# The Isle of Main is not part of the UK **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 3, 2002, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117 "2002-12-03T02:11:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ShadowWarrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@ShadowWarrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowWarrior)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/21 "2002-12-03T14:36:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \* > \*\*Britain is a state of mind … , the ideal kingdom founded by Brutus after the fall of Troy… > > \*\* Brutus as in ‘Et tu, Brutus?’? quite a LONG time after the fall of troy then… ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/22 "2002-12-03T14:42:28Z")
No, another Brutus entirely … read Geoffrey of Monmouth’s _History of the Kings of Britain_ for the details. (You might want to borrow my cell phone if you do that, though.) ---
**Author:** ![ShadowWarrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@ShadowWarrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowWarrior)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/23 "2002-12-03T14:54:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \* > \*\*No, another Brutus entirely … read Geoffrey of Monmouth’s _History of the Kings of Britain_ for the details. (You might want to borrow my cell phone if you do that, though.) \*\* ah! I suspected it wouldn’t be the same guy… never heard of this britain-founding Brutus chap… ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/24 "2002-12-03T16:15:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Britain is a state of mind … Great Britain is a definable geographic location, full of English, Scottish and Welsh people. But Britain is the kingdom of Arthur and Lear, the home of Merlin, the ideal kingdom founded by Brutus after the fall of Troy, the… And did those feet, in ancient time…? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/25 "2002-12-03T16:22:35Z")
The stupid thing is, that was the school hymn of the school I went to… in Winnipeg. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/26 "2002-12-03T16:25:26Z")
“The Isle Of Main”. Is that anything like the Spanish Main? How 'bout the Spanish Backups? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/27 "2002-12-03T16:27:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*The stupid thing is, that was the school hymn of the school I went to… in Winnipeg. 😕 \*\* What did you sing for the “England’s green and pleasant land” line? “Canada” doesn’t fit. “In Winnipe-eg’s pleasant land”? I love the song, though. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/28 "2002-12-03T16:29:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Steve Wright > Britain is a state of mind … , the ideal kingdom founded by Brutus after the fall of Troy… _With wynn, Wher werre and wrake and wonder By sythes have woned therein, And oft both blisse and blunder Ful skete have skyfted syn._ (Sorry, that has nothing to do with anything, I just like the fact that I can do it from memory, and Brutus doesn’t get mentioned here every day.) ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/29 "2002-12-04T07:21:45Z")
“In this our green and pleasant land.” (In January, in Winnipeg. Yes.) ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/30 "2002-12-04T20:26:24Z")
I’m impressed, **Fretful Porpentine**. I’ve always liked the whole [opening](http://www.ithaca.edu/faculty/twomey/sggk/sggkfol1.JPG), but can never remember past the first line. Does that mean we can call them all 'West Islanders"? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/31 "2002-12-04T21:33:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mehitabel \* > Then again, Puerto Rico is part of America and they have a distinctive culture and method of governance. They’re full citizens but not taxed (grrr) or able to vote the exact same way as mainlanders. > > So, for us Yanks, do you think it’s safe to say Isle of Man::UK as Puerto Rico::USA? When we at the U.S. Census Bureau add up the numbers, we count Puerto Rico as well, but we count it _separately_; we don’t include the count for P.R. when we’re toting up the population of the U.S.A. What that does to the analogy, I’ll let y’all figure out. Just tossing in a factoid to help out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117/32 "2002-12-04T21:51:15Z")
Oh god, **Steve Wright** , don’t mention Geoffrey! I’m almost done with a Medieval Lit class… _The History…_ was the first book we tackled. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-isle-of-main-is-not-part-of-the-uk/140117.md?page=1)