That's not saving a drowning victim, that's just some weird kink party.

Smoke up my "ass" lol I died at the end

The late Roy Castle was a fine trumpet-player and was famous for being able to get a tune out of almost anything blowable - horns, bagpipes, garden hoses, beer bottles, kettles, drainpipes - but I think even he'd have struggled in the situation shown at 1:55.

Jeremmy Clarkson, David Mitchell, Stephen Fry, Alan Davies and Ross Noble. I love this show.

Ross's reaction to brandy is great 😂

I go swimming in the Thames every Saturday night..... If it weren’t for that bellows thing, I’d have no sex life at all!

There's such a thing as rectal Diazapam that's used in extreme cases of epilepsy- the meds get into the blood stream much quicker than having to go through the digestive system, and if someone is experiencing a seizure it can be pretty difficult getting anything down the throat. currently it's falling out of use due to the use of medication that can be applied to the gums, which equally absorb things into the blood very quickly, but I can understand, in an age where tobacco was considered not just benign but beneficial, that the old trouser trumpet would be seen as a good method of fast-tracking chemicals into the bloodstream.

I would have assumed that the idea was that the nicotine was a stimulant and could thus help the lungs function better, ala a epinephrine shot.

"I think I'll get me donkey in...."

Still looks more effective than homeopathy.

Thank you. I needed that.

Priceless!!

That was so funny, I think I might be drowning.

@ellipsis000 As Clarkson says, "This had nothing to do with saving a drowning man!"

It's not the smoke but rather the shock of having something shoved up your backside.

My favourites are David Mitchell, Ross Noble and Bill Baliey :D

Ross Noble is back on, YES!!!

You didn't to puff on the end, simply work the bellows.

Funniest thing I've ever seen from QI. Do the seven viewers who gave it a thumbs down think it works?

These days, getting smoke up your ass is normal online.

Brandy!

@Wakka12321 There's no small immediate effect, like whatever causes the light-headedness?

john Lloyd should get a MBE

"And thirdly... it's rubbish!"

Alan should have known. It was in the pilot.

Mammalian butt breathing has now become a thing. Maybe QI needs an update on this!

@mrvexed84 I wrote the comment before I'd watched to the end so I'd written it before the reference to the donkey was made anyway... But I still think on QI they'd like to get it right :)

i thought it was cancelled this week due to "children in need"? Was it rescheduled to another evening? ep " XL horrible" was repeated on sat bbc2, so i thought we were put on pause for a week?

well, doesn't tobacco do something with blood pressure, which could conceivably have an effect on ones life?

good group if only jeremy were phil jupitus it would be perfect

This is not so unreasonable an association. If a drown person was for what ever reason turned onto their stomach, that position is more likely to allow for the aspiration (draining) of water from the lungs-obviously a requirement for recovery not available to a victim on their back. Further, occurrences of spontaneous recover (where the ‘drowned’ victim although unconscious had not yet suffocated would reinforce an otherwise counter-intuitive action, that of rolling the victim onto their stomach. Manhandling a victim is stimulation. Further still, removing pants would require lifting the hips which would enhance the drainage of the lungs. Likely, in giving attention to the victim’s bottom, the drainage of the lungs went unobserved. Although the real consequences of this procedure (aspirating the victim) were not recognized, the misguided belief ensured a greater chance of resuscitation. Having the victim on their stomach, (again a seemingly counter-intuitive step^) may have increased the manhandling of the body to consequently remove the victim’s clothes-an almost instinctual response. Lastly, given the sensitivity of the anal sphincter and bowel, the smoke-potential quite hot and including an irritant-would provide a final reviving stimulus. In sum, there is a quite plausible chain of logic by which one can arrive at this form of resuscitation. -- ^Although i say seemingly, the male body floats face down. Apparently drowned sailors washed up on a beach (a very common occurrence) would be found face down. Only those found face down would have any chance of naturally aspirating their lungs and therefore being revived. Observation of that might lead to a “wives’ tale” that the drown must be put on their stomach.

i tried it once with a drowning man and i am writing this from a prison. wasnt a good idea.

QI isn't as good as it once was, but its still a lot better than most of the BBCs "comedy" programming.

That's obviously where the expression comes from

@scrumpled oh man, spelling mistakes are contagious. Davies* And I'd make sure the window wasn't too high up when I threw you out :)

ha. life ring.

Everyone talking about this is British lol

Clarkson is oot of his element here

Things like this that were perfectly normal back then but seem totally mental to us now, I wonder what we all do now will seem totally mental to people in the future?? My suggestion....toilet roll 😂

Here is a video of the actual device from the 1860s in San Francisco kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Z55olcSVl6-dhnU.html

Arse*

@872463051 Yes, but only by using it durning a longer time. Just like you wont get cancer instantly from one smoke of a cigarette.

Am I the only one to reckon that it's a very bad idea to reveal the answer to the question with the name of the clip?

Brings a new meaning to the phrase 'blowing smoke up your arse'

so, how has the expression'' to blow smoke up one's ass'' come to mean ''to lie, deceive ..prank''?

What?! Of all people to spell "arse" wrong, it is our own BB-bloody-C?!

I remember reading that thinking what the you idiots got it on the wrong end

@872463051 Not that I know off, but im in all honestly not an expert on the area.

arse

It's 'arse', not 'ass'.

goggle plus is bad

Arse.

no one belives me about this

Jeremy Clarkson is such a bell-end.

arse