Quite Interesting
@qi.com
A Quite Interesting account from the team behind the BBC show QI.
While testing a top secret aircraft design during WWII, pilot Jack Woolams wore a gorilla suit and a bowler hat so that any witnesses who reported back would not be believed.
November 10, 2025 at 12:41 PM
While testing a top secret aircraft design during WWII, pilot Jack Woolams wore a gorilla suit and a bowler hat so that any witnesses who reported back would not be believed.
Chinese slang for a combover is ‘The local authorities provide support for the central government’. (📷: Nesnad)
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Chinese slang for a combover is ‘The local authorities provide support for the central government’. (📷: Nesnad)
Where the English might say 'It's the bee's knees', the French say 'C'est le petit Jésus en culotte de velours' (It's the baby Jesus in velvet shorts).
November 7, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Where the English might say 'It's the bee's knees', the French say 'C'est le petit Jésus en culotte de velours' (It's the baby Jesus in velvet shorts).
Word of the Day: CUÑADISMO (Spanish slang) — literally: ‘brother-in-law-ism’; speaking on topics you know little about as if you were an expert and smarter than everyone else.
November 7, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Word of the Day: CUÑADISMO (Spanish slang) — literally: ‘brother-in-law-ism’; speaking on topics you know little about as if you were an expert and smarter than everyone else.
12 + 3 – 4 + 5 + 67 + 8 + 9 = 100
November 6, 2025 at 3:40 PM
12 + 3 – 4 + 5 + 67 + 8 + 9 = 100
In 1959, the first commercially successful document copier, the Xerox 914, went on sale. It came with a small fire extinguisher as the machine had a tendency to catch fire.
November 6, 2025 at 3:15 PM
In 1959, the first commercially successful document copier, the Xerox 914, went on sale. It came with a small fire extinguisher as the machine had a tendency to catch fire.
In 1952, a bus driver managed to propel his bus over an opening Tower Bridge after a watchman forgot to ring the warning bell. The driver was given £10 and a day off work as a reward for bravery.
November 6, 2025 at 10:27 AM
In 1952, a bus driver managed to propel his bus over an opening Tower Bridge after a watchman forgot to ring the warning bell. The driver was given £10 and a day off work as a reward for bravery.
Sea otters have underarm pockets that they keep food and their favourite stones in.
November 5, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Sea otters have underarm pockets that they keep food and their favourite stones in.
Salt Lake City has the widest roads of any major US city. They were originally built to such a width so that farmers could turn their cattle without “resorting to profanity”.
November 4, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Salt Lake City has the widest roads of any major US city. They were originally built to such a width so that farmers could turn their cattle without “resorting to profanity”.
In 1899, G.E. Dudley patented an electrical anti-masturbation device for men that consisted of a tube connected to a bell that would ring if the penis, inserted in the tube, became erect.
November 4, 2025 at 11:11 AM
In 1899, G.E. Dudley patented an electrical anti-masturbation device for men that consisted of a tube connected to a bell that would ring if the penis, inserted in the tube, became erect.
Word of the Day: ANTIMETABOLE - a rhetorical device when words are repeated in successive clauses, but swapped. For instance JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country", or Snoop Dogg's "With my mind on my money and my money on my mind."
November 3, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Word of the Day: ANTIMETABOLE - a rhetorical device when words are repeated in successive clauses, but swapped. For instance JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country", or Snoop Dogg's "With my mind on my money and my money on my mind."
According to a medieval Irish legal text on cats called Catslechtae (Cat-Sections), if a cat is able to purr and to catch mice, it’s worth three cows and if it’s only able to purr, it’s worth one cow and a half.
November 3, 2025 at 11:22 AM
According to a medieval Irish legal text on cats called Catslechtae (Cat-Sections), if a cat is able to purr and to catch mice, it’s worth three cows and if it’s only able to purr, it’s worth one cow and a half.
If every zombie bit one new person a day, starting with one zombie, the whole world would be zombified in 34 days.
October 31, 2025 at 2:02 PM
If every zombie bit one new person a day, starting with one zombie, the whole world would be zombified in 34 days.
Elephants in sub-Saharan Africa are being more aggressive towards people and experts believe they might be seeking revenge against humanity.
October 31, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Elephants in sub-Saharan Africa are being more aggressive towards people and experts believe they might be seeking revenge against humanity.
