Author | John Lloyd John Mitchinson |
---|---|
Illustrator | Ted Dewan |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Subject | Trivia |
Publisher | Faber and Faber |
Publication date | 4 October 2007 |
Media type | Hardback |
Pages | 203 |
ISBN | 978-0-571-23370-0 |
Preceded by | The Book of General Ignorance |
Followed by | Advanced Banter |
The Book of Animal Ignorance is the second title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI , written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson. It is a trivia book, consisting largely of little-known facts about various animals, alongside factual corrections to other pieces of supposedly "well-known" trivia that, although widely believed, are not always accurate. It is a sequel to The Book of General Ignorance .
The Book of Animal Ignorance was first published in the UK by Faber and Faber on 4 October 2007, almost exactly a year after The Book of General Ignorance, and clearly targeted towards the same Christmas market. An American printing is likely to be forthcoming, since the success of General Ignorance in the UK Christmas market 2006 reputedly prompted "a two-book, six-figure" [1] sale of the US publication rights, although the UK edition is already available through Amazon.com. From November 2007, it is distributed in Australia by Allen & Unwin. A Dutch translation of the book, Het grote boek van foute feiten over dieren, was published on 1 March 2009 by Uitgeverij Forum. [2]
Differing from its forebear, the QI Book of General Ignorance 's structure as a question-and-answer trivia tome, The Book of Animal Ignorance instead opts for an encyclopaedic listing of 100 animals, providing information and facts for each. This change in style may be dictated simply by the content, but could also be as a direct result of criticism directed at the former title by Marcus Berkmann, referring to its disappointing similarity in format to a number of titles, and specifically New Scientist's 2005 book Does Anything Eat Wasps? [3]
Touted on the cover as being "from the team that brought 'Ignorance' to millions", it promised to be a "bestiary for the 21st century," [4] and contains almost-completely new "quite interesting" facts on 100 different animals, described in Fry's introduction as "the oats in the QI muesli". [5] : ix [6] This new style and emphasis on new material clearly demonstrates the evolution of the QI brand, moving as it does away from the look of the initial book, a far more obvious simple rehashing of content from the TV series ('"General Ignorance" round), rather than being a complementary companion volume in its own right, as is Animal Ignorance. [7]
Animal Ignorance again features forewords from both regular QI personalities, Stephen Fry and Alan Davies. In contrast to the preceding books' "Four words," Davies here contributes a 'proper' foreword, labelled a "Forepaw", in keeping with the book's subject matter. [5] : xi It comprises two-page spreads on 100 diverse mammals, reptiles, rodents, fish, birds and other beasts ranging from aardvark to worm (and not strictly "Aardvark to Zebra" as initially reported). [1] The book was designed, typeset also illustrated (with "400 diagrams and cartoons") "by the brilliant Ted Dewan". [6]
QI: The Book of Animal Ignorance was one of 51 titles to make "The 2007 Exclusive Books List" (formerly the Publisher's Choice list) of "the best books to give or get" at Christmas, 2007. [8]
In Greek mythology, Anteros was the god of requited love and also the punisher of those who scorn love and the advances of others, or the avenger of unrequited love. He is one of the Erotes.
John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd is an English television and radio comedy producer and writer. His television work includes Not the Nine O'Clock News, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Spitting Image, Blackadder and QI. He is currently the presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Museum of Curiosity.
Alan Roger Davies is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series Jonathan Creek (1997–2016) and as the only permanent panellist on the BBC panel show QI since its premiere in 2003, outlasting its original host Stephen Fry.
QI is a British comedy panel game quiz show for television created and co-produced by John Lloyd. The series currently airs on BBC Two and is presented by Sandi Toksvig. It features permanent panellist Alan Davies and three guest panellists per episode who are mostly comedians. The series was presented by Stephen Fry from its beginning in 2003 until 2016.
