Thanks for watching me learn 101 facts about the UK! I could probably recite atleast 12 of them now that it's over. Thanks for liking the video or whatever!
When you add up your income tax, sales tax, federal tax and state tax, then add on your health insurance the average American is giving away 43% of their wages. In the UK the average is 26% including healthcare. I know which one I prefer. ✌️♥️🇬🇧
Oh its you again. And I thought trolls only lived in the Scandinavian countries. If you live in a pit full of razor wire the government only giving you a free bandage isn't the problem with that country, and Venezuela isn't the USA. Try to stay on subject idiot.
@@coot1925 - All nations which favor universal health care have a hell of a lot in common with each other, and none of it is admirable. That's the only topic which you should be discussing here. All of these nations which are moving towards a Marxist style way of doing things are hell bent on having a permanently single ruling political party. Don't say it isn't so, because it most assuredly is. A true democracy is in effect disappearing. Healthcare is 10% of the American economy, and turning over such a huge portion of the economy to control of the STATE is a disaster waiting to happen. A real business is responsible to itself and its shareholders. A government is only responsible to the people who elected them into office, so there's not much to lose except for being in office. Oh, but that's the difference. It's only politics, but some people are still willing to risk absolutely EVERYTHING in order to achieve political power, and the power is over other citizens, with no thought whatsoever of serving citizens such as the political Right has always done. Democrats have a history of always behaving like this, meaning serving themselves rather than serving the nation which they inhabit. The American constitution shall one day hang by a thread. That deserves a repeat: The American constitution shall one day hang by a thread. The Left fucks you, but the Right serves you. That also deserves a repeat: The Left fucks you, but the Right serves you. Democrats are the party of slavery, the party of Jim Crow laws, the party of assassination, the party of CONTROL over citizens. In the USA, the political Left now wants to make sure we get "free bandages" just like Venezuela; but they want to charge $5,000 per bandage, and also destroy the extant medical system. That's fully 10% of the American economy. Exactly how wise do you believe it is to turn over such a huge portion of the economy to the Feds? Since when has the Federal Government ever been thrifty? Do you want doctors making medical decisions, or the Feds? Whoever favors universal healthcare has his head up his ass. DEMOCRATS DON'T WANT TO SERVE YOU, HELL NO. THEY ONLY WANT TO CONTROL YOU.
The Left fucks you, but the Right serves you. That also deserves a repeat: The Left fucks you, but the Right serves you. Democrats are the party of slavery, the party of Jim Crow laws, the party of assassination, the party of CONTROL over citizens.
im not from the UK, but the way i look at it, its more than just a tradition.. also, the british royal family and their properties are huge tourist attractions and brings in lots of foreign exchange. on top of that, they pay the british govt. taxes from their earnings that exceed what the govt. gives to the monarchy in terms of allowances.. so they actually pay their own way and more.
@@paulm2467 how does anyone even quantify that today. its history.. if everyone went around thinking like you, the entire USA would need to get out and give the lands back to the native indians.. where does it all end?
@@Glee73 it's not about them, it's about the sycophantic press and people who put them on a pedestal. It's also ridiculous to try and sweep under the carpet that the US was founded on genocide and slavery. The rich and powerful are the scions of scumbags and it shouldn't be forgotten.
The Obama family are still costing the American people $2 billion per year in funding and security - for 8 years of service - and will continue to do so for the rest of their lives.. The monarchy costs each person in the up £1.23 per year. And it embodies our entire heritage, uniting the nation, above politics, going back 1500 years. There are 12 European monarchies, all dating back centuries. It is a depth of history and heritage and symbolism which Americans can't even begin to fathom.
