In short
“Little Fish: Checking the Mark Hoppus” is a QI-style fact-sharing episode built around listener-submitted trivia, with comedic debate and occasional serious asides. Key claims/examples: Albania’s post-communist transition allegedly led to pyramid schemes involving nearly two-thirds of the country’s savings, collapsing in the late 1990s with thousands dead; Georgia’s Bacon County and Coffee County are named after Senator Augustus Bacon and Congressman John E. Coffey; Blink-182 allegedly removed the Red Cross from Enema of the State album covers to avoid violating the Geneva Convention, plus other cover changes (including a Malaysian edition covering cleavage). Notable examples also include a WWII armored miniature train used for Operation Pluto pipeline support, and a “pedestrianism” story about Emma Sharp’s long walk allegedly while being targeted with poisoning.
Guests
Dan Schreiber and Anna Tudjinsky (in-studio). No other guests are featured; the rest are fact contributors via email.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOAlbania's Transition to Capitalism
1:10 to 1:30
Discussion about Albania's shift from communism to capitalism and pyramid schemes.
Albania's Transition to Capitalism
1:42 to 2:18
Discussion about Albania's shift from communism to capitalism and pyramid schemes.
“You can't just be laughing from the outset.”
The Rebellion and Its Aftermath
2:18 to 3:16
Exploration of the repercussions of Albania's economic collapse in the 90s.
“and they'd never done capitalism before.”
Food-Themed Counties in Georgia
3:16 to 5:36
A fun fact about counties in Georgia named after food items.
“So genuinely, the IMF said to Albania, this is fucked up, it's a pyramid scheme, We in the capitalist world have known about this for ages.”
Blink-182 and the Geneva Convention
5:36 to 10:24
Discussion on Blink-182's album cover controversy and Mark Hoppus's contributions.
“The fact is, is that punk band Blink 182 are the only band to have broken the Geneva Convention.”
Pedestrianism and Emma Sharp
10:24 to 11:28
Conversation about Emma Sharp's walking feat and the sport of pedestrianism.
“After those bleak, unfunny years that Dan just mentioned.”
Mark Hoppus and the Miniature Railway
14:14 to 17:41
Discover interesting facts about Mark Hoppus and a unique miniature railway.
“That's from the Darkling Thrush poem by Thomas Hardy I'd just like to say Dan I'm so sorry that fact came in from Sven Sabber not from Mark Hoppus Sven I'm really sorry that was your fact Sven Sabber Do you want another?”
Lincoln and Herbert Hoover's Overlap
17:42 to 18:58
Explore the interesting fact about U.S. presidents and Herbert Hoover.
“Now the question is, did Kamala Harris get born before he died?”
Kamala Harris's Birth Timing
18:59 to 19:55
Learn about the coincidental timing of Kamala Harris's birth and Hoover's death.
“You've had your baby and we're proud to report that it's been inhabited by the soul of Herbert Hoover.”
Prime Ministers Overlapping with Andy Burnham
19:56 to 21:09
Discuss how many Prime Ministers Andy Burnham has overlapped with.
“Yeah, I think 11 is a pretty good shout because there was a period where there weren't too many and then we've had lots recently.”
Show all 16 chapters
Land Use Facts in the UK
21:10 to 22:36
Delve into surprising statistics about land use in Woking and the Lake District.
“He overlaps with 21 prime ministers of the UK.”
Land Use Facts in the UK
22:37 to 23:13
Delve into surprising statistics about land use in Woking and the Lake District.
“about people's gender pronouns or whatever.”
Interesting Historical Facts
23:23 to 28:00
Discover various fascinating historical facts shared by listeners.
“So he was working seven nights a week, but he managed to fit eight nights in as a result.”
Whipping Tales and Childhood Memories
28:00 to 29:15
Discussing towel whipping in childhood and its cultural differences.
“The ancient David Frost could do eight shows a week.”
Scientific Findings and Their Presentation
29:15 to 30:29
Exploring how scientists describe findings and the emotional aspect of research.
“In this case, James was getting us a goal, but could he do it if there was no ball heading towards his head?”
The Origins of 'Snowmageddon'
30:29 to 31:08
Revealing the first use and apology for the word 'Snowmageddon'.
