Lateral with Tom Scott - 23: Naval gazing

Episode Date: March 17, 2023

'Karen Puzzles' Kavett, Rebecca 'Dr Becky' Smethurst and Stuart 'Ashens' Ashen face questions about medical methods, musical murders, and McDonald's marketing. 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://www.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: Eglė Vaškevičiūtė, Felix, Oliver Forrest, Soos. FORMAT: Pad 26 Limited/Labyrinth Games Ltd. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: David Bodycombe and Tom Scott. © Pad 26 Limited (https://www.pad26.com) / Labyrinth Games Ltd. 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Maori language of New Zealand, which country is known as Wiwi? The answer to that at the end of the show. I'm Tom Scott, and this is Lateral. This week's show introduction was written by Artificial Intelligence, so our three guests are a chicken, a turkey, and a duck. That's not a joke, it was literally written by AI. Our guests are actually Karen from Karen Puzzles. Hello. Hello. Am I the chicken, the duck? What was the other one? Or a turkey. I think it's entirely up to you which one you want to be there. Oh, I'll be the duck. Next up from the YouTube

channel, Dr. Becky, it is Dr. Becky. Yellow. Thank you very much for stepping back into the arena. And finally, from the channel Ashen's, Stuart Ashen. Hello there. Thank you for having me back, Tom. There is a famous quote from Winston Churchill, a riddle wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, which is often misinterpreted as describing Russia in 1939. He was, of course, talking about the questions on this show. So let's see how much blood, toil, tears and sweat

our players needed to answer this. We start with this. In the British Armed Forces, the Royal Air Force and Army both salute with the palm facing forward. Why do members of the Royal Navy salute so their hand is horizontal with the floor? I'll say that one more time. In the British Armed Forces, the Royal Air Force and Army both salute with the palm facing forward. Why do members of the Royal Navy salute so their hand is horizontal with the floor. Is it because it's more aerodynamic

and there's lots of wind on boats? Oh, I love that. I absolutely love it. I feel like big airfields would also have a lot of... But I love the idea that there's just so much drag caused to the boat that it slows the whole thing down. The admirals will sometimes have a spoiler fitted to the back of their hand. I was going to say that when your hand is horizontal,

it looks a little more like a boat. Oh, it can skim through the water. So if you're actually in the water at the time, but still, if you're being dragged behind the boat, but still. Sorry, what I need to do is is stop answering questions like this in my authoritative factor voice because sometimes people believe me um to be clear you do not need to salute someone when you're being dragged behind the boat it's not for aerodynamics but that would be brilliant thank you karen because that was gonna be my next

question was when do the navy salute versus the air force or the Army? Do the Navy still salute to superior officers or do they just salute to royalty? I think it's about the same, isn't it? You know, because if royalty is wandering around on the deck of a ship, they can't stop doing their tasks or something? It's kind of both of those things. It's certainly you're already approaching the right area with that one. You're not quite there, but you're close.

So it's when they salute, perhaps. Not hat-related, is it? Because it's quite near your head. I mean, the salute is the same. Between all the branches of the military, mean, the salute is the same. Between all the branches of the military, they are saluting for the same reason. And to roughly the same kind of higher ranks. Nobility if they happen to visit the ship.

But there's something about the Navy that makes that different. Is it that the Navy think they're better than everybody else? Curse you arrogant naval types For your side salutes Thinking you're better than us I meant the army or the air force Not the dead

I feel like that's a thing I've heard about the marines But also I don't know if that's actually I feel like I'm not going to I'm going to hedge that bet a lot Because I don't want the that's actually... I feel like I'm going to hedge that bet a lot because I don't want the Marines coming after me. Yeah, those berets are scary. Don't insult the Marines.

You're just getting me into more trouble here. Rubbish Navy SEALs as well. I hate all of them. Yes. There is a very practical reason for this. And this is the Royal Navy, right? Not, like, a different country's navy. Yeah.

Yeah. I'd never actually noticed this until it was pointed out to me. Why would you... Yeah, I'm trying to... You're nagging. You're just kind of holding up your hands and trying to salute and figure out what configuration. Is it something to do with the fact that their hands

would have been calloused from ropes, so they weren't allowed to show that to royalty or something? That's interesting. Oh, you're very close with that. It was to save embarrassment, particularly for the junior ranks. It's not callouses from rope, but you are

very, very close. Is it dirty hands from the ropes or something? Were their hands getting all pruney from being... They're not in the water, are they? Pruney. Are they? Not unless it's gone horribly wrong. I was going to say, if you're in the ocean,

there is something wrong with your boat. But again, very, very close. You're nearly there with dirty steel. There's something about that. There's a nickname for sailors in the British Navy. Tar? Tar. You're absolutely right. They're called tars because their hands were often covered in tar from the deck. So it doesn't happen much in modern times, but their hands were often so sticky and covered with tar that for practical and embarrassment reasons, you would salute with

your palm down. My brain went to, oh, does that mean less tar drips off your hand? But I think you'd still end up with just gloops falling, wouldn't you? Yes, the Royal Navy salutes palm downwards so they don't show their tar-dirtied hands to their superior officers. Right, each of our guests has brought a question of their own along. None of the rest of us know the question, none of the rest of us know the answer,

unless we happen to guess it immediately. We're going to start this time with Karen. What have you got for us? A cellist is killed when she is due to travel to an orchestra rehearsal. She is found 20 yards from her house with her cello and bow on her right hand side. She's wearing a white blouse, black miniskirt and a three quarters length coat with a red brooch on it. The coat contains an iPhone, house keys and a debit card.

Why is this scene suspicious? She's dead. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. suspicious. She's dead. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

There was a lot of information in that question. Could you give us that one more time? I would also like to clarify that this is not a true story, so you would not have heard about this in a newspaper. This is just a riddle. Alright. A cellist is killed when she is due to travel to an orchestra rehearsal. She is found 20 yards from her house with her cello and bow on her right hand side.

She is wearing a white blouse, black miniskirt, and a three quarters length coat with a red brooch on it. The coat contains an iPhone, house keys, and a debit card. Why is this scene suspicious? Is this one of those questions where like 90 of the information that question is irrelevant and we have to find one cello based inconsistency in that yeah my brain immediately went to cello on the right hand side don't they hold it on the left like but then why would the cello and bow be on different sides but why wouldn't the bow be in the

the case with the cello why would would the bow be out? Yeah. Maybe she was brandishing it at her attacker like an epi. Cello as a shield. Cello sword fighting. Actually, if that doesn't exist, two cellos will be doing that on YouTube at some point. With tubaists in the background kind of going like, so that everything sounds like a lightsaber.

Sound like lightsabers, yeah. Get stabbed by the cello. I don't know what musical instrument that was, I just mimed, but somehow I mimed it that as you let go of it, it makes a lower note. I don't think there's a single instrument in the world that does that. A trombone does. You let go

and it went It's just a steadily depleting trombone. Yeah. Also this is so off topic we need to get back on this woman who's been found.

Is it one of those weird riddles I remember a riddle that my dad always used to say where it was like there's a plane crash and it crashes on the border like where do they

bury the survivors and you're like oh you don't bury survivors. Is it like this woman has been found, but she's not the cellist who was killed? Or something? No, this woman was

the person who was killed. Oh, was it suspicious because she was wearing a black miniskirt and with cellist you open your legs to play it? Ding, ding, ding! You got it! Yeah, that's the only thing. A cellist wouldn't wear a mini skirt if they were going to perform. Yeah, of course.

