Answer Me This! - AMT212: Agas, Leonard Nimoy and Glorious Technicolor

Episode Date: April 26, 2012

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To support sustainable food production, BHP is building one of the world's largest potash mines in Canada. Essential resources responsibly produced. It's happening now at BHP, a future resources company. If Ken becomes mayor, will he rename Boris Bikes? Has to be this, has to be this. Why is there more kudos to walking if you call it hikes? Has to be this, has to be this. The disappointing thing about this podcast, listeners, that I know right now, even before we've done it, is that it's not the most entertaining thing that Olly Mann has experienced today. Oh yeah, but that's a tough competition.

I have been to the Olympiclympic aquatic center to watch the synchronized swimming qualification rounds i wouldn't have thought of you before as being particularly into synchronized swimming like most men yeah people but i totally am now it's really difficult as well and decorative and sexist uh it's all girls sexist sports that favor women that's a bit of a turn up it It's basically musical theatre as a sport, which is just about the only sport I'm ever going to be interested in. Now, I don't understand why this shouldn't be open to men. Do you think it's because there's such a danger of

their cock and balls falling out their trunks? Well, no, because you'd wear speedos, wouldn't you? I think, generally speaking, the TV audience is less interested in seeing a man's hairy legs doing formation spinning around. Scissor kicks not so nice on a men's leg but that shouldn't be the principal reason why a sport is or

isn't recognised by the international olympic committee should it it's the 21st century god damn it did they burn their bras for

nothing exactly it's the next billy elliott film waiting to happen young boy and his brother want to be synchronised swimmers

but can't well here's a question about sexism in sport fancy that it's from max in rotherham who says I listen to your podcast whilst running.

Very well. As we have it on Good Authority does Graham Linehan. Although when I met him and he told me this fact which almost made me fall off my chair. He said I'm kind of giving up running now. Oh that's it. So he's probably giving up podcast too. Max continues I am an ultra runner.

Of course you are. Yep. Oh, I thought he was going to say he had, like, Inspector Gadget attachments, which means that wheels shot out of his legs. He can transform into a Porsche. Thank God for that. What wonderful praise. Which, when you're running, can be disastrous.

I often run through the city centre in the morning, which is often busy with commuters and students. It's busy with students in the morning? What is this? Well, maybe they're coming out of clubs. Now, as a runner of a few years... Wow, he really does do long-distance running. I have enjoyed having a very pert and muscly bottom.

Ooh. And he's put in brackets, glutes. The word glutes. That ruins it, really. Too he's put in brackets glutes. The word glutes. That ruins it really. Too medical. It's not sexy, is it, glutes? No, because it sounds like glutinous. That's not a sexy texture.

He says his arse looks good in running tights and shorts. People don't look good in running tights and shorts. So, Helen, answer me this. Do ladies tend to look at men's athletic behinds in much the same way as a male would if a fit female ran past i cannot speak for women and gay men as a whole oh that's a shame my opinion is that although women like a nice bottom they're not as obsessed with them as men are with a lady's bottom and tits as a body part in isolation also having a sweat patch on your bum is an instant turn off and

if they're going to look at you they're probably going to look at the front to see if you're doing a linford christie here's a question from rebecca who says i went to the well-known slightly pretentious italian restaurant prezzo the other day i assumed it was just the same as pizza express no it's more pretentious than pizza express less pretentious than zizi that's where it is in the high street pretentious anymore and its quality has gone way down really yeah gross no no no i think i went quite yeah, but I went to the one that's, like, under where the Mayor of London's office is, so that was probably quite a high-end Zizzy.

Strada, I'd say. That's a good chain pizza. Oh, maybe it was... No, it was a Strada. It was a Strada. They are nice. You're absolutely right. So what's the listener's question? That's not important right now. Have you been to Papa Joe's?

What about the new one they've got where the crust is stuffed with a hot dog? What? That's made up. No, it happens. It's a new thing. No? That's made up. No, it happens. It's a new thing. No. It's a thing. Where do they do that?

Not in Italy. No, I'm sure. Anyway, Rebecca says, I went to the contentiously slightly pretentious Italian restaurant Prezzo the other day and saw that they have added a, quote, light option to each pasta dish and pizza on their menu. They describe this as being a half portion of the classic dish with the rest of the plate made up with salad.

