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Episode 181: Road of Lions
27th March, 2026 • Ella Hubber, Caroline Roper and Tom Lum from 'Let's Learn Everything!' face questions about French phrases, rugged roads and profitable practices.
Transcription by Caption+
Tom Scott:
In France, what is known as 'Château-la-Pompe'?
The answer to that at the end of the show. My name's Tom Scott, and this is Lateral.
Before we begin, a quick thank you to everyone who's taken time to leave us a review on Spotify. At time of recording, our rating is a wonderful 4.8, and we're trying not to let it go to our heads.
But what, I wonder, would it be like to host a podcast with a rating of 4.7?
Ella:
(gasps)
Tom Scott:
Well, our guests today... wouldn't know!
Caroline:
(laughs uproariously)
Ella:
Oh my god!
Tom Scott:
As their podcast is currently rated 4.9!
Ella:
Oh!
Caroline:
(shouts)
Tom Lum:
Oh my god. Oh my god. (sighs loudly)
Tom Scott:
Which I'm not gonna lie, stings a bit, but it's richly deserved. It's the folks from Let's Learn Everything!
Tom Lum:
Oof.
Caroline:
Yeaaa!
Ella:
Oh.
Caroline:
Wow, that was traumatic.
Ella:
I was about to say. I don't think we're at a 4.7, because I look at every review, and I call those people personally and get them to change it.
SFX:
(Tom Scott and Caroline laugh)
Tom Scott:
My script here literally has a note from Producer David that says in big square brackets, in bold, "fake out". So I'm glad that worked.
SFX:
(guests laugh heartily)
Tom Lum:
The idea of like before the Oscars, like really kicking someone down a peg, and then being like, "And now you've won the award!" is like... "Huh, uh, ah!"
SFX:
(others laughing)
Tom Lum:
And of course we all know having a 4.9 is the equivalent of having an Academy Award.
SFX:
(both Toms laugh)
Ella:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
It's one of those things where you don't want a 5. That just means only one person's reviewed you.
Caroline:
Yeah. (laughs)
Tom Lum:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
It's like hotel ratings or anything like that. A high four, I'll believe. A five, something's wrong there.
Tom Lum:
We do genuinely, if we see a review that's just like, "they swear too much, and they don't make— they make too many jokes", we're like, "Oh, the podcast is reaching people, new people, that's great."
Tom Scott:
(laughs)
Ella:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
Let's talk about the award-winning 4.9 podcast.
SFX:
(guests laugh heartily)
Tom Scott:
Caroline, tell us about Let's Learn Everything.
'Cause y'all are regulars here now, but for the folks who have just joined us in the last few weeks on this show, what do you guys do?
Caroline:
So the three of us do a science comedy podcast where we chat about a science and a miscellaneous topic. The twist: none of us know what we're gonna talk about that day. So it's a surprise to all of us.
Tom Lum:
One of us knows.
Caroline:
One of us knows.
Tom Lum:
Hopefully one of us does the reason.
Ella:
We go in completely blind.
Caroline:
Completely blind. All of the facts, not true, but we say it with confidence so people believe us.
Tom Lum:
(whinnies)
Tom Scott:
To be fair, that is the difference between you and the vast majority of podcasts out there.
Tom Lum:
We do too much research. We spend a lot of time.
Caroline:
So much research.
Tom Lum:
We do a lot of work.
SFX:
(Ella and Caroline snicker)
Tom Scott:
Ella, what sort of things are you researching?
Ella:
We do a huge range of topics on the podcast. In a single episode, you might hear about fossoriality and movie censorship, or unsolved maths problems and video game controllers. So you can just see the kind of... eclectic range of things we do.
Tom Scott:
And Tom Lum... what's your favourite card in Magic: The Gathering?
Tom Lum:
Oh. Oh.
SFX:
(group cackles)
Tom Lum:
I had to pay Tom Scott so much to gimme this airtime.
Chaos Warp. Ooh, or Share the Spoils. It's gotta be Mono-Red.
Ella:
What about the eat— the guy that eats itself?
Tom Lum:
Oh, we did actually talk about Magic very briefly on one episode.
Caroline:
Terror, yeah.
Tom Lum:
It was a card called Terror that has a wonderfully macabre artwork of a skeleton in a circle thing.
