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Episode 161: A railway puzzle
7th November, 2025 • Caroline Roper, Ella Hubber and Tom Lum from 'Let's Learn Everything!' face questions about new names, convenient coins and purchasable possessions.
Transcription by Caption+
Tom Scott:
Why did two people who knew each other change their surname to Gray on the same day?
The answer to that at the end of the show. My name's Tom Scott, and this is Lateral.
SFX:
(indistinct phone voice)
Tom Scott:
Yeah. Yeah, they're here again. Yeah.
SFX:
(indistinct phone voice)
Ella:
(wheezes)
Caroline:
I can't believe this is happening to us. Wow.
Tom Scott:
Yeah, they just appear every three months, like clockwork.
SFX:
(Tom Lum and Caroline laugh uproariously)
Tom Lum:
They're like roaches.
Tom Scott:
I wouldn't mind, but they make this little annoying sound.
SFX:
(indistinct phone chatter) (guests crack up and gasp)
Tom Scott:
They, they... It's just like they're sitting there staring and mocking me.
Caroline:
Na-na-na. My name's Tom Scott.
SFX:
(indistinct phone chatter)
Tom Lum:
(stifles laughter)
Tom Scott:
No, I've tried that, but they didn't take the hint. You know, they just turn up like they own the place, cause chaos, and leave.
Ella:
(giggles)
Tom Scott:
So what, that'll get rid of the mosquitoes? Okay.
Ella:
(laughs)
Caroline:
Oh. (laughs)
Tom Scott:
Alright, thank you, Jim. Thanks, bye.
Sorry about that. A warm welcome to the folks from Let's Learn Everything!
Tom Lum:
(laughs)
Caroline:
Wow!
Ella:
What a warm welcome as always.
SFX:
(both Toms laugh)
Caroline:
Yeah, thank you. (laughs)
Tom Scott:
It's always good to have the three of you back. There's very few guests where our producer feels confident enough to write a skit like that and feel like I can sell it and get away with it. So, it is always lovely to have you back.
SFX:
(Tom Lum and Caroline laugh)
Tom Scott:
Caroline Roper, welcome back to the show. How are you doing?
Caroline:
Good, thank you, yeah. Always so excited to be here. Please ignore where I was like, you know, taking the mick out of your mosquito thing. It wasn't me. It was just reacting.
Tom Lum:
Yeah. That was all the mosquitoes.
Caroline:
Yeah, it was the mosquitoes, that's all.
Tom Scott:
I'm just glad it was mutual. I'm really glad it was mutual.
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Tom Scott:
How have you been doing? How's the podcast going?
Caroline:
It's been really fun. We've been talking about a lot of science and miscellaneous topics, keeping it, you know, really fresh for us.
SFX:
(Tom Scott and Caroline laugh)
Tom Scott:
Tom Lum, what sort of topics have you been working on?
Tom Lum:
We have been talking about things like the placebo effect, the science of that, as well as stamps. Just how much we love stamps.
Tom Scott:
(chuckles)
Tom Lum:
The evolution of eyes. We have that on with a friend of this podcast, Sabrina Cruz. The most boring element. I'll— I don't wanna list them all. There's so many, and you can go listen.
I did have the thought, Tom, though, where I was like, you know, this is probably someone's first episode. And so, I was like, we should try to be a...
Tom Scott:
(chuckles)
Tom Lum:
We could pretend, you can ask me how I've been doing, and I'll pretend like it's the first time we've met each other.
Tom Scott:
I mean, I just don't think we could sell that, Tom. We've been getting on each other's nerves for so long now!
Caroline:
(laughs)
Tom Lum:
Let's give— here, give it a try. Ask me how I'm doing. Ask me how I'm doing.
Tom Scott:
Welcome to the podcast, Tom Lum!
Tom Lum:
Hey, how're you doing, you piece of (bleep)?
(bleep), sorry, sorry, sorry.
SFX:
(others laugh uproariously)
Tom Lum:
Sorry, I couldn't, I couldn't. Go on to Ella. Go on to Ella. Sorry.
Tom Scott:
And the last member of the Let's Learn Everything team, who are, I don't know if there's any shtick prepared here. Ella Hubber.
Ella:
Eh, how're you doing, you piece of (bleep)?
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Scott:
Oh, we've started badly.
You should plug the podcast. You should actually plug where people can find it, what you are, and what y'all do.
Ella:
We are the three co-hosts of Let's Learn Everything. And we talk about science, we talk about miscellaneous topics, and it's just as chaotic there as it is here.
Tom Scott:
Well, good luck to all three of you.
And while mosquitoes might suck, I hope our questions don't. Let's see if you can swat question one.
Thank you to Peter Genoff off for this question.
Slayer's third studio album Reign in Blood is one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time. When it was released for sale in 1986, why did most fans get two copies instead of one?
I will give you that one more time.
Slayer's third studio album Reign in Blood is one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time. When it was released for sale in 1986, why did most fans get two copies instead of one?
Tom Lum:
This is a very interesting question.
Caroline:
Hmm.
Ella:
This is— oh, these are records at this point, right?
Tom Lum:
I was gonna say, 1986? Probably vinyl records. Or is this around the time when CDs were starting to... I don't believe so.
Ella:
I actually have no idea.
Caroline:
It's crazy, we've talked about the history of music and sound so many times, and I still don't know the answer to that question.
Tom Lum:
Recorded sound, yeah. So I think it's— I mean, it's around— Well, and that makes me wonder if that's what the key here is for like two copies. 'Cause is it like on the precipice of a format change?
Ella:
Yeah, it's just as the changeover from records, from vinyl to CD.
Caroline:
Or even like cassette tapes and things like that as well?
Tom Scott:
Cassette tape, Caroline, was the most popular format at that time.
Caroline:
Nice.
Tom Scott:
Yeah, LPs were fading away. CDs were still relatively new.
Ella:
Cassette tapes.
Tom Lum:
Okay.
Caroline:
Okay. But that's not the answer, is—
Tom Scott:
It is an important bit of the clue though.
Ella:
Although I really, really like the way we did that, guys. Well done.
