Lateral with Tom Scott - 138: A confusing refreshment

Episode Date: May 30, 2025

Mary Spender, Jarvis Johnson and Jordan Adika face questions about social sixes, safety signs and sales setbacks. LATERAL is a comedy panel game podcast about weird questions with wonderful answers, hosted by Tom Scott. For business enquiries, contestant appearances or question submissions, visit https://lateralcast.com. HOST: Tom Scott. QUESTION PRODUCER: David Bodycombe. EDITED BY: Julie Hassett at The Podcast Studios, Dublin. MUSIC: Karl-Ola Kjellholm ('Private Detective'/'Agrumes', courtesy of epidemicsound.com). ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS: Bob Weisz, Justin Kelly, Fouz Reda, Carson Lo, Daniel Middleton, Alex, Tom, Cameron. FORMAT: Pad 26 Limited/Labyrinth Games Ltd. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: David Bodycombe and Tom Scott. © Pad 26 Limited (https://www.pad26.com) / Labyrinth Games Ltd. 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Truck Month is on at Chevrolet. Get 0% financing for up to 72 months on a 2025 Silverado 1500 Custom Blackout or Custom Trail Boss. With Custom Trail Bosses available, class exclusive, Duramax 3.0L Diesel Engine, and Z71 Off-Road Package with a 2-inch factory suspension lift, you get both on-road confidence and off-road capability. Dirt road ahead? Let's go! Truck month is awesome! Ask your Chevrolet dealer for details. When might you show someone your Social 6? The answer to that at the end of the show. My name's Tom Scott, and this is Lateral.

Okay, folks, someone's pressed the play button again. Everyone stand by. Hello, welcome to the Lateral Podcast. You are today's listener number 35,406. We'll do another run-through just for you, but I must admit that it does get a little bit repetitive after the first 20,000. So ready to force a smile for the next 40 minutes, we have one half of the Sad Boys podcast returning to the show. Jordan Attico, welcome back.

Pow, pow, pow. Not real guns, just the finger gun stuff. I got to stop doing that. Not a threat. Thank you for having me. How did you feel last time? It was your first time on the show. Well, I think we can pretty conclusively,

and there's no points, but we can pretty conclusively say I got every single one of them right. And I think I did especially well on my question. Pretty fantastic, huh? You have to be careful, though. You're setting yourself up for a fall there. You've got to keep the standard high. I was going to say, if I do well again,

it's an indication of my intelligence, and if I don't do well, it's a joke, and I was kidding. That is the correct strategy to take. Very best of luck with the show today. You are joined by your compatriot, the other half of the Sad Boys podcast, Jarvis Johnson. Welcome back. Thanks for having me. Jordan and I are now estranged as of the events of the last episode, and I'm hoping we can

mend our relationship today. You did just suddenly come up with the gag that actually, you're not halves anymore, you're just taking the podcast. I am assuming that you're all settled up. Yeah, you say gag, but I think this is history being made. This is the end of our professional relationship. Or the beginning of a new one. Let's find out. We're kind of co-parenting the podcast now. Weekdays for Jervis.

Oh, each of you gets it for half of the podcast. Like, halfway through, you just suddenly have to hand it over. Same length, just two halves of solo podcasts. Well, best of luck to both of you, jointly and separately. The third member of the panel today, we have singer-songwriter and music YouTuber Mary Spender. Welcome back. Thank you for having me, and I can announce I am now the child of the Sad Boys podcast.

I'm being co-parented. I'm the other guest. I'm one of the boys, you know? Many headlines are being created from this episode of Lateral. What's nice too is it means that all of your music and output, technically, is mine. Yes, yeah. You can have all the money that comes from that streaming income too, darling. But you have all the money that comes from that streaming income too.

But you have to hold it in a trust fund until... —Mary Richard's being a young —Until it's 18. —until you're older, yeah. —Yeah. Which, and let me tell you, I promise the casino I'm going to is only going to re-increase it. Perfect. Well, best of luck to all of you. Actually, now I think about it, we should have just recorded this show

instead of doing it live, but it's too late now, so for the 35,406th time, here's question number one. Thank you to Alex for this question. Lego stopped using cadmium sulfide as a dye in the 1980s due to the potential toxicity to kids. However, they considered adding barium sulfate, often used as a white dye, also due to kids. Why? I'll give you that one more time. Lego stopped using cadmium sulfide as a dye in the 1980s due to the potential toxicity

to kids. However, they considered adding barium sulfate, often used as a white dye, also due to kids. Why? My first thought is that kids might try to eat the Lego so maybe barium sulfide makes them taste bad. That would like a Nintendo Switch cartridge. I was thinking kids have sticky fingers that might take off the paint or like something that the kids have. I think edible is probably safer, isn't it? The cadmium is, it's like toxic, right?

