801
@qikipedia
Unhappy people tend to daydream about the past, but happy people tend to daydream about the future.
802
@qikipedia
A signpost in Maine, USA, showing the names of local towns (Image: Magicpiano)
CC BY-SA 1.0
803
@qikipedia
According to one etymological theory, the word ‘decrepit’ comes from the prefix ‘de’ + the verb ‘crepare’, which can mean ‘to break wind’, and thus the word ‘decrepit’ describes someone who can’t fart because of old age.
804
@qikipedia
Word of the day: DRUXY - literally, wood that is decayed in the center; used to mean someone who seems good but is actually quite rotten
805
@qikipedia
Arthur Dent may have been on to something; people are least inclined to take risks on Thursdays.
806
@qikipedia
Word of the Day: HEIMSCHEISSER (German slang) — someone who doesn’t like to use any toilet other than their own, literally: ‘a person who defecates only at home’.
807
@qikipedia
Noah Webster popularized many American spellings, such as "center", "color" and "defense".
Not all of his respellings were successful, though. He also suggested "soop" (soup), "iland" (island), and "iz" (is).
808
@qikipedia
Adults spend about half their time daydreaming.
809
@qikipedia
Stephen Hawking was born on the anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s death (January 8) and died on Albert Einstein’s birthday (March 14).
810
@qikipedia
The Dutch town of Nieuwkoop has a literal ‘red light district’ for bats. At night, the town is lit by red street lights that are less disruptive to bat activity than white ones.
811
@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
812
@qikipedia
Word of the day: KAFFEEKLATSCH - literally "coffee chatter", an informal gathering where friends come and chat over cups of coffee
813
@qikipedia
The Inca people believed the past, present, and future were all happening in the same moment.
814
@qikipedia
In 1982, 43% of fathers in the UK had never changed a nappy.
By 2000, this had dropped to 3%.
815
@qikipedia
We've all got a story about family board games at Christmas, but Sara's is a tough one to beat.
816
@qikipedia
The first ever speeding ticket was issued in a 1896 to a driver in Kent for going four times the legal speed limit.
The driver was going the breakdown pace of 8 mph. The speed limit was 2 mph.
817
@qikipedia
0.5% of US births are to self-reported virgins.
818
@qikipedia
If humans last as long as the average mammalian species, and no mass extinctions or catastrophes occur, then 99.5% of humans who will ever exist are yet to be born.
819
@qikipedia
According to a leading 2021 study, it's coming home.
820
@qikipedia
"Beauty doesn't have to be about anything. What's a vase about? What's a sunset or a flower about? What, for that matter, is Mozart's Twenty-third Piano Concerto about?" DOUGLAS ADAMS
821
@qikipedia
94% of Parisians live within a five minute walk of a bakery.
822
@qikipedia
You have the most friends you will ever have at age 25.
823
@qikipedia
Time passes faster in the mountains than it does at the coast.
824
@qikipedia
UK company Crafted Beds is looking for a ‘Netflix and nap fanatic’ to be their mattress tester. The position pays £24,000 per year and entails spending 37.5 hours per week on a mattress assessing its comfortability.
825
@qikipedia
Legs are hereditary, and run in most families. SPIKE MILLIGAN
@qikipedia
A Quite Interesting Twitter feed from the team behind the BBC TV show QI.
linktr.ee/TheQIElves