Caroline:
We all met up, and Tom gave us some gifts, and one of the gifts was the Terror Magic: The Gathering card. (laughs) So, we're that kind of group.
Tom Scott:
Well, good luck to all three of you. Caroline, Ella, Tom, best of luck.
Let's see if you're gonna leave a five-star review for question one.
Tom Lum:
Well, it's a terror to have you all on, so let's get cracking.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Scott:
Thank you to Meredith Lowmaster for this question.
At a museum in Cleveland, Ohio, there is a model of a German car affixed to the wall with a thin metal bar. Visitors find this both surprising and amusing. Why?
And one more time.
At a museum in Cleveland, Ohio, there's a model of a German car affixed to the wall with a thin metal bar. Visitors find this both surprising and amusing. Why?
Tom Lum:
I had a classic, is this genius or am I gonna...
Caroline:
Yeah. (laughs)
Ella:
Okay.
Tom Lum:
My first thought, this is the— what the first seatbelts look like. It was just a thin metal bar across the lap.
Caroline:
It sounds...
Ella:
Tom Scott's just not doing any reaction, which I don't know if it's like—
Tom Scott:
I'm waiting for y'all to say things!
Ella:
A f— Oh, I thought it was like a fakeout, where you're gonna tell Tom he's wrong again.
Tom Scott:
I'm not gonna do that twice in two shows! Or maybe I am, and I'm just setting up the expectation now that I won't.
Tom Lum:
Ah, the mind games.
Ella:
Okay. My first thought was... it... the metal bar separates the east and west of the car.
SFX:
(Tom Lum and Caroline belly laugh)
Caroline:
Wait, I'm interpreting this completely differently. I thought it was affixed to the wall, but the bar was the thing holding it up there. Is that— am I interpreting that wrong?
Tom Scott:
Yeah, you've got the right...
Caroline:
Oh, okay.
Tom Scott:
Yeah, that's right.
Ella:
I decided that the metal bar was over the car. Are we— was it— is it standing on the metal bar?
Tom Lum:
Would a car wear a metal bar this way or this way?
SFX:
(Tom Scott and Caroline laugh)
Ella:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
The metal bar goes all the way through the car.
Caroline:
Through?
Ella:
Through the car?
Tom Scott:
Through the car. It is affixed to the wall.
Tom Lum:
Is this a Phineas Gage car? (wheezes) Is this the car Phineas Gage...
Caroline:
(laughs)
Ella:
It's... Sometimes I start a sentence with like, 'the', 'it's', 'or'... and I don't actually have the rest of the sentence. I just hope that something will come afterwards, and I have nothing! Nothing!
Tom Lum:
That reminds me of, it's just like...
Ella:
Hah!
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Caroline:
Okay, I'm bringing this back. Is it like... I'm picturing a car on a flagpole. And it's like not through passenger side to driver's side. It's through like boot through to front windshield, and it's just like hanging there like that.
Tom Scott:
How are the rest of you picturing it?
Ella:
I was picturing it from boot to— from boot to nose.
Tom Lum:
Yeah.
Caroline:
Ah? Not passenger... window through window on the side.
Ella:
No. I don't know why.
Caroline:
Interesting.
Ella:
Is it sticking— Yeah. I was imagining the car sticking directly out of the wall.
Tom Lum:
So, sorry. Does... I'm so lost. Is this— I'm trying to rotate this metal car in my mind.
Caroline:
(laughs)
Tom Lum:
Is the metal bar part of the car, or is it like something that a car— the rod went through it, and it's like a famous car for that reason or something like that?
Tom Scott:
The metal bar is not part of the original car. Tom, what orientation are you seeing this in?
Tom Lum:
Eh... goes through it lengthwise down the middle, as if it was an axis describing yaw.
Tom Scott:
Okay.
SFX:
(Caroline and Ella snicker)
Tom Scott:
No, in this case, it would be... Well actually, I'm not sure— That's roll, the way you just moved your hand there.
Tom Lum:
Yeah, you're right. You are right. Yaw is flagpole.
Tom Scott:
Yaw is side to side, and you're right with that – that one word. The model is mounted vertically on the wall.
Tom Lum:
So really, I was right. Yeah, so for video watchers, I was wrong. For audio listeners, I was right.
