Oh What A Time... - #60 Pick n Mix (Part 2)

Episode Date: August 5, 2024

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed from yesterday! This week on the show we’ve got a selection of historical yarns to share; the great British supermarket baked bean war of the 90s, how Sweden swapped sides of the road in the 60s, and the many incredible instances where entertainers took percentages of profits instead of a one off payment (and the infamous occasions where they didn’t). And this week we’ve been mainly discussing the oft-repeated rumour that cinemas make the bulk of their profit not from showing films, but from selling sweets and popcorn. If you suspect that is poppycock and can prove otherwise, please do get in touch with the show: [e-mail] If you're impatient and want both parts in one lovely go next time plus a whole lot more(!), why not treat yourself and become an Oh What A Time: FULL TIMER? In exchange for your £4.99 per month to support the show, you'll get: - two bonus episodes every month! - ad-free listening - episodes a week ahead of everyone else - And first dibs on any live show tickets Subscriptions are available via AnotherSlice, Apple and Spotify. For all the links head to: ohwhatatime.com You can also follow us on:  X (formerly Twitter) at @ohwhatatimepod And Instagram at @ohwhatatimepod Aaannnd if you like it, why not drop us a review in your podcast app of choice? Thank you to Dan Evans for the artwork (idrawforfood.co.uk). Chris, Elis and Tom x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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condition supply visit RBC.com slash avion. Hello and welcome back to our pick and mix special. We've got two really fun subjects for you coming up so let's just get straight into it. So today I'm going to talk to you about the supermarket wars of Great Britain and how a tiole thinn's glass and greeners' tomorrow. So today I'm going to talk to you about the supermarket wars of Great Britain and how a certain tinned good found itself at the very heart of it. Now have either of you ever worked in a supermarket? What's your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, your, you, you, your, you, you, your, you, your, you, you, your, their, their, their, their, their, their, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th th th th th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th for the their their their th, their their their thi, their thi, their their thi, their thi, their their their thiiiiii, their thiiii, their found itself at the very heart of it. Now have either of you ever worked in a supermarket? What's your background of that area? No, went for a job interview with quicksave and they told me that I wasn't correct. He said I wouldn't be able to handle the knife was what he said.

What really? Yeah. I remember he held up a big sharp knife. He went, I've used a knife? And I said, the th. th. th. the, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. to, to, th. th. to, to, the the the the the the the the the the the th. What, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, th. Now, thi. Now, thi. I, thi. I, to, too. I's, tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooe. So. So. So, they. So, they. What went, you ever use one of these? And I said, I've used a knife, yeah. And he went, can you handle it? And I said, well, I don't know, will I get any training? And he went, you will cut yourself with this knife. That is just part of life, you're a quicksive. And I went, oh, he went, big tins of hot dogs it could see and he just he just discussed it like it was it was the army and then that was that well Ellis you'll be pleased to hear that quicksave do not come out

well from this story this story does not it's not a happy tale for quicksade this I did actually work I worked in Safeway they thought I was more than capable with a knife. They had no concerns about me and tinned hot dogs. I was straight in. I worked in the bakery at Safeway. I'll tell you one brief story when I worked in this bakery at Safeway. They got a new bakery manager in. This is one of the most remarkable workplace mess ups I've ever seen. Let me guess. Big French guy, massive moustache. Care to guess what he did on his first day? What was his mistake is the new head of the bakery?

Burn the bread. He put salt in something when it should have been sugar. He forgot to order flour. So, dear, dear. Anyone with any rudimentary understanding of baking? That's quite fundamental. To be fair, if you've gotten to buy flour, the one place you want to be is a supermarket.

