# Whither Scotland? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 2, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261 "2014-09-02T16:28:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 45
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/881 "2014-09-18T13:15:29Z")
Fair’s fair. Any non-Scot who scores better than 15 on this test earns the right to have their comments about Scottish Independence taken seriously. [http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/could-you-pass-a-scottish-citizenship-test--lJfaVbmL4l](http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/could-you-pass-a-scottish-citizenship-test--lJfaVbmL4l) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/882 "2014-09-18T13:20:52Z")
That’s not an argument for a Yes vote. I got 16, though. Hooray for me knowing “Darien” is a name associated with Panama (what a dreadful citizenship test; you don’t even need to know how to spell Scotland to get that last question right.) how does that mean anything? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/883 "2014-09-18T13:25:27Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > Fair’s fair. > > Any non-Scot who scores better than 15 on this test earns the right to have their comments about Scottish Independence taken seriously. > > [http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/could-you-pass-a-scottish-citizenship-test--lJfaVbmL4l](http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/could-you-pass-a-scottish-citizenship-test--lJfaVbmL4l) Ahem, I only scored 16 :o ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/884 "2014-09-18T13:25:31Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > That’s not an argument for a Yes vote. I got 16, though. Hooray for me knowing “Darien” is a name associated with Panama (what a dreadful citizenship test; you don’t even need to know how to spell Scotland to get that last question right.) how does that mean anything? I was just suggesting that many people who know little of the real Scotland suddenly become experts (either YES or NO) without any knowledge base about the country. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/885 "2014-09-18T13:25:58Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > Fair’s fair. > > Any non-Scot who scores better than 15 on this test earns the right to have their comments about Scottish Independence taken seriously. > > [http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/could-you-pass-a-scottish-citizenship-test--lJfaVbmL4l](http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/could-you-pass-a-scottish-citizenship-test--lJfaVbmL4l) I got 9 right. How can the unicorn be the “official animal” of anything? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/886 "2014-09-18T13:26:32Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Ahem, I only scored 16 :o I only got 17. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/887 "2014-09-18T13:31:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I got 9 right. How can the unicorn be the “official animal” of anything? :mad: Try looking at the supporters of the royal crest- Lion for England, Unicorn for Scotland. Other mythical heraldic animals are available- griffins, wyvern. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/888 "2014-09-18T13:34:30Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > I only got 17. I got 19 - missed one where the correct answer changed in the last few years. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/889 "2014-09-18T13:35:42Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > Try looking at the supporters of the royal crest- Lion for England, Unicorn for Scotland. Other mythical heraldic animals are available- griffins, wyvern. It may have escaped your notice, but the lion actually exists. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/890 "2014-09-18T13:41:22Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It may have escaped your notice, but the lion actually exists. 😃 I did not say otherwise. I said that the unicorn is part of the royal crest (representing Scotland with a lion representing England) and that apart from the unicorn, there are other mythical animals in heraldry. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/891 "2014-09-18T13:42:34Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > I got 19 - missed one where the correct answer changed in the last few years. Living in Scotland helps. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/892 "2014-09-18T13:43:17Z")
Right, but an “official animal” should be something that actually exists. I’m not a huge fan of England’s official animal being one that only exists in zoos in England, but at least it exists _somewhere_. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/893 "2014-09-18T13:45:45Z")
A respectable 14. Not bad for a Scotsman with little interest in Scottish politics, history and culture. P.S. Where are we getting all these bloody islands from? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/894 "2014-09-18T13:47:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Right, but an “official animal” should be something that actually exists. I dispute the officialness of this fictional animal. _spoils ballot paper_ ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/895 "2014-09-18T13:50:01Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > P.S. Where are we getting all these bloody islands from? Have you been up the West Coast? Wonder what the definition they are using is though. Can pitch a tent on it, and not get washed away at high tide, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/896 "2014-09-18T13:51:09Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Not bad for a Scotsman with little interest in Scottish politics, history and culture. You are No True Scotsman. Or are you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/897 "2014-09-18T13:54:05Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Have you been up the West Coast? Wonder what the definition they are using is though. Can pitch a tent on it, and not get washed away at high tide, maybe? Born and bred on the East Coast. Compared to West Coasters I suspect us East Coasters are more ignorant of many of these Islands; other than the big 'uns. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/898 "2014-09-18T13:54:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Right, but an “official animal” should be something that actually exists. I’m not a huge fan of England’s official animal being one that only exists in zoos in England, but at least it exists _somewhere_. The unicorn has been a Scottish symbol for at least four centuries. Bit late to change now. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/899 "2014-09-18T13:58:18Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > Negotiation. No democratic state could insist on having a base in another without permission from that state. That is what independence is about. I don’t know that the marines at Gitmo would agree with you (or the people of the Panama Canal zone until the 1970s). This is a different case of course, and it probably wont happen here, but… ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261/900 "2014-09-18T13:58:21Z")
Bravo for Scotland holding their voting booths open from 7 am until 10 pm. The US should follow this example. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261.md?page=44) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-scotland/697261.md?page=46)