Caroline:
Beautiful.
Tom Lum:
(wheezes)
Caroline:
(guffaws)
Tom Lum:
As we continue to learn everything, we'll eventually just smash through this.
Ella:
Yeah.
Tom Lum:
We'll know all about everything.
Caroline:
(giggles)
Ella:
It's, I don't know. I'm just gonna put a really wild guess out there. Is there like a lyric in there that says... it's like, "rip up your cassettes, kids" or something.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Lum:
I thought you were gonna say like...
Caroline:
Go on, Tom.
Tom Lum:
Good, 'cause mine was just a joke.
SFX:
(group laughs heartily)
Tom Lum:
It would be one of those like, I feel like this is the— around the era— I mean, you were saying slash metal or whatever... that there was like a hidden message played backwards where—
Ella:
Oh, yeah.
Tom Lum:
It's like, (imitates backwards voice) "Buy two versions of bl-our album."
Ella:
Oh, that's so good, Tom!
Tom Lum:
Oh, sorry. Yeah, that's a—
Ella:
Oh no, I need to join the Navy!
SFX:
(others laugh heartily)
Tom Scott:
It just occurred to me that... even when I was a kid, playing something backwards, you know, you— it's on a computer. You hit the reverse thing on Windows 3.1 sound recorder. Playing it backwards on a record player involves physically rotating the disc unless you have something—
Caroline:
Oh yeah.
Tom Lum:
Oh yeah, yeah. Which is a lot more fun.
Tom Scott:
On a cassette tape, you couldn't do that. So maybe that's how more of the rumours spread.
Tom Lum:
Yeah, 'cause it makes it harder. Whether something's harder to play. I'm writing this down.
Tom Scott:
(chuckles)
Tom Lum:
I don't know for what, but that's just something—
Tom Scott:
It's actually not relevant to the question at all.
Caroline:
Just there.
Tom Scott:
Yep.
Tom Lum:
Yeah.
Caroline:
(laughs) It wasn't something... I'm going off the lyric thing that Ella just went— It wasn't so that people could have a PG version to play in front of their family. And the one that they could have in private or something.
Tom Lum:
That's good, Caroline.
Caroline:
You know, because we get told on our podcast that Tom Lum specifically swears too much. So is it like us censoring ourselves in putting two podcast episodes out?
Tom Lum:
That's also, that's a joke because... we all famously swear.
Caroline:
Yeah.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Lum:
It's weird that they picked me out.
Caroline:
(laughs)
Tom Lum:
Yeah, so is that... I like that idea. Is that...
Ella:
No reaction from Tom Scott.
Tom Scott:
No reaction from me, I'm afraid. It's not to do with that. It is to an extent to do with the content of it.
Tom Lum:
Could there be a bonus track? I know sometimes records will do like, bonus tracks for like Japan releases and stuff like that. So maybe are— do we— Can you confirm or not if they are two different mediums, or if they're... Like, is one a cassette, one a record?
Tom Scott:
No, this was just, most fans would get two copies.
Caroline:
Most fans?
Tom Scott:
Yes.
Caroline:
Not all fans?
Ella:
You're not confirming that, Tom. (giggles)
Tom Lum:
Well, are the copies identical or is there a difference, is my question.
Caroline:
And how are they getting them, is my other question. Are they being posted or are people going out buying them and then getting two in the packaging?
Ella:
Is one recorded from the radio? And one is like an actual copy of the album?
Tom Scott:
I think Caroline's closest there.
Ella:
It was posted?
Tom Scott:
No, not with the posted thing. With the going out and they're just getting two copies.
Tom Lum:
Were they unintentionally—
Ella:
"Thrasher" really encouraged people to steal them.
SFX:
(Tom Scott and Caroline laugh)
Tom Scott:
Unintentionally is right, Tom. Yes. Most fans probably didn't realise they were buying two copies.
Tom Lum:
I'm sorry, what? Were they stuck together or something?
Tom Scott:
Ooh.
Tom Lum:
The pressings were sticky, and then you'd pick one up, and then you'd accidentally get two?
Tom Scott:
Kind of? In a very real sense, yes. Cassette tape, remember, not vinyl.
Caroline:
Huh.
Tom Lum:
Right. Oh, wait, were they like... Wait, wait, wait, wait. Was it printed twice on the A side and B side or something like that?
Tom Scott:
Yes, it was!
Caroline:
Ohhh!
Tom Scott:
Yes. Reign in Blood clocked in at only 29 minutes long.
Tom Lum:
Oh my god. Oh god.
Tom Scott:
Because it's thrash metal. They had 10 songs in 29 minutes. So they had a bit of spare space on the cassette tape and just put it on both sides.
Caroline:
(laughs)
Ella:
Fair enough.
Caroline:
Why not?
Tom Scott:
As always, our guests have brought questions along with them. We will start today with Ella.
Ella:
This question has been sent in by anonymous from California.
One evening, a group of people gather around a public health billboard on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. Why?
I'll say that again.
One evening, a group of people gather around a public health billboard on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. Why?
Tom Lum:
I think I know this one.
Tom Scott:
I've seen this video. Sorry.
Ella:
Oh, if... So that's two people.
Caroline:
I do not know this, and I don't think I can figure it out on my own. (laughs)
Tom Lum:
1 v 1!
Tom Scott:
Normally, normally in a situation like this, we'd throw out the question. We'd start with something else.
Tom Lum:
(wheezes loudly)
Caroline:
(laughs)
Tom Scott:
Caroline? How do you feel about tackling this one solo?
Caroline:
(laughs uproariously)
Ella:
You can do—
Tom Lum:
Oh my god. A 1 v 1 Lateral Final Destination, no items. (laughs)
Ella:
Caroline, you can do this. You can do this. I believe in you. I practiced these on one person.
Caroline:
Oh, true.
Ella:
And he did it.
Tom Scott:
You practice these?
Caroline:
Okay.
Ella:
Yeah.
SFX:
(group giggling)
Tom Lum:
We love being on the show, Tom. It's an honor.