Do they do that, do you think, in the distinguished way that Pizza Express do with their Leggera option, which is where they've got... Make a big hole in it. They've got the pizza, which is like a hat brim, and then the salad, which is in the middle. You know that album cover Kylie Minogue had where she has a hat brim and then her hair is pouring out the top of the crown

That's what the legera is Well, she says, each of these dishes Is exactly one pound More expensive Than the normal, non-light version Scandal! So, Helen, answer me this How come you get half the food and a few leaves

But they're charging you one pound more? Oh, that's the argument people made when Nouvelle popular isn't it well sort of it's tiny even my guinea pig couldn't eat off that yeah okay but that was in the abstract because you couldn't get an equivalent portion from the same nouvelle cuisine restaurant that was one pound cheaper and twice the size i mean that would be like something damien hirst would have done as a stunt but they are actually doing this not for art but for business how do they get away with it maybe that's why damien hirst's restaurant pharmacy shut down because it made no business sense.

I think this is just consumer psychology, isn't it? You're paying for the healthier option. You're paying to feel good about yourself. Like a sophisticate. And so they can get away with it. And also, pizza and pasta, they tend to be pretty cheap to produce because they're based on flour and then a few nice ingredients in small

quantity whereas salad maybe that costs more well also it doesn't keep does it yes you gotta get it fresh all right okay we seem to be on bretso's side on this sorry rebecca but what do they do with all the middles of the pizza yeah that's well maybe they make kids pizzas out of them or something oh that's a good idea yeah it's a good idea but i bet they don't or for people who want half the salad with the pizza beater in the middle. Yeah, they want the heavy option salad. Maybe it's for people who don't like the crust, because that's basically wasting space on the pizza.

Well, that's why you put the hot dog in it. Yeah, it's obvious now. Here's a question now from Paul, who says, whilst in yoga, the yoga teacher mentioned that she thought the word Viagra came from the Sanskrit word Vajagra or tiger. She's been spending too much time standing on her head.

So Helen, answer me this. Is it? No. No. And another explanation that is common around the internet is that it's a combination of the words Vigga and Niagara, both of which confer some of the idea of Viagra. Very much. But do, very much. But anyway, it's just because there are quite a lot of hoops you have to jump through

when you are naming a new pharmaceutical. Yeah, I bet. One of them is that it's a word that doesn't mean anything in any language. Oh, really? And Viagra is one of them. So presumably the Sanskrit that she's talking about, maybe it's not pronounced at all like Viagra. That's really interesting that you have to pick a word that doesn't mean anything in any language.

But if by happy coincidence it does sound a bit like tiger inra. That's really interesting that you have to pick a word that doesn't mean anything in any language. But if by happy coincidence, it does sound a bit like tiger in Sanskrit, that's fine, isn't it? Yeah, but if it sounded like a worm in Sanskrit, then it would ruin it, wouldn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. What I'm saying is the makers may have been aware of this coincidence and, you know, embraced it.

They've got money, Pfizer. They've probably got a little linguistics. They've probably got Susie Dent from Dictionary Corner on it. Yeah, they could afford whoever they liked. Imagine that, being able to just pay Susie Dent to do your They've probably got Susie Dent from Dictionary Corner on it. Yeah, they can afford whoever they like. Imagine that, being able to just pay Susie Dent to do your bidding. Imagine having Susie Dent in a factory where boners happen. If you've got a question, email your question to answer me this podcast at googlemail.com

Answer me this podcast at googlemail.com It's great. So retrospectives, what historical events are we ticking off on this week's round of Today in History?

On Monday, we bring you the real story of the mutiny on the bounty on tuesday the anniversary of the day somebody invented the meatball but who on wednesday the iconic british car that ripped off an iconic american car on thursday how american airlines invented air miles and on friday the ufo sighting that gripped colonial america we discuss this and more on Today in History with The Retrospectors. Ten minutes each weekday, wherever you get your podcasts. All right, time for this question from David from Essex, who says, I have a mad, mad crush on a guy at uni who is in the year below me on the same course.