It's like what they put in those McDonald's Shrek cups or whatever. And the barium is, they're doing it for kids, but not for a negative reason. So they're considering adding it... Due to kids. Due to kids, but not to their detriment. So it has to be for their safety, but they didn't I mean I can say i'm considering it. Yeah, I considered putting like vitamin b12 Okay, so touch or they put things in their mouths and choking hazards and maybe it's something

Oh, does it taste nice? I'm not sure they want to encourage and maybe it's something... Oh, does it taste nice? Mmm. I'm not sure they want to encourage the kids to eat. Oh! Oh, is it... Is it so that it can be digested and, like... Is that too gruesome? Like, if a kid eats something, surely it needs to pass through it.

Particularly if it's made of plastic. At that point, I think it's mostly macroplastic. Because this is just, yeah, this is just the paint, or this is just, like, kind of the external, or I guess the Lego is like fully the colour. But one thought, you mentioned that they did not end up doing it. So is it possible that they discovered that it did taste good, or that it could be more alluring to kids, and then in testing they bailed for that reason.

As best-off's paint. You have identified that this is to do with eating Legos. Okay. That really is the only other thing that kids do with Legos. It's leave them in the way of a parent and eat them. To step on with bare feet. Yep. Or insert the tiny studs up their nose. Yeah. The nose is real risky.

I did do that. If it doesn't make them taste bad, does it make them smell bad? But we've all had Lego, right? And it's never had a smell. This was never implemented, right? They didn't, no. So... Touch taste.

I have a very weak understanding of the natural world of the elements. Is there anything, what was the name of the thought about? Barium sulphate, and that is important. Barium. Berry. Tasty. Tastes good. Sounds not tasty. It does have another famous application. Medical application.

Medical. So it does something to you. Does it do something good or bad? It actually does very little to you in itself. But when combined with something that may already be something that kids are already doing, it could become a hazard. Maybe. Oh, maybe something else they ingest. This was actually to help kids. Or maybe more than that, help their parents.

It's like a sedative. Oh, does it glow or something? Does it glow? So like, if you had like an ultrasound, because the kid had swallowed it, that it would show up? Or just glow in the dark. You're very close. That's not the right technology, but you're very close. It shows up in something that— in an X-ray? Yes.

Yes, it does. Have you ever heard of a barium meal? Oh, so you have to ingest something so that it can detect, and then you go in an x-ray and it shows. Oh, like a coating liquid for... Yep. Absolutely right, Mary.

My mother, who is a nurse in the NHS, will be ashamed of me for not putting that back up. I was never a science nerd. I think nurses in the NHS have their own problems right now. They might not have podcast time. Yep. Lego does not show up on x-rays. It's reported that the company considered adding barium sulphate so that doctors would

be able to detect them. It is harmless, it doesn't dissolve in water. It was found that barium sulphate made the plastic more brittle, and the plan was dropped. Wow, so you still cannot detect a Lego on an x-ray. No, but you can still give someone a barium meal and see if there's a blockage. Yeah, they were thinking of doing it to help kids, but when they realized it hurt their bottom line,

that's not... That's where we draw the line. I think, well, it was probably the... There's probably a Scandinavian mindset of, Vels, it's for Darwinism. Survival of the fittest. Mary, whenever you're ready, give us your question please. This question has been sent in by Bob Weiss.

In 1933, Chicago hosted their Second World's Fair. On opening night, the lights were switched on automatically by sensitive sensors that detected light coming from the star Arcturus. Why was this star chosen in particular? In 1933, Chicago hosted the second World's Fair. On opening night, the lights were switched on automatically by sensitive sensors that detected light coming from the star Arcturus. Why was this star chosen in particular? Is it operates at like a particular frequency?