“Yes, they said, sorry about the word Snowmageddon.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Anna Ptaszynski:This is Matt Rogers from Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This is Bowen Yang from Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. And now a quick vital break from our sponsor Vital Proteins, the official collagen partner of the U.S. Open and presenting sponsor of the Mixed Doubles Championship. If there's a sport where aesthetics meets athletics more than in tennis, I don't know what it is. So it just makes sense for Vital Proteins to be involved considering how much collagen peptides support healthy skin, hair, nails, bones, and joints. And that applies whether it's players facing a third set tiebreak in the semis or fans cheering them on.
0:32Thanks again to our sponsor Vital Proteins. Learn more about collagen peptides by going to vitalproteins.com. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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1:30Anna Ptaszynski:Hello and welcome to another episode of Little Fish. My name's Andrew Hunter-Murray. I'm here in the QI offices with Dan Schreiber and Anna Tudjinsky. And we've brought some of your best facts. Hey, guys.
1:41Dan Schreiber:Hi, Andy.
1:42Anna Ptaszynski:Hey, buddy. Who's got a fact?
1:44Dan Schreiber:I've got a fact. That's a weird hello, Dan. You can't just be laughing from the outset.
1:48Anna Ptaszynski:I'm a funny guy, Anna. Get with the program. I was laughing at your hello.
1:52Dan Schreiber:Ouch. Okay. I'll work on that.
1:54Anna Ptaszynski:Ordeh, ordeh. I want a fact.
1:56Dan Schreiber:You want a fact? I've got a fact from Jack Poupart. When Albania, this is actually an incredible fact and I want to do a whole podcast on it. Oh, okay. When Albania transitioned from communism to capitalism, the result was that almost two thirds of the country ended up involved in pyramid schemes. Now, this is the most incredible story I can't believe I didn't know about. So Albania, you know, Soviet bloc fell and they'd never done capitalism before. Most people didn't really know how it works. They'd never had private banking before. They didn't really understand interest rates. And all of these pyramid companies started up.
2:31Dan Schreiber:Two thirds of the country invested all their savings in them. Wow. And basically it was where you took a deposit out and then the interest was paid by the next person's deposit. And then that interest was paid by the next person's deposit.
2:41Anna Ptaszynski:Do you know exactly how a pyramid scheme works? I thought that was how normal banking works. But I've lost all my money to a pyramid scheme.
2:50Dan Schreiber:Do not join the Murray Bank. Do they, by the way, when you said they went from communism to capitalism, is that a one-day, is it like, you know, when countries change sides of the roads for their driving side?
3:03Anna Ptaszynski:They normally phase it in, I think. So all eggs are still communist, but if you're buying cereal, then you have to pay. Very confusing.
3:11Dan Schreiber:Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true. A lot of crashes happened. This was incredible, though. So genuinely, the IMF said to Albania, this is fucked up, it's a pyramid scheme, We in the capitalist world have known about this for ages. No one believed it. And anyway, it all collapsed in the late 90s. And there was this massive rebellion. And 2 ,000 people, in fact, died in the end of the 90s in these huge rebellions. Yikes. Albania was looted. State armies were looted. The classic Anna fact, which gets us all excited. I know, I know. Oh, there's going to be some great comic twist coming up. Like a Mr. Bean episode.
3:43Thousands died.
3:44Dan Schreiber:Last episode of Mr. Bean, everyone died.
3:48Anna Ptaszynski:Wow. That sounds extraordinary. It's an incredible story Yeah Alright I've got one now This is a great fact It comes in from Igor Ferreira One fact I think is quite amusing Says Igor Is that Georgia That's the state in the USA Not the Eastern European country Has two counties which share a border And they're named Bacon County and Coffee County Quite a breakfast pair Unfortunately Coffee County does not have a strong coffee production culture Neither does Bacon County have prominent swine farms And it turns out that Bacon County was named after Senator Augustus Bacon And Coffee County was named after Congressman John E.
4:32Anna Ptaszynski:Coffey Oh man Isn't that good? It is good It's good It's really good Coffee County, John E. Coffey, really interesting guy He is often confused with John Coffey, his cousin of course Who is the namesake of Tennessee's Coffee County Of course This is stunning And I went a bit harking on this And I read through a list of 3 ,000 counties in America Wow And I just thought I'd see if there were any more amusing food named counties Crisp County, Georgia Congressman Charles Crisp Lamb County, Texas George Lamb Orange County, Indiana Named after the Quakers From a different Orange County And there's also Letcher County Governor Robert Letcher Cumming County, Nebraska Thomas Cumming and Cock County, Tennessee, named after Senator William Cock.