Tom Scott:
Yeah, exactly.
Tom Lum:
(laughs)
Tom Scott:
The model is mounted vertically on the wall.
Ella:
It's mounted with its wheels on the wall?
Tom Scott:
Yeah.
Ella:
I see.
Tom Scott:
Yep, and that—
Caroline:
Ohhh!
Tom Scott:
That metal bar goes through the roof and through the floor and into the wall.
Tom Lum:
It's like if a car was like a fly on the wall, and then you skewered it.
Caroline:
Had not processed that that was an option, to be honest with you.
Ella:
Yeah. I don't know why I went for the least reasonable way to stick this car to a wall, which was just hanging.
Tom Lum:
I don't think there's a common way.
Ella:
Is it a flagpole? Is it the American flag?
Tom Lum:
Ooh.
Caroline:
Ooh. Metal.
Ella:
Through a German car, you know.
Tom Scott:
It's not.
Tom Lum:
Ooh.
Tom Scott:
Tom, when you said it's like a fly on the wall... Closer than you might think.
Ella:
Oh, is it pinned like a butterfly, like an insect is pinned?
Caroline:
(gasps)
Tom Scott:
Yes, it is.
Tom Lum:
Is this art exhibit?
Caroline:
Wow!
Tom Lum:
Holy moley. Whoa.
Caroline:
Is it a Beetle then?
Tom Scott:
Yes, it is.
SFX:
(guests cheering)
Tom Lum:
Caroline! Got it! That's the one-two-three, baby!
Caroline:
(laughs heartily)
Tom Scott:
Yes. This is the Cleveland Museum of Natural History who, inside a display case with genuine beetles pinned on the display case, have taken a tiny model of a Volkswagen Beetle and pinned it into the display.
Caroline:
You know what, hadn't processed that it wasn't a car-sized car.
Tom Scott:
You were all thinking, I think... I said model of a car. I did not specify the scale there.
Caroline:
Yeah. (laughs)
Tom Scott:
Caroline, whenever you're ready, let's have your question.
Caroline:
This question has been sent in by Kagan Yildiz.
In Ankara, Türkiye, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lies at the end of a long path. This so-called "Road of Lions" is paved with stones that are laid asymmetrically and spaced 5 centimetres (2 inches) apart. Why?
And that's a mouthful. So we're gonna do it again.
SFX:
(Tom Scott and Caroline laugh)
Caroline:
In Ankara, Türkiye, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lies at the end of a long path. This so-called "Road of Lions" is paved with stones that are laid asymmetrically and spaced 5 centimetres (2 inches) apart. Why?
Tom Scott:
Okay.
Ella:
Are they lions? Are they the shape of lions, the stones?
Caroline:
(grimaces silently)
Ella:
Er... nothing.
Tom Lum:
Is it a road?
Caroline:
Carry on.
Tom Scott:
I can give you some context here, which is that Atatürk was the founder of the modern republic of Türkiye. I think that's the guy.
Caroline:
Oh, well done. First bullet point on my notes here.
Tom Scott:
Yeah.
Caroline:
Yeah, absolutely.
Tom Scott:
If— That's your general knowledge stuff. That unfortunately is as far as my knowledge goes.
Tom Lum:
I can add to the second part of the question. So roads are typically what cars drive on. It can be paved. People can walk on it also. But the rest, I got— That's my work I've brought.
Tom Scott:
And you said it was paved asymmetrically?
Caroline:
Mhm.
Tom Lum:
Or no, asymmetric stones?
Tom Scott:
Asymmetric stones, 5 centimetres apart. Okay.
Caroline:
I would go— it's been— the stones that are laid asymmetrically.
Tom Lum:
Into the tiles almost?
Caroline:
Yeah, yeah.
Tom Lum:
Okay. Oh, interesting. Asymmetric... Oh, I'm tr... Is it shaped like a lion? Are these lion tiles that—
Ella:
I said that already!
Tom Lum:
Oh, sorry.
Caroline:
The tiles are not lions.
Ella:
They're tiles.
Caroline:
There are lions there. Not real lions.
Tom Lum:
So what about the tiles? Are the tiles 'lion' down? (chuckles)
Tom Scott:
Eyyy.
Caroline:
Eyyy.
