To share the stupidest thing I have ever heard

[Sparklfairy]

My friend is away in a country that a few days into her holiday brought in quarantine restrictions upon returning to the UK. No big deal to her, she can wfh and organise deliveries etc.

She just told me she was chatting around the pool and people are confused about when quarantine actually 'starts'. Most have convinced themselves it's the day after you land 'to give them time to go shopping and get food and everything ready and stuff'.

So you're quarantined, but you have a magical window of time where you can get supplies and merrily skip round the supermarket infecting everyone saying 'Oh, I'm not in quarantine until tomorrow'.

I'm not sure if they're spectacularly thick or just so entitled they've twisted the rules to suit themselves. I don't normally get annoyed about CV or what other people do but really!?

I've just seen one on Facebook.

Someone who is 40-ish admitting that it was 2014 when they realised that milk doesn't only come from black and white cows 😂

Another, more light-hearted one.
Working late in the office, and a colleague came past and did a double-take at seeing me.
"Are you still here?"
"No. I'm at home with a pizza and a bottle of wine."

We understood that, but the CoE isn't really a thing outside the UK. There's no reason why someone from overseas would have (a) heard of it, (b) know that the queen was the head of it, and (c) know that it was one of the protestant varieties of Christianity.

People all over the world know about that because of Britain's imperial history and the fact that the Anglican Communion (and indeed the CoE) spread everywhere on the globe that was coloured red. There are about 85 million members of the Anglican Communion worldwide.

Henry's break with Rome is touched on in AP US History, as part of the precursor to the settlement of the New World by the Pilgrims and other British emigrants. It is also taught in AP European history. Students not studying at AP level also learn about the various ways the Reformation developed at various points in their education

The US Episcopal Church is a very close American relative of the CoE. It's a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, becoming distinct from the Church of England after the American Revolution, but it uses a reformed Book of Common Prayer that does not include a blessing of the British Monarch, shares liturgical practices with the CoE, and claims the same Apostolic succession that the CoE does. You may remember Bishop Michael Curry at Harry and Meghan's wedding - he is the current presiding bishop.

The Church of Ireland also originated from Henry's break with Rome, and the policies of Henry and subsequent monarchs in Ireland (and also previous monarchs) are taught in Irish history courses.

It’s a very specific part of UK history, expecting them rest of the world to know is pretty UK-centric!

Au contraire, it's well known in all the places that were ever part of the British Empire.

I sometimes wonder about the quality of history education in Britain.

My colleague today : Why is everyone so angry at Boris Johnson? He’s only doing what his bosses tell him.

@Crystalknobs I think there might be some truth to that, in Boris's case. It's only paper that Boris is the boss. Unlike previous strong-willed prime ministers, Boris is a ventriloquist's dummy; so weak and inconsistent that it's very likely there's a puppet master (Cummings and others) pulling his strings, and making him dance and speak; Boris is just the public face of it.

@wanderings , I’m sure you’re right. This colleague is not clued up enough to realise that they are probably correct in this instance . Other conversations have consisted of ‘how many people are actually robots put on earth by aliens to spy on us’ and ‘what’s a uterus ?’ (They’re female)

@Crystalknobs Ah, I see. I thought your colleague had deluded herself that Boris was really the boss. Like a Blackadder moment: The Prince Regent says "My socks just disappear! You'd think someone was stealing the damn things and selling them off." He is actually right.

My Granny believed that Mrs Dreever only had girls because she only had one ovary. One ovary is for girls and one for boys,

She once loudly asked my Mum which of her 4 children was her favourite. My Mum said oh you don't have favourites. My Granny so 'oh I know you have to say that, but which one really is?...'

People all over the world know about that

Some people. I would be very surprised if it was a majority.

Au contraire, it's well known in all the places that were ever part of the British Empire

On here we have heard about an American that thinks New Zealand is near Europe. I think you overestimate how widely known it is.

I think it's very appropriate to say expecting people elsewhere to know that one aspect of English history is UK centric.

These ones are all me. I am highly educated, very well read and have a great deal of common sense. I’m also old so have been around long enough to acquire a lot of general knowledge. Sadly there are some fundamental gaps in my knowledge, particularly of geography.

HOWEVER - recently I was trying to make plans to meet up with friends who were on a round the world holiday. I told them the dates I was free and they told me that they would be in Patagonia at that time. I agreed enthusiastically and said I’d look into flights. I then hung up the phone and hurriedly googled Patagonia. Up until then I had thought it was a made up place like Camelot or Atlantis! Obviously I now know it’s a remote and very beautiful place in South America.

I also started a conversation with my bemused husband about Spain where I said I couldn’t understand the fuss about the disgraced ex king of Spain when Spain been a republic for nearly 100 years. Eventually as I talked doubts crept in. Once again I googled it and found out I had been talking absolute bollocks.

But my finest moment was as a young graduate working for a large company based in London. The warehouses for this company were based in Billericay, now famous as the Essex hometown of Gavin from Gavin and Stacey. For some reason I thought Billericay was a South Sea Island and was mystified that colleagues could leave the City at lunch time to do a warehouse visit and be back at there desks the following morning. Luckily I was very shy so never expressed my amazement out loud.

@MrsClatterbuck

In a local supermarket. Tub of meatballs. £5 each and special offer £10 for 2!!!!! Tbf the beef chilli is £5.50 though it only recently had also been £5 with same special offer

I once as a 'joke' at a car boot sale marked a pile of books, "25p each or 3 for a £1".

The number of people who carefully chose three books, gave me a quid, then walked away without expecting change was astounding.

I was once walking my dogs along a coastal path and almost expired when I heard the following conversation:

"Where's the beach gone?"
"Dunno, it was there yesterday, and this morning"
"Well it's not there now. God they're not lying about the sea levels rising are they?"

It was high tide. The beach had disappeared because the tide had come in.

@GoldfishParade

You sound jealous shes on a pool holiday tbh

@StCharlotte

An Oxbridge educated lawyer: "is infertility hereditary?"

Not a stupid question at all, infertility can be caused by genetic diseases

Clue is in the job title 'lawyer', not 'reproductive endocrinologist'.

My daughter is well known for her jaw drop inducing questions and comments. One of our favourites is when she asked( aged 18) " if Terry Wogan was still dead?"