Lateral with Tom Scott - 63: Upside-down riches

Episode Date: December 22, 2023

Hannah Fry, Lily Hevesh and Brian David Gilbert face questions about desperate decrees, crowded ceremonies and rebalanced records. 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. RECORDED AT: The Podcast Studios, Dublin. EDITED BY: Julie Hassett. MUSIC: Karl-Ola Kjellholm ('Private Detective'/'Agrumes', courtesy of epidemicsound.com). ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS: Sam Riley, Darcy, Phillip Hodgson, Sean Sandquist, Gabin Monchaux, Chris Dickson. 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 1981, why did 300,000 people turn up for a funeral ceremony when no one had died? The answer to that at the end of the show. My name's Tom Scott, and this is Lateral. Right, take 5 factorial, integrate that with respect to x, add Graham's number, divide by pi equals three. Yeah, we've got three guests, we are good to go. And those three guests are, first of all, someone who in the pre-game chat suggested that he should be described as writer and YouTuber and whatever, I guess. Please welcome Brian David Gilbert.

Hello. Welcome to the show. You are one of three first-time players today. How are you feeling about being on the show? I'm gonna crush it. I'm gonna absolutely destroy, and I'm here to win and nothing else. Not be entertaining, not be fun, just very competitive and angry the entire time. Aren't you doing some appearances on Dropout right now? I feel like this is more of a competitive vibe than I'd normally get from you, Ben. Yeah, you're right. I think it's just it's slowly been seeping into my psyche

over the course of however many game shows things I've been doing. Well, thank you very much for joining us. Good luck today. Next up, we have professional domino artist and YouTuber Lily Hivesh. How are you doing? I'm doing amazing. I'm so excited. I don't know the most about Tributa, but you know, I think we're going to work together and get some good stuff, so it's going to be fun. Yeah, this is absolutely a show where if you think of an answer that might be completely off-base,

completely ridiculous, say it anyway, because if it's wrong, it probably will set something off in someone else's head. I have to ask, like, domino artist, there aren't that many people who can claim to have that level of success with what you're doing. How often are you spending like days now on the ground, just racking up dominoes? Yeah. You know, it varies. Like sometimes I'll be on the floor for like five days a week, just like setting up really intense. But then there's other weeks where I'm

literally not even touching a domino. I'm just on my computer like planning things emails calls like that admin kind of stuff so it varies all right well very best of luck today our last player is mathematician hannah fry who i last saw we did we last meet was it then was it the christmas lectures we i think we've seen each other since then haven't we yeah? Yeah, we have. I think that's where I seem to remember being on a bus with you somewhere in Alabama, in the middle of nowhere.

Very tired. I think you'd been on about day 580 away from home. Yeah, it was exhausted travelling through Huntsville, Alabama. That was it. The last time the world saw us on the same place that was the Christmas lectures a while back how are you doing what are you working on at the moment um oh gosh all sorts of things I'm writing a new book

um I have just finished making a new uh series for the BBC um called uh Secret Genius I've got a new podcast that's out I mean lots of lots of things, lots of things, Todd. Too many to mention. All right. Good luck to all three of our players. Looking at my wristwatch, it looks like Mickey Mouse is telling me it's puzzle o'clock. So let's get going with question one. Paul Brown earned over $13 million by working out how to turn something upside down. What was it? I'll give you that one more time. Paul Brown earned over $13 million by working out how to turn something upside down. What was it? It was a lottery ticket, and he had originally written the number six, but then he flipped it over to a nine, and then that was the winning number, and that's how he won all that money.

And then that was the winning one. And that's how he won all that money. What about an aircraft? Like, so, I mean, I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but aircraft can fly upside down. And the first person to have done that must have been like worth a lot of money. Hold on. I know aircraft can do barrel rolls.

I've been in an aircraft doing a barrel roll. I did not know aircraft could fly upside down. Yeah, well, this is the whole thing. That's the whole reason why aerodynamicists get really, you know, hoity-toity with each other, arguing about Bernoulli versus Newton, because all the Bernoulli people are like, oh, it's because pressure and speed, and that's the reason why aircraft can fly. And then the Newton people are like, how come planes can fly upside down? I like, I mean, I've never been in one when it flew upside down, but I recommend it.