Though, in fact, he is only a few months younger than me. You know, when you're our age, that doesn't make a difference. A year, a few months, you're still very close in age. Nonetheless, we're glad to hear you're not some kind of crazed cradle snatcher, David. He is the perfect guy, David continues, and for me at least, the elusive gay man. They seek him

here, they seek him there. The one you don't know is gay until he tells you he is. The stealth gay. The stealth gay. I was well ready to ask him out previously, but then he got together with another guy and I started kicking myself for not acting sooner. But you were well ready.

You'd sent him a well ready card and everything. They looked very much a happy couple. Note the past tense, Helen. No need to be upset. They looked a happy couple. Note the past tense, Helen. No need to be upset. They looked a happy couple. Okay. But recently, they split up. Woo!

Yeah. Leave it on the Keith. And I now think I should make my move only. I'm already kicking myself because I don't have the balls to do it directly. You kick them out of yourself the first time with all the self-kicking. I have had a brilliant idea though. I'm going to guess that you actually haven't and that's why you've written to us. I could send a soberly made drunk text to him. Nope. Revealing my feelings for him which is good because I win either way. No you don't you lose both the ways

either he tells me he doesn't feel the same way and i embarrassingly tell him i don't remember sending it and then i don't really feel that way but you know how drink gets to you oh god so you can look like a pathetic person with a drink problem or he says he does feel the same way and i can tell him how relieved i am because i felt dreadful after reading the text the next morning oh you dickhead because then he's gonna think oh he's saying these things i do feel the same way and I can tell him how relieved I am because I felt dreadful after reading the text the next morning oh you dickhead because then he's gonna think oh he's saying these things I do feel the same

but he's drunk he's clearly drunk so it's not sincere how upsetting for me so it's a lose-lose either way this is an awful plan why don't you screw the drunken text idea

you invite him out for drinks yeah going out for drinks when you're a student that can be friendly but you can also make a lunge so Helen answer me this and I think you already have.

Should I send a fake drunk text to my mega crush, or should I grow a pair and ask him directly? Yeah, do that, because there's something kind of noble in it. People like to know that they're liked, so even if they don't return your like, it's flattering to know. And he's heartbroken, right? Or at least freshly out of a relationship, which means, firstly, he's vulnerable. You're getting him on the rebound. Secondly, it means that if he doesn't like you, he can let you down gently and say, I'm sorry, I'm not ready.

He'll also be flattered to have options because at that point, very often, you're thinking, oh, do I have any options left? I've made a terrible mistake. I feel sad, but at least I know I'm still desirable. I've got a future ahead of me. Yeah, but equally well, you don't want to actually get him if he is really feeling very miserable yeah you've got to

time it very carefully so you want him on the cusp of recovery but not so much that he's going to flounce off with someone else again i know it's hard to ask people out and i would be scared to do it but the older one gets them all you think ah just do it at least then you'll know one way or another with a drunk text thing i think it's not going to be as conclusive as you think well they get and look i broadly agree with you. I'm sort of playing devil's advocate to an extent. But I do think sometimes... Why are you always on the side of the devil and not me?

Sometimes when I look back at some of the crushes that I had, I'm actually quite pleased that I never told them. And maybe this is just the fact that we're a bit older now as well. When I look back at crushes that I had when I was 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, the intensity with which I remember them, I actually remember them almost nostalgically. I actually kind of think I'm quite glad I had those unrequited feelings for someone.

And actually, if I'd ever told her, I wouldn't really have wanted to deal with actually even going out with them because it would have ruined that intensity. Oh, come on. That's a kind of Dawson's Creek type coming of age drama. Bullshit. I think you probably would have preferred to get your end away at the time.

Yes, of course. You would have had plenty of time to have unrequited love feelings to concentrate upon later when writing poetry. I think there's an element of truth there. And I don't think that any of the girls that I had crushes on when I was young would ever have gone out with me. And that's the danger. I think part of the appeal of a crush is it is unrequited.

That's because they were all your friends' mums. Bom bom bom bom Bom bom bom bom Bom bom bom bom Bom bom bom bom Bom bom bom bom Helen, Ollie, answer me this Bom bom bom bom

Don't ridicule me and don't take the piss Bom bom bom bom Give me a clue to what I'm asking then in your awesome knowledge I'll be basking but in summer I'm so alone no one to email

and no one to phone where can I get new friends from that's on me in this podcast.com Trump That's a meanest podcast dot com That marvellous jingle was sent to us by listener Brett who is the chairman of the Red Rose Chorus in Preston. It's an absolute beaut that jingle. It is lovely listeners when you send us jingles that you've made yourselves

and even though we try not to play ones that are based on a copyrighted tune In that case we made an exception because it was so bloody good. Yeah, exactly. And also, that tune is from 1954, so they're probably not going to bother. They're not listening to podcasts. No, they're just trying to breathe unassisted.

