@@jgt_ Feel free to cite your source. Seeing as not even the idiot fascists who support Trump are stupid enough to claim to be pro-Stalin and no one who supports socialist policies is supporting Stalinist principles, I'm absolutely intrigued to hear who does.
@@jgt_ Socialism is not Stalinism. Much of Europe is vastly more socialist than the US, and their citizens are happier and healthier... at least, those who aren't members of the rich elite are. The rich elite shouldn't exist. Not billionaires, at least. Millionaires are fine. Billiionaires are a problem.
When I was a young boy, growing up in the American South, some friends and I were paid to shoot starlings. I don't remember the wage, but farmers paid us by the pound, so we would save all the dead starlings in a bag and the farmer would weigh it and pay us in silver coins.
That exquisite swooping movement they do in flowing formation in is called a _Murmuration of Starlings._ They gather to keep warm at night and to exchange information, such as where all the good feeding areas are. 😄 They also _murmurate_ to build connectivity, and offer safety in numbers - predators such as peregrine falcons find it hard to target one bird in the middle of a hypnotising flock of thousands. They're also aggressive little fuckers, as anyone who cares to loiter around my bird-table will attest. 😳
I wager America might win that war. Not because they're so much better than Australia or anything, but because the wild boars already took over everything and they'd probably eat the emus.
They'll never push out grackles though. Never in a million years. We ought to get our revenge by dropping a couple grackles in the middle of London. In 10 years the English won't even be able to hear themselves presume.
@@Xezlec You already got your revenge by introducing grey squirrels, which have almost completely eliminated the native European red squirrel from the UK.
BeoZard Where I used to live, people used commas. They included the "h" in words like "which" and "where". And on bright, summer mornings, they used slightly longer words like "within" to make their meaning more immediately clear to the reader.
Once, a long time ago, I too was concerned with punctuation, spelling, and grammar when posting quick comments on internet. Then I came to realize that only a scant few do more than give these comments more than a cursory glance. Oft times I have noticed (only after several readings) that entire words had been left out of sentences and my mind inserted a word to make the sentence complete. Occasionally now, I will be perusing UA-cam during my lunch break and I will see something that I would be interested in commenting on, but be away from my familiar keyboard and monitor. Also, at these times I will be dealing with the normal distractions that fill my day. If I notice that I have made a mistake, I will correct it, but if I don't, how can I. So I can tell that the intent of my comment was understood by at least one person. The information was relayed that in some places, a certain act can be performed that may seem out of the norm.
I can't help but notice that while the punctuation, spelling and grammar appears accurate in your reply here, there are 3 locations in which two spaces have been placed at once.
It's also perfectly fine to call it a flock. Silly baroque collective nouns ('a crash of rhinos', indeed!) are usually concocted nonsense, or (in the case of 'murmuration' and such, and don't get me wrong, I personally do like 'murmuration') optional at best.
@@johnleake5657 Interesting to know. I thought "murmuration" referred to the act of flying in those amazing formations, not just being a group of starlings. So they would still be a murmuration if they were all sitting on the roof of a barn?
Hmmm. Lord Milner (I believe) did exactly the same in Cape Town (introducing starlings, not every bird Shakespeare mentioned, though) and there are now vast clouds of starlings there. Though the most impressive clouds of starlings I remember seeing were in Siracusa in Sicily. Perhaps it was just the time and place.
Have you ever heard of the Shakespearian Gynocologist? He was a famous doctor, and would always start his sessions by saying, "And Now, Once more into the breach, dear friends...."
Any Brits in their late 40's+ notice that you barely see Starlings any more whereas they used to be everywhere, and seen as a bit of a pain? 70% have vanished since the 80's, and scientists don't know why.
I think that they have all moved to Portsmouth. I live just off the main island and we have hundreds massing on roof tops, etc throughout summer. It’s quite a sight ( and a bit scary…remember “the birds” film) when they swoop on the communal lawn to feed on lawn insects. 👍☮️ from my point of view I’ve not noticed a significant decline in numbers. Don’t see many in the winter though.
Starlings also bust open eggs of native birds nests. I've seen them take out several generations of bluebirds just because they could. They dont even eat them. In my mind, the threat they pose to the native wildlife is more severe than the monetary strain they put on people. The one animal I can think of that kills more bluebirds is the house cat.
i live in europe and never heard of a blue bird before. they are pretty cute actually x3 ...maybe we can bring some bluebird population over to europe and see how they get along here...