It's fun. Wait, Hannah, I'm sorry. I just want to double check that you are saying that like actual aerodynamic physicists are like, I guess planes can do it. And they're just,

and we're all just cool with that. We're all just like a hundred percent fine with that. Yes. Okay. I'll drive, I guess, everywhere from here on out. No one really knows how planes fly. And I have a PhD in aerodynamics. That's the official line.

That makes me feel great. That makes me feel super, super good. I feel like it's something that it's like, you turn it upside down, but it's like something unexpected, but like makes total sense. Like you wouldn't think of it, but it's like, oh yeah, obviously, you turn it upside down, but it's like something unexpected, but like makes total sense. Like you wouldn't think of it, but it's like, oh yeah, obviously, you know? Yeah, almost certainly all three of you will have seen this thing, both right side up and upside down.

So it's something very common. Yeah, most Western households will have this product or will know someone who has this. So you reckon I've got one in my house? I think there's like a 50-50 chance that you've got something like this in your house. Is it like in the bathtub when you turn the knob and you like turn it upside down? I don't know. Something like that. Someone pushed too far and found that it still worked and made the water warmer and it was nice if okay i when you first said that it's an every western household that that stopped my original

idea but i'm still gonna say was it the inventor of uh oh my god why am i the hourglass that's what the term is is it just oh then I was like, every western household every weird alchemist in the world still having their hourglasses ready to go, and I was like there's no way you made 13 million dollars or whatever it was off of just being like, hey, check this out

isn't that fun? Man, I can use my hourglass more than once now Exactly, it was single use for the first centuries of it. It was wild. I mean, to be fair, the timepieces that predated hourglasses were like candle clocks, right?

Which essentially were single use. So I mean, I'm into it. Okay, wait, Tom, can I ask a question? Yeah. When you have it in your house, do you only ever have it one way up? Yes, in this case. For this new, improved version of it. Improved version?

You're absolutely right. Like, between you, you've honed in that this is definitely an invention. Hmm. I don't know why my brain is going to, like, food that's stuck in a container, I don't know why my brain is going to like food that's stuck in a container, but then you spin it around so then it can come out easily, you know, something like that. Or like shampoo that's at the end of the bottle. And then you have to like get all the rest of it out. Yes.

Wait, really? I don't know where that came from, Lily. Oh, wait. What? Where on earth that sudden bolt from the blue came from? Oh my God. You're going to have to nail it down a little bit more than that. Hang on.

Is it ketchup? The upside down ketchup bottle? Yes, it is. Okay. I have a story about that. I have a good friend. His name is Joseph's Machines. He does like Rube Goldberg type stuff.

And he made a machine that like spins around like a giant fan, I think. And it has ketchup attached to it. And that gets all the ketchup out. I think that was just in the back of my brain. Amazing. Yes, you're absolutely right. It was Paul Brown, 1991. He designed a valve that would allow shampoo bottles

to sit upside down in the shower so you could squeeze out just the right amount. And that was eventually sold to Heinz. And eventually he sold his company for $13 million. And also super, I just want to say, definitely deserved all that money because that is extremely important in my personal life. I really care a lot about that invention. That's very important to me.

I can't believe I didn't think about it. The main thing that I'm thinking about now, though, Tom, I've got to be honest, is your estimate that only 50% of Western households have ketchup. I think that, I think, I stand by that number. I guess about 50%. Hang on, hang on. Let's do a study here. Lily and Brian, do you have ketchup in your house?

You know, it's funny. I actually don't really like ketchup, except on hamburgers and hot dogs. So I have one singular ketchup packet that I got from Wendy's. That's it. Also, there's still some people who are going to buy

the old school glass bottles. Yeah, that's true. That's true. This is very true. They're the same people that have hourglasses in their house. It's the same exact Venn diagram there. Each of our guests has brought a question

along with them. I think after that, Lily, we're going to go with your question first, whenever you're ready. Sure. So this question was sent in by Philip Hodgson. And the question is, why are children all around the world grateful that Eric McMillan looked at a jar of pickled onions in the 1970s. One more time. Why are children all around the world grateful that Eric McMillan looked at a jar of pickled onions in the 1970s? Is he the guy who invented Monster Munch? I don't believe so.

Okay, Lily, I don't know whether that's transatlantic. That definitely isn't, but I have been in the UK and I have to say I'm so upset that I can't get pickled onion monster munch in America. Sorry, if we can't talk about that brand's name. I don't know if that's... How do we translate that, Brian? Like between us, we both spent time in both countries.

