Klaxon

A Forfeit, or Klaxon, is the penalty for giving an incorrect answer to a question on QI. These answers are usually decided by the QI elves in advance and are usually the answers everyone believes to be true.

How to get a Klaxon
If a panellist or the audience gives a wrong answer, they will receive a Klaxon. This means they will lose 10 points (sometimes more), an alarm will sound, and their answer will appear on the screens behind them. In the pilot episode, there was no Klaxon or screens so instead, the answer was displayed on a cue card by host Stephen Fry. While the Klaxon was introduced in Series A, Stephen continued to display cue cards until Series B.

Klaxon gets a Klaxon
While almost always referred to as 'the Klaxon', this is not what the sound is called. Klaxon is a brand name and Klaxon alarms make a very specific noise. The sound used on QI is simply a noise or an alarm. In Series K episode "Knees and Knockers", this exact issue was brought up when the panellists were asked to name the sound being played. Jack Whitehall answered Klaxon and subsequently received a 'Klaxon'.

Surviving the Klaxon
On 29th October 2018, a video was uploaded to the official YouTube channel describing 10 Klaxon survival techniques. The following techniques were given:


 * 1) Don't be a hero - don't give all the wrong answers to help the other panellists
 * 2) Play dirty - try and con other panellists into giving wrong answers
 * 3) Know when to quit - don't keep giving answers when all of them get Klaxons
 * 4) Never argue - don't try and argue against the Klaxon elf
 * 5) Trust nobody - don't trust anyone, especially the host and QI elves
 * 6) No-one is safe - everyone and anyone can get a Klaxon, even the host
 * 7) Traps are everywhere - don't be fooled into giving the obvious answer, even it seems right
 * 8) Don't ask questions - don't ask the Klaxon elf questions
 * 9) Life isn't fair - sometimes you just have to accept the Klaxon, even if it seems unfair
 * 10) It's never the Blue Whale - the answer to a question is hardly ever the Blue Whale

Klaxon Font
For the tech savvy, the font currently used on the screen during a Klaxon closely resembles multiple fonts such as FreeSans, Helvetica Neue and Nimbus Sans. Other fonts have been used, including Courier New during Series A, and Franklin Gothic during Series M & N. On one occasion behind the scenes, Comic Sans was used after Joe Lycett complained that he didn't like Franklin Gothic. While this confirmed that Franklin Gothic was used at some point, the other fonts used are not known for certain.