Philomena Cunk ROASTS America! | History Teacher Reacts 

What did she skip that she totally should have mentioned?

I always find it interesting about the Puritans. They were the same people who caused the English Civil War, under Oliver Cromwell, and ruled over England 1653-58, where what can only be described as a religious dictatorship was enforced. Theaters and public entertainment was banned, Christmas celebrations were banned, strict clothing laws for women, banning of celebrations involving alcohol, reading for pleasure was banned, dancing was banned… Whenever I see Americans talk about the puritans pilgrims from 1610, they talk about how they escaped England to seek religious freedom and the English are painted as oppressors of these good, kind people, when in fact, they were outcasted due to their over-zealous rules that were aimed at restricting freedom. It’s no wonder the English weren’t fans!!! When we visited Plymouth in Massachusetts, 24 years ago, the woman doing a tour would refer to anything the pilgrims did that was positive as ‘our forefathers’ and anything negative as ‘the English’. She didn’t like it when my dad pointed out that they were the same people 😂

What appalled the British about the Boston Tea Party was that the Colonists tried to make Tea without using boiling water.

Trump becoming President undermined the view of American intelligence around the world. The fact that 50% of the population could vote for such a poor excuse for a human being, has possibly permanently damaged the perspective that billions have of "American" Democracy.

Brits always love someone who can laugh at themselves. Well done sir!

I think a helicopter designer said that helicopters don’t fly, they just vibrate so violently that the Earth eventually rejects them.

"The presidency was respected until 2016" - can confirm.

What she said about the US presidency up until 2016, indeed described how the zeitgeist around the world was and, sadly, still is. I grew up (N Ireland) in the 80s and 90s, and as recently as 15 years ago was applying for jobs in the US and aspired to live there. Now I, and young people the age I was then, simply don't have that view of the US. It's a mixture of sympathy for the people there (I have family there) and anger at the dark underbelly of modern society there that's been exposed like an open wound since.

Germany here! Yes, while Bush II was already weird, he had the american cowboy vibe that made us mainly just shrug our shoulders. Trump becoming the president of a western nation was just absurd. For many people the US has turned from being cool to being a place to avoid

2016 is when the US Presidency became a joke to us europeans/brits

Yes 2016 has left an indelible mark on the US presidency in the mind of the international community.

We love the guy putting on a serious face while saying "not as a corpse, unfortunately". Staying deadpan while adding to the comedy perfectly.

Ah yes, I always forget about the mnemonic plague, If only there was a technique to remember it.

The Presidency of the United States was never the most revered role in the world but it took a huge nosedive after widespread access to television.

Regarding Trump and 2016: ABSOLUTELY an accurate description!

Watching historians react to Philomena Cunk has become my new guilty pleasure haha. Great reaction vid Mr. Terry :)

People kind of forgot about it because of how crazy Trump is, but a lot of people from around the world thought GWB was a clown as well. I remember people saying they couldn't understand how he got re-elected, arguing that voters could be forgiven for voting for him in 2000, but in 2004 they should have known better.

We laughed at America for Bush jnr. With Trump we don’t know whether to laugh or hide.

I hadn't been laughing much for a worryingly long time. Then I watched a 3 minute video of Philomena Cunk and since then I've laughed like a madman, watched whatever I can of her and discovered new channels to subscribe to. I kinda wish I saw the world exactly like her, had her delivery, her innocent naivete and complete ignorance of a lot of stuff. Her perspective is so brilliant. And to learn as I laugh is like magical medicine for me.

Yes, as an Englishman, with relations in Italy who think the same, Trump by his abusive behaviour and words towards those who he saw as his enemies turned a highly respected office into a the opposite. I do not know anything about his policies or politics but I was shocked when he uttered the phrase 'so called judge'. This showed no respect to that judge. One can differ with a judicial ruling as our politicians do all the time, but they do it with respect for that office.

I love the way that Diane Morgan manages to deliver everything with such a deadpan style, such a great character.

Love the history teacher. He actually gets her & he laughs like a big laughing thing!

Absolutely, the respect for the US plummeted in 2016. Now there is an assumption that Americans mustn’t be well educated and just follow a loud confidant voice regardless of who he is.

Horrible Histories was a children’s programme in the UK that had sketches and songs. However all ages enjoyed it. Interestingly they did a fact check on it and I think it was something like over 95% of the facts were still correct you have to remember advances in our understanding of historical events etc have changed over the years but this remained highly accurate. So it was fun and factual.