5:23Anna Ptaszynski:Who had a huge penis. Huge penis. Willie Cock. Willie Cock, yes. And there's also Big Horn County in Montana, but that is named after the local sheep.
5:32Dan Schreiber:Okay. Really good stuff. Anyway, there you go. Counties. Lovely work. Very cool. I got a fact here. This has been sent in by Mark Hoppus. The fact is, is that punk band Blink 182 are the only band to have broken the Geneva Convention. So, the email continues, basically the cover of their 1999 album, Enema of the State, features a nurse with a red cross on her hat. As Blink-182 aren't a medical organization, they were told by the American Red Cross that they would be breaking the Geneva Convention. And so subsequent pressings of the album remove the Red Cross from the cover. Really? But no one would have tried to get medical attention from the album.
6:14I think it's just something in place that you can't. Yeah, that you can't use it.
6:20Dan Schreiber:Would they have been on trial in The Hague were it not for that removal? I think so. Right now, next to Slobodan? Yeah, I think that's exactly why they had to remove it. Interesting little thing that I can hear, even though it's a pre-recorded show, I can hear thousands of people yelling out right now.
6:35Anna Ptaszynski:I think I might be about to yell it out. Did you just say that that email was sent in by someone called Mark Hoppus? Oh, OK. Mark Hoppus is one of the members of the band. Now either Andy you've misread the name of the person sending in this email Always possible Or it's possible though That Blink-182 listened to our show and sent in this fact But that's Mark from the He's the bassist in Blink-182 Should I write back? Don't Are you the Also no what I was going to shout out Dan is you keep saying Blink-182 I know Everyone I know says Blink-182 But I think their full name of course is Blink-182 Yes Yeah, I actually don't know.
7:15I've always called them Blink 182. Interesting. Yeah.
7:18Dan Schreiber:I call them Blink 9 score and 2.
7:20Anna Ptaszynski:Well, in French, of course, they're Blink sans catcher van der.
7:26Dan Schreiber:It must have got to be a big fan of his, who's pretending to be him in his email. Well, yeah, because then it says, source this interview by bassist Mark Hoppus. So why would you source yourself rather than just saying,
7:37Anna Ptaszynski:hey, it's Mark Hoppus? I must have just copied out the email, Rob. That must be wrong. I'll check that later. Unless of course Mark Hoppus just happens to have the same name as the bassist from Blink 182 And therefore has interest in them Spend his whole life reading about them and knows all about them That's possible too But didn't think it's worth putting in the email itself Just so you know I'm not that Mark Hoppus Yeah because he would have assumed that No one in their right minds would assume that the bassist would write in Citing an interview with himself
8:05Dan Schreiber:I think he's testing you to see if you spot it and it bypassed some people, but it stopped at you. The buck stopped at you, Dan. I love them. I think they're amazing. The album cover, by the way, this wasn't the only change that it went through. So the Red Cross was taken away, but also there was a capital B for Blink on the album initially, and their logo was a lowercase b. So then that got changed as they did the repressing of it as well.
8:31Anna Ptaszynski:It's almost like a reverse typo, isn't it? Someone's correctly ascertained that that's the first word of the sentence, so it should have a nice capital letter and they've had to deliberately get it wrong. They're punk.
8:42Dan Schreiber:Do we know why? So they looked at the capital B on the first pressing and thought, not punk enough? No, no, they have a logo and they have a typeface and they have a style of writing. It's quite sometimes when people write no such thing as a fish and it's a small A for as.
8:56Anna Ptaszynski:Yes, and that gives me the big old ick. That gives me the screaming abdabs but I'm not a cool punk. I think the punkiest thing to do would be to not care whether it's an upper or lowercase b. Yeah. Well then, there's more changes to this album cover What? Yeah Than the typo? And also the cross on the front Then there was a Malaysian edition So the front cover is a nurse But she's dressed very sexily Let's say that And there's cleavage And they were like, no cleavage, thank you So the nurse's top gets covered So it knocks out the cleavage on the Malaysian cover So you've got three changes to one album cover Not very punk to cover up a sexy nurse's cleavage
9:37Dan Schreiber:No, I'm sorry But it's also, it's more like a carry-on film I don't know how punk the Malaysian government are But I guess there's our answer But they were so silly Because that album, Enema of the State It was followed up by an album called Take Off Your Pants and Jacket And they used to have tours called the Poo Poo Pee Pee Tour They were very silly back in the day And then they got a bit serious and they fell out with each other. And very recently, because of a few sad moments for them, Mark Hoppus was diagnosed with cancer and they reconnected off the back of it. They found their comedy again.
