New survey hints people know more about Game of Thrones than real-life history

Game of Thrones is undoubtedly one of the biggest shows to ever grace the television screens. The series is easily recognizable as a pop culture icon, whose fandom transcends geological boundaries. The TV show was based on George R. R. Martin’s famous novel series A Song of Fire and Ice, which in turn was heavily inspired by medieval history. This often leads some people into believing that Game of Thrones wasn’t a fantasy story, rather real history itself. A recent survey conducted in the UK confirms the fact.

As The Sun reported, Sky HISTORY conducted a survey of 2000 British adults that tested their knowledge of real-life history. As it turns out, more than a third of respondents admitted they’re more familiar with fictional worlds in shows like Game of Thrones. For instance, when asked about the real-life War of the Roses, which took place in the 1400s and served as the basis for many of the events Martin wrote about, one in 20 people thought the rivals were Lannister and Stark, not Lancaster and York. Of course, House Lannister and House Stark are from Game of Thrones … and they are not real.

Additionally, the survey found that one in 10 people believed that Kit Harington’s Game of Thrones character Jon Snow was an actual historical figure.

Have you met people like that in real life? Talk to us in the comments below!