Ella:
Woo.
Tom Scott:
I... what do I know about the country? It's got a red flag with a... I think a white crescent and star on it.
Ella:
Mm. Oh yeah, they— is it the shape of the flag? The symbol on the flag?
Tom Scott:
But it's not... No, that doesn't mean you've got five centimetre things. There's gotta be something clever about this, but...
Tom Lum:
Yeah, my brain was like, oh, it's like a mathematical asymmetrical tiling that is very unique, or something like that. Or does it— 'Cause— Well, 'cause— and also you— it's a classic end to a problem, which your question, Caroline, was just, "Why?"
Caroline:
Yeah.
Tom Lum:
And so I'm wondering, is it functional in some way? Does it prevent people from stepping on something, or direct them to a certain thing? I'm trying to think what you would want in a mausoleum.
Caroline:
It's not preventing people from doing something. It is encouraging certain behaviours instead.
Tom Scott:
If it's asymmetric, you won't have people always going down the same path maybe. They won't always stay in the centre.
Tom Lum:
Is... it... a... Did the classic Ella strategy, start a sentence.
SFX:
(others laughing)
Tom Lum:
Guys, it's so obvious, the answer is... the tiles are on the road. Next question.
Tom Scott:
(laughs)
Caroline:
Nailed it, wow. And with that, I think we could go on to the next person. I think it's back to... (laughs)
Tom Lum:
Dude—yeah. Would it redirect them or let them form lines? Maybe queues?
Caroline:
You're like, you're along... (sighs) Mm. It is trying to encourage some form of behaviour that's expected here.
Tom Lum:
Maybe not littering or something like that, is another...
Tom Scott:
Not taking selfies in the mausoleum. Some kind of horrible tourist behaviour that inappropriate for a mausoleum.
Caroline:
Eh, not even—
Ella:
Or is it a respect thing? It makes them do something that is respectful of the road?
Caroline:
Ella, I like your thinking.
Ella:
And the mausoleum.
Tom Lum:
Oh.
Caroline:
Yeah.
Ella:
It makes people—
Tom Scott:
'Cause these are only 5 centimetres apart. That's not... far. I mean, these sound like cobblestones or something like that. Something to deliberately slow people down, so they don't run in.
Caroline:
(gasps)
Tom Lum:
Oooh.
Caroline:
Interesting.
Tom Lum:
Great shout.
Caroline:
That's... one part of it, yeah.
Ella:
It prevents running?
Caroline:
It's not just slowing people down. What else is this?
Tom Lum:
Prevent cars?
Caroline:
Mm. It's more about that walking, and that— those people entering this space.
Tom Lum:
Do you have to walk a specific number of steps? Is that like a thing it encourages people to...
Caroline:
(shrugs)
Tom Lum:
Or yeah, okay. Yeah, they might be... Are they— Yeah. Are they not flat? Are they kind of like... jutting out or textured in a way that makes— Does it make you lean forward or something like that?
Caroline:
Ooh, not lean forward, but you're having to slow down in this space. It's not necessarily...
Tom Lum:
Make you look down?
Ella:
You're bowing?
Caroline:
Yes!
Ella:
Oh.
Caroline:
That's exactly— Yes, Ella! Well done. That was a hit and a swing from Tom and Ella there.
You're trying to make people slow down and look down, or bow their head in respect as they walk up to it.
Tom Lum:
Ohhh.
Ella:
Ohhh.
Caroline:
There we go.
Tom Lum:
Fascinating.
Caroline:
So, the Road of Lions, it's 262 metres long. It has got some lions. It's got 12 lion statues on each side... representing the 24 tribes of the Oghuz Turks. The gaps between the stone tiles on the path mean that visitors must walk slowly, as Tom said. And visitors often have to look down, causing them to bow their heads as a sign of respect.
Tom Scott:
Thank you to Rob for this question.
Paul crawls around his living room to improve his moviewatching experience. What has he put in an unusual place, and why?
I'll say that again.
Paul crawls around his living room to improve his moviewatching experience. What has he put in an unusual place, and why?
Caroline:
What a tone shift. Wow.
Tom Lum:
Yeah, there's a concept in art called chiaroscuro, which is the contrast of dark and light.
SFX:
(both belly laughing)
Caroline:
Huh.