10:14So their last year's tour was called Missionary Impossible. And it feels like the first time in a while that they've really got funny again. Right. And so Mark, if you're listening, we love you. I certainly do.
10:25Dan Schreiber:You got funny again. After those bleak, unfunny years that Dan just mentioned. No, no, no.
10:29Anna Ptaszynski:Oh, Jesus. Would have thought that was a fact for you, Anna. that contains a sudden unexpected serious twist.
10:36Dan Schreiber:All right, you want another one? Yeah. From Emily Johns. And this is that Emma Sharp was the first woman to complete a thousand mile walk in a thousand hours. She did this outside a pub armed with pistols whilst people tried to poison her. Unsurprisingly, this was the first and last time she did any sort of walking event.
10:56Anna Ptaszynski:So hang on, sorry. She did the walk outside a pub. Did she walk a mile or half a mile out or half a mile back a thousand times?
Read the full transcript
11:02Dan Schreiber:No, I think she walked a long way. I think she began outside the pub. I don't think she was just walking around and around the pub waiting for it to open. I don't think. I've been there, Emma Sharp. God, you know, you've got to keep yourself busy, haven't you? Clock's ticking. When will 7am arrive?
11:23Dan Schreiber:Yeah, and Emily quite rightly says she's the most incredible woman and deserves the world to know about her. and she is great and it just reminded me of this thing that we've never talked about which is pedestrianism which James and I covered a bit in our sports book. Oh okay.
11:35Anna Ptaszynski:I think we've done it a tiny bit but many years ago. Yes. Maybe.
11:38Dan Schreiber:This mad craze in the late 19th century mid to late 19th century for women to go on these big big long walks very competitively and this woman they were trying to poison her by the way I think because there were lots of bets laid on whether she could do it or not and so vested interest once you put a grand down you'll try to jeopardise someone's chances. What you do for a grand kill someone is... Well, actually, it's a poison. Or is it just to make her sick? Maybe it was just a big bout of diarrhoea or something. We don't know. We don't know. Would you give someone explosive diarrhoea for a grand?
12:08Anna Ptaszynski:In modern money.
12:10Dan Schreiber:In modern money, yeah.
12:11Anna Ptaszynski:GBP, pound sterling. GBP, yeah. Yeah.
12:14Dan Schreiber:Yeah.
12:15Anna Ptaszynski:How would you go about doing it? What do you mean? Well, how are you giving someone explosive diarrhoea? I'd put it in the water, because everyone needs water eventually. Do you have explosive diarrhoea? and you're passing it on? Dan, there are ways of giving people diarrhoea that don't involve putting diarrhoea in their food. Well, speaks the voice of experience, apparently.
12:34Dan Schreiber:I think you meant a laxative. I meant laxative. Not shit in their water. Jesus.
12:42Anna Ptaszynski:God, Dan, that's pretty dark.
12:45Dan Schreiber:If you were going to do that, you'd have to do it in the tea because water is so enough, isn't it?
12:50Anna Ptaszynski:Oh, shit it is. Clear water bottle. That'll do it. Oh, I love corn in my water. Ironically, you'd be giving someone the runs to stop them doing a walk.
13:02Dan Schreiber:That is ironic.
13:04Anna Ptaszynski:That's just pleasing. It's worth it for the headlines, isn't it, in the papers?
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14:13Anna Ptaszynski:Let me check that Mark Hoppus right now.
14:15Dan Schreiber:Checking the Mark Hoppus there. Checking Mark Hoppus. I leant upon a Hoppus gate What's that? That's from the Darkling Thrush poem by Thomas Hardy
14:25Anna Ptaszynski:I'd just like to say Dan I'm so sorry that fact came in from Sven Sabber not from Mark Hoppus Sven I'm really sorry that was your fact Sven Sabber Do you want another? Yeah This I love, I absolutely love It's from Lettice and Lettice writes The fact I would like to share with you is that the Romney Hithe and Dimchurch miniature railway in Kent claimed to have built the only armoured miniature train in the world.
