SCHOOLBOYS’ HOWLERS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XX, Issue 2102, 14 April 1925, Page 5

SCHOOLBOYS’ HOWLERS.

EXAMINATION TESTS.

EXTRAORDINARY REPLIES

Condemning the system of education at Home a London paper states that the standard of knowledge is below what it should be. And (it continues) the fault is not confined to the elementary schools. Every year the examination tests applied at the secondary schools and public schools, to which “the better classes” send their offspring, provide a crop of remarkable “howlers” on the part of the scholars. Last year the “University Correspondent” offered prizes for the best collection of schoolboys’ mistakes sent in. Among these “howlers” published in this periodical were the following:— Evolution is what Darwin did. Revolution is a form of government abroad. Devolution is something to do with Satan.

A cuckoo is a bird that lays other birds’ eggs in its own nest, and viva voce.

Queen Elizabeth was called the Virgil Queen, because she knew Latin. A limited monarchy is a government by a monarch who, in case of bankruptcy, would not be entirely responsible for the national debt. You have the same thing in private life, with a limited liability company. Gravity is that which, if there were none, we should all fly away. The people in Iceland are called Equinoxes. Cei’eals are films shown at the pictures and which last fifteen weeks.

The Court of Chancery is so called because it takes care of property when there is no chance of the owner turning up.

The following examples of imperfect knowledge are taken from other sources: —

A vacuum is the place where the Pope lives. An aristocrat is a man who performs tricks on the stage.

Volcanoes throw out saliva. / Bacon was the man who thought he wrote Shakespeare. Blank verse is prose written in the form of poetry. Sonnets are very interesting, and show up usually the worst part of the author. “A Tale of Two Cities” deals with the towns of Troy, about 180 B.C. “Lavengro” was written by Milton about 1750.

Shibboleth is a garment worn by the Jews. ,