People use YouTube for all sorts of purposes. Some people watch videos to learn new skills; some listen to music; some watch cats. My special YouTube vice is British panel shows. These are usually focused around some sort of competition, but competition is not the point of the show, rather the banter and jokes of the comedians on the competing panels is what’s really at the heart of their appeal. I watch episodes of “Would I Lie to You?” Where panelists tell an unusual “fact” about themselves, and the other panel asks questions to determine if it is a lie or the truth. “Never Mind the Buzzcocks” is a music quiz show that seems more interested in the back and forth between the host and the panelists. But my favorite is QI (short for Quite Interesting) a general knowledge quiz show until recently hosted by Stephen Fry and taken over by Sandy Toksvig, both favorites of mine. The host asks the panel trivia questions and the panelists answer either seriously or humorously. Correct answers are scored in a completely arbitrary fashion and wrong answers that were predicted by the writers ahead of time result in some sort of deduction, and the winner declared (for no obvious reason) at the end of the show. Despite its clear lack of consistent rules, scoring system, or even turns, it is a very satisfying show to watch.
The value of QI is not for the game, rather it is about the fascinating facts and subsequent discussion that make up the flow of the show. It was from QI that I learned that. Columbus took 80 tons of marijuana to the new world, that the earth has many more than one moon, and that the Galapagos Turtle was not studied in England for many years because crews attempting to bring specimens back for study couldn’t resist eating them. It’s like random browsing in an encyclopedia, but curated by elves with a wicked sense of humor.
These “elves” actually have their own show, or at least podcast, called “No Such Thing as Fish.” This podcast is named for one of the most famous QI facts, that a biologist after studying fish for decades came to the startling conclusion that there is no unifying trait of everything we call fish…that there is no such thing as a fish. In this podcast, the four panelist each relate an interesting fact that they have discovered, but not used for the QI show, and others discuss and build upon this point. This description doesn’t do the show justice, because it is fascinating and funny. I have never listened to an episode where I haven’t learned something or been immensely entertained. Today I learned that the first men’s club in the United States was organized around eating turtle soup, and its members included Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr. While I can’t think of a time that this fact will serve me in my business life or my personal life (though it has helped with this blogpost), I find learning these facts immensely satisfying. Listening to the banter of incredibly witty and intelligent panelist is a wonderful way to spend and hour…or an afternoon. It is like a living version of Google, with the (now removed) “I’m Feeling Lucky” button pushed four times an hour.
So, as a Christmas gift, I will recommend that you check this out. You can find information and links to the podcast at http://qi.com/podcast. During the holidays ahead, a good podcast can be a wonderful way to spend time, and there is no better way to spend time than learning fascinating trivia.
As always, I welcome your comments.