The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

'Why are the British so ugly?' The questions Europeans ask Google about the UK revealed

Daily Mail
4 Oct, 2016 08:23 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Europeans have googled many questions about British people. Photo / Getty Images

Europeans have googled many questions about British people. Photo / Getty Images

Britain is a nation of many mysteries, according to the Europeans who Google it.

"Why are the British so ugly?" the Netherlands demands to know and "why do the English put milk in their tea?" inquires Hungary.

Indeed, data from Google over the past year reveals the common searches made about the UK from users elsewhere in Europe - and the questions that surfaced aren't entirely flattering, Daily Mail reports.

Germans have often typed the question 'why are the British so stupid?' into the iconic search engine, according to the data revealed by Search Laboratory.

Italians ask why Brits are "dirty", Portuguese searchers home in on England and ask why English people are "crybabies", while Spanish users don't even dignify their views with a question, simply typing "the English are strange".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Polish searchers are apparently confounded by our baking ingredients, demanding to know "why is British flour so strange?" and Austria should probably hang its head in shame for the question "is England a country or a city?"

Other searches were somewhat more reasonable.

The Danish have been asking why English judges wear wigs, the Finnish want to know why the Olympics refer to the UK as "Britain", while Lithuanians ponder as to why British people drive on the left side of the road.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Last week, separate data was released about the most common searches made about all the countries around Europe.

According to Google's autocomplete function, which uses algorithms to suggest search terms based on what you've already started typing, plenty of people write "Wales is better than England" in the search box.

Tellingingly, the most popular statement about England was found to be, "England is confusing".

It's tricky to test this for yourself, since the search engine will already be deeply personalised to you based on your browsing history.

But it's amusing, if true, that so many people have typed "Scotland is not a real country" and "Ukraine is not a brothel" into Google.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

DairyNZ's 'sprains and strains' project up for award

09 May 05:00 PM
The Country

'I loved it': Veteran truckie reflects on 30 years on the road

09 May 05:00 PM
The Country

Butter prices: Here’s how much they might still rise

09 May 05:03 AM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

DairyNZ's 'sprains and strains' project up for award

DairyNZ's 'sprains and strains' project up for award

09 May 05:00 PM

Project worked with farmers and workplace experts to find and reduce common injury causes.

'I loved it': Veteran truckie reflects on 30 years on the road

'I loved it': Veteran truckie reflects on 30 years on the road

09 May 05:00 PM
Butter prices: Here’s how much they  might still rise

Butter prices: Here’s how much they might still rise

09 May 05:03 AM
'Prime focus': Avocado industry targets global markets

'Prime focus': Avocado industry targets global markets

09 May 03:08 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP