NHS tops ‘cool’ list according to British adults

The NHS, space travel and Concorde are perceived to be the ‘coolest’ things in the world, according to a poll of 2,000 British adults.

iPhones, astronauts, and vinyl records also ranked highly, along with E-Type Jaguars, the Japanese bullet train and dinosaurs.

And when it comes to the coolest people, James Bond was the top choice, despite being a fictional character.

He featured higher in the list than former US president Barack Obama, heart throb Tom Hardy, icon Steve McQueen and all-round smoothie, Idris Elba.

A spokesman from Andrews Air Conditioning Hire, which commissioned the research, said: “It’s certainly the ‘coolest’ top 50 we’ve ever seen.

“It’s nice to take a moment to stop and celebrate all of the best things in the world, particularly at the moment.

“While not everyone might consider themselves cool, there are so many interesting things and amazing people who remind you just how lucky we are – with the NHS a worthy winner.”

The study also found 57 per cent of those polled claim to have never been considered ‘cool’ – with more than one in six saying they aren’t anymore, but they once used to be.

And 25 is considered the coolest age, but you lose by the time you get to 35.

Despite this, 67 per cent agreed you can still be cool over the age of 70, as shown by the popularity of Captain Tom Moore, who has raised millions for the NHS at age of almost 100.

It also emerged the nation is divided when it comes to Ed Sheeran, as while a third consider him to be cool – 56 per cent disagree.

Being rich doesn’t give you automatic ‘cool’ status either – with 64 per cent actually believing the opposite to be true.

Instead having an air of confidence and not caring what people think about them is what gives people the edge in the cool stakes – as well as independence.

Not trying to impress others, being positive and having great stories to tell are other things that make people cool, according to the research carried out via OnePoll.

But while nearly one in six think you’re born cool, 46 per cent think it’s something you can achieve over time.

More than a quarter admitted to trying to make themselves cooler through the way they dress, hobbies the have or even the music they listen to.

When asked if Brits are cooler than those across the pond in the US, 31 per cent think the nation trumps America – though 35 per cent think we’re on a par.

The swinging 60’s was considered to be the coolest decade according to a quarter of respondents, with the 1980’s in second.

A spokesman from Andrews Air Conditioning Hire, added: “If you’re not lucky enough to be born cool, there certainly are other ways of obtaining coolness, in style or otherwise.

“As the warmer weather starts to set in, keeping cool is something people will be trying to do more frequently.

“We provide great hire options when it comes to air conditioning, so you can be cool whenever you want.”

And to see just how cool the full list is, and for the full results of the survey, see below:

TOP 50 OF THE COOLEST THINGS IN THE WORLD

1. The NHS
2. Space travel
3. Concorde
4. iPhones
5. Astronauts
6. Vinyl records
7. James Bond
8. Volcanoes
9. Artificial intelligence
10. E-Type Jag
11. Bullet Train
12. Music festivals
13. Dinosaurs
14. Driving a convertible car
15. Lamborghinis
16. Barack Obama
17. Video games
18. Helicopters
19. Fireworks
20. Being able to do a backflip
21. Steve McQueen
22. Robots
23. Levi’s jeans
24. Headphones
25. Trainers
26. Leather jackets
27. Huskies
28. Idris Elba
29. Scoring an overhead kick
30. Record stores
31. Tom Hardy
32. Elvis
33. James Dean
34. Lasers
35. The Fonz
36. Motorbikes
37. F1 drivers
38. Instagram
39. Aviator shades
40. Staying up late
41. Ray Ban Wayfarers
42. ‘Indie’ shops
43. The Tesla Cybertruck
44. Skateboards
45. Chewing gum
46. TikTok
47. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively
48. The Ivy
49. Tom Ford glasses
50. Co-ord outfits

—

Coolest Things

1. Which of the below do you think are the coolest things in the world?
Choice %
Space travel 24.55%
491
Helicopters 14.45%
289
Volcanoes 17.30%
346
Dinosaurs 15.85%
317
Motorbikes 10.00%
200
Driving a convertible car 15.80%
316
Tom Hardy 10.90%
218
The Tesla Cybertruck 6.70%
134
Artificial intelligence 17.10%
342
Robots 13.30%
266
Hot Rods 4.85%
97
Leather jackets 12.25%
245
Video games 14.50%
290
Iris Apfel 3.90%
78
Liam Gallagher 4.90%
98
Noel Gallagher 5.25%
105
Concorde 21.85%
437
Bullet Train 16.60%
332
Astronauts 18.60%
372
F1 drivers 9.75%
195
Chewing gum 6.50%
130
Aviator shades 8.95%
179
iPhones 18.95%
379
Slider shoes 4.85%
97
TikTok 6.50%
130
Ray Ban Wayfarers 8.45%
169
Steve McQueen 13.55%
271
The Fonz 10.25%
205
Elvis 10.85%
217
Kate Moss 5.20%
104
Slash 5.30%
106
Tom Ford glasses 6.00%
120
E-Type Jag 16.90%
338
Levis jeans 13.20%
264
Being able to do a backflip 14.00%
280
Staying up late 8.65%
173
James Bond 17.45%
349
Scoring an overhead kick 11.70%
234
Barack Obama 14.60%
292
Trainers 12.30%
246
Co-ord outfits 5.35%
107
Headphones 12.45%
249
Instagram 9.65%
193
The Beckhams 5.00%
100
Music festivals 16.45%
329
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively 6.40%
128
‘Indie’ shops 8.25%
165
Idris Elba 11.80%
236
Record stores 11.25%
225
Vinyl records 17.85%
357
Lasers 10.45%
209
Welders 4.15%
83
Fireworks 14.20%
284
Huskies 12.15%
243
Lamborghinis 15.00%
300
The NHS 41.90%
838
James Dean 10.70%
214
The Ivy 6.25%
125
Skateboards 6.55%
131
None of the above 12.40%
248

