This guy even mentions that the Declaration of Independence was adopted (and ratified) on the fourth of July. This was not just "boring bureaucratic reasons", they changed a lot of it and scrapped about 1/4 of the draft. This new document was what was adopted and approved on July 4, 1776. Adams may not have been the only one who still thought Independence Day should be celebrated on the 2nd, but he was in the minority as most of them, including Thomas Jefferson, were just as sure it should be celebrated on the 4th as did pretty much the entire country after the Revolutionary War.
John Adams also wrote that letter to his wife before the Declaration of Independence had been signed. So it is very likely that he knew it wouldn't be actually Independence Day until July 4, 1776, when the updated document was actually ratified.
A lot of partial truths in this. In many cases there's more to the story. Incidentally I've known the melody of the "Star Spangled Banner" is English since I was roughly 8 years old.
@@scottgarner8270 "To Anachreon in Heaven, where he sat in full glee A few Sons of Harmony sent a petition That he their Inspirer and Patron would be When this Answer arrived from the Jolly Old Grecian: Voice, Fiddle and Flute, no longer be mute I'll lend you my Name and inspire you to boot! And besides, I'll instruct you like me to entwine The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine."
Actual factual American here. New all of what he was talking about and feel that a great deal of it was splitting hairs for the sake of humor from a very condescending point of view. But I can’t say I am surprised that an Englishman took it upon himself to explain another persons country ti them…😏
Being ignorant is not knowing about something, being stupid is being told the facts about something and still not understanding it!!! Don’t believe everything you think!!! 🤪🤪🤪
Actually, Paul Revere DID ride through the night alarming people that the British were coming. The only thing was, there was a group of guys doing it at the same time. The only reason history tends to remember him alone is because of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem which was written when the Civil War was breaking out to spread patriotism for The Union. I still do wonder who the other dudes were alerting people through the night, though...
I've heard he was more likely he would have said the Redcoats are coming. I've heard both versions used, but at that time most of the locals would've still been British citizens and the arriving army would have been the pressing concern.
Will Rogers was a humorist, and well known for his sarcastic wit and exaggerations to make a point. No one familiar with Rogers’ writing would have taken him literally.
Actually, he got the idea from the guy who invented the cotton gin. But it did drive the price WAY DOWN. He also required his crates in specific size as, that he later disassembled and used in the car itself.
Ford and his staff developed the MOVING assembly line. And contrary to popular belief, he did not get the idea by reverse engineering a Meat Processing plant.
The moving assembly line for which each assembler had a singular specific task to perform as the product moved along a conveyor system. Assembly lines were well known before Ford but the product was stationary while the workers moved around it doing many tasks.
The star spangled banner was a poem Which was later put to music which was the drinking song all the other facts if you listened The other point was this Splitting hair As in Washington was the 1st elected president so he was the 1st president, There's a lot of semantics and what they he was saying
Wow, this gets a lot of things wrong. Disney came up with the idea for Mickey Mouse and then asked Ub Iwerks to do the actual drawing. They did have a major fight and went their separate ways but the reason Ub came back was because he was a great animator, but not a story man. He needed Walt more than Walt needed him. (the story about Ub creating Mickey himself is spread by people who hate Walt Disney) Most Americans know the music for the National Anthem is based on a British drinking song, a lot of colonial songs were adaptions of British drinking songs. George Washington was the first President of the United States Of America. Before the ratification of the Constitution there was no United States. There was only the Colonies and the Continental Congress. And yes I knew the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2nd but was first read to the general public and printed in the newspapers of the day on July 4th and that's why the date was chosen. Also everyone knows Henry Ford didn't invent the auto, but he created the first low cost assembly line produced cars and started the nation to driving. Finally Edison never claimed to have invented the light bulb, but he did invent one that lasted more than a couple of hours, the narrator left that little detail out. ps, Ben Franklin never claimed to have "invented electricity" but he did do numerous experiments with it and invented a practical lightning rod that saved many a house.
The Star Spangled Banner was written in 1814, long before radio, records, or UA-cam. It was therefore common for people to write poems, that could be set to widely known tunes, many of which were drinking songs.
When considering the origins of the U.S. national anthem, we should remember that, until 1776, American culture and the culture of the British Isles were the same, Americans largely considering themselves Englishmen up to that point. Independence did not erase that cultural heritage, it just began to diverge at that point. Well, it actually began to diverge sooner, but most people hadn't realized it yet. So, the use of an English tune applied to an American poem was entirely reasonable, as much as is our use of the English language. Might just as well express amazement that Diane speaks English as her first language instead of Irish.
And Edison created the mass marketable lightbulb. Although quite a large number of his patents were from people who worked for him, rather than things he invented himself. His son actually had nearly as many patents as his father.
@@lashedbutnotleashed1984 No one knows who invented it first but it was invented in about thirty different places totally independent of each other. As soon as engines existed it was a gimme. No one gets credit for inventing the car.
We all know the Declaration of Independence was FINALIZED on July 2, but it wasn't RATIFIED until July 4. So July 4 is the appropriate date to commemorate it. That's common knowledge in America.
I always get a laugh at how many "Americans Are So Stupid" and "America Isn't As Great As It Thinks" videos are made by foreign channels... especially British channels. I grew up in England (I have dual citizenship thanks to my parents) and have always been aware of how little Brits think of Americans but I guess that makes them (us, to be fair) experts on all things America? Pretty fun post, Diane. Cheers.
I know man a video made by some loudmouth Brit has made me second guess my country lol I was never one to be into American exceptionalism, however while I will 100% admit that the US has it's problem's (past and present), and so does England. I like that these foreign channels like this one Diane is reacting to act like ALL problems come from the US and never England or anyplace else.
@@C.Church I roll my eyes when people from this country join in on the US bashing. I think it's kind of dumb tbh. I think that's a common American stereotype that we love to wave the flag. I've been asked about it by friends of mine from Germany and on my street where I live, for the most part with the exception of one or two people, there isn't a ton of flag flying.
@@C.Church To be fair many Americans are... ignorant... to put it politely, even when it comes to knowledge of the Constitution and our government. I blame our poor education system and it's lack of focus on civics classes. A lot of my knowledge about the Constitution, civics and history came from either college courses or personal reading and research.
I read a fair amount and most novels written by Brits bash Americans rather frequently. It always surprises me. We, Americans, hold you Brits in higher esteem, generally.
If I remember correctly, Adams died in the morning, and when Jefferson died, one of his last words was regret that he believed that Adams had outlived him. I may have the order wrong, but the one to day last is alleged to have made a statement to that effect.
Germany criticizes the United states? Germany, that shining beacon of human morality? Disgusting. I've found that most of these lists aren't really what they say they are; they're really just another way for others to crap on the US.
There have been a lote of "man on the street" interviews since Biden became Pres, and CRT has been pushed in the schools. A majority of the people "interviewed" did indeed NOT know the correct answer and gave some of the replies mentioned in this vid.
There are a lot of misconceptions about American baseball. Abner Doubleday never claimed to have invented it. It was first called Country Ball in some locations along the eastern shore. You could throw the ball at players (ouch) which led to lots of fist fights. No gloves were used at first to catch balls which caused broken fingers (double ouch). Numbers of strikes and balls was not standardized until around the beginning of the 20th century. Hope you and Chewie have a great weekend!
A report in The Whitehall Evening Post item from 264 years ago, dated September 19 reads: 'On Tuesday last, his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and Lord Middlesex, played at Bass-Ball, at Walton in Surry;
Seriously. The "1 in 4 Americans" not knowing which country we gained independence from is such a slanted take that it's damn near vertical. Seems pretty likely this guy forgot that not everyone in America is actually American. Some 20 year old kid fleeing cartel violence in Honduras probably doesn't know American history that well, but you can bet if asked in a Marist poll, he'll be considered part of that "1 in 4." All this is just an opportunity for some smug dickhead to make a "haha america=dumb" video so he can stroke his own ego and bask in his own, uh, "brilliance."
(There's a pretty high degree of historical ignorance in parts of this country. :) ) But, actually a lot of us are more aware of these things than some let on. (And technically, Washington's the first 'President of the United States' as we know them, and the Continental Congress is more the 'revolutionary provisional stuff.' There's recently more awareness of 'To Anacreon In Heaven' cause the near-unsingability of it unless you're pretty lit is often mentioned. :)
Correct. The Continental Congress was succeeded by the Articles of Confederation, which was succeeded by the United States of America as defined by the Constitution. The President under the Articles of Confederation was John Hanson. I think that 1:4 is pretty made up. Considering there have been so many things that talk about who we fought for Independence from 1776 to Hamilton and upteen million dramas like the Patriot. Almost every generation has at least one period drama about it.
@@C.Church She's 41. No, she isn't a quarter of the country, but if Jay Leno's Jaywalking segments are reflective of reality, it could be that high. And she's my ex, not my wife.
