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Find out moreJohn Lloyd has a broadcasting background. As a radio producer he devised The News Quiz and To the Manor Born before moving to television to start Not the Nine O'Clock News, Spitting Image, Blackadder and, of course, QI.
Being a small “instant” humour book there is no bibliography telling you where these facts originate but we now have google so can read up on such things as why Horatio Nelson’s pension continued to be paid to 1947. Harris Hawks standing on each other’s shoulders to get a better view was quite flabbergasting although I was more horrified to read that slugs have about 27,000 teeth. It is, of course, a book designed to entertain and it certainly does that in fine style. ~ Sue BakerLike for Like ReadingFascinating Footnotes from History, Giles MiltonThe Ultimate Book of Heroic Failures, Stephen Pie
What is truth and what is hogwash? This is the question that The Book of General Ignorance asks. Did Henry VIII have six wives, does Earth have only one moon? If you still think so, then you badly need this book to right your wrongs. Thomas Edison stated that we know less than one millionth of one percent about anything; Mark Twain thought it would take 8 million years to master mathematics alone; Woody Allen said that some drink deeply from the river of knowledge, but others only gargle. A comprehensive and humiliating catalogue of all the misconceptions, mistakes and misunderstandings in 'common knowledge', which will make you wonder why anyone ever bothers to go to school.
Earth - a small, insignificant planet. Entirely devoid of intelligent life. At least that's according to the legal documents. The Doctor, Romana and K9 find themselves at the centre of a most unusual trial. An intergalactic corporation wants to bulldoze the planet for a development project. Only a previous court's preservation document is standing in their way. The Doctor has been summoned as an expert witness. If he can prove Earth contains intelligent life, the whole world will be saved. But with a fortune at stake... it was never going to be that simple. Cast: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Lalla Ward (Romana), John Leeson (K9), Julian Wadham (Judge Perigord Trent).
The Scottish nationalists seek to end the United Kingdom after 300 years of a successful union. Their drive for an independent Scotland is now nearer to success than it has ever been. Success would mean a diminished Britain and a perilously insecure Scotland. The nationalists have represented the three centuries of union with England as a malign and damaging association for Scotland. The European Union is held out as an alternative and a safeguard for Scotland's future. But the siren call of secession would lure Scotland into a state of radical instability, disrupting ties of work, commerce and kinship and impoverishing the economy. All this with no guarantee of growth in an EU now struggling with a downturn in most of its states and the increasing disaffection of many of its members. In this incisive and controversial book, journalist John Lloyd cuts through the rhetoric to show that the economic plans of the Scottish National Party are deeply unrealistic; the loss of a subsidy of as much as GBP10 billion a year from the Treasury would mean large-scale cuts, much deeper than those effected by Westminster; the broadly equal provision of health, social services, education and pensions across the UK would cease, leaving Scotland with the need to recreate many of these systems on its own; and the claim that Scotland would join the most successful of the world's small states - as Denmark, New Zealand and Norway - is no more than an aspiration with little prospect of success. The alternative to independence is clear: a strong devolution settlement and a joint reform of the British union to modernise the UK's age-old structures, reduce the centralisation of power and boost the ability of all Britain's nations and regions to support and unleash their creative and productive potential. Scotland has remained a nation in union with three other nations - England, Northern Ireland and Wales. It will continue as one, more securely in a familiar companionship.
The Scottish nationalists seek to end the United Kingdom after 300 years of a successful union. Their drive for an independent Scotland is now nearer to success than it has ever been. Success would mean a diminished Britain and a perilously insecure Scotland. The nationalists have represented the three centuries of union with England as a malign and damaging association for Scotland. The European Union is held out as an alternative and a safeguard for Scotland's future. But the siren call of secession would lure Scotland into a state of radical instability, disrupting ties of work, commerce and kinship and impoverishing the economy. All this with no guarantee of growth in an EU now struggling with a downturn in most of its states and the increasing disaffection of many of its members. In this incisive and controversial book, journalist John Lloyd cuts through the rhetoric to show that the economic plans of the Scottish National Party are deeply unrealistic; the loss of a subsidy of as much as GBP10 billion a year from the Treasury would mean large-scale cuts, much deeper than those effected by Westminster; the broadly equal provision of health, social services, education and pensions across the UK would cease, leaving Scotland with the need to recreate many of these systems on its own; and the claim that Scotland would join the most successful of the world's small states - as Denmark, New Zealand and Norway - is no more than an aspiration with little prospect of success. The alternative to independence is clear: a strong devolution settlement and a joint reform of the British union to modernise the UK's age-old structures, reduce the centralisation of power and boost the ability of all Britain's nations and regions to support and unleash their creative and productive potential. Scotland has remained a nation in union with three other nations - England, Northern Ireland and Wales. It will continue as one, more securely in a familiar companionship.