A million flying Stalins? Unlike the archetypal American I don't look over my shoulder for scary commies all the time, but a million flying Stalins is indeed a bit intimidating.
"In the decades after his death, Schiefflin was recast as being solely responsible for the introduction of starlings, and in 1948, Edwin Way Teale claimed (without evidence) that he had been motivated by a desire to introduce all of Shakespeare's birds to North America."
I was going with house sparrows as the answer to the question. House sparrows eat huge amounts of grain. Apparently, though, house sparrows were introduced to control an invasive moth species (I know and old lady...) not by the Shakespeare-nutter.
Don't recall mention of eating crops, and fruit. Droppings are fertilizer to a farmer. Urbanites rarely think about where their food comes from, or the difficulties growing it. After reading the comments, I have rarely seen such arrogant ignorance about farmers or Americans. I guess it's the only way they can feel better about themselves is to demean others.
Call it compensation for Americans sending grey squirrels over here. They did so much damage over here, and they nearly wiped out the native squirrels. I mean it's not like we sent an animal to the US that nearly wiped out the native popul... oh...,
Well, yes. But they don't actually hate Shakespeare. Most people have no idea that all of those species are there because of the the crazy dude and therefore don't know the connection to Shakespeare.
I heard it was some Englishman who introduced carp to the US as well. Those things are a pain in the arse! We prefer our delicious walleye thank you very much, not these ugly wiskered boney bowling balls with gills.
Dr Spencer F Baird is the man who 'officially' introduced carp to the US, in the 1880s, but he was American. More recently, Asian carp have been released from captivity in a variety of ways.
If Stephen has asked "What species of bird did Eugene Schieffelin introduce into North America?" it wouldn't have been as confusing or entertainingly vague as "Why do farmers hate Shakespeare". I think you've misunderstood the purpose of the show. It's called Quite Interesting not "Facts and Figures Presented with 100% Honesty and Transparency"
Watching these after so many years it dawned to me how terribly unfunny most of the guests were, especially the "comedians"....truth be told, if it wasn't for Fry and Davies most of the episodes would be unwatchable.
@@jpaxonreyes aka mrs O'Brainless? nice to know his mum still loves him. Yes you are right, unfair: Dara O'BORING is far more accurate. Having a big mouth and a high opinion of yourself isnt the same as being smart. This is of course my personal view and I'm entitled to it but wiling to bet a lot of other people feel the same way.
"My country must have every animal mentioned by my favorite author"
Now that is fanboying taken to the extreme.
Imagine if the guy had been a big fan of Douglas Adams or Lewis Carroll.
Steve Pseudonym 😂
666
I don't mean to be pedantic but technically hes a playwright not an author.
@@2109917162 I don't mean to be pedantic, but you do mean to be pedantic. Also, I do mean to be pedantic.
From Germany and Poland.. they were _so close_ to making the "Starlingrad" joke.
Is that a thing?
This story is a nice example of realism hitting romantisism very hard in the guts
it's not even that romantic, it's just some twat thinking he's smarter than nature.
@@SavageGreywolf The story of the human species 🤬
*romanticism*
Americans are also not too fond of large numbers of Stalins.
one Stalin is a tragedy, a million Stalins is a statistic
@@nrellis666 is this a civilization reference?
@@Kriae no, it's a paraphrase of a quote
@@jgt_ Feel free to cite your source.
Seeing as not even the idiot fascists who support Trump are stupid enough to claim to be pro-Stalin and no one who supports socialist policies is supporting Stalinist principles, I'm absolutely intrigued to hear who does.
@@jgt_
Socialism is not Stalinism. Much of Europe is vastly more socialist than the US, and their citizens are happier and healthier... at least, those who aren't members of the rich elite are.
The rich elite shouldn't exist. Not billionaires, at least. Millionaires are fine. Billiionaires are a problem.
This is my favorite episode of QI. It's a great one to introduce people to the show too.
Truly extraordinary when you think of what happened to the passenger pigeon in the same time frame.
