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

QI

BBC Two and BBC One panel show focusing on quite interesting facts. 217 episodes (pilot + 15 series), 2003 - 2017. Stars Sandi Toksvig, Alan Davies and Stephen Fry.

Another series is in development.
Series J, Episode 12 is repeated on Dave today at Midnight

Series H, Episode 1 - Hodge Podge

Preview clip

Full synopsis

QI. Image shows from L to R: Alan Davies, Ross Noble, Stephen Fry, Jack Dee, Phill Jupitus. Copyright: TalkbackThames.

Theme

- This is the "General" show in Series H, covering a wide range of different topics beginning with "H".

Topics

- Forfeit: When Alan pressed his buzzer at the beginning the klaxon sounded and he lost 10 points.

- Bankers like long-haired men and women in short skirts because there is a direct correlation between them and the increase in stock prices during the 20th century. Whenever women have worn short skirts there has been a boom and whenever women have worn long skirts there has been a bust or a recession. This is known as "hemline theory". Similarly there is a negative correlation between longer-haired men and the stock market (the longer the hair, the better the stock market).

- XL Tangent: During a boom people buy more perishable foods and during a bust more people buy food that lasts a longer time.

- The thing that starts with "H" and means you will always be the bridesmaid and never the bride is 'halitosis'. However, it does not actually exist. It was invented by Lambert Pharmacia, the makers of Listerine, so that they could sell mouthwash. Listerine, which is named after Joseph Lister, inventor of antiseptics, was originally sold as an antiseptic, but then without changing the formula the company began selling it as a substance for washing floors, a cure for gonorrhoea, and then as a mouthwash. As it was the first ever mouthwash, they decided to invent the idea of halitosis to shift Listerine, and it worked, expanding the size of their company greatly.

- Tangent: Alan once had his picture taken with a koala, which smelt wonderful because it ate nothing but eucalyptus.

- XL: The sort of person who would use a left-handed motorbike would be an American policeman. It allows their right hand to be free and thus able to use a gun. They were designed by the Indian Motorcycle Company. Between the two world wars they were the biggest motorbike makers in the world.

- XL Tangent: The panel attempt to use left-handed products such as left-handed pens (designed to reduce smudging), pencil sharpeners, tin openers and scissors. The word "sinister" is Latin for "left-handed". Someone who is "ambisinistrous" cannot write with either hand.

- XL Tangent: Jack's sister is left-handed. He went to a left-handed shop to get some stuff for her, but he walked straight into the door because it opened from the other side.

- XL: Motorbikes do not pay the Congestion Charge in London because of the cameras. Motorbikes only have one licence plate, which is on the back. As a result the camera can only take a photograph of the driver from the back, so they cannot identify who the driver is.

- XL Tangent: Motorbikes used to have a second licence plate on the mudguard, sideways on, but these were dangerous and so scraped.

- A hoplophobe would be nervous of a Sturmgewehr Vierundvierzig with a Krummlauf modification because it can fire over walls and around corners. A "hoplophobe" is someone with a fear of weapons. The Sturmgewehr Vierundvierzig or Sturmgewehr 44 used by the Nazis during World War Two, was the first modern assault rifle, and the Krummlauf was a bent barrel with a periscope which allowed the user to shoot around corners and over walls. It was invented by a washing machine manufacturer called Hans-Joachim Shayede. Such modifications were first used by the Australians during World War One and modern versions are used by the Israeli army.

- Tangent: The website urbandictionary.com defines a "hoplophobe" as: "An irrational fear of weapons, generally guns, usually occurring as a result of a liberal upbringing or the fact that the person is just a wimp in general. Rather than deal with the fear said hoplophobe will assign human characteristics to a weapon i.e. 'guns are evil' or 'guns kill' to justify the fear rather than deal with the core problem of being a sissy."

- The reason why a bomb disposal expert would go into a joke shop is because silly string can be used to show where tripwires are without setting them off.

- You can make a square hole with a round drill by using a drill bit called a "Reuleaux". A Reuleaux is a triangle with bulbous circular sides. The central bit is placed just off-centre, into one corner, which makes it drill out a square.

- Tangent: When Ross Noble hears the idea of such a drill bit, he is fascinated by the idea of a "Toblerone-Rolo combo", which is how he manages to correctly guess the name Reuleaux drill bit because it is pronounced the same as "Rolo". Phill then claims the words "Toblerone-Rolo combo" are the best words to say in a Geordie accent.

- Tangent: Reuleaux triangles can also be seen in Wankel rotary engines. It is named after Felix Wankel. Correction: Reuleaux triangles do not appear in Wankel rotary engines, although the shape is a close approximation.

- Tangent: If you take an ordinary cylinder and take off two identical wedges from both sides so that they meet at the opposite end, so long as the cylinder is at long as it is wide, you can make this shape fit through a circle, triangle and a square hole.