Tom Lum:
Oh, man.
Tom Scott:
The thing is, Producer David does not know in which order I'm going to go to the three of you. That's not in my script. So that—
Tom Lum:
That's just art made on the fly.
Tom Scott:
Yep.
Tom Lum:
Oh, it's to bow.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Caroline:
Surely the thing he's put in a weird place is the vessel with which he's watching the movie on. The screen.
Tom Lum:
Vessel?
Ella:
The vess—
SFX:
(Ella and Caroline chuckle)
Caroline:
Is it a phone? Is it a laptop? Is it a monitor? It's a vessel. (laughs)
Ella:
I would've thought surround sound system. Putting it—
Tom Lum:
Oh! Great! Ella, that's a great idea.
Caroline:
Is he crawling around to try and find the best place to...
Ella:
No, no, it's like you put it in relation to the action on the screen, almost. So like if it's...
Caroline:
Right.
Ella:
something's happening in the... You know, someone goes underwater, you gotta get down on the floor to hear the surround sound that's on the floor. You put one on the roof for like, if there's sound overhead.
Caroline:
You're trying to make a 4D experience. Just for yourself.
Ella:
Yeah.
Tom Lum:
Manually.
Caroline:
(laughs)
Tom Lum:
That's a really good idea actually.
Tom Scott:
It is a really good idea.
Caroline:
Oh?
Tom Scott:
It's not quite there, but you're right that this is to do with the sound system.
Caroline:
Crawling around to find the sweet spot of the sound quality.
Tom Scott:
Well... yes. Yes. I'll give you that.
Caroline:
Oh?
Tom Scott:
There's a couple more details there. 'Cause you're right about surround sound. You would just put that in roughly the right place. Right? You put the left speaker to the left. Right speaker to the right. There's something special about fancy movie watching systems.
Tom Lum:
Like 3D... binaural, sort of like... makes it feel like it's all around. I was still stuck on Caroline's idea, 'cause what I imagined was crawling around all fours, and like, the thing is on— you have a phone on a Roomba playing a movie, and you're chasing after it, and it's like...
SFX:
(others laughing)
Tom Lum:
I don't know what that's for. Like, you're like Godzilla, and you're chasing after something, or... Is it like the point of least echoing or something like that would be my guess. But I feel like that's not what you're asking for. You're asking—
Tom Scott:
Honestly... I'm not gonna expect you to know details of how sounds works, so— but I'll go for that. He's trying to find the best position for something.
Ella:
To hear the sounds.
Tom Scott:
Mhm.
Ella:
(laughs)
Caroline:
Nailed it, Ella. Yeah, yeah.
Ella:
(laughs)
Tom Scott:
Well, when you think about surround sound systems, what... Talk me through the parts of those.
Tom Lum:
The speakers. There's the subwoofer.
Tom Scott:
There is, Tom.
Tom Lum:
Yeah, and...
Caroline:
Oh.
Ella:
Oh.
Caroline:
Okay.
Tom Scott:
What's different about that subwoofer?
Tom Lum:
It's big, and it does the low bass's rumble. And so... it usually sits on the ground, I suppose.
Tom Scott:
I think I'm gonna give it to you on that, Tom. It is finding the best place to put the subwoofer.
Ella:
Oh.
Tom Scott:
S,o subwoofers are not directional. If you've ever seen 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound... '5' is the number of directional speakers. The '.1' is just the bass track. And because that's just rumble, it doesn't matter what direction it comes from.
Tom Lum:
I had no idea. That's a funny...
Caroline:
Huh.
Tom Scott:
Yep. 5.1 or 7.1 is five main speakers and one subwoofer track.
Caroline:
Ah, okay.
Tom Lum:
Well now I'm like, what's the point? What are we doing here, decimal of a... At first, I was like, oh that's clever naming. And then I'm like, well, what's the unit here?
Tom Scott:
Yeah, the unit is— It should be 5+1 or 7+1. They went with 5.1.
Tom Lum:
Sure, sure.
Tom Scott:
This is the subwoofer, which is a different channel. So you're right. He's trying to find a good place to put the subwoofer. That, you're right.
Tom Lum:
Okay.
