QI | What’s The Biggest Mistake Ever Made With A Pencil?

This clip is from QI Series M, Episode 5, 'Maths' with Stephen Fry, Alan Davies, Aisling Bea, Susan Calman and Sandi Toksvig.

[pvrunner]

I’m an American born in 1992 who grew up in California and we had pencils that said “Don’t let friends do drugs” which became “Let friends do drugs” and then “Friends do drugs” and then “Do drugs” and then “Drugs.”

[megalamb]

It's this sort of knowledge from Sandi which proves why she was so suitable to take over as host.

[Deadralord]

I think Stephen is one of the few non-Australians in the world who has perfected every Australian vowel sound. Because that is the key to the Aussie accent is the vowels as long as you get them right you can do a passable Aussie accent.

[DavidWillanski]

After delivering a 45 minute speech, a speaker was informed it should have been a four to five minute speech

[Rel]

Best Australian accent by an English person I've ever heard.

[baddog]

You can sharpen a pencil at both ends. But what would be the point?

[NewMessage]

Using the eraser when it's nearly gone, so the metal retaining ring scrapes on the paper, and sets your teeth on edge.

[BigNWide]

Our school issued graduates with pencils that said "CLASS OF ...", but once they were sharpened became "ASS OF ..."

[CaptainKrimson]

I don't remember which Dutch city it was but a energy-company started to send bills to streetlights that had gotten adresses in the administration of the company. Much to the wonder of the postmen that could not find those adresses

[hayreddinbarbarossa]

As an Australian, Stephen is one of the minutely few people who don't make me eyeroll and cringe with his Australian accent. Rarer than hens teeth.
He is also the closest thing to a deity this world has ever known.

[stevenwebb]

The Morning Bulletin is my local newspaper here in Rockhampton and that pig story really shows the quality of their journalism.

[Moamanly]

They could have printed the same message the other way around, surely?
"Drugs" at the pointy end, as it were.

[puirYorick]

A former work colleague wore a trendy white tee shirt one day that had the supposedly stylish logo WHITE SHIRT printed in two lines in large off-white blocky font. Unfortunately the material tended to naturally fold over near the lower part where his torso was slimmer and often completely obscured the letter R in shirt.

Because the whole gimmick of the nearly white font printed on a clean white shirt made you struggle to read the lettering anyway, people were frequently staring at it. Only some of the time there was the extra rude unintended display.

[apathyisdeath]

As an Aussie, I can say without argument that Stephen Fry's Australian accent impression is the most accurate you'll ever hear in your life. Hell, it's more Aussie sounding than mine!

[mitchweiner]

It’s always a treat to hear Stephen do his accents!

[bob]

How does a mathematician deal with his constipation problem? He works it out with a pencil!

[OpreRoma]

My immediate reaction to the question was "the Sykes-Picot line"

[Efemral]

His Australian accent is so good it reminds me of my Pa, who I miss dearly

[blidge]

"So I've removed all of the guns and knives. There are no wooden bats or metal poles in sight. All that remains is this innocuous pencil. The trap has been set. John Wick will not make it out of here alive"

[rodparker]

To be quite blunt, that accent is so good I didn’t even hear it. No exaggeration, it was on point.