I’m a flight attendant and I can confirm that the belief of flight is deeply instilled into our minds. During takeoff we are forced to stay quiet and deeply believe the plane will take off , once my colleague was distracted and the plane couldn’t take off , it didn’t even move until she was replaced by a standby.

9:00 Not really. You guys elected that actor in the 80s.

I think she kind of hit the nail on the head with the president and US being well respected until 2016. Of course there were moments before minor wobbles but that’s when it all went downhill and how we now call America a third world country wearing a Gucci belt.

I like how Micheal Faraday is omitted whenever people talk about electricity. Let's forget about the person that invented the generator - and the law that describes how electricity is generated, using a turbine - and just focus on the people who exploited this for a profit.

From a British perspective, I was taught that it was the oft forgotten Boer War where we truly learnt the importance of camouflage. For those who don't know, this was essentially a war between Britain and the Boer Republics in modern day South Africa, over colonial control in the region. The Boers were the descendants of Dutch colonists, who mostly worked the land (boer is Dutch and Afrikaans for farmer). They were very good shots at long range, knew the terrain well, and used guerilla tactics to shoot soldiers from the brush and tree lines, blending in with their tan clothes. The red coats were like fish in a barrel, and so eventually we switched to wearing khaki. We'd actually already been wearing khaki in India for some time at this point, due to similar issues, yet for some reason we hadn't learnt our lesson well enough to make it army wide.

2016 did suddenly change perception of the presidency at home and abroad. The person in the office is important.

The respect of the US presidency didn't drop with Trump, it was a rocket propelled bunker buster heading for a straight impact into the ground while attempting to dig the biggliest crater imaginable. A wonderful crater, nobody had seen such an amazing crater before. People came up to me describing that crater with tears in their eyes...😂 I believe you get my drift. Greetz from a German in Hamburg.

Outside US Obama very highly respected. Trump at best considered an idiot but often despised and regarded as a bully who never missed an opportunity to punch down.

Yes, up until 2016 whoever was voted President by our wayward cousins was always greeted with interest here in the Old Country. Since 2016, we have come to realise that the post of President could also be occupied by the human equivalent of a fart joke. This has caused us to reevaluate our understanding of America since there's only so many fart jokes a person needs, especially when you live in a country the size of a hotel lift.

There's a joke about the English and their red coats.....an English general is captured by the French, when asked why he wore a red coat he said "If I am injured my men won't see me bleed and I can continue to lead them in battle". From that day forth French generals wore brown trousers. 😊

That description is wildly accurate😂 my overseas family and their neighbors always have an opinion on our politics, and cultural respect of the presidency was night and day from President Obama to President Trump.

8:55 "Is that how the rest of the world views it?" I'm a Taiwanese ex-immigrant to the US that grew up there and am now back living in the US. Yes, yes that's exact how we view it now. When Trump said "The rest of the world is laughing at us." we were all yelling "Because of you!"

I do love how these experts are so willing to just play along.

Over here, the comment about Trump is pretty accurate. People see a long line of pretty respectable people (even if their views were... off...) until Trump when it just became an orange reality TV guy who loves Kim Jong Un and used the top position in the world to literally do advertisements for canned beans and coconut milk.

I recommend reacting to The Blackadder a British TV show. Each series covers three time periods. Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.

A lot of my peer wanted to visit america before 2016 wether as for work or for vacation. Post 2016, I feel like almost everyone in the world received enlightenment about how America is unliveable

Yep, sadly, from 2016 not just the President but the whole of America went down the toilet. It may never recover. Folks here in Australia are appalled. And not just by Trump, there's a bunch, Taylor-Greene, Bobert, Guliani, that Texan who fled to Cancun, the twerp who ran like a rabbit away from the crowd, so many public figures to be ashamed of.

America does everything bigger and better, including putting the biggest clown in their highest office

I think she’s wonderful. A “viewing/or reaction” to Horrible Histories is something I’d suggest. I think you’d like them. Also excellent writing & adaptations of historical times.

