QI | Indian Police Moustaches

[@eggarts9158]

It’s amazing how the simple addition of a moustache immediately turns Stephen into general Mulchet

[@gwh3013]

Baaaaaaaw

[@SophisticatedBanjo]

That Melchett "Meh!" sound made me unreasonably happy :)

[@Pfisiar22]

And what a shame Phil Jupitus wasn't on.

[@markpointer2967]

Bheeeee!!!!1

[@jimbosayer1]

Shut up Darling!

[@QUARTERMASTEREMI6]

Well, you're not the only one who is unreasonably happy! 😄

[@Hellwyck]

It's "Bahhh!"

[@qidydl]

To answer David Mitchell's question (not that he'll see my comment), I'm pretty sure the elimination of the requirement for a mustache was to help with the fitting of gas masks, which weren't widely used until WWI because chemical weapons weren't widely used until WWI. One of many things I've learned watching The Great War on KZbin.

[@dannyboy12357]

But that still doesn't address the "why" soldiers had to have a mustache prior to WWI.

[@cliffsmith23]

It was basically to stop women from dressing themselves as men and joining the army, which had been a surprisingly common practice in previous centuries.

[@dannyboy12357]

Cliff Smith Thanks for that tidbit, I was unaware.

[@andycollier1268]

you could have just pulled the moustache down to cover your mouth and used it as a natural gas mask.

[@jessicalee333]

I had assumed it was because they needed so many soldiers, they started enlisting boys a little too young to grow regulation mustaches. As for why they required them before, maybe it was something like firefighters? Before they had gas masks they grew big mustaches (and lots of firemen still do) that have a little bit of an effect on filtering out smoke.

[@jackhsbayliss5432]

Stephen: BEH! Blackadder Fans: *crying tears of joy*

[@zetetick395]

FINALLY! :D

[@aeneas1677]

honestly i'm ashamed of myself not noticing that earlier

[@QUARTERMASTEREMI6]

2:18 - Sir, your moustache is lovely. 😄

[@BambooAcrobatVerte]

@@QUARTERMASTEREMI6 Thank you, Darling.

[@Milkinashoetime]

Stephen just looks so excellent with a moustache.

[@JoachimLevel]

he does

[@weldonwin]

I just love that for a moment, he transforms back into General Melchit

[@hedgehogwillable]

Stephen is the very model of a modern major general

[@weldonwin]

william rhodes If by that, you mean an insane, wine-soaked tyrant with the military expertise of a half-eaten teacake, who will send men by the thousands to their pointless deaths and not care one iota, but will scream in heart wrenching greif at the death of his pet pigeon?

[@Milkinashoetime]

Don't bottle it up, tell us how you really feel.

[@anshuldinger1425]

Stephen with a moustache looks like a character from a Tintin story

[@budakbaongsiah]

Anshul Dinger Captain Haddock!

[@gggrow]

Very cool thank you anshul

[@timothyhartwell2849]

He actually looks like sir Anthony Cecil hogmanay melchett. A character he played in Blackadder goes forth.

[@mandolinic]

Blistering Barnacles and Thundering Typhoons!

[@beth12svist]

Definitely not Captain Haddock, Captain Haddock has a full beard!

[@cheater21211]

The return of General Melchett is something I would pay a lot of money to see in a show today, can't think where he'd fit sadly

[@johnleake5657]

A biopic? How Melchett became a general?

[@typacsk]

We missed the chance to have him as a guest on "The West Wing"

[@joshualenton7829]

That half second revival of melchett and the reaction it got, says a helluva lot about how good Stephen made that character.

[@mulgerbill]

"I don't care if he's been rogering the Duke of York with a prize-winning leek! He shot my pigeon!!"

[@bjornflokison7443]

Do you see him in this room Sir?😁

[@bjornflokison7443]

Do you see him in this room Sir?😁

[@cardiffmad]

"HE'S OVER THERE BAHHHHH!" walks away casually "Excellent, splendid, first class"

[@douglasphillips5870]

"If we need moustaches, we need them more than ever now."

[@BlueBagger83]

That contraption Steven put on his face to cover up his mustache was actually a hammock. While he sleeps, his mustache sleeps, too.

[@Kowasi]

Not to mention the creatures that live in the moustache...