In 2015, two Americans were injured in separate events where a man shot at an armadillo and the bullet ricocheted off its shell.
October 30, 2025 at 12:22 PM
In 2015, two Americans were injured in separate events where a man shot at an armadillo and the bullet ricocheted off its shell.
In 2018 a Polish environmental charity put a SIM card in a GPS tracker to follow the migratory pattern of a white stork. They lost track with the stork and later received a phone bill for $2,700: someone in Sudan had taken the SIM from the tracker and made over 20 hours of calls.
October 29, 2025 at 2:06 PM
In 2018 a Polish environmental charity put a SIM card in a GPS tracker to follow the migratory pattern of a white stork. They lost track with the stork and later received a phone bill for $2,700: someone in Sudan had taken the SIM from the tracker and made over 20 hours of calls.
The first paperback vending machine was installed at Charing Cross Station in 1937 by Penguin books. They called it the ‘Penguincubator’. (📷: STML)
October 29, 2025 at 10:28 AM
The first paperback vending machine was installed at Charing Cross Station in 1937 by Penguin books. They called it the ‘Penguincubator’. (📷: STML)
Hebocon is a Japanese contest to find the worst fighting robot, a sort of anti-Robot Wars. Entrants of the first Hebocon in 2013 included a pole dancing Barbie doll, a robot that banged a packet of ramen flavouring on the ground and a tissue box with vibrating dildos for legs.
October 28, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Hebocon is a Japanese contest to find the worst fighting robot, a sort of anti-Robot Wars. Entrants of the first Hebocon in 2013 included a pole dancing Barbie doll, a robot that banged a packet of ramen flavouring on the ground and a tissue box with vibrating dildos for legs.
Tonight at 9pm on BBC Two we'll be looking at WINGS AND WHEELS in a brand new episode with Sandi, Alan, Aisling Bea, Desiree Burch and Hank Green.
October 28, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Tonight at 9pm on BBC Two we'll be looking at WINGS AND WHEELS in a brand new episode with Sandi, Alan, Aisling Bea, Desiree Burch and Hank Green.
When the U.S. military tested their AI human-movement recognition robot on a group of Marines, all of them managed to approach it undetected. One was disguised as a fir tree; another somersaulted for 300 metres; two hid under a cardboard box and giggled the whole distance.
October 27, 2025 at 5:48 PM
When the U.S. military tested their AI human-movement recognition robot on a group of Marines, all of them managed to approach it undetected. One was disguised as a fir tree; another somersaulted for 300 metres; two hid under a cardboard box and giggled the whole distance.
For a pilot study in 2022, scientists fitted 5 Australian magpies with tiny trackers that could only be removed with a magnet or scissors. Within 10 minutes, a female had successfully removed the tracker from a younger bird, and 3 days later, all of them had been removed.
October 25, 2025 at 9:57 AM
For a pilot study in 2022, scientists fitted 5 Australian magpies with tiny trackers that could only be removed with a magnet or scissors. Within 10 minutes, a female had successfully removed the tracker from a younger bird, and 3 days later, all of them had been removed.
Fun Fact: If Stephen is murdered or banished he will be immediately replaced by Sandi Toksvig #CelebrityTraitors
October 23, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Fun Fact: If Stephen is murdered or banished he will be immediately replaced by Sandi Toksvig #CelebrityTraitors
Your strongest music-related memories are formed around age 14.
October 23, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Your strongest music-related memories are formed around age 14.
Instead of requesting a traditional wake-up call in a hotel, the French writer Alphonse Allais would have the concierge call the room on either side of his one in order ‘to be gently woken by the sound of your neighbours’ protests’.
October 22, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Instead of requesting a traditional wake-up call in a hotel, the French writer Alphonse Allais would have the concierge call the room on either side of his one in order ‘to be gently woken by the sound of your neighbours’ protests’.
Archaeologists have found records of Ancient Egyptian excuses for missing work. They include ‘the scorpion bit him’, ‘brewing beer’, ‘drinking with Khonsu’ and ‘embalming his brother’.
October 22, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Archaeologists have found records of Ancient Egyptian excuses for missing work. They include ‘the scorpion bit him’, ‘brewing beer’, ‘drinking with Khonsu’ and ‘embalming his brother’.