Caroline:
Yeah! We all put our homework into being here, okay? So you haven't specified a year for this. Is that important?
Ella:
It's every year.
Caroline:
So some sort of public health thing that comes around every single year, specifically in Los Angeles? Nowhere else? Just in Los Angeles?
Ella:
I don't know. This billboard might exist in other places, but it's important here. It's an event here.
Caroline:
That makes me think something that travels around. Is it like— Obviously I'm also thinking about stuff that you might have to have regularly, like vaccinations or... Or is it even something like an environmental thing of like, "Watch out, this environmental thing might get you"?
Tom Scott:
If I remember what this billboard is about correctly, then something you have regularly is... actually kinda close.
Tom Lum:
My hint I was gonna give Caroline that was a little less cryptic was...
SFX:
(Caroline and Ella giggle)
Tom Lum:
It's a modern billboard. Can I say that?
Tom Scott:
Yeah.
Tom Lum:
That there's something, I believe it...
Ella:
I think you— thinking about what kind of thing is on the billboard is important and it's definitely, it's a negative thing.
Caroline:
Oh? Oh, people are like "Uh-oh".
Ella:
No, no, no. The people are fine. The people looking at the billboard are happy. The thing on the billboard is negative.
Caroline:
The descriptions I've just received makes me think it's like... it's talking about something along the lines of like sex or something like that, that people are like—
Tom Lum:
(shakes head)
Caroline:
No? Oh, okay. I got the wrong—
Tom Scott:
A vice would be a way of doing it.
Ella:
Yeah.
Tom Lum:
Mm.
Caroline:
Ooh! So... Oh, is it something to do with like drinking around like a big annual event?
Ella:
Keep pushing down drinking.
Tom Scott:
Oh, but keep going with big annual event.
Ella:
Yes.
Caroline:
Oh, oh!
Ella:
Three people doing the clue. It's so funny.
Tom Scott:
This feels cruel! This feels cruel.
SFX:
(Tom Lum and Caroline laugh)
Ella:
Come on! Come on, Caroline! Come on. (giggles)
Caroline:
(continues laughing)
Ella:
Yeah, it is not drinking, but it's... It's a vice like that.
Caroline:
A recreation— a recreational vice. Nothing too hard, I can't imagine. So is it like smoking or...
Ella:
Yes, it's smoking.
Caroline:
Ohh! Ooh. Oh! Okay.
SFX:
(both Toms blurt laughter)
Caroline:
Around an event? It's not like trying to prevent wildfires or something like that?
Tom Scott:
(chuckles)
Ella:
No, no, no. So—
Caroline:
Is it? No?
Ella:
The billboard doesn't have anything to do with the event. They use the billboard for the event.
Caroline:
They use the billboard for the— Is it— And is it giving advice of like the impact that smoking can have on you?
Ella:
It is, yeah, but a very specific impact.
Tom Scott:
And— But not necessarily on you.
Caroline:
Oh, what would it display? And this is to put people off from smoking?
Tom Scott:
Mhm.
Tom Lum:
Yes, yes.
Caroline:
What would it display to put people off of smoking? And it's not necessarily about you. It's about people around you. And it's to do with an event. Is it like how many... I'm trying to think.
Tom Scott:
No, keep going. Keep going.
Ella:
Go say how many.
SFX:
(Ella and Caroline wheeze)
(group laughing)
Caroline:
Is it like... I'm trying to just like— If it was, say, like a cycling event, how many cyclists are in the area that could be impacted by your smoking? Is it something like that?
Tom Scott:
I mean, it's not far away.
Ella:
It's not to do with the event. Forget about the event. It's just an impact of smoking.
Caroline:
Air quality? Or like...
Tom Scott:
It's actually pretty bleak.
Caroline:
Oh! (laughs) Okay.
Tom Lum:
How many...
Caroline:
Is it to do with people passing away?
Tom Scott:
Yeah.
Ella:
Yes.
Caroline:
Oh? Oh. Does it show—
Tom Lum:
Don't clip that out of context. Is it to do with people passing away?
Tom Scott:
Yeah. (laughs)
Tom Lum:
Thumbs up!
SFX:
(guests cheering)
Tom Lum:
Well, actually... Our celebration is kind of similar to then— the second half of the clue.
Tom Scott:
Yeah. That's the celebration.
Ella:
Oh yeah.
Caroline:
So is it like the annual celebration of how many people have passed away that year, but like it's gone down?
Ella:
But when would it go down?
Tom Scott:
In fact, this is, I think, the one time where you can guarantee what the number will be.
Ella:
Mm.
Tom Lum:
Mm.
Ella:
It happens— a really famous version that happens at— not a version. An event that happens in Edinburgh and at the London Eye? (snickers) Once a year? Once a year?
Tom Scott:
If I tell you the date is January 1st...
Caroline:
Wait, is it people doing their New Year's resolution or something like that then?
Tom Scott:
What will happen to that billboard that...
Caroline:
Oh my god, it resets! Oh, it resets! It resets!
Tom Lum:
(laughs uproariously) (applauds)
Caroline:
Aaagh! It goes back to zero.
Tom Lum:
(wheezes profusely)
Caroline:
Ohhh!
Ella:
Oh, that— It's been so unfair. It's been so unfair to you guys.
Tom Lum:
I hope we all enjoyed
Caroline:
(guffaws)
Tom Lum:
this bizarro version, alternate version of Lateral.
Tom Scott:
I feel guilty.
Tom Lum:
Can we pilot some changes?
Tom Scott:
I feel actively guilty about that question.
Tom Lum:
(laughs)
Ella:
That was so mean. I'm sorry.
Caroline:
I feel great. I got there in the end. With a lot of support.
Tom Lum:
(wheezes)
Caroline:
Thank you all.
Ella:
Well done, Caroline.
Okay, so the answer is that it's New Year when the smoking deaths counter resets to zero. So, the billboard says "Smoking deaths this year" with the number, "...and counting". And then obviously the number is increasing as the year progresses, and so the crowd gathers to watch the counter reset to zero, indicating that it's midnight at New Year.
