LONDON — Are you handy enough that if a lightbulb went out in your home you’d be able to change it? Believe it or not, one in five people aren’t so skilled. In fact, a new survey of people in the United Kingdom finds not only do about 20 percent of people not know how to change a bulb — the same number aren’t sure how to boil an egg, either.
The British insurance company Aviva recently released their annual Home Report which detailed, among numerous findings about how people do work around the house, relatively common tasks that people encounter. The company surveyed 2004 people across the UK in February and March about their habits and roles at home.
In addition to just one in five not being able to change a lightbulb or boil an egg, the survey found that nearly a third of the participants couldn’t cook any meal on the fly. And if someone were to spill a portion of their meal on their clothes or on the floor, only 59 percent would know how to get rid of the resulting stain.
Only 37 percent could change a flat tire.
The findings were even surprising to the folks behind the study.
“As a nation we tend to take pride in our ability to do things ourselves in and around the home, so it’s a surprise to see there could be a skills gap in places,” says Aviva Propositions Director Adam Beckett in a press release. “That said, we also know that people lead busy lives, so while we enjoy doing things ourselves, we also appreciate the opportunity to leave things to a professional from time to time, particularly with some of the more challenging jobs.”
Interestingly, while 50 percent of those surveyed said they learned how to do a home task on their by trial and error, plenty of people are turning to the internet for help, especially millennials. The study found four in 10 people aged 25 and under prefer learning do-it-yourself chores online. That’s more than twice the number in the age group who turn to an actual book for help.
Here’s a look at the polled tasks and the number of people who indicated they could successfully complete them:
| Â Task | Percentage who feel confident doing this task |
| Boil an egg | 81% |
| Change a light bulb | 79% |
| Cook a complete meal without using a recipe | 69% |
| Read a map | 66% |
| Sew on a button | 65% |
| Unblock a sink | 62% |
| Remove a stain from a carpet or clothing | 59% |
| Change a baby’s nappy | 57% |
| Wire a plug | 57% |
| ‘Bleed’ a radiator | 53% |
| Check oil levels in a car | 53% |
| Put up a shelf | 47% |
| Put up wallpaper | 39% |
| Change a flat tire | 37% |
| Change a washer on a tap | 30% |
| Fit tiles | 22% |
Click here to read the entire report, which broke down the findings by age groups and revealed many other interesting results.
Talk about a misleading headline… Its ‘Percentage who feel confident doing this task’ and according to the papers logic, if you don’t feel confident then you don’t know how
The real tragedy here is — these are the same people who VOTE!!!! No wonder the world is in such a hellacious mess. If this is the “rising generation” we are in double trouble. However, I do believe there are those who are the exception to this study – and were probably out working/raising their families/doing service — and weren’t available for the study.
Q: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb.
A: Only one, but the light bulb must want to change đŸ˜‰
Some people can’t spell. Example: the word “tire”. It is not spelled tyre.
The problem most of the time is not being unable to spell, but lack of proofreading something before submitting.
That is an acceptable spelling of that word in Britain.
Then maybe they should send the ignorant savages back to their homelands & the next study would show the rates of common sense had risen markedly.
What does “change a washer on a tap” mean? Must be some kind of British slang.
I assume its the rubber washer that connects the airnator head to the spigot
Ah. That makes sense. Thanks.
It means hiring a new person to clean the beer dispenser
HAHAHA, funny.
Nice~
They cant change a light bulb…
I bet every damn one of them vote labour party or would vote Democrat.
Then turn around and Demand there be a department of lightbulbs/boiling eggs
At tax payer expense
I’ll bet good money that every one of the 20% that can;t change a light bulb or boil an egg are liberals.
I’ve worked in high tech businesses for years and every engineer l knew was conservative. Bright logical people have a hard time buying into liberal dogma
Twenty percent of the residents of Jolly Ol’ England are African and or Muslim from an extremely backward cultural society. Head choppers and wife beaters. They can be seen kneeling in mass in the streets five times a day.
Then there is the stone stupid Brits that only speak football as the primary language.
Gunna be a tough decade or more.
How many Californians does it take to screw in a light bulb.
None. Californians don’t screw in a light bulb; they screw in hot tubs.
The inability to boil an egg or change a light bulb probably coincides with their inability to cook bacon.
Bingo, we have a winner!
The liberals have worked hard in their effort to dumb down society, and they have won. It will continue in the arena of education as long as they are in control. If conservatives/moderates enter the education sector, it will still be years before any change could be seen. Will it be too late?
Could this be due to the mass influx of camel riding goat herders who use candles, oil lamps and dried camel dung to cook their yeast free flatbread in times past? Who are now totally dependant on govt aide to supply their food, give them a roof over their heads, free medical care (along with female genital mutilations), education (for boys only, girls not allowed) and loud speakers announcing five times a day to get on the ground & stick your buttinto the air? I read where ‘mohammed’ was the number one name assigned to newborns and maybe that explains the 1/5th’s problem with ‘modern lifestyles’. But they do know how to load an AK47, use cell phones and drive large trucks over people.
I seen hitchhikers from the U.K. In Toronto Ontario airport area at the husky truck stop restaurant asking for a ride to Chicago Illinois. It’s like one hitchhiker would speak for the other hitchhikers in the group. I told them to get on the Toronto Ontario greyhound bus to buffalo new york and you can ride the greyhound bus anywhere in the U.S.
Better questions:
1. Build shelter
2. Find/hunt food
3. Tend to medical needs
Yes, but according to this study if you didn’t answer ‘Very confident’ you wouldn’t know how
I can do all of those things and easily but I’m old school, born in the forties. Most children nowadays can’t even write in cursive script and those that can, OMG what atrocious grammar.
We have the same problem here, they’re called democrats. They don’t want to do anything themselves and someone else is responsible for taking care of them.
Q: how many dems does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: RAAAAAAACIST!!!!!!!!!!
What a sad commentary. Every able bodied adult should be able to do all of those tasks. I pulled over to help a young couple one afternoon. They had flat and both were just standing there….with the woman on the phone trying to call a garage. They actually thought I was going to change the tire for them (she announced that “he doesnt’ know how to change a tire”) and were a bit shocked when I told them that I wouldn’t change the tire but i would walk them through the process.
They mumbled about it for a minute and said that they’d rather call someone.