Politicians should be Kate’s at minimum wage and given no benefits outside of the legal minimum Makes them more aware of the situation and if dine right might cause the Tory party to disband Might get some actual leftists in government
The UK has a bunch of different documents that are the bases of different areas of law but no single written constitution. When you make a single written document things can get weird and you might end up with people who start to basically worship it like some kind of holy thing and don't want to make changes - you can see this in the US with people calling things "unconstitutional" or saying things like "in the constitution", "it's my X amendment right". If you want a country to at least have a chance of being capable of keeping up with the times you want to avoid that at all costs
Yep our laws are at odds with most of Europe and the world,here you can do anything as long as there no are laws against it. As with Europe where you can only do something if there is a law that says you can.
@@davidangry8785 Sorry, that's not true with most rules/laws in much of Europe. For the most part you can do... unless there is some regulation or law that says you can't or more often 'how you can'.
Let's compare our country with another across the pond who broke away from Mad King George to obtain freedom from the Crown. Freedom..yes, but contrary to catchy slogans, memes and other slick forms of electioneering though, the government of the United States was never intended to be a pure democracy. In fact, most of the institutions today’s activists complain about were designed to thwart the pernicious effects of too much democracy. They’re anti-democratic by design. Rather than flaws that require remedy, these institutions were (and are) essential safeguards for individual liberty. There are many differences between the UK and the US in this definition. As far as I'm concerned, the biggest difference are the 2 Supremes Courts. In the UK, the justices are nominated by an independent commission, chaired by the president of the court, a senior judge from anywhere in the UK to be named by the president and members of the appointment commissions from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.These rules, experts say, mean that political positions of nominees are often unknown or irrelevant in the process.(wise old men (and women)). In the US the Supreme Court is anything but neutral. In the US Supreme Court candidates do not have to meet any qualifications and serve lifetime terms - a contentious topic for many. That is why replacing a justice is one of the most consequential decisions of a president. Presidents tend to nominate people with the same ideological positionsIt biased, and when you have 6 Republicans vs 3 Democrats, as is the case right now, with Donald Trump ignoring death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's wish to replace her after the election. Instead her place was given almost immediately to the hard- right-wing Republican Amy Coney Barrett. Party Polarization turns the Supreme Court into a Partisan Court. The best example recently was the overturning of the Roe v. Wade which was purely political. Strictly speaking, the UK *does* have a written constitution. What it doesn’t have, is a codified constitution - i.e. a constitution that is condensed into to a single document. The UK constitution is a composite of character and statue, of judicial decisions, of common law, of precedents, usages and traditions. It is not one document, but thousands of them. The UK unfortunately thinks it doesn't needs one. Regarding "Monarchs". Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Japan all have one and, I'd prefer to watch a bit of history in the trooping of the Colours than be in New York during the 4th of July. You wrote "it's my X amendment right"..that's the usual answer one will get when asking an American why he or she likes guns. (Most Americans have never read their Constitution...only a bit of the 2nd Amendment...which they still don't understand)
We have a constitution in the uk. What we don't have is a written constitution is a misunderstanding that the uk doesn't have a constitution we do but it's not a written codified one
@@cyberash3000 The Magna Carta? Well… technically not a constitution although it technically is!?!?? It was written as a basis for core principles into simple laws and rights that guided people to become decent people. They were not set in stone as to not be taken advantage of but instead to be used and added to and old out of date laws to be written out of law instead of becoming too archaic and the people can change the laws as and when it’s needed but to still uphold the foundation principles
A "cup of tea" in the UK is actually one serving. Not a measure of volume. We do not use cups as a measure in the UK. Recipe books used pounds and ounces, or grams.
@@charliekezza UK cups are 250ml, US cups are 240ml. Similarly, the UK and US have different definitions of a gallon. A US gallon is 3785 ml and a UK gallon is 4546 ml.
The Cup system of measurement in the USA. Was invented by Fannie Farmer in 1896. She was the director of the Boston Cook School. But not used in recipe's by most of the rest of the world. Who use scales and weight.
@@charliekezza A cup is a unit of measurement, 'a cup of tea' is not, it's simply any ceramic cup or mug with tea in it, a 'cuppa' is the same, except that doesn't have to be tea, it can be coffee.
