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Stephen Spielberg has been thanked in more Oscar acceptance speeches than God has.
527
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In 2019 a Japanese student of the history of ninjas received top marks for writing her essay in invisible ink.
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In ancient Greece, small penises were preferred to large ones.
A small penis symbolized self-control and intelligence.
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About 1.69 million Britons have three or more nipples.
530
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Consuming memes helps people deal with pandemic-related stress.
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When this sea slug gets parasites, it rips its own head off and grows an entire new body.
(Image: Steve Childs; CC BY.)
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A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale. MARIE CURIE
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As he's making an appearance on tonight's QI, it's time to dust off the GYLES BRANDRETH ANECDOTE GENERATOR.
"It was during the London 2012 Opening Ceremony when I did the ice bucket challenge with a trifle-laden Delia Smith..."
Brand new QI, tonight at 10pm, BBC Two
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Word of the day: INEMURI, a Japanese term for sleeping at work (literally ‘sleeping while present’), which is considered completely acceptable and often regarded as a sign of diligence.
535
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Word of the day: GRÜBELSUCHT - to obsessively question simple or obvious facts, literally ‘ponder mania’.
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According to the Guinness Book of World Records the world’s most difficult tongue twister is in the Xhosa language of South Africa: ‘Iqaqa laziqikaqika kwazw kwaqhawaka uqhoqhoqha’ which means ‘The skunk rolled down and ruptured its larynx’ (the last word contains three clicks).
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Cicadas pee so much people can mistake it for rain. In parts of the US, it’s advisable to wear a hat when walking near trees in summer. (Image: Bruce Marlin CC BY-SA 2.5)
538
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On the day of South Korea's university entrance exams, the entire country goes quiet.
Shops close, construction stops, and planes are grounded - so that students can focus on their exams.
Students that are late can even get a police escort to make sure they make it in time.
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Over 40 years of research has found that people with higher IQs are also much more likely to take drugs.
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According to Ancient Greek myth, when the goddess Demeter was depressed, an old woman named Baubo cheered her up by flashing her genitals.
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‘Intransigence' is the longest word to make a palindrome in Morse Code: ··–·–·–··– –······– –··–·–·–··.
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Every year, Lake Superior University publishes a list of words and phrases they would like to banish the next year.
This year's entries include "moving forward", "does that make sense?" and "it is what it is".
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The first known chili recipe used human flesh for meat.
544
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Approximately 99% of rooms contain a spider.
545
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The new mayor of Cockington in Devon has been banned from his local pub where he was a regular known for drinking Guinness.
He is also a four year old Shetland pony called Patrick.
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In 1790, Xavier de Maistre, an aristocrat under house arrest in Italy, wrote up a tour of his bedroom into a book.
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Word of the Day: SERIEOTROHET (Swedish) — ‘series infidelity’: when you have been watching a TV show with your partner and then you watch a new episode without them.
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Word of the day: SUSS-MIDDEN - a woman too tired or lazy to move
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An APATHEIST doesn't care if God exists or not.
The word is a portmanteau of "apathy" and "theism".
550
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If your heart starts beating faster, the heart of your dog will start beating faster too. The longer you have had the dog, the stronger this effect will be.
@qikipedia
A Quite Interesting Twitter feed from the team behind the BBC TV show QI.
linktr.ee/TheQIElves