Hi Diane! I used to watch this channel a whole bunch, but I don't think it's very active now. I'm not sure, but I think the ever-present Simon Whistler used to be on this channel too, before going to all of his 8,738,289 channels. And I think this guy is still mad that we out Pew Pew'd the British so many years ago. Happy Weekend!
Edison didn't invent the idea of a filament in a partial vacuum. He invented the screw base & discovered the longest lasting filaments/gas mixture, making electric light more commercially viable than gaslight. FUN FACT: Tesla invented the more efficient fluorescent bulb and Edison refused to let him use his patented screw-base as it was competition for his incandescent bulb, which is why florescent bulbs used a two prong system (still common today) until Edison's patent ran out.
In case you were seriously wondering, in very simplistic terms, "funny bone" is called that because the nerve that causes the tingle you get when you hit your elbow is at the elbow end of your humerus bone, the long, single bone in your upper arm; a homonym for humorous.
There are many songs besides the Star Spangled Banner that share the same music with our British friends. In fact, the British National Anthem, God Save the King/Queen, is the same music as a patriotic song sung in America called My Country 'Tis of Thee. Even my fraternity had an "anthem" that we sang on formal occasions that was the same music as a famous British song that I've now forgotten. I found out when the Bishop of London came to my school for a speech and we hosted him for a meal. He was quite surprised that we used the same music for our song.
All the people that I know, do know that we started out as British colonies and that was who we fought for our freedom. Yes, the Star Spangled Banner is American even though is was set to the anthem of a singing club.
I knew most of these. Our song “My Country Tis Of Thee” ( I think that’s the title) sounds like Britain’s “God Save the Queen ( now King of course). Have a nice weekend and be safe! ❤️U☘️🇮🇪🇺🇸
I think this is true worldwide, but certainly in the US: you have to have a desire to learn beyond what basic school teaches you to really begin to know history. I knew these things, but not because of school. I was reading various history books on my own time, outside of class.
I was two to three years ahead of school and got yelled at because 'I can't know that because it hasn't been taught yet.' I know all kinds of things not taught in school, like the connection between Virginia Dare, (born 1587) and the Black Irish.
Same. I knew all of these things, a few from school, but most from "independent study" otherwise. "Independent Study" being defined as "reading occasional articles that cover such things from time to time, and perhaps the odd book which includes something like "___________ that you didn't learn in school" as part of the title."
Absolutely, Thomas Paine was severely underrated he should have been president. This country might look different now. He was way ahead of his time. He couldn't be president because he was English. Thats not fair.
If you sail up the Chesapeake Bay towards Baltimore, you come to a red, white, and blue buoy bobbing in the water. This supposedly marks the exact site where Francis Scott Key (on board the British Naval vessel) wrote the Star Spangled Banner. I've been there. And recited the words. Pretty special.
Ford isn’t known for inventing the automobile, he’s venerated for perfecting the assembly line, standardized wages and the division of work week versus weekend. That’s pretty common knowledge.
ive studied baseball immensely my whole life and studied the fair bit and studied the civil war in recent years, Abner Doubleday's name only comes up when people try to dispell the myth creating a situation where people think thats what people think even though nobody thinks it.
I think that overall he is wrong about pretty much everything. He is trying to use technicalities to talk about "what we get wrong" but he "just doesn't get it". Like that America being the greatest country in the world, regardless of what America might be ranked compared to other countries in some thing it is the greatest to us because we value "freedom" more than everything else. And that the Star Spangled Banner isn't American because the tune, it is obviously American because it was written by an American about a battle America fought. And nobody thinks that Ford invented the first car, he invented the modern assembly line. There's more too it of course but I think I've made my point.
Nicholas Otto and his brother worked on internal combustion engines in the 1860s. The Otto cycle is the 4-stroke engine cycle that automobile engines use today.
Washington was the first president of the US. My reasoning: Continental Congress was just an interim government while the nation established itself. “President of congress” had no authority. They just presided over administrative functions they had no executive powers. The constitution became in effect on March 4, 1789, which ushered in the new government. Electoral college was created and all executive function was moved to the executive branch which is led by POTUS. The first elected POTUS was Washington. There were no others before him.
The number one thing is wrong. George Washington was the very first president of the USA as a sovereign state. The USA did not exist as a sovereign state until 4 March 1789. Before that it was a confederation of 13 sovereign states that formed a confederation. The USA began on 4 March 1789 (US Constitution became active). It should be noted that 4 July 1776 was not the start date of the USA but the Day of Independence. That is 13 British colonies broke away and became 13 free and independent states or 13 autonomous sovereigns. The Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783 stated that all 13 former British colonies were recognized as 13 free and independent states. Other sources will state that the Continental Congress or the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union formed the first government of the USA. This is not true. So if an historian, lawyer, politician, or anyone else states otherwise then either they are lying or do not know what they are talking about. A confederation is a league of sovereign states that work together with a set of rules to go by; however, a confederation cannot overrule the sovereignty of its member states and a member state can leave anytime without any political or economic consequences. So Diane, what I stated is historical true. Most Americans do not know this because it is not taught in school.
WRONG on all points. 1) July 4th is when the Declaration of Independence was dated, the vote of which means nothing until it was declared to the King of England. So no. 2) Best country in the world depends on your criteria. "Healthcare and Education" doesn't mean anything when you consider the other 36,000 things that might be cited as a criteria for "best in the world." 3) So you're saying the Americans took a tune like English Led Zeppelin did allegedly more than once?? lol 4) Burning of a flag is protected under the 1st Amendment, we all know that. 5) Nobody cares about misquotes. 6) So someone DID jump out of a building on Black Thursday. Got it. And nobody thought Will Rogers was being serious, he was famous for his wit. 7) I don't know any American who thinks WE invented the car, we always assumed it was German and Benz. But we were the first to MASS produce them. 8) So Americans didn't invent baseball? Oh, there's one he's not wrong about. lol. 9) No real point made about Mickey Mouse. 10) Washington was the first president of the Federation known as the United States, those before were part of the Confederacy, it's not considered the USA per se. 11) The Brits will NEVER get over the fact that we kicked their ass and threw them out of America. lol.
It wasn't that Ben Franklin discovered electricity. It's that he determined that lightning was a form of electricity (and he did invent the lightning rod). He came up with the idea for the experiment with the kites, but it wasn't for it to be struck by lightning, but to get ambient electricity from the storm. He was able to collect that in a Leyden jar. Discounting his contribution to the science of electricity would be a serious mistake considering that it was largely that that helped in his diplomatic mission to France to secure aid to the colonies for the American Revolutionary War. His scientific achievements was what made him a celebrity at the time. BTW, he is the one responsible for our designation of which is a positive charge and which is a negative charge (unfortunately, he picked randomly and ended up choosing the less convenient option. It would have been better if he chose it such that an electron had a positive charge instead of a negative charge, but he had no idea at the time).
dont blame the educational system. Blame rhe parents. Parents should invest time teaching thier children the truth and encouraging them to read books other than those printed just for schools
Not surprised the drop in education. A segment of society is anti-education. I believe July 4th was the public reading of the declaration of independence. Yes, the national anthem music is based upon a British drinking song. Does that mean... Henry Ford was not even the first manufacturer of the automobile in the US. Have a great weekend Diane!! 😊
Paul Revere said, "The regulars are coming." Most teachers in schools correct that from "the British are coming" now - we technically still were British; why would he warn us that we were coming?
One thing many Americans don't realize (kinda surprised it didn't make his list) is about the pledge of allegiance. It has changed periodically over the years and the version currently recited every day by school children came into being in 1954. The "under God" bit was added at that time.
I don't know if "we all know that". It was news to me (within maybe the past 5 or 10 years) to learn the pledge was changed for like the 4th time when my parents were kids. As far as I knew the pledge is the pledge and you don't change the pledge. The people who don't want a separation of church and state as it is written in the Constitution can point to the pledge and say "our founding fathers put it there on purpose", because I would bet they still don't know.
Dude is going to talk about how he doesn't think the US is the greatest nation, while making a video about America in English (rather than German), posting it on an American website, on the internet.. which was developed by America. By all metrics the US is the most powerful economics, military, and cultural entity on the planet... get over it
Looking at a visitor Diane? Lol. Edison stole a lot of inventions. I always knew Ford as the guy that popularized the assembly line, definitely not the inventor of cars.
When I taught high school English, I once gave a test that had "Victorian Era" at the top, and on the back, one question was "Who was the monarch of England during the period we are studying?" I thought this would give them an easy point. Unfortunately, some of the kids didn't know what a monarch was, other than a butterfly or a baseball team. One kid wrote "Charles Dickens." So, please don't overestimate the facts that we Americans know about our country.
The “New York village” pictured as the real birthplace of baseball is the accurate location, but it’s not in New York. That’s along Washington Street and about 11th Street in Hoboken, New Jersey. The players were from NYC, but they needed an open field to play in, and at the time, Hoboken was quite bucolic, and an easy boat ride across the Hudson River. Not so much anymore; Hoboken is now the most densely populated city in America (or maybe 2nd to neighboring Union City). Jersey squeezes people in.