Tom Scott:
So you've got the what. The first half of the question, perfect. What's he put in an unusual place? It's a subwoofer, and he's crawling around on the floor. Why?
Ella:
I mean, just to feel the bass. You know, where it... best.
Tom Scott:
No, he's trying to optimise here.
Caroline:
Is he trying to get the sound to bounce in a good way, or something like that?
Tom Scott:
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
Caroline:
Okay.
Ella:
Wait, so the sound is... It's already in the right place, and he's crawling away from it.
Tom Scott:
Oh, no, no. It's not in the right place.
Tom Lum:
Okay, he's finding the point.
Tom Scott:
It's not gonna stay there.
Ella:
Oh, so this is a test to see where it will go?
Tom Scott:
Mhm. You've got almost all the picture.
Tom Lum:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
The subwoofer is somewhere. He's crawling around on the ground. If he's on the floor, where's the subwoofer gonna be?
Tom Lum:
On the floor?
Ella:
I mean also... Or the floor.
Tom Scott:
It's not unusual, that.
Tom Lum:
Is he gonna bury it under the— in the floor? Sink it in?
Tom Scott:
How do sound waves work? What's going on there?
Tom Lum:
Go— I believe they're a wave that pushes back and forth, as opposed to going up and down. And so... the answer is that...
Ella:
(giggles)
Tom Scott:
Well—
Caroline:
Doing great.
Tom Lum:
To not break windows or something? No, but it's for the sound. It's not about disturbing something else. It's about the sound.
Tom Scott:
It's about the sound.
Tom Lum:
Is it like, from where he's sitting, he wants it to be the most optimal?
Tom Scott:
Yeah, absolutely. He's trying to find the best sound for where he's sitting.
Tom Lum:
Does the room matter? Is it like a bathroom or something?
Tom Scott:
No, no. This could be any room. If you are setting up something...
Tom Lum:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
Trying to optimise the sound, There is— there's a place you're optimising for.
Tom Lum:
The center? The couch. The—
Tom Scott:
Yeah. The subwoofer's on the couch.
Caroline:
On the couch?
Ella:
He's imagining that he is the subwoofer.
Tom Scott:
Yes!
Ella:
And he's shouting at the—
Tom Scott:
So, it's not shouting.
Ella:
Wait, what?
Tom Lum:
What? What?
Tom Scott:
Bass response is what's called reciprocal. Because it's a subwoofer... you can make it work in reverse. If you place the subwoofer in the optimal listening spot, and then crawl around for where it sounds good... you can then swap positions, put the subwoofer there... and it will sound great. That's why I was talking about sound waves. They work both ways.
Ella:
Oh my god.
Caroline:
Oh my god! I'm actually like, that's really clever, huh.
Tom Scott:
This is called the 'subwoofer crawl'. Home cinema enthusiasts will put the subwoofer in the seat... and then crawl around until they find that it sounds good, and all the audio is bouncing around in just the right way. And then they'll mark that and swap it 'round.
Tom Lum:
As opposed to moving your couch to where it sits best, based on where the setup—
Tom Scott:
Or hefting the subwoofer 'round to try it, trial and error, trial and error.
Tom Lum:
Yeah, yeah!
Caroline:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Tom Scott:
It's a lot easier to move your ears.
Tom Lum:
Oh! That's fascinating.
Tom Scott:
Ella, we'll go to you for the next question please.
Ella:
Great.
This question has been sent in by Katie Waning.
Starting in 1948, Tony would row a short distance off Florida's west coast, then put on a pair of oversized metal shoes with three prongs. Why?
Tom Lum:
(whinnies)
Caroline:
(sputters)
Tom Scott:
It's a why question!
Caroline:
No! (laughs)
Tom Lum:
Ahh... ah...
Ella:
Starting in 1948, Tony would row a short distance off Florida's west coast, then put on a pair of oversized metal shoes with three prongs. Why?
SFX:
(both Toms laugh heartily)
Caroline:
(sighs)
Tom Lum:
Last time it was Florida's west coast, It had to do with Cape Canaveral. Although I don't know if that's on the west coast.
Tom Scott:
That's the east coast.
Tom Lum:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
Tom Scott:
That's the east coast. And I'm gonna drop a space fact in here. You know why?
Caroline:
Ooh, wonderful.