Good point. But not enough to cook that amount of bread. Really? Yeah, not, no. You need a huge amount of flour and dough to cook for an entire bakery section. His answer, and to say I was the only person manning the shelves that day for some reason, was to, he said, don't worry, I've got an idea, we're just going to make loads of donuts. So he made about a thousand donuts and filled every area where there should have be bread with donuts. And people came in and said, hi, I'd like to buy some bread and I'd have to say over, sorry, we don't th. th. don't th. don't their th. don't th. th. th. their th. th. th. their th. their th. th. their their their th. their their th. their their th. to to to their. their. to to be their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. We's. I've. I've. I've. I've. So. So. So, their. So, their. I's. I's. I's. I's. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. to. t. t. today. today. today. today. to. today. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to buy some bread. And I'd have to say over and over,

sorry, we don't have bread, but we do have donuts. And they'd say, I don't want donuts, I want bread. This is, I've come to you, obviously it's a bakery section, I've come for bread. So that went on for an eight hour shift, and it was terrible. about 3,000 donuts to a penny. When you think, right, of all the things you use bread for, a donut is not a like-for-like substitution. For instance, my daughter had a school trip the other day,

I had to make a sandwich. If I'd, if the sandwich I'd made it was donut cheese, donut. School about social services Is he donut avocado donut? It was also a jam donut as well It had it was filled with jam in the middle maybe in some maybe he was thinking jam on toast that's a breakfast. Yeah, jam donut Maybe I don't know but a very very long day that for me. Okay, let me take you back to the early 90s. Okay, this is the time we're looking at here? And it's a? Yeah. Yeah? Yeah? Yeah? Yeah? Yeah? Yeah? the the the the the the the tom. T the tom. T tom. T. T. the tom. tom. tom. tom. tom. the tom. the the tom. tom. the tom. tom. Don't? Don't. the the the to. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't? tom. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. the to. the to. the to. the to. to. take you back to the early 90s, okay? This is the time we're looking at here, and it's a point in Britain when supermarket shopping went through like a massive revolution, a huge revolution, and one that still completely affects a way we shop today.

This is when the first big continental discount supermarkets came here. Oh, Aldi and Aldi, exactly Aldi and Birmingham in 1990, then Lidl in 1994, then there was the Danish discounted Netto and then shop right. All of these huge overseas incredibly cheap supermarkets came across and set up base in the UK in the early 90s and all of them because they were so cheap and they were so well run very quickly became successful and grew and grew and grew at the expense Ellis as you'll be delighted to hear of homegrown discounters such as quicksave which was a Welsh company I think it was I have some information on

that actually quick save you're, they started in Prestatyn on the High Street in 1959, and they basically had the discount end of British retail entirely to themselves until about 1990. They didn't realize how good they had it. It was just, quick save, just had that end of the market, ordered. Quicksafe, if you're interested, they, I thought it's quite interesting, they basically pioneered a no-frials approach with, they had wooden shelves, they had wooden shelves,

yeah, and a real preference for tin goods. This is basically how they've done it, the stuff that would last on the shelves. Their slogan, their slogan. Their slogan. Their s s good, yeah, absolutely. And they also, I don't remember this Ellis, they ran a hotline where customers could ring up and inform on cheaper prices they'd seem elsewhere. Wow, that's a good idea. Like grass up your local supermarket.

Imagine having the time to do that. Yeah. Your wife walking in saying what, why you're th is th is they. That's they. That's they. That's they. That's they. That's they. That's they. That's they. That's they. That's they. That's th. That's th. That's th. That's good. That's good. That's good.. That's good. That's. Yeah. I was. I was. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah..............................................................................................................................................to do that. Yeah. Your wife walking in saying, what are you talking to? I'm sorry, I just saw them particularly cheap Keish in Iceland. I just need to quickly report it. It's a quicksave. So poor old quicksave, when I say poor old quicksave, they had it good until

the early 1990s and then things changed because Aldi and littleiddle took things to another level and it was not long before a genuine price war broke out across Britain and at the center of this price war was the price of baked beans this was the big one so back then a tin of beans at Aldi cost 9 P that's about 20 P in today's prices and so quick save followed with an 8P tin. Not long afterwards, he thought, okay, we'll nudge it down for a buy a penny. This is our way of trying to deal with these big overseas supermarkets. Sainsbury's just for a little context, sold theirs for 11 pay in their economy range, which isn't a huge difference. But it did mean that for every

three Sainsbury's tins, consumers could buy four from Quicksaves. So you can see how it does actually start to, you do see a difference. And for our overseas listeners, what you have to remember, obviously things are changed now with far more cosmopolitan they used to be. But in the UK, in the 90s, we lived an almost entirely baked bean-based Yes, exactly. I ate beans literally every day between 1999, 2000. Proud of it. If anyone was ever making money for a charity they would also lie in a bath of baked beans. That was the only way people would do would make money for charity in Britain in the early 90s. It's actually an entirely baked bean-based culture.