Part of what makes us true Americans is the fact that we really don’t give a toss about any of these things. But we do love our Diane and Chewie. Btw why (and how now that I’m on it) is ED a brunette and our Diane is a blonde??? Are we proving that brunettes are evil? I’m not sure how I feel about that 😈🤪love to you and Sir Chewie ❤🐾🍀❣️
How can this guy claim that "The Star Spangled Banner" is entirely not American? He even admitted that American Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics ("The Defense of Fort M'Henry") in 1814. Key may have intended for the words to be sung to the tune of "Anacreon in Heaven," but the lyrics were his alone.
Our educational system used to be VERY GOOD. But I have seen the dumbing up of America. It is sad. I went to school with kids in the '70s, that didn't know Hawaii was a state or that Puerto Rico wasn't. They couldn't draw a basic map of the continental US. Yet they were educated in the same system I was. It has gotten worse. I see high school graduates that can't tell time on an analog clock, or read a book.
C Ch: The phone is obsolete, so I can let it die. Analog clocks are very much present all over our world, hence telling time on an analog clock is still important.
C Ch: that depends, do you use it? Reasoning Skills, if they were taught most people never would have voted for Trump, EVER. Obviously it's important, but not taught. Look at all the COVID deaths and yet they deny. Masks aren't important. The people aren't reallly dieing. It's a CONSPIRACY. 9/11 never happened. We never went to the moon. THE EARTH IS FLAT!!! Are we any better off than 100 years ago?
I knew most of these, but the one that surprised me was that Will Rogers, of all people, was the one who started the story about investors jumping out of windows.
Sad thing is that even today too many people mistake satire (Rogers was a comedian and satirist) for "news" and believe made-up facts just because they read it somewhere or heard it from someone, without bothering to verify the validity of the source.
A lot of polling in the US is suspect, because Americans hate pollsters and love to mess with them. Anytime you hear "One in four Americans say something stupid", bear in mind that stupid thing was probably pretty funny at the time.
From watching lots of interviewing random people on the street types of segments, I think there's a lot more extremely stupid people out there than what we're willing to admit. There are tons of people who are totally clueless when it comes to politics and world events, but can tell you what a Kardashian wore on Instagram yesterday.
I knew all of these facts, but also find middle-aged Harry Potter's condescending delivery of them to be a little annoying, which was undoubtedly the plan.
Occasionally someone introduces a bill to change the National Anthem to America the Beautiful because that is totally American and far easier to sing lol
The main reason people wanted to dump the National Anthem and replace it with America the Beautiful is because the Anthem has many references to war and violence, while the ATB is a very peaceful song. It was the Pacifists who wanted the change.
Diane reacts to some stuff that Americans get wrong Like who wrote the music to our national song I knew our education system was not that strong But I learned a few things as I watched along
Actual American here. The first actual President was John Hanson. I also find it interesting and arrogant that someone from England, who we got our independence from is correcting us about how much Americans have wrong about America.
So many Americans can't get access to anti-depressants. Also quite often you have to have the time and energy to try different kinds to find the one that helps you and even then, its just a tool. Most can't get access therapy. Funny thing is, according to the flag code that lists flag burning as disrespectful, it also lists wearingit on or as clothing equally disrespectful, and now the people most against flag burning are the most likely to have worn it disrespectfully as clothes.
The 1st President thing is kinda sorta semantics and only historians really are taught about that. We’re taught about the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution. People remember 1776 and the Revolution. (I was shocked about not knowing who we got independence from) But many forget that The Constitution wasn’t until 1789. We’re not really taught that much about the country after independence but before The Constitution only that it wasn’t working well. The Constitution was a reboot of the US on a federal level and Washington was the 1st president elected after that reboot.
The Presidents before Washington were not really Presidents. There was no Executive Branch. The states were essentially independent nations and the Congress met occasionally to coordinate stuff like foreign policy, kind of like the EU. The “President” was just the Chair of the meeting and was appointed on a rotating basis like in the UN.
Miscomprehension about history is so pervasive here that his examples are risible! Still . . . What a fun video you have shared about a Brit making mountains out of molehills! Thank you! "Loving his style choices," you said? LOL! We know why you loved it so! You loved how he included the doggy photo near the top of his slide show! Or did that photo only register in your subconscious? LOL
Will Rogers was doing a comedy routine! He was not deliberately seeking to fool us into believing lies about Wall Street defenestrations! Hey, why don't you do a video reacting to Will Roger's comedy routines?
The Brit has some things rather confused. Especially about Ford. There were dozens of cars before Ford built his. There was even an association that limited who could make cars to keep the prices up on cars. Ford defied the association and built one much cheaper by swiping the assembly line idea Sam Colt devised. Ford didn't invent anything that I am aware of. He just found a need and a way to meet it. The star spangled banner's lyrics are the important thing. Few songs were composed to new music prior to the 40s and the advent of new music forms like Blues, Jazz and Country. Even those music genres often openly borrowed from centuries old songs. Composers generally just took old melodies and put new lyrics to them. Which is exactly what Frances Scott Key did with the Star Spangled Banner. The British drinking song he refers too dates back much farther than that if I remember correctly, so far back that no one really knows when it was written and might not even be British. Edison invented the first PRACTICAL light bulb. One that worked that is rather than burned out in a few seconds. The concepts were known to many before Edison and probably his staff found the solution. Edison relied heavily on his staff for help with his inventions, including Tesla who worked for Edison for a time. The Disney thing was confusing. Mouse characters date back centuries. Mickey, Mini, and so on are American. How much Walt Disney actually did himself doesn't change that. What Disney did was create a fountain of imagination that changed the world and how we looked at it. That was his legacy. Sadly the current board is doing everything it can to destroy Disney. Turns out the Wright brothers got beat by a few years in the invention of an airplane, ironic that he missed that one. Though the odds are good someone beat the person who is now credited, a Frenchman if I remember correctly as well. The Wright brothers however flew much longer and thus still arguably hold the distinction, as well as creating the first practical aircraft that did something other than just fly a few hundred feet. So while the distinction of first getting off the ground goes elsewhere, the distinction of actually creating a working aircraft still sits with the Wright brothers. It was just a bit between that famous flight at Kittyhawk and aircraft that actually did something more than just barely get off the ground. Nobody said Franklin discovered electricity. It was a known concept for at least a century before. What Franklin did was perform an experiment to demonstrate how current flowed. Franklin did pretty much invent the branch of science called meteorology, the lightning rod, a musical instrument, as well as create dozens of innovations such as the Franklin stove. The Washington being first is really nit picking. We had presidents of the Continental congress rather than of the US. The US did not really exist as a nation until Washington, the Constitution and such. Prior to that it was a Confederation of independent states that banded together against the Brits to win independence. Then came the hard part. Sewing a nation together from all these little nations. So a better title for his vid is what Brits get wrong about American history.
The Wright brothers one is contentious. The heavier than air vehicles before them had control issues. Had to be tethered in place to prevent a crash. The brothers invented a method for controlling pitch, yaw, roll and how to steer. Allowing the thing to fly free.
I didn't think that it was a widespread misconception that Ford invented the automobile. His main innovation was the assembly line, which made production inexpensive.
Truth is, Paul Revere was early on stopped by a patrol of British Regulars before he could warn anyone. He was detained through the night, released in the morning, and had to walk back to Boston because the Redcoats confiscated his horse. The other riders completed their appointed rounds without ever shouting, "The British are coming!" Doing so would have been, at best, confusing. In April 1775, all of the Colonists were British citizens, so the above cry would be understood as "We are coming!" That would have made no sense. There were two official land military organizations - the Colonial Militias and the British Army, also called Regulars. Since the Militias were being warned, the cry would more likely have been, "To arms! The Regulars are coming!"
George Washington was the 1st President under the current constitution. I did know that fun fact too. But we often associate him with being the 1st President because of this.
I have never considered you foreign…but I have considered you as this Irish girl, somewhat Americanized, who just lives on the other side of town, here in Tallahassee, Florida…so to me, you are as normal and real as the people I see every morning when I’m having coffee, with or without a hot, fresh baked blueberry muffin, such as I had this Friday morning…Cheers…
The President of the Continental Congress had little power and most of the duties were ceremonial or procedural. George Washington was the first president under the new constitution, a role which had significantly more power and influence.
One of the problems with ranking the US educational system as a country, is that K-12 education is a state responsibility, and we have 51 different education departments when you add in the District of Columbia. I've seen breakdowns that, when you compare each state individually, to other industrialized nations, would put 8 - 15 states, depending on year and which study, all in the top spots above any other nation. Add to that, the Wharton School of Business, when it does its study of national education systems that also include College and Universities, the US is consistently #1, right above the UK.
Ad an American, I can't find any fault in his historical case. Our current government has rewritten history so much that it's hard to find the truth. This was spot on!
