A sample of things people should know about,
or have heard of, whether they’re 12 or not:
George Washington, George Gershwin, George Eliot,
Henry Ford, Charlie Chaplin, Elvis Presley, Jane Austen,
Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale,
the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali,
Roger Federer, Queen Victoria, Snow White,
Bing Crosby, Saint Paul, Emily Bronte, the dromedary,
the Wall Street Crash, William Gladstone, Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Benjamin Disraeli, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Isle of Skye,
Sanskrit, Alexander the Great, devilled eggs and lard.
You should not be reviled for being unfamiliar
with Willie Nelson, the Scissor Sisters, Stefan Edberg or floc.
Of course there are subjective edges, but there is,
and should be, such a thing as General Knowledge.
Frank Sinatra is; the name of a football team mascot isn’t.

Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in