h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This may confuse the matter but ....

There is a species of sea snail called Flamingo's Tongue - it lives on coral and feeds on the soft tissue of the coral. The shell is white but is partly covered by some of the tissue of the snail which is a bright orange.

Not confusing at all.

That's the right answer, +3

I have a friend who is a marine biology "nut" who sometimes shares his strange discoveries - this time it was information that he had stumbled across on the net.

I never thought that I would ever use it - but that was before QI.

MORAL: That useless information may pay off ..... eventually.

Thanks Clive

I was hoping that one could have been drug out a bit longer but oh well - well done Feisor.

At the very least I suppose that proves one thing people in this thread don't google.

If you put "Flamingos Tongue" into the search engine it's the primary link and comes with many pictures.

http://funscubadiver.com/gallery/cayman-scuba-photo/cayman-flamingo-tongue.jpg

I figured if anyone came out and said "kinda pale looking with yellow, orange spots" I'd know!

Not much more to add really.

The tissue Feisor referred to is the mantle. It's something common to all molluscs - a sort of loose fabric-like wafting 'cape-like' piece of tissue (think like the flappy-bits on the heads of squids).

They perform many functions but in this snail act as gills. It stretches them out over it's back and gulps in - I was about to say lungfulls, but that would be highly inaccurate, still you get the idea - of oxygen from the surrounding water.

This respiratory tissue is highly coloured (as mantles often are See this Giant Clam, for example :http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Giant_clam_komodo.jpg)

But the shell of the snail (made of calcium carbonate) is a slightly-off white.

QI - Stick it out and say "Ahhh"
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Correct (+3)
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Toybox (19) - "could it be white?"
Feisor (81) - "It's a sea snail."



QI Bonus (+6)
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Toybox (7) - "Why an octopuses blood is blue"



DGI Bonus (+1)
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Toybox (34) - "It's coated in something"
Hygienic Dispenser (37) - "What is the tongue made of?"


Klaxon (-5)
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None Awarded (!)


Elf Bonus (+2)
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Clive.



Total to be added or subtracted.
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Toybox +10
Feisor +3
Clive +2
Hd +1

In first place Toybox - iridescent with +10!
In Technicolour - Feisor - second place with +3
In third place - it's me, and I look splendid in anything, Darling!
and in last place but with a positive score, which is a novel thing! - It's the caterpillar who would be a butterfly - Hygienic Dispenser with +1

I am so sad I missed this one. So much scope for silliness.

Also I could have used some pseudo knowledge.

I believe that the reason Flamingos are pink is because they feed on shrimp is in fact a myth, unless of course, the belief that it is a myth is a myth.

What I cannot believe is that I cannot believe its not butter doesn't in fact taste like butter and therefore I cannot believe that anyone cannot believe that I cannot believe its not butter is in fact not butter.

The price of laughter is eternal vigilance, to coin a phrase.

Do I get any points for writing the h2g2 Entry that toybox quoted to explain why octopus blood is blue?

What a question!

Umm... well no, since I've already concluded the forum and sent the scores to Bob.

As a point of principle though, given how much of The Guide *is* yours I'm minded to say no, again as you could try that every time!

I think on balance, I only score what appears in this thread, be it correct, Quiet Interesting Generally Interesting or Klaxonable!

Brand new QI just below this one to have a go at getting legitimate points on!