This guy has his facts quite twisted. This is a case, again, of what Brits perceive Americans know as fact and what Americans actually know to be fact. Independence Day is July 4 1776 after all 56 delegates of the Second Continental Congress SIGNED THE DOCUMENT and was then UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED. Not all Delegates were present for the intended signing and vote on July 2 1776. Will Rogers was an entertainer, actor, humorist and social commentator who wrote for many syndicated newspapers. Will Rogers happened to be in New York on October 24, 1929. In his nationally syndicated newspaper column for that day, he wrote: "When Wall Street took that tail spin, you had to stand in line to get a window to jump out of, and speculators were selling space for bodies in the East River." THE NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT FOR ONE OF LONDON'S SENSATIONALIST TABLOIDS WIRED HOME THAT LOWER BROADWAY WAS CLOGGED WITH CORPSES. So who is responsible for starting that rumor? The Stock Market Crash of 1929 occurred on TUESDAY (NOT THURSDAY) October 29, 1929, when Wall Street investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Black Tuesday is associated with the start of The Great Depression. Benjamin Franklin did not discover electricity. Where did this idiot get the idea Americans believe this? Benjamin Franklin did set out to prove that lightning was electricity and thus invented the LIGHTENING ROD protecting homes and other buildings from fires caused by direct hits from lightening. Thomas Edison is credited and received the patent for the invention of the first PRACTICAL-USE incandescent light bulb that did not burn out after after several minutes and was cost effective unlike Warren de la Rue's attempt. Warren de la Rue and Thomas A Edison were not the only two working creating a light bulb. Thanks to Edison, I don't have to mortgage my home to be able to afford a light bulb that only burns for 30 minutes. Henry Ford did not invent the motor vehicle. The first American gasoline powered automobile was designed by Charles Duryea and J Frank in 1893. They sold their first automobile in 1896. Henry Ford is credited as chief developer of the MOVING ASSEMBLY LINE technique of mass production of automobiles in 1913, making them affordable for the middle class. Ransom E Olds(Oldsmobile fame) invented the STATIONARY ASSEMBLY LINE in 1901. George Washington was the FIRST PRESIDENT of the United States of America. There was no president of the English colonies of North America. President of the Continental Congress is equivalent to president of the PTA (a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a school). I know this presenter is trying to be relevant but, trying to present Americans as ignorant to their own history while being factually incorrect is quite rude and can only be perceived as "BASHING AMERICANS" which seems to be a popular yet cheap pass time by some Brits.
6:58 I initially thought that it was Jim Lovell and not Jack Swigert that said "Houston, we've had a problem". Turns out Jack Swigert said it first, they asked him to say it again, then Jim Lovell said it. I think alot of the misconceptions come from the movie Apollo 13 from 1995. I'm not sure if "Houston we have a problem" was a well-known quote from the actual incident that occurred or the movie but I knew it from the movie.
Actually MR. Smugness was incorrect about the last one. There have been technically two governments called the United States of America. The first one was a loose alliance based upon the 1777 articles of Confederation. This one was more States and less United. It was more an alliance of 13 nations than an actual one. President of the Continental Congress was chosen each year by the congress and really didn't have much power. George Washington became the first President of the United States for the successor Republic after it replaced the Confederation in 1789.
I must admit to being wearied by people who come up with lists of things I-supposedly-don’t know only to find I already had heard of all of them. I’d love it to actually hear things I don’t know because I love learning new things. But this list, regrettably, fails to do that for me. Also, he does seem to be playing fast and loose with some things here. Number nine on this list is 100% subjective-meaning that, by definition, nobody can be “wrong” about it. You can disagree with the opinion of another on a subjective point, but it is logically impossible for such an opinion to be “wrong”. And, no matter how much he seems to wish to assert that various offices held by people prior to Washington means they were President of the United States before him, it isn’t true. Being President of the Continental Congress did not make you President of the United States any more than being coroner of Maricopa County makes you Chief Justice of the United States. They’re entirely different offices. The first President of The United States was Washington. There’s no getting around that objective truth. The gentleman-no matter how genuinely he wishes to put together an entertaining list-is simply objectively incorrect on that point.
On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a declaration of independence consisting only of one short sentence. It was not until two days later that the passed the lengthy statement of ideology and of grievances, at the end of which they declared the U.S. independent at greater length.
Has anyone else noticed that, whenever theres a video critiquing american’s knowledge of the united states, its almost always a british person? Not only that but, such as this guy’s video, its full of misleading half truths?
He gives a lot of half historical facts. He's not wrong, but he's not factually correct either. Love you and your reaction vids
This guy even mentions that the Declaration of Independence was adopted (and ratified) on the fourth of July. This was not just "boring bureaucratic reasons", they changed a lot of it and scrapped about 1/4 of the draft. This new document was what was adopted and approved on July 4, 1776. Adams may not have been the only one who still thought Independence Day should be celebrated on the 2nd, but he was in the minority as most of them, including Thomas Jefferson, were just as sure it should be celebrated on the 4th as did pretty much the entire country after the Revolutionary War.
John Adams also wrote that letter to his wife before the Declaration of Independence had been signed. So it is very likely that he knew it wouldn't be actually Independence Day until July 4, 1776, when the updated document was actually ratified.
A lot of partial truths in this. In many cases there's more to the story.
Incidentally I've known the melody of the "Star Spangled Banner" is English since I was roughly 8 years old.
The words are certainly NOT copied.
The tune to God Save the Queen/King was composed to celebrate the successful anal fistula surgery of Louis XIV so...
@@scottgarner8270
"To Anachreon in Heaven, where he sat in full glee
A few Sons of Harmony sent a petition
That he their Inspirer and Patron would be
When this Answer arrived from the Jolly Old Grecian:
Voice, Fiddle and Flute, no longer be mute
I'll lend you my Name and inspire you to boot!
And besides, I'll instruct you like me to entwine
The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine."
Actual factual American here. New all of what he was talking about and feel that a great deal of it was splitting hairs for the sake of humor from a very condescending point of view. But I can’t say I am surprised that an Englishman took it upon himself to explain another persons country ti them…😏
This video is basically “10 things brits get wrong about 10 things Americans get wrong” 😂
The channel should be called "10 clickbait things that we don't care if they're wrong or right"
You nailed it - this low intellect DB is hoping no one notices!
Being ignorant is not knowing about something, being stupid is being told the facts about something and still not understanding it!!! Don’t believe everything you think!!! 🤪🤪🤪
Actually, Paul Revere DID ride through the night alarming people that the British were coming. The only thing was, there was a group of guys doing it at the same time. The only reason history tends to remember him alone is because of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem which was written when the Civil War was breaking out to spread patriotism for The Union. I still do wonder who the other dudes were alerting people through the night, though...
I'm sure that either Google or Wikipedia can supply you with the answer.
I think Paul Revere’s ride was longer and he alerted more people.
Robert Dawes was another rider.
I've heard he was more likely he would have said the Redcoats are coming. I've heard both versions used, but at that time most of the locals would've still been British citizens and the arriving army would have been the pressing concern.
One wasn't a dude from what I've heard
Will Rogers was a humorist, and well known for his sarcastic wit and exaggerations to make a point. No one familiar with Rogers’ writing would have taken him literally.
Henry Ford invented assembly line production and made cars affordable. They were practically hand made and super expensive before Ford. 👍😊
Actually, he got the idea from the guy who invented the cotton gin. But it did drive the price WAY DOWN. He also required his crates in specific size as, that he later disassembled and used in the car itself.
@@donovanfoto3263 Oh yeah, and the remaining wood bits were burned and doused to make "KingsFORD" charcoal and sold in bags! 😊👍
Ford and his staff developed the MOVING assembly line. And contrary to popular belief, he did not get the idea by reverse engineering a Meat Processing plant.
Yeah, I never heard anyone say he invented the car. It was always that he invented the assembly line.
The moving assembly line for which each assembler had a singular specific task to perform as the product moved along a conveyor system. Assembly lines were well known before Ford but the product was stationary while the workers moved around it doing many tasks.
The star spangled banner was a poem Which was later put to music which was the drinking song all the other facts if you listened The other point was this Splitting hair As in Washington was the 1st elected president so he was the 1st president, There's a lot of semantics and what they he was saying
Wow, this gets a lot of things wrong. Disney came up with the idea for Mickey Mouse and then asked Ub Iwerks to do the actual drawing. They did have a major fight and went their separate ways but the reason Ub came back was because he was a great animator, but not a story man. He needed Walt more than Walt needed him. (the story about Ub creating Mickey himself is spread by people who hate Walt Disney)
Most Americans know the music for the National Anthem is based on a British drinking song, a lot of colonial songs were adaptions of British drinking songs.
George Washington was the first President of the United States Of America. Before the ratification of the Constitution there was no United States. There was only the Colonies and the Continental Congress.
And yes I knew the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2nd but was first read to the general public and printed in the newspapers of the day on July 4th and that's why the date was chosen.
Also everyone knows Henry Ford didn't invent the auto, but he created the first low cost assembly line produced cars and started the nation to driving.
Finally Edison never claimed to have invented the light bulb, but he did invent one that lasted more than a couple of hours, the narrator left that little detail out.
ps, Ben Franklin never claimed to have "invented electricity" but he did do numerous experiments with it and invented a practical lightning rod that saved many a house.
The Star Spangled Banner was written in 1814, long before radio, records, or UA-cam. It was therefore common for people to write poems, that could be set to widely known tunes, many of which were drinking songs.
The tune of many church hymns are also old drinking songs.
In the 18th and 19th Centuries, everything was a drinking song. They didn't have anti-depressants back then.
@@williamowsley9771 And they were better for not having anti-depressants. They're seriously ruining society.
I think they're forgetting that they were British.
When considering the origins of the U.S. national anthem, we should remember that, until 1776, American culture and the culture of the British Isles were the same, Americans largely considering themselves Englishmen up to that point. Independence did not erase that cultural heritage, it just began to diverge at that point. Well, it actually began to diverge sooner, but most people hadn't realized it yet. So, the use of an English tune applied to an American poem was entirely reasonable, as much as is our use of the English language. Might just as well express amazement that Diane speaks English as her first language instead of Irish.
No. American culture was much different long before that. Barely any Americans considered themselves English.
Henry Ford is known for the assembly line and not inventing the car.
And Edison created the mass marketable lightbulb. Although quite a large number of his patents were from people who worked for him, rather than things he invented himself. His son actually had nearly as many patents as his father.
Yes, I was really surprised to hear him say that Americans believed that Ford created the Automobile.
@@garryhennessee7538 The Germans invented the automobile.
I’m with the others. No ever told me that Henry Ford invented the automobile.
@@lashedbutnotleashed1984 No one knows who invented it first but it was invented in about thirty different places totally independent of each other. As soon as engines existed it was a gimme. No one gets credit for inventing the car.
We all know the Declaration of Independence was FINALIZED on July 2, but it wasn't RATIFIED until July 4. So July 4 is the appropriate date to commemorate it. That's common knowledge in America.
I always get a laugh at how many "Americans Are So Stupid" and "America Isn't As Great As It Thinks" videos are made by foreign channels... especially British channels. I grew up in England (I have dual citizenship thanks to my parents) and have always been aware of how little Brits think of Americans but I guess that makes them (us, to be fair) experts on all things America? Pretty fun post, Diane. Cheers.
They still can't accept that they lost the Revolution. They think we are still their colony.
I know man a video made by some loudmouth Brit has made me second guess my country lol I was never one to be into American exceptionalism, however while I will 100% admit that the US has it's problem's (past and present), and so does England. I like that these foreign channels like this one Diane is reacting to act like ALL problems come from the US and never England or anyplace else.
@@C.Church I roll my eyes when people from this country join in on the US bashing. I think it's kind of dumb tbh. I think that's a common American stereotype that we love to wave the flag. I've been asked about it by friends of mine from Germany and on my street where I live, for the most part with the exception of one or two people, there isn't a ton of flag flying.
@@C.Church To be fair many Americans are... ignorant... to put it politely, even when it comes to knowledge of the Constitution and our government. I blame our poor education system and it's lack of focus on civics classes.
A lot of my knowledge about the Constitution, civics and history came from either college courses or personal reading and research.
I read a fair amount and most novels written by Brits bash Americans rather frequently. It always surprises me. We, Americans, hold you Brits in higher esteem, generally.
Actually John Adams lived till 1826, he was well aware about independence day.
Guess what day he died on which is also the same day Thomas Jefferson died on?
In fact, he and Jefferson died on the same day in 1826. Interestingly, it was July 4.
If I remember correctly, Adams died in the morning, and when Jefferson died, one of his last words was regret that he believed that Adams had outlived him. I may have the order wrong, but the one to day last is alleged to have made a statement to that effect.
@@JosephNalbone You have that reversed, Jefferson died first.
That didn't change his opinion about when it should have been celebrated.
I don't think many people think Franklin "discovered electricity". His experiment proved that lightning was electricity.
Franklin is celebrated the world over for "taming lighting." The Lightning rod is his great invention.
The kite story is now considered likely apocryphal.
It is literally impossible to name the "Best Country In The World", there are way too many factors to take into account.
Not only that, "best" really is an ambiguous term: Best in what way?
Not to mention even with standard guidelines for that title, the methods of research and results are always changing.
Yeah it’s subjective mostly
It's not the number of factors, but the subjectivity of many of them.
Germany criticizes the United states? Germany, that shining beacon of human morality? Disgusting.
I've found that most of these lists aren't really what they say they are; they're really just another way for others to crap on the US.
I'd like to see his source on the "1 in 4 don't know independence was declared from England" thing.
Go to any city that’s votes for democrats, you will find at least 1 in 4 don’t know what country the US gained independence from.
There have been a lote of "man on the street" interviews since Biden became Pres, and CRT has been pushed in the schools. A majority of the people "interviewed" did indeed NOT know the correct answer and gave some of the replies mentioned in this vid.
Sadly that is the one statement I believe is so true. Americans do not learn their history well.
It is also a reminder that more people than you realize will fuck with a survey for LOLs.
@@joannebarber4845 That's total BS. Americans know history much better than people in most countries.
There are a lot of misconceptions about American baseball. Abner Doubleday never claimed to have invented it. It was first called Country Ball in some locations along the eastern shore. You could throw the ball at players (ouch) which led to lots of fist fights. No gloves were used at first to catch balls which caused broken fingers (double ouch). Numbers of strikes and balls was not standardized until around the beginning of the 20th century. Hope you and Chewie have a great weekend!
A report in The Whitehall Evening Post item from 264 years ago, dated September 19 reads: 'On Tuesday last, his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and Lord Middlesex, played at Bass-Ball, at Walton in Surry;
As an American I never thought Ford invented the car. He is known for inventing the assembly line and making cars affordable for the general public.
This dude is stating facts in a way that almost make them misinformation. He should become a documentary filmmaker.
Seriously. The "1 in 4 Americans" not knowing which country we gained independence from is such a slanted take that it's damn near vertical. Seems pretty likely this guy forgot that not everyone in America is actually American. Some 20 year old kid fleeing cartel violence in Honduras probably doesn't know American history that well, but you can bet if asked in a Marist poll, he'll be considered part of that "1 in 4."
All this is just an opportunity for some smug dickhead to make a "haha america=dumb" video so he can stroke his own ego and bask in his own, uh, "brilliance."
(There's a pretty high degree of historical ignorance in parts of this country. :) ) But, actually a lot of us are more aware of these things than some let on. (And technically, Washington's the first 'President of the United States' as we know them, and the Continental Congress is more the 'revolutionary provisional stuff.' There's recently more awareness of 'To Anacreon In Heaven' cause the near-unsingability of it unless you're pretty lit is often mentioned. :)
Correct. The Continental Congress was succeeded by the Articles of Confederation, which was succeeded by the United States of America as defined by the Constitution. The President under the Articles of Confederation was John Hanson. I think that 1:4 is pretty made up. Considering there have been so many things that talk about who we fought for Independence from 1776 to Hamilton and upteen million dramas like the Patriot. Almost every generation has at least one period drama about it.
@@koriley I just asked my ex who we declared our independence from and she thought it was Germany.
@@C.Church She's 41. No, she isn't a quarter of the country, but if Jay Leno's Jaywalking segments are reflective of reality, it could be that high. And she's my ex, not my wife.
Most signed the declaration on July 2nd, but a few couldn’t sign until the 4th, this guy is full of it
Adam’s was one but the other I don’t recall
John Adam’s died in 1826, July 4th, hours after Thomas Jefferson, ironic
The big part is it wasn't an official declaration until it was published, on July 4th. And several signed it after the fourth.
Actually they didn't finish signing until August 2nd
Very few signed it on either the 2nd or 4th. And it took months to get everyone to sign it.
Hi Diane! I used to watch this channel a whole bunch, but I don't think it's very active now. I'm not sure, but I think the ever-present Simon Whistler used to be on this channel too, before going to all of his 8,738,289 channels. And I think this guy is still mad that we out Pew Pew'd the British so many years ago. Happy Weekend!
Edison didn't invent the idea of a filament in a partial vacuum. He invented the screw base & discovered the longest lasting filaments/gas mixture, making electric light more commercially viable than gaslight. FUN FACT: Tesla invented the more efficient fluorescent bulb and Edison refused to let him use his patented screw-base as it was competition for his incandescent bulb, which is why florescent bulbs used a two prong system (still common today) until Edison's patent ran out.
IF YOU BOIL A FUNNY BONE, YOU MAKE A LAUGHING STOCK, AND THAT'S HUMERUS.
🙈😂
@@DianeJennings your upper arm bone is called a humerus, which sounds like humorous, hence funny bone.
Just remember, folks-David's here all week! Don't forget to tip your waitress!