Australia didnt just 'stick another flag up in the corner'. The union Jack in the corner of our flag represents the historical ties we have with Britain. And it isnt just made up of that, it has several other componants that are also equally as meaningful.
I am a Brit and happy with our constitutional monarch. It does not matter what political party we support, what religion we follow, what ethnic group we identify with, whether we are young/old, rich/poor the RF can unite us. They support over 3000 voluntary and charitable organisations. They also support British commerce and industry. The monarch costs the British taxpayer £2 per person, per year which works out cheaper than the US president (plus the 5 former presidents). Along with other monarchies in Europe, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Spain, Monaco, Lichtenstein etc, we live in safe, well run (mostly), countries and enjoy a very good standard of living. Best of all we have all the rights and freedoms people in the US have!
The Queen as head of State means a whole tier of government is not necessary, unlike the USA where the President costs one and a half billion dollers per year and appears to spend their time arguing with the other branches of government, one elected house governing the whole UK, our upper house cannot effect the peoples elected choice just make recommendations.
Britain used to be a coffee drinking nation, there were coffee houses in Britain before Italy, they were the original dens of iniquity, criminals planned jobs in them, political parties were born in them, they were so rowdy they were banned and we started drinking tea once it first started being imported.
We don't directly elect our Prime Minister. At a General Election we elect a Member of Parliament. The leader of the political party with the most Members of Parliament, or MPs is invited by the Sovereign (King or Queen) to form a Government in the Sovereigns name and thus becomes The Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury. FYI, the inscription on the letterbox of 10 Downing Street is First Lord of the Treasury. Also, for the record, she is not The Queen of England, she is Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
You missed a little bit of it. Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith
Her Majesty is our head of state and as such she represents the Country.. I'd sooner have the Royal Family representing us than some other Heads of State - for example Donald Trump, or Macron of France..
The bit about that Welsh place is true. There's a clip (probably in numerous places online) of a UK weatherman, trying to pronounce the name. And it's not the only curiosity where British place names are concerned. We seem to love a rude place name in the UK. Here's a small collection of some of our rude place names: Brown Willy - Cornwall Cock Alley - Calow Shitterton - Dorset Fanny Barks - Durham Fingringhoe - Essex Bitchfield - Lincolnshire Moisty Lane - Staffordshire Shitlingthorpe - Yorkshire Wetwang - East Yorkshire Butt Hole Road - South Yorkshire Assloss - Ayrshire Cock of Arran - Isle of Arran Fannyfield - Ross and Cromarty Dick Court - Lanarkshire Twatt - Orkney Three Cocks - Breconshire Bullyhole Bottom - Monmouthshire
The swan 'fact' is untrue, the queen only owns the unmarked mute swans in open water in the UK and she only exercises ownership on certain stretches and tributaries of the River Thames around Windsor.
The reason those kings wanted to ban football is because the men and boys of villages and towns liked to play football instead of practicing archery and these men were needed in the army at times of conflict but would not be of much use without constantly practicing . One of the most famous battles involving English longbow men is the battle of Agincourt .
I've been to stonehenge, and the stones are absolutely huge. The blocks are up to 30 feet tall and weight 25 tons on average. The person who told you they werent as big as he thought, likely was on the alternative path that is free. But if you pay a little donation, you can get closer to the stones. They are huge, and also pre-date the pyramids of giza.
Not big? ....... It's that word again the one yanks use all the time, you know BIG The oldest pyramids are believed to be 4500 years ago (now that's a Big number) with stonehenge having been constructed long before then , and yes before Americas built very big BIG skyscrapers .
I bet whoever said that about the size of the stones, would be happier visiting an inflatable version somewhere like Dung Breath, Ohio, 5 x the size of the wonderful, mystical, unique Stonehenge.
