QI: The Second Book of General Ignorance

by John Lloyd

acne 1

  acrophobia 1

  acupuncture 1

  adulteration 1

  Advent calendar 1

  Aelfric, Archbishop 1

  aeroplanes

  emergency landings on water 1

  first flight 1

  items falling from 1

  lavatories on 1

  surviving a crash 1

  Afghanistan, opium production 1

  Africa, most southerly point 1

  age of consent 1

  agelastic 1

  aggregated diamond nanorods (ADNR) 1

  Agulhas clapper 1

  Alan tribe 1

  Alaric 1

  alcohol

  animals drinking 1

  and ‘aperitif effect’ 1

  effect of on antibiotics 1

  and elephants 1

  first record of humans drinking 1

  Alexander, Gavin 1

  Alexander the Great 1, 2

  algae 1, 2, 3, 4

  American flags, burning of 1

  American football 1

  American Sign Language (ASL) 1

  American Society for Microbiology 1

  American Pain Society 1

  amoeba 1

  Anaxagoras 1

  Anglo-Saxon kings 1

  Angola 1

  animals

  alcohol drinkers 1

  dreaming by 1

  finding new species of in gardens 1

  heartbeats of mammals 1

  with horns 1

  most aggressive mammal 1

  saving of human lives 1

  scientific names for 1

  smallest mammal 1

  Animals Are Beautiful People 1

  Antarctica 1

  Dry Valleys 1

  meteorites falling on 1

  antibiotics, effect of alcohol on 1

  Antikythera mechanism 1

  Antony, Mark 1

  Apaches 1

  ‘aperitif effect’ 1

  Archaea 1

  Archimedes 1

  architecture, Gothic 1

  Argentinian Lake duck 1

  Aristotle 1, 2, 3

  Armstrong, Neil 1

  Arpaio, Sheriff Joe 1

  arthritis 1

  Aserinsky, Eugene 1, 2

  ass’s milk 1

  Assumption 1

  astronauts 1

  atmosphere, Earth’s 1

  atomic bombs 1

  Attila the Hun 1, 2

  ‘Auld Lang Syne’ 1, 2

  Australia

  and languages 1, 2

  Maralinga nuclear tests 1

  Australian Aboriginals 1, 2

  Automobile Association 1

  Avril, Jane 1

  Babbage, Charles 1

  Bach-y-Rita, Paul 1

  Bachelor of Arts/Science 1

  Bacon, Francis 1

  bacteria 1

  Baden, Prince Max von 1

  ‘badger’ 1

  badgers 1

  Balderdash & Piffle 1

  balls, bounciness of 1

  bamboo 1

  bamboo mealybug 1

  bamboo mites 1

  bananas, shape of 1

  Bangkok 1

  banknotes 1

  Barnard, Christiaan 1

  barometer 1

  al-Bashir, President Omar 1

  bats 1

  Baum, Lyman Frank 1, 2

  Baumgartner, Felix 1

  Bayeux Tapestry 1, 2

  BBC 1

  beaches, sewage contamination of Britain’s 1

  Becquerel, Henri 1, 2

  beer 1

  bees 1

  beetles 1

  belonephobia 1

  benzene 1

  Bertram Palm 1

  Besley, Dr Stephen 1

  Bible 1

  Bill of Rights (1689) 1

  Biodiversity in Urban Gardens in Sheffield project (BUGS) 1

  Bir Tawil Triangle 1

  birds

  and flight 1

  inspiring of Darwin’s theory of evolution 1

  navigation 1

  oldest living 1

  black clothes

  and keeping cool 1

  and slim appearance 1

  Black Death 1

  black holes 1

  Blahnik, Manolo 1

  Blue whale 1, 2

  blue-green algae 1

  body heat, losing of 1

  Boero, Ferdinando 1

  Bogdanor, Professor Vernon 1

  Bolton Meteorite 1

  Boring, Edwin 1

  Borowski, Hulda 1

  Bosworth Field, battle of (1485) 1, 2

  bottom cleavage 1

  Boule, Pierre Marcellin 1

  bounciness 1

  BrainPort 1

  brass monkey 1

  Brazil, orange producer 1

  breast cleavage 1

  bright light, response to by sneezing 1

  Bristol Channel 1

  Britain

  and atomic bomb 1

  constitution 1

  first American buried in 1

  gift of land to America 1

  home-grown opium 1

  installation of first speed cameras 1

  military successes 1

  national anthem 1

  Roman invasion of 1

  slavery in 1

  smallest houses 1

  Broadcasting the Barricades 1

  Bronze Age 1

  Buddhism 1, 2

  Bulgaria 1

  Burmese pythons 1

  Burns, Robert 1

  Bush, George W. 1

  butterflies 1

  Byrd, Rear-Admiral Richard E. 1

  Caesar, Julius 1, 2

  hair-loss problems 1

  invasion of Britain 1

  ‘veni, vidi, vici’ phrase 1

  Caesar (surname), origin of 1

  Caesarian section 1

  Calabria (Italy) 1

