In the UK 10 popular myths debunked

[pampango]

'A third of the British population are immigrants'

Ask people in the UK how many immigrants there are and people tend to reply around a third – or, to be precise, a foreign-born population of 31.8%. ...more than half of the British population (57%) think there are "too many immigrants". ... And that is higher in the UK than any other country. In fact, that 31.8% figure is a wild over-estimate; in 2011, some 11.3% of the UK population were foreign-born.

'Benefit (Welfare) fraud costs us billions'

The British public reckon benefit cheats are a massive problem: a recent opinion poll showed Brits typically believed 27% of the welfare budget is lost to fraud. ... The reality, though, is much less dramatic. The DWP publishes official estimates of fraud in the welfare system. The most recent publication estimated overall fraud at 0.7% of the benefits bill.

'We don't make anything in the UK any more' Actually we don't grow anything anymore[/b[

In reality, like most other developed economies (even Germany), our service sector is the largest component of our economy. But making things is still more common than you might think. ... Manufacturing contributes around 11% of GDP ... Despite the country's reputation as a "green and pleasant land", though, the UK doesn't grow that much: agriculture contributes less than 1% to GDP.

'Rich people move abroad to dodge taxes'

A constant mantra when discussing taxing the rich is whether they will simply stop working, or move overseas, if they are taxed too highly. ... People are pretty resistant to moving: there are language and cultural barriers, people have friends and families, their children in schools, and more. ... The thing that might tempt the rich to move? According to the researchers, the biggest draw was cheaper housing elsewhere.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/24/10-great-urban-myths-debunked

There are 6 other UK "myths" discussed in the article. Some are more unique to the UK, but many sound like "myths" that you hear in the US, as well.

[tridim]

1. Gee, thanks Murdoch-funded fake news. nt

[enlightenment]

2. Huh?

Since when is the Guardian a Murdoch paper?

[tridim]

3. No, I'm talking about the reason why Brits and Americans tend to believe these common myths.

Murdoch definitely has a hand in that.

[enlightenment]

7. Ah - I see.

I think it's a little more complicated than just media, but I understand what you're saying. Thanks for the clarification.

[nomorenomore08]

6. Meaning that Murdoch's papers (and the 'Daily Mail' etc.) are the source of most of these myths...

nt

[Wounded Bear]

4. Funny how all of those apply to the US, too...

or at least most of them. Apparently the PTB mediots are working internationally.

[ErikJ]

5. 'You're more likely to get bitten by a person than a dog'--LOL

Wow, the Brits sound as crazy as lots of 'Mericans. I guess we're a chip off the old shoulder.

'You're more likely to get bitten by a person than a dog'

Dog owners' forums and Facebook groups are fond of the aphorism that you're at more risk of being bitten by a human than a dog – but could that possibly be true? According to the NHS Information Centre, the exact numbers of human injuries are not recorded in the UK. The best estimates are anywhere between 4% and 23% of all injuries.

Meanwhile, the latest data shows that 6,447 people were admitted to hospital for dog bites in 2011-12 – a 5.2% rise on the previous 12 months. Of those, under-10s accounted for the highest rate of admissions by 10-year age group, with 17 per 100,000 population. That is 1,040 admissions. If you look at the historic data, that shows that in 1989-90, 991 were admitted – a 551% increase in two decades.

To put it in perspective, there were 17.6m admissions to accident and emergency departments in 2011-12. For every million A&E treatments, there are 366 hospital admissions for dog bites. To add a bit more context, the RSPCA says there are 8.5m dogs in the UK; this means there are around 75 serious dog bite admissions to hospital for every 100,000 dogs.

They are not the only things people are bitten by, of course – arthropods (mosquitoes and midges, to you and I) are responsible for peaks in hospital admissions over the summer. But nevertheless, dog bites remain consistently high throughout the year. But if you focus on mammals entirely – which includes humans – dogs are clearly the majority of injuries, around 71%.

The treatment figures tell a story too. In short, children are more likely to get bitten on the face, requiring plastic surgery to reconstruct them, older people on the hands or lower body. Having said that, while both human and dog mouths host several hundred species of bacteria, most of the bacteria found in canines' mouths is not harmful to humans, making many dog bites less dangerous than human ones.