Perhaps if starlings were edible...
why is a farmer the pillar of his community?
he is always outstanding in his field
A pillar out in a field is as useless as an asshole on me elbow
That would be extremely useful for masterbation though
i dont think you understand the joke
I didn't say a joke
not you, mike honcho
When I was a young boy, growing up in the American South, some friends and I were paid to shoot starlings. I don't remember the wage, but farmers paid us by the pound, so we would save all the dead starlings in a bag and the farmer would weigh it and pay us in silver coins.
That exquisite swooping movement they do in flowing formation in is called a _Murmuration of Starlings._
They gather to keep warm at night and to exchange information, such as where all the good feeding areas are. 😄
They also _murmurate_ to build connectivity, and offer safety in numbers - predators such as peregrine falcons find it hard to target one bird in the middle of a hypnotising flock of thousands.
They're also aggressive little fuckers, as anyone who cares to loiter around my bird-table will attest. 😳
If his reaction to being a fan of Shakespeare was to bring hundreds of starlings into the wild in America, it's a good job he wasn't a Rod Hull fan.
Lets hope no Lovecraft fans have a similar idea :P
I wager America might win that war.
Not because they're so much better than Australia or anything, but because the wild boars already took over everything and they'd probably eat the emus.
@@TheWok1336 lmao, somehow results in a thousand cats named... well y'know
@@SavageGreywolf the wild boar would have to catch the emu first.
@@cl0utless Yawn
Genuinely the best panel to have ever been produced
I'd like Gyles
The only time, in any of these clips, I've heard R9b contribute anything useful....
Here in the US, starlings push out the native birds. Non-natives don't always become Invasive, but starlings have.
They'll never push out grackles though. Never in a million years. We ought to get our revenge by dropping a couple grackles in the middle of London. In 10 years the English won't even be able to hear themselves presume.
Was a bounty on them until a couple of years ago in MI
@@Xezlec You already got your revenge by introducing grey squirrels, which have almost completely eliminated the native European red squirrel from the UK.
Where I used to live, Starlings were the only animal you could shoot in city limits.
BeoZard
Where I used to live, people used commas. They included the "h" in words like "which" and "where". And on bright, summer mornings, they used slightly longer words like "within" to make their meaning more immediately clear to the reader.
Once, a long time ago, I too was concerned with punctuation, spelling, and grammar when posting quick comments on internet. Then I came to realize that only a scant few do more than give these comments more than a cursory glance. Oft times I have noticed (only after several readings) that entire words had been left out of sentences and my mind inserted a word to make the sentence complete.
Occasionally now, I will be perusing UA-cam during my lunch break and I will see something that I would be interested in commenting on, but be away from my familiar keyboard and monitor. Also, at these times I will be dealing with the normal distractions that fill my day. If I notice that I have made a mistake, I will correct it, but if I don't, how can I.
So I can tell that the intent of my comment was understood by at least one person. The information was relayed that in some places, a certain act can be performed that may seem out of the norm.
I can't help but notice that while the punctuation, spelling and grammar appears accurate in your reply here, there are 3 locations in which two spaces have been placed at once.
Well Damn! Now I see it too.
I guess I'm late to the party, but you shouldn't have put a comma between "bright" and "summer".
I imagine Shakespeare's tamed shrews angered the farmers as well
A flock of Starlings? Tut-tut, it's a murmuration!
It's also perfectly fine to call it a flock. Silly baroque collective nouns ('a crash of rhinos', indeed!) are usually concocted nonsense, or (in the case of 'murmuration' and such, and don't get me wrong, I personally do like 'murmuration') optional at best.
Damned no good know nothing know it all
It was James Lipton, of inside the actors studio fame ,who made up the list of collective names. And we have been infected with ever since.
Interestingly (to me, at least) the _Shorter_ _Oxford_ _Dictionary_ defines a _murmuration_ or starlings as "a company of starlings".
@@johnleake5657 Interesting to know. I thought "murmuration" referred to the act of flying in those amazing formations, not just being a group of starlings. So they would still be a murmuration if they were all sitting on the roof of a barn?
Hmmm. Lord Milner (I believe) did exactly the same in Cape Town (introducing starlings, not every bird Shakespeare mentioned, though) and there are now vast clouds of starlings there. Though the most impressive clouds of starlings I remember seeing were in Siracusa in Sicily. Perhaps it was just the time and place.