"The Presidency was respected until Donald Trump". Yeah kinda. He brought the office into disrepute, made it seem like Americans aren't serious about their government, and also showed up a lot of what folks think about how the US functions. Rule of law, checks and balances, all the constraints on power which the US insists exist, were shown as more fictive under Donald Trump. As an outsider looking in, it was sobering. It had vibes of 1930s Germany in various ways, and with particular regard to just how fast a charismatic populist with three lies built on every one truth can find himself in a position of unchecked power.

Yes, that's kind of how the rest of the world viewed it. It was like the neighbors going on a second honeymoon and leaving their stupid little kid home alone and watching the house catch fire from the other side of the street, with the kid outside wondering what the number for 911 is. For the rest of the world it was like "Dude, are you seeing this? Oh oh oh he's blowing on the fire to put it out! Oh. My. God." (Before anyone jumps down my throat I don't live in the U.S. were just watching from the distance and commenting without any involvement)

If you're familiar with Warhammer 40K, especially with the Orks, the 'flight is contingent on belief' makes perfect sense.

As a history teacher you should do a assignment where they watch her in class and see how many inaccuracies they can point out and whoever gets the most gets extra credit or a prize

Biscuits and cookies are two different things , biscuits were originally cooked in a twofold process: first baked, and then dried out in a slow oven. The English word biscuit came from the Old French bescuit, which meant twice cooked. A cookie is more doughy and softer.

Trump single handedly killed off any respect for America that most people felt. Who can forget him suggesting we drink bleach during the pandemic?? We all knew he would be a disaster, but nobody could have predicted the absolute shit show that followed, and ended with insurrection, ffs. I've always loved American people and to a degree still do, but it was frightening then how much support he had, and still does after everything he did. I was honestly worried that civil war would break out tbh. I've always been a live and let live person, your religion and your politics is entirely your business kind of thing. However, being a Trump supporter is a total deal breaker :D I'm from the UK btw.

Richard Nixon was the first American president who was despised. The first American president I remember being 'laughed at' was Ronald Reagan. Spitting Image had a running gag "The president's brain is missing!". It turns out that he was an intellectual colossus when compared with Donald Trump.

I read the other day the "history is a tissue of lies about events that never happened told by people who were not there". Having studied history for 40 years and seen how many times one of several possible options suddenly becomes a 'fact' I have to say there is a lot of truth in that statement. Just thought I'd share, history is not a subject you want to just listen to one person on or one book about, do as much research as you can. 🙂

Philomena is wonderful, isn’t she! Please introduce her to your students. If it doesn’t open a whole new love for history it will at least help found a deadpan humour club amongst your students.🤪

American presidency was mostly respected before he who shall not be named. Bush Jr was another embarrassment that springs to mind

When it comes to Manefest Destiny, I learned that American Art played a roll in it too because you had these American painters showing beautiful landscape paintings, which were basically used as propaganda to get people to move out west, and it worked (sadly enough). I have a minor in Art History so I did learn this in one of my Art History courses. Just wanted to mention that.

Funnily enough, most people assume that since the Boston Tea Party was a tax dispute, the problem was that the Crown started to tax tea higher. But here's a funny thing: the vast majority of the tea drank in the American colonies was not from Great Britain at all, but rather smuggled in from the Dutch. In fact, the Crown was battling financial problems of the East Indian Company, and as a result they _lowered_ the taxes on tea imports, and allowed them to directly import tea to the colonies and avoid export duties (before that, the EIC could only import to Great Britain, from whence it was distributed by other companies). Yes, the imported tea was taxed (as it always was)... but overall much cheaper than the previous imports because of the elimination of the import taxes to Great Britain and then the export duties from Great Britain. To the point where it threatened the smugglers and their associates, because everyone always agreed British tea was better - it just used to be more expensive. This reduction in duties and overall costs would make the taxed Company tea cheaper than the smugglers'. And to be fair, there were "political objections" from those who made a living selling the Dutch tea ("Don't drink British tea! We're not British! AMERICA! AMERICA!"). It was no popular movement about making tea cheaper, quite the opposite. It was orchestrated by people profiteering from the Dutch smuggling and reselling the cheap Dutch tea. So, in the end... so very American. A bunch of rich people wanted to get richer, and screwed everyone else in the process :) Of course, you can say the exact same thing about the East Indian Company. For bonus points, Benjamin Franklin was one of the people who suggested this solution to the Company's problems - let the Company import to colonies directly at a flat tax on import. All the import taxes were repealed in 1778; but at that time, the warring colonies were already pretty certain about their support from France (with a formal alliance coming). The war of course did a lot for the support of the "patriots", and with the Crown being at war with France and Spain, the Americans felt pretty confident about their chances.

