The Pope wears Prada, over 13% of the US population is addicted to the internet, and almost no one in Cheddar makes cheddar cheese. Who knew?
This one is obviously false:
- The Himalayas cover one-tenth of the Earth’s surface.
I guess they mean that bumpy regions like the Himalayas have larger surfaces than flat areas that are the same size when viewed directly from above. Rather like trying to measure the length of a country’s coastline - the more detail you take into account, the longer the coastline gets.
- I didn’t understand 11% of those facts due to UK-centric stuff and Britishisms.
I also guess that they’re counting all land which has been lifted due to himalayan movement, even though they’re only a few feet higher than before.
Awesome. If the BBC comes up with this list every year, we will never run out of exciting topics for QI!
I think I’m going to start a IMHO poll thread about this one:
9. Fathers tend to determine the height of their child, mothers their weight.
I can’t believe that not a single science reporter at the BBC knew about the theory of panspermia.
I’d imagine the people at BBC Science knew about panspermia, but not those at the BBC Magazine, which is where that list is derived, and is just general interest.
It’s a collection of stories that have appeared over the last year on an obscure corner of the BBC’s digital interactive teletext service. It’s not very rigorous.
checks to see that it’s after sunset
Ok, can any Hebrew speakers here confirm #1’s claim that “Pele” means “miracle”?
Also, does anyone have the correct link for #79? The “more details” on it leads to the story for #78. I’m curious to here just how good electric kettles are.
Oh, never mind, here it is.
Makes sense, except that they should clarify what they mean on the list. Thanks.
Did anyone else click on the link for #92
Only to read the opening paragraphs
Only to wonder if perhaps the author, a certain Sean Coughlan, is a Doper with a wicked sense of humour?
Living near Cheddar (very near, in fact) I feel pretty confident in saying that the cheesemakers there makes Cheddar cheese (and loads of other varieties too). To be fair, there might only be one main outlet (hence ‘almost’), but how many towns boast a cheesemaker at all?!
Still, with the oceans covering 75% of the Earth’s surface it is hard to believe that the Himalayas account for 40% of what’s left.
I think the utility of an electric kettle is directly related to how many things you make that involve boiling water. For a regular tea and coffee drinker, it’s hard to beat. I’ve got one that I picked up several years ago for $20; it sees several-times-a-day usage, each and every day. My only wish is that it was a cordless model.