So it was, there was one cello-based inconsistency in the question, and you got it. It literally triggers that exact thing in my brain, Tom. I was like, yeah, what is so inconsistent about that scene? I was like, the clothes she's wearing. So the answer is just that a cellist wouldn't wear a miniskirt if they were on their way to perform. Next question is from me. Here we go. In 2018, what did a Californian branch of McDonald's do

to display their support for International Women's Day? I'll give that one more time. In 2018, what did a Californian branch of McDonald's do to display their support for International Women's Day. I'll give that one more time. In 2018, what did a Californian branch of McDonald's do to display their support for International Women's Day? Um, Rhonda McDonald the Clown? Yes. I saw a thing, like, somewhere on the internet archive, someone has uploaded the brand manual for Ronald McDonald from, like, the 70s or 80s, whenever the character was invented.

And it looks like one of those fake, like weird, dystopian, horror movie, like unsettling character designs, because that's what all of those were based on. Like it says something like, here's all the good things that people associate with clowns. Nothing. Shortlist. Just doesn't read right in in the 21st century just really really doesn't um also i think i know the answer to this one so i am going to

sit back all right all right stewart karen this is up to you two that's difficult because i don't have a clue um so okay i had a first thought that might be extremely objectifying towards women, but since I'm a woman, maybe I'm allowed to say it. Did they put a little dot in each of the arches in the M to make them look like boobs? If they didn't, they missed a trick. That's astonishing. If they didn't, they missed a trick. That's astonishing.

So, at the risk of giving a clue that's way, way, way too early in this, you are vaguely along the right lines. It was a visual change. It was not that specific visual change. Oh, well, then I'm completely wrong then. Because my guess was that, you know's the way the gender pay gap of like a dollar to like 70 cents in the us or something i thought for every woman that came in they charged like 70 percent of the cost of the burger no unfortunately so the good news is you're back in the question the bad news is we do slightly mock you for the overconfidence yeah Yeah. Although, to be fair, that's what McDonald's should have done.

Rather than making boobs out of golden arches. Did they just put a bra on the end? That'd be amazing. Oh my God. I sort of regret asking this question now. It's way less

potentially controversial than any of those. Hang on. If it was a visual change, was my original guess of Rhonda McDonald right? No, no. But a wig on Rhonda McDonald. Wait, hang on, hang on.

I just had an idea. Did they flip the M around to make it a W for women? Yes, they did. That's exactly right. Well done. Yep, a branch in Linwood, California told the Golden Archers upside down, which must have been a hell of a thing to do

because they're probably not designed to go that way, to make it a W. They also did it in the logo profile picture on social media accounts, everything like that. But one specific branch actually flipped the Golden Archers upside down. Classic, performative with no real impact. Yeah, I'm sure that really helped women everywhere.

Yeah. We finally felt represented in the McDonald's logo. For this entire day, all the burgers will be made of female cows. And all cows female? No. Heifers and bulls, right? Cow is the animal and heifers and bulls. and all cows female no heifers and bulls cow is the

cow is the animal and heifers and bulls but all meat I've been pedanted I've been pedanted most meat that you eat is male though right

because the females are kept for dairy industry oh so to make the burgers out of female cows would have been stupid

I just got comprehensively out pedanted on a terrible joke. Sorry. That is what this show is about. I'm not really complaining. Just well done. Oh, you finally met your master.

I thought it was bulls and cows. I just didn't know. So yes, in 2018, a Californian branch of McDonald's flipped their M upside down as a publicity stunt for International Women's Day. Our next question is from Becky. Take it away. First of all, I want to preface this with,

this has actually happened to me, so I was very weirded out with this question. Enid takes a vitamin pill and a painkiller once a day. She has two of each type left. However, she spills all four tablets on the floor and they look identical how can she take her meds now without getting some more meds say that again enid takes a vitamin pill and a painkiller once a day she has two of each type left however she spills all four tablets on the

floor and they look identical how can she take her meds now without getting more meds? I'm glad you said look identical because immediately my brain went, oh, that's fine, you can just type the codes onto them, into the internet and you can get pill identifiers for various purposes. Not that I'd know anything about that. I mean, you could take one and see if your pain goes away, and then you would know if it was a painkiller. But then you have three left.

Yeah. And two of them are vitamins, and one is another painkiller. Then how would you know which one is the... Yeah, I mean, that's the rest of the question. I mean, I guess there's no way to take a vitamin and know if you're healthier. Yeah, sorry. My brain went, oh, yeah, that's obvious. to take a vitamin and know if you're healthier. Yeah, sorry. My brain went, oh, yeah, that's obvious. No, that doesn't help at all.

You've still got three mystery pills left there. That convinced me that was the answer for a moment there, Karen. Sorry. They look identical. They don't make a sound. Do they smell or taste different? No. Lick the pills.

That's taken out of context. Oh, I hate questions like this, where there's got to be a logical... This feels like one of those maths puzzles, where it's like, there's a hundred prisoners, and you do this, and... Yeah. Or like the classic, like, game show one with the doors,

that everyone gets the statistics wrong. Yes, yeah. Oh, the Monty Hall problem? Monty Hall problem, yeah. But it's not like that. Yes. Yeah. Oh, the Monty Hall problem? Monty Hall problem. Yeah. But it's not like that. That's something. And the pills are completely randomised at this point. She's not dropped, like,

one of those weekly pill organisers or something. There's nothing in the question you've conveniently forgotten to tell us. All right. No, it's four random pills on the floor. She doesn't know which one's which. There's a method that she can use that doesn't require her to tell the pills apart and she's got to avoid taking two painkillers one day and two vitamins the other oh this is i'm gonna kick myself when you when we get this

you are i mean could she take a pill every 12 hours and then maybe it wouldn't matter as much which one is which but I guess then she could still take two painkillers in a row. I mean it's not life-threatening apparently so she could but there is a way that she can take the right amount of medication that she needs to.

This is infuriating I'm just juggling pills in my head. They are chalk type tablets tablets, it says here. So I presume they're not, you know, the tubes. Oh! She can dissolve them. She can put all four pills into water and then drink half the water.

If they're chalk-type pills, I mean, I don't know if that affects the medication, but if you dissolve or just crush them together. Crush them together. There we go. She could crush them. She also doesn't have to be that destructive. So crushing

them is one way, but there's another less destructive way that she could do it. Oh, cut them in half. Cut them in half, exactly. Cut each pill in half. Each pill in half. Yep, because half. Exactly. Cut each pill in half. Each pill in half. Yep.

Because then you are taking exactly one pill. That, I was right. I was going to kick myself. That's infuriating. Yep. So if she just cuts every single pill in half and has a half of every single pill, she will have one painkiller and one vitamin tablet and have one painkiller and one vitamin tablet left

for the next day. I hate hate that question congratulations to whoever wrote that question i hate it did did you say you'd literally done this yeah i've literally done this where um there's like some i can't remember what it was but it was something that looked like a little um like the pill like a birth control pill and it fell on the floor. And I was like, which one is it? The next question's from me, and thank you to Oliver Forrest for sending this in. Why does the field of the California Golden Bears American football team have one more line next to each end zone compared to any other college football field in the USA? I'll give you that one more time. Why does the field of the California Golden Bears American football team have one more line next to each end zone

compared to any other college football field in the USA? In which direction? Like, beyond the end zone? Like, further past it? Or, like, on the field of play? It's a very, very good question, that is, and I'm going to just not answer that immediately. Okay. Or is it, like, tram lines I'm going to just not answer that immediately. Okay.

Or is it like tram lines or it's just like two lines? Because, like, it's a really tall stadium and they can't see thin lines from the very top of the ground, so they made it thicker. I can't believe there's an American question and it's about football, which I know literally nothing about. Yeah, sorry. This is an American question and it's about football, which I know literally nothing about. Sorry, it's an American football question going to two British people and someone American who knows nothing about sport. I don't think you need to know much about sport to answer this question.