2. Do you think you’re cool at the moment?
Choice %
Yes 13.90%
278
No – but I think I used to be cool 17.35%
347
No – and I’ve never been cool 56.75%
1135
Not sure 12.00%
240

3. At what age do you think you were coolest? Please select best match
Choice %
15-17 9.60%
60
18-20 23.52%
147
21-25 26.72%
167
26-30 19.68%
123
31-35 11.36%
71
36-40 5.44%
34
41-50 2.40%
15
51-60 0.48%
3
61+ 0.80%
5
Average 25.32

4. At what age did you feel you had absolutely no coolness left? Please select best match
Choice %
15-17 11.68%
73
18-20 6.40%
40
21-25 10.40%
65
26-30 13.76%
86
31-35 14.24%
89
36-40 10.56%
66
41-50 15.04%
94
51-60 9.12%
57
61+ 8.80%
55
Average 35.31

5. In your opinion, Is Ed Sheeran cool?
Choice %
Yes 30.05%
601
No 56.35%
1127
Not sure / don’t know who this is 13.60%
272

6. In your opinion, is it possible for older people – aged 70 or above – to be cool’
Choice %
Yes 67.30%
1346
No 15.95%
319
Not sure 16.75%
335

7. How cool would you rate yourself on a scale of 1-5, where 1 is very uncool and 5 is very cool?
Choice %
1 20.35%
407
2 28.40%
568
3 38.00%
760
4 9.65%
193
5 3.60%
72
Average 2.48

8. In your opinion, is being rich cool?
Choice %
Yes 18.20%
364
No 64.20%
1284
Not sure 17.60%
352

9. Have you ever wished you were cooler than you are?
Choice %
Yes 45.10%
902
No 54.90%
1098

10. What do you think makes someone cool?
Choice %
Not caring what others think of them 38.90%
778
Having the latest clothes 11.10%
222
Having an expensive phone 5.55%
111
Confidence 58.55%
1171
Listening to trendy music 9.65%
193
Being independent 38.25%
765
They’re always learning 27.45%
549
They don’t try and impress others 43.55%
871
They’re always positive 34.35%
687
They always have interesting stories about their life 30.90%
618
They don’t judge others 31.85%
637
Not sure / nothing in particular 18.35%
367
Other 1.30%
26

11. Have you ever made an effort to make yourself cooler? E.g. changed the way you dressed, music you listened to, hobbies you take part in
Choice %
Yes 26.70%
534
No 73.30%
1466

12. If yes, what did you do in an effort to make yourself cooler? If you prefer not to say please select not applicable

13. Is your partner cooler or less cool than you?
Choice %
They are cooler 12.90%
258
We are equally cool 40.20%
804
They are less cool 13.40%
268
N/A – not sure / I don’t have a partner 33.50%
670

14. In your opinion, does being good looking automatically make you cooler?
Choice %
Yes 24.15%
483
No 59.65%
1193
Not sure 16.20%
324

15. Do you think Americans or Brits are cooler?
Choice %
Americans 11.40%
228
Brits 31.50%
630
Both the same 35.10%
702
Neither are cool 22.00%
440

16. What do you think makes someone uncool? If unsure or prefer not to say please select Not Applicable

17. Which of the below decades do you think was the coolest?
Choice %
1940s 1.65%
33
1950s 4.55%
91
1960s 24.75%
495
1970s 11.80%
236
1980s 12.20%
244
1990s 7.75%
155
2000s 3.45%
69
2010s 2.10%
42
2020s 1.05%
21
None in particular / not sure 30.70%
614

18. How many times a day on average do you use the word ‘cool’? Please select best match
Choice %
0 55.65%
1113
1 – 2 23.25%
465
3 – 4 8.00%
160
5 – 6 5.85%
117
7 – 8 2.70%
54
9 – 10 2.75%
55
11 – 12 0.85%
17
13-14 0.40%
8
15+ 0.55%
11
Average 1.65

19. If you aren’t cool, can you become cool – or do you have to be ‘born with it’?
Choice %
You can become cool 45.75%
915
You have to be born with it 15.55%
311
Not sure 38.70%
774

20. How much do you care about being cool?
Choice %
A lot 4.60%
92
Somewhat 15.20%
304
Not very much 36.45%
729
Not at all 43.75%
875