There are a number of misconceptions about Great Britain and its people. While some may have a factual basis, some of those ideas need to be put right. There are so many stereotypes about Britain but how many of them are true?
Over the years, a series of strange stereotypes have formed about this nation. Whether it's to do with our eating habits or the sports that we love to watch, the world has a version of what they think British people actually do. Here's 5 stereotypes we'll admit are true and 5 that have no factual basis whatsoever.
10 FALSE: EVERYONE ONE HAS POSH ACCENTS
Because Britain has some of the best actors in the world, many people have come to assume that the British all have posh accents. In truth, they don't all sound like the Queen or Judi Dench and there's a huge variety of different accents.
In fact, there are very few people who have the British accent that many have come to expect, due to the American films that have portrayed the British in a certain way. The accents they have are a lot more fun. From a Geordie accent to someone from Glasgow there's a huge range of vocal treats to discover.
9 TRUE: THERE IS TEA ETIQUETTE
They'll admit it. The British are pretty obsessed with tea. While coffee and hot chocolate are also suitable beverage options, nothing beats a good brew. However, there's a strict policy with how you must construct your tea.
The milk, sugar, hot water and tea bag must all go in a certain order. Of course, there are also regional rivalries over how tea should be properly made. How much milk should be added is a particular problem with Yorkshire often trying to claim they have the strongest and therefore best brew.
8 FALSE: EVERYONE LIVES IN OR NEAR LONDON
This is a problem that comes up many times. For some reason, when traveling internationally, everyone assumes that a British person has just come from somewhere near or in London. The whole of Britain seems to be based on how close to London you are.
Newsflash... Britain is massive. While it's not the size of the United States, for instance, that doesn't mean everyone lives in and around the capital city. Many people avoid London because of how busy it is. The country has so much to offer other than this busy and historic city.
7 TRUE: THE BRITISH LOVE A QUEUE
Britains love to queue. How else can order be brought to a situation that could devolve into chaos? Unfortunately for them, other cultures don't share this enthusiasm for standing in line. When they travel, therefore, they can get pretty annoyed about the crowds that form around a bus or in a shop.
If you come to the UK, the worst thing you can do is abandon any notion of civility and push into the queue. You will be politely told to head to the back of the line or fear the British people turning against you very quickly.
6 FALSE: EVERYONE HAS BAD TEETH
Perhaps this rumor started because of the addiction to tea, or maybe it's set on historical facts relating to what the British used to drink. However, at some point, the stereotype started that British people have terrible teeth.
This just isn't true. It's odd that it's just assumed that Great Britain has no concern for personal hygiene. They've actually got a great dental care system in place, linked to the world-renowned NHS and their teeth aren't any worse than most other countries.
5 TRUE: BRITS LOVE SARCASM
Yeah right, as if the British love sarcasm... It's true, British humor is sarcastic. While there's some great British comedy with slapstick humor and one-liners, nothing beats a sarcastic jab. In fact, most of Britain's banter is just sarcastic comments.
Sometimes the humor may come across as a little rude to someone not well versed in the nature of the sarcasm. This usually isn't helped by the no-nonsense straight face that so many Brits can keep when using all of their sarcastic abilities. Don't worry though, they're only being friendly.
4 FALSE: EVERYONE LOVES THE QUEEN
Yes, Britain does have a monarchy. No, not everyone is as obsessed with the Queen as the world seems to believe. While there are plenty of people who love the idea of the monarchy and are completely smitten with the royal family, there's also plenty of people who couldn't care less.
British people recognize the tradition behind the monarch and all the incredible celebrations the country has throughout the year. But there are many Brits that don't agree with the financial side of having a royal family. A lot of people don't even know much about the Queen and her significant others.
3 TRUE: THERE'S ALWAYS BAD WEATHER
Britain and England especially have notoriously bad weather. While residents are grateful that they don't have extreme weather changes like other parts of the globe, unfortunately, forecasts are consistently wet and miserable.
At Christmas, the British are never sure if we'll even see a glimpse of snow and if they do it often brings total chaos. In the summer many Brits consider themselves lucky if the sun comes out for more than a week and if it does they call it a heatwave and stay inside because it's far too hot. For the rest of the year, it really is mostly raining with the odd chance of fog.
2 FALSE: ALL TELEPHONE BOXES ARE RED
If you visit one of the smaller towns in the UK then you may come across the famous red telephone boxes that Britain is famous for. London also has a variety of these that tourists love to visit and take pictures in, especially if they are Harry Potter fans.
However, like most other countries they do have mobile phones and landlines and as such have no use for telephone boxes anymore. Most of them have been broken or just removed altogether and those that remain aren't usually red. While we're on the subject there are no police phone boxes at all. Sorry Doctor Who fans.
1 TRUE: BRITS APOLOGIZE A LOT
We're sorry to say this but Brits do apologize so much. Even if something isn't their fault they still feel compelled to have a sorry ready, just in case things turn ugly. Even when they have an opinion many will apologize for announcing it, before actually giving their thoughts.
Many British people live all with a niggling fear that they could get into a situation where they have an awkward moment with another person. Being ready with a sorry means being prepared when you don't know which person goes left or right when walking in the street so you sway in front of each other before someone makes a decision.