Having read an Irish joke on one of my Friends' weblogs this morning, I thought it might be the time to share my own favourite.

An Irishman goes for a job on a building site. The foreman tells him "We don't just employ anyone here, you'll have to pass the intelligence test first."

"Fair enough," says the Irishman, "let's have it".

"Right," says the foreman. "What's the difference between a joist and a girder?"

The Irishman thinks for a minute.

"Well," he replies, "Joyce wrote 'Ulysses' whereas Goethe wrote 'Faust'".

Perhaps the role of the Irishman should be replaced in the traditional joke form by "quiz machine question compiler". I want a job setting these questions, because apparently you have to do no research whatsoever and simply type out any old drivel you think you know. Here are five of the more radical 'facts' that I have recently encountered, with their flaws spelt out for any Westlife fans who happen to be dropping by.

Q: Who famously went to the moon in Vostok 1? (It actually said famously.)
A: Yuri Gagarin
Westlife debriefing: Gagarin was the first man in space but he never went anywhere near the moon. In fact it was eight years after his flight that man reached the moon. Interesting nuggets: Gagarin was only 5 feet 2 inches tall, and died in a routine aeroplane training flight in 1968.

Q: Which country has 52 states?
A: America
Westlife debriefing: America has only 50 states. Hawaii became the 50th in 1959, Alaska the 49th a few months earlier. Before that Arizona and New Mexico in 1912.

Q: Which former Goon played Basil in 'Fawlty Towers'?
A: John Cleese
Westlife debriefing: Whilst he played Basil in 'Fawlty Towers', John Cleese was never a member of The Goon Show.

Q: Which one of these starred in 'Cape Fear' - Gregory Peck, James Stewart, Robert Mitchum.
A: Robert Mitchum
Westlife debriefing: Although Robert Mitchum did indeed star in 'Cape Fear', and appeared in a cameo in the remake, the same is true of Gregory Peck. Interesting nugget: Gregory Peck's first name was Eldred.

Q: Which of these is a fruit - potato, tomato, orange.
A: Tomato
Westlife debriefing: Oranges are not the only fruit. But they are a fruit.