In the Know...

"[T]here are known knowns; there are things we know we know.  We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.  But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don't know.”

Donald Rumsfeld, then United States Secretary of Defense , 2002

This morning I finished 'The QI Book of General Ignorance: The Noticeably Stouter Edition' by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson and I'm glad to say that I now have more knowns than unknown unknowns!

'The QI Book of General Ignorance' is a book of facts drawn from the BBC TV panel show QI.  For those of you not familiar with it, 'QI' stands for 'Quite Interesting' and all the information included on the programme is exactly that - catnip for the curious!

The entries cover a very wide range of subjects, including history, zoology, physics, medicine, geography, anthropology, and all debunk 'facts' that you thought you knew already.  Despite this, the tone remains fun and interesting when it could easily have slipped into superior and pedantic.

'The QI Book of General
Ignorance' by John Lloyd
and John Mitchinson
(2006, Faber and Faber)
NB. I read the extended
ebook version.

Questions answered include 'What did the Chinese invent?', 'How do lemmings die?', 'How many nostrils have you got?', 'Who introduced tobacco and potatoes to England?', 'Who invented the telephone?', 'What were Nelson's last words?', 'What's the densest element?', 'How many wives did Henry VIII have?', 'How many toes has a two-toed sloth?', 'What colour is water?', 'What happened to most English witches?', 'Who lives in igloos?', 'What was Mozart's middle name?', 'What's the sport of kings?' and 'What were Cinderella's slippers made from?'.  If you're the curious sort and think you know the answer to any of these already, I suggest you read this book!

The greatest advantage of 'The QI Book of General Ignorance' is that it's very easy to dip in and out of.  I've found myself opening it when I know I have an odd ten minutes because I'm in a waiting room or have a bit left of my lunch break or someone was running a bit late and due to pick me up.  In the nicest possible way, this would make it a great 'toilet book', although readers may get carried away and forget what they're actually there for!

Much like QI itself, and it's radio equivalent 'The Museum of Curiosity' (both highly recommended), this is a book for those interested in the world around them.  Light hearted, charming and knowledgeable, I'd like to think this is a bit like having Stephen Fry on your book shelf!

I'm about half way through Philippa Gregory's 'The Virgin's Lover', so I hope to be back soon with my thoughts on that.  So long as I don't get distracted by something else quite interesting of course!