- XL: The roundest thing in the universe is a neutron star. These are formed after a supernova has a gravitational collapse. The diameter is only around 15 miles and the highest mountain on it is about 5mm tall, but they are believed to have twice the mass of the Sun. A thimble full of neutron star would weight more than a mountain.

- XL Tangent: Comparatively speaking, the Earth is smoother than a snooker ball. The Earth is not round, but an oblate spheroid.

- The thing that is made of jelly and lives forever is turritopsis nutricula - better known as the immortal jellyfish. It does not die of old age, although it can die of disease or from being eaten. After it has sex it can then turn back into a child and it can do this time after time again.

- Tangent: In the earlier half of the 20th century it was believed that injecting monkey glands would help you keep young. Monkey glands are actually monkey testicles, although it started with human testicles. The idea was first suggested by Serge Voronoff, a Russian living in Paris. In the 1940s, Wolverhampton Wonderers had a striker called Dennis Westcott who used monkey glands on the insistence of his manager Major Frank Buckley. Westcott scored 38 goals in 35 games. Then the manager of Plymouth Argyle did the same with his whole team. Correction: When Westcott scored his goals in the 1946-47 season Buckley had already resigned as manager in 1944. However, Buckley was manager when he made his team undergo the injections in 1938.

General Ignorance

- Snakes are able to eat food which is bigger than their head because their jaws are double jointed. Snakes have a quadrate bone which allows them to stretch their mouths open much wider. In mammals, the quadrate bone became the ear bones. (Forfeit: They dislocate their jaw)

- Tangent: In 2005 in the Everglades a Burmese python tried to eat a whole alligator. However, the alligator was still alive inside the snake so the alligator tore at the stomach and caused the snake to explode. Burmese pythons are popular pets around the area and sometimes escape.

- When a judge wants order in his court he just shouts. British judges do not have gavels, unlike American judges. (Forfeit: Bangs his gavel)

- Tangent: Jack once played a judge in Stephen's drama series 'Kingdom' where he had a gavel.

- XL: If Blackbeard gave you a treasure map the "X" might be a signature because he could not write. There is no evidence to suggest that pirates buried their treasure or even used treasure maps. They preferred to spend what they stole. The idea of treasure maps and burying treasure comes from Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson. Correction: Blackbeard could read and write.

- XL Tangent: The actor Robert Newton is today most famous for his portrayal of Long John Silver in Treasure Island, where he invented the stereotypical pirate voice. Tony Hancock first became well known as a Robert Newton impersonator. International Talk like a Pirate Day takes place on 19th September.

- XL Tangent: Alan once met a Somali man who really wanted to get on television. He said to Alan: "I'm Somali, but I can do Eritrean."

Scores

- Jack Dee: 2 points
- Ross Noble: -6 points
- Alan Davies: -8 points
- Phill Jupitus: - 10 points

Notes

Sean Lock was intended to be a guest on the show, but he was stranded on the Isle of Man due to the Icelandic volcano, so Jupitus took his place. (Source)

For details on corrections, see the QI Qibble Blog

Broadcast details

Date
Friday 17th September 2010
Time
8:30pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

  1. Saturday 18th September 2010 at 8:45pm on BBC2 (45 minute version)
  2. Monday 1st August 2011 at 9:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  3. Monday 1st August 2011 at 11:40pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  4. Tuesday 6th September 2011 at 9:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  5. Wednesday 7th September 2011 at 12:00am on Dave (60 minute version)
  6. Saturday 3rd December 2011 at 8:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  7. Saturday 3rd December 2011 at 11:30pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  8. Sunday 1st January 2012 at 11:00pm on BBC2 (45 minute version)
  9. Sunday 1st January 2012 at 11:30pm on BBC2 Wales (45 minute version)
  10. Saturday 14th January 2012 at 8:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  11. Sunday 19th February 2012 at 12:00am on Dave (60 minute version)
  12. Sunday 19th February 2012 at 8:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  13. Tuesday 22nd May 2012 at 9:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  14. Saturday 16th June 2012 at 9:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  15. Saturday 16th June 2012 at 11:40pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  16. Wednesday 1st August 2012 at 10:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  17. Thursday 2nd August 2012 at 1:45am on Dave (45 minute version)
  18. Wednesday 19th September 2012 at 9:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  19. Thursday 20th September 2012 at 12:20am on Dave (60 minute version)
  20. Sunday 20th January 2013 at 8:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  21. Tuesday 5th March 2013 at 9:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  22. Wednesday 6th March 2013 at 12:00am on Dave (60 minute version)
  23. Sunday 5th May 2013 at 9:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  24. Wednesday 5th June 2013 at 7:05pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  25. Wednesday 5th June 2013 at 10:25pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  26. Monday 5th August 2013 at 10:00pm on BBC2
  27. Wednesday 28th August 2013 at 7:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  28. Sunday 29th September 2013 at 7:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  29. Thursday 31st October 2013 at 8:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  30. Thursday 31st October 2013 at 11:40pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  31. Saturday 14th December 2013 at 9:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  32. Sunday 26th January 2014 at 8:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  33. Sunday 26th January 2014 at 11:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  34. Thursday 17th November 2016 at 8:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  35. Friday 18th November 2016 at 12:00am on Dave (60 minute version)
  36. Saturday 7th January 2017 at 3:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)
  37. Wednesday 22nd February 2017 at 10:00pm on Dave (60 minute version)

