducated about anything except Big Brother, X Factor and The Only Way is Essex. It's one of the reasons this country is swirling around at the bottom of the carsey.

I just don't understand how it doesn't bother people not to know stuff

I made my dad give me physics lessons over the phone when the Higgs-Boson stuff kicked off, because I couldn't bear not understanding what they were all talking about. Everyone time someone knows something I don't I want to punch them and have to run round the corner and read up about it on Wiki on my phone.

Obviously this happens to me quite a lot. It's very tiring

tilop I think you mean 'swathes'

...and 'khazi'

Hmmm, well I do actually know all of those things Jodie, and I vaguely know the dates. But I don't know how it started or ended, or even what they were fighting about.
BTW, I'm not proud of my ignorance! I just don't see any benefit in concealing it.

What's a carsea?

Is it khasi?

Oh gosh Catch I agree- there's no benefit to concealing it. I always ask (either people or Wiki - see post above!) if I don't know stuff. I mean how else does one learn.

I don't mind not knowing things, but it depends what those things are. Isn't everyone like that? There must be some areas of knowledge you just have no interest in.

I will never give a fuck about who's who on those crappy talent shows.

I will never care about the rules of football.

I will never want to read Pope or study his era.

It's not brilliant, I suppose, but life is short and I could be watching Bones instead.

Ah x posts.

Where does that word come from? is it a colonial word from the Raj?

JodieHarsh - You've got me on swathes but it's definately carsey not khazi

LRD I think I'm just about compulsive about it. I force myself to Find Out Stuff even if I have zero interest in it. For eg., I can't drive, but I did make DH do a long and detailed description of how an internal cumbustion engine works. Because he knew and I didn't, and that pissed me off. I doubt I shall ever have use for it, but it's there, somewhere, just in case.

And I read 50 shades of KILL ME NOW PLEASE GOD TAKE ME SO I DON'T NEED TO READ FURTHER so that I hadn't NOT read something everyone else had read.

...and yes it has just occurred to me I might be a bit off my onion.

I'll go out on a limb here and suggest if it's spelled with a kh, it is almost certainly transliterated from a language with a different alphabetic system, so it probably doesn't matter how it's spelt.

It must be a very productive way of being off your onion (great phrase).

We never looked into World War I in much detail so it never really stuck with me...I know it's bad that I don't know this but I didn't realise just how bad it was! If it's any consolation I know the dates of every main Irish historical event?

You have to remember that different countries have their own histories to learn about. Although they are called "world wars" and had a huge impact on the whole world, each country's actual involvement in the war was very different.

You cant compare the role of the U.K or germany in the world war to that of say Mali in Africa, although they were all colonies at the time. Many African countries (originally african) do not even celebrate remembrance day.
i have an uncle who was a medic during the war, apart from him no one i know has any relatives that were in the war unlike here were most of my dc classmates had a great grandfather or some other relative who was in the war, so everyone fees really connected. Ive never seen any historical monuments from the war days, its certainly not seen as important in schools at all.

I ve read a lot about here, but would really like to find out more about the involvement f African countries if any, at the time.