That's actually an urban legend, there is zero evidencr of that.
They used to flock like that over Bolton town hall back in the 90s when i lived just out of town.
Noah incidentally was an enormous fan of David Attenborough
Someone once built a monument to pigeons and placed it in a public park. Generals and politicians came from miles away to poop on it.
🤣🤣🤣
that one dislike is an american farmer
Or it's the one guy who's seen a shark eat a starling.
Samuel Gay : and his 37 cousins !
Starlings don't just flock on the coast. They do it inland also.
Very nearly a who's who of hosts! Rob, Dara, Stephen... if only Sandi was on as well!
Alan hosted his own show as well, and David has a radio show of his own...
this is a great line-up
Have you ever heard of the Shakespearian Gynocologist? He was a famous doctor, and would always start his sessions by saying, "And Now, Once more into the breach, dear friends...."
with an auspicious and a dropping egg
*unto
If we're quoting the great man, got to do him justice.
Any Brits in their late 40's+ notice that you barely see Starlings any more whereas they used to be everywhere, and seen as a bit of a pain?
70% have vanished since the 80's, and scientists don't know why.
I think that they have all moved to Portsmouth. I live just off the main island and we have hundreds massing on roof tops, etc throughout summer. It’s quite a sight ( and a bit scary…remember “the birds” film) when they swoop on the communal lawn to feed on lawn insects. 👍☮️ from my point of view I’ve not noticed a significant decline in numbers. Don’t see many in the winter though.
In Italy too, when I was a kid in the 2000 there used to be so many, one time a flock almost hit me. In the last few years there were none
@@gaia7240 I've learned since that many scientists think we've entered the 6th great extinction event. Worrying for future generations I think.
Starlings also bust open eggs of native birds nests. I've seen them take out several generations of bluebirds just because they could. They dont even eat them. In my mind, the threat they pose to the native wildlife is more severe than the monetary strain they put on people. The one animal I can think of that kills more bluebirds is the house cat.
i live in europe and never heard of a blue bird before. they are pretty cute actually x3 ...maybe we can bring some bluebird population over to europe and see how they get along here...
The explanation at the end got cut off... 😥
... pest.
The rest is silence.
I heard “Stalins” instead of starlings 😂
same
A million flying Stalins? Unlike the archetypal American I don't look over my shoulder for scary commies all the time, but a million flying Stalins is indeed a bit intimidating.
Egil Sandnes ah, a threat? or your own personal army?
We get little starling flocks in Pennsylvania. They’re easy to chase away, though.
"In the decades after his death, Schiefflin was recast as being solely responsible for the introduction of starlings, and in 1948, Edwin Way Teale claimed (without evidence) that he had been motivated by a desire to introduce all of Shakespeare's birds to North America."
So Sharknado (7 films including Sharknado: Heart of Sharkness) isn't an actual Starling culling method?
I'm disapointed now :p
Starlings and house sparrows (also introduced to Transpondia) are not protected by the US Migratory Bird Act
I was going with house sparrows as the answer to the question. House sparrows eat huge amounts of grain. Apparently, though, house sparrows were introduced to control an invasive moth species (I know and old lady...) not by the Shakespeare-nutter.
"We're being threatened by a predator, maybe, can you come from Poland?"
I thought it was going to be something that Shakespeare had against subsidies, I mean assistance.
Every one of them have hosted a program. Alan Davies too, right?
yep
Does this explain the dandelion, too?
Yes.
Well - I love watching murmerations so I dont mind them as invasive species go
WHAT DID THE LIBRARIAN SAY TO THE STUDENT?
Read More
Marvel Girl -- damn you, you got me!
Feel free to use it! :-)
Oh ffs, I am a giddy goose.
*Understands read more button is fake*
*Doesn't trust self and clicks anyway*
Marvel Girl didn't fall for it
They were really lucky his favourite author wasn't Rudyard Kipling.
Why don't fry, Mitchell and O'brien have their own show?
I've been told this was sparrows. Odd.
Just shot two starlings today lol
It's a start . . .
@@madisntit6547 Have the lambs stopped screaming?
Hey, I know this one!
