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Q: What is the Quite Incredible Number List?
A: It's a list of facts, one for each number from 1 to 10,000. That's it! |
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Q: How can I find the best material without reading through all 10,000 entries?
A: I recommend starting with the Top 1000 list where I've picked out the 1000 facts that I think are particularly interesting or unusual. Or, if you haven't the time for that, there's a Top 100 list where I've attempted to distil the list down to its very best. |
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Q: Is it heavily mathematical?
A: No. There are a certain proportion of mathematical facts in there but the facts come from a wide range of different fields. There's almost no area of human endeavour that doesn't employ numbers somehow or other. |
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Q: How else are the numbers used then?
A: The number could be a count, part of a measurement, a sum of money, a serial number or reference number, a phone number, an address or business name, a sequence of words, a year or even a sequence of smaller numbers. There are plenty of other possibilities. |
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Q: Who are the contributors?
A: They're members of the QI Talk Forums who take part, or have taken part, in the "New Number Fact Game" thread. Each of them is identified by the screen name that they use on the forums, in the box to the right of the main entry. |
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Q: So how does the game work?
A: It's very simple. Someone contributes a fact about a number, and then someone else contributes a fact about the next number, and so on. As long as the entry contains the next number in sequence, or something that can be interpreted as the next number in sequence, it's allowable. |
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Q: And who decides what gets in?
A: No one. People just submit information as they go along. |
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Q: Doesn't that make it a bit chaotic at times?
A: Definitely! I've had to do quite a bit of editing for the list version. |
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Q: What's been edited?
A: In some cases the original thread had more than one fact for a number, either because of accidental cross-posting or because the author decided to provide additional facts. In those cases I've used my discretion to choose the one I think is most interesting. Some other posts have been edited for length, or to take out personal references. |
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Q: Has anything been taken out entirely?
A: Yes. In some cases I've had to omit the post for one of a number of reasons, e.g.:
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Q: How is all the information sourced?
A: If the original author provided a source, I've used that one. Otherwise I've gone through the list finding sources wherever I can, apart from simple arithmetical facts that can be verified on a calculator. There's a special exception for SOS phones (q.v.). Some of the entries are quite old, though, and I'm still in the process of checking for links that may be broken or contain out-of-date information. |
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Q: Where do the links to the sources appear?
A: In the "key" number to the left of the entry. Occasionally, there'll also be a subsidiary source which is linked to from the main text. |
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Q: Can you guarantee the accuracy of all the information?
A: Sadly not! Although I've attempted to source everything, there's no guarantee that all the sources are correct. Some may have been correct at the time of posting but are now out of date; others may have been inaccurate in the first place. It's up to readers to cross-check the information if necessary. |
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Q: How did it start, and how long did it take to put together?
A: The game thread dates from August 2009, and was started by a contributor called "Sophie.A" who is no longer on the forum. I started working on this site in April 2023 when the game got to 9000. |
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Q: Why is it called the New Number Fact Game when it's 14 years old?
A: Well it was new when it started! Apparently there was a previous "Number Fact Game" that was deleted to free up disk space, now lost to the internet. |
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Q: What should I do if I find an inaccuracy or a broken link?
A: Let me know at [address to be set up]. You can also use that address to suggest alternatives, or to comment on the list in general. |
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Q: Will the list definitely stop at 10,000?
A: Yes, although the New Number Fact Game thread is open-ended and will presumably continue for as long as there are people willing to take part. There's a link to the thread here, starting at 10,001. |
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Q: Can I take part in the thread if I want to?
A: Of course. Just sign up to the QI Forums and find the thread under "QI Games". |
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Q: Are you connected with the QI TV show?
A: No. The QI forums were originally set up by Quite Interesting Limited (who provide the research for the TV show) as a space where ideas for the TV programme could be discussed, with both programme researchers and members of the public making a contribution. However, after a while they decided that it would be far more sensible for research to take part in a separate private area, and gradually the two parts of the forum drifted apart, to the extent that the public QI forums are now essentially a separate community with little connection to the programme. |
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Q: Does QI know about this site?
A: Yes, and they were happy for it to go ahead provided it didn't use the "QI" name - that's why I chose "Quite Incredible"! You can find their site here. |
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Q: Are there any other similar lists online?
A: There are a couple of sites like What's Special About This Number? and Zoo of Numbers, but they're concerned exclusively with mathematical facts. The closest thing to the New Number Fact Game that I'm aware of is the Counting thread on the Tube Challenge Forum, which ran from 433 to 2898 between 2013 and 2019 (and to which I also contributed). |
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Q: In the text, why do the four-digit numbers sometimes have commas ("4,137") and sometimes not ("4138")?
A: I decided never to use a comma in the "key" number, for consistency. In the text, when it's a serial number or year number, a comma is never used anyway. However when it's a count or a measurement, some people include a comma and some don't. In the end I decided to use a comma if the original author used one, but not otherwise. To complicate things further, some people used a space in addition to the comma, or instead of one, but I've removed all spaces in numbers in case they cause confusion with two separate numbers. |
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Q: Can I use information from the list elsewhere?
A: Yes, as long as you cite the Quite Incredible Number List and the contributor(s) who provided it. Please be aware, though, that nearly all the information is sourced from sites elsewhere on the internet and there may be copyright issues with the original sites. |
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