This edition of the show that plays out like a pub quiz was a special with questions about many famous facts from recorded history since the dawn of man, a surprisingly factual and as usual funny show to watch and have fun with. Hosted by Jimmy Carr, with celebrity panellists in three teams: Katherine Ryan and Big Narstie, Joe Lycett and Sandi Toksvig, and David Baddiel and Frank Skinner. This quiz focused on all sorts of factual information from history, music, film and TV, science, people, places, and pot luck (general knowledge) to answer about. These questions are asked as they are, with video and sound clips, with pictures (including Say What You See), and by celebrity and mystery guests on screen or in the studio, so it really does feel like a proper quiz that you can take part in. Events from history that were questioned and joked about, and mentioned (or pictured) included: archaeologists dating things, Italian scientist Lilius releasing the Gregorian calendar (we still use today) in 1582, scientist Hippocrates diagnosing illnesses by tasting bodily fluids of his patients, Mount Rushmore and its four U. S. Presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln), the Ubre Blanca (a cow in Cuba known for her prodigious milk production), the construction of the Euro Channel Tunnel, decimalisation (the conversion of British coins), Barbara Windsor in the Carry On films, Alexander the Great, Queen Victoria marrying Prince Albert in 1840 and started the tradition of wearing white, the Prince Albert genital piercing, Ozzy Osbourne causing controversy after biting the head off a live bat, the success of Oasis, the celebrities included in the rap in the song "Vogue" by Madonna (Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Joe DiMaggio, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Dean, Grace Kelly, Jean Harlow, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Lana Turner and Bette Davis); "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, "Go West" by Pet Shop Boys and "Bread of Heaven" becoming football chants, "Milkshake" by Kelis, dolls of famous popstars (Sonny and Cher, Ronan Keating from Boyzone, MC Hammer, Justin Timberlake from N*Sync), One Step Beyond by Madness, Let's Talk About Love by Celine Dion, One of the Boys by Katy Perry, Hollyoaks, Forrest Gump, Psycho, the "Wilhelm Scream" (featured over 150 films, including Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Batman Returns), Channel 5 News launching in 1997 and Kirsty Young being the first TV newsreader to read the news standing up, three things the Romans did for us according to Monty Python's Life of Brian (sanitation, a fresh water system, and roads), the shapes of the antennas of the Teletubbies, films released in non-English speaking countries with alternative translated titles ("Mum, I Missed the Plane" = Home Alone, "The Teeth of the Sea" = Jaws, "Electronic Murderer" = The Terminator, and "Father Bastard" = Bad Santa), preacher Jerry Falwell accusing Tinky Winky (Teletubbies) of being gay (he had a triangle on his head - a gay pride symbol, he was purple, and carried a handbag), 2001: A Space Odyssey, Pretty Woman, Magic Mike, Fake News, Laika the dog being the first animal to orbit the Earth, NASA researcher Margaret Howell Lovett entering into an intimate relationship with a dolphin named Peter whilst trying to teach it to speak English, beauty product Botox being originally derived from a substance found in rotten sausages, a dog made famous after becoming the first photo posted on Instagram, the taxidermy profession using tools (brain scoop, artificial tongues, ear liners, fleshing balls, and the eager beaver table top flesher), meteor hits dinosaurs, muscles and bones in the body (the rectus abdominus, the humerus, and the rhomboids), Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle website Goop, James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan banned from wearing tuxedos in other films, musicians replaced in bands (Michelle Stephenson was replaced by Emma Bunton in the Spice Girls, Dick Evans was an early member of U2, and Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy was replaced by Simon Le Bon in Duran Duran), Kim Kardashian's godfather being O. J. Simpson, Gary Kremen who invented Match.com which resulted in his girlfriend leaving him, the feet of Libertas (the Statue of Liberty), Stonehenge, Ancient Greece, it is illegal to own just one guinea pig in Switzerland (it is considered cruel for one to be alone), the Zerao Stadium in Brazil has the halfway line, China's Parisian-style Eiffel Tower, the twenty-two Seas of the Moon (including "Sea of Tranquillity", "Sea of Serenity", "Sea of Clouds", "Sea of Moisture", "Sea of Showers" and "Sea of Cleverness"), Captain Scott's arctic expedition, the names of classic cocktails based on their ingredients (Long Island ice tea, mojito, and whisky sour), German words used in English, acronyms (SCUBA = Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, LAZER = Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, and TASER = Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle), the Beanie Babies craze, Rice Krispies in the 1950s briefly introducing the fourth member Pow to join Snap, Crackle and Pop, the nursery rhyme "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly", Listerine originally being used for foot cleaning, floor scrubbing and treating gonorrhoea, and Hollywood stars (played by professional lookalikes in the studio) who grossed billions at the worldwide box office (in order: Julia Roberts = 5.2 billion, Will Smith = 6.8 billion, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson = 7.6 billion, Emma Watson = 9 billion, Tom Hanks = 9.5 billion, and Robert Downey Jr. = 11.3 billion). Other celebrity and special mystery guests in the show included the children of Mitchell Brook Primary School in Neasden who act out well known news stories, Jon Snow who reads news related to lyrics from songs of history and dances to it, Charles Dance who reads online negative (and positive) film reviews, BBC Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo, Basil Brush, First Dates barman Merlin Griffith, Eric Idle (who released his autobiography "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"), Mrs Brown's Boys star Brendan O'Carroll, Stacey Solomon, entrepreneur and Kurupt FM owner Chabuddy G (Asim Chaudhry), This Morning and Strictly Come Dancing star Dr. Ranj Singh, and mystery guests Alex and Sue Tatham who were the first couple to be married having met on Blind Date. The jokes and the questions are what make this show so much fun, they chose the right celebrity panellists, and it also works as a funny way to find out and reflect on things you may or not know from history, a great comedy quiz show. Very good!
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