How do you translate pickled onion monster munch to that side of the Atlantic? Like, I'm not worried about Australia. Australia will have something equally... Disgusting. I was going to go with tangy, but let's go with equally mouth puckering. So Lily, have you ever tried them?

Pickled onions? Pickled onion monster munch. No. What is monster munch? I actually don't know what that is. Monster munch are like maize snacks, like corn snacks, in the shape of monsters, ostensibly.

Monster feet, specifically. Monster feet, yes. So it's just like, it's like if you took a really cheap corn chip and then just covered it in onion and vinegar flavouring so much that you kind of go... when you eat it. It sort of leaves you with ulcers. Yeah. Also, I think that

when you just... It's an intense flavour and I want to say that the texture specifically, it's like, what if you took a normal cheese doodle and you made it painful? It's just like, what if it was harder and sharper? Like, what if you took it and then you eat it and it feels like you're chewing glass? But also, you want to.

It's the best. I love it. They are amazing. It's the savoury equivalent of Cap'n Crunch. Okay, got it. Sounds like it's for certain people. Oh, yeah. I kind of assume that this is a British question because we have pickled onions, the 1970s, and a bloke called Eric.

And I just feel like this is a British thing. Yeah, it could be considered yes. Okay, so what else looks like pickled onions and they're telling like miniature onions. I don't know what the technical term for those is. Silver skin onions or something like that.

Small balls in a jar. Yeah, small balls in a jar of murky looking fluid. Is there anything like that that schoolchildren are used to seeing? Or some cartoon character that's based around that? I don't know. Schoolchildren specifically. So parents are actually grateful that he looked at this jar too.

Looked at? Seems like such a strange yeah it's got to be visual inspiration for like something that he designed invented made yes you're on the right track did he invent the first uh one of those like plastic ball pits that you find in like the weird little playgrounds in yeah that that's it that was so fast yeah it inspired me to create the ball pit wow shooting from the hip i cannot believe that that okay wait a second though why are parents grateful for this it feels like that's a thing that kids get lost in all the time. Like, I feel like you just, you throw your kid in there, and then they come out in maybe four hours if you're lucky.

I don't know. And weirdly, smelling of pickled onions. Yeah, yeah. As someone who has a child, I can confirm that those ball pits are genuinely the most disgusting places on earth. If you want to catch a disease, you just throw your kid into the ball pit. It's done. The end. I guess someone had to invent the ball pit i i i kind of thought that would be an earlier

thing the 1970s but of course they're plastic it's not like before cheap plastics came along you could have a ball pit okay yeah i did think about that in my head i was like surely in the 1920s people were having fun in ball pits. But no, I now, I think that is a difficult thing. They were made of glass and then they were made of asbestos and finally we got safe ball pits.

And apparently there's ball pits with bars. Like they have a bar, a ball pit in London, apparently. Yeah, it's called Bally Ballison and I just hate it just on principle for that name. What? For adults? In Shoreditch, there is a ball pit bar. Oh my god.

You're going to need a tetanus jab to even went to that building. Are you allowed to bring your drinks into the ball pit? Because that seems like a disaster. I feel like it's kind of kind of a requirement at that point oh my god but yeah great guest brian the english inventor eric mcmillan is sometimes referred to as the father of soft play and his pioneering designs

appeared in play areas in the u.s canada and beyond the idea for the ball pit uh it was hit to him when he went to the kitchen one day, and he later said, there was a jar of onions, and we were sort of saying, wow, how about if you crawl through those? The first ball pit was in San Diego, and it contained 40,000 balls. And also as a side note, the London nightclub, Bally Balerson has the ball pit for adults, and it contains over 1 million balls, which are actually regularly cleaned. Oh, what do they mean by regularly, though? I've been out in short-ips.

They're disinfected with alcohol. Unfortunately, it's just whatever spills out of the shots. You just have to hope that someone's ordering pure grain alcohol every night, and that's it. I'm sorry, the first ball pit had 40,000 balls in it? 40,000, yep. That is really calling your shot. I don't know.