That was so good I had to share it with my family so everyone could get a laugh, thank you.
You win the comment section.
In case you were seriously wondering, in very simplistic terms, "funny bone" is called that because the nerve that causes the tingle you get when you hit your elbow is at the elbow end of your humerus bone, the long, single bone in your upper arm; a homonym for humorous.
There are many songs besides the Star Spangled Banner that share the same music with our British friends. In fact, the British National Anthem, God Save the King/Queen, is the same music as a patriotic song sung in America called My Country 'Tis of Thee. Even my fraternity had an "anthem" that we sang on formal occasions that was the same music as a famous British song that I've now forgotten. I found out when the Bishop of London came to my school for a speech and we hosted him for a meal. He was quite surprised that we used the same music for our song.
Every time I hear someone say “what’s the point of learning history…” I grieve a little.
but this is not history, it is just some Britt who hates the USA trying to put us down.
Agreed. We should learn history so we don't repeat it. there are so many go life lessons to learn from history.
All the people that I know, do know that we started out as British colonies and that was who we fought for our freedom. Yes, the Star Spangled Banner is American even though is was set to the anthem of a singing club.
Brits think we don't know who's ass we are celebrating kicking.
I knew most of these. Our song “My Country Tis Of Thee” ( I think that’s the title) sounds like Britain’s “God Save the Queen ( now King of course). Have a nice weekend and be safe! ❤️U☘️🇮🇪🇺🇸
The title is actually "America"
Thanks you too!
Pretty much every patriotic American tune originated in the UK. America the Beautiful, My Country Tis of Thee and The Star Spangled Banner
My daughter has elephants living above her I don't know how anyone could walk so heavy. Have a lovely weekend.😎😻👍
@@bob_._. Yeah, now I remember. Silly me
I think this is true worldwide, but certainly in the US: you have to have a desire to learn beyond what basic school teaches you to really begin to know history. I knew these things, but not because of school. I was reading various history books on my own time, outside of class.
That is fair to say.
Most schools are just indoctrination camps.
I was two to three years ahead of school and got yelled at because 'I can't know that because it hasn't been taught yet.' I know all kinds of things not taught in school, like the connection between Virginia Dare, (born 1587) and the Black Irish.
Same. I knew all of these things, a few from school, but most from "independent study" otherwise. "Independent Study" being defined as "reading occasional articles that cover such things from time to time, and perhaps the odd book which includes something like "___________ that you didn't learn in school" as part of the title."
"HE who dares not offend cannot be honest"
-Thomas Paine
But he who offends merely for the sake of it rather than having an open mind is a dumbass- me
I would have used "d**khead", but 👍🏻.
Anyone who's brutally honest is more interested in being brutal than honest.
Absolutely, Thomas Paine was severely underrated he should have been president. This country might look different now. He was way ahead of his time. He couldn't be president because he was English. Thats not fair.
@Mike Griffin "Rioters are the voice of the unheard".
Martin Luther King
If you sail up the Chesapeake Bay towards Baltimore, you come to a red, white, and blue buoy bobbing in the water. This supposedly marks the exact site where Francis Scott Key (on board the British Naval vessel) wrote the Star Spangled Banner. I've been there. And recited the words. Pretty special.
No American thinks we won our independence from China. People like to give answers they know are ridiculous to pollsters.
Diane, did you know the capital of Ireland is the fastest growing capital in the world? Its Dublin every day.
Booooo hissssssss. 😜
Yep 🤪
But if you go over to the Barbary Coast it will Tripoli every night.
Ford isn’t known for inventing the automobile, he’s venerated for perfecting the assembly line, standardized wages and the division of work week versus weekend. That’s pretty common knowledge.
ive studied baseball immensely my whole life and studied the fair bit and studied the civil war in recent years, Abner Doubleday's name only comes up when people try to dispell the myth creating a situation where people think thats what people think even though nobody thinks it.
I think that overall he is wrong about pretty much everything. He is trying to use technicalities to talk about "what we get wrong" but he "just doesn't get it". Like that America being the greatest country in the world, regardless of what America might be ranked compared to other countries in some thing it is the greatest to us because we value "freedom" more than everything else. And that the Star Spangled Banner isn't American because the tune, it is obviously American because it was written by an American about a battle America fought. And nobody thinks that Ford invented the first car, he invented the modern assembly line. There's more too it of course but I think I've made my point.
Now do 10 things Irish people get wrong about Ireland and see how it feels. Oh and have the same guy with the British accent do it.
Nicholas Otto and his brother worked on internal combustion engines in the 1860s. The Otto cycle is the 4-stroke engine cycle that automobile engines use today.
Happy Friday! I really enjoy this video. Have a very awesome weekend.
Washington was the first president of the US. My reasoning: Continental Congress was just an interim government while the nation established itself. “President of congress” had no authority. They just presided over administrative functions they had no executive powers. The constitution became in effect on March 4, 1789, which ushered in the new government. Electoral college was created and all executive function was moved to the executive branch which is led by POTUS. The first elected POTUS was Washington. There were no others before him.
The number one thing is wrong. George Washington was the very first president of the USA as a sovereign state. The USA did not exist as a sovereign state until 4 March 1789. Before that it was a confederation of 13 sovereign states that formed a confederation.
The USA began on 4 March 1789 (US Constitution became active). It should be noted that 4 July 1776 was not the start date of the USA but the Day of Independence. That is 13 British colonies broke away and became 13 free and independent states or 13 autonomous sovereigns. The Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783 stated that all 13 former British colonies were recognized as 13 free and independent states.
Other sources will state that the Continental Congress or the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union formed the first government of the USA. This is not true. So if an historian, lawyer, politician, or anyone else states otherwise then either they are lying or do not know what they are talking about. A confederation is a league of sovereign states that work together with a set of rules to go by; however, a confederation cannot overrule the sovereignty of its member states and a member state can leave anytime without any political or economic consequences.
So Diane, what I stated is historical true. Most Americans do not know this because it is not taught in school.
WRONG on all points.
1) July 4th is when the Declaration of Independence was dated, the vote of which means nothing until it was declared to the King of England.
So no.
2) Best country in the world depends on your criteria. "Healthcare and Education" doesn't mean anything when you consider the other 36,000 things that might be cited as a criteria for "best in the world."
3) So you're saying the Americans took a tune like English Led Zeppelin did allegedly more than once?? lol
4) Burning of a flag is protected under the 1st Amendment, we all know that.
5) Nobody cares about misquotes.
6) So someone DID jump out of a building on Black Thursday. Got it. And nobody thought Will Rogers was being serious, he was famous for his wit.
7) I don't know any American who thinks WE invented the car, we always assumed it was German and Benz. But we were the first to MASS produce them.
8) So Americans didn't invent baseball? Oh, there's one he's not wrong about. lol.
9) No real point made about Mickey Mouse.
10) Washington was the first president of the Federation known as the United States, those before were part of the Confederacy, it's not considered the USA per se.
11) The Brits will NEVER get over the fact that we kicked their ass and threw them out of America. lol.
Yeah, this guy is wrong on nearly every point he makes. Half truths and invented assumptions at best. Incredibly frustrating video to watch.
Versions of baseball date back to ancient Egypt. (Infielders could use throwing knives.)
Wow, things UA-camrs get wrong while trying to tell people what they get wrong. This guy is a total troll.
It wasn't that Ben Franklin discovered electricity. It's that he determined that lightning was a form of electricity (and he did invent the lightning rod). He came up with the idea for the experiment with the kites, but it wasn't for it to be struck by lightning, but to get ambient electricity from the storm. He was able to collect that in a Leyden jar.
Discounting his contribution to the science of electricity would be a serious mistake considering that it was largely that that helped in his diplomatic mission to France to secure aid to the colonies for the American Revolutionary War. His scientific achievements was what made him a celebrity at the time.
BTW, he is the one responsible for our designation of which is a positive charge and which is a negative charge (unfortunately, he picked randomly and ended up choosing the less convenient option. It would have been better if he chose it such that an electron had a positive charge instead of a negative charge, but he had no idea at the time).
Props to Finland! Monty Python wrote a song about it for their album "Contractual Obligation." You can listen to it on youtube.
Yes, sadly that 25% statistic is a reflection on the absolute abysmal state of the US Education system.
dont blame the educational system. Blame rhe parents. Parents should invest time teaching thier children the truth and encouraging them to read books other than those printed just for schools
American here, not surprised at all about the 25%. 😭
I don't think that's true. I think people were trolling the Huffington Post. People really enjoy trolling them.
It's a reflection on you being gullible.
Not surprised the drop in education. A segment of society is anti-education.
I believe July 4th was the public reading of the declaration of independence.
Yes, the national anthem music is based upon a British drinking song. Does that mean...
Henry Ford was not even the first manufacturer of the automobile in the US.
Have a great weekend Diane!! 😊
No, July 4th is when the last person signed it. This list is kinda lame because of the half truths and splitting of hairs.
Maybe 1 in 4 of the people who agreed to take whatever test they got their results from. BUT, it's definitely over 10%.
TO THE PERSON WHO TOOK MY ANTI DEPRESSANTS, I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY NOW.
🤣
This guy is telling us, Americans, what we already know. Anyone who went to school should know these things.
This is like listening to an ex girlfriend talk about you. Lots of half truths, exaggerations, and a heaping load of bitterness on top.
I knew most of these overly technicality based gotcha questions. Fun fact: 1 in 4 Americans troll pollsters who ask asinine questions.
It was fun to hang out with you and chewie, I feel bad I know about the US than my country of Canada
Don’t we all?! 🙄😂
Paul Revere said, "The regulars are coming." Most teachers in schools correct that from "the British are coming" now - we technically still were British; why would he warn us that we were coming?
And nobody thinks Ford invented the car. Ford established the first assembly line and that’s how he kicked the German’s asses: mass production.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
He didnt invent the assembly line either.
One thing many Americans don't realize (kinda surprised it didn't make his list) is about the pledge of allegiance. It has changed periodically over the years and the version currently recited every day by school children came into being in 1954. The "under God" bit was added at that time.
We all know that that was a huge issue not long ago and still gets brought up
I don't know if "we all know that". It was news to me (within maybe the past 5 or 10 years) to learn the pledge was changed for like the 4th time when my parents were kids. As far as I knew the pledge is the pledge and you don't change the pledge. The people who don't want a separation of church and state as it is written in the Constitution can point to the pledge and say "our founding fathers put it there on purpose", because I would bet they still don't know.
Dude is going to talk about how he doesn't think the US is the greatest nation, while making a video about America in English (rather than German), posting it on an American website, on the internet.. which was developed by America.
By all metrics the US is the most powerful economics, military, and cultural entity on the planet... get over it
"Anachreon in heaven" was a popular drinking song of the era and it became the music that accompanies the national anthem.
Looking at a visitor Diane? Lol.
Edison stole a lot of inventions. I always knew Ford as the guy that popularized the assembly line, definitely not the inventor of cars.
A visitor?
@@DianeJennings ED said to guess. 🤷♂️
When I taught high school English, I once gave a test that had "Victorian Era" at the top, and on the back, one question was "Who was the monarch of England during the period we are studying?" I thought this would give them an easy point. Unfortunately, some of the kids didn't know what a monarch was, other than a butterfly or a baseball team. One kid wrote "Charles Dickens." So, please don't overestimate the facts that we Americans know about our country.
I disagree with half of this video. Stop hating America! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
The “New York village” pictured as the real birthplace of baseball is the accurate location, but it’s not in New York. That’s along Washington Street and about 11th Street in Hoboken, New Jersey. The players were from NYC, but they needed an open field to play in, and at the time, Hoboken was quite bucolic, and an easy boat ride across the Hudson River.
Not so much anymore; Hoboken is now the most densely populated city in America (or maybe 2nd to neighboring Union City). Jersey squeezes people in.
Part of what makes us true Americans is the fact that we really don’t give a toss about any of these things. But we do love our Diane and Chewie.
Btw why (and how now that I’m on it) is ED a brunette and our Diane is a blonde??? Are we proving that brunettes are evil? I’m not sure how I feel about that 😈🤪love to you and Sir Chewie ❤🐾🍀❣️
😂never but you’re the second person to say that! It’s just lighting
How can this guy claim that "The Star Spangled Banner" is entirely not American? He even admitted that American Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics ("The Defense of Fort M'Henry") in 1814. Key may have intended for the words to be sung to the tune of "Anacreon in Heaven," but the lyrics were his alone.
Never underestimate the failings of the American educational system.
Is it the American educational system or is your kid just dumb?
Our educational system used to be VERY GOOD. But I have seen the dumbing up of America. It is sad. I went to school with kids in the '70s, that didn't know Hawaii was a state or that Puerto Rico wasn't. They couldn't draw a basic map of the continental US. Yet they were educated in the same system I was. It has gotten worse. I see high school graduates that can't tell time on an analog clock, or read a book.
C Ch: Its something that should be taught before the third grade. It isn't that difficult. And yes, its still important.
C Ch: The phone is obsolete, so I can let it die. Analog clocks are very much present all over our world, hence telling time on an analog clock is still important.
C Ch: that depends, do you use it? Reasoning Skills, if they were taught most people never would have voted for Trump, EVER. Obviously it's important, but not taught. Look at all the COVID deaths and yet they deny. Masks aren't important. The people aren't reallly dieing. It's a CONSPIRACY. 9/11 never happened. We never went to the moon. THE EARTH IS FLAT!!! Are we any better off than 100 years ago?
I knew most of these, but the one that surprised me was that Will Rogers, of all people, was the one who started the story about investors jumping out of windows.
Sad thing is that even today too many people mistake satire (Rogers was a comedian and satirist) for "news" and believe made-up facts just because they read it somewhere or heard it from someone, without bothering to verify the validity of the source.
It was wishful thinking on the part of Rogers.
A lot of polling in the US is suspect, because Americans hate pollsters and love to mess with them. Anytime you hear "One in four Americans say something stupid", bear in mind that stupid thing was probably pretty funny at the time.
I feed disinformation into every survey or marketing system I can. It's one of my few pleasurable vices now that I can no longer drink.
From watching lots of interviewing random people on the street types of segments, I think there's a lot more extremely stupid people out there than what we're willing to admit. There are tons of people who are totally clueless when it comes to politics and world events, but can tell you what a Kardashian wore on Instagram yesterday.
I knew all of these facts, but also find middle-aged Harry Potter's condescending delivery of them to be a little annoying, which was undoubtedly the plan.
Occasionally someone introduces a bill to change the National Anthem to America the Beautiful because that is totally American and far easier to sing lol
The main reason people wanted to dump the National Anthem and replace it with America the Beautiful is because the Anthem has many references to war and violence, while the ATB is a very peaceful song. It was the Pacifists who wanted the change.
Not kidding, my stepdad’s grandfather lost everything on Black Thursday and jumped out of his office window in Pittsburgh.
Diane reacts to some stuff that Americans get wrong
Like who wrote the music to our national song
I knew our education system was not that strong
But I learned a few things as I watched along
Me too! ☺️
It's just sad that those things were wrong.
No seriously, a lot of this video is not only inaccurate, it's plain wrong.
Conspiracy theory: Puppy getting up onto something, or what may or may not have been a spider on the wall.
😂
I'm sorry, but this guy is just picking and choosing small snippets of facts and not giving full information!
Actual American here. The first actual President was John Hanson. I also find it interesting and arrogant that someone from England, who we got our independence from is correcting us about how much Americans have wrong about America.
So many Americans can't get access to anti-depressants. Also quite often you have to have the time and energy to try different kinds to find the one that helps you and even then, its just a tool. Most can't get access therapy. Funny thing is, according to the flag code that lists flag burning as disrespectful, it also lists wearingit on or as clothing equally disrespectful, and now the people most against flag burning are the most likely to have worn it disrespectfully as clothes.
The 1st President thing is kinda sorta semantics and only historians really are taught about that. We’re taught about the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution. People remember 1776 and the Revolution. (I was shocked about not knowing who we got independence from) But many forget that The Constitution wasn’t until 1789. We’re not really taught that much about the country after independence but before The Constitution only that it wasn’t working well. The Constitution was a reboot of the US on a federal level and Washington was the 1st president elected after that reboot.
The Presidents before Washington were not really Presidents. There was no Executive Branch. The states were essentially independent nations and the Congress met occasionally to coordinate stuff like foreign policy, kind of like the EU. The “President” was just the Chair of the meeting and was appointed on a rotating basis like in the UN.
Miscomprehension about history is so pervasive here that his examples are risible! Still . . . What a fun video you have shared about a Brit making mountains out of molehills! Thank you!
"Loving his style choices," you said? LOL! We know why you loved it so! You loved how he included the doggy photo near the top of his slide show! Or did that photo only register in your subconscious? LOL
Will Rogers was doing a comedy routine! He was not deliberately seeking to fool us into believing lies about Wall Street defenestrations! Hey, why don't you do a video reacting to Will Roger's comedy routines?
He misspelled "pseudo" in the title card about inventors! Forget this guy! He knows nothing.
The Brit has some things rather confused. Especially about Ford. There were dozens of cars before Ford built his. There was even an association that limited who could make cars to keep the prices up on cars. Ford defied the association and built one much cheaper by swiping the assembly line idea Sam Colt devised. Ford didn't invent anything that I am aware of. He just found a need and a way to meet it.
The star spangled banner's lyrics are the important thing. Few songs were composed to new music prior to the 40s and the advent of new music forms like Blues, Jazz and Country. Even those music genres often openly borrowed from centuries old songs. Composers generally just took old melodies and put new lyrics to them. Which is exactly what Frances Scott Key did with the Star Spangled Banner. The British drinking song he refers too dates back much farther than that if I remember correctly, so far back that no one really knows when it was written and might not even be British.