[@theupwardspiral1580]

This comment is tragically underappreciated

[@slowfreq]

David's "surely we need moustaches more than ever now" bit was way funnier than that audience gave it credit for

[@MrTheGadfly]

I remember that little moustache net on him in the last episode of Black Adder... "Farewell, Kevin Darling"

[@cardiffmad]

Made a note in my diary on the way here. Simply says: "Bugger."

[@ibieiniid4240]

"Keep your mustache.... from what?" Escaping, David. Escaping.

[@gavinperry8433]

The amount of knowledge this show had about the world and it's culture is truly amazing

[@chrissie627]

"Its got a touch of gimp about it, though" bill bailey has such an eloquent way with words 😂

[@Dax893]

General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett, KCB to the fore! Alas, no Speckled Jim.

[@The8347135]

Nice, Darling

[@TDue-zn6jk]

That´s captain Darling to you.

[@Dax893]

T. Due Good Morning, Darling. Fancy a cappuccino?

[@Klamath2046]

Baa!

[@Wolf6119]

HE'S A ROTTER AND HE SHOT MY PIGEON

[@Critic224]

Those two policemen 👮 seems to be from Pondicherry because they are wearing the French kapi kind of hats

[@Verminreaper999]

Indeed. :)

[@guganesan.ilavarasan]

Yep, from pondy.

[@tomd3098]

Bill Bailey: national treasure

[@jake2355]

David Mitchell is a symphony in logic & common sense

[@beageler]

No, he is an odius little man. Just because he doesn't like mustaches doesn't mean that contraptions for mustaches are stupid. Just because something isn't compulsory doesn't mean that it is forbidden. Just because he can't make the little mental step from bedhair to bedmustache doesn't mean that that thing is stupid. But he wanted to be funny, so he was rude to people who like mustaches... No, I don't like them, but I don't think that views differing from mine have to be ridiculed.

[@ScoopMeisterGeneral]

@@beageler What an odd thing to get upset about.

[@beageler]

@@ScoopMeisterGeneral Yeah, not liking people for making fun of things they don't understand is so weird. Next thing one can't jeer spastics anymore...

[@ScoopMeisterGeneral]

@@beageler No, getting upset over a clearly very lighthearted joke is weird. And it's still upsetting you over a year later, too...

[@beageler]

@@ScoopMeisterGeneral Not ignoring you gravedigging the comment is being upset? Thankfully the mute function exists, better luck trolling with other people...

[@DrOmni]

It's lovely to see Stephen laugh.

[@jacksonlady69]

He's a darling man.

[@TallSilentGuy]

I love the way the video title gives away the answer to the question! Real cute.

[@Hobbyrepubliken]

I assume the sleeping thingy was to protect your stylish mustasche from getting all wonky. Loads of wax used and such.

[@s4r34l]

Republiken I want one

[@L1b3rta]

That's the excuse, but I bet it's just to not annoy the lady when performing cunnilingus. Besides, a contraption like that pulling on the back of your ears can't be a comfortable way to sleep.

[@Maerahn]

A moustache-bra!

[@sethorren]

I believe it's called a Snood, actually, and if ur going to bed with a stiff mustache or still with wax in it then you will get acne faster than a bent up mustache. I think its for teasing your mustache when it's short - you wana keep a shape in it when you don't have the wax that is the only thing otherwise keeping it in shape. That's why you really rarely see curled short mustaches - every morning it's a struggle to get the damn thing where you want it.

[@typacsk]

Having seen what happens when I sleep on my beard the wrong way, that has to be it.

[@LoftySkinner]

Anyone got the link to that moustache website?

[@mr2gti]

Gutted he didn't go full Melchett! BAHHHHHHHH!

[@Cyba_IT_NZ]

Maybe due to copyright issues :p

[@andrewjenkins9965]

He did a little bit, at least. 😆

[@b.hagedash7973]

I've always wanted to grow a really manly mustache, like the biker in The Village People.

[@olliemad]

Love you guys so so many

[@beageler]

Holy homophobia, Batman!