I'm not sure that's that many, because that's a volume calculation. That's got a cubed in it. And I'm not sure if you get 40,000, that's actually going to fill that much space. Depends on the size of the balls though. Well, yes. Many, many years ago, back when I was a student because of course this was back when I was a student,

a friend of mine threw a party where they filled their living room with polystyrene balls to make like a beach party. Like the packing beads, the tiny ones. And it required so many more than they thought it would. Like they did the maths. I was like, oh no, we need to order sacks and sacks and sacks of this. And then they had to clean them up somehow.

Was it worth it? Yeah, it was totally worth it. It was amazing. The next question was sent in by Gammon Monchaux. Thank you very much. The small French town of Cugnot had a storage problem. So in 2007, they passed a law that prohibited its citizens from aggravating this situation. The townsfolk dearly wanted to obey this law, but often violated it. What was banned? I'll say that again.

The small French town of Cugnot had a storage problem. So in 2007, they passed a law that prohibited its citizens from aggravating the situation. The townsfolk dearly wanted to obey this law, but often violated it. What was banned? That's interesting that they dearly wanted to, but then couldn't.

That's kind of interesting. Yeah. So it sounds like it's sort of against... Yeah. What could you really, really want to adhere to, So it sounds like it's sort of against, yeah. What could you really, really want to adhere to? But then just, did they not adhere to it because they were like weak-willed? Or was it something that they didn't have autonomy over? Was it just like purely they were like, nobody can buy Funko Pops anymore.

And they're like, but the new ones just came out. I really need to get them. I got to build my collection. And they were just so upset about it. That's what I feel like. I realize this question is not about Funko Pops, but could anyone explain to me why anyone collects those things? Or like grabs them?

I just, I do not understand the appeal. Yeah, this is a different lateral thinking puzzle, which is- I mean, they look cool. Okay, the French equivalent of Funko Pops. What about, is it to do with cheese? Or bread. Okay. I really want to not have cheese, but I just couldn't help myself.

There's another show I do called Technical Difficulties with a group of friends. And we got into the habit of going down the French stereotype route for jokes very often. And we just had a thing where the wheel would spin of which country we're going to offend that day. And it would land on France. Because the wheel always lands on France. Because the wheel is 90% France. And just for a moment, I feel like I'm back in that show. Because I did not expect a cheese joke to suddenly appear.

Look, we talk about storage in France. It has to be. a cheese joke to suddenly appear. Look, we're talking about storage in France. It has to be. We've got to bring it up. Yeah. If you have your big cheese wheels, you've got to make sure

you have spaces to put them. I feel like that's a totally legitimate answer. It is a totally legitimate answer, but unfortunately, not the correct one. Is it something where the storage itself

ends up multiplying? So, like, let's say that some people in France got hold of some rabbits and then they were like, we desperately don't want to have any more rabbits. The rabbits are overtaking us,

but then the rabbits are just, they've got a mind of their own. Is there something about the storage, the thing that was being stored, multiplying? There isn't, but storage is a somewhat flexible word in this question. Oh, okay. I wonder if it goes against their culture or the way they go about life

because they couldn't do it. Was it they could do it or they couldn't? They dearly wanted to obey this law, but often violated it. Okay, this often violated it. Okay. This is a stretch, but when you say that storage is a bold, or is a very open-ended term here, was it sewage storage?

Were they told not to poop anymore? No. In a way that will seem terrible when the answer is revealed, you are slightly closer, but only very slightly. Okay, only very slightly. Early on, someone said whether this was a thing that they had any control over. They were not willfully disobeying this.

It wasn't a self-control issue. It wasn't a self-control issue. Okay. Just like, I didn't mean to do it, but I did it. What about, like, houses? Is it a population question? And then they keep accidentally having babies.

Um, I, I, very definitely not. Very, very definitely not. You could not be further away with that one, and yet. What's the opposite of having

babies? Dying. Oh, it's the symmetry! It's the symmetry. Oh, okay. There you go. It really was the opposite of having babies.

I knew that was going to be too much of a clue there, but there wasn't anything else I could do with that. Yeah. Now you know when you said, like, sewage, I was like, no. But it is kind of a bodily function thing. It is kind of, like, something that isn't going to come back out the ground. Yeah. Bodily waste. Bodily waste.

Bodily waste, but just a different definition. Yeah, the town ran out of space at both cemeteries. There's a water table that's too high. The only land available was owned by the French Ministry of Defence, who said no. So unless you already had a tomb arranged for the future, the town passed an attention-seeking law that said it was illegal

to die there. Now, in practice, this is not a law that was meant to be enforced. It was deliberately absurd. But that was what they pushed through. Things did eventually improve in 2017 with a new site, but

the law has not been repealed. That's a really fun way to go out if you're like a super rebellious person. Like if I knew I was on my last legs, I would fly there and then just be like, one final screw you to the rest of the world for getting an illegal death. Next question is from Brian.

Take it away. Yes. This question has been sent in by Sean Sandquist. There is a one to one billion scale model of the solar system, nearly six kilometers in length along Melbourne's coastline.

Which other scale object is a short walk from the model sun and why is it there? There is a one to one billion scale model of the solar system nearly six kilometers in length along melbourne's coastline which other scale object is a short walk from the model sun and why is it there which other scale object is it at the same scale is it one to one billion as well it is yeah huh okay so then it's gonna have to be something giant otherwise it'd be yeah because australia normally goes the other way australia has a lot

of big things like there was a fad in the 20th century i'm not sure any more precise than that where a lot of australian towns just decided that their local landmark was going to be the big chicken or lobster or penguin or whatever the local mascot was, whatever the local food stuff was, they would just build a giant fiberglass version of it and that was their landmark. However, the scale's the wrong way for that.

My brain was like running through the ones I've seen on the Great Ocean Road and it's like, I can't, I can't. Unless there's a bit of naval gazing going on and it is actually Australia. Because, I mean, one to one billion is going to be pretty small right but like but i like the idea that it's like right that's exactly where the sun is and that's exactly where australia is and in there that's the giant chicken it's actually it's actually just a chicken they've just taken a regular chicken yeah But a billion times bigger in this universe. Yeah.

Yeah. Is it specifically one to one billion? Or could it be like one billion to one? Because I was thinking like, what if it was like a giant cell? Like something that's micro, you know? That's a clever idea. It's unfortunately, it is still the same scale So it is still 1 to 1 billion

But that would be a fun way to do it Is it a celestial object? It is a celestial object It's got to be Something on a giant scale Like you said Hannah It's got to be something that you can see When it's a billion times smaller

But I want to know If if it's near the sun, right? So, okay, what celestial object is near the sun? If this is a scale model, you've got to have something that should be there, presumably. I mean, relatively speaking, like Earth. If you're building a six kilometre model, Earth's still going to be within the first 500 metres, maybe the first 200 metres. I feel as though that would be too easy an answer for this game. Oh, yeah, Earth's still going to be within the first 500 metres? Maybe the first 200 metres?

I feel as though that would be too easy an answer for this game. Oh yeah, it's not that. It's something like that. But what else is there that's at that scale? The stars? Like the map of the stars? Or meteors? Is it important that it's in Melbourne?

There's an Australianralian connection here surely and i wish that there were uh an australian connection but no it is indeed nothing related to that but uh lily i wouldn't say that you're on you're you're on the right track potentially there could it be something that is passing by so something that is like, maybe, what about Voyager, which is launched from the Earth and is off on its way out, but it went in the other direction, didn't it? No, again, it had to be a billion times smaller, at which point you're like, at atomic scale, surely.

Maybe they've built something that is that small. Like you need to get a microscope to actually look at this thing. They've not just installed the tiny thing somewhere there. They've installed a microscope so people can look down at the tiny thing and go, this is the scale. That, if I were the designer, I'd say that that would be a great idea. But I don't believe that that's what they went with. If I, I think you should pitch that to them as another fun little thing to add because i think that sounds great i would love that if i

went there so it is you had talked a little bit about earth and things like that but i will tell you that this object is positioned between the sun and mercury and again lily you were on the right track when it comes to star stuff. So is it solar flares? It's not solar flares, but that's I would say that it is something that I want you to think about this in terms of how you're traveling in that distance on that one to one billion scale. Hold on a minute. Is this is this just a pop culture reference rather than something that's actually physically in the solar system? Is this just a pop culture reference? Rather than something that's actually physically in the solar system, it's a starship of some kind.

It's something from science fiction. It's something... They don't have to be so tiny, though. It's just Hugh Jackman standing next to the sun because he's one of Australia's biggest stars. That's really all that it comes down to. You figured it out. Is it a Dyson sphere? Is it how we might harvest energy from the sun? I would love it if it were a science fiction. And here's what our plans for,

yeah, building that Dyson sphere around the sun to become infinitely powerful. But no, wait, you said early on, it's definitely a celestial body of some kind. It is some big star-shaped thing. So what fits between the sun and Mercury that's that big? Now, I'll give you another hint there and say that, yes, it is a star-shaped object indeed. But again, when we're thinking about the scale and how you're walking to it, think about it as as to just how how far you could be traveling on that scale oh god okay um how you could be traveling

what so as in if you were well you're now an absolute oh i know is it a rubber sheet no it's not a rubber sheet where you're you're just to do the gravity. Because you're then a billion times bigger. Is it to do with you being a billion times bigger? No, unfortunately it's not. Hold on. Oh, oh, oh. Hold on.

There are multiple routes you could take to get there. And in theory, if you walked the long way round, if you walked the long way round, if you walked all the way round the planet, which is about... I'm doing vague calculations in my head, but did they put Alpha Centauri next to the sun?

Because at that scale, if you walked all the way round the planet, that would be the nearest star oh that's cute that's correct it's proxima proxima centauri oh you nailed it proxima centauri okay that's cute it was indeed that because at this scale one million kilometers in space is equivalent to one meter on the model so uh if the sun the model of the sun is 1.4 meters wide and the distances between the planet models are also correct uh but after the sun itself the next nearest star is proxima centauri uh which is over 40 trillion kilometers away from us but on the model scale that's about 40 000 kilometers which just happens to be which is about the circumference

of the earth yeah that's extraordinary yeah wow amazing it's tricky though because again i was i ran in as i was reading the same question i was like there's nothing that big there can't be anything between

i i learned the solar system in elementary school and i know that there's nothing between mercury and the sun come on what an absolute fluke that it happens

to be that's a that's a really extraordinary bit of serendipity, isn't it? Thank you to Chris Dixon for this next question. At the 1912 Summer Olympics, Eric Lemming won a gold medal in the javelin with a throw of 60.64 metres. Three days later, another man won a javelin gold medal at the same Games with a distance of 109.42 metres.

Both gold medals still stand. How? I'll say that again. At the 1912 Summer Olympics, Eric Lemming won a gold medal in the javelin with a throw of 60.64 metres. Three days later, another man won a javelin gold medal at the same Games with a distance of 109.42 metres. Both gold medals still stand. How? Was one Paralympics?

Both. What year was this? 1912 Summer Olympics. And it was the same, like, Olympic event, right? Like the same one? Yes. But there were two distances and they both got gold medals. They're not the same.

It's the same Olympics. It's not the same event. Same Olympics. Was one a heptathlete or a triathlete or something? Whatever they're called. Sometimes someone comes in with an idea and the very first note that I have on the question is it's nothing to do with a multi-party event like the decathlon.

Sorry, you just, you absolutely like qi klaxoned your way into that one sorry thank you very much okay if it was back in 1912 uh everyone was absolutely bonkers for the javelin everyone loved that specifically so they had two different versions of it where one was short distance javelin and one was long distance javelin and they were both they were both javelin sports how about um during the celebration of the first javelin victory at 60 meters um someone threw a javelin in excitement and it skewered the winner and they decided to let his medal stand posthumously, but continue the competition.

So of those two guesses from Brian and Hannah there, I'll say Brian is definitely closer. Really? No way. There's no way. I feel like the skewering was spot on. I was assuming you were going to say that he was skewered, and then he sort of staggered forward for about 40 metres and that. Then they awarded the goal to him then, but that was not it either. There were two different events going on.

It wasn't through some fad for javelin sports right then, but yes, two different events. Are they weighted differently, the javelins? It is a difference between them. It's not the javelin. Is it the environment itself was it yeah if it was like an like maybe it's a different area or weather yeah javelin against a strong wind just i don't know oh like like a ski jump yeah the javelin yeah amazing you like throw it down it goes all the way down instead of just straight. Yeah. Or you just set it off going down the ski. I want

to do this now. I want to send a javelin down a ski jump and see what happens. That'd be great. Yeah. It's a new sport. Because if it wasn't the environment and it wasn't the javelin, then presumably it had to be something different about the competitors. Hmm. I said it could be

environment, it could be competitors, it could be the third thing you mentioned, which I cannot remember even though it's only ten seconds later. There is another factor that could play into it as well. Was one of them standing still javelin throw and the other

was running javelin? Getting a good sprint start. It's not that, but you're right that it's a rule change that it is a very different javelin event and uh a a rule change that would be enough to change from 60 to 109 meters that's a big difference. That's like double. Yeah. Do they get like two tries? Like they throw it and then they pick it up and they throw it again? Not exactly that. It's not two continuous throws, but you are so very close. You just get two tries and then the distance gets added. And then the person who gets the longest from the two tries wins. You are dancing around it. You're dancing around it so much.

