# Why is Great Britain so Great? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 19, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991 "2004-05-19T16:51:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/41 "2004-05-20T15:32:22Z")
The Isle of Man doesn’t really exist. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/42 "2004-05-20T15:33:13Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > If England is a country then so is Nebraska. It’s a country, a kingdom, and a nation. Scotland and England are countries, Wales is a principality, and Northern Ireland is a province. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/43 "2004-05-20T15:34:39Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > It’s a country, a kingdom, and a nation. > > Scotland and England are countries, Wales is a principality, and Northern Ireland is a province. Ulster is a province, Northern Ireland is something else… ---
**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:** [May 20, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/44 "2004-05-20T15:51:49Z")
Actually, England is no longer a kingdom, and hasn’t been since 1707, when the English and Scottish crowns were merged into one British crown. And England and Scotland are referred to as countries. They just aren’t independent countries. (Compare the Basque Country, for example.) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/45 "2004-05-20T16:57:23Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Actually, England is no longer a kingdom, and hasn’t been since 1707, when the English and Scottish crowns were merged into one British crown. Not so: “…the two Crowns remain united under a single Sovereign, the present Queen” - from a [fairly authorative source](http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page12.asp) And there’s no question that Wales is officially a principality - hence the Prince of Wales - but it is also _arguably_ a nation, for example it’s hard to otherwise explain the title of the National Assembly for Wales. ---
**Author:** ![PorkChop47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@PorkChop47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorkChop47)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/46 "2004-05-20T17:34:51Z")
> [@Genghis Bob](#): > > I’ll tell you what’s so “great” about Great Britain if you’ll tell me what so “new” about New York. > > On a more-related note, what, where, or who is “England”? My initial post wasn’t meant to be egocentric with a “USA kicks GB’s ass” theme at all if that’s how you’re reading me. I’m not into the whole countries fighting. However, I am not a big fan of the UK, after spending time in London. I’m much happier living in the Midwest. Those are my personal views. Good question why is New York “new”. I don’t see New York as braggy sounding as Great Britian. New Zealand was a new found land so the New title is a little more fitting. ---
**Author:** ![PorkChop47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@PorkChop47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorkChop47)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/47 "2004-05-20T17:37:56Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > If England is a country then so is Nebraska. No kidding! How may square miles are the British Isles. Doesn’t that compare to the size of Florida. I know greatness isn’t how much land you have but what you can do with it…I’m just curious about the size of the isles. I pick on FL as it’s a longer shaped state like the UK. ---
**Author:** ![PorkChop47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@PorkChop47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorkChop47)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/48 "2004-05-20T17:41:01Z")
> [@Kymodoce](#): > > Bolding mine. > > Just a minor nitpick… I think you are out of date. At the last Olympics in Sydney Britain won 11 golds, 10 silvers and 7 bronzes. > > And this is an interesting table > > [http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/spo\_oly\_med\_syd\_200\_cap](http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/spo_oly_med_syd_200_cap) > > listing the medal performance on a per capita basis… note the UK is at 34th… now, where was the US again… > 😃 Wow some British Pride Kymodoce! You’re right I only remember Britain, excuse me Great Britain receiving 1 gold medal in the olympics when I lived there. That put me in my place for the afternoon. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/49 "2004-05-20T17:44:25Z")
> [@PorkChop47](#): > > However, I am not a big fan of the UK, after spending time in London. Nor would I be, if I had to live in London > [@](#): > > Good question why is New York “new”. I don’t see New York as braggy sounding as Great Britian. Neither is as braggy as [Great Cockup](http://www.thecumbriadirectory.com/Cumbria_Countryside/Mountains/Northern_Region/Great_Cockup/Great_Cockup.php) ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/50 "2004-05-20T18:18:53Z")
> [@PorkChop47](#): > > Good question why is New York “new”. I don’t see New York as braggy sounding as Great Britian. > > New Zealand was a new found land so the New title is a little more fitting. Why is it so difficult to understand that “great” here is used in the meaning of larger rather than the meaning of significance? See also Greater Magellanic Cloud, great auk, and great googely moogley. New is because New York was named after York, hence it was a “New” York. It was renamed from, guess what, New Amsterdam. See also New London, New Delhi, and, guess what, New Zealand - named indirectly after a Dutch province. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/51 "2004-05-20T18:23:37Z")
> [@](#): > > However, I am not a big fan of the UK, after spending time in London. London is like a completely different country compared to the rest of England. Even other big cities like Manchester are different to London. ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/52 "2004-05-20T18:28:07Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > Why is it so difficult to understand that “great” here is used in the meaning of larger rather than the meaning of significance? See also Greater Magellanic Cloud, great auk, and great googely moogley. > > New is because New York was named after York, hence it was a “New” York. It was renamed from, guess what, New Amsterdam. See also New London, New Delhi, and, guess what, New Zealand - named indirectly after a Dutch province. Excellent points, although I’ve always thought the Greater Magellanic Cloud was a little “full of itself”, if you know what I mean. I’ve seen some really good Magellanic Clouds, and \*they \* don’t go around putting on airs. And don’t even get me \*started \* on that googely moogley - hardley adequate, I’d say. “Great”? Hardly \. That said, I’ve elected to interpret the OP’s persistent obtuseness as a big ol’ airy on-going _ **Whoosh.** _ ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/53 "2004-05-20T18:35:00Z")
