First man on the moon was Buzz Lightyear, say 1 in 5 of school children



To Infinity.. : Buzz Lightyear was the first person on the moon, according to one fifth of British schoolchildren

One in five British children thinks Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story films was the first person to walk on the moon, researchers found.

And although twice as many knew it was actually a man called Armstrong, they thought he was called Lance – the seven-time Tour de France winner – rather than Neil.

The figures emerged in a study of 2,000 children aged six to 12 which revealed that while many know all about celebrities, there are worrying gaps in their knowledge of key events in history.

Nearly two-thirds correctly identified malaria as Cheryl Cole’s recent illness and more than half knew Joe McElderry won last year’s X Factor. But one in 20 thought Jack Bauer from the TV series 24 was the brains behind the Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament.

And a third didn’t know Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, with 9 per cent believing it was Deal or No Deal’s Noel Edmonds.

Eleven per cent thought Albert Einstein was Frankenstein’s brother and one in ten thought Rolf Harris painted the Mona Lisa.

The research was carried out to mark the launch of the What on Earth? Wallbook – a seven and a half foot long timeline which details and illustrates historical events from the Big Bang to the present day.

Its author, Christopher Lloyd, said: ‘It’s worrying to see so many youngsters are more aware of celeb culture than events that changed the world.’