{"product_id":"9780571372546-retail-a-load-of-old-balls-the-qi-history-of-sport","title":"A Load of Old Balls: The QI History of Sport","description":"SHORTLISTED FOR THE CHARLES TYRWHITT SPORTS BOOK AWARDS ' Top Bins! A personal best, a lap record and a hole in one for when rain has stopped play.' ALAN DAVIES 'The trivia book of the season . . . magnificent.'  SPECTATOR Did you know that Henry VIII owned the first pair of football boots? Or that David Attenborough is responsible for yellow tennis balls? A Load of Old Balls  is the curious story of us and sport. It's about our mind-blowingly determined attempts to be the fastest, the strongest, the most skilful. In this endlessly entertaining tale of play and belonging, astonishing violence and jaw-dropping cheating, we learn what led ancient Egyptian athletes to have their spleens removed and discover why Michael Palin was disqualified from a conker tournament. Crossing millennia, continents and cultures, Harkin and Ptaszynski - the brainy researchers for BBC's  QI  and co-hosts of  No Such Thing As A Fish - show us sport as we've never seen it before. ** Published in hardback as  Everything to Play For . ** For more from the team behind QI's hit TV show, check out the QI FACTS series of books, @qikipedia, their weekly podcast at nosuchthingasafish.com or visit qi.com.","brand":"Book Grocer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48900426399963,"sku":"9780571372546-RETAIL","price":21.24,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/5d912014-fb8a-4da0-bfbf-c9795f1d4574_0f172f5d-0493-4ddd-961c-2ed81cbaa973.jpg?v=1782203940","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/9780571372546-retail-a-load-of-old-balls-the-qi-history-of-sport","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}