1 in 10 Brit pupils thinks Disney’s Buzz Lightyear was first man on Moon!
By ANISunday, March 14, 2010
LONDON - One in ten school going kids in the UK believes Buzz Lightyear, the animated Toy Story hero, was the first man to set foot on the Moon rather than Neil Armstrong, a new study has revealed.
Some even think Sir Richard Branson, cyclist Lance Armstrong and Star Wars hero Luke Skywalker were first to walk on the lunar surface.
Dr Pam Waddell, of Birmingham Science City, went through the answers given by 1,000 primary and secondary school children in the tests, in advance of National Science and Engineering Week, which ends on March 21.
“While some findings raise a smile, it suggests that school children aren’t tuned into our scientific heroes in the same way that they might be to sporting or music legends,” the Telegraph quoted her, as saying.
Three quarters of students knew Alexander Graham Bell was the inventor of the telephone.
However, others credited Charles Darwin, Noel Edmonds and even The Queen with the achievement.
Isaac Newton discovered fire, according to a third of the boys, while others said it was DNA, the internet or the United States.
“Our work is about demonstrating the value that scientific innovation brings to the economy and the things we take for granted every day, such as using the telephone or TV,” Dr Waddell added. (ANI)