You would wake up you would eat beans and toast lunch jacket potato and beans dinner potato alphabets beans beans yeah and some sort of chicken it was constant beans and then that evening on the tel you'd watch someone sitting a bath the beans or drive around wearing wellies that were full of beans remember that people doing that for charity remember people getting arrested for driving erratically and the cop has said why were you driving Remember that? I remember people doing that for charity. I remember a block getting arrested for driving erratically. And the cop has said, why were you driving like that? And he said, look, and he pointed on his wellies that were full of beans. I want to know if he, had he heated the beans beforehand? Were they warm beans or do you think you're going for? Yeah, there's the, um, the front cover of the Who record, the Who sellout, and is it Roger

Doltry, you sitting in a bath of beans? Yeah. I can't remember, one of them's putting on a big deodorant, yeah. Why is that, is that died out? Because it's just such a waste of beans? Or like, like, like, in the 90? Is the 90? Is the 90? Is th? Is th? Is th? Is th? Is th? Is th? Is th? Is the, is it? Is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is the, is, is, is the, is, is, is the, is the, is, is the, is the, is, is, is, is the, is the, is, is, is the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the who? Who, the who's, the who's, the who's, the who's, the who's, the who's, the who's, the who's, the who's, the 90s we just had so many beans. They're like, what are we going to do with all these beans? You just sit in it and like we'll raise some money for charity. At least that's... You're driving it? Just sitting in it, were you? Because all the beans in the 90s were stored in warehouses in bathtubs. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, it's Roger Daltry sitting in a big buf of beans and he's got them all over his mouth and he's got a huge tin. Right, so these tit for tat price drops, okay, just kept coming until eventually, so this is what is it's mad how sort of competitively got. Little beans dropped as far as 4P and so quick save dropped their theans. The beans are getting cheaper and cheaper and Britain's loving it because they loved their beans. And then not to be out out out out be out be out be out be out be out be out be out be out be out their their their their their their their to be out their to be out their their their to be out their their their to be their their their their their tape. tip. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tape. tape. tap. tap. tap. tap. taped. taped. taped. taped. taped. taped. taped. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. they love their beans and then not to be outdone, Tesco went even further and they started to sell their beans for a penny and in fact in 1996 this is the best of all Sanders supermarket at Limpshum just outside Western Supermai went even further. Give to guess what they did? Bill giving away beans for free even better. They were paying people to pay people to eat beans. They paid customers 2P for every can of baked beans they took home. What? The idea of being, obviously, you get foot full through the door, people spend money

on their other bits of shopping. But if you took baked beans as part of your shopping, you get paid 2P for for every ti of bean's you took home with your shop. I've got to say I love beans. Yeah I just thought I'd love some beans later this morning. Yeah yeah I'm already planning my next beans. So it's going bonkers okay so they're paying people to take beans to take the price of a bean is just dropping and dropping and dropping. However, eventually there is a winner and that winner is the Tesco value range.. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the to the the the the the the to the th the th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th the te tha tha tha tha. I te te. I te. I te. te. te. te. I toe. I toe. I to to to to to to to to it's just dropping and dropping and dropping. However, eventually there is a winner and that winner is the Tesco value range.

Now any British listeners will know this is a huge success. It was launched in the heat of the bean battle in 1993. The bean wars. And it's still very much the market leader now. So Tesco is our largest supermarket here in the UK. The Tesco value range is basically the saver range and they launched it during the middle of this battle as a way to try and win it and it worked and it's still huge here today. However, this victory from Tesco with their value range is not the key consequence from the Bean Wars. The Bean Wars, and this is what's kind of really interesting about it,

really focused the minds of those running supermarkets on the way people were buying, okay? They, the first time they properly focused on the psychology of how you're getting people in, and what people are buying in a particular product. So, what do you think the consequence of that thought process was, and which really marks us today? Did they change the way of aisle designs? Is that what it was?

No, it wasn't that. I can see what you think that. So what it was was, was this fourth process coincided with a rapid development at that time in computerization and data harvesting. And it was through this bean war obsession on buying practice, which led to the start of customer loyalty schemes and the harvesting of vast quantities information about spending habits and instincts. And so it was, so with the Baked Bean War still raging, that Tesco at the same time launched their club card on the 13th February 1995, while Sainsbury's reward card followed one year later. And it was this early focus at this key time that put these two stores

as a huge advantage over their rivals, especially other stores who thought it's too expensive to implement these club card things and this data or stuff. They just didn't do it. And it was such a fundamental mistake because it completely changed the way these companies were able to operate. And that is a decision that has left Tesco and Sainsbury still as the largest supermarkets here. It's an advantage they haven't surrendered.

Yeah, nectar points and test exactly. And it's crucially all due to this period in the early 90s. The Bate Bean Wars, the hyper focus on the way we were buying, coinciding with this sort of technological advance, and then the decision on the part of those two companies to start harvesting data, completely cementing themselves, as the big players in this industry, and why quicksaving all their people, thi, and they're completely completely completely completely completely completely completely completely completely, their.................. their, to. toe. toe. toe. their, toe. their, toe. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, tooome. their, their, their, their, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and........... the. the. they. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. too. too. too. the the too. the the the the the they. the the the the the the the the the the tooome. the the the tooomy. the the that didn't really do this, just don't have a chance of competing now and they're completely out of the race in that way. So it's just interesting how this early 90s period of baked beans obsession completely

cemented the structure of supermarkets in the UK today. I vividly remember it. I vividly remember the bake bean wars and as someone who grew up in an entirely big bean-based household. Our daily shop, I mean, we were making money. It was incredible. Turning a profit. The amount of times in the early 90s that Elif is claiming someone had just opened a punit of strawberries. That was remarkable. This NFL season get in on all the hard-hitting action with Fanduel. North America's number one sports book. You can bet on anything from money lines to spreads and player props, or combine your bets parley for a shot at an even bigger payout.

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It just seems to sort things out, doesn't it? Once and for all. So on the 16th of October, 1955, the Swedish government held referendum to ask which side of the road the Swedes wanted to drive on on the left as they'd done since the 1730s or the right, as was the emerging continental European standard. In fact, the other Nordic countries had changed the right long before. Denmark did it in 1973, Norway also in the 193 and then Finland in 1858. But the Swedes were largely opposed to the move, voting in large numbers against the government's proposals for right-down traffic. So over the almost 2.6 million people who participated in the referendum, only 400,000 said

yes. My question, why? Why would you be like, yeah, not good enough, let's move? Yeah? Let's do it like the French doing it. I don't know what percentage of the electorate 2.6 million people was, but that's that's that's that's that't it? Yeah, it is. I would get out there and vote, I think, if I was asked on that. Anyway, it just feels like such a dangerous decision as well. You're just going, well, this is going to lead to a horror show on our roads for a minimum of three years. Exactly. But, you know, like, in this country, we've always driven on. their. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. their. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. their, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I, th. I've, th. th. th. I, I've, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I. th. are you going to do about this? Like who cares? It's fine. Nevertheless, eight years later in 1963,

the then Prime Minister Tarka Erlander of the Social Democrats introduced measures to change the direction of travel from the left to the right anyway, arguing it was now or never. So that would be like, it was now or never. That would be like if the Brexit referendum decided to stay to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to stay in the EU. David Cameron said, well, it's now or ever anyone, may as well do Brexit. It's interesting that people don't want to do it, but it's now or never. Also, Ellis, why doesn't everyone just drive on the same side from the book? How have we got to a situation where roads were built and vehicles were introduced and

why it feels like a very simple thing but just someone to chat to another oh, we'll all just all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all the the the the the the the, we'll the, we'll the, we'll the, the, the, the, th, th, th, th, well, th, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well simple thing, but just someone to chat to another go, oh yeah, we'll all just go on the left. Yeah, but it was at the time when government, it was at the time when governments didn't chat to each other about this kind of thing. Okay, interesting. So, with a number of cars on Swedish roads growing at a rapid rate, the logistics would so be too complex brand new commission for the introduction of right-down driving. So everything that could point to Dargan H, the 3rd of September 1967, so you had milk cartons, newspaper adverts, television jingles, road signs, there was a special brand of underwear saying, for God sake on the third September 1967 drive on the right.

Gee whiz, okay? Get it right! for God's sake on the 3rd 7th of September 1967 drive on the right. Gee whiz, okay, get it right. Get it right would be quite a good slogan. I don't really have a problem driving with right when I'm driving on the continent, but I think it would be if the roads you've been driving around your whole life, suddenly having to switch the other side, that's really, like, that's going to be really hard to wrap your head around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around the head around their their their the other side. Oh, that's interesting. That's going to be really hard to wrap your head around. There were public information films, demonstrations, as Dargan H approached, hundreds of thousands of road signs were installed, 20,000 in Stockholm, but they were covered in black

plastic till they could be unveiled at the appropriate moment. So at 1 a.m. – it's important you unve 1967, a Sunday, all non-essential traffic was banned. Normal road use would not resume until 6 a.m. Any vehicles that were on the roads during these hours would have to stop at 450 precisely and then carefully change to the opposite side. Stop once more and continue the journey on the right only at 5 a.m. It feels like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like the to the to the to the to the to the to the to to the to the the to to the to to the so to to toe toe toe toe. toe toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to. I. I. I. Soe. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So. So.. So.. So. So.................. So, th. So. So, th. So, th. So. So. So. So. So, th. So. So. So, th opposite side, stop once more and continue the journey on the right only at 5 a.m. It feels like a ball lake doesn't it? So there were long longer periods of traffic closure in Sweden's larger cities to allow for

more complex alterations but by 3 p.m. on the 3 of September the changeover was complete. Now this this I found this fascinating right in the weeks that followed there were very few traffic accidents. There were a few the the the the the the the the the the the th like like like like like like like the the the the th the th th th th th. It was a few th. It was a few th. It was a th. It was a tho. It was a tho. It was a tho. It was a th. It was a thoes like like like like like a th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the ball. the ball. the ball. the ball. the ball. the the the the the the th. th. the th. th. th. th. thi. the. the. the. tho. tho. tho. tho. the. the. the. the. tho. the. the. the. th. the th. the th.this I found this fascinating right in the weeks that followed were very few traffic accidents There were a few but none prove fatal because observers felt the drivers were much more cautious because they were terrified. Yeah, fine. They were less prone to coasting along so insurance claims fell by 40% temporarily. I have a feeling if it happened here in Britain that 100% of drivers would crash. It would be awful, yeah. That everyone would crash.

I just have a feeling it just wouldn't be smooth if it happened here. Too many cars on the road now. Yeah, that's exactly it, isn't it? But right down traffic was not without his consequences. Now this unoccurred to me, okay? For starters, it's a new head fleet of buses are to be purchased because the doors are on the wrong side. Oh yeah! So bus stops are to be moved. This is such a faft.

Yeah, and spare thou for the once common tram. The cost of replacing or retrofitting tram networks was so high that in the end Constance just got rid of them and used buses instead. I mean, if I'mthe Prime Minister of Sweden, surely you just take one look at these costs and go, this is not worth it. Why are we doing this? You know, the Swedes, especially social democrats, people on the left in the UK often look at the Swedes as the example, you know, when you look at their public services, Sweden must have been such a perfect country. They must have had money to burn. They were like, oh fine, let's just buy an entirely new bus network. We've sorted out poverty. So trams disappeared from Malmow and Helsingborg, barely survived in Gothenburg and Norcoping. So in Stockholm, trams were eventually replaced by the metro system, apart from a couple of suburban lines.

But Dargan H was regarded as a great So in Stockholm, trams were eventually replaced by the metro system, apart from a couple of suburban lines. But Dargan H was regarded as a great success and provided an impetus for change in I.In. the Icelaint on the 26th of May, 1968. So they did it in Icelain, the 60s. By the end of the 60s, the only countries in Europe that remained on the Swedish example, the lay of the government led by Harold Wilson in the 60s did consider the question of transferringing Britain's roads to write down traffic. But the matter was resolved, this is very British, quite quickly, when the costs involved were made, no, right? Yeah.