Cast & crew

Regular cast
Stephen Fry Host / Presenter
Alan Davies Regular Panellist
Guest cast
Phill Jupitus Guest
Jack Dee Guest
Ross Noble Guest
Production team
Ian Lorimer Director
Piers Fletcher Producer
David Morley (as Dave Morley) Exec Producer
Ruby Kuraishe Exec Producer
Jonathan Paul Green Production Designer
Howard Goodall Composer
Nick King Editor
Mat Coward Researcher
Will Bowen Researcher
Andrew Hunter Murray (as Andy Murray) Researcher
Other cast & crew
John Mitchinson Question Writer
Justin Pollard Question Writer
James Harkin Question Writer
Molly Oldfield Question Writer
Arron Ferster Question Writer

Video

Toblerone-Rolo-Combo

Stephen Fry and guests discuss the unusual 'rolo-triangle' drill that creates a square.

Featuring: Alan Davies, Stephen Fry, Phill Jupitus, Jack Dee, Ross Noble.

Press

H is for hero - which is what Stephen Fry has become to millions of TV viewers and Twitterers who hang on his every tweet. And it's also the letter that'll be the theme of the brand new series eight.

Regular panellist Alan Davies - who admits the endless repeats of this show on Dave even get up his nose - resumes his role of The Thudding Voice Of Ignorance. And he'll be joined by Phill Jupitus, Jack Dee and Ross Noble who'll all be aiming to come up with Quite Interesting answers to the show's posers.

But QI would be nothing without its genial headmaster Fry who sits atop this mountain of knowledge like an erudite genie. His trivia lessons often end up being quite a lot more interesting than the brave stabs at comedy.

Jane Simon, The Mirror, 17th September 2010

Stephen Fry fans, prepare to hug yourselves with glee - RT's cover star is going to be everywhere this autumn and winter. The second, eagerly anticipated volume of his memoirs, The Fry Chronicles, is published this week (it's been too long since Moab Is My Washpot in 1997), he's doing gigs at the Royal Albert Hall and elsewhere and, of course, he's hosting this new series of QI. At last! We no longer have to survive on endless re-runs on Dave, so endless that we devotees know all the questions and all the correct answers and aren't caught out by the klaxon any more. So let's welcome the newness. As always, expect an erudite, if occasionally unnecessarily smutty delight, as we reach the letter "H". Genial perpetual QI loser Alan Davies returns, along with another regular, the cheery Phill Jupitus. Making up the quartet are the dolorous Jack Dee and Geordie comic Ross Noble, wild of hair and even wilder of imagination.

Alison Graham, Radio Times, 17th September 2010

Top QI Facts

We take a look back at some of the quirky facts with which the quiz show has filled our brains.

Sky, 17th September 2010

The closest you'll ever be to diving into an encyclopaedia and then surface, drenched in knowledge and needing to wipe facts about the Periodic Table from the corners of your eyes, is by watching this still-spiffing comedy panel show. Tonight Stephen Fry will set Alan Davies, Ross Noble, Jack Dee, and Phill Jupitus questions relating to the letter H, which means obscure questions on hacky sacks, the Roman soldier Horatio, and H out of Steps.

Sky, 17th September 2010

Who is tvBite's least favourite person on QI this week? Alan Davies? KLAXON NOISE. Why, this week it's Phill Jupitus. Phil's 25th appearance on the show brings him level with Jo Brand as most-used guest. He moves above Alan as most annoying person because of that book where he claims to have invented great radio, despite presenting one of the most irritating shows ever. Maybe DJs should be allowed to choose their own music but they should also SHUT UP and not carry on in an annoying nasal whine. Even more annoying, Phill shouldn't have even been on the show but Sean Lock was stranded on the Isle Of Man.

Anyway, that's by the by. We like QI, in general and it is back with series H. (By the way, prepare yourself for an autumn of wistful mellow fruitiness because Stephen Fry will be everywhere. He has a book to flog and a live Albert Hall show to publicise). The episode is titled Hodge Podge, the other guests are Jack Dee, Ross Noble and over all there are many worse ways to begin your weekend.

TV Bite, 17th September 2010

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