'Filibustering' Is A Sex Act According To Most Brits: Survey

A new survey of thousands of British’s general public found that two-thirds thought that “filibustering” described a sexual act. The study, issued by independent youth news outlet Shout Out U.K., aimed to test the political knowledge of British voters by gauging their responses to 10 multiple choice questions.

Newsweek first reported Shout Out U.K.’s findings Wednesday after it quizzed 5,267 members of the general public, with the majority being young adults. Forty percent of respondents were ages 18-25, 32 percent were ages 26-40, and just under a third of participants were older than 41. While the survey reported that it did not inform participants that they would be quizzed on their political prowess, only a tenth of respondents correctly answered all of the survey’s questions.

Multiple choice answers given for the survey’s description of filibustering included: slang for a sex act; deliberately wasting time during a debate; and a mechanical error with a vehicle. While specific response percentages for each answer were not available, the survey noted that an overwhelming majority (two-thirds) of respondents believed “filibustering” to be a sex act over the other two provided definitions.

Filibustering, hansard, caucus and boondoggle were all terms included in the quiz. According to Matteo Bergamini, Founder of Shout Out U.K., the site had not anticipated the survey’s results.

“We commissioned the survey just to get an idea of what people’s knowledge is on political terms, we didn’t expect to get such funny results!” Bergamini said in a statement. “Although it is funny that most young people think filibustering is a slang sex term, I think it reveals a deeper problem that most 18- to 25-year-olds aren’t engaged or educated in politics enough.”

Among those quizzed, the study found that men scored better than women overall. The survey reported that 65 percent of men who participated in the survey answered five more questions correctly. It’s worth noting that the site did not specify the same calculation for female respondents.

“People just expect that when they turn 18, a lightbulb moment turns on and they will suddenly know all about politics. The results from older respondents show this isn’t the case and that poor political education can affect people for a lifetime,” Bergamini added. He went on to say that he hoped Shout Out U.K. would “help teach millennials this so they can make better, more informed decisions on their future.”