The Queen has virtually total support in the UK and incredibly respected for her selfless service to duty. Sure she’s head of state and still approves final legislation. As the Queen is so supported by the UK no politician would ever become too powerful at risk of being a dictator. The system works and keeps everyone in power in check
Everyone has 55k years of history! It’s just that the natives were killed off and didn’t leave a written history. Just a verbal one, with the few left.
He got one wrong ,the UK joined the " Common Market" forerunner to the EU way back in 1973 not 1979, that was the year we where inflicted with the odious Margaret Thatcher.
You asked a good question regarding the monarchy - I think that when the Queen dies the royal family should be drastically streamlined so that its only the immediate family - there are too many distant relatives living it up at taxpayers expense Nobody does pomp and circumstance like the Brits 🇬🇧 Healthcare - why can't it be covered by taxes in USA just as the fire service police service schools bin men libraries etc are 🤷 that's how it works everywhere else - the costs of medication and treatments are criminally overcharged some are 10 times what we pay in UK 😳
The monarchy is already going that way. Only the direct heirs are supported. The pharma companies and insurance companies don't want healthcare funded like normal countries - they make too much money from the sick.
The UK does not get 'Free' Healthcare. It is paid for by a mixture of Weekly National Insurance Contributions and Weekly Income Tax. So, the UK Public still has to pay for the NHS. It is just that it is paid for in a different way than the USA pays for their Healthcare. So, I do wish that 'Americans' would stop saying that the UK Public gets 'Free' Healthcare! It is just not true.
Happy with the Monarchy, the alternative doesn't bear thinking about. Not broke don't fix. Our constitution is a rolling one, laws get updated on reqular basis, so is current. No luck about NHS, legislation drawn up during WW2 by Lord Beveridge enacted post war, our gift to ourselves. We have different attitude to tax, don't mind paying.
Fun fact: I have gone to a handful of schools and three of them were in castles. Most notably; Kimbolton Castle which King Henry III sent his wife when they divorced.
There is far more significance to the Saint Andrew cross being my nations flag. He was crucified on a similar cross. The leader of the Scots prayed for victory. And upon seeing the cross in the sky. He promised God if victory was achieved he'd make Andrew his people's Patron Saint. They did end up winning the battle. And so The Saltire was taken as not only the people's celebration of their victory, but a devotion to their faith. There just wasn't enough time to tell the full legend. His simplified explanation is by no means any more far fetched than they full legend. It just lacks context. Remember this was hundreds of years ago (roughly in the 800s) this may have been seen a sign from God.
Officially the 4th oldest national flag in the world (around the 13th century) but if the legend is true, it is the oldest national flag in the world by some 400 yrs (832 approx)
They invented the name LlanfairPG as a tourist attraction in the 19th century. It was known as Pwllgwyngyll before. It’s old enough to have been invaded by the Romans.
It's funny you should say about the MacDonald's and castle thing, in my home town of Bedworth, the local castle was Suderly Castle at a place called Griff, it was ruined and demolished a few hundred years ago, but around 18 years ago, they built a MacDonald's drive through on the site (there was nothing left of the ruins)
16:41 its actually also the reason the Eurostar Class 373 went out of service, the vents on the side would suck in the seas humid air while travelling along and would damage the engines internals, I mean, 30 years of travelling under the sea over and over would take a toll on any engine, but thats a reason the 373's were taken from service
Hi Ryan, another excellent video! Thank you. I spent a few months in the UK this year and I am about the go back visa in hand... I was shocked how much they love coffee. They typically drink tea too but I found coffee was king with almost everyone I interacted with. Maybe I met an odd cross section as they were mostly musos. Cheers!
Where I live with in a 50 mile radius there’s Barnard castle Durham castle Branspeth Castle Raby castle Auckland castle Lumley castle Bowes castle Castle Eden Castle Lambton castle Maiden castle Ravensworth castle Richmond castle Whorleton castle Bolton castle Aydon castle Belsay hall castle Starlight castle Borough castle Walworth castle and Stanhope castle and probably a few I missed you basically go out your front door throw a stone and you’ll hit a castle 😂😂😂
Some of those may have seemed obvious (especially the first one), but you’d be surprised about the thought process of some people...there are even some who think that london is all england has.