I was thinking that I was also thinking about the thematic relevance of the star is the star visible that night? Like, in the open air? It wasn't particularly to do with its visibility, though that did help. Also, I just assume whenever anyone says that the lights are switched on by sensors, like the same way when someone's turning on the big lights on the Christmas tree or something like that, that button does nothing. There is a technician behind the scenes with a switch that's just looking at that. There's a man inside the box playing chess, okay?

A sensitive man. This might be the World's Fair, where there was a load of early Walt Disney... No, it's far too early for early Walt Disney stuff, isn't it? No, too early for... I know what you're thinking of, but I... Yeah, this was too early for that, I think. Okay. Yeah, it's a small world, must've been the 50s and 60s, because that had to happen. That was later, yeah.

Okay. Because there was a World's Fair that they were going to do an Abraham Lincoln animatronic that they cancelled. Yes. Because he died. Little early for that. They found out. Oh, God, all this time! Oh, no, I didn't even know he was sick. What was the location again, sorry man?

Chicago. Chicago, oh, okay. Chicago 1933 World's Fair. People are traveling from all around the world to look at really cool stuff that the world's top minds have produced and, you know, products. This is still a thing, by the way. top minds have produced and products. This is still a thing, by the way. We still have world expos. It's just they don't have quite the cachet they used to. Right. A star, Arcturus, was chosen. I don't know where Arcturus is, like in our solar system.

It's got to be fairly bright. Got to be bright. It's got to be one of the big visible ones, because if you're pointing sensors at it. As a clue, I can say, relatively speaking, Arcturus is one of the closest stars to Earth. Oh, man. Huh. Okay. The question, in 1933, Chicago hosted their second World's Fair.

Oh. Is that some... Mm. Mm. Is there a pun with the time unit of a second? Is it like the second closest star? Like the first Chicago World's Fair had some sensor that detected light from Alpha Centauri? And then Arcturus is the next one? Man, they've had to keep going for a while, huh?

Yeah. They have to find a new star. You might... I don't know whether you would know when the first World's Fair was. Was it in like the 20s? A little bit further back. Well, how war adjacent was the first one? Even more further back the other crossing over the centuries. So it was in the 1800s, the first one. How many light years away is Arcturus? Could they have known that with the technology of the time?

That's what I was thinking about. That's why I was thinking about seconds in time, like the amount of time it takes for light to reach. Oh, Jarvis, you've got it. You must have it. Say it again? Well, I was thinking about... Oh, so, okay, wait, is it the the distance from so the first World Fair, the amount of time between the first World Fair and the

second World Fair is the distance between Arc turret that light takes to travel from Arc tourists. So we're now getting the light from the first World Fair. And that is what's turning on the lights. The light from the star dates back to their first worlds. Oh, that's lovely. That's really cool. That's very clever. Jarvis, I see you enter your mind palace. LAUGHS So yeah, it was, um, 1893 was the first.

So Chicago's previous world's fair was 40 years prior. Organizers chose Arcturus because they believed it was 40 light years away. That's showing off. That light from that star took 40 years to travel to hell. Do we know if they were right? Because that's always funny to go look and like, oh yeah, they were actually off by 100 light years. Yeah, I'll take your word for it. What do I know?

I'm just some guy from the past. Well, as it happens, it's actually 36.7 light years away. So the organizers were a few years late. But the idea was that the light hitting the photocell sensor in 1933 had left Arcturus in 1893, the year of Chicago's first World Fair. It's very romantic. Very romantic. I like it.

And so easy to lie about. Could just say it every time. The amount of tools to check their work work there were so few and far between. There was no one writing in to those guys being like, just so you know, it was actually 36.7. What's better than a well marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue? A well marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart shopper and delivered to your door.

A well marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool. If you'd prefer to watch lateral instead of listen, we are happy to announce that full video episodes are now available in the Spotify app. You can start listening on one device, then watch on another. The choice is yours. Thank you to Tom for sending in this question. You can admit it, you sent it in yourself. Go on. No, go ahead, go ahead.

The last time we had someone called Tom on this podcast, I got referred to as Other Tom, and I'm not starting that again. In 1984, McDonald's ran a promotion where customers collected scratch cards containing the names of events at the Los Angeles Olympics. These could later be redeemed for free food. Why did this cost the firm a lot more than planned? One more time, in 1984, McDonald's ran a promotion where customers collected scratch cards

containing the names of events at the Los Angeles Olympics. These could later be redeemed for free food. Why did this cost the firm a lot more than planned? That's a very good question, not the Tom. Was it closed? Yeah. Was it, had people learnt the, no, we'd know the events. I think of fraud is the first thing that comes to mind.