I've been to two NFL games in London. I consider myself slightly qualified to answer this question. consider myself slightly qualified to answer this question. I mean, is it specific that it's in California or is it just the fact that it's one team that is doing this? Oh, I think you're onto the right lines with California there. No pun intended. I was going to say something like it was the first football stadium and they hadn't quite figured out the dimensions yet, but California probably wouldn't be the first because it was like the last state that they got to almost. Also, can I just say the fact that college football is a thing at all

and that like tens of thousands of people go watch uni kids just like running around a field is madness to me. Yeah, it's really weird. I've been to LSU Stadium. It's bigger than Wembley And full every week there's a game. It's just really weird as a concept. Like people who played football at uni, like, you know, football, football,

you know, they'd just be so hungover from the previous night. You'd just watch it like 22 hungover lads just run around a pitch. Oh yeah, I remember the athletic union at my old university. Like, they were good, they competed, and that was not an important part of their lives

compared to, like, the university part. I think that's also a sport difference thing because you can scout soccer players at, like, age, I don't know, like, early teens, maybe eight, ten. You can tell someone's got talent that early. Whereas for, I don't know, like early teens, maybe eight, 10, something. You can tell someone's got talent that early. Whereas for, I think for NFL, you've got to wait until someone is in their late teens before you can go, okay,

they're definitely going to be a good player. So I think it might be, it's partly just that America is a bit weird, but I think that's also one of the reasons. You've now got me wondering how that correlates with rugby as well. Yeah. But anyway, California. So it's specific correlates with rugby as well. Yeah. But anyway, California.

So it's specific to something to do in California. Yeah, and you don't need to know about sport. All right, well, I've drawn a little diagram. I don't think this is going to help at all. Is it because it's very bright sunlight in California, so there's too much reflection or too little one line or no I'm still on they're making the lines thicker and it's probably not that like this was my original question how far beyond the line is this new line it's it's not to do with the sport and it's it's not is it the

California coastline? Like down the edge of it or something? Sorry, I thought you meant literally that the stadium was overhanging the coastline there for a moment. No, no, no, no. Have they like... It's a new element of danger. Yes.

If you step over this line and jump too high, you might fall through this place below. You know, we don't... No, no, no. I thought it was decorative. Like, it's kind of like a California represent. Here's, like, the outline of California line.

Unfortunately not. You are actually a little bit closer than you might otherwise be there. It's certainly to do with something Californian and something geographic. Oh, is it the San Andreas fault line? Oh, yes. Yes, it is.

What? Well, it's the Haywood fault line, which is part of that whole network. You're right. They have just drawn the fault line onto the pitch. It's not a straight line. It's actually two parts of the same zigzag fault that goes through. But they just decided to add it as an additional line onto the field. Of course they did. Good for them. Yeah, they've spent millions

making the stadium and the campus safe because they built it on an active fault line, which as building decisions go, is very California. Well, now I've got a fun new piece of California trivia for all of my friends. Yeah, I'll give you another one. The stadium's built in two halves so that if the fault moves, it won't fall apart. Just build it up the road, lads. Come on. But yes, the additional line on the California Golden Bears field is the Haywood. So part of the San Andreas fault. There is an earthquake testing lab at San Diego University that when I visited,

they were using. So it was like a shake plate that would shake the whole ground. And I was like, oh God. I was like, oh, it's an earthquake. And people were like, oh, it's fine. Don't worry, there's earthquake testing. And I was like, but how do you know that it's part of the testing and not a real earthquake? One of my main uses for Twitter is just to find out if there was actually an earthquake or if it was just like a heavy truck going by. There's a famous story about a professor who was on the phone to someone,

this is like 1970s, 80s, on the phone to someone at another California university. Suddenly heard the person they were on the phone to go, earthquake, and put the phone down. At which point he paused, walked up, went into the next room and said, I think we'll do an earthquake about now. Because he knew how long the waves would take

to transit between that university and timed it just so he'd go in as the shaking started. It's probably apocryphal. I just really like the story. They now think he's a god. He got tenure. I curse this place to an earthquake.

