49 Fun Facts About Monty Python

A rude man the Pythons met in Torquay inspired which sitcom?

Fawlty Towers: John Cleese based Basil on hotelier Donald Sinclair, who reportedly put Eric Idle's bag outside, fearing it held a bomb.

Besides the BBC, which country's television commissioned two special episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus?

West Germany's WDR produced the two specials, and the Pythons performed the first one in German and the second in English, dubbed for broadcast.

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which knight calls his severed arm "but a scratch"?

The Black Knight grew from a story Cleese's English teacher told, about a Roman wrestler who was found dead just as he was declared the winner.

In which city did future Pythons Terry Gilliam and John Cleese first meet?

New York: Gilliam, then working for Help! magazine, cast Cleese as a man who falls in love with a Barbie doll in one of its photo comics.

Which BBC satirical show is credited with first bringing the British Pythons together?

The Frost Report: its famous class sketch lined up Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett by height, so the upper class literally looked down on the rest.

Which ITV children's show featured Gilliam, Idle, Jones and Palin before Python?

Do Not Adjust Your Set took its name from the message that TV stations put on screen whenever a transmission fault struck.

Which radio programme do the Pythons regard as their biggest influence?

The Goon Show's Spike Milligan later rattled them: watching him record his TV series Q... left the Pythons fearing their own show would seem less original.

Which rejected title for Monty Python's Flying Circus was later reused for one of its episodes?

Owl Stretching Time was turned down, and the BBC's head of comedy insisted the title include 'circus', since the six Pythons roamed the building like one.

Monty Python's Flying Circus echoes the nickname of which WWI flying ace's fighter squadron?

The Red Baron's fighter wing was nicknamed the Flying Circus, and the Pythons added 'Flying' so their title sounded less like a real circus.

The 'Monty' in Monty Python was reportedly a gently mocking nod to whom?

Field Marshal Montgomery: the group said Eric Idle picked 'Monty' to tease the WWII general, but Idle has also credited a rotund regular at his local pub.

Which composer wrote the march used as the theme of Monty Python's Flying Circus?

John Philip Sousa's march The Liberty Bell had fallen out of copyright, so Terry Gilliam could use it as the theme without paying royalties.

In a Monty Python sketch, what does a man pay for at a clinic?

An argument: the arguer mostly just contradicts him, then refuses to go on, insisting he hasn't paid for more.

What name do the four Australian philosophy academics share in a Monty Python sketch?

Bruce: when an Englishman named Michael joins their department, they ask if he minds being called Bruce too, to avoid confusion.

Which recurring Chapman character burst into sketches to stop them for being 'too silly'?

The Colonel: Chapman was keen to get rid of stock punchlines, so he created this officer to halt sketches mid-flow instead.

In Life of Brian, what slogan does a centurion make Brian rewrite a hundred times in correct Latin?

Romans go home: the centurion is far less bothered by Brian's graffiti than by his bad Latin grammar.

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which castle does Patsy dismiss with "It's only a model"?

Camelot: after its knights break into a song-and-dance number, Arthur decides not to go there after all, since it is a silly place.

Which actress was known as the unofficial 'Seventh Python'?

Carol Cleveland was hired for just a few episodes, but the Pythons, who played the old women themselves, soon insisted on keeping her for younger female roles.

In Life of Brian, what do Brian's mother and other women wear to sneak into a stoning?

False beards: women aren't allowed at stonings, so they buy beards from a street trader and pass themselves off as men.

In the Dead Parrot sketch, what species is the parrot?

Norwegian Blue: even after Mr Praline bangs the dead bird on the counter, the shopkeeper insists it is merely stunned.

What do the Knights Who Say "Ni!" demand from King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

A shrubbery: once Arthur brings one, the knights change their name and demand a second, then a tree felled with a herring.

To which Lancashire town is Mr Praline sent for a refund, only to be told it is Ipswich?

Bolton: the "brother" is the same shopkeeper in a false moustache, insisting it's Ipswich, until a station attendant confirms it really is Bolton.

In which Monty Python sketch does a customer end up shooting a shopkeeper who has nothing he asks for?

The Cheese Shop: after dozens of requests, the owner admits he was deliberately wasting the customer's time, so the customer shoots him.

What kitchen item does Cardinal Biggles produce when the Inquisition calls for its instrument of torture?

A dish-drying rack: when that fails, the cardinals move on to torturing an old lady with soft cushions and the comfy chair.

In Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks sketch, what does a visitor ask for?

