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Screengrab/YouTube

Farmers from Cork invented Irish dancing to kill mice*

*According to a new John Oliver book.

JOHN OLIVER IS releasing a book about the best historical lies**.

In it, we’ll hear about his favourite incorrect facts, including that Abraham Lincoln pardoned his later assassin John Wilkes Booth for attempted bestiality.

There’s an Irish angle to Stranger Than Truth: John Oliver’s 101 Favorite History Lies [sic], with Oliver explaining:

Irish step dancing was invented by the farmers of Cork county who used to kill pesky field mice by strapping slabs of wood to their feet and clobbering them to death – which really makes you see Riverdance in a different way.

As the host of last Week Tonight puts is: “There is absolutely nothing more fun than lying confidently about history.”

LastWeekTonight / YouTube

** He also lied about this, but the video is still well worth a watch.

Read: John Oliver’s fake church inundated with thousands of donations

Read; John Oliver has made a sex ed video with a Breaking Bad twist

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35 Comments
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    Mute Shinnér Ó Bót
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    Aug 31st 2015, 2:29 PM

    I love lying about history

    170
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    Mute little jim
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    Aug 31st 2015, 3:28 PM

    Ah, but do you though?

    15
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    Mute catherine
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    Aug 31st 2015, 2:32 PM

    I reckon Micheal Flately could have taken out mice rats a couple of Labradors and a Charolais bull in his day so.

    124
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    Mute Arthur Pewty
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    Aug 31st 2015, 3:16 PM

    the more i hear of this guy the more i like him. his telephone evangelist stuff was excellent

    83
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    Mute Angela O'regan
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    Aug 31st 2015, 2:42 PM

    I always tell my forign friends it was invented to keep us warm.

    66
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    Mute Rebel Rebel
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    Aug 31st 2015, 2:28 PM

    The book sounds like a load of rubbish.

    49
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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    Aug 31st 2015, 3:38 PM

    What, coz he’s takin the pee out of the rebel county?

    33
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    Mute john
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    Aug 31st 2015, 2:41 PM

    Funniest man on tv

    48
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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Aug 31st 2015, 5:24 PM

    No… A spin doctor yes…

    4
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    Mute Íurach
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    Aug 31st 2015, 2:55 PM

    The Rothschild family invented the modern banking system for the benefit of all mankind. *

    46
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    Mute Thomas Delaney
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    Aug 31st 2015, 2:58 PM

    Sounds like a total rip off of 101 facts about pandas by David O’ Doherty. Well what more can you expect from a disingenuous leftist tw*t like Oliver.

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    Mute Andy Kennedy
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    Aug 31st 2015, 3:04 PM

    In what way is he disingenuous? Bearing in mind he deals exclusively in satire.

    54
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    Mute Thomas Delaney
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    Aug 31st 2015, 3:14 PM

    Deals exclusively in satire my ass. He is a liberal shill and is as bad as any of the demagogues on fox news. All of the shows he has participated in have clear political agendas and avoid any true critique of the issues they ‘satirise’. ‘Aren’t all cops terrible racists, wink wink nudge nudge’ , ‘ isn’t man spreading proof of rape culture, wink wink nudge nudge’. Jon Stewart and Jon Oliver are just disingenuous liberal panderers.

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    Mute Peter Nolan
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    Aug 31st 2015, 3:20 PM

    100 Facts About Pandas [not "101"] is a book of scatalogical humour. Stranger Than Truth isn’t even a book — it’s a prop in a comedy sketch about how people will believe anything you say about history, without checking themselves, if you sound confident enough about it. The fact that he reveals at the end the very existence of the book is a lie simply underlines it.

    Both, perhaps, can be said to draw humour by presenting absolutely bizarre statements with a serious air, but if you think the O’Dohertys invented that then you need to get out more.

    36
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    Mute Thomas Delaney
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    Aug 31st 2015, 3:27 PM

    I don’t think David O’ Doherty invented that type of humour you simpleton. However you seem to know nothing about his book. He presents erroneous facts about pandas interweaved with invented historical narratives among other things. The title and the content are extremely similar to O’ Doherty’s book hence it is a rip off.

    5
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    Mute James Joseph Superior Power
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    Aug 31st 2015, 3:48 PM

    I think some rightist tw*t might be a bit pi*t of at O’Doherty shown up how stupid the far right really are.

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    Mute Thomas Delaney
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    Aug 31st 2015, 3:51 PM

    That doesn’t make any sense on so many levels…

    9
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    Mute James Joseph Superior Power
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    Aug 31st 2015, 3:57 PM

    Do ya think? lol

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    Mute Jimmy Jim-Jim
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    Sep 1st 2015, 12:41 AM

    James on the sauce on a Monday like a trooper

    1
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    Mute James Joseph Superior Power
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    Sep 1st 2015, 3:18 AM

    JJJ. The comment I was responding to was deleted.

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    Mute john
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    Aug 31st 2015, 2:42 PM

    I saw that episode regarding Lincoln, works well in tv.

    8
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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Aug 31st 2015, 5:23 PM

    He couldn’t make it in England with his humour…

    5
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    Mute Stephen M
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    Aug 31st 2015, 5:53 PM

    He’s just another English “comedian” that couldn’t hack it in the UK and moved on to a simpler audience. Maybe 10% of the stuff he does is witty and funny but the rest is simplistic populist nonsense.

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    Mute West Cork Lad
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    Sep 1st 2015, 1:08 AM

    He seems to be doing pretty well for himself Stephen. Do I detect jealousy?

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Aug 31st 2015, 5:22 PM

    It would take an English bloke to make a joke out of the Irish, doesn’t it. O wait is this the same guy who doesn’t know about Kiev’s government and soldiers having Nazis in them ethnically cleansing in Eastern Ukraine…
    All the humour John Oliver involves is talking about gay issues, the catholic hating git…

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Aug 31st 2015, 5:28 PM

    How many writers wrote that book for him… Nice of that bloke to pick on the Irish again…

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    Mute Andy Kennedy
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    Aug 31st 2015, 8:16 PM

    Jesus, stop crying!

    Did you have a one night stand with John Oliver and he never called you afterwards?

    Is that why you’re so butthurt?

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    Mute Brian Jimp
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    Aug 31st 2015, 4:51 PM

    “Irish step dancing was invented by the farmers of Cork county who used to kill pesky field mice by strapping slabs of wood to their feet and clobbering them to death – which really makes you see Riverdance in a different way” – I can almost believe that, we used to keep a lot of birds in aviaries and when mice got trapped in the walkways between the flights we’d dance up and down until we’d squashed them all.

    3
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    Mute Thomas Delaney
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    Aug 31st 2015, 10:28 PM

    All of you John Oliver/John Stewart fan boys are repulsive. Keep down voting my comments like the balless one direction-like simpletons you are and I’ll continue thinking for myself idiots.

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    Mute Pol O Misteal
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    Sep 1st 2015, 2:56 AM

    Right wing nutjob!

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    Mute Andy Kennedy
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    Sep 1st 2015, 8:02 AM

    Thinking for yourself… and thinking about One Direction’s balls apparently…

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    Mute wiklagirl
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    Aug 31st 2015, 8:30 PM

    Don’t be silly Mr Oliver, this is the best explanation ;-)

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    Mute wiklagirl
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    Aug 31st 2015, 8:30 PM
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    Mute John Ward
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    Sep 1st 2015, 1:23 AM

    Some very touchy little Irish dancers on here!

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    Mute John Ward
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    Sep 1st 2015, 1:14 AM

    I heard it was a throwback to the days when they carried two buckets of water back from the stream and had to jump over the nettles and cowpats!

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