h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

According to Bernie Eccelstone, who runs Formula One and owns the TV rights to every race, more than 3 billion people watch each and every F-1 Grand Prix. It is the most watched programming in the world and is seen in virtually every country. Yes, even budhists and bushmen watch F-1.
Michael Schumacher has been racing for ten years and has been World Champion four times including 2000 and 2001.
If Bernie is to be believed about the 3 billion viewership (and since he's one of the five richest men in the UK I see no reason to doubt him), then half the world's six billion inhabitants watches Shooey race every other weekend.
I rest my case. Or rather, I rest Bernie's case.

jwf

Yes but with this "case" or whatever you have just prooven the commerial dominance of the world. Don't you think its alittle sick that a car racer, a car racer, could be known world wide. If you take a poll not a whole lot of people like or even care about car racing. So the media and commercial TV indastries have marketed crap once again to the people of the world.

heart of Darkness

()

There is `no case` for F1 being the most watched programme in the world, except in the mind of Bernie Eccelstone.He would like to believe that it is so, then he would make an even more obscene amount of money- but I know a lot of people who never watch F1 or football when its on. I think the figure quoted would be the maximum possible viewing figures if everyone in the countrys where the race is shown viewed, but of course, they dont.

Hmm, this is just some estimates and such. In Denmark they show the 24 hour Le Man thing on TV. But besides that you never see anything about F1 and I've only really met one person in my life who was interested in it. I can't imagine half the population watches it. I find it hard to believe that 1 billion should have watched Baywatch.

I've seen estimates of the number of viewers for the last Olympics which exceeded the total population of the world. This means that you can never trust these statistics. If one person watches F1 every weekend, that counts as 52 viewers.

I vote for Julius Caesar.

Aha, you are forgetting something. The Olympics was broadcast using radio signals. Those also go out into space where they can be picked up by aliens. That's why the number of viewers were bigger than the population of Earth

Most famous Britians;
Without their titles

Winston Churchill
Horatio Nelson
Arthur Wellesly.

You all know who they are, and what they did. Without a shadow of a doubt.

Arthur who?

Arthur who?

Ahh, the Duke of Wellington.

Churchill, heard of that guy and knows what he did.
Nelson, I guess that's the guy who fought the naval battles.
Duke of Wellington, well I've heard the name but that's all.

He defeated Napoleon Bonapart at the Battle of Waterloo.

Pretty much only famous in the UK I would imagine.

Defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo
was also a British Prime Minister for a while...

Well those three are famous in Britian, and probably Europe - and in Churchill's case much of the world, but I don't know if I'd count them the most famous ever.

Are we looking for people that 3 year olds will have heard of, or just 10 year olds or what?

the bbc did that most famous britain who did that come out as?

Don't think it's been on yet, but my money would be on Tinky-Winky who in Britain hasn't heard of him eh?

Much of the discussion suggesting Walt Disney should probably have identified Mickey Mouse as the image most familiar to the world.

Mickey has been around for seventy years and is probably more ubiquitous than 'happy face'. He would certainly be known to all the young'uns for three or four generations in virtually every country of the world.

Then of course there's Stirling Moss.


jwf

Even just those ears of his. (Mickey that is, not Stirling)

(speaking with wholly unjustified and unpaid for air of superiority)

If we are talking about the world, I would say that the two most famous people would be Henry Ford and Mercedes Jellinek (sp?).
Third and fourth would be Louis Chevrolet and Mr. Honda.
Number five would be Signor Marconi
and number six would be Mr. Heinz
for number seven I say da Queen and her Mum...And yes, we do in the US know what your female monarch looks like. We've seen the Phil Collins video with the Spitting Image dolls!

Maybe by their surnames but the people, I wouldn't recognise them in a photo. Just car makers weren't they? And I'm glad you recognise our dear monarch (even if it is from a Phil Collins video ) you tea-throwers!

Ah. I did not know the thread was only for photographs.

Well, that let's JC and Muhammad out....


In that case, I vote for the St. Pauli girl, Dame Edith Average and
the Campbell Soup kids....