A grant to develop his walk: the minister says it isn't silly enough, and last year the government spent less on silly walks than on defence.

In Monty Python's killer-joke sketch, which body bans joke warfare once peace breaks out?

The Geneva Convention: during the war, translators each worked on just one word of the joke for safety, and one who saw two spent weeks in hospital.

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which peasant shouts that he's being repressed after arguing with King Arthur?

Dennis: he's one of two anarcho-syndicalist peasants who question how Arthur came to be king at all.

Which internet term comes from a Monty Python sketch?

Spam: junk messages took the name from the sketch's Vikings, who drown out every conversation by singing the word over and over.

Which US television network did the Pythons take to court for cutting chunks out of their shows?

ABC edited out whole chunks, partly to fit in adverts, and the Pythons won on appeal.

Which Python film, released in 1971, came before Holy Grail?

And Now for Something Completely Different re-shot TV sketches without an audience, aimed at Americans who hadn't yet seen the series.

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which nation's soldiers jeer at King Arthur from a castle?

The French: when Bedevere's Trojan Rabbit is wheeled to their gates, he forgets to tell the knights to hide inside, and it's flung back at them.

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which character warns that a rabbit has nasty, big, pointy teeth?

Tim the Enchanter: the knights mock his warning about the harmless-looking rabbit, which promptly kills several of them.

What does Arthur's squire Patsy use to mimic the sound of horses' hooves?

Coconut shells: the Pythons couldn't afford real horses, so the knights mime riding while their squires clop coconut halves together.

Which rock bands helped finance Holy Grail?

Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd chipped in: Gilliam said no studio would fund the film, and with income tax as high as 90%, the bands saw a good tax write-off.

Which Scottish fortress stood in for most of the strongholds seen in Holy Grail?

Doune Castle doubled for most of them because, two weeks before filming, permission to shoot at other historic castles was refused.

What weapon do the knights use to destroy the Rabbit of Caerbannog?

The Holy Hand Grenade comes with instructions from the Book of Armaments, ordering the thrower to count to three, no more, no less, before lobbing it.

What question defeats the bridgekeeper at the Bridge of Death?

The airspeed of an unladen swallow: Arthur asks whether he means an African or European swallow, and the stumped bridgekeeper is flung into the gorge.

How does Holy Grail end?

Police arrest Arthur and break the camera because they've been investigating the killing of a modern-day historian by a knight.

Which former Beatle set up HandMade Films to finance Life of Brian?

George Harrison remortgaged his mansion to pay for it after EMI pulled out, in what became known as the most expensive cinema ticket ever.

Where was Life of Brian filmed?

Tunisia: the Pythons filmed in Monastir so they could reuse sets built for Franco Zeffirelli's TV epic Jesus of Nazareth.

Which two countries banned Life of Brian when it came out?

Ireland and Norway: Aberystwyth in Wales long believed it had banned the film too, until a student found that no ban had ever been imposed.

What is the name of the revolutionary group Brian joins?

The People's Front of Judea hates the rival Judean People's Front even more than the Romans, and denounces its members as splitters.

What is the name of Pontius Pilate's friend whose name reduces the guards to giggles?

Biggus Dickus: the guards' fit of giggles cuts short Pilate's questioning of Brian, who takes the chance to escape.

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life missed the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1983 but won which prize?

The Grand Prix went to a film whose supporting short, Terry Gilliam's The Crimson Permanent Assurance, storms into the main feature partway through.

Which grotesquely obese Meaning of Life diner explodes after one last wafer-thin mint?

Mr Creosote explodes after the mint, and the maître d' simply strolls over and presents him with the bill.

The Python who played King Arthur and Brian died on 4 October 1989 of what?

Cancer: at his memorial, John Cleese opened the eulogy by reprising the Dead Parrot sketch's euphemisms, declaring that Chapman had ceased to be.

The Python who played Brian Cohen qualified in which profession?

Medicine: Chapman qualified as a doctor after training at St Bartholomew's, but soon gave up medicine for comedy.

In which Monty Python song does a chorus walk off in disgust at the singer's confessions?

The Lumberjack Song: the chorus of Mounties happily echoes his verses until the lumberjack reveals a taste for women's clothing.

Which Meaning of Life song does a Yorkshire father sing?

Every Sperm Is Sacred: the local mill has closed, so the father, with 63 children, announces he must sell them all for scientific experiments.

At which London arena did the Pythons stage their 2014 reunion shows, Monty Python Live (Mostly)?

The O2: the first night sold out in under a minute, so what was planned as a single show grew into a run of shows.