Can I have a 10% pay rise, please? Our last question comes from Stuart. When are you ready? Right. This listener question was sent in by Suze. Suze.

In the game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, players can summon other characters to assist in a fight. Which character cannot be summoned when the battle takes place in the Wii Fit Studio?

I'll run that through again. Please do. In the game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, players can summon other characters to assist in a fight. Which character cannot be summoned when the battle takes place in the Wii Fit studio? My lack of video game knowledge keeps being shown up in quizzes like this.

This will have gone out by the time this airs. I was on the alumni version of University Challenge this year, which, lovely, great. You've done that as well, right? Yeah, I've done it as well. It's so much fun. I got a frozen question in two seconds and that's my proudest moment in life.

Yeah, I got a sorting question, like computer sorts in like two seconds, which is great. But there was also a question about video games and it was which Nintendo console came out in 2002, in short. And all of our team just looked at each other and went, nope. I'm like, it's the one after the N64, it's the one before the Wii. I can't remember the name of it and I know damn well that everyone will be screaming that at me because of course I should know. Nothing. And i know super smash brothers is a fighting game we had a question on it oh god i need to know nintendo characters now yeah it's mostly nintendo characters yeah yeah

i was about to say i think i know about five um mario characters so toad yoshi browser peach saving them all now not all the characters in the game are necessarily from nintendo developed properties oh all right so that's made it worse for you so we need to name a video game character that would not be so we need to name a video game character that would not be in so we we fit was the game where it's just a fitness studio that used the wii tracker right exactly yep yep the uh so we need someone who would not turn up in a like gymnasium i guess yes yeah it's a gymnasium yeah yeah well so either that i thought sort of somebody wasn't, but then also some, like, a character that can't leave water or air or something like that. Like, they can't be inside.

Of it was, like, the only indoor stage. No, I believe there's more than one indoor stage. This is the only one a certain character can't be summoned to. I'm just running through any Nintendo characters I know now. But it's not Super Mario. It's Sonic? Nintendo? Just heard a thousand fanboys die there.

Don't worry, I won't. Although, saying that, technically Nintendo now do actually distribute Sega's games. Okay. Oh God, you've asked a video game question to three people who don't know video games, Stuart. Yeah. It's like, I once called Patrick Stewart Magneto and...

LAUGHTER Everybody knows he was Yoda. Come on. LAUGHTER Yeah, with... No, carry on. I was just going to keep that shit going, Yeah, with this... No, carry on. I was just going to keep that shit going, but it's just going to annoy more and more people as we go on.

Perhaps think more about the location. Think more about the location at first rather than a specific character. It's a fitness studio. It's a gymnasium. It's something like that. It is, yeah. So is it someone who's got an allergy to like fitness? Could it be like a baby or someone who can't walk

or someone who can't like move on their own? You want to fight a baby? A character that's like... Yeah, now that I say that, maybe not. No, but I wouldn't put it past Smash Brothers to let you do that. I mean, what do they have in a gym? What are some common fixtures in a gym?

Treadmills, wipes. I don't know. I haven't seen the inside of a gym. Me neither. But I've got the answer. Oh, what kind of gym? Like a school gymnasium or like a workout gym or like a sports gym. Like a gymnastics gym where you've got like horses and, you know.