Edison invented the first PRACTICAL light bulb. One that worked that is rather than burned out in a few seconds. The concepts were known to many before Edison and probably his staff found the solution. Edison relied heavily on his staff for help with his inventions, including Tesla who worked for Edison for a time.
The Disney thing was confusing. Mouse characters date back centuries. Mickey, Mini, and so on are American. How much Walt Disney actually did himself doesn't change that. What Disney did was create a fountain of imagination that changed the world and how we looked at it. That was his legacy. Sadly the current board is doing everything it can to destroy Disney.
Turns out the Wright brothers got beat by a few years in the invention of an airplane, ironic that he missed that one. Though the odds are good someone beat the person who is now credited, a Frenchman if I remember correctly as well. The Wright brothers however flew much longer and thus still arguably hold the distinction, as well as creating the first practical aircraft that did something other than just fly a few hundred feet. So while the distinction of first getting off the ground goes elsewhere, the distinction of actually creating a working aircraft still sits with the Wright brothers. It was just a bit between that famous flight at Kittyhawk and aircraft that actually did something more than just barely get off the ground.
Nobody said Franklin discovered electricity. It was a known concept for at least a century before. What Franklin did was perform an experiment to demonstrate how current flowed. Franklin did pretty much invent the branch of science called meteorology, the lightning rod, a musical instrument, as well as create dozens of innovations such as the Franklin stove.
The Washington being first is really nit picking. We had presidents of the Continental congress rather than of the US. The US did not really exist as a nation until Washington, the Constitution and such. Prior to that it was a Confederation of independent states that banded together against the Brits to win independence. Then came the hard part. Sewing a nation together from all these little nations.
So a better title for his vid is what Brits get wrong about American history.
The Wright brothers one is contentious. The heavier than air vehicles before them had control issues. Had to be tethered in place to prevent a crash. The brothers invented a method for controlling pitch, yaw, roll and how to steer. Allowing the thing to fly free.
Hope you’re having a great Friday Diane! Even though mine hasn’t been ok so far, I’m sure this will help!
I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it gets better!
Always delightful Diane. 😊 I have always mattered how "happiness" is measured. It has to be subjective.
Absolutely agree
I didn't think that it was a widespread misconception that Ford invented the automobile. His main innovation was the assembly line, which made production inexpensive.
Truth is, Paul Revere was early on stopped by a patrol of British Regulars before he could warn anyone. He was detained through the night, released in the morning, and had to walk back to Boston because the Redcoats confiscated his horse.
The other riders completed their appointed rounds without ever shouting, "The British are coming!" Doing so would have been, at best, confusing. In April 1775, all of the Colonists were British citizens, so the above cry would be understood as "We are coming!" That would have made no sense. There were two official land military organizations - the Colonial Militias and the British Army, also called Regulars. Since the Militias were being warned, the cry would more likely have been, "To arms! The Regulars are coming!"
George Washington was the 1st President under the current constitution. I did know that fun fact too. But we often associate him with being the 1st President because of this.
Your frustration with the neighbours gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘taking notice of the elephant in the room’…
I have never considered you foreign…but I have considered you as this Irish girl, somewhat Americanized, who just lives on the other side of town, here in Tallahassee, Florida…so to me, you are as normal and real as the people I see every morning when I’m having coffee, with or without a hot, fresh baked blueberry muffin, such as I had this Friday morning…Cheers…
5:30 you mean a former British colony who were culturally British used a British melody.
The President of the Continental Congress had little power and most of the duties were ceremonial or procedural. George Washington was the first president under the new constitution, a role which had significantly more power and influence.
Paul Revere was captured by the Red Coats. I think Samuel Prescott completed the ride. There were several riders out that night spreading the alarm.
One of the problems with ranking the US educational system as a country, is that K-12 education is a state responsibility, and we have 51 different education departments when you add in the District of Columbia. I've seen breakdowns that, when you compare each state individually, to other industrialized nations, would put 8 - 15 states, depending on year and which study, all in the top spots above any other nation.
Add to that, the Wharton School of Business, when it does its study of national education systems that also include College and Universities, the US is consistently #1, right above the UK.
Ad an American, I can't find any fault in his historical case. Our current government has rewritten history so much that it's hard to find the truth. This was spot on!
This guy has his facts quite twisted. This is a case, again, of what Brits perceive Americans know as fact and what Americans actually know to be fact.
Independence Day is July 4 1776 after all 56 delegates of the Second Continental Congress SIGNED THE DOCUMENT and was then
UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED. Not all Delegates were present for the intended signing and vote on July 2 1776.
Will Rogers was an entertainer, actor, humorist and social commentator who wrote for many syndicated newspapers. Will Rogers happened to
be in New York on October 24, 1929. In his nationally syndicated newspaper column for that day, he wrote: "When Wall Street took that tail spin, you had to stand in line to get a window to
jump out of, and speculators were selling space for bodies in the East River." THE NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT FOR ONE OF LONDON'S SENSATIONALIST TABLOIDS WIRED HOME THAT LOWER BROADWAY WAS CLOGGED WITH
CORPSES. So who is responsible for starting that rumor? The Stock Market Crash of 1929 occurred on TUESDAY (NOT THURSDAY) October 29, 1929, when Wall Street investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York
Stock Exchange in a single day. Black Tuesday is associated with the start of The Great Depression.
Benjamin Franklin did not discover electricity. Where did this idiot get the idea Americans believe this? Benjamin Franklin did set out to prove that lightning was electricity and thus
invented the LIGHTENING ROD protecting homes and other buildings from fires caused by direct hits from lightening.
Thomas Edison is credited and received the patent for the invention of the first PRACTICAL-USE incandescent light bulb that did not burn out after after several minutes and was cost effective unlike Warren de la Rue's attempt.
Warren de la Rue and Thomas A Edison were not the only two working creating a light bulb. Thanks to Edison, I don't have to mortgage my home to be able to afford a light bulb that only burns for 30 minutes.
Henry Ford did not invent the motor vehicle. The first American gasoline powered automobile was designed by Charles Duryea and J Frank in 1893.
They sold their first automobile in 1896.
Henry Ford is credited as chief developer of the MOVING ASSEMBLY LINE technique of mass production of automobiles in 1913, making them
affordable for the middle class. Ransom E Olds(Oldsmobile fame) invented the STATIONARY ASSEMBLY LINE in 1901.
George Washington was the FIRST PRESIDENT of the United States of America. There was no president of the English colonies of North America. President of the Continental Congress is equivalent to president of the PTA (a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a school).
I know this presenter is trying to be relevant but, trying to present Americans as ignorant to their own history while being factually incorrect is quite rude and can only be perceived as "BASHING AMERICANS" which seems to be a popular yet cheap pass time by some Brits.
6:58 I initially thought that it was Jim Lovell and not Jack Swigert that said "Houston, we've had a problem". Turns out Jack Swigert said it first, they asked him to say it again, then Jim Lovell said it.
I think alot of the misconceptions come from the movie Apollo 13 from 1995. I'm not sure if "Houston we have a problem" was a well-known quote from the actual incident that occurred or the movie but I knew it from the movie.
Actually MR. Smugness was incorrect about the last one. There have been technically two governments called the United States of America. The first one was a loose alliance based upon the 1777 articles of Confederation. This one was more States and less United. It was more an alliance of 13 nations than an actual one. President of the Continental Congress was chosen each year by the congress and really didn't have much power.
George Washington became the first President of the United States for the successor Republic after it replaced the Confederation in 1789.
LOL mr. smugness... he DID seem mightily pleased with himself, didn't he?
I must admit to being wearied by people who come up with lists of things I-supposedly-don’t know only to find I already had heard of all of them.
I’d love it to actually hear things I don’t know because I love learning new things. But this list, regrettably, fails to do that for me.
Also, he does seem to be playing fast and loose with some things here. Number nine on this list is 100% subjective-meaning that, by definition, nobody can be “wrong” about it. You can disagree with the opinion of another on a subjective point, but it is logically impossible for such an opinion to be “wrong”.
And, no matter how much he seems to wish to assert that various offices held by people prior to Washington means they were President of the United States before him, it isn’t true.
Being President of the Continental Congress did not make you President of the United States any more than being coroner of Maricopa County makes you Chief Justice of the United States.
They’re entirely different offices.
The first President of The United States was Washington. There’s no getting around that objective truth.
The gentleman-no matter how genuinely he wishes to put together an entertaining list-is simply objectively incorrect on that point.
Henry Ford was famous for inventing the first modern assembly line and not any particular "first" variant of the "horseless carriage" or automobile
On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a declaration of independence consisting only of one short sentence. It was not until two days later that the passed the lengthy statement of ideology and of grievances, at the end of which they declared the U.S. independent at greater length.
Has anyone else noticed that, whenever theres a video critiquing american’s knowledge of the united states, its almost always a british person? Not only that but, such as this guy’s video, its full of misleading half truths?