One person ironically called it the Los Angeles version of the Ball Drop in New York City.
Caroline:
(hoots astonishedly)
Ella:
I love it. I love how morbid this is.
Tom Scott:
Thank you to Emily and Elika in New York City for this question.
Bobby and Beth are bored while sitting at Washington Square Park in New York City. They decide to see if they have $4.76 between them, and soon, they literally do. Why?
One more time.
Bobby and Beth are bored while sitting at Washington Square Park in New York City. They decide to see if they have $4.76 between them, and soon, they literally do. Why?
Tom Lum:
Sorry, the phrasing of it is just so lateral.
Ella:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
(laughs softly) I really enjoyed saying "Bobby and Beth are bored". It's really— It's a really pleasing—
Caroline:
Oh yeah.
Ella:
Okay, so let's go really literal with it, because you said literally do. There's, in Washington Square Park, in some paving stones, they have old money... pressed into the paving stones. And so when Bobby and Beth walked a certain distance between each other, that's how much the monetary value between them added up to.
Tom Scott:
I love that as an idea. But no.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Lum:
And that's the answer.
Tom Scott:
But you are right to pick up that this is literally... the money is between them.
Tom Lum:
Yeah.
Caroline:
If you put $4.76 worth of like notes and pennies, what that distance would be in between you? It's sort of similar to what Ella said actually.
Tom Lum:
Yeah. Oh yeah. Does the amount in... Is it all in pennies? Is that relevant? Is this gonna be, or is this gonna be like, 'cause... It can't just be like... I don't know, they go busking and then they get the change. Is this... maybe this is like a famous... moment where... Or like they're doing it for specific, like a charity where you have to line up pennies. I don't know.
Ella:
There's a sculpture made of pennies in Washington Square Park.
Tom Lum:
Mm.
Tom Scott:
You're right that the money is all coins.
Ella:
And it's physically, literally there. It's not a sculpture. It's— Does— Is Washington Square Park important? Is it like this is something that is...
Tom Scott:
Yes.
Ella:
I don't know why that would help me, 'cause I'd never been there.
Tom Lum:
It's—
Caroline:
No, no. (laughs)
Tom Lum:
Well, I'm close. It's like a 25 minute bike ride, so I'll just be right back. (walks off)
SFX:
(others laughing)
Tom Scott:
Well, I mean, if you've been there, Tom, you— wait. Is Tom committing to the bit? Tom has actually left the call and is actually—
SFX:
(Caroline and Ella laugh)
Tom Lum:
(walks on)
Tom Scott:
Okay, no.
SFX:
(Caroline and Ella blurt laugh)
Tom Scott:
No, with a bike helmet. Alright, yep.
Caroline:
(laughs)
Ella:
Oh! I have an idea! You've— There's a fountain. There's a fountain there that you can throw coins into.
Caroline:
Ohhh.
Tom Lum:
Oh, yeah.
Tom Scott:
There are some other things there as well. Tom, if you've been there, you'll probably have seen this.
Tom Lum:
Washington Square Park. There's the arch, right? Am I thinking of the right one?
Tom Scott:
Mhm.
Tom Lum:
Then there is the fountain.
Ella:
Is this the one where everyone busks and does performance art?
Tom Lum:
I mean, there's a lot of shops, there's a lot of people. Yeah. Yeah, it's mostly, there's like a fake look— I don't know the history of it, but it sort of looks like a smaller Arc de Triomphe. If I don't believe that's gonna be relevant. Maybe it is?
Tom Scott:
(hesitates)
Tom Lum:
It is?
Tom Scott:
No, it's not. Sorry.
Tom Lum:
Okay.
SFX:
(Ella and Caroline laugh)
Tom Lum:
And then, yeah, there's a— It's a pretty big fountain. And sometimes people hop in there on a hot day, which you shouldn't, but...
Tom Scott:
Bobby and Beth are bored and sitting down in the park.
Ella:
Is there like a synonym for bored we're supposed to get here or a, they are like, they're being water boarded,
SFX:
(group laughs uproariously)
Caroline:
(trails off laugh) But yeah, they're looking for something to do. And this is the thing that they end up...
Tom Scott:
Yeah, they're sitting down. Although there are tables where they're sitting as well.
Ella:
Oh, there's— Is there chess?
Tom Scott:
Keep going. 'Cause the one thing, Tom Lum, you didn't remember about Washington Square Park is the chessboards there.
Ella:
Oh, they're using the change as the pieces.
Tom Lum:
Oh, yes!
Ella:
And the different values add up. So pennies are the pawns.
Tom Scott:
Yes.
Ella:
And then... I don't know the maths, but ultimately the stacking.
Tom Scott:
Yes, absolutely right. This is a personal anecdote from Emily, who sent the question in. Yeah, 16 pennies as pawns. Four nickels, four dimes, four quarters as bishops, knights, and rooks. Two half-dollars as queens, two dollar coins as kings, and that is $4.76.
Caroline:
Brilliant.
Tom Scott:
How did they tell the pieces apart?
Tom Lum:
Heads or tails.
Tom Scott:
Correct! Yes! Spot on, Tom Lum!
Tom Lum:
Cool!
Tom Scott:
(cackles) I'm not saying it's a good way to play chess, but it is, according to Emily, a way to play chess if you're bored in Washington Square Park, and you don't have chess pieces. But you do have, for some reason, just a lot of coins.
Tom Lum:
Yeah.
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Tom Scott:
Caroline, after that last question that you took on solo, I think it's only fair that we go to you next for your question. Whenever you're ready.
Tom Lum:
And torment us. Give us nothing!
SFX:
(group laughs heartily)
Tom Lum:
Ohhh.
Tom Scott:
In 1347 in Azerbaijan...
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Tom Lum:
Instead of reading it twice, I'm gonna read half of it.
Tom Scott:
Yep.
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Caroline:
(sighs) Okay.
In 2015, an eBay user in Germany was selling off their possessions, including a car, sofa, phone, and bike. On the modified Apple MacBook for sale, it was possible to type STEWARDESS, but not most of PILOT. Why?
One more time.