A conservative estimate of around 265 million was made in 1969. the equivalent of more than 3.5 billion today. In Britain obviously, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. their, their, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, their, their, their, their, their, their. We. We. We. We. We. We. We. We. Wea. Wea. Wea. It, th. It, is. It's, was. It's, was. It's, was, was, was, th. toda. toda. toda. today, today, today, today, th. th. th. Really. Really. Really. Really. Really. Really. th. th billion today. In Britain obviously was skint in the 60s because of the war so obviously they couldn't justify it. Yes. So compare the number of cars involved. Sweden made the change when they were about 1.5 million vehicles on the roads. We projected growth by the mid-70s to nearly 3 million. Britain in 1970 already had 13. thir 13. thir 30 million. That's up to nearly 40 million. So in short, it's very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very. It's already already already already already already already already already already already already already already already already.. their. their. their. their. their. their their. their their. their their the number. their their their the number the number their the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. the number. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. th. th. th. to. th. th. th. th. the. their. their. their. their. the nearly 40 million by 2020. So in short, it's very unlikely we ever do it in Britain. Few countries have made the change from left to right ever go back as it happens, but Sparenowell for Okinawa in Japan, and like most of the country, which from 1924 followed left and traffic rules. From the end of the Second World War until 1972,

Okinawans were compelled to drive on the right by the island's American administrators. So their practice continued until 1978 when at last Okinawa was returned to left-hand traffic. Why bother? Why bother? The event held on the 30th of July 1978 has come to be known as the 730 and he was heralded as the belated return of Okinawa to Japan so they largely followed the Swedish model of change of obviously in but in reverse so traffic

on the island stopped at 10 p.m. the 29th of July resumed on the left hand side of the the toa. the following morning but after 30 years driving on the other side of the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to. th. th. to, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thoenolies. thoenheaueueueueueueueueaullady. toe. toe. So, toe. So, toe, toe. So, someaullary. Soe. Soe. Soe., son. Soe., son. Soe., son. Soe., son. Soe. Soe. Soe. Soe. So, son. So, son. So, son. So, some. So, some. So, toe. So, toe. So, toe. So, toe. So, the. So, the. Somea. And, the. And, the. And, the. And, the.a.a.a.a.a.a. And, the.a.a.a.a.a.a. So, the. So, the. So on the other side of the road, Okinawans found the change difficult and there were loads of accidents, including a few head-on collisions involving buses. Oh, that's the worry, that is the worry. That is the main worry. Blahmey. But they stuck with it? They stuck with it. Yeah. They stuck with it. Yeah. Well I suppose it's all wrapped up in your identity and all that sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort sort. the the the their their thso. th. their th. th. th. th. thi. thus. th. that's. that's. that's. that's. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's the that's the the have been, the Americans have dictated how you need to live your life for as long as you can remember, then it does make sense that you'd want to, you know.

Exactly. I just, you know, I think my identity only goes so far. Ha ha ha ha! Ha tho'a'a'a'a'e'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'-a'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-s, th, th, th, th'-a'-a'-a'a'a'-s, th'-s, th'a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-s, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th'-s'-s'-s'-s'-s'-s'-s'-s''-s''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''a''a'''-a'-a'-'-'-'-'-'- So that was our pick and mix episode. I really enjoyed that. That was a really fun one. Thanks guys. A lot of fun, yeah. I've been very brief thought.

If I ever get to run a country, I'm actually not going to do the left-hand or right-hand driving, I'm just going to say whatever their triv. I'm just going to tell peoplethey can just go wherever they want. And critics would say that would be the first in a catalogue of the terrible decisions you would make as ruler of this island. But I'd be remembered, and it's important to be remembered, Chris. If any of you have anything you want to send to us any crazy historical facts, any one day time machines, all that sort of stuff. Any corrections? Any corrections? I find it hard to believe there'll be any corrections. You can email the show on Hello at O What a Time.com. Thank you for listening, guys. And remember you can become an O What a Time, full-timer, i.e. a subscriber to this podcast.

You get ad-free episodes, you get bonus episodes. You become part of the in-crow, you know. I'm in with the in-crowed, I go where the in-croud go, I'm in with the in-crow, I know what the in-crow, no, basically that will be you. Imagine that. 499 a month to be part of the in-crowd, it's definitely worth it. There's now two bonus episodes a month as well of this show, but whatever way you support the tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho' tho' tho' tho- tho' tho' tho- that that that that that that that tho tho tho tho tho that that that that that that that that that that that that th is th is th is th is th is th is tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho the the the the the the thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo that that that that that, thank you for giving us your time and we'll see you next week. Next week, goodbye. Bye. I think. the