The Black Poles and surrounding area, (Ispog), are the most sacred, wondrous and revered things in the Whole Sort of General Mish-Mash. They make the vast colossus of Thloth in Ursa Minor, visible from 10 light years away, seem rather tame. All nine and a half Wonders of the World pale into pallid insignificance. Billions of cosmic beings flock to the poles every day - invisible to the naked eye, but detectable through the strange effects they have on the behaviour of the humans gathered there. The Big Bang was caused by a giant pot of yoghurt, (meson flavour), sliding down the pole and exploding when it hit the ground. Merely being close to the poles is said to have miraculous properties, making people intelligent, witty, and eminently shaggable - after all, look at the effect they have had on the members of Gopsi.