QI

In the fourth QI book, "The Book Of The Dead", you will meet hundreds of Dead People, some well-known, others completely obscure, organised into 42 short chapters that play merry hell with the usual classifications. So, instead of Royalty, Scientists and Sportsmen, you'll find rather more diverting categories like People who died Penniless, The One-Legged, Only Children, People who failed at School, Those only Remembered by a Single Quotation and the Last People to Know Everything. Most of the 90 billion or so people that have ever lived have one thing in common: they're dead. Death is something we all know is going to happen - like the rumble of distant thunder at a picnic - but most of us prefer to ignore it. This is a big mistake. We (loosely termed the Living) have one major advantage over the Dead. We can learn from their mistakes, marvel at their bad taste in clothes or food or sexual partners, share their secrets and uncover their wisdom without fear of reprisal or ridicule. Why did a church composer invent the hand grenade? What was Leonardo's proudest achievement? If "The Book of the Dead" doesn't persuade you to immediately join the massed ranks of those looking at the radishes from below, it will certainly make the tricky business of Living a tad less grim and a lot more interesting.

First published: Thursday 5th November 2009