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QI: The Book of General Ignorance (The Noticeably Stouter Edition) [Paperback]

Stephen Fry (Foreword), John Lloyd (Author), John Mitchinson (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Book Description

Publication Date: 25 Dec 2008

The indispensable compendium of popular misconceptions, misunderstandings and common mistakes culled from the hit BBC show, QI.

The noticeably stouter QI Book of General Ignorance sets out to show you that a lot of what you think you know is wrong. If, like Alan Davies, you still think the Henry VIII had six wives, the earth has only one moon, that George Washington was the first president of the USA, that Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, that the largest living thing is a blue whale, that Alexander Graeme Bell invented the telephone, that whisky and bagpipes come from Scotland or that Mount Everest is the world's tallest mountain, then there are at least 200 reasons why this is the book for you.

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QI: The Book of General Ignorance (The Noticeably Stouter Edition) + QI: The Second Book of General Ignorance: The Discreetly Plumper Edition + 1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off
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Product details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber; Rev Ed edition (25 Dec 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0571246923
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571246922
  • Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 2.6 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Authors

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John Lloyd
John Mitchinson

Product Description

Book Description

Now on BBC1, this new edition of the bestseller has 26% added ignorance.

From the Back Cover

This comprehensive catalogue of all the misconceptions, mistakes and misunderstandings in 'common knowledge' will make you wonder why anyone bothers going to school.

More than 25% longer, with extra cartoons, hilarious extracts from the TV show and 50 new things you didn't know, including:

No one has ever slid down a banister

There are 613 commandments in the Bible

Vipers, cobras and rattlesnakes are not poisonous

Newborn babies are indifferent to their mothers

The Swiss Family weren't called Robinson

The unluckiest date is Monday the 27th

You have no muscles in your fingers

Coffee isn't made from beans

Completely revised, corrected and plumped up, it now includes an index and an appendix listing all the celebrities who have appeared on 'QI' to date.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and alarmingly addictive 27 Aug 2009
By JJ
Format:Paperback
The Noticeably Stouter Book of General Ignorance is fun to read and packed full of interesting facts. It's perfect for dipping into every now and again - most of the articles are only one or two pages long, and manage to cram in a surprising amount of information. They often veer off on unexpected tangents - one beginning with a discussion of the phrase `survival of the fittest' concludes with a rush of interesting facts about paperclips (in Nazi-occupied Norway they were used as symbols of the resistance, and only five out of every 100,000 sold are actually used to hold papers together). It's almost impossible to read a page without wanting to run to the nearest person, clutching the book and gibbering, "Did you know...? Did you know...?" (though this has the unfortunate side-effect of making you sound like an irritating know-it-all for the duration.)
This is more of a second edition to the original Book of General Ignorance than an entirely new book, so if you already own the latter it may not be a worthwhile purchase. If you don't, however, Noticeably Stouter has dozens of new articles, amusing quotes from the TV series interspersed throughout, and (for diehard fans), a list of all the QI guests so far. Another definite improvement is the inclusion of an index (subjects range from `aardvarks, colour-blindness of' to `zenzizenzizenzic, as failed neologism'). As well as aiding serendipitous browsing, this can be extremely useful when you confidently announce to a roomful of people that strawberries and raspberries are not, in fact, berries, then promptly forget why; or when you urgently need to calculate your pet's real age in dog years.
I've had to wrestle my copy away from visitors, who pick it up, start idly thumbing through it, and refuse to put it down for the rest of the evening. I've spent a number of rainy Sunday afternoons curled up with it on the sofa. I've spouted facts from it to dozens of long-suffering friends and relations. And I'm not quite sure if I feel more or less ignorant than I was when I started. Definitely a trivia book in a class of its own.
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60 of 63 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars It's QI - What more do you want? 17 Feb 2010
By Garry Mills
Format:Paperback
If like me, you look forward to every episode of QI on TV and even watch copious reruns of it on Dave, then you will doubtless enjoy this book immensely.
It is packed with all the memorable nuggets of general ignorance expanded with all the reference information for good measure.
Some of the facts are debatable, of that I am pretty sure, but it is definitely the type of book you won't want to put down until you've read the lot.
One side point worth knowing: if you (again, like me) purchased the original book of general ignorance, you will find this one is the same as the original with about 20 or so extra subjects. If you haven't bought the original, buy this instead.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Who why what where when? 22 Feb 2009
By Jenny Peebles
Format:Paperback
Smug pub quizzers beware - after reading this you'll find yourself quaking at the onset of the trivia round. Most of what you think you know is, in fact, wrong. Sorry. In an utterly charming way, your confidence in the modest store of facts you've built up over the years is shown to be totally misplaced. If you can handle this, then QI: The Book of General Ignorance (The Noticeably Stouter Edition) is a truly fascinating read. It's at least as amusing as it interesting in its debunking of popular misconceptions. Finding out why your notions are wrong is a pleasure when you're reading something that's been this painstakingly researched. That's not to say it's really worthy - some of the writing is laugh-out-loud funny. You get quotes from the show, too, and perky little illustrations. The links between the entries are often as subtle as the explanations themselves, or they're just quite droll, as `How many legs does a centipede have?' paves the way for `How many eyes does a no-eyed, big-eyed wolf spider have?'

If you're the kind of person who has a mental list of things you really ought to brush up on, expect it to have expanded in all kinds of unexpected ways by the time you're through. Your Ancient Greek, certainly, could do with a dusting down. Expect to confirm that you are, indeed, massively ignorant, but to find, miraculously, that a good read of this book is an excellent way to start putting that right.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Just what you would expect from Fry
This is a "dip in" book. I have always loved Stephen Fry's turn of phrase and admired his intelligence and this book does not disappoint. Read more
Published 9 days ago by JP
4.0 out of 5 stars What fun!
Just the sort of book to while away a half hour or so at a time. Very enjoyable reading and I loved the humour.
Published 11 days ago by Nightowl
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice small present for a guy
I bought this as a birthday present for a male acquaintance. He loves it and keeps it in the loo apparently
Published 1 month ago by Lees
5.0 out of 5 stars great fun
Bought as a present for my husband with 2 other QI books - great entertainment especially with friends. has caused and settled a few (friendly) arguements.
Published 1 month ago by bookworm
4.0 out of 5 stars English humor
a must for those who enjoy BBC's QI-transmissions with Stephen Fry and his guests, but almost 'too much' in one spoonful
Published 1 month ago by Mogens H. Jensen
4.0 out of 5 stars Liked it
Another fact based book to ip in and out of when you want to. Couldn't just read it but great to kill a few minutes hike waiting o do one thing else
Published 1 month ago by David Clifford
5.0 out of 5 stars Love how it's written and presented
I've just finished the book 1,227 Facts to Blow Your Socks Off by these two Authors, which really surprised me with the facts presented. Read more
Published 1 month ago by radiojock
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book.
A stouter book means more chances to prove me wrong as in the original. but I still live and learn- even at sixty
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. M. F. V. Mcknight
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
Bought this for my husband as a present he liked it so much he bought he other qi book too.
Published 2 months ago by flowerkitten
2.0 out of 5 stars Was expecting more...
I'm somehow disappointed...the book becomes a bit boring, after a while. Anyway, it shares many interesting facts, that really made me feel ignorant:)
Published 2 months ago by Priscila Brito
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