  Cameron, David 1

  Canada 1, 2

  cancan 1

  cancer 1, 2

  Cape Agulhas 1

  Cape of Good Hope 1

  Capone, Al 1

  Captain America 1

  carbon dioxide emissions 1

  cars

  impact of speed cameras on accidents in 1

  optimum driving speed for fuel efficiency 1

  case law 1

  Case of Proclamations (1611) 1

  Caspian Sea 1

  Cassini, Giovanni Domenico 1

  Cassini-Huygens space probe 1, 2

  cat flap 1

  Catholics 1, 2, 3

  Cawdrey, Robert 1

  Cayley, Sir George 1

  Celts 1

  Challenger Deep (Pacific) 1

  Chaloner, William 1

  Chamorro people 1

  Chandra X-ray Observatory satellite 1

  Charles the Hammer 1

  Charles VI, King of France 1

  Charles VII, King of France 1

  Charming Jenny 1

  Chateau de Chambord 1

  cheese 1

  and dreaming 1

  Stilton 1

  Cheese Mites 1

  Chilcote, Captain 1

  China

  banknotes 1

  football 1

  and glass 1, 2

  inventions 1

  war with Japan (1937–45) 1

  Chinese Restaurant Syndrome 1

  chocolate 1, 2

  cholera 1, 2

  Christians, in India 1

  Christmas 1

  chrysalis 1

  Church of England, and Darwin’s theory of evolution 1

  Churchill, Winston 1, 2

  Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) 1

  ‘clan tartans’ 1

  Clarke, Arthur C. 1

  Clarkson, Jeremy 1

  cleavage 1

  Cleopatra 1, 2

  Cleveland, Stephen Grover 1, 2

  cloaca 1, 2

  clouds

  highest 1

  weight of 1r />
  coal 1

  cobra, beating heart of 1

  Coca-Cola 1, 2

  cocoon 1

  coefficient of restitution (COR) 1

  coins

  biting of 1

  counterfeit 1

  tossing of 1

  cold

  response of body to 1

  tips for survival in 1

  colds 1

  Collings, Dr Virginia 1

  Comăneci, Nadia 1, 2

  combined sewer overflows (CSOs) 1

  comets, collision with earth 1

  compass, razor blade as 1

  Computed Tomography (CT) scan 1

  computers, first 1

  Connery, Sean 1

  constitution

  Britain 1

  United States 1

  contubernium 1

  cool, keeping 1

  Cornish wreckers 1

  Coroners and Justice Act (2010) 1

  council elections (2010) 1

  counterfeiting, and coinage 1

  cracked knuckles 1

  Creasy, Sir Edward 1

  Crick, Francis 1

  cricket, and coin tossing 1

  Criminal Law Act (1967) 1

  Crova, Cavaliere Carlo 1

  Crusaders 1, 2

  cuju 1

  Curie, Marie 1

  Cutler, George E. 1

  Cuvier, Georges 1

  da Vinci, Leonardo 1, 2

  Dan Dare 1

  Darfur 1

  Darwin, Charles 1, 2, 3, 4

  Origin of Species 1, 2

  David, Wayne 1

  Davies, Paul 1

  de Vito, Danny 1

  Dead Sea 1, 2

  death, legal definition of 1

  death rattle 1

  décolletage 1

  Deering, John 1

  Defoe, Daniel 1

  defibrillators 1, 2

  dehydration 1, 2

  density, measuring of 1

  Depp, Johnny 1

  depth perception 1

  Dewey, Melville 1

  diamond dust 1

  diamonds, hardness of 1

  diamorphine 1

  Dias, Bartolomeu 1

  dictionaries 1

  Dinka 1

  diplomatic immunity 1

  diseases, carried by rats 1

  Disney, Walt 1, 2

  disputed land 1

  distance, judging of 1

  diurnal libration 1

  DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) 1, 2

  dob-dobs 1

  Doctrine of Papal Infallibility (1870) 1

  dolphins, and sleep 1

  Domesday Book 1

  Don Juan Pond (Antarctica) 1

  donkey’s milk 1

  Donne, John 1

  dormice 1

  Dover 1

  Dowson, Ernest 1

  Drake, Sir Francis 1, 2

  dreams/dreaming

  by animals 1

  and cheese 1

  Du Pont, John 1

  Duchenne, Guillaume 1

  duck-billed platypus 1

  Dumas, Alexander 1

  dummy, used for resuscitation 1

  dust, household 1

  dust mites 1

  Dutch 1

  national anthem 1

  origin of 1

  e-numbers 1

  Eagle 1

  ear 1

  evolution of 1

  Earth

  atmosphere of 1

  bombarding of by meteorites 1, 2

  colliding of comets with 1

  creation of minerals on 1

  crust 1

  magnetic field 1

  view of Moon from 1

  earthworms 1

  Easter 1

  Easter Act (1928) 1

  Eaton, Shirley 1

  eavesdropping 1

  Ebert, Friedrich 1

  Ebola virus 1

  Ebsen, Buddy 1

  echolocation 1

  Eden, Anthony 1

