976
@qikipedia
Word of the Day: WIKIRACING — a game whereby you have to get from a predetermined Wikipedia page to another one by navigating links in articles (excluding the ‘See also’ ones) quicker or clicking fewer links than your opponent.
977
@qikipedia
Crayfish become more adventurous on antidepressants.
978
@qikipedia
Word of the Day: APOSTROFEAR (neologism) — fear of not using an apostrophe when one is needed or using one when it is not needed.
979
@qikipedia
Global warming may lead to larger snakes.
(Image: Charles Baker; CC BY-SA.)
980
@qikipedia
A South Korean university has a toilet that uses faeces to generate electricity.
In order to incentivise its use, users are paid in virtual currency every time they use it.
981
@qikipedia
It would be a good thing to buy books if one could also buy the time to read them. ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER
982
@qikipedia
The Three Gorges dam in China shifted so much water when it was built that it slowed the world’s rotation (but only by 0.06 microseconds) and moved the poles by 2cm.
983
@qikipedia
Word of the day: LOGODIARRHOEA - an uncontrolled flow of words
984
@qikipedia
In 1989, the Australian Labor Party insisted they weren’t bribing voters with a pre-election barbecue and denied “being involved in the dissemination of sausages”.
985
@qikipedia
In 1974, a bridge in Vulcan, West Virginia collapsed.
When it had not been replaced by 1977, the mayor requested aid from the Soviet Union to repair it. A Soviet journalist, Iona Andronov, flew out to report.
Within hours of his visit, the state OKed a replacement.
986
@qikipedia
Macropinna microstoma is a deep-sea fish with glowing green eyes that look out from inside its transparent, fluid-filled forehead (the holes on the front of its face are nostrils).
Image: Ezra Weller, CC BY 3.0
987
@qikipedia
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘penguin’ probably comes from the Welsh phrase ‘pen gwyn’, which means ‘white head’.
988
@qikipedia
Word of the day: MOLROWING - the practice of socializing with a disreputable woman
989
@qikipedia
In the thirteenth century, Cistercian monks developed a numeral system that allowed them to write any number between 1 and 9999 with a single glyph.
(Images: Meteoorkip and Chunes33; CC BY-SA.)
990
@qikipedia
“Razors pain you,
Rivers are damp,
Acids stain you,
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful,
Nooses give,
Gas smells awful.
You might as well live.”
DOROTHY PARKER
991
@qikipedia
"I don't think I'd have been in such a hurry to reach adulthood if I'd known the whole thing was going to be ad-libbed." BILL WATTERSON
992
@qikipedia
When the US Postal Service was established, it had an eleven pound weight limit but no restrictions on what you could mail.
An Ohio couple therefore sent their baby to visit his grandmother - by post. He only cost $0.15 to mail but was insured for $50.
993
@qikipedia
Word of the Day: PINGLE (Scots) - to work hard in difficult circumstances and not make much progress
994
@qikipedia
A RECURSIVE LAKE is a lake located on an island within a lake.
For instance, Lake Yathkyed in Canada has islands in lakes on islands in lakes on islands in lakes.
995
@qikipedia
You can tell the rough date of a Victorian image by ladies’ gloves; they were worn short until 1835, mid-length until 1865, then up beyond the elbow by 1900.
996
@qikipedia
Fans of films about the zombie apocalypse found dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic easier.
997
@qikipedia
Some ancient insects have been found preserved in amber halfway through a fart. [Image: G. Poinar]
998
@qikipedia
The word ‘bear’ can be traced to the Proto-Indo-European for ‘brown’, and the word ‘beaver’ can be traced to the Proto-Indo-European for ‘brown-brown’.
999
@qikipedia
At the 2000 Olympics, organizers ordered 50,000 condoms - but the Olympic Village still ran out halfway through the Games. They had to place an emergency order for 20,000 extras.
1000
@qikipedia
Some of the funniest stuff in the QI studio happens before the episode recording even begins. As a Friday treat, here's a behind-the-scenes compilation of the best pre-show banter from Series T! #QI
@qikipedia
A Quite Interesting Twitter feed from the team behind the BBC TV show QI.
linktr.ee/TheQIElves