Great Scott, it's British!!!

This posting was published FYI.
And why FYI??? Recently I had this conversation with a friend..................

And the capital of UK is???????

This is NOT a trick question. Though it mite surprise u how hard answering it can be. One person (R) thought that England was the capital of U.K.

Recently i asked someone else (S: which stands for someone else...what else?) and this is what S said:

I know this one....wait I know this one. Wostershire.... (and S sees my face). OK.......no its Whostershire??? wait, wait!!!! Its Edinburgh!!! K. thats NOT it.

Is Britain the capital of UK? No. Its England. England is the capital of London.... (pauses) Oh!!! London is the capital of England........... right????????

Then i randomly asked what the capital city of Madagascar was.

S: Madagascar is an island right. Its one of a group of islands. I know because i watched the cartoon.

Finally we consulted Wikipedia. And lo and behold. London was the capital of UK a.k.a Great Britain. And the capital of Madagascar is..... *drum roll*......

Antananarivo

Here are some actual transcripts courtesy of R:

Berlin is a country.

Pakistan is a capital city right???

The capital of Russia.....errrrr. I DON'T know.

Well nevertheless R is getting geography lessons, K is determined that this atrocity will never occur again. At least not to K's kids. The first thing they're gonna see is a world map. K is determined on that.

So whats the deal about Britain??? This is also FYI...and this is something I didn't know before too....LOL.

Great Britain

Great Britain is the official name given to the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, and the principality of Wales. It is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom.

Great Britain is made up of:

• England - The capital is London.
• Scotland - The capital is Edinburgh .
• Wales - The capital is Cardiff.

Great Britain is divided into small regions called counties.

Is Great Britain the same as the UK?

No, Great Britain and the United Kingdom refer to different areas.

Great Britain is very often, but incorrectly, used as a synonym for the sovereign state properly known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). (The clue is the full name of the UK. The UK includes Great Britain AND Northern Ireland)

Is Great Britain the same as Britain?

Yes, sometimes people use the shorten name Britain instead of Great Britain.

Origins of the names

Britain

Britain was the name made popular by the Romans when they came to the British islands.

England

England used to be known as Engla land, meaning the land of the Angles, people from continental Germany, who began to invade Britain in the late 5th century, along with the Saxons and Jute.

Great Britain

The term Great Britain was first used during the reign of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) in 1603, to refer to the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland. on the same landmass, that were ruled over by the same monarch. Despite having the same monarch, both kingdoms kept their own parliaments.

United Kingdom (The uniting of kingdoms)

The 'United Kingdom of Great Britain' was formed in 1707 by the Act of Union that created a single kingdom with a single Parliament. (Scotland has always retained its own legal system)

A hundred years later the Act of Union of 1801 joined Ireland to 'Great Britain' and the name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" was first used. (Since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom and so the name changed).

SO a little geography lesson for you. If you already knew all this then koodos to you. Coz I sure didn't.

Till next time...Roshi