Genuine knowledge

New Hall women always struck male Cambridge undergraduates as being a bit otherworldly, living in their weirdly designed college where the staircases had alternate steps for left and right feet, which ought to work but doesn’t. Possibly few of them had ever watched television, which is why only five — the minimum of four players and a spare — turned up for the college’s University Challenge audition, whereas the rest of us would have swapped our degrees for a chance to appear. No wonder they scored 35 points, the record lowest, having been on a minus score for most of the quiz. University Challenge — the story so far (BBC2, Saturday) was a reminder of the extraordinary power the programme exerts not only on the student mind but also on the nation as a whole, as we sit on the sofa yelling: ‘Queen Mary!’ or ‘they’re the moons of Jupiter, you idiot’ at the set.