And I'm not sure if, is fraud the right path to go down? Or is it timing? Like was it delayed so the events had already. So you wouldn't use the answer. And was, yeah, did they, was this cost in litigation? Did they, it was potentially a bad job they did in the thing. 1984, there's no. Sinist. There's no, there's nothing to do with actual 1984. George Orwell knew about McDonald's. Yeah, that caught, that was a key point that did kind of catch my ear, and I'm trying to push it away.

Wait, you missed that bit? How dare you? So, I wonder about like a manufacturer's defect with the scratch-off stuff. Did it just give the answers? Yeah. None of them were successful. But that's the thing, I don't know the game, right? Or if it is a game, it's just...

It would help to think about what the game might be. Why were there names of events printed on the scratch cards? So the name would be like 100 meter relay or something? Yes. Okay. Something to do with betting, something to do with the results, the rankings, the... And it was during the event, so it can't be, you know, predicted. Okay, so is, is, the names of events were on the scratch-offs,

but did that also tell you on the scratch-off itself, what you received, or did it depend on the results of the event? Maybe you get the, the athlete... Like if America gets gold, you know what I mean? And if the, uh... That was the promotion Jarvis. Yes. Oh, and America got way too many gold medals.

Yep. The slogan is, when the US wins, you win. And Mary, you're right. They got way too many gold medals. Why? There's something else that happened here. Wow. Okay. Home games? Because America's the best country, what can I tell you? Jordan, how dare you?

Oh, why did it get too many? That was the year that... Was that the year that Marion Jones did doping and America won a bunch of golds? They all doped. They were all surely doping. That wasn't the year everyone was doping, right? No, no. Ah. Jordan, you said America is the best.

That was very much up for international debate at the time in a very, very vicious and cold way. Well, Cold War was happening. And who didn't participate in the Olympics due to the Cold War? Did, did, did, I actually don't know if that happened. Russia? —that happened. —Russia? But did some countries not participating affect American— basically, our competition, our major competition, was not present at the Olympics. —They excluded them. —Or they were excluded, I'm not sure. The entire Soviet bloc, three months before the Olympics began,

announced they were boycotting the games. Ah. By that point, the scratch cards were printed, the promotion was going on, and suddenly America was going to win a lot more gold medals than McDonald's had bargained for. Wow. Wow. Oh my goodness. They're scared.

Let's say it. They were scared. Tens of millions of dollars of financial impact. The way it worked is that you had the scratch card with the name of the event on it, a Big Mac for a gold medal, fries for a silver, and a Coke for bronze. Oh my god. When is McDonald's going to learn that these scratch-off games are bad news bears? Yeah, stick to Sonic the Hedgehog models. Don't do gambling anymore. Yeah, well, I say that, but then I'm also like, they did put cadmium in the commemorative

glasses, so. They need to figure some stuff out. So yes, this was the McDonald's When the US Wins, You Win promotion, which got very expensive when the Soviet bloc just dropped out. When the Soviets lose, you win. Oh no. Jordan, whenever you're ready, your question. This question has been sent in by Carson Lowe.

Thank you for the question. A poster is on the wall of a high school chemistry classroom. A four-word message is written twice, though most people will read it only once. What is this message and how is the second version different? One more time. A poster is on the wall of a high school chemistry classroom. A forward message is written twice, though most people will only read it once. What is the message and how is the second version different? Did anyone study chemistry?

I was not at all. I was poor at chemistry. I did take it. Um, so my guess is that there's like something that's like written out in elements and that's written out in elements, and that's written out in English, and... What do you mean, like, periodic table symbols? Where it's like two letters at a time? Periodic table symbols? Maybe. Yeah. And so, like, that could be why you would only read it once,

because the average person is going to look at NaCl and think of of like, you know, sodium chloride. I'm trying to think of this poster like literally picturing it and I feel like I'm thinking along the same lines or could it be somehow, so it's written, the same thing is written twice but you would only say it once. So I think most people would only read it once. Oh but you would only say it once. So I think— Most people would only read it once. Oh, you'd only read it once?

You'd only read it once. Sorry. Would it be mirrored? Or like... Like, um... What's like a... A word you— I don't know. Like a word you could say backwards that's the same... I was thinking it might be a safety message.

Like, high school chemistry classroom, kids are going to mess about with stuff. Please wash your hands. Or something like that. Tom, you're right that it is a safety-related poster. Don't light the gas taps directly on fire. It happened once in my high school, it made a really big flamethrower,

and then someone got in trouble. Oh my god. Don't do that, kids. Don't do that. I think it did. This is an anecdotal poster about someone you knew. What do you know? It says Tom Scott at the bottom. Okay, so a thought that the message that's written the second time is only revealed due to like a chemical reaction. That could be like too... That's not happening, right?

I was like, Jarvis, your thought process for this makes so much sense if you were a whimsical teacher. This is not very edutainment. It's, it's very practical, but with a don't eat the chemicals. Don't lick the chemicals. I remember there being, you know, there's like, in my chemistry lab in like college, there's like a place where you could do a shower, like a chemical shower in the event that

you got something on you that you weren't supposed to, and then there's, you're not supposed to breathe things in. You're not supposed to get things in your eyes. Not supposed to get things in your eyes. Use, you're supposed to use protective eyewear. You're in the right. That is the right guidance that the poster is giving. Oh, so is it written twice, but you'd only read it once if you were wearing a certain type of glass, like protective glass that you could only see it through. Like, like, I don't know, like a polarized lens when you

look at the phone and you can't see your phone But then you can One version of the text is written in conventional English, huh? Conventional English and then non conventional English and it's not US English Just remove to those Always wear your goggles. Something like that. Is it like, I feel like it would be like blurry or something.

Like don't forget your glasses or something, you know, like... I will say when I read this, I was a little taken aback. And I, not to be like these days, it's PC gone mad or something, but it is, it's the kind of thing where I can imagine someone being like, whoa, that's... Not politically correct anymore. A little insensitive, oh, I don't know, yeah. Oh, then as someone who wore glasses for most of childhood, four eyes? Or you'll end up with zero eyes?

No, that would be very funny. Yeah, or it's like, don't go blind or something along those lines. Yeah, that's a good one. Don't go blind! I now officially do not want to get cancelled, so I feel like I can't say anything. That is one tricky thing. I was... Yeah, you are in the right area. It is about the risk of the results of potentially getting chemicals.

Yeah. I'm still trying to think, why would it be written twice? And you won't read this way it's written a second time. It feels like it's non-conventional English. Like, what would? I can't wait to know this. This is one I'm really thinking. I will say the second version of the text is not written in any traditional form of

letters at all. It's like, if this makes sense to you, then you've got hit on the head or something. Tell me you're having a mind palace moment. No, but ironically, because this is a printed poster, is that second line useless to basically everyone? It is. The vast majority of people would not be able to... Is it Braille? It is Braille.

Oh. Because you can't... and that is, because you can't touch it either. It's just a printed poster. Yes. Oh, that's so... It might be textured. Okay, never poster. Yes. Oh, that's so... It might be textured. Oh, okay, never mind. Yeah.

But I will say, it really has no utility for people that would actually need to read it in Braille. Because Braille is not large letters up on a wall that you have to feel with your hand. It's very much for like... The Braille is for the branding of this. It is basically saying don't go blind. Like, you know what I mean? So what are the words?

What's the message? Well, I will say, in English, the English portion is wear your safety goggles, and then the Braille is a translation of that, but then there is a tagline that is the real kind of kicker to this. Oh, okay. I did say wear your safety goggles, and then the Braille's translation of that, but then there is a tagline that is the real kind of kicker to this. Oh, okay. I did say wear your safety goggles at some point. Yep. Or else. Basically, it is or else. The text below, and this is...

I don't know if this really kind of caught me. Which would you rather read? Oh. Yeah? Oh my god. Isn't that wild? I mean, if you are trying to convince kids to wear their safety goggles, that is going to work.

They're still going to light the gas taps on fire. They're not... Yeah, that's true. The poster was on the wall in the chemistry classroom of the question submitter castle. Wow. So this might be currently in use, which is wild. Thank you to Cameron for this next question. In 1824, how did the frontiersman Jim Bridger get his location wrong by about 620 miles,

or less a thousand kilometres, thanks to a single sip of drink? I'll say that again. In 1824, how did the frontiersman Jim Bridger get his location wrong? By about 620 miles, about a thousand kilometres, thanks to a single sip of drink. Instinct. Lateral podcast-style instinct I'm having very briefly. Is it possible that he was not the one that imbibed this drink? Like, the sip, single sip of drink is more of like a... It was involved in the same way that like...

It's... The star did not... Was not involved in the planning of the World's Fair. It was just a component of it. So he probably only went like a degree off or two, well, six. Because the default answer is obviously, you know, he did a shot of tequila and just... Right. I'm also to try and think laterally. Did the sip, was the sip consumed by a person?

It would have been very difficult for him to consume that sip. Not impossible, not harmful, but it wouldn't have been nice. But he was doing, like, orienteering? He was himself creating the map, or this was...? Yeah, he was one of the first Caucasian explorers heading that way. It would have been difficult for him to consume the sip. Was it something like mad honey, or like ayahuasasca or something that he was sipping that then takes him off course because he's having hallucinations? Or perhaps like an animal that he was with drink some water or something and then...

Oh, a horse? Yeah, because I feel as though if my, you know, I was thinking, well, maybe the horse had something toxic and it's a, but I find riding a horse, I can tell it's not going the way I want to. I'm noticing that my horse is careening off in some distance. Maybe some kind of like medical concoction and it knocked him out and they continue. I don't know if I can, was he traveling? Was he the only human traveling? It does say his party in the notes, but he was the leader.

Well, not much of a leader. It would have been difficult for him to consume the sip, and if he did, it wouldn't have been nice. Was there only one person who consumed the sip, one being that consumed the sip? Yeah, I wouldn't concentrate too much on that. He literally just took a sip. Well, yeah, but I'm imagining maybe it was, you know, the only disease I remember from

that time would be dysentery. So maybe he had like dysentery medicine, went unconscious, his less than competent party just kind of lost track. And then when he came to, they were like, this is the new world. So he took a, he sipped a substance that... A drink. A drink. 640 miles. Yeah, well, 620, but give or take. It's not, it's not exact.

This guy sucks. This guy's really bad at map stuff. Like, is it salt? Is it, was he, was he sailing? Oh, he wasn't sailing, but Mary, that was what surprised him about it. That was salt water. Oh. He drank salt water. Mm-hmm. And he's like, I should be in a freshwater ocean. And he should be by a river that was fresh, not salty. Yes.

And so he was off course by 600. So this led him to be off course? Oh, he was off course by his own navigation errors, but the sip made him realise that he couldn't possibly be on course. You've kind of got it the wrong way round. He took a sip of saltwater, and that meant he got his location wrong by about 620 miles. Did he think he was closer to the coast than he was? Or that he was... Yes.

Yes, okay. Yes. And so it was a saltwater pool? You've got basically all the parts here. You're absolutely right. He sipped saltwater, he thought he was at an arm of the Pacific Ocean, and he was wrong by about 600 miles. Oh.

So that's all absolutely right. The one missing piece is, where actually was he? Oh my god, my geography is going to be terrible. Salt Lake City? As it's now called, yes, he was among the first location explorers to reach the great Salt Lake in what is now Utah. Wow. Thank you to Utah for doing the obvious names of their cities.

They're not really old. I never even put together that that was salt. Like, I never thought about salt so late. There was a little joke they had. His party was encamped on Upper Bear River. He set out alone downstream to the outlet. He drank salt water from the river, and he thought he'd found an arm of the Pacific Ocean.

Goddamn. In truth, he was found an arm of the Pacific Ocean. God damn. In truth, he was out by 600 miles. How embarrassing. Awkward. Incredibly embarrassing. So embarrassing. How shameful. Jarvis, I believe you've got a question for us.

Yes, I do. I'm really excited about this one. This question was sent in by Justin Kelly, though Fawz Rada and an anonymous listener also sent in similar ideas. In January 2008, John was unboxing a package ready to start a fun new exercise routine. Realizing that there was a problem, he placed two tea lights roughly 8 inches or 20 centimeters apart above his television. Why? In January 2008, John was unboxing a package ready to start a fun new exercise routine. Realizing that there was a problem, he placed two tea lights

roughly 8 inches apart above his television. Why? I have to step out of this one. Mary Jordan, it's on you. 2008, so inception's now, yeah? That's next year. Okay, so he's got this new year's resolution. He's going to get fit and healthy, but something's wrong with his delivery that he's ordered from the internet? Somewhere. Maybe. Could be a magazine, could be anywhere. Two tea lights, eight inches apart.

Sorry, you said on the TV. On top of his television. On top of his television. Mary, do you know that terminology, tea light? I don't know if it's one that I know. You know, there's little, the really little candles that you can... Oh, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. They're in the, like, silver casing, but they're, like, you can get them in supermarkets.

Right, packs of a hundred of these you can get, just little tiny candles. So his Bowflex didn't turn up, so he lit his house like a Scrooge to help. Candlelight vigil for the Bowflex. That's gotta be an album name for some reason. to help. Candlelight vigil for the Bowflex. LAUGHS That's got to be an album name for some reason. Mary, take it, please. I'll take it. On top of your TV,

so something is wrong with the product, and then you light two candles as a vigil. Oh. To the demise of your New Year's resolution. Was it, I mean, the TV element of it must be somewhat involved. I was just thinking like, is this piece of did this piece of equipment short circuit his the power in his house? And then he needed backup.

He has power. He has power. But does it come with like a DVD instructional thing? But actually it's like it's like the wrong. Did he receive the right product? He did receive the right product, but there was something missing from the product that he received. Did he receive a like a printing and encoding of a DVD or something, but it was incorrect encoding and so it was incorrect encoding.

And so it was too dark for that generation of TV. And he had to essentially light it. But they were on top of the TV. So how would that light the image? January 2008 is a new year right after a holiday. OK, yes, right. What might John have received in Christmas of 2007? Was he a good boy, does it say?

Was he celebrating something other than Christmas? This is just like something that might have been received as a gift. He might have bought it for a New Year's resolution. It could be any of those things. It would fit both. And it was exercise equipment? What was the term for it? He is unboxing a package,

ready to start a fun new exercise routine. This is such a well-worded question. Is it a... Because I'm familiar with it, I'm able to give some fun. I'm able to be more fun with this. Is it a Wii Fit? Yes. Yes, okay, cool. Yeah, 2008. All right. Just dance isn't out yet.

Something was wrong with it and he had to light two candles. But was he playing like tennis or whatever? What do you need for a Wii? Wait, why would you use candles? Oh, is the light sensor busted? Yeah. Oh, he just didn't have it at all? He didn't have a sensor bar. Did it work? When he lit the candles? Busted? Yeah. Or he just didn't have it at all? He didn't have a sensor bar. Did it work?

Well, yes. So you guys have it. You just may be missing important information about how a Wiimote functions. Yeah, which I actually had to do this in 2008. I was John. I was John. Me not being a gamer and, I don't know. I once had to rig something like this up to kind of hack a thing with a Wiimote, many, many years ago.

Yes. I mean, I'm a cool jock, as you can probably tell, so this is difficult for me. I was busy playing Red Steel on Wiimote. So all... You guys got it, basically, I feel like I can explain. Yeah, they've got it. They've absolutely got it. So all a Wiimote sensor bar is, is a powered infrared light. It's two powered infrared lights that are six inches or eight

inches apart from one another. And so it's not like a receiver. No, it doesn't have to be connected to anything, by the way. It doesn't have to be connected to the Wii. The connection to the Wii is just provides power. And so the way that a Wii, a Wiimote determines your location is by triangulating it based on its distance from two things that emit the right wavelength of

light. And so a candle satisfies that. And so you can literally just set two candles apart or two infrared lights. There's a number of ways to solve this problem. But if you don't have a sensor bar, you could use a candle as a makeshift sensor bar. I always assumed, I think maybe the gadgetry and whimsy in my child brain was like, there's a guy in the bar, he's catching my thoughts and play. There's a tiny little low-res infrared camera in the front of the Wiimote, that's the dark thing on the front. That's the dark thing on the front.

That's the black thing on the front. So when you point it at the bar, it's literally just picking out the two brightest infrared spots in there and just tracking everything that way. Yeah, it's like, imagine a heat map where it's looking at the right... Like, it's black except for the wavelengths that it's looking for, and then it triangulates its position based on its position and the position of those two lights. Jarvis, I very genuinely did when you said Christmas 2008.

I was like, okay, wait a minute. So I remember playing Melee and there was Obama later. And I was licking up the pieces. And the fitness thing is presumably the Wii Sports and Fitness Games. Yeah, the Wii Fit Balance Board. The last little fun piece of Jarvis trivia I'll offer is my first Facebook profile picture was me, without my face, holding a Wii. Because it was so hard to get a Wii back then.

I was so proud of myself, I needed everyone to know. That's fun. That's like showing off like a... a... expensive watch. It's like a bat. It's like a fish icon. That's all I'm doing with my guitars anyway. Right. I just need to show you my toys. Yeah, wait, those are painted on.

Yeah, it's a green screen, actually. to paint it on. Yeah, it's a green screen, actually. Which just leaves the question from the start of the show. Thank you to Daniel Middleton for sending this one in. When might you show someone your social six? Anyone want to take a guess at that before I give the answer for the audience? It's not MySpace related, is it?

I was going to say it sounds like an old term for the early web 2.0 when there were like a bunch of social networks like in a little bar that you would need to Your social six not your like six top friends or followers or you're like, you know in my space where you could like choose Like your favorite people. Is it the top six friends on like a social network that I'm just not thinking of? This is not a technology question. Oh Is it the top six friends on a social network that I'm just not thinking of? This is not a technology question. Oh.

Not WeFIT. It's not WeFIT, no. Your social six. Is it a social security number slash national insurance number? What sort of action do people perform when they're being sociably polite? Oh. Oh, is it P's and Q's? And similar? Four more? Oh, your social six. Is it like a handshake? No. Your social six. Is it like a checklist of things to be polite, like eye contact and... no. I don't know.

Like protocols? Apologizing profusely if you're English? No, but it might be on that list, Jarvis. Mmm, I see. Oh, I see. Would you have a list of things to do, say, if you did not necessarily know what to do? So it's like instructions of your social six, of like, hey, you need to be doing these things.

No, it would be... Show someone your social six. It would be one of the items on that list. Many people will do this automatically. Others will find it a little more uncomfortable. Eye contact? Handshake? That sort of thing, yes. Saying thank you? Saying please? Introducing yourself.

Is it limited venue-wise? Would you do this at a party and at the office? You would do this anywhere that you're meeting people. But there's something that people are often judged on. The kiss on the cheek, if you're European, versus not European. Getting closer to the right part of the body there. Ooh. The cheeks.

Smile? A hug? Jordan, keep going. body there. Ooh, ooh. The cheeks. Smile? A hug? Jordan, keep going. A smile. Ooh, facial expressions? Showing your teeth? Showing your teeth. Keep going, Mareth.

Your front teeth. Smiling with your front teeth. Your social six. Six. That's great. Yes, your social six is a slang term for the six front teeth in the upper jaw, the ones you show during a polite social smile. It makes them sound like a gang of criminals.

Like, the social six robbed the crown jewels this Thursday. But they're so polite. This is often used in cosmetic dentistry. If someone's getting veneers, they are the ones that people want fixed first. They are the social six. Thank you very much to all of our players. What's going on in your lives? Where can people find you?

We will start with Mary. Well, I make YouTube videos too, about music business and music history, and, you know, all things about being a singer-songwriter. So you just type in maryspender to youtube.com. And I have a debut album out now on Spotify in any way you listen to music called Super Sexy Heartbreak. Jarvis.

You can find me and Jordan on Sad Boys podcast. I've reinstated him as of this recording. YouTube.com slash Sad Boys. We post every week about pop culture and feelings. Check us out. And Jordan. I have passed on Jarvis's invite to come back to the podcast, unfortunately,

having thought about it now. But if you'd like to watch some episodes that I was in, you can head to youtube.com slash sadboys. And if you want to watch previous videos from my channel that I don't do anymore, you can go to youtube.com slash Jordan and Nico. And if you want to know more about this show, you can do that at lateralcast.com, where you can also send in your own ideas for questions. We are at Lateral Cast basically everywhere,

and the regular video highlights at youtube.com slash lateralcast. Thank you very much to Jordan Attica. Thank you for having me. Jarvis Johnson. Thanks, I'm gone now. And Mary Spender. Thank you, very fun. I've been Tom Scott, that's been Lattrong.