QI. Image shows from L to R: Alan Davies, Sandi Toksvig. Copyright: TalkbackThames
QI

QI

  • TV panel show
  • BBC Two / BBC One / BBC Four
  • 2003 - 2024
  • 312 episodes (21 series)

Panel game that contains lots of difficult questions and a large amount of quite interesting facts. Stars Sandi Toksvig, Stephen Fry and Alan Davies.

Episode menu

Series A, Episode 10 - Aviation

QI. Alan Davies. Copyright: TalkbackThames

Topics

- The aeroplane was invented by John Stringfellow. (Forfeit: The Wright Brothers)

- A person might have, "Mad, bad, fat, sad old git," on their luggage because they are airport luggage codes.

- MAD: Madrid Barajas International Airport.

- BAD: Barksdale Air Force Base, Bossier City, Louisiana.

- FAT: Fresno Yosemite International Airport, California.

- SAD: Safford Regional Airport, Arizona.

- OLD: Old Town Municipal Airport, Maine.

- GIT: Geita Airport, Geita, Tanzania.

- Madonna's plan for the prettiest airport in the world is to buy Compton Abbas Airfield in Dorset, and shut it down.

- The smallest aircraft carrier in the world is a Mitsubishi Shogun.

- Tangent: The Shogun is known in the rest of the world as the "Pajero" except in Spain, where it means, "One who fiddles with himself for sexual pleasure."

- Tangent: Julia Morris once worked on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, known for producing good milk.

- It was a bad idea to ban smoking on aeroplanes because companies now recycle air, increasing the threat from viruses.

- The Alan tribe live on the Russian border, in the Northern Crocuses Mountains, where they were driven by the Huns in the 4th century. Pliny the Elder described them as, "A race of bastard degenerates."

- Tangent: "Alan" and "Peter" both mean "Rock" or "Pebble". Stephen Fry's father is called "Alan".

- Edgar Allan Poe predicted the Big Bang theory, the theory of relativity, parallel universes and the structure of the atom in a prose poem called Eureka.

- Alan Smithee is the Alan with the worst reputation in Hollywood. It is a name used by film directors when they disown a film. Alan Smithee credits

- In Boy on a Dolphin, Sophia Loren had to walk in a trench due to Alan Ladd being so short.

- "Alan Whicker's" is cockney rhyming slang for, "Knickers".

- Tangent: The Australian rhyming slang for underwear is "Reg Grundy's - Undies". Listerine is an example of rhyming slang moved on one. If you are "Listerine", you are "Anti-septic" and "Septic" is cockney rhyming slang for an American, as in, "Septic tank - Yank".

General Ignorance

- The first man to circumnavigate the globe was Juan Sebastian Elcano. (Forfeit: Magellan)

- The helicopter was invented by the Chinese. (Forfeit: Italian)

- Tangent: The modern helicopter was invented by the French.

- Nothing happens when you suck your pencil, because it was made out of graphite, the crystallised form of carbon. (Forfeit: Lead poisoning)

Deleted Scenes

- A third of the world's languages are spoken in Papua New Guinea. The official language is English, but most speak in Pidgin English. "Prince Charles" is rendered as, "Number one pickaninny belong Mrs. Queen." A male contraceptive is a, "Gummy belong cock." A helicopter is, "Magimix belong Jesus."

Scores

- Alan Davies: 23 points (First victory)
- Julia Morris: 9 points
- Rich Hall: 3 points
- Peter Serafinowicz: -5 points

Notes

This episode is also known as Alan.

Broadcast details

Date
Thursday 13th November 2003
Time
10pm
Channel
BBC Two
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Saturday 12th September 2009 8:20pm Dave
Thursday 2nd December 2010 7:50pm Dave
Friday 8th April 2011 10:20pm Dave
Wednesday 25th May 2011 11:00pm Dave
Wednesday 29th June 2011 10:20pm Dave
Thursday 30th June 2011 12:55am Dave
Sunday 15th July 2012 12:00pm Dave
Sunday 15th July 2012 6:40pm Dave
Sunday 25th November 2012 11:40pm Dave
Wednesday 19th December 2012 2:00pm Dave
Wednesday 19th December 2012 11:40pm Dave
Tuesday 30th April 2013 11:20pm Dave
Wednesday 1st May 2013 2:20am Dave
Sunday 16th June 2013 1:40pm Dave
Sunday 16th June 2013 5:40pm Dave
Tuesday 17th September 2013 11:00pm Dave
Wednesday 18th September 2013 2:25am Dave
Wednesday 7th January 2015 11:40pm Dave
Tuesday 17th March 2015 11:00pm Dave
Wednesday 8th July 2015 11:40pm Dave
Wednesday 18th November 2015 9:00pm Dave
Thursday 19th November 2015 2:20am Dave
Tuesday 29th March 2016 8:00pm Dave
Monday 25th July 2016 2:15am Dave
Monday 25th July 2016 9:20pm Dave
Wednesday 31st August 2016 11:20pm Dave
Thursday 1st September 2016 2:20am Dave
Monday 9th January 2017 3:20pm Dave
Friday 10th March 2017 2:00pm Dave
Saturday 11th March 2017 12:25am Dave
Friday 12th January 2018 11:00pm Dave
Saturday 13th January 2018 1:00am Dave
Monday 12th February 2018 11:00pm Dave
Tuesday 13th February 2018 1:00am Dave
Saturday 17th March 2018 1:00am Dave
Saturday 17th March 2018 3:30am Dave
Saturday 12th May 2018 12:00am Dave
Saturday 12th May 2018 2:00am Dave
Friday 8th June 2018 12:00am Dave
Friday 8th June 2018 2:00am Dave
Tuesday 7th August 2018 11:20pm Dave
Wednesday 8th August 2018 3:30am Dave
Wednesday 23rd January 2019 11:40pm Dave
Thursday 24th January 2019 1:40am Dave

Cast & crew

Cast
Stephen Fry Host / Presenter
Alan Davies Regular Panellist
Guest cast
Rich Hall Guest
Julia Morris Guest
Peter Serafinowicz Guest
Writing team
Samantha Ball Researcher
Adam Jacot de Boinod Researcher
Sophie Johnstone Researcher
Molly Oldfield Researcher
Production team
Ian Lorimer Director
John Lloyd Producer
Phil Clarke Executive Producer
Nick King Editor
Jonathan Paul Green Production Designer
Howard Goodall Composer

Share this page