Balancing a broom - QI: Series K Episode 9 Preview - BBC Two 

And not unusually, it's going to be Alan.

The science elves were sentenced to death after that!

The 'science elves' are not as science-y as they should be. It is just harder to balance when the CG is low than high because the low CG allows the top to move off center more quickly requiring faster correction reflexes. Plus, with bristles down on the hand, it allow a little torque to be applied even if Alan didn't realize it, but I suspect he did because he hardly appeared to be providing any corrections at all.

Exactly. I use a broom like that to clean up grass clippings from the sidewalk after I mow & trim the lawn.

The science elves have to balance science, history, maths, geography and pretty much every other category you can think of that may have interesting facts. Also, they have to look up and fact check thousands of facts to ensure they have enough that are interesting for the show, which is 2 hours every filming (cut down to an half an hour or 45 minutes for XL). They're not going to be 100% absolutely accurate all of the time and they acknowledge that they are wrong. They've asked the question "How many moons does the Earth have?" at least three times, each time with a different answer; they've taken away points from Dara Ó Briain when he said that the triple point of water is 0°C and the audience pointed out that it's actually 0.01°C and one of the first facts in the episode 'Knowledge' was that a lot of the facts they give on the show will end up untrue. In fact, they said that "an estimated 7% of the things [Stephen will] tell you this evening will be shown to be untrue in a year's time." So yeah. This isn't a science show and they know it. They aren't, as you called them in another comment above, "wannabees." This is a comedy panel show that centres around giving interesting facts with comedians and other interesting personalities commenting on them.

Yep. Some folks just like to complain about nothing of importance... ... I'm sorry, but small minds .... small problems. I really enjoy the comedy and just point out something they missed. It's OK, they have big jobs and sorry if I sounded hyper critical, I'm not... .. I also fall into the trap of wanting to do a little correction now and then for my 3 seconds of fame... This is just about the best show ever and I wish I had full access here in the US. .. I really enjoyed the way Dara reacted when he was corrected: "I'm not gonna' let that fecker get away with... [mine: typing away madly] - - Cheers Technical and Science Advisor Steve

The problem I had was the way you made it out as if they lost credability because they missed this out. The biggest was in the other comment where, as I said, you called them "wannabees." I don't mind correcting them or adding it on as an additional fact, it's just the way you came across while doing so that bothered me.

+JzanderN, . Sometimes negative or insulting comments are in the eyes of the beholder. To someone like me who understands so much, they are trying to be science experts and they are either missing things, or possibly not wanting to go into too much detail explaining things so as not to loose the general audience. That is simply pointing out facts. .. At other times, Stephen goes to great lengths to explain his demos, such at the H2O2 and soap in the large Erlenmeyer flask. He didn't on this one. . Other times I see his rather weak explanation of some things, but it is only a slight irritant. ... It is still one of the most humorous, entertaining and educational shows ever... ... "It's NOT There." "Child buffing workshop." "They say of the Acropolis..." Giant tortoise. "Where the Clowns by their shoes... "Would young sir like to wear a cravat on the cross country run?" Stephen's wallet named Andrew" ... However, you have a point I believe many are oblivious of. Pointing things out here is pretty stupid if you really think about it. Why should anyone's opinion of every little nit picking thing be so important that it needs an international voice. So many comments are like ..... who cares what you think... right? "I" just wanna' tell you what "I" think.... - - Cheers

+JzanderN, .. Actually, being called a "wannabe" should be a complement from me because at least they are working to counter all the science denier nutjobs with _fewer_ than seven functional brain cells, that seem to be multiplying at an alarming rate ... or at least given wider visibility because of the Web.

What's his last name?

Aurelius

CyrusHalcyon also, have you considered, that if you used a tree stump with an ostrich on one end it might not work?

It relies on the coefficient of friction being PROPORTIONAL to pressure. The hand nearer to the CG is supporting more weight and has more frictional force so won't move when a given force is applied to pull the hands together.

James Richard Jeremy Clarkson-Hammond-May 😂😂😂 Just Dan

WA is?