  Edgar the Ætheling 1

  Edward the Confessor 1

  eggs 1

  Egypt (modern) 1

  Egyptians, ancient 1, 2

  and Cleopatra 1

  and glass 1

  elephants

  and dreaming 1

  ‘intoxication’ of 1

  Elizabeth I, Queen 1, 2

  embassies, foreign 1

  embroidery 1

  emoticons 1

  English language

  as an official language 1

  spelling reform 1

  words introduced to 1

  Epic of Gilgamesh 1

  equinoxes 1

  Estonia 1

  ethylene 1

  Eton 1, 2

  Etruscan shrew 1

  eugeroic drugs 1

  euphemisms 1

  ‘Eureka!’ 1

  European Football Championships 1

  European law 1

  Everest, Mount 1

  Everest, Sir George 1

  evolution, Darwin’s theory of 1

  Eyam (Derbyshire) 1

  eyelashes, follicle mites in 1

  eyes

  and estimating depth and distance 1

  importance in indicating genuine emotions 1

  and smiling 1

  vibrating of 1

  eyesight, bat’s 1

  Eyser, George 1

  faeces, contamination of bar foods by 1, 2

  Falbo, Clement 1

  Faraday, Michael 1

  fear, effect of on heart rate 1

  Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) 1

  Fehr, Ernst 1

  Feingold, Benjamin 1

  Ferguson, Niall 1

  fertilisers 1

  film censorship 1

  finches 1, 2, 3

  finger joints 1

  Finland/Finns 1, 2

  firefighters, safety measures introduced 1

  firemen’s poles 1

  First World War 1, 2

  ending of 1

  fish

  and Lent 1

  survival of in polar regions 1

  term 1

  ugly 1

  fishermen, and European law 1

  Fitzroy, Robert 1

  fizzy drinks 1

  flags

  burning of American 1

  flying from cars 1

  flavour 1

  fleas 1

  Fleming, Alexander 1

  flies 1

  flight path, living under 1

  flintknappers 1

  Folies Bérgeres 1

  follicle mites 1

  food, effect of on behaviour 1

  Food and Drug Administration 1

  football 1

  football club, oldest 1

  forced labour 1

  forests, finding north in 1

  France

  and cheese 1

  military success of 1

  national anthem 1

  toilet hygiene 1

  Francis of Assisi, St 1

  Franco, Generalissimo Francisco 1

  Frankenstein 1

  Frankenstein (film) 1

  Franklin, Benjamin 1, 2, 3

  Franklin, Rosalind 1

  Frithiof’s Saga 1

  Fuller, Richard Buckminster 1

  fullerite 1

  fungi, and Beatrix Potter 1

  ‘funny bone’, banging 1

  fur, loss of in humans 1

  fur trade 1

  G20 1

  Gabes, Gulf of 1

  Galapagos 1

  Galbraith, John Kenneth 1

  Galea, Professor Ed 1

  Galileo 1, 2

  Gallaudet College 1

  Gallopin’ Gaucho, The 1

  gametes 1

  Garland, Judy 1

  Gatsonides, Maurice 1, 2

  Gauss, Karl Friedrich 1

  gavels 1, 2

  Genghis Khan 1

  George IV, King 1

  ger 1

  Gerard, John 1

  German Revolution (1918) 1r />
  Germany/Germans

  nicknames for 1

  and Second World War 1

  ‘sink on sight’ policy during First World War 1

  Gestring, Marjorie 1

  Gibson, E.J. 1

  Giesbrecht, Professor Gordon 1, 2

  Gilbert, Avery 1

  Gillray, James 1

  glass 1, 2

  hardness of 1

  impact of on Western culture 1

  molecular structure 1

  glass balls 1

  ‘glassy water’ 1

  gliders 1

  Glycaemic Index 1

  Godwin-Austen, Henry 1

  gold coins 1

  gold paint, covering a body with 1

  golden ratio 1

  Goldfinger 1

  Gorbachev, Mikhail 1

  Gore, Al 1

  Gothic architecture 1

  gothic novel 1

  Goths 1, 2, 3

  Gould, Stephen Jay 1

  Goulue, La 1

  Grahame, Alistair 1

  Grahame, Kenneth 1

  graphite 1

  graphology 1

  gravity 1

  Great Depression 1

  Great Fire of London 1

  Great Plague (1665–6) 1

  Great Trigonometric Survey of India 1, 2

  Greece, ancient 1, 2

  Greek language 1

  ‘green flash’ 1

  greenhouse effect 1

  Greenland 1

  Gregory the Great, Pope 1

  Groningen (Netherlands) 1

  Guildford 1

  Gypsies 1

  hair

  and Romans 1

  yak’s 1

  hairnets, fishermen’s 1, 2

  Halai’b Triangle 1

  Haldane, J.B.S. 1

  Halobacteria 1

  Hamilton, Margaret 1

  Hampson, Frank 1, 2

  handwriting 1

  Hannibal 1

  Hansen, Gerhard Armauer 1

  Happy Planet Index (2009) 1