Yes, more of it well i keep specifically a sort of keep fit gym with all the standard treadmills and things you would do everything you would do in we fit basically is it just a character who is extremely unfit no nothing to do with that huh was that on the right lines with like they can't be inside. Oh my God, is this a Pokemon joke? No, no. Okay. No, nothing Pokemon related at all. I know Pokemon has like gymnasiums,

or gyms is where they fight. And I was like, is that? No, okay. And Ash finally won the other day. Oh, I was so excited. That's taken him 20 years, but he worked up to it. And the rest. 25, isn't it? Also, this can't be a main character right

because it's someone you summon correct yeah so it's not gonna be one of the actual fighting characters it's gonna be like a support character who oh i can't remember how smash brothers works like that but that's not super relevant. Okay. Sorry, super relevant, brothers. So this, when we're talking about gym fixtures, think about the walls of the gym. Oh God, none of us have been in a gym for a while. You're asking us a fitness and video games question to a bunch of nerds, Stuart. Wait, mirrors.

Oh my God, is it a vampire? Is it a vampire? Because there are mirrors. Wait, mirrors. Oh my God, is it a vampire? Is it a vampire? Because there are mirrors. Oh, yes. Yes, it is. In fact, I think I'm going to give you that. We're not going to name any Nintendo vampires. No, not a Nintendo vampire.

Technically a Konami vampire. No, you are correct with vampire. Basically, the character Elucard is in it, who is Dracula's son, first appeared in Castlevania III, Dracula's Curse in 1992. Facts. But he's the hero of Castlevania Symphony of the Night,

which is a big one, and he cannot be summoned to the Wii Fit studio because they have mirrors. And I don't know why he won't go in. Perhaps he just hates not seeing his own reflection. I'll bet it's because the developers couldn't be bothered to code an exception for him appearing in the mirror. This is distinctly possible,

because I believe there is a stage where you see his reflection in the floor. So you could be onto something there. You see, Twilight has just erased all traditional vampire lore for me. I'm like, I don't even think about the fact they wouldn't be seen in mirrors i just thought they'd sparkle you know so no sparkly bless him would anybody like to guess because this is one of my favorite things would anybody like to guess what alucard's actual first name is because alucard is like an alias he

uses his real surname is tepez as vlad Dracul, but his first name is... Jeff. You're not far off. You're genuinely not far off. Begins with A. Alan. Oh, so close! Adam.

Oh, nearly, did he? A.D.? Adrian. There we go. His real name is Adrian Tevez. Because it was very prosaic. He didn't come in with a vampire name. It's semantically close, you know?

Yeah. But his middle name is Fahrenheit, so his full name is Adrian Fahrenheit Tevez. Which never fails to make me laugh. Oh, bless. So in the game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate You cannot summon Alucard to the Wii Fit studio Because he doesn't like the mirrors

One last order of business then At the start of the show I asked a question that was sent in by Felix Thank you very much In the Maori language of New Zealand What country is known as Wiwi? Does anyone want to take a shot from the panel? France? Yes, yes.

Yes, absolutely right. It is... Yeah, you're absolutely right. The Maori took Wiwi from the French, yes, yes, as the name for France. Congratulations, you just got that immediately. Thank you, I think. So with that, thank you very much too uh let's start with

stewart what have you got going on well if you want to find my stuff just google ashen's ash ens and you will find everything i do in some way shape or form thank you very much to dr becky tell us what's going on with you uh you'll find me on youtube dr becky is my channel where every week i post a video about space, which is really fun. And then I also have a book called A Brief History of Black Holes that is out now. If you want to check that out. And Karen? And you can find me on YouTube and other social media sites as Karen Puzzles.

And I also just released my own puzzle in partnership with Ravensburger. It is called Puzzles on Puzzles, and you can get it on Amazon. Thank you very much to all of you for joining us. If you want to know more about the show, or you want to submit an idea for a question, then our website is lateralcast.com. You can find us at Lateral Cast pretty much everywhere, and there are video highlights every week at youtube.com slash lateralcast. Thank you very much to Karen. Thank you. It was so fun. To Stuart. Thank you.

And to Becky. Thank you. Bye. I'm Tom Scott, and this has been Lateral.