14:55Dan Schreiber:Claimed to have?
14:56Anna Ptaszynski:I mean, they have. They did. It was during the war. Second World War. Basically, I have cycled the route of this miniature railway. Have you? Hashtag legend.
15:08Anna Ptaszynski:When's the last time hashtag has been used to denote being cool? So it's a great miniature railway. It's in Kent. Romney, Hyth, and Dimchurch is the route it goes around. Anyway, Letters writes, in the summer of 1940, my newly conscripted grandfather was posted to guard the miniature railway. He said it was quite boring, as all he had to do was paint the coal white to make sure nobody was stealing it. I don't know if that's a sort of grandfatherly joke or something. So, having spent a lifetime idly wondering why Hitler would want to ride on this miniature train in particular, and why it needed to be armoured, it turns out they were using it for transporting materials to the channel because they were planning D-Day.
15:47Anna Ptaszynski:And there was this huge thing called Operation Pluto, which is absolutely mega. It was a pipeline under the ocean. So Pluto. And it was because 60 % of what was needed by weight in northern France after the invasion was going to be fuel. It's going to be oil. By volume and mass and weight, that's most of what you need is just to keep your military going. So they had to lay a pipeline under the ocean incredibly rapidly and stop it being bombed. Really? And there are all these places around the area which are like fake bungalows, which are actually pumping stations for oil. They built fake stations.
16:20Anna Ptaszynski:There was a fake garage, fake ice cream shop. And they were just pumping stations. And they're just pumping oil through the pipeline to get it from the main sort of British network down to the coast and then over the channel. So it's an amazing bit of history. And it has this miniature train. That's incredible.
16:36Dan Schreiber:And so this girl's grandfather was guarding the miniature train that was carrying coal. to the, oh, sorry, carrying supplies. Supplies. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That is amazing. That is so cool. And how small is the train? It's a key question because there are two types of miniature train and I was picturing for a long time like in a model village. That's what I've got in my head.
16:54Anna Ptaszynski:It's not a model railway, it's a miniature train. It's a crucial difference.
16:58Dan Schreiber:I was thinking it's not very far to cycle, Andy. Let's not brag about that. It's only a metre and a half.
17:03Anna Ptaszynski:We've got half a cup of oil on the train coming our way. No, sorry, when I say miniature railway I could sit on it But probably not two of me abreast Could sit on it, do you know what I mean? It's sort of about a person and a bed wide Ah, so what you take your kids on at like Exactly, exactly that, yeah, yeah And little fact for you Dan, after the war it was reopened And the ribbon was cut by Laurel and Hardy Was it really? Yep, nice So anyway, two scissors, one pair of scissors I don't know, I'm so sorry I failed you Dan
17:34Dan Schreiber:Why didn't I include that information?
17:38Anna Ptaszynski:Anyway, Lettuce, incredible that your grandfather was part of this That's so cool Yeah, that's brilliant, what a connection I have another one, this is from Walt Mankowski I just saw this fact tonight and it's too good not to share Since Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865 Every US president has been alive at the same time as Herbert Hoover
18:01Dan Schreiber:That is so cool Incredible, right? But not all at the same time not all at the same time it's so important to read those last three words except for that vampire Obama don't because there will be a thriving community of people who think
18:19Anna Ptaszynski:Obama's a vampire out there somewhere Hoover was president for four years only from 1929 to 1933 but he lived until he was 90 providing plenty of time for other presidents to overlap with him so then Walt says amazing bonus fact Kamala Harris was born on October the 20th, 1964. Herbert Hoover died October 20th, 1964. The same day. Now the question is, did Kamala Harris get born before he died?
18:48Dan Schreiber:Because if she got born after he died, then he was obviously reincarnated as Kamala Harris. Is that what you're saying? Oh, wonderful logic. Yeah, that's it. I hadn't thought of that. That's a very good point. So that's where Walt ends his email.
19:04Anna Ptaszynski:Great news, Mrs. Harris. You've had your baby and we're proud to report that it's been inhabited by the soul of Herbert Hoover.