The old time bicycle is called a penny farthing representing the size difference of the wheels. The old penny being about the size of a half dollar and a farthing being a similar size to a nickel. You were also correct about biscuits/cookies and scones/biscuits. However, because we don't like to overcomplicate things, we also have a certain type of biscuit that we call cookies! Enjoying the reactions, thank you.

Yes when Trump became president a lot of people lost respect for the USA.

I hated history at school I had the most boring old git as a teacher, glad u find Cunk funny - she is a awesome actress in the uk, she does comedy and serious, and I REALLY like your take and added bits of history, you are really interesting and captivating mate!!! x

"Is that how the rest of the world views it?" Not really, Bush was enough, "until 2016" is just recency bias + a joke. Although, we have become much more away of how ridiculous American politics is in general, so it's less to do with the presidency itself, at this point, and more to do with the presidency as part of the US political system

The Edison bit I figured you'd step in on. At this point it's pretty widely known that he didn't invent the light bulb like they used to teach decades ago in schools. He bought rights to the patent for a particular incandescent light bulb from Henry Woodward and his Menlo Park research lab improved on it to make it commercially viable. What Edison contributed to history was the business of corporate research and development. He contributed to many inventions and patented thousands of improvements on existing inventions, and that was what made him a business success.

I loved Robin Williams' joke about manifest destiny. "Hello Chief, we love what you have here, now move west till your feathers float." His humor and mine followed a common thread, like a singularity, it tends to be a bit dark until something gets destroyed.

Hey there! Brazilian here, and about the US president thing, it's kinda true. It felt weird to think of Trump as an actual president. Although he proved that the US is incredibly diverse, becoming the first democratically elected orange president. But seriously, we don't take our presidents (or politicians in general) too seriously since forever, so don't take it personally. For a lot of brazilians, politicians feel like jokes that forgot to be funny. Also, great video!

The respect for the US had been waning in the rest of the world for years but Trump was the nail in the coffin. The US is beginning to look like a third world country these days. Imagine having all the money in the world but still charge some poor person 2000 dollars for an ambulance ride.

1:00 The Pneumonic plague has been blown up out of all proportion in my opinion, or am I thinking of the Pneumatic plague?

She is spot on regarding the world having respect for the USA until 2016. Since then the USA has become a country we don’t even recognize. How one man has managed to destroy the image of such a powerful and well respected country is unbelievable.

The quote about the US presidency is very true!

In Britain we have both cookies and biscuits. Biscuits go soft when they age and cookies go hard. What americans call biscuits is some kind of pastry.

A couple of my relatives ended up in the colonies as indentured slaves due to the fact that they were not ideal law abiding citizens in London in the early 1700's so found themselves transported to Virginia. It did not agree with one so he managed to come back to blighty. The authorities did not take kindly to this when he was seen out and about in his old haunts so he was housed in Newgate for a while before his neck was stretched at Tyburn.

To answer your question- yes, the presidency is now viewed as something any idiot can get. Anyone I know lost all respect for it. We thought a certain amount of intelligence and dignity was needed, but apparently not.

New Zealand here. The US has been the weird uncle of a country the rest of the world gives the side eye to for a while, but we still have over because their family. 2016? The US became the angry drunk ex that Aunty Betty divorced that we can't get rid of because they have kids ...

Destroying tea - that’s how you send a message to the British. I mean, you’re not wrong. 🤣

Absolutely! This observation about the 45th President is absolutely accurate. It's precisely why I've begun seeking out videos by everyday Americans with a strong sense of rationality. I understand that you may not fully grasp the significance of this statement, but it reflects the reality and provides a sense of tranquility. Warm regards from Norway. Cheers!

Philomena is bae and nobody can tell me otherwise

"She's not wrong." I felt that.

As a German I can say, yes the comment "Most respectet Position until 2016" is really true. Since 2020 it is getting a little better but your current election cycle and the chance of another 4 years with DJT, has stopped a lot of Germans to take the Presidency, and in smaller parts the US in general, serious.

Hi from Uruguay....Yep! We absolutely lost respect for the United States after Trump won... Obama and then Trump... how could something like this happen...?