I'll tell you this, 60 metres is a pretty good throw for a javelin in 1912. 100 would be ridiculous. So it's double, basically. Was it left-handed javelin? Yes, more or less put together everything we've heard. Two throws at left hand javelin versus one throw at right. I don't know.

Think about what rule would make sense for that. You're so there, but I want someone to put this together because I don't want to give this one away. Two shots, one with each hand. And then they add it together. Yeah, Lily, you've got it. It's one with the left, one with the right. They added them together.

And that was how javelin used to work until the early 20th century. And the 1912 Olympics was the transition between the two styles. No one got skewered. No one got skewered. No one got skewered. Maybe that's helpful for lefties who are maybe sometimes more extra. I don't know.

Yeah. Well, now I think you get to throw with either hand just once. Okay. So you get to choose. Hannah, over to you for the next question. Okay. Buckle up. Right.

This is a question that was sent in by Darcy. And Darcy says, London's Natural History Museum has a 19th century stone fragment that is taken from a water trough in Tyneside, England. The pale rock is made from calcium carbonate deposits and it's got thin, dark stripes that come in sets of five or six. Why? London's Natural History Museum has a 19th century stone fragment

that was taken from a water trough in Tyneside in England. The pale rock is made from calcium carbonate deposits, and it has thin, dark stripes that come in sets of five or six. Why might that be? Is it like a fossil? Like something was imprinted on it and it just stayed there? So it's taken from a water trough. And calcium carbonate is... That's not chalk, is it? That's limestone or something like this. It's the sort of stuff that gets left behind when you have hard water

just running over something a lot. Yeah, it's limescale, basically. Limescale, that's it, not limestone. Okay. It's the stuff that builds up on your kettle. Exactly. Okay. They took the rock out

and an artist thought it would look nice with lines of five and six on them. And they just painted it on because maybe that's it. It's actually a 19th century barcode. Yeah. Well, if it's in a water trough, it makes me think that it's about like something seasonal or something related to the village around it of like people using something in that time absolutely you are so on it seasonal great exactly where it is being important great wait so can we define exactly what is a water trough i just want to make sure i'm understanding

yeah it's going to be like the sort of thing that you get water from for cattle or something like that. Like a big thing, the size of a big old table with a semi-circular shape you just fill with water and that's where the cattle drink the water from or maybe the people pick up

water from. Could be filled by a river, could be filled by a stream, could be filled by someone river could be filled by a stream could be filled by someone just chucking water into it okay wait so is this man-made or is it in nature the trough is man-made okay gotcha

it has to be something like you know rings of trees you can tell when there was a bad winter or something right but like I don't know what it would make it five and six that's the thing i like being the quiz master it's much more fun okay um five or six is a strange number they're never seven never seven so what can you there's one of these happens every month uh and it's just twice during the year they they stop um oh oh no i was gonna say it was something to do with weekly and

it doesn't happen on sundays but it's not like they uh they they skip a day in the calendar sometimes interesting or like a leafier kind of thing. I don't know. Something about the moons. So remember, these are dark stripes that come in the rock, right? In sets of five. It's camouflage to avoid tigers. Yes. In Tyneside. In Tyneside, yeah. The famous Tyneside Tigers.

I think they play rugby league. I assume that these were vertical stripes going down it, but they could be like deposit layers built up. In fact, in the question it says, made from calcium carbonate deposits. Right. I was assuming it was like running down the side, but it's not. It's like this has been built up.

So it must go light, dark, light, dark, light, dark. Correct. And Brian was right that it's like the rings of a tree. Okay. So what happens? And also, that's not going to build up quickly. I don't know. Tyneside, famously hard water.

I don't know. They all go out and do their laundry at a certain point every month. And then it's too hot in the summer, so they don't do it for July. And then it's too cold in the winter, so they don't do it for December. And they just skip one of those. And that's where that gap comes in. So you are actually quite close. Oh, hold on. If it's days... Exactly, it's days.