But yeah, no, if I lived anywhere near Preston, I would be stalking you, Brett, like a lunatic. Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba! Hi, I'm Ollie. My name's David, David and I live in Elkburg. Yay! I'm watching Alfred Hitchcock's Rope. At the beginning it says colour by Technicolour. When did people stop putting colour by at the top of films in the credits? In fact, when did credits stop coming at the beginning? Because it's really boring.

I haven't seen Rope. Have you seen Rope? I have not. I have seen it years ago. It's moderate to good. What about the glorious Technicolour? Yeah, pretty colourful. The Rope comes out particularly brightly. The answer to the question, why does it say colour by Technicolour at the start, is that Technicolour's a trademark. Still is

by the way. The company still exists. Part of the sort of use of Technicolour was that you agreed to say that. It's like with Intel. If your computer computer's got an intel chip in it your ad on telly has to go or have a little sticker on your computer somewhere exactly is that technicolor insisted that if you use technicolor technology the film had to start by saying color by technicolor also at the time it was probably quite a big selling point wasn't it you know drab boring black and white films or wizard of oz yeah that's right yeah but uh when kodak came along doing a version of color that didn't involve really really hot lights and three

times the amount of film that you need to make a black and white film people were quite keen to not use technicolor anymore that was kind of the beginning of the end really uh and the answer to the bit of the question about why don't you see really long opening credits anymore generally unless they're doing something theatrical or paying homage to old films the reason is basically because of tv coming along because it used to be the theatrical tradition that you'd have long titles like hitchcock does because you had to sit through them whereas now you can get up and leave exactly and in fact the audience had already normally by then seen a b-roll film already so they've already been in the cinema for an hour they were in the palm of your hand yeah you could show them as many names as you wanted whereas uh when telly came along and tv movies

started being made obviously the audience drops off if there's a really long title sequence apart from in certain circumstances like bond obviously where they make a virtue of it so yeah so the tradition became now get in and out as soon as possible just give us the title and a few captions uh to the point where i nowadays if you're doing a big big blockbuster movie i think james cameron sealed the deal with this with titanic you just have the name and then get on with it you don't even bother having the pre-story you just go straight to the ship striking the iceberg but it annoys me when there's no title at all uh batman begins did that that's to make a point because at the end of the film once you've seen the story of batman

he has begun so the title there would have had to read batman is about to begin exactly pre-batman but but but i still think it should start with the title batman again so you know you're watching batman begins yeah rather than having accidentally wandered into one of the other films yeah and that's just courtesy isn't it the next question is about something which could not happen if we were still operating the old hitchcock credits arrangement it's a question from jess from kentish town who says i recently found out something that blew my mind wow i was reminded of this when you discussed in a previous episode the surprising fact that cult filmmaker nicholas rogue director of course of don't look now yeah oh directed the witches

directed the film of the witches my game-changing fact is this. Leonard Nimoy directed Three Men and a Baby. How have I lived 30 years on this earth without knowing this? It's not really been that important, has it? Three Men and a Baby. Not top of most on anyone's consciousness. Not even Ted Danson. Not even thingamie that was in all those films

and then her career tailed off at the end of the 80s. Nancy Travis. That's it. Olly answered me this. Are there any other film and director pairings I should know about? Well, should is a strong word. Yeah, that would spoil the surprise of getting to the end of shitty dance academy film Center Stage

and finding out that Nicholas Heitner directed it somewhere in between Madness of George III and History Boys. See, now, I don't find that surprising, but I haven't seen Center Stage. It's so cheesy. Nicholas Heitner directed it somewhere in between Madness of George III and History Boys. See, now, I don't find that surprising, but I haven't seen Centre Stage. It's so cheesy. But it's a genre piece, so in that way, is it surprising? Yes, because it's not a genre that I ever thought anybody who had directed incredible things at the National Theatre would dabble in. Yeah, okay.

