Customer Reviews

Qi: the Book of Animal Ignorance

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...to quote Alan Davies. After reading this, you'll feel the same way. Like The Book of General Ignorance, this book exists to burst whatever bubble of knowledge you think you know... Only with animals.

I love the QI series, and I felt a twinge docking this one star, but the reason is simple: two pages maximum for each of the animals spotlighted. And they are: aardvark, albatross, anglerfish, ant, armadillo, badger, bat, bear, beaver, bee, beetle, binturong, bison, box jellyfish, butterfly, cane toad, capercaillie, cat, catfish, cheetah, chimpanzee, cicada, comb jelly, coral, cow, crane, dog, dolphin, donkey, eagle, echidna, eel, elephant, ferret, flea, fly, fossa, fox, frog, giant tortoise, gibbon, giraffe, goat, goose, gorilla, hedgehog, hoatzin, horse, human, hummingbird, hyena, kangaroo, koala, komodo dragon, leech, lion, lizard, lobster, louse, mite, mole, monkey, moose, mouse, naked mole bat, octopus, owl, pangolin, parrot, pearl oyster, penguin, pig, pigeon, platypus, porcupine, quoll, rabbit, raccoon, rat, salamander, scorpion, sea cow, sea cucumber, seal, shark, sheep, snake, spider, starfish, tapir, tardigrade, termite, toad, tuatara, walrus, wasp, whale, woodlouse, woodpecker, and worm. Whew. All right, so not every animal featured is common enough to have acquired any knowledge about it, never mind being slammed as misinformed.

So, 203 pages (including tailpiece), plus Foreword by Stephen Fry, Forepaw by Alan Davies, Introduction by Johns Mitchinson & Lloyd. With illustrations by Ted Dewan. Some of what's in this book has already been covered by the TV programme. And, like the TV series, this book can be very cheeky. Like how about a diagram of scorpion foreplay? ...Actually, that sentence makes it sound dirtier than it is, but you get the idea. As its soubriquet proclaims, what's on these pages is 'Quite Interesting'. Like how well do spiders spin their webs in zero-gravity? While high on marijuana? While high on caffeine? What do moose have to do with Scandinavian auto manufacturers? What association do geese and barnacles have that led to the naming of the Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) and the Goose Barnacle (Lepas anatifera)?

Read this to find the answers to these questions and loads of other questions no one but the QI team would ever pose.

If you are looking for something out of the ordinary, funky and entertaining, this is it!

I am somewhat of a naturalist yet I was intrigued by the compilation of weird and interesting stuff.

Definitely worth the purchase price for the humor alone.