[@Michaelonyoutub]

from what i have heard, they made it a regulation that all soldiers had to have mustaches because in many of the different cultures around the world the people didnt respect clean shaven men since they saw them as unmanly since they couldn't grow facial hair and the british didn't want their soldiers looking like barbaric brutes with full beards so the mustache was their compromise.

[@shamtradtam3769]

As a Tamil man with a nice moustache, I approve. The new rule should be "Every engineer SHOULD have a moustache"

[@Telstar62a]

The "moustache bra" I've also seen on men (along with a beard bra) working in a kosher deli.

[@300DBenz]

It's not a bra, it's a hair net (but for the face). And it's not just in kosher deli's, any place (at least in the US) where food preparation happens, those nets have to be worn to prevent hairs getting into the food.

[@lancerd4934]

As someone with one of those ridiculous mustaches, thank God for takeaway coffee lids.

[@rahulkarmakar3175]

I was searching for moustache styles, found this gem instead 😂😂

[@lollypopsmum]

The Tamil actor they show on the screen is called Rajini Kanth

[@SunnyBear]

Yes, they really should have mentioned him by name, they usually do so with notable European people they discuss.

[@kisbie]

Nah, it's definitely Steve Wright in the Afternoon.

[@Codex7777]

@Sunny Bear - They weren't discussing him though. They were talking about the moustache differences between the Bollywood and Tamil film industries... of all things. :)

[@bjornflokison7443]

@@Codex7777 ye who cares about some guy who has evidently made a career out of facial hair.

[@isnitjustkit]

it’s incredibly weird how much Stephen suits that moustache

[@browsertab]

You watch so many of these QI clips that you forget Stephen Fry is a comedy legend

[@nathanielcowan3971]

That mustache girdle is to keep your mustache hairs from being bent one way or another in the morning. Think 'Bed-Head' but with hairs ticking up into your nostrils, protruding infromt of your face, or going into your mouth(possibly becoming covered in saliva.) That invention would basically act as hair curlers do so there would be much less work to do on your appearance in the morning. Fixing a frayed mustache can be very tedious.

[@fever-blade8343]

I think those moustache accessories are marvelous! Men can look so distinguished with well kept facial hair, and drinking and eating soup certainly becomes something to be wary of. And I bet that the 'stache-covering bandage was for protecting the hair from getting bent up and dirty, a concern particularly for those who waxed their fancy facial hair.

[@cigmorfil4101]

I never understood why I was taught to fill my soup spoon towards the rear edge of the bowl...that moustache soup spoon provides the answer: it can only be filled by pushing towards the rear of the bowl. Now all I need is the moustache to go with my soup....

[@thomHD]

30 rupees - 46 cents

[@drachaksakcha]

They have to have mustaches so they can say "I mustache you a question..." ;)

[@bazza945]

Having read that 'tache joke, I may never get it out of my mind!

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

I'd want to get up and hug Stephen once he puts on his moustache. Who am I kidding, I'd want to hug him in any circumstance! 😄

[@gojeta1999]

Hearing Stephen Fry do the generals voice made my day

[@olliemad]

Definitely going down there by some point I can go over the next day

[@mustafasaifuddin7831]

Thus entire panel is excellent

[@PaulSmith-qs1es]

i think the purpose of the nighttime moustache thing is maybe for people who darken their moustache to keep the dye off the pillow

[@Si74l0rd]

It's a Snood, for training a Poirot style moustache. Incredibly hard to get hold of, or at least they were ten years ago when I was looking for one. I found a solitary solution from a German manufacturer, but it was somewhat pricey for a whim.

[@herbivorethecarnivore8447]

2:17 "Meeeh!" is the only word that can describe that variant of mustache.

[@TheTroystreet]

After seeing Stephen Fry with this mustache I really want to see him in a movie or a high production series where he has a mustache like the one he has on here

[@pjotrtje0NL]

Ever heard of Blackadder?

[@Caiyde]

I thought I was having a stroke, trying to read that thumbnail.

[@Gibbles432]

I'm loving Bill Bailey's shirt.

[@LandOfTheLee]

When this episode first aired I thought the mustache night guard was absolutely ludicrous. Now after 2 years training and waxing a handlebar mustache, I want to know where I can buy one!

[@JonSmith-cx7gr]

TWATS R US?

[@stephenbenner4353]

I think Stephen Fry should grow an actual mustache.

[@EleanorPeterson]

After seeing Stephen in his Melchett guise (we even got a classic "BEHHHH!" Bring back tactical SHOUTING, please), I'm in the mood for another fine bit of falling-off moustache-work: Rik Mayall overplaying the unstoppable Lord Flashheart. Glorious. "Nursie! I like it firm and fruity! Love the beard - gives me something to HANG ON TO... Down, boy! DOWN!" Whuff! Hooray! Oh, happy, happy days...

[@thrashandburn10221]

Stephen Fry without mustache: Posh lovely fact man Stephen Fry with mustache: EVERYONE'S dad

[@OpiZoid]

30 rupees = about 44 cents

[@andrenowaczek4909]

Okay. That guy with the longest moustache clearly just has a braided beard...

[@TruBeliever4Life]

"i never trusted a mustache" says the man with a mustache lol

[@ellienixon3437]

Is Bill wearing an Epic Micky T-Shirt? Where the hell does he get his shirts?

[@furiscafynn6275]

That BEH gave me life

[@LeGioNnd]

Does anyone have the link to the mustache website?

[@Eralen00]

David's obviously never had a mustache if he doesn't know what the mustache net is for. Sleeping on your side can really mess up the shape of the mustache, leaving it disheveled, like how your hair gets messed up when you sleep

[@JonSmith-cx7gr]

But surely, many people brush their hair in the morning? Brushing a moustache cant be that much trouble?

[@coasternut3091]

If he possibly can, Stephen desperately needs to grow that mustache

[@Delinae]

I wonder if this is when David Mitchell decided he needs to grow out facial hair to look more distinguished.

[@matthewduncan8523]

Nice to see I’m not the only one who thought about General Melchy, faith in humanity restored

[@professionalmemeenthusiast2117]

2:52 Is that the Indian chief of police?

[@zetetick395]

Come on! It's been long enough now, I'm sure they really could do some great all new Blackadder specials!

[@Cyba_IT_NZ]

Brilliant stuff

[@T1000.Android]

The Golden days

[@Scarletraven87]

I was thinking of the mustaches in that action movie clip where the policeman uproots a lampost and uses it to smack the baddies... and all kinds of crazy ship.

[@Evemeister12]

He just couldn't resist doing the melchett

[@JohnstersInc]

This is why Sushant Singh is such an absolute legend

[@SunnyBear]

Leave it to David Mitchell to completely dismantle the question ^^

[@beageler]

Yeah, he is quite the bully. Really rude to mustache wearers.

[@LenyaGreen]

I'm sorry, my first and only thought about the mustache mask thing is "that's definitely to keep the mustache out of the way when you go down..."

[@haydnbures1421]

the British stopped making moustaches mandatory in WW1 because they saw how great and unbeatable the German moustaches were. Don’t believe me? Search up a picture of Kaiser Wilhem and tell me you’re not impressed

[@udaankhatola88]

General Melchett is that you 😂😂😂😂

[@JoRiver11]

On a tour of a historical estate, we were shown these contraptions that were very ornate little beaded or embroidered panels (roughly 5" x 5") that hung on freestanding bases. The base doubled as a handle, enabling men to hold it in front of their highly waxed moustaches as the wax started to melt in the very warm parlour. Very weird.

[@millomweb]

We had (have?) a mustache cup.Saw it decades ago - dunno if it's still with us.

[@ApemanMonkey]

That last contraption seems more to protect your better half, than it seems to protect the mustache. I'm surprised Stephen put it on. They must have cleaned it properly.

[@marlothisafari99]

General Melchiot playing Stephen Fry.

[@tf2whackyengineer]

Singham wore a mustache. I think that's all that needs to be said. :)

[@SceneArtisan]

2:15 lol General Melchett makes an appearance. :D

[@zirk007]

From Stephen Fry to Tom Selleck in a flash

[@Zombie-lx3sh]

I wonder whether David developped an appreciation for the spoon after growing a beard.

[@yj9032]

The photo is from pondicherry. Not Madhya Pradesh.

[@zetetick395]

Oi, QI!! You give away the entire point of the question with your title! >:P

[@ShaftMasterable]

I need all of that for my mustache. Lol

[@imacanoli897]

I have a big curly handlebar and some friends gave me a "mustache friendly" coffee mug for christmas one year. ...its my favorite mug... Also eating hamburgers is a nightmare since I grew this thing.

[@jakkyleggs9002]

Probably because the army became full of underage people who literally couldn’t grow a mustache

[@SickSkilz]

David probably went to bed after taping this think this was all for laughs but then woke up thinking "Right, time to grow facial hair" (he had a full beard soon after)

[@AJD...]

I'm from Madhya Pradesh and this is 100% true.

[@olliesidaway]

Am I the only one who thinks that a moustache rlly suits Stephen?

[@Zmunk19]

I always thought that in Britain they used meters and kilometers. But in this show I hear feet and miles being used.

[@samuelmellars7855]

I think the general rule with lengths is the less accurate it can be, the more likely it will be in imperial measurements. All the imperial measurements are pretty easy to eyeball: your thumb-tip is about an inch, your whole thumb is more like 2 - 2.5 inches, wrist to elbow is about a foot. For large distances, miles are used for, essentially, cultural reasons. It'd be too complicated to change every road-sign in the UK.

[@SennaAugustus]

The British are very inconsistent. For high temperatures they use Fahrenheit, for low temperatures they use Celsius.

[@gurrrn1102]

No we use Celsius for everything - the younger generation at least.

[@SpankinDaBagel]

When it comes to distance almost all English speaking countries use imperial and metrics pretty interchangeably. It's weight, temperature, and other measurements when they heavily favor one over another.

[@SpankinDaBagel]

When it comes to distance almost all English speaking countries use imperial and metrics pretty interchangeably. It's weight, temperature, and other measurements when they heavily favor one over another.

[@AshwathSampath]

The man with the longest moustache was clearly saving money -- he didn't want to buy a skipping rope.

[@olliemad]

Or razors??

[@IRonMan-kw2jp]

During World War I the soldiers were introduced to the use of gas masks. Beards were out and some mustaches were too bushy for it to be comfortable. If you can call it that. Too much facial hair makes it impossible to get a good seal on your mask. Bearded men were dead men for sure in the days of mustard gas. And the US Military, beards are largely forbidden to this day and mustaches are generally regulated to extend no further than the corners of one's mouth and no longer than a half inch in length.

[@beageler]

Gas masks do nothing against mustard gas (It does against chlorine and tear gas, though. On the other hand, they used plenty of reagents that went through masks and made wearing them hell, so soldiers removed their mask and then died from the poison gas the masks protected from). Mustard gas burns through the mask and it can be deadly when in contact with skin, anyways. Also, gas masks went around the whole front of the face, not just around the mouth. A mustache can interfere with a mask, but that was secondary to being able to conscript millions of men who might not be able to grow mustaches in all cases. Meat for the meatgrinder!

[@LuxTheSlav]

Didn't they dispense with the moustache requirement because of gas masks?

[@Adumb_]

I thought maybe it was because there were lots of younger men joining to fight in the first world war.

[@satiric_]

Possibly - I have heard that Hitler shaved his mustache down so it would fit in the gas masks. There's a famous picture of him that is pre-toothbrush.

[@Banerik]

Yes

[@gtb_greedy7208]

Southern Discomfort moustaches do mess with the seal

[@beageler]

I'd imagine the gas mask point was secondary to being able to conscript young men for the slaughter.

[@BobbyLCollins]

It's funny, with that fake moustache Stephen looks like the pompous general from Black Adder. :P

[@Tasoq]

I like Bill's ink splatter Mickey Mouse shirt

[@bren106]

Of course Stephen didn't come up with a reason for the last appliance. I doubt he has ever lapped at the velvet cup.

[@SunnyIntervalsORG]

He's under the influence of a moustache!

[@chanky1000]

General Melchett!

[@michael7324]

I watch theses clip to listed to David spout off

[@johnjones4825]

Strange. In South Africa there is an arachnid called a "baardskeerder" (beard shaver). Legend has it that they will nibble at one's beard or moustache in the night. And, there is a town called Baardskeerdersbos. (Beard Shaver's Bush or Forest)!!! Then there is the Baardskeerdersbosorkes, Beard Shaver's Bush Band. Google it and believe!