19:14Dan Schreiber:You'd cry with joy. You know, you're probably crying anyway, but tears of joy it would be, wouldn't it? Absolutely.
19:18Anna Ptaszynski:But she, of course, didn't become president. Well, this is exciting. It's the first time I've ever had an email where the correspondent has sent an update email saying, I found out the exact timings. Hoover died at 11.35 a.m. ET. in New York City. Harris was born 9.28pm PT Pacific Time in Oakland, California, which is three hours behind New York. So she missed him by 13 hours. And that's why she didn't become the president. That's it. She was the only person not born in his lifetime. So that's what the Democrats need to be focusing on for the next election is just where you're live before that date in 1964 pete budajek i'm afraid you're out um we're gonna have to go bernie
20:06Dan Schreiber:yeah it's good because a lot of people are saying we need even older leaders in america so i think imagine if he made that his main campaign platform you might as well yeah that's anyone yeah yeah i actually and i'm terrible at counting so i think these are correct um but i looked into how many prime ministers does andy burnham overlap with the current UK Prime Minister. How many do you think? How many? So he's, what, 50 odd?
20:37Anna Ptaszynski:55?
20:39Dan Schreiber:How many people does he overlap with? How many Prime Ministers? He died in the 60s. Let's say there have been seven. I'm going to say 11.
20:48Anna Ptaszynski:He was born in 1970. Yeah, I think 11 is a pretty good shout because there was a period where there weren't too many and then we've had lots recently. If my numbers are correct, it's 17. Sorry, yeah.
20:58Dan Schreiber:I forgot we'd had lots recently. 17. There was a big rush recently, wasn't there? Of that number. I had to get in the front of the queue. The first prime minister, as far as I can see, who he wasn't alive for was Churchill. Whoa. Yeah, makes sense. Just missed him. John Major, I believe, is 21. Wow. Not years old. He overlaps with 21 prime ministers of the UK. Oh, really? Huge. Nice. Mega.
21:22Anna Ptaszynski:Yeah, so far. There'll be more. Fingers crossed.
21:25Dan Schreiber:Ali writing from Wicklow in Ireland. miniature horses do not like bananas but will happily eat banana skin whereas arabian horses will eat banana but not the skin what's going on there oh so they're perfectly teamed perfect match
21:38Anna Ptaszynski:it's the it's jack sprat and his wife can i check miniature horses do you mean horses that are tiny the size of a few inches tall or do you mean model horses it's a really good point um i didn't ask
21:49Dan Schreiber:and yeah because obviously if it's the first you need miniature bananas wouldn't you so I'll write back
21:57Anna Ptaszynski:Caitlin O 'Brien I was looking up land use in the UK Yes
22:01Dan Schreiber:I work in museums
22:03Anna Ptaszynski:This is the kind of workplace chat we have According to this article Woking is 11 % golf course But the lake district is only 3 % lake This means that Woking is nearly four times more golf Than the lake district is lake Great Really good Yeah that's really good Yeah. Is that an original calculation? No, I think it's according to this article. Okay. Yeah. Brilliant. Pretty cool, though.
22:30Dan Schreiber:It's a sign of the times, isn't it, that I can't now hear the place name Woking without thinking that it's like a verb referring to being overly obsessive about people's gender pronouns or whatever. They should do a survey on that. We'll see how many woke people are in Woking. That's a good idea.
22:45Anna Ptaszynski:Yeah. If you're listening. You golf, more like.
22:48Dan Schreiber:Yes.
22:49Anna Ptaszynski:All right. Now let's move to phase two of Little Fish. fact allocation. So if you join Clubfish, our exclusive members club, patreon.com slash clubfish and if you join at the highest tier, which is friend of the podcast, then you will get exclusive ownership, custodianship of one of our headline facts from the last 12 years of doing this podcast and that'll be yours forever. So do go to patreon.com slash clubfish to check it out. Also, if you want to see the other tiers there are extra shows, there are longer shows There's all sorts of wonderful stuff there So go and do that now Right, let's have some fact allocations Who's up first?
23:24I've got one here This is now under the custodianship of Jack O 'Connor And it is that TV star David Frost Used to host live shows eight nights a week Brilliant I love this fact so much This was, and he was on TV non-stop, multiple programs But the reason he was able to be on TV eight nights a week Is because he used to do four nights, I think it was, in the UK and at the end of the show, he would get on Concord and on the very same night, do a show in America on TV and then play it out for the rest of the week. So he was working seven nights a week, but he managed to fit eight nights in as a result.