I was in NYC last year and a man called Lloyd couldn't point to Wales on a map. So I wrote down some surnames that are common in America... Jones, Edwards, Rees (or however they spell it there), Griffiths, Williams, Davies, Thomas, Price, Hughes etc etc and asked him what, if anything, he could deduce about Americans with those surnames. He said their ancestors all came from England, I kid you not. The man didn't even know his own name was Welsh.
You want to see a castle? In Wales, we can't BREATHE for the bloody things. There's at least four within a 50 mile radius of where I live. Probably the remains of some smaller ones I'm not aware of as well.
The health service is there by luck, it was fought for. Americans weren’t willing to fight to have the same. Thus they pay 50% more for prescription drugs and worry if their pension will take care of them later in life.
The crown may no longer rule but they do reign. The holder of the "Crown" is supposed to be neutral politically. However, if they find that one of their Prime Ministers isn't fulfilling their duty, the "Crown" has the power to dismiss a Prime Minister or even dissolve parliament. Of course, if they ever used Royal Prerogative to dismiss a Prime Minister or dissolve parliament, then they better make sure they have the support of the people. Otherwise, they run the risk of the people staging a revolution. Also, quick question about the video. The video says the UK goes through 38 Kg of newspapers a year. Is that a mistake? Thats only 83 lbs of paper. Am I missing something? So in one year the entire country only goes through 83-84 lbs of newspapers??? That seems WAYYY too low.
The US Constitution is also archaic with dangerously outdated provisions such as the right to bear arms. And on the subject of healthcare, surely it is better to pay a bit more tax than face losing your house and going bankrupt if you have an accident or need a major operation without any insurance. Plus medical mishaps and infant mortality are both higher in the US than UK. So not sure the quality of the care is actually any better.
@@CrazyInWeston it all depends on what the money is spent on the usa has the biggest armed forces in the world, its what their goverment want and evey year they increase spending on it. But you have to remember the defence, insurance and pharmaceutical lobbies have lots of money to buy their politicians the low paid , pensioners and sick have nothing to spare
US has significantly higher population so the raw numbers wouldn't be a good barometer. Also, because of the US population, the cost to fund a fully public healthcare system would be astronomically larger than those of smaller, less expansive countries. The logistical infrastructure alone would cause a ton of issues when dealing with issues of healthcare. Just look at how poorly the government handled the Covid pandemic.
Why would it matter how big the stones are at Stonehenge? Make your own mind up why should someone sway you? I have seen the stones and they are impressive for what they are and how long they have been there.
In Australia the state of New South Wales (NSW) is named affer Wales.🤺🇦🇺🇬🇧We carry the Royal tradition too: we like it!🤺🇬🇧🇦🇺 That's what I like a about Americans: their clarity! 🤺🇺🇸
I literally found out the term for anglophile years ago from a relative that visited the retirement community I worked for, and I have been proud to admit it ever since. I love it so much that I'm going to get my masters there and try to move there.
This may have already been said but the pound Sterling was still the pound sterling before decimalisation . Farthings became obsolete some time before then, but it was still called the pound sterling.
24:00 that has been topped this year, I think the highest recorded was 40.3 celcius during the last heatwave in july (104.5 F) While this doesn't seem bad to americans although on the warm side, we're not built for that. I've followed another youtuber that visited during the heatwave, started out okay but less than 48 hours in, discovered exactly why it's so horrible during a heatwave here. Basically, no air con in homes, at b&B's/hostels, very unlikely. Big hotel chains probably, though I can attest some hotels don't have air con. Some businesses do, but good luck finding one where you can cool off. Oh, and our buildings are generally designed to trap heat; once they get hot it takes ages to cool... plus having sunlight past 10pm sucks.
