Today while browsing the web, expecting to find more bad news, I stumbled across this graph that certainly brightened my day.

This is a graph showing American vs Brit attitudes about how they would fare in an unarmed fight with various animals. And I have to say, the results didn't surprise me, but I was still pleased by the confidence shown by Americans in their hand-to-paw fighting skills.

See? This is the kind of fighting spirit that gets you wins in 1776 and 1812. The fact that Americans are three times more likely to believe they could take on a grizzly is the definition of the American Spirit in my mind.

Also, a full 30% of Americans believe that they could take down an eagle, the symbol of our country. That takes a lot of courage and confidence. Although it may explain why Brits are so skittish of the majestic bird.

After seeing this graph, I knew there was one thing I would have to do. I had to go to the source and see what other golden graphs I could find. And so I found the two articles from YouGov explaining the results of the polls they took breaking it down both by US vs. Brits and Men vs. Women.

Here are some more graphs to explore.

First, US men vs. women.

This chart is a little more disappointing when you look at the details because apparently a full 1/4 of men in the United States don't think they could take on a normal house cat. I get it, cats have claws, and they're quick and mean, but once you've got it in hand the fight is over for the cat.

However, men make up for it with almost 1/4 of men in the US believing they could take on a chimpanzee. With this level of chutzpah, I don't think most of these men have ever seen videos of a chimp fight. They are absolutely brutal. Just ask Charlton Heston.

Here is probably my favorite chart, I just love the explanation given by YouGov.

"British Women are less likely than American women to think they could beat an animal in a fight, and, when it comes to the scariest animals, so are British men."

When it comes to crocs, elephants, gorillas, grizzlies, and lions American women are more confident in combat than British men. So there you have it, definitive proof that an American woman has more courage than the average British man. Or something like that. I'm sort of drawing my own conclusions at this point.

I'd love to see this same poll taken in other countries around the world. While Americans have confidence probably bordering on stupidity, I think that in a poll the Russians would probably have us all beat.

But there you have it, something to brighten up your day. Just know that your fellow countrymen have more bravery than our friends across the pond. Or, perhaps, just a little more stupidity. Depending on how you look at it.