QI: The Book of General Ignorance - the Noticeably Stouter Edition (52 page)

Ignorance is like a delicate, exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom has gone
.

OSCAR WILDE

aardvarks, colour-blindness of
1

Abel, Frederick
1

Aboriginal peoples
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6

acorns, taste of
1

Adam
1
,
2
,
3

Adams, Douglas
1

Adams, John
1

Aethelstan
1

Afghanistan
1

Africa
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
,
8

cannibalism in
1

cave painting in
1

concentration camps and
1
,
2

flamingos in
1

hailstorms in
1

hares in
1

loofahs in
1

tulips in
1

voodoo in
1

African mammal, most dangerous to humans
1

Agincourt, Battle of
1

agoutis
1

Ainu people
1

air, main ingredient of
1

aircraft carriers, landing on
1

airplane pilots
1

Albania
1
,
2

alcohol
1

as diuretic
1

effect on brain cells of
1

hangover cure
1

Irish miracle
1

James Bond ‘s favourite
1

in Milky Way
1

tigers’ aversion to
1

Alcott, Louisa May
1

Alexander the Great
1

Alexandria
1
,
2
,
3
,
4

Alfred the Great
1
,
2

algae 

and colour of water
1

eliminating
1

growing on sloths
1

and oxygen production
1

see also
blue-green algae

Algeria
1

Alkemade, Nicholas
1

alligators
1

etymology of ‘allegation’
1

Amazonian Indians
1

America, naming of
1

Ameryk, Richard
1

amoebae
1

Andaman islanders
1

Anderson, E. N.
1

Andromeda (M31)
1

Animalens
1

animals

ability to see colour in
1

on the Ark
1

best-endowed
1

bravest
1

first domesticated
1

first in space
1

longest
1

most dangerous
1

number of neck bones in
1

sounds of
1

Anne of Cleves
1
,
2

Antarctica
1
,
2
,
3

Anti-Christ, number of
1

Antigonus of Carystus
1

Antrim, William
1

ants

large brains of
1

nests of
1

strength of
1

Anubis
1

Apicius
1

appendix, uses of
1

apricots, in Jaffa Cakes
1

Arab–Israeli conflict
1

Arabia
1

Archer, Jeffrey
1

archers
1

Archimedes
1

Arctic
1

goose eggs in
1

ice sheet
1

Arens, William
1

Argentina
1
,
2

Aristarchus of Samos
1

Aristophanes
1

Aristotle
1
,
2
,
3
,
4

armadillos
1
,
2

Armstrong, David G.
1

Armstrong, Lance
1

Armstrong, Neil
1

arsenic
1
,
2
,
3

Asia
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5

bagpipes invented in
1

loofahs in
1

marmots and
1

tulips in
1

Asquith, Herbert
1

‘assassin’, etymology of
1

Assassins
1

Assyria
1

asteroid belts
1

asteroids
1
,
2
,
3

Atacama Desert
1

Atkinson, Rowan
1

Atlas, burden carried by
1
,
2

Atlas, King of Mauretania
1

atoms

composition of
1

number of, in universe
1

attention deficit disorder (ADD)
1

Auer, Karl
1

Australia
1
,
2

cannibalism in
1

cave paintings in
1

depression in
1

diamonds in
1

discovery of
1

etymology of ‘pom’
1

flamingos in
1

separation, consequences of
1

Australian aborigines
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
    

 Austria
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5

Ayalla, López de
1

Ayers Rock
1

bacteria

anti-bacterial agents
1

as distinct from viruses
1

effect of silver on
1

and penicillin
1

radiation resistance
1

and stomach ulcers
1

stored in the appendix
1

and tooth decay
1

Baffin Island
1

bagpipes

Nero plays
1

origins of
1

Baker, Thomas
1

Balfour, Arthur James
1

Bali, tigers in
1

ball-point pen
1

balsa
1
,
2

bananas

Ecuador as largest exporter
1

growth of
1

walking, in Colombia
1

Bangladesh
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6

banisters, misidentification of
1

Bannister, Roger
1

barnacles

flight of
1

penises of
1

Barry the Great (dog)
1

Bartley, James
1

baseball
1
,
2

basketball
1

Bastille
1
,
2

Bayeux tapestry
1

beans
1

Beatles, The
1

bees

buzzing of
1

discover world’s roundness
1

Belgium
1

Belize
1

Bell, Alexander Graham
1
,
2

Bellsye, Dr
1

Belushi, John
1

Benedict XVI, Pope
1

Benfica, motto of
1

Bering Sea and Strait
1
,
2
,
3

Berlioz, Hector
1

berries, definition of
1

Berthier, Alexandre
1

Bett, Henry
1

Bible

and animals on Ark
1

birth of Jesus in
1

on eating of chameleons
1

and Immaculate Conception
1

number of commandments in
1

oldest man in
1
,
2

Bich, Marcel
1

big-eyed wolf spider, blindness of
1

Billington, Isabella
1

Billy the Kid
1

bird eggs, smallest
1

birds

fighting
1

guano, as commodity
1

largest
1

milk production in
1

most common
1

neck bones of
1

smallest in Britain
1

Biró, György
1

Biró, László
1

bison
1

Black Death
see
bubonic plague

Black Sea
1

blackberries
1

blackboard, writing implement for
1

Blake, Quentin
1

Blorenge
1

Bludworth, Thomas
1

blueberries
1

blue-green algae
1
,
2

blue whales
1

as loudest individual animal
1

penises of
1
,
2

size of
1

Boer War
1
,
2
,
3

Boisbaudran, Lecoq de
1

Boleyn, Anne
1

Bonaparte, Napoleon
1
,
2
,
3
,
4

Bond, James
1

Bonnie Prince Charlie
1

Boomerang Nebula
1

boomerangs, uses for
1

bootlace worm
1

Bose, Satyendra Nath
1

Bose-Einstein condensate
1
,
2
,
3

Brahms, Johannes
1

brandy, Nelson preserved in
1

Brazil nuts
1

Brendan, Saint
1

Brer Rabbit
1

Brett, Dorothy
1

Bridget, Saint
1
,
2

Britain, Battle of
1

Brontë sisters
1

Brooke, Rupert Chawney
1

Brookes, W. P.
1

Brown, Dan
1

brown bear
1

Brunty, Patrick
1

Bryson, Bill
1
,
2

bubonic plague
1
,
2
,
3

and groin region
1
–
2

buffaloes
1

bug, origins of dual meaning of
1

Bugs Bunny
1

Bulgaria
1

bulls, colour-blindness of
1

Bunsen, Robert Wilhelm,

inventions of
1
,
2
,
3

Bunsen burner
1
,
2
,
3

Burney, Venetia
1

Burke and Hare murders
1

Buteo, Johannes
1