> [@Genghis Bob](#): > > That said, I’ve elected to interpret the OP’s persistent obtuseness as a big ol’ airy on-going _ **Whoosh.** _ You may be right, though if so, it’s been from post 1 onwards. Doesn’t mean you’re not right. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/54 "2004-05-20T19:26:15Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > “New” York… was renamed from, guess what, New Amsterdam. Why’d they change it? I can’t say - people just liked it better that way. ---
**Author:** ![PorkChop47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@PorkChop47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorkChop47)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/55 "2004-05-21T16:01:12Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Nor would I be, if I had to live in London > > Neither is as braggy as > [Great Cockup](http://www.thecumbriadirectory.com/Cumbria_Countryside/Mountains/Northern_Region/Great_Cockup/Great_Cockup.php) That’s another interesting topic of conversation. Scots and the Welsh don’t think much of Londoners do they? I must say everyone I met that wasn’t from London was so much more polite and well mannered. I turned into a savage when I was in London. There’s few good mannered people. Oh by the way I liked the pictures of the Great Cockup 😛 cheers mate! ---
**Author:** ![PorkChop47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@PorkChop47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorkChop47)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/56 "2004-05-21T16:03:16Z")
> [@+MDI](#): > > London is like a completely different country compared to the rest of England. Even other big cities like Manchester are different to London. That’s very true. There I am making broad statements. Manchester is certainly very diffrent to London. London is for the most part it’s own species. ---
**Author:** ![Kymodoce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8797f3/32.png) [@Kymodoce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kymodoce)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/57 "2004-05-21T16:19:52Z")
**PorkChop47** : I heartily agree that living in London won’t have given you a very realistic picture of Britain as a whole. I detest the place, and only visit it if it is completely unavoidable. I live out in the country… I hereby extend an invitation to you, if you want to experience ‘proper’ Britain, come stay with us for a while next time. My wife is an American, so I do at least have ice for drinks, decent teeth and a house full of guns; you won’t be that homesick. (You have to find us first though.) And, OK, I lied about the guns. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/58 "2004-05-21T19:30:58Z")
> [@PorkChop47](#): > > That’s another interesting topic of conversation. Scots and the Welsh don’t think much of Londoners do they? I must say everyone I met that wasn’t from London was so much more polite and well mannered. I turned into a savage when I was in London. There’s few good mannered people. Everyone has a dislike for everyone else, varying from kindly rivalry to outright hatred - it’s normally on geographical proximity (Manchester vs Liverpool, Leeds vs Bradford, Glasgow vs Edinburgh), or historical rivalry (Lancashire vs Yorkshire), or religion and sectarianism (Protestant/Catholic divides in Scotland)… …but as you identify, the north-south divide is the big one, with the north (of England) stereotyping the south as uncaring selfish misers, and the south stereotyping the north as ignorant, poor and stupid. The Scotish and Welsh both have a general dislike for all things English. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/59 "2004-05-21T21:34:02Z")
**PorkChop47** , like you, I too live in St. Paul, MN (actually I did until 9 months ago when I moved to a NW suburb, but I work in St. Paul) and I lived in England, from ages 14-18. What makes Britain Great for me? The countryside – The footpath system is wonderful and we have sparsely found equivalents in the US. I’ve enjoyed hikes through Dartmoor, along the south coast, Yorkshire Dales and Moors, Redcar beach, along Hardian’s Wall, in the Lake District. All Great experiences. The towns, villages and Cities – The way everything is built of brick and stone. It’s all made to last, and 200 year old buildings are not that rare. Villages are Great in their quaintness, centered around a village green, with young girls riding ponies along the road. Admittedly I probably would not like living in London, but I love visiting it. I probably would not enjoy living in New York, Chicago (heresy!), Berlin or Tokyo either – all too big for my tastes. The people – While I’ve known some twits, the vast majority have been Great to associate with and I’ve had many wonderful experiences visiting friends and strangers alike. I’ve come across a lot more twits in the US than in the UK. The food – B&B breakfasts, fish & chips, pub grub, I love it all. (Well, maybe not baked beans on toast. :rolleyes: ) The ale - :sigh: The sense of history – How can anything get any more Great than Yorkminster Cathedral in York? The foundation is among Roman ruins, then remnants of a Norman church before you get to the “modern” stuff built in the 1400s! The world influence – While primarily historical, the impact Great Britain has had on the world, for good or bad, is phenomenal. This effect can’t be lightly stripped away. Other things that make Great Britain Great (beyond the previous correct answers) relate to her economic power, military power, education system, research, etc. The UK _is_ part of the G-7, the UN Security Council, NATO, etc. While not as powerful or as influential as 120 years ago, she has not slipped that far. What I’ve related so far is just England. I’ve had wonderful travels around Scotland and Wales as well, and they’re Great as well. (Haven’t made it to the Isle of Man yet.) Then, getting outside of Great Britain, other places I’ve had Great times include Ireland (enchanting!), France (fabulous), Germany (gorgeous), Canada (so Great that words fail me) and many others. I think it comes down to one’s attitude while in an area. I look forward to future trips to other Great areas I’ve heard much about such as New Zealand, Australia and various Asian countries. On reflecting on what I’ve written, I admit that my full appreciation for the Greatness of Great Britain did not really develop until I had grown older, was not living there, and traveled back for vacations. That may be part of the problem. When you live in an area, it’s easy to spend all your energy on day-to-day mundane activities and don’t appreciate it all. (Overgeneralization) I love living in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, and the US, but usually don’t think about it on a daily basis. Instead I appreciate it more when I can take off for a few days and camp/explore/travel. Anyway, that’s what makes Great Britain “Great”, at least for me. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991/60 "2004-05-21T22:49:12Z")
> [@TwistofFate](#): > > The Isle of Man doesn’t really exist. Who was this man, anyway? And what was he doing on this isle? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-great-britain-so-great/245991.md?page=4)