Like, if he'd done it before, Madness of King George, for money, would have understood. Afterwards, inexplicable. Actors directing is always surprising even if they're doing things that you're not that surprised to see them do. Clint Eastwood, what's he playing at? No, but when Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood first did start directing films people were a bit like that. Yeah, well when Ronald Reagan

ran for president. Yes. Any time they want to get another job on the side, you hate it. Eric Stoltz from Pulp Fiction, he directs a lot of Glee. Does he? That's a bit of a surprise. Every time I see his name I'm like what, the Eric Stoltz from Pulp Fiction he directs a lot of Glee does he? that's a bit of a surprise every time I see his name I'm like what?

the Eric Stoltz I've got incongruous director and film fact that I think will blow Ollie Mann's mind The Wiz oh I don't know

what about The Wiz Sidney Lumet wow no well directed by yes is that the guy that did it in

The Heat of the Night? yeah and loads of like sort of like quite mature and sophisticated kind of police conspiracy theories for grown-ups with sex in. You wouldn't expect him to have done an all-black musical. Interesting. I've got one for you. Okay.

Jerry Zucker, who directed Naked Gun and Hot Shots, did Ghost. Wow. Yeah. That's the greatest parody of them all. The thing is, though, you remember Ghost being a big schmaltzy melodrama, and obviously it is, but it's also got a lot of comedy with Whoopi Goldberg, hasn't it?

So it's not a complete drama. It's not totally straight. It is actually quite a Hollywood-y film. It's not that weird, but kind of interesting. I think this is a more famous one. Right. Popeye. Martin Scorsese.

Is it Francis Ford Coppola? No, but right kind of bald. Is it Abel Ferrara? It is Robert Altman. Shit! Yes, I did know that one. This isn't such a surprise, really, because he's not a really famous director, Right kind of ball. Is it Abel Ferrara? It is Robert Altman. Shit. Yes, I did know that one. This isn't such a surprise really because he's not like a really famous director,

but I think the most eclectic director, and it's always a surprise when he directs something because you're like, that's so different to what he's done before. Ang Lee? No, but that is, you're right though. Yeah, bonnet dramas.

Yeah. Superheroes. Shit superheroes. Ice Storm, Brokeback Mountain. Okay, no, actually Ang Lee is more eclectic. And Michael Winterbottom As well He's really eclectic

Yeah he's just deranged Yeah but The one that surprises me Because the film That he directed And made his name on Was such a staple Of teen comedy

Is Chris Weitz Who directed American Pie And he did other things That are kind of In the American Pie Broader bracket Yeah Also did About a Boy

Which is really Quite a different Kind of tone. It's still quite shiny and cheesy. Hold on. But this film that came out last year called A Better Life, which is a great film, by the way,

you should see it. It's a drama about the difficulty of being a Mexican immigrant in California. Wow. It is half in Spanish and it's really fucking serious. On the flip side, School of Rock. Yeah.

Richard Linklater. Yeah. That and Before Sunrise are very much companion pieces. It's people taken out of their normal existence temporarily. Ernie. Yeah, Bert? Ernie, I've got to use the computer now. Okay, Bert.

Ernie, you're not moving. Oh, sorry, Bert. I'm just playing some solitaire here Oh, it's just that I've got to use AnswerMeThisPodcast.com I've got a question for them Oh yeah Bert, what's that? Is it okay for two platonic friends to share a bed?

Sure Bert, Morecambe and Wise did it Time for a question from Molly from London now Who says, Helenen answer me this why were people traditionally shot at dawn oh this is a lovely fun question this is people who are naughty yeah or they are prisoners of war or something yeah well i have several theories and i cannot necessarily find out facts to support my theories but i think my theories are quite sensible which is the long title of this podcast my theories are quite sensible.com one is that uh you don't want to have to keep the person alive for the whole day feeding them and stuff yes so kind of like checking

out of a hotel in a way we can shot them the night before and save yourself some bedding yeah and then you'd make sure that it was clean for the following morning for the next prisoner but another is that uh by shooting at dawn, everyone sees it, because all the military get up at crack of dawn, and it's a warning for them. It's the time of day when they're all in the same place to see this thing, and presumably it spooks them for the whole day. Whereas if they do it an hour before bed, it might disturb their sleep a bit, but in the morning they're going to feel a bit refreshed.

