David O'Doherty, Claudia O'Doherty and Mike Ahern - 100 Facts About Pandas

(Square Peg)

Did you know that an administrative error resulted in the panda being classified not as a mammal but as a nut? Were you aware that the original Concorde had an in-flight panda called Mr Nougat who snuggled up to passengers having difficulty getting to sleep? And can you believe that the movie script for Runaway Bride was actually penned by a Chicago Zoo panda called Wen-Ya?

Through the quirky writing skills of the O’Dohertys (one half of which is the 2008 if.comedy winner David) and the photoshopping genius of Mike Ahern, 100 Facts About Pandas is transformed from a delightful idea which no doubt sprouted from too much caffeine and a flurry of emails into a published page-flicking hilarity-fest. The comedy world has always had a fixation with the animal kingdom (Eddie Izzard with his cats and dogs, Harry Hill and those badgers), but rarely has it resulted in such untrammelled joy.