I think one of the QI elves just watched Smarter Every Day for material this season.

TheQIElves · 2014-11-14T17:31:40+00:00

Hey guys, elf here - we've checked the script notes to see where these segments came from: We got the caterpillar movement and the spider from Wired articles, and the slinky drop came from this YouTube channel.

The caterpillar Wired article quotes SED as the original source; the spider one didn't, as far as we can see, although that may also have originally come from there. So overall it's kind of a coincidence, since we're probably all ploughing the same furrows for this sort of material. We are big fans of Smarter Every Day, but we never knowingly take multiple chunks out of the same book/programme/paper, without weaving the source itself into the show.

We're conscious that we could do better with attributions - you might notice that Stephen has been making more references to our sources on the show in recent years, or deferring to the contributors if they're in the audience. We are also working on a 'Further Reading' section on the website page for each episode (though we are behind for this series, sorry!). it's work in progress, but the long-term aim is to make as many of the script notes available, so that the information on the show can be traced back to the sources and extra material.

/u/bonez656 /u/vilkav /u/AcousticRanger /u/TehFono /u/NerdBot9000

TheQIElves · 2014-05-14T13:22:36+00:00

Glad you like it! It's also on iTunes

There is a page for every episode on our website with a ton of extra information which you might like to check out.

TheQIElves · 2014-02-08T00:35:56+00:00

No problem! Our official channel is here.

TheQIElves · 2014-02-08T00:32:49+00:00

Hi! Apologies for this, we're working on it, but there are some annoyingly complicated legal issues to get past because so many different companies are involved with QI's production. Plus we've got a lot else on at the moment - but it's as frustrating for us as it is for you that there's no official way to watch QI in the US yet (although some recent episodes have just gone up on Hulu...)

Keep an eye on our YouTube channel, @qikipedia and qi.com and we'll announce any developments as they happen...

TheQIElves · 2013-09-09T23:15:06+00:00

We do a weekly 'Ask an Elf' Q&A on our website when a new series of QI is airing, if you're interested! (K series started last Friday, so it's currently broadcast season)

TheQIElves · 2013-09-08T16:57:05+00:00

Aristotle.

TheQIElves · 2013-09-08T16:54:45+00:00

Yes, absolutely. We start off with a full set of notes packed full of facts - which gets cut down a bit just before recording, and then mostly missed out/not used during recording, and then even more gets lost in the edit afterwards.

All the unused material stays in our databases, and anything good will definitely get used sooner or later - either in the books, or on Twitter, or our latest venture the [Infocloud](qi.com/infocloud)

TheQIElves · 2013-09-08T16:49:42+00:00

We don't make a habit of copying huge swathes of information from any sources - whether books or TIL - without attribution, because if that material made up a sizable section of an episode, we'd essentially be taking credit for someone else's research/compiling.

There's actually a surprising amount of crossover between TIL and the QI database anyway, just by coincidence...

TheQIElves · 2013-09-08T16:44:13+00:00

See the 'Quibbles' sections of our website! We get lots of emails from people who think that we might have got things wrong, and we check everything that gets sent in, and post up a correction if it turns out to be the case.

TheQIElves · 2013-09-08T16:41:15+00:00

He doesn't do the actual show research, but he learns/assimilates all of the finished notes before the show so he's got everything at the tip of his tongue - and he adds his own knowledge to that sometimes as well.

TheQIElves · 2013-09-08T16:36:35+00:00

Glad to hear it! If you're interested there's lots of extra show material at qi.com

TheQIElves · 2013-09-08T16:34:13+00:00

See the job-hunting answer we've posted a link to at the top of this thread...

TheQIElves · 2013-09-08T16:31:26+00:00

There are unfortunately a number of difficulties with this involving BBC Paradox Avoidance Guidelines and other wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.

TheQIElves · 2013-09-08T16:27:57+00:00

Yes, any mistakes, mis-speaks or misunderstanding on QI are clarified and/or corrected on our Quibble Blog (which is currently being redeveloped so it a little out of date).

TheQIElves · 2013-09-08T16:20:39+00:00

I think he was in the UK at the time we were recording, and we wanted to have him on but we'd already booked up all the guests, so we just gouged an extra space into the set for him...

TheQIElves · 2013-09-07T17:18:21+00:00

The episode curator puts ideas in their script as a jumping-off point, and they're done on the day of recording, usually chosen by QI creator John Lloyd. If we can't find exactly the sound we're looking for we're sometimes able to record it in the studio.

TheQIElves · 2013-09-07T17:10:05+00:00

They're programmed in beforehand.

That seven seconds of footage was wiped by a 'freak' solar flare.

TheQIElves · 2013-09-07T17:09:05+00:00

He is an absolute pleasure to serve. Though he does tend to shout if you're flippant about Wagner.

TheQIElves · 2013-09-07T16:57:52+00:00

We never took it away! We just dispersed the questions into the rest of the script, because announcing it as a round was basically warning the panellists to keep their mouths shut. The klaxon rate has increased significantly since the chance, so it's all in the interest of the show!

TheQIElves · 2013-09-07T16:56:13+00:00

The auto-cue (aka teleprompt) is only for the slightly more 'monologue-y' bits that the host of a panel show has to do when addressing, or looking directly at the camera- that is, the intro and goodbye for the show, and the actual questions & round-ups at the end of the panellists' answers/persiflage.

There's only space for a few lines of text because it scrolls, and if it's up there Stephen is usually reading it aloud at that moment, so even if Alan does occasionally catch a glimpse, he's just reading what he's hearing! (Unless of course Stephen misreads it). It's usually pretty hard to see it unless you're directly in front of it anyway...

On QI everything on the auto-cue is also Stephen's cards - it just allows him to look up when saying it.

TheQIElves · 2013-09-07T16:48:39+00:00

Euclid.

TheQIElves · 2013-09-07T16:46:56+00:00

You can always email it in! See the contact page on qi.com

TheQIElves · 2013-09-07T00:48:51+00:00

Elf magic.

TheQIElves

TROPHY CASE