24:01So good.
24:01Dan Schreiber:It's brilliant. You can't do that anymore because we don't have Concord. And so that's not possible. So this is a sort of a fact locked in time. You could do it, but I think you'd have to be like next to Samoa or something. You'd have to be on one side and then the other side of the international day line, wouldn't you? That's so good. He did it in Hawaii and then... Good news, we've booked you for Graham Norton's show. Unfortunately, it's his eighth evening recording in Samoa. If you could fund the travel there. Yeah, it's a great fact. That was also, I was looking back through that episode when I saw this fact.
24:31Dan Schreiber:And it's where we mentioned people I haven't thought about since. Robozo and Amplenalp. Do you remember those guys?
24:38Anna Ptaszynski:The pranksters who were Richard Nixon's close friends and who were constantly getting into scrapes.
24:44Dan Schreiber:Yes, they delivered him a prostitute in a suitcase, if I remember rightly.
24:49Anna Ptaszynski:Classic Anna story. Was she alive?
24:51Dan Schreiber:She was alive, guys. In a suitcase. It's fine. She was alive. Not a carpet. I think it was in a suitcase. Oh my God, those two characters. You might as well have just mentioned two of my best friends from school that I just somehow forgot about and they walked in the room. I'm feeling so much joy right now.
25:06Anna Ptaszynski:Yeah, me too. I'm going to go back and listen to that.
25:09Dan Schreiber:Rabozo and Aplanap. Anyway Here's another fact For another new owner And this is a fact For Niels Lindholt And this is that The original chill pill Was a pill you took When you had a chill Brilliant Simple but effective
25:25Anna Ptaszynski:Old school medicines Yes Which all worked Definitely Should we have another one here? Yeah This one goes out to Al Who I think is Alice I don't want to presume From your email address But the fact is Tomorrow will be the longest day of your life And this is specifically tailored to you Al or Alice This is going to be a really rough day I'm afraid
25:50Dan Schreiber:This is actually such a grim thing To suggest you frame up on your wall
25:54Anna Ptaszynski:I know next year live, love, laugh It's because the Earth's days Are getting longer all the time Because Earth is gradually slowing down Does that make it more cheerful? No, not really You won't notice it You don't need to reset your alarm or anything. It's fine. No. It's by a fraction of a fraction of a second. It is. So cheer up.
26:17Dan Schreiber:I read recently, I happened to read an article about this, about, you know, there's huge time committees talking about the leap seconds. So it's why we have leap seconds added every few years. And they're at the moment thinking that we might stop having leap seconds and instead we'll have a leap hour every few hundred years. Whoa. That's cool. It's a kind of exciting thing. Yeah, really exciting. When would we be due our first leap hour? I think way after we've all died Really? Shame to miss it Yeah I know but maybe your great grandchildren We'll get that Alright let's get to another fact This goes out to Michael Smith Your fact now is in 1457 Men with mustaches were banned from Dublin Wow
26:57Anna Ptaszynski:Whereas now I'm sure they're not Don't risk it Tom Selleck if you're planning a trip No I think comfortably you can wear a mustache now In Dublin
27:07Dan Schreiber:You can. This was because a moustache was a sign of being Irish, basically, back in the day. And Irish people weren't allowed in Dublin when the English had control over it. And so it was just a way of saying, if you're English and you've got a moustache, shave it off. Otherwise, we'll think you're Irish.
27:22Anna Ptaszynski:And it's all to do with the pale, isn't it? Yes. Which you can be beyond the pale.
27:26Dan Schreiber:Now, the line between English-owned and Irish-owned. That's right. Yeah, yeah. Yes.
27:30Anna Ptaszynski:Great fact. Very good. It's yours, Michael.
27:32Dan Schreiber:Here's one. This is for Tamara Morgan. and this is that diplodocus's could break the sound barrier. Nature's whip. I think that's what they would do. They would whip their diplodocus-y tail and it would create such a snapback that you would get a little sonic boom and you would break the sound barrier. So cool. Must be, right?