In 2015, an eBay user in Germany was selling off their possessions, including a car, sofa, phone, and bike. On the modified Apple MacBook for sale, it was possible to type STEWARDESS, but not most of PILOT. Why?
Tom Scott:
It would be really funny if we all knew this immediately.
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Tom Lum:
Is it a regional keyboard? That's my assumption, my first guess.
Ella:
Mm.
Tom Lum:
Because you wouldn't be able to type a certain thing, and it's Germany.
Ella:
I'm pretty sure Germans have the same keyboards as—
Caroline:
I think Germany has most of those letters, yeah.
Tom Lum:
Also, most of 'pilot' is...
Tom Scott:
Yeah.
Tom Lum:
quite a wording.
Caroline:
(smirks silently)
Tom Lum:
Oh, wow, they're really giving us nothing.
Caroline:
Yes.
Tom Lum:
Oh, wow. (laughs)
Caroline:
Oh yeah. I'm giving you nothing for a little bit, at least. (laughs)
Ella:
Well, I mean on— at least on a QWERTY keyboard, all of 'STEWARDESS' is on one side, and all of 'PILOT' is on, at the other. Like they don't have a— They don't overlap at all.
Tom Scott:
'STEWARDESS' is left-handed, isn't it?
Tom Lum:
Ella! Great, great shout! Left and right side.
Caroline:
That's a fantastic shout, Ella. And is very along the right lines.
Ella:
Left-handed, like you say, maybe it's a...
Tom Scott:
Maybe the MacBook has just been sliced in hal— No, that's not...
Tom Lum:
Hey.
Caroline:
Tom.
Tom Scott:
No.
Tom Lum:
Hey.
Caroline:
That's exactly the answer!
Tom Scott:
No!
SFX:
(Ella and Caroline cackle)
Tom Scott:
That was a comedy answer! No one's— Okay. So, cool. I've got some of that. We still need to work out why?
Caroline:
(laughs)
Tom Lum:
Oh, hold on, wait. I'm trying to wonder. Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. Is this like, I'm wondering if this is like a specific person in Germany, like a YouTube channel that cuts stuff in half or anything like that?
Caroline:
It's not a YouTube channel, but it is a specific person in Germany did this. And I'll let you try and figure out why.
Tom Lum:
Like an artist?
Caroline:
No, not an artist. It wasn't artistically done.
Ella:
Can you tell us, are the other things they sell relevant here?
Tom Lum:
Cut in half?
Caroline:
All of the other things were cut in half as well.
Tom Lum:
Cut in half. Okay.
Caroline:
Yes.
Ella:
Something to do with the Berlin Wall.
Tom Lum:
Is this for commercial work? Because I know sometimes folks need to do a bisection of a thing, or they do all kinds of stuff to do these effects to... No?
Caroline:
When else would you need to divide things?
Ella:
In a divorce?
Caroline:
Yeah.
Ella:
This person—
Caroline:
Ella!
Tom Lum:
We have got to stop joking. 'Cause then, it makes it real.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Caroline:
It wasn't a divorce, but it was a really bad breakup. Yes. (laughs)
Tom Scott:
Wow! That's spite!
Caroline:
Right? It's so good. So a German man had broken up with his girlfriend after 12 years of being together. He made a video showing himself cutting all of their possessions in half.
Ella:
Oh.
Caroline:
This includes mobile phones, chairs, beds, the mailbox, and of course, this modif— heavily modified Apple MacBook. And of course, as you guys said, on a QWERTY keyboard, all of the letters for 'stewardess' are on the left-hand side, and most of 'pilot', except for the T, are on the right. I have a really great quote
Tom Lum:
Oh my god.
Caroline:
from that man.
Tom Lum:
Sorry, for audio listeners, Mouth just agape from me. I'm just...
SFX:
(group laughing)
Caroline:
The German man in the caption of the video, which was called "for Laura"...
Tom Scott:
Oh, wow.
Tom Lum:
Wow.
Caroline:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
Oh, that little detail has made me really not like this guy.
Ella:
It seems sinister.
Tom Scott:
Well, it would. It's the left side of it.
Caroline:
(guffaws)
Tom Lum:
Oh my god.
Caroline:
Ella, I think it is maybe a little bit more left-handed. He said in the caption, "Thank you for 12 'beautiful years', Laura. You've really earned half."
Tom Scott:
(deflates)
Caroline:
Which is brutal.
Ella:
Wow.
Tom Lum:
I wish upon every listener to never have— to feel— never feel so much spite you end up in a Lateral question.
SFX:
(others laugh uproariously)
Tom Lum:
To never have that level of spite in your soul.
Ella:
Yep.
Tom Scott:
The next question is from Andrew M. Thank you very much.
Two trains are at either end of a straight, single track. They both set off towards the opposite end and make it safely, without crashing into each other or derailing. How?
I'll say that one more time.
Two trains are at either end of a straight, single track. They both set off towards the opposite end and make it safely, without crashing into each other or derailing. How?
Tom Lum:
I think your wording... makes this impossible, but just double checking real quick. It's not like they were facing away to begin with, and then they just kept going.
Tom Scott:
Oh, no. I think the wording would make that impossible. No, they are facing each other.
Tom Lum:
Yeah, okay.
Tom Scott:
I just love that—
Tom Lum:
I just wanted to... make sure it wasn't something like that.
Tom Scott:
I just love that after however many episodes, we finally got a question that is two trains depart at the same time.
SFX:
(Tom Lum and Caroline laugh)
Ella:
When you started saying it... my brain immediately started shutting down. Like, this is maths. This is maths. This is maths. It's gone.
Caroline:
(laughs)
Tom Lum:
Amy has two apples, and Bob has three.
SFX:
(Tom Lum and Caroline laugh)
Ella:
Okay, as per usual, I will throw out my immediate thought, which is that—
Tom Lum:
The trains were divorced.
Ella:
One of the trains has a track on its back, leading up its nose.
Caroline:
That's why my brain went. Yeah, yeah.
Ella:
And then when they pass each other, one goes over the other.
Caroline:
(laughs)
Tom Lum:
Ella, have I ever said, you have such a beautiful mind.