Justin David Pollard is a British historian, television producer, writer and entrepreneur. He is best known for his work on such films as Elizabeth and Pirates of the Caribbean and TV series including Vikings and The Tudors. He is also a co-founder of the publishing company Unbound.
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The Book of General Ignorance is the first in a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson, to help spread the QI philosophy of curiosity to the reading public. It is a trivia book, aiming to address and address many of the misconceptions, mistakes and misunderstandings in 'common knowledge'—it is therefore known not as a 'General Knowledge' book, but as 'General Ignorance'.
John Mitchinson is the head of research for the British television panel game QI, and is also the managing director of Quite Interesting Limited. He is co-writer of the QI series of books with the show's creator John Lloyd. The two men are normally referred to as "The Two Johns" and are seen as the main controllers of QI, as they do most of the research of the show. His most recent work, 1,411 Quite Interesting Facts to Knock You Sideways, a collaboration with John Lloyd and James Harkin, was released in 2015 with W.W. Norton and Company.
Ted Dewan is an American-born British writer and illustrator of children's books who resides in England. He is best known as the creator of the award-winning book series, Bing, now adapted into an animated television series.
Quite Interesting Limited is a British research company, most notable for providing the research for the British television panel game QI and the Swedish version Intresseklubben, as well as other QI–related programmes and products. The company founder and chairman is John Lloyd, the creator and producer of QI, and host of the radio panel game The Museum of Curiosity, which also uses Quite Interesting Limited for its research. John Mitchinson is the company's director and also works as head of research for QI.
Joined-Up Thinking is the first book by writer and artist Stevyn Colgan. It is based loosely upon the idea of Six Degrees of Separation first put forward by Frigyes Karinthy and later explored by Stanley Milgram and Richard Wiseman, in that everything and everyone in the world can be connected in some way. The book takes a light-hearted and humorous series of 'cyclic journeys through the land of trivia'. What marks the book as different from previous books of trivia is that each chapter or 'Round' takes the reader along a chain of interconnected facts ending, ultimately, back at the first fact in the chain. There are 30 of these 'journeys' in the book which are then all linked together in 'The Great Big Joined-Up Index' where Colgan shows the interconnectedness between facts in different Rounds.
Advanced Banter: The QI Book of Quotations, known as If Ignorance Is Bliss, Why Aren't There More Happy People? in the United States, is the third title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson. It is a book of "quite interesting" quotations.
The QI Book of the Dead is the fourth title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson. It is a book of "quite interesting" obituaries.
Adam Jacot de Boinod is a British author, notable for his works about unusual words, such as his last name. Usually known as Jacot, he has written three books, the first two looking at words which have no equivalent in the English language, and his third book which reveals unusual words in English.
Anna Maria Helena, comtesse de Noailles was an English noblewoman who used her wealth and influence to support the reform of women's rights.
The Second Book of General Ignorance is the fifth in a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson. It is the second book to be based on the show's final round "General Ignorance", the first being The Book of General Ignorance first published in 2006. Like the original book, it is a trivia book aiming to address and correct the comprehensive and humiliating catalogue of all the misconceptions, mistakes and misunderstandings in 'common knowledge' — it is therefore known not as a 'General Knowledge' book, but as 'General Ignorance'. A second, expanded edition called The Discreetly Plumper Second QI Book of General Ignorance was released on 4 October 2012.
1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off is the sixth in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd, director of research John Mitchinson, and chief researcher James Harkin. Published on 1 November 2012, it is a trivia book containing 1,227 facts collected during the making of the series, which had been ten years in the making at the time of publication.
The Denmark Strait cataract is an undersea waterfall found on the western side of the Denmark Strait in the Atlantic Ocean, on the Arctic Circle between Iceland and Greenland. It is the world's highest underwater waterfall, with water falling almost 3,505 meters.
Anne Miller is a Scottish author, scriptwriter, producer, comedian, and researcher, best known for her work on the BBC Two quiz show QI.