You don't understand about the channel tunnel. Yes, the shortest physical distance from the English coast to the French coast is 21 miles. But the train journey from Britain to France through the Channel Tunnel travels from London to Paris, a much longer distance. It is this journey that takes around two hours.
Euro Tunnel, which is the version which moves Cars/Lorries and Buses from Folkestone to Calais takes 35 Minutes (Platform to Platform) note takes time to load/unload. Note is the same Track/Tunnel different trains.
15:42 Yes it is true my friend, ive been there, and its right near holyhead! oh my god I forgot! its also VERY very near a small town called Porthmadog, and in the town resides a place called More Bychan, and low and behold, theres a caravan site called Greenacres, and that's were my caravan is! right by the sea too, beautiful place, almost looks fake, its just that good looking
Been to Stonehenge (as I go for the solstices to witness the sun rise and cause a beam of light between the stones - I am pagan) and I get that but you still can’t reach the top or stand on them if you tried.
In Shakespeare's time, the master bedroom contained the second best bed and the best was kept for guests, so he was leaving the bed they had shared to his wife.
Football was once banned after a match in Norwich where over 80 players were crushed to death. The number of players was unlimited and it was more of a massive shove to get the ball past a line.
Apologies if someone's already made this point, but it's only called The Union Jack if it's flown from a ship. Other wise it's the Union Flag. Also, there's a correct way up and and a wrong way up to fly it (not sure which is right way up and which is the wrong) but if it's flown the wrong way up, apparently it's a distress signal. Also, I'm posting this comment on Christmas Day 2021, so Merry Christmas everyone.
The part about flying it the wrong way up is true. The correct way is easiest to see at the top nearest the top of the flag (jack) staff the white diagonal is larger above the red than below it. It seems a very small detail, and I doubt most Brits know it but would automatically know if it were the wrong way up. Graham is correct both names are correct and it was confirmed in parliament, not sure it was 100 years ago, though it was last century.
On the hoist side, the thicker white stripe is uppermost. The bit about flying it upside down as a distress signal cannot be true. Think about it. Your ship has been captured by pirates, who stand and watch as you lower your flag, turn it upside down, then re-hoist it, and they don't think you might be doing that for any particular reason? Or your ship is on fire and there is another ship nearby which could render assistance, but the other ship's captain sails away because your flasg is the right way up, indicating that you don't need any help? Also, if anyone is even close enough to tell whether a Union Jack is the right way up, they're probably in exactly the same amount of distress as you are.
Soccerball, or football as it is called this side of the damp patch used to be played in the streets and often between villages. Not village teams, actual villages. It was banned because it interfered with archery practice.
The Monarch just by existing prevents a self serving politician from getting the top job. Once a Prime Minister has lost the confidence of parliament, the Monarch will fire him. Consequently the U.K. has had stable governance and avoided dictatorship. This is why 15 now free and independent nations have chosen to maintain the Monarchy.
The stones of Stonehenge are huge and considering they're 5000 years old and were transported there from afar, that should be enough to entice you to see them, as they're so ancient and amazing that people were able to make it at all..! The stone circle itself is smaller than expected, but that's not the fault of Stonehenge. That's the fault of photographs and the TV giving a false impression of size..
Names - most popular now are usually Olivia and Oliver, with variations of Ella. So it’s over the 500 years the average for John and Mary. We follow Americans for diet inspiration = obesity, although the French eat the most McDonald’s in the whole of Europe. He says Liverpool as though there’s something wrong with it.
I love the NHS. But to call it free is wrong. It is paid for through general taxation. Which are very high. I wouldn't change it but it is a high cost.
The NHS needs more money and it could be diverted from things we don't need. Almost everything government does is motivated by the destructive obsession with Economic Growth, which always translates to population growth, which in turn means more and more people requiring the services of the NHS. It's a self-sustaining chain reaction and it's completely insane.