Ella:
Thank you.
SFX:
(Tom Lum and Caroline laugh)
Caroline:
My brain went to like, one train goes like, it splits in half, and it goes up, and then the other train—
Ella:
Oh yeah, one's got— One's on stilts and it goes under.
Caroline:
Oh yeah!
Tom Lum:
Caroline, have I ever told you, you have a beautiful mind.
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Tom Scott:
Ella... Yes.
Tom Lum:
No. No!
Tom Scott:
Yes!
Caroline:
We can't do this twice in a row!
Tom Lum:
No!
Caroline:
(laughs heartily)
Tom Scott:
So...
Tom Lum:
No!
Caroline:
Wow.
Ella:
Wow.
Tom Scott:
I'm gonna need a little bit more detail about what might be going on here, but you are right. Both of these trains have tracks up from the nose and across and down the other side.
Tom Lum:
Like Wile E. Coyote style.
Tom Scott:
Yep.
Caroline:
Who thought that was a good idea? Who designed that and made it?
Tom Lum:
Now, are these real trains? Are they model trains?
Caroline:
Ohh.
Tom Scott:
These are real trains.
Tom Lum:
What?
Caroline:
Who made this?
Tom Scott:
I mean, I can, I can tell you that it's Stern's Duplex Railway or the Leap Frog Railroad.
Ella:
Where is this? Did you say?
Tom Scott:
Well, I'm gonna ask you to take some guesses at that, because that might be a clue to what's going on here.
Tom Lum:
Now, is this a real train, but at an amusement park or something like that?
Tom Scott:
Yes.
Tom Lum:
Somewhere novel?
Caroline:
Ohh, well done.
Tom Scott:
Yes.
Caroline:
I was gonna say, is it on the side of a mountain, and therefore it's a really narrow passing? But your suggestion is more sensible.
Tom Scott:
Yeah, this was at the Dreamland Amusement Park at Coney Island in New York... in the 1900s.
Tom Lum:
Okay, okay.
Caroline:
Oh. (guffaws)
Tom Lum:
Good. I almost got on my bike.
Ella:
And how many people died riding it?
SFX:
(Tom Lum and Caroline laugh)
Tom Scott:
So it was billed as the 'uncrashable train', which is bold.
Tom Lum:
(laughs) Famously a horrible idea to name something like that.
Ella:
The unsinkable ship.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Scott:
It was quite a short ride. And so passengers would get in, and one of the trains would go over the other quite slowly. We're talking one, two miles an hour here. And kind of go over up, across, and down, and then presumably would get to go the other way on the way back.
This was also patented, I think, by various inventors in various countries as the idea of a railway that combined the actual transit and kinda the thrill of a ride.
And I think they were originally thinking that perhaps this could be used on single rails. But if you are—
Tom Lum:
Kind of a cool idea.
Tom Scott:
If you are building the Transcontinental Railroad... and you only have a single track, and you need to have trains meet, and you don't have modern signaling... maybe that's actually a good idea? Maybe?
Ella:
Did anyone ever try that?
Tom Scott:
Outside of the amusement park, not as far as I know.
Ella:
Probably for the best.
Caroline:
(guffaws)
Tom Scott:
Yes, this was Stern's Duplex Railway or the Leap Frog Railroad at Dreamland, Coney Island in the 1900s.
We are rattling through these questions, so hopefully the next one is a bit of a stumper. Tom, it is over to you.
Tom Lum:
This question has been sent in by Mistmage.
In episode 46 of the TV adaptation of the anime Magical Princess Minky Momo, the main character is killed by a truck full of toys. Why did the head writer choose to do this?
I'll say that again.
In episode 46 of the TV adaptation of the anime Magical Princess Minky Momo, the main character is killed by a truck full of toys. Why did the head writer choose to do this?
Tom Scott:
Again, it would be really funny if we all knew this.
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Tom Lum:
Big, big Minky Momo heads in the call.
Tom Scott:
There was an old British TV show that would pull pranks on celebrities, you know, you know, bring them in for fake TV shows, things like that. Or would prank someone who was running a quiz or something like that by having two contestants who knew all the answers. Or some contestants.
SFX:
(Caroline and Tom Lum laugh)
Tom Scott:
And just for a moment, I'm like, if— I'm hoping that never gets pulled on me. It's just like...
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Tom Scott:
But if it was ever gonna get pulled, it would be by Producer David talking to you three. So...
Caroline:
(laughs uproariously)
Tom Lum:
Also I will say, this happens to us too. Every time, Tom, you pull something off-screen or take a bit too long, I'm like, this is a bit, this is a bit.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Ella:
I have nothing on this one. And I've been really killing it this episode. So actually, I'd let you guys pull your weight a bit.
Tom Scott:
(cackles)
Tom Lum:
(applauds)
Caroline:
Ella! Ella!
Tom Lum:
I mean—
Caroline:
I did a whole one on my own! (giggles)
Tom Scott:
Yeah, you're right. This is on me and Tom Lum, isn't it? This is— This is—
Caroline:
Yeah. Yeah, this is your turn.
Tom Scott:
Okay. Killed by a truck... hauling toys.
Caroline:
It wasn't like an anti-consumerism messaging or something crazy like that, was it?
SFX:
(guests wheezing)
Ella:
Tom's making a weird face.
Tom Scott:
Don't do this to us, Tom. Don't do this. It's a bit. This is a bit. He's just waiting for ages to say no.
Tom Lum:
That is a good bit. I'm writing that down. It's not exactly that, but it, I mean...
Ella:
Oh, like maybe, the creator— So the people who owned the network were making loads of toys of her or something. And the creator was like, absolutely didn't like her commercialisation, so...
Caroline:
Oh?
Ella:
You know, killed her off with a truck full of toys of her or something.
Caroline:
Gosh, that's brutal. Wow!
Tom Lum:
You guys... (cracks up) I can't believe this.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Lum:
You're very close.
Tom Scott:
Oh my god!
Tom Lum:
You're not there. And because we're so close, I'm not gonna say much more.