Well, this is the thing. You speak to any journalist or listen to any report from uh someone who's been to where there's been a public execution and they'll say that the mood is eerie for hours afterwards yeah well it's it's not a lovely thing i'd imagine i hope never to actually witness it myself yeah sounds bad yeah exactly so yeah that kind of makes sense it's like a propaganda tool really yeah other people say it was uh because dawn, the sun's rays provided you a celestial ladder for you to climb into your next realm. But there's also, in most of these regimes,

even if someone's been convicted of terrible crimes, there's usually some sort of religious understanding of either redemption or that the person who's about to be executed might have a chance to consider before they meet their maker yeah that naturally kind of occurs at night when they're by themselves than during the day when people are visiting them and people are waiting outside in the precinct and out doesn't it and also if the sentence was passed in the evening it left a few hours for a pardon right

yeah so i think all pretty good reasons apart from the celestial ladder which is a pretty shit reason here's a horror story from and Andrew from Southampton who says, the car park at my work is besieged by crows at the moment. The feathery idiots are attacking everyone's cars during the day, trying to pull off the windscreen wiper rubber. He's in the Hitchcock film! And I come out after a hard day's work to find dirty footprints and scratches all over my windows, bonnet and wing mirrors.

Well, that's to be hedron for you. It's weird, isn't it, that when it's chimps in a safari park, everyone thinks it's hilarious. No, it's terrifying. But when it's crows, everyone's like, oh God, they've ruined my windscreen. I assumed at first that they were stealing the rubber to build their nests with waterproof nests.

But I've been told by a colleague that the birds actually get high by eating the rubber. That's where the phrase stone the crows comes from. I would believe that. If you hadn't said that in such a kind of, and you've won, a Prius way. Which puts a whole new drug abuse sinister spin on the whole problem. Some people have been putting plastic bags over their wipers. That's just adding a new drug, isn't it?

But this just seems to make the crows scrabble and scratch at the paintwork more feverishly to get their fix. So pleasellie answer me this how can i stop them i'm assuming means how can he stop the crows eating his car rather than how can he stop his colleagues put carrier bags on their cars yeah well i suppose the answer shoot them would apply to either of those uh but in either case i don't suppose that's what he's after he's probably after a kind of responsible rspb type answer to the problem Could he put a blanket over his car? One of the suggestions that I've seen on the internet for this, because actually it is a common problem all over the world,

that crows eat rubber windscreens. I have no idea. Is put a balloon on your windscreen. Oh, what, so distract them with other examples of the drug? No, they'll pop the balloon, get scared, fly off, not come back. Yeah, but that only works once. 15 minutes later, another crow can come up, start eating the popped balloon. I don't think that's a good idea so i looked further i dove deeper

and i found uh this answer which is from a spokesman from the rspb and they said that motorists would be best advised to coat their wipers with aluminium ammonium sulfate where do you get that it is actually just the standard thing you put down to scare off foxes. It's basically an unpleasant smell that animals don't like. Does it kill them? It doesn't kill them, which is why the RSPB recommended it. Does it smear shit all over your windscreen when you put your wipers on that are covered in it? Well, this is what I'm kind of thinking.

I mean, it's all very well for Mr. Twitcher to say, don't kill the precious birds who like your rubber. But yeah, what's it going to do to your windscreen? Don't know. Oh, hey, Ollie. Thanks for picking me up. Oh, why does it cost one of ammonium and dead bodies if i would just use barrier protection rather than spermicides i would just put a big blanket over the car and yeah but then your blanket's going to smell of crow shit yeah but then you can take it off whereas your car's going to smell of crow shit if you've got the aluminium stuff on it that means the crows sit on the car they just don't eat anything and they still scratch it up blanket

yeah cheap gray scratchy blanket steal a few blankets off a plane stitch them together into a car cozy you're gonna end up with a homeless person sleeping on your car which is a much worse problem than grows or just uh make someone else's car tastier than yours and the crows will flock to that one well how would you do that just accessorize it with sort of fetish levels of rubber i don't know how these criminals think. Here's a question from Rose from Melbourne, Australia, who says, I am very fortunate to have a job that requires me to travel regularly to the UK. It's not that fortunate from Australia, is it? It's a minimum 24 hours each way on a plane.