They hate him because his books always have that thin bible paper that's no use at all in the outhouse.
farmers wipe with corn-cobs and furry animals (preferably the non-biting variety)
+Pezfeo Not with the neck of a goose? Oh man, are they ever missing out.
They never had the intelligence to use several sheets together I guess.
Bardolatry taken to the extreme.
Saw the title of the video... Me: Fucking starlings. Fucking sparrows.
Don't recall mention of eating crops, and fruit. Droppings are fertilizer to a farmer. Urbanites rarely think about where their food comes from, or the difficulties growing it.
After reading the comments, I have rarely seen such arrogant ignorance about farmers or Americans. I guess it's the only way they can feel better about themselves is to demean others.
Call it compensation for Americans sending grey squirrels over here. They did so much damage over here, and they nearly wiped out the native squirrels. I mean it's not like we sent an animal to the US that nearly wiped out the native popul... oh...,
I’m gonna give an alternative answer, because he Shakes Beer
Great, unless you park your car near a tree they're in.
It's a good thing he wasn't a fan of the Harry Potter books...
"for the same reason the rest of us hate Shakespeare I suppose?"
No, you're thinking of Algebra....
Murmuration of Starlings.
Because Shakespeare was really Mexican.
Jessica Lee funny
I thought the answer another intrusive species like Kudzu, Water Hyacinth, Asian Carp or Tribbles.
Shouldn't they hate the crazy dude who came up with this idea?
Well, yes. But they don't actually hate Shakespeare. Most people have no idea that all of those species are there because of the the crazy dude and therefore don't know the connection to Shakespeare.
Why Mr Fry. The question you asked is awful misleading is it not!
Shakespeare united american farmers and british students in hatred towards himself
I heard it was some Englishman who introduced carp to the US as well. Those things are a pain in the arse! We prefer our delicious walleye thank you very much, not these ugly wiskered boney bowling balls with gills.
Dr Spencer F Baird is the man who 'officially' introduced carp to the US, in the 1880s, but he was American. More recently, Asian carp have been released from captivity in a variety of ways.
can't think of anything European introduced to North America that wasn't a pest
toag - especially the humans ...
Honey Bees?
the BBC ?
.
They surely must also hate him because he ruined English lessons at school
We made the passenger pigeon extinct, we should be able to do the same for the Starlings.
Because they have bad taste in literature.
I bet rob brydon tags his mates in normie memes
Starlings are evil
I'm an American farmer and I don't believe Shakespeare ever existed
God rob Brydon is unfunny.
I thought that was alright, actually. A zeitgeist joke...
Why is this a problem? Americans have killed off a larger numbered species of bird in the past.
Some kind of pidgeon "to lazy to check wiki"
The answer is: They don't. They hate one of his idiotic fanboys. Another false, misleading premise.
If Stephen has asked "What species of bird did Eugene Schieffelin introduce into North America?" it wouldn't have been as confusing or entertainingly vague as "Why do farmers hate Shakespeare". I think you've misunderstood the purpose of the show. It's called Quite Interesting not "Facts and Figures Presented with 100% Honesty and Transparency"
"another false, misleading premise" I love that the QI format still makes some people irrationally angry despite having 15+ years to get used to it.
It's a comedy show. The questions are meant to be funny.
This makes no sense. If the story is true it wouldn't be Shakespeare the American famers hated. It would be the jerk that introduced the starlings.
@Herbert Erdferkel I am an American mind. I don’t agree we lack rational thought. I believe QI here fails to describe the American mind.
@Herbert Erdferkel The conventional spelling is "arguing".
Watching these after so many years it dawned to me how terribly unfunny most of the guests were, especially the "comedians"....truth be told, if it wasn't for Fry and Davies most of the episodes would be unwatchable.
It's funny watching a weaving flock of starlings fly through high current carrier lines and get vapourised.
I wondered why UK tv has improved lately. I've seen far less of the routinely unfunny Dara O'Brainless.
Dara? Brainless? You're daft!
@@jpaxonreyes aka mrs O'Brainless? nice to know his mum still loves him. Yes you are right, unfair: Dara O'BORING is far more accurate. Having a big mouth and a high opinion of yourself isnt the same as being smart. This is of course my personal view and I'm entitled to it but wiling to bet a lot of other people feel the same way.
Should be "Why do American farmers hate do-gooding elitists?"