I love the style, she appears stupid in front of smart people instead of setting them up. The joke is very much on her character, It`s a generous humour.

Honestly, yes. Electing Trump rather convirmed to many in the Netherlands that your democrotie has become a meaningless ritual of electing however play-mouths the most people.

The thing to remember about those maps is the best maps were state secrets and were never printed for the general public.

Diane Morgan is on Have I Got News For You this week. You should give it a watch. She’s brilliant!

coming from NZ, yes 2016 ruined our idea of the most important and influential position in the world, I might have been hoping for a hollywood ending to that reign but alas its more like a poorly written "reality" tv show

That bicycle with the big and small wheels is called a "penny farthing" because of the relative size of the coins.

How Trump wasn't in prison long before he became president makes me question equality in your country. We did have our joke of a leader with Boris, so you're not on your own.

6:50 MGHR gave a good explanation of revolutionary war/civil war era uniforms. They are bright noticable colours so leaders can easy manage troop formations (as there were no technologies to easily communicate with formations such as radios). And it was also useful in seeing who was actually a friendly in close quarters combat.

I love Philomena Cunk! She knows how to make people laugh! AND, what she says is hilarious!

The Vikings' early expeditions to North America are well documented and accepted as historical fact by most scholars. Around the year 1000 A.D., the Viking explorer Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, sailed to a place he called "Vinland," in what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland. So yes, Europeans knew about the land across the ocean (the americas). Columbus also probably had a crude map some historians have suggested.

The respect for the US presidency already ended during the GW Bush era, though Trump put the final nail in the coffin.

Electricity is NOT a power source, it's a by-product of a power source!

Someone else mentioned Horrible Histories --- it is much more kid friendly but with plenty of humour and songs. The sort of thing you could use in a classroom. There are 60-70 episodes and it was shown during kids tv time over here. Lots of silly but factual information.

Except the people that threw the tea in the harbour were Irish Tea Smugglers, whose lucrative illegal tea became more expensive than the legal trade because the British decided before the Boston Tea Party to remove the tea tax , it was a false flag operation committed by the smugglers...

"Let's get into this with no more talking" proceeds to talk every 5 seconds 😂🤦

I'm not sure if the interviews are scripted, but I have always been impressed by the ability of the people she in interviewing, to keep a straight face.

Since you're a history teacher, the channel Knowing Better is run by a former high school history teacher and especially in the video The Story We Tell Ourselves (Pilgrims and Thanksgiving) he really goes into the way history teaching in American schools differs from actual real history and I think it's really interesting! And I think you would too maybe :)

To answer the question. Yes, after Trump America and its politics became a joke and a warning on what stupid people can do to a country. Before 2016, people dreamed of living in the US. Now, they wouldn't even visit. It's very sad.

A rush light is what you use to work at night as opposed to a candle. Some rush lights also had a candle holder because a candle is an excellent way to store a flame until it is needed for something larger or brighter. You could also customize the color and brightness a bit by using different kinds of fat. Homes probably smelled like an exotic McDonald's back then.

As a german i think the presidency of the US was seen as mostly respectable by a bit over half of all germans. With Trump, only a very small minority of right wing extremists ("Queerdenker", "Reichsbürger" etc.) consider the Presidency or the entire US political system as respectable. You have to consider tho that US politics always has been and now more then ever is extremely right wing from an european perspective. If you put the Democrats and Republicans in our political system they'd be considered right wing (Democrats) and right wing extremists if not fascists (Republicans). I think this extreme difference in societies political views has to lead to something like considering the other side as not respectable.

She is not wrong about getting slaves from africa to do the farming but my understanding is that most where purchased from the nations of western africa rather than stolen.

Incidentally, the featured map is incredibly famous.... It is called the Mappa Mundi

Also with the Tour de France, my father is a big fan. He told me that there's an agreement between film and photography-crew and the riders that they pan away/not document when they relieve themselves. They go when they need to, no stops. But they also do the bare minimum to "fill" themselves in order to stay light and fast on wheels, I imagine.

About whether dogs have arms or not, The front and back legs on a bear are fundamentally different Which makes them more akin to a human crawling than a horse walking. A dog on the other hand has little to no significant differences between the front and back legs, Therefore they don't have arms, but bears do. Panda's are the clearest example for this as they have evolved a tumb on their front paws that makes it resemble a human hand moreso than other bears.