Caroline:
Fair, fair.
Tom Scott:
Okay, okay.
Tom Lum:
Eh... yeah.
Caroline:
Thanks. (laughs)
Ella:
Being about anti-capitalism and anti-consumerism somehow.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Ella:
So it was only a matter of time.
Tom Lum:
So really, every question's about that, if you think about it.
Caroline:
My thinking is the creators of the show, producing these toys, these toys produced. They have them in their hand, and they go, "Ah, shoot. This does not look like the main character at all."
Tom Lum:
(wheezes)
Caroline:
"We're gonna have to kill off the main character and bring in a different character that does look like the dolls, and therefore, problem solved."
Tom Scott:
No. No!
Tom Lum:
No. No, no.
Tom Scott:
Oh.
SFX:
(Ella and Caroline laugh)
Tom Lum:
To be clear, no!
Tom Scott:
That was the bit! I wasn't calling that bit!
Tom Lum:
No, no, no, no! That wasn't a bit. I was amazed at Caroline's mind. I was not...
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Lum:
No, farther. You're getting farther.
Tom Scott:
Tonight on 'Is It a Bit'!
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Tom Lum:
You're— I mean, the motivations of selling toys is... part of it. It is definitely a big part of it.
Tom Scott:
We have assumed that the main character being killed off is a bad thing. What if the main character is an anti-hero, or the main character is someone the audience is meant to dislike.
Or it's part of the plot, and now they get to ascend to somewhere, or they get to return somewhere.
This is anime. This is— This does not have to be realistic.
Ella:
Yeah, did this end the show?
Tom Lum:
I love those ideas, Tom, but in this case, Ella is... right. This... was written because the show was coming to an end.
Tom Scott:
Ooh.
Caroline:
Ooh?
Tom Lum:
Not... as sort of a hint there. 'Cause you have all the pieces. You just need the exact—
Caroline:
So, wait.
Tom Scott:
Do we know what year this was?
Tom Lum:
I think it's around the '80s or '90s, that sort of era of the anime... era.
Tom Scott:
About the time when Pokémon merchandise and everything was starting to become a thing, when merchandising was starting to become important.
Caroline:
Ahh.
Tom Scott:
Like when the US children's shows were all kids' toys. Just basically toy commercials.
Tom Lum:
Yep. Toy sales is a big motivation here.
Caroline:
So did killing off the main character create some sort of scarcity around the toy, or like, "Ooh, we should go and buy the..."
Tom Scott:
Here's a deep children's animation cut. 'Cause I know we're running short on this episode. There was a British series called Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
Ella:
Ugh, ugh!
Caroline:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
Yeah.
Caroline:
Oh, whoa.
Tom Lum:
What? Whoa.
Ella:
I hate Captain Scarlet.
Tom Scott:
Oh?
Ella:
I hate puppets.
Tom Lum:
Ohh.
Tom Scott:
Okay. It was a... Supermarionation series. So like marionettes. It is basically the style that Americans will know because Team America parodied it.
Tom Lum:
Oh, that will...
Tom Scott:
It was one of the shows that was...
Tom Lum:
...scar a child. For some reason, that really does.
Tom Scott:
I love them, because they put 'em back on the '90s. This was back in the '60s. But anyway, the deep cut thing here...
Tom Lum:
I'm with you, Ella.
Tom Scott:
is that they had the comic book tie-in. And like...
Caroline:
Oh yeah!
Tom Scott:
You could write in, and you could get like a pack back. And whichever captain you were assigned was your region of the country. Because there was Captain Scarlet, Captain Ochre, Captain whatever.
They messed up the allocation of the regions. And one was way, way more than the others. They were getting so many in from Captain Purple's region that they killed him off in the comic book, so they had an excuse to not reply to the children from that region for a long time.
SFX:
(guests aww)
Ella:
That's evil!
Caroline:
Yeah!
Tom Scott:
Sorry, that's a deep irrelevant cut, but we've answered so many questions so quickly here.
Caroline:
Yeah! (laughs)
Ella:
Yeah.
Tom Lum:
I'll say... to go back to what you were saying, Tom, that, you know... The intention was to sell toys with this show.
Tom Scott:
It wasn't a protest against—
Ella:
But that wasn't, yeah, that wasn't that the head writers had the anti-intention of that. He was like, we can stop selling as many toys if the toys kill her.
Tom Scott:
I was thinking it was more like, we're being cancelled in favour of Pokémon or whatever is gonna sell the merch. So actually this— He's— This is—
Tom Lum:
You're closer there.
Ella:
They cancelled the show because they weren't selling enough toys. And so the head— It's just bringing what you're saying together. So the head writer, you said the toys killed her.
Tom Lum:
Exactly.
So yeah, the TV show was devised purely as a way to sell toys. However, the toy company, Popy, wasn't impressed with the series and canceled it.
And so the head writer Takeshi Shudō heard the series had been canceled while the final episodes were still in production. And so he enacted a preconceived plan to kill off the main character so that the series could be concluded swiftly.
Tom Scott:
(cackles softly)
Tom Lum:
And of course, the character being killed by a truck delivering toys was a jab towards the sponsor and the toy companies.
Caroline:
Wow.
Tom Scott:
Incredible.
Ella:
Nice.
Caroline:
(gasps)
Tom Lum:
I've seen a version. And again, I think there are multiple versions, maybe, because... some regionalizations were like, "This is bad!"
SFX:
(both Toms laugh)
Tom Lum:
So maybe they changed it.
I saw one version that was so wild, where it's literally like... a baseball gets thrown into the street from a field, and then she goes, runs up to get it. And then you hear a car go, "Beep-beep".
And you're like, "Oh no!" And then you realize it's just a kid in a toy car and the girl's like, "Whew!"
And then a truck goes, "Mwoooh!" Goes around the corner! I'm like, oh my god!
Ella:
This is a kids' show?
Caroline:
Whoa!
Tom Scott:
It's sellin' toys.
Tom Lum:
Yeah. (chuckles) And... moments later, the parents go to the child's grave. It's really like, oh my god!
Tom Scott:
Wow!
