Major Tom
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
A big +1 to QI (which stands for Quite Interesting). I used to enjoy it a little more when Stephen Fry was the host, but Sandi Toksvig is very capable. She was a good choice to replace him, I think. Alan Davies is always entertaining.
My other favorite show is Have I Got News For You, which provides entertaining commentary on the week's current events. It is, of course, UK-centric, but the Americans come in for plenty of good-natured jokes. They've had some great celebrity hosts, including William Shatner, and Boris Johnson. All available on YouTube.
The Brits seem to be good at producing entertaining shows that are also informative. BBC Radio 4 has a panel game called Just A Minute, in which the contestants are challenged to speak for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition, on a subject that is provided to them. Entertainment doesn't have to appeal to the lowest common denominator, and good old Aunty Beeb proves that. Just A Minute has been on the radio for decades.
Thanks to QI, I learned that people used to think an effective way to save a person from drowning was to blow smoke up their bottom. Bellows used to be hung from the sides of the River Thames for this purpose. More recently, I learned from the same program, that the Arctic ground squirrel, in order to hibernate, can reduce it's body temperature to below the freezing point of water, and reduce it's heartbeat to about 2 beats a minute. During this process, their blood remains liquid. It is thought this occurs through a process whereby impurities are removed from the blood, inhibiting the formation of ice crystals. I like being entertained, while learning these interesting things.
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