27:54Anna Ptaszynski:Like Concord. Yes. Yes. But are we just, you know, do we think there's nothing going on there? Are we saying nothing? What are we saying? They were the Concord of their day. They were.
28:03Dan Schreiber:People used to ride on their tails. The ancient David Frost could do eight shows a week.
28:10Anna Ptaszynski:Yeah, that's a lovely fact.
28:12Dan Schreiber:Really cool. And you'd be able to do, did you ever do that towel whipping trip? Yes. Imagine what a good one dipodocus's could do. Not me. They could really whip the shit out of your thigh.
28:20Anna Ptaszynski:No, never did that.
28:20Dan Schreiber:You never whipped anyone's thigh with a towel and made it bleed?
28:23Anna Ptaszynski:No, no, no. I've been towel whipped. Don't get me wrong. Of course. I've been on the one end or another of a towel whipping. It doesn't matter who's there. Have you? I don't think I ever have. No, I haven't. It's the sort of thing that I think you get in American locker rooms But not in British ones In British schools you're too busy Just stamping on each other's nuts and things To fanny about with towel Snapping An insight into your childhood Good days, let's have another fact This one goes out to Jamie Minter Jamie, your fact forever now Is that more and more scientists Are describing their findings as Astounding Which I think was about ego in science Wasn't it?
28:59Anna Ptaszynski:And you were having to sex up your results basically and say this is absolutely astounding you know whereas it might have been a completely normal study uh that just proved something that you you thought before anyway yeah they're getting
29:09Dan Schreiber:emotional is the thing remove emotion from your findings right um salutary warning all right let me give another fact out to sam elam even though we're not sure it exists the new planet planet
29:23Anna Ptaszynski:nine is the most planety planet of all the planets great fact great fact i think was this one of yours Dan it was but I do you know what I believe I was given this uh by James we were talking one day and he said this and I said I need to take that to the show and um that makes sense because
29:42Dan Schreiber:I looked it up in the archive and you said it is the headline but then the explanation was next to the initials JH so I think you said it's a headline and then he said and James my assistant will explain to you what this means sometimes a team needs two people want to to kick the header and want to let it in the net, you know? Absolutely. In this case, James was getting us a goal, but could he do it if there was no ball heading towards his head? Wait, so are you the ball? That sounds like you're the ball.
30:11Anna Ptaszynski:It certainly feels like I'm the ball in this show sometimes. Should we have one last one? Yeah.
30:16Dan Schreiber:Let's have one last one, and this one goes out to William Lamb. The first use of the word Snowmageddon came in the same press release as the first apology for the word Snowmageddon.
30:27Anna Ptaszynski:Beautiful. This was the Canadian government. Was it? Yes, they said, sorry about the word Snowmageddon. Obviously, it's very important. In the press release about it, which was in 2008. I don't know if Snowmageddon is still much in use in Canada. I haven't seen it, but I'm not Canadian, so I don't know.
30:44Dan Schreiber:Yeah, Snowmageddon, do you use it?
30:46Anna Ptaszynski:Podcast at QI.com, which is the email address to write to. But we don't have time now to get into it because we have to thank all of our new Fact Custodians. And that is William, Sam, Jamie, Tamara, Michael, Al, Nils and Jack. thank you so much to all of you for joining and becoming friends of the podcast on clubfish if you would like to join at any tier it makes a massive difference to us and it really helps support the show and you get a load of extra wonderful fish stuff yourself so patreon.com slash clubfish that's it for this episode of little fish we'll be back again in four days with another big fish but we may be back depending on the broadcasting schedule in two days with another droppers a line which is only accessible if you join clubfish you don't need to worry about any of that.
31:28Anna Ptaszynski:That's for our internal systems. The thing I'm trying to say is thanks to Dan and Anna, and we'll see you again soon. Bye for now.
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From the publisher
Andy explains why he is a hashtag legend, while he, Anna and Dan discuss YOUR facts . This week's subjects include pedestriennes, presidents and pyramid schemes. And the gang announce eight more Friend of the Podcast custodians.
Visit nosuchthingasafish.com for news about live shows, merchandise and more episodes.
Join Club Fish for ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content at apple.co/nosuchthingasafish or nosuchthingasafish.com/patreon
Edited by James Harkin
Produced by Leying Lee
Team includes Tara Dorrell, Joe Mayo and Ethan Ruparelia
