Series B, Episode 6 - Beavers
Further details

Topics
- The Pope eats beaver, in particular on a Friday or in Lent. The Roman Catholic Church designated it a fish because they are scaly and live in water. Catholics are not allowed to eat meat on Fridays or in Lent. 400 tonnes of capybara, the largest rodent of Earth, is eaten during Lent in Venezuela. Beavers excrete castoreum, which is used in aspirin.
- If aliens came to abduct Earth's most successful inhabitants, they would abduct bacteria. If chicken had no bacteria, it would be completely tasteless. Only a few types of bacteria are dangerous. There are 40,000 different species of bacteria found in a gram of soil. 75% of the bacteria in the stomach are not identified as separate species.
- In the Battle of the Bulge, the stomach division was made up of German soldiers that had illnesses deemed not suitable enough to be taken out of battle, such as stomach bugs. They had their own latrines and their own special diet, but they were defeated by the Canadians. It was the largest and bloodiest battle in American military history. 600,000 people were involved, which is more than the Battle of Gettysburg, which had Americans on both sides.
- The Earth bulges 30 centimetres twice a day due to the gravitational pull of the Moon. It is the same effect that causes the tides.
- The Earth has either one or five moons. Since the discovery of Cruithne in 1997 (See Series A, Episode 2), three more have been discovered. They are called 2000 PH5, 2000 WN10 and 2002 AA29. If Cruithne is a moon, then so must the other three. (Forfeit: Two) Correction: Since 2006, it has been officially recognised that the Earth has only one moon. In Series K it was revealed that there are now about 18,000 "mini moons" as defined by NASA.
General Ignorance
- In 2003, only 11 points are needed to win a game of table tennis. (Forfeit: 21)
- Kangaroos have three vaginas, but only two wombs. As soon as a joey is born, it crawls along its mother's body and into the pouch. If the joey does not survive the year, the birth of another joey is triggered in the other womb. The third vagina is a mystery. The male kangaroo has two penises.
- There is nothing special about the birth of Julius Caesar. The phrase "caesarean section" is derived from the Latin word meaning for "Cut". There was a form of caesarean section in Caesar's time but it would always kill the mother. Caesar's mother was alive in his adulthood, so she could not have had a caesarean. (Forfeit: Caesarean section)
- There are no offences left in the UK for which you can be put to death. The last capital punishments were outlawed in 1998 by Jack Straw. Arson in the Royal Dockyards was outlawed in 1971. (Forfeit: Arson in the Royal Dockyards; Treason)
- Dead bodies are eaten by bacteria. Kitchen chopping boards contain three times more bacteria than toilet seats and dishcloths have a million times more than that. (Forfeit: Worms)
Deleted scenes
Scores
- Anneka Rice: 7 points
- Bill Bailey: 6 points
- Sean Lock and Alan Davies: -18 points
Notes
There were some complaints over this episode as Alan used the word 'Mad' to describe people with mental and learning disabilities.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Friday 5th November 2004
- Time
- 10:30pm
- Channel
- BBC Four
- Length
- 30 minutes
Repeats
View more broadcast data

Already a donor or subscriber? Sign in
Cast & crew
Regular cast | |
---|---|
Stephen Fry | Host / Presenter |
Alan Davies | Regular Panellist |
Guest cast | |
---|---|
Bill Bailey | Guest |
Sean Lock | Guest |
Anneka Rice | Guest |
Writing team | |
---|---|
John Mitchinson | Question Writer |
Piers Fletcher | Question Writer |
Production team | |
---|---|
Ian Lorimer | Director |
John Lloyd | Producer |
Phil Clarke | Executive Producer |
Mark Freeland | Executive Producer |
Nick King | Editor |
Jonathan Paul Green | Production Designer |
Howard Goodall | Composer |
View related press

Already a donor or subscriber? Sign in