Enjoy the jet lag. And over the years, I've become good friends with some of my English colleagues. Wow, you've managed to penetrate our national reserve. In a few years, they'll start speaking to you. Many of them seem to be of the age where they seem to need to move from London to the country. According to my girlfriend, I am now of that age.

I have been lucky enough to be invited to their new homes. Bit to my girlfriend, I am now of that age. I have been lucky enough to be invited to their new homes. Bit of a hassle, isn't it, though? When I arrive, the lady of the house usually takes me into the kitchen, which they invariably refer to as the hub of the home, and show me a bloody great agar.

Now, I can understand why agars would not be a very popular thing in the warm country Australia. Helen, answer me this. Why do they do this? What is so special about an oven? It's like they're showing off an expensive car or lottery win. Well, they are. I mean, agas start at about three grand.

And also, it's showing off because it's saying, firstly, your house is solid enough to bear the weight of an aga. And secondly, you can afford a £3,000-plus cooking device in a pastel colour rather than something that looks functional and does different temperatures when you want them. It is a real class thing as well, though, isn't it? It is a sort of Delia-watching, waitrose-shopping... Very upper-middle class.

Whereas, like, you know, if someone working class won the lottery and could afford ten agars, they probably wouldn't. They're not very practical. No. I mean, they're homely. They're lovely items. They look beautiful. They keep your kitchen lovely and warm, but they're not actually very good for cooking things, are they?

No. Well, don't you have to, like, heat them up for hours before or something? Well, no, the point of an Arger is they're on all the time, and because they've got such thick walls, it means that they maintain temperature. And when the Arger was invented in 1929 by a Swedish Nobel Prize winning scientist. Of course.

Oh, who's that? Niels Gustav Dalen, who invented automated lighthouses and in the same year he won the Nobel Prize, he went blind after an oxycetylene explosion. Oh, jeez. So he was at home because he couldn't go off doing his Nobel Prize winning science anymore. He was blind.

Yeah. He was like, my wife spends a lot of time having to fiddle with the stove. Yeah. And cook on different bits of fire. Oh, God, she must have thought, what a nightmare having him around the house. Yeah. Do you know what I mean?

Exactly. So anyway, he invented the agar, which I'd imagine in Sweden, having an appliance that heated your house was quite useful. Yes, very good. It's chilly. Well, it's a sauna for food, isn't it? And they became massively popular in Britain in the 30s. They actually targeted them at the establishment, like royals and stuff,

because people's households, they didn't have a big staff anymore. so you didn't have servants to keep your fires stoked all the time possibly even people had to cook themselves outrageous i know i'm so glad i didn't live in the 30s and then when the war came they actually made a point of giving them to hospitals and munitions factories because they were very fuel efficient for the time obviously they're not now apparently they use the same amount of fuel in a week as a normal oven uses in nine months. Okay, all this is very interesting from the historical perspective of how an agar came to be. Well, you were saying they seem to be an upper class symbol

and they are. They always were. But the royals had them. To return to Rose's question, what's so special to English women about agars now? They want to show you that they've got a certain lifestyle. It's saying, this is my life, I bought an aga

which means I'm staying here for six decades. It's also saying I guess that I've grown up. I think it is the most maternal status symbol. You can put your baby in it and bake it for nine months. You have to choose the correct oven though, otherwise it might grow too big. All of which brings us to an end of this superb episode of answer me this

i'm saying superb i don't know i haven't listened back to it yet but i'm trying to implant positive suggestions i think there's at least six out of ten you enjoyed yourselves a lot listeners in the past half hour you're feeling strangely aroused and you want to tell all your friends about it when you hear the end theme tune you won't remember what preceded it all you'll remember is a feeling of a good time. But you will want to send us a question, which you can do via Skype, email or phone. And all the details are on our website. AnswerMeThisPodcast.com

And you know what else you can find on that website? You can find links to our Jubilee album of all new material. One hour of all new exclusive material. And there are also links to our apps. Facebook, Twitter. Those things. Google Groups. Not Google Plus though. We haven't really indulged in that yet. We're on Google Plus but there's like ten people. Hey guys, do you want to have a hangout?

No! Of course I don't. I've got Pinterest to look at. So we'll be looking at Pinterest except we won't. And we'll see you next week. Bye!