Ella:
That's dark!
Tom Lum:
The truck, I think tumbles and toys fall out dramatically on the ground, like Rosebud style. (laughs) It's really...
Caroline:
Wow!
Tom Lum:
Yeah. But you guys got it.
Tom Scott:
We have, perhaps unsurprisingly, unlocked the shiny bonus question here. So good luck to you all with this.
Thank you to Estella for sending it in.
In 2023, a pre-release version of Microsoft Windows referred to non-existent "postcode files". Why?
I'll say that again.
In 2023, a pre-release version of Microsoft Windows referred to non-existent "postcode files". Why?
Tom Lum:
Just AI. (cracks up) Was there some...
Caroline:
(laughs)
Ella:
It's just Windows 11.
Tom Lum:
something written that didn't exist? Non-existent, I assume that wouldn't be the answer. That, you know,
Tom Scott:
No.
Tom Lum:
it's just some, yeah... AI copywriter or something.
Tom Scott:
But copywriter is a good clue there.
Tom Lum:
Postcode files...
Caroline:
Ooh?
Ella:
It's just an anagram for something, a different thing that is supposed to be there.
Tom Lum:
Ooh.
Ella:
It's like, and there's this thing in science, sometimes called tortured phrases, where... people who do not natively speak English, they'll write their... papers in their own language. Or— And they'll copy quite a lot of it from somewhere else. And then they'll put it through a translator, and the transl— and— but they'll try and change it enough, and the translator will just replace the words.
Like, for example, if it was 'statistics' or like, it was 'significant', which is a really important word in science, it would change it to something like 'really important' instead of 'significant', right?
SFX:
(Tom Lum and Caroline laugh)
Ella:
As like a... You know, just change it just enough to make it seem different and like you wrote it yourself.
Tom Lum:
Instead of like, 'Our Findings Show', It's like 'Our Looking Around.'
Ella:
Exactly.
Tom Lum:
'We found some stuff.'
Caroline:
Yeah, yeah.
Tom Scott:
There's a thing in the UK newspaper industry, called 'popular orange vegetables'. Which is where you need to use the word 'carrots' twice in a sentence. And you find some tortured way, because you have been told that using the same word twice in a sentence is bad.
And you end up with, "something, something, the popular orange vegetables". Like, just use 'carrots'.
Tom Lum:
(laughs uproariously)
Tom Scott:
Just...
Tom Lum:
That's great!
Caroline:
(laughs heartily)
Ella:
The popular— Yeah.
Tom Scott:
You'll— Once you spot that, you spot it everywhere. It's like, oh, you've just looked in a thesaurus for...
Ella:
You do see it all the time. The popular something, something.
Caroline:
Mhm.
Ella:
Constantly. So... I'm bringing this up along the lines of maybe, the word 'postcode' is kind of like, very similar to something that actually exists.
Tom Scott:
It really is. And I think you're right with find and replace. You're right with... all of this. You're very, very close here.
Ella:
ZIP files.
Tom Scott:
ZIP files!
Caroline:
Ohhh!
Ella:
(laughs)
Tom Scott:
Absolutely right.
Tom Lum:
Oh my god!
Caroline:
Wow.
Tom Lum:
Ella! Slam dunk!
Caroline:
Wow.
Tom Lum:
And this should have been mine. I'm the computer science guy. Wow!
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Scott:
In File Explorer, the menu option 'compress to ZIP file'
Tom Lum:
Oh my god!
Tom Scott:
was replaced with 'compress to postcode file' in the British edition.
Ella:
(wheezes profusely)
Caroline:
Woooow!
Tom Lum:
I then— this is my computer science brain was tripping me up. I thought this meant like a post, like posting to a database, a code or something like that. That's why. Okay! That tripped me up.
Tom Scott:
No, we just call ZIP codes, postcodes.
Tom Lum:
The only thing more cryptic than computer science is the British language.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Scott:
Which means we just have that question from the top of the show.
Thank you to 'ethan' for sending this in, and thank you to unashamedly-enthusiastic for confirming it.
Why did two people who knew each other change their surname to Gray on the same day?
Before I give the audience the answer, do any of the panel want to take a shot at it?
Ella:
They got married?
Tom Scott:
That is why people change their name. But they both changed their name.
Ella:
But people can— You can both change your name when you get married?
Tom Lum:
Oh my god! One of them's last names was Black, and the other last name was White.
Tom Scott:
Spot on, Tom Lum!
SFX:
(guests cheering)
Tom Scott:
Miss White and Mr. Black got married to each other, and they blended their surnames by becoming Mr. and Mrs. Gray.
Thank you very much to our players. Where can people find you? What's going on with the podcast?
We will start with Tom Lum.
Tom Lum:
We are Let's Learn Everything. It's a comedy and science podcast where we learn about science and miscellaneous topics on the Maximum Fun network.
Tom Scott:
Where can people find you, Ella Hubber?
Ella:
letslearneverything.com, baby.
SFX:
(Tom Scott and Caroline laugh)
Tom Scott:
That's it. That's all we're getting. And...
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Scott:
And what sort of topics are you covering, Caroline Roper?
Caroline:
Oh my goodness. It is everything from blood and its uses through to digital piracy. We ask questions like "Can trees talk?" and "What did Shakespeare's accent sound like?"
All sorts of stuff in this wonderful mix of science and miscellaneous topics.
Tom Scott:
And if you wanna know more about this show, you can do that at lateralcast.com. We are at @lateralcast basically everywhere, and there are full video episodes every week on Spotify.
Thank you very much to Caroline Roper!
Caroline:
Yay!
Tom Scott:
Ella Hubber!
Ella:
It's been a pleasure. Thank you, Tom.
Tom Scott:
Tom Lum!
Tom Lum:
Yay!
Tom Scott:
I've been Tom Scott, and that's been Lateral.
Episode Credits
| 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 | Mistmage, ethan, Peter Genoff, Emily and Elika, Andrew M., Estella |
| FORMAT | Pad 26 Limited/Labyrinth Games Ltd |
| EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS | David Bodycombe and Tom Scott |