The huge control Silvio Berlusconi exercised over the media when Italian Prime Minister - six of the seven terrestrial TV channels were under his influence - and the continuing influence he exerted when in opposition is unprecedented in a democratic state. This book shows how Berlusconi came to effectively control the Italian media and how his media influence in turn enabled him to gain - and crucially to maintain - political power. It examines the lively but deeply split newspaper culture and how the lack of a strong tradition of investigative journalism in Italy meant that Berlusconi's controversies often failed to be reported - or when reported, were dismissed as partisan commentary. The authors analyse the new culture of journalism growing on the internet and argue for a reform of the media, particularly within the RAI, the powerful and popular public broadcaster. As well as examining the unique path taken by the Italian media over the past two decades, the authors also provide suggestions for the future development of Italian journalism post-Berlusconi.
QI is the smartest comedy show on television. Over the last seven years, the QI team have blown your socks off, made your jaw drop and knocked you sideways with their astonishing fact books. Now they are going to tickle you pink with this terrific treasury of 10,000 QI facts, which collects all seven books in the series. This brilliant box set includes: 1,227 QI Facts, 1,339 QI Facts, 1,411 QI Facts, 1,234 QI Facts, 1,342 QI Facts, 1,432 QI Facts, and 2,024 QI Facts. Together they form one of the largest collections of interesting one-line facts in the history of the human race. Get stuck in and you too can appear to be a genius in just three months, for less than the price of a taxi ride from Piccadilly Circus to Heathrow airport.
*THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER* 'I love these books ... the best books ever. Brilliant' Chris Evans A bumper final edition of the most surprising, amazing, and hilarious facts on the planet from the clever-clogs at QI. QI is the smartest comedy show on British television. Here creator John Lloyd and QI Elves James Harkin and Anne Miller bring together 2,024 brain-tickling brand new facts to stop you in your tracks... Did you know that: Humans glow in the dark. The Pope drives a blue Ford Focus. One of the moons of Uranus is called Margaret. Scottish football referees are sponsored by Specsavers. Dogs visiting US National Parks can be certified as Bark Rangers. The world's smallest computer is smaller than a grain of sand. Candyfloss was invented by a dentist. Nobody knows who named the Earth.
Join Professor John Lloyd and Curators Noel Fielding, Jo Brand, Romesh Ranganathan and Sally Phillips as they plunge down the badger hole of ignorance in a search for the universe's most mind-boggling oddnesses.The Museum of Curiosity is BBC Radio 4's monumental comedy edifice, and the only one with gargoyles in the foyer. It allows nothing inside that doesn't make you scratch your head, stroke your chin or, at the very least, go 'Hmm'. Fortunately, helping to fill its almost vacant plinths is a gathering of the world's most original minds. The guests bearing donations to the museum in this collection include Howard Goodall, Corey Taylor, Vic Reeves, Ross Noble, George Monbiot, Lucy Porter, Deborah Frances-White, Stephen K Amos, Konnie Huq, Rory Bremner and Phil Jupitus.
'I love these books ... the best books ever. Brilliant' Chris Evans The sixth book in the bestselling series brings bizarre, astonishing, conversation-starting facts from the clever clogs at the hugely popular BBC quiz show QI. Did you know that: Iceland imports ice cubes. A group of ladybirds is called a loveliness. It is illegal in Saudi Arabia to name a child Sandi. Eight billion particles of fog can fit into a teaspoon. People who read books live longer than people who don't. Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table in Corfu. No human beings have ever had sex in space. Netfiix's biggest competitor is sleep. Mice sigh up to 40 times an hour.
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