It's got to be days and they're breaking up. It's something they're not doing on Sundays. Yes. And then occasionally other days because it's Christmas or it's something like that. So is it laundry? These are the days when they did laundry and it's just this has stains in it. You are so close. It is stains.

It is stains. It is stains. And you are right about this Sunday being the reason. This is the important thing about where it is in particular comes into play. And the 19th century as well. So 19th century in the north of England. Is it a religious thing? Like on Sundays they don't work or do laundry?

They don't work on Sundays, that's true. Is it mining related? Is it like getting... Yes! Yeah? Okay. So they're going into the mines and they've got stuff on their clothes and then that stuff gets put in... Coal dust! It's coal mines! It's...

Well done! That was an excellent group effort. I enjoyed that enormously. Well done. Yeah. So the thing is, is that this trough came from the bottom of the mine. So you've got the water flowing through. It's right at the bottom, going around all over the place. So it's not from washing clothes or something like that. It is just the water in the mine only got dark when they were mining. Oh, okay.

Exactly. I truly did just believe it was like, they all were like happening after a long day's work, needing to bathe off and have a good time. But no, it seems much more industrial. And then light-coloured calcium carbonate deposits, which are, you know, quite similar to limestone, they are formed when the mine isn't in operation.

So it goes dark when it's open, light when it's not. So at weekends or the only day off, you get those light stripes. And this rock has been given the name Sunday Stone. Sunday Stone. That's lovely. That's very nice. Yeah.

One final thing then. At the top of the show, I asked a question that was sent in by Sam Riley. In 1981, why did 300,000 people One final thing then. At the top of the show, I asked a question that was sent in by Sam Riley. In 1981, why did 300,000 people turn up for a funeral ceremony when no one had died? Before I give the answer, any quick guesses from the panel? I do have a guess. I watched a movie recently where someone had a funeral,

but it wasn't really a funeral because she was dying and she wanted to have people like come together for like one last like celebration while she was still alive. Is it something like that? I thought in the first few words, you were going to nail that immediately because we are talking about a film, but it's not that one. Oh, okay. Was it a character in a film that everyone was saying goodbye to? I mean, not really a character. You've basically got it, Lily.

At the moment you said film, frankly, I'm willing to give you the point for that, that it's fictional. But if anyone can name a 1981 film that might have needed 300,000 extras... The Godfather? Definitely not. Very definitely not. Can you tell I haven't seen it? Can you tell? I don't know whether it's obvious. Last Call Give, it was a biopic. Biopic.

I don't actually know how to pronounce that word. Oh, I know. The Last Emperor. Gandhi, unfortunately. I haven't seen that. The movie was Gandhi. It was released in 1982. It was a funeral scene and 95,000 contracted performers who got about 50 cents each and 200,000 volunteer extras

for two minutes of screen time. Wow. Wait, how did they gather that many people? Honestly, I couldn't tell you that, but there's probably a very good DVD extra about it. Yeah, that seems like a logistical nightmare to get everyone together. My producer just chimed in with a van and a loud hailer. With that, congratulations on getting through the show.

Well done to all of our three players. Let's find out, where can people find out more about you? What are you up to? We will start with Hannah. You can follow me on social media, Fry R Squared, and I'm doing stuff all the time. Too many things to name. Just keep your eyes open and I'll be there like rust. I get everywhere. You sounded really surprised I was going to ask you that question. I feel like I should have gone to you. No one cares about me. Do the other good

people. I want to know about the dominoes. Lily. You can find me on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or I think they call it X now, at Hevish5.

And I just topple dominoes. So if you like seeing that kind of stuff, it's very, very satisfying. And Brian. You can just

look up my name, Brian David Gilbert, on Google or whatever, and you'll find whatever you find. Good luck, I suppose. And that is our show. If you want to find out more about this, you can go to lateralcast.com,

where you can also send in your own ideas for questions. We are at Lateral Cast basically everywhere, and you can see video highlights multiple times a week at youtube.com slash lateralcast. With that, thank you very much to Brian David Gilbert. Thank you. Lily Hibash. Thank you so much for having me. This was a blast.

And Hannah Fry. Thank you. What a treat. I've been Tom Scott, and that's been Lateral.