Tom Lum:
Because it's closer to the— It's— The ocean is more likely for debris to fall in.
Tom Scott:
Yeah. Because they launch to the east.
Ella:
You can't come in and steal someone else's fun fact, Tom.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Ella:
So rude!
Tom Lum:
That's the rules, baby. Is you say it faster, you gotta—
Tom Scott:
It's collaborative. It's collaborative.
SFX:
(Tom Lum and Caroline laugh)
Tom Scott:
Yeah, they launch eastbound. So this is unlikely to be a space coast thing, despite— Also bit early for 1948 as well.
Ella:
It's nothing to do with space.
Caroline:
Okay.
Tom Lum:
Yeah, yeah. Well, so this is the first time they did it, and they didn't realize that you gotta look at that.
Caroline:
Are the metal shoes weighing this person down in some capacity?
Ella:
Yes. Yeah, they are. I think I saw that they were— they weighed about 30 pounds.
Caroline:
Oh, so hefty, huh? And is the length of the prongs important?
Ella:
Mm, no.
Tom Lum:
I'm thinking like, is this like a reef thing? Like you're trying to...
Caroline:
Yeah, yeah.
Tom Lum:
Underwater mountain climbing.
Caroline:
(guffaws deeply)
Tom Scott:
(chuckles) A short distance is doing a lot of work there.
Caroline:
Mm.
Ella:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
Like that, off the Florida coast, that could be ankle deep water... Or it could be, no, you've got a full diving suit on, and you also have to be wearing giant pronged shoes.
Caroline:
Yeah.
Tom Lum:
Also... year and Tony makes— Is this a specific occurrence... or is this a thing that several people could have done?
Ella:
It was a specific thing, this man did. I don't— I doubt you would've heard of him in particular, but it was known in the area.
Tom Lum:
Sure. Yeah, yeah.
Tom Scott:
Is '48 late enough for there to be... tourist attractions in Florida? 'Cause nowadays, if this was a Florida thing, it'd be like, it's either a weird Everglades thing, or it's just some obscure tourist attraction that they're trying to set up.
Caroline:
Mm.
Tom Scott:
I went... Years ago, I went to a mermaid show in Florida.
Ella:
Oh!
Tom Scott:
There is a natural spring— deep spring water thing, they've just built a glass wall theater into the side of.
Tom Lum:
Whoa.
Tom Scott:
And they have people in mermaid suits.
Caroline:
Floridians are crazy.
Tom Scott:
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Is there some tourist thing here?
Ella:
I don't know if it was a tourist attraction, but I— if I was a tourist, and I knew about this, I would definitely go.
Tom Scott:
Okay.
Tom Lum:
Sure, okay. It's something Ella would find interesting.
Caroline:
So is it something that's still happening? 'Cause you said it started in '48. Did this carry on for a longer period of time?
Ella:
I think it carried on, I think it was for a decade.
Caroline:
Whoa! Okay.
Tom Scott:
Okay.
Caroline:
They loved putting really heavy metal shoes on and just having a wander around, huh.
Ella:
Interesting. What a wander around.
Caroline:
Wander around, do they put them on and they went for a little walk.
Tom Lum:
Was there a shipwreck here or something that they could explore?
Caroline:
The metal prongs make me think that there's something under the ocean bed that they're trying to... hit with— the prongs are sinking down, and they're trying to hit something under the—
Tom Scott:
It's really inefficient crab hunting.
Caroline:
Yeah.
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Tom Lum:
Crab soccer. Yeah. (grunts)
Ella:
I'll say this. They're not— He's— Tony wasn't looking for something. He wasn't trying to take something. He is leaving something behind.
Caroline:
Is he implanting something, using the shoe?
Tom Scott:
Footprints.
Tom Lum:
Bigfoot.
Caroline:
Ooh.
Tom Scott:
But he was just putting lots of big spiky holes in there.
Tom Lum:
Wait.
Caroline:
Is he trying to recreate dinosaur footprints or...
Ella:
Caroline, you're so close.
Caroline:
What? What do you mean?
Tom Lum:
Bigfoot prints? Is he trying to make a... pretend there's a cryptid there?
Ella:
Yes! That's exactly it!
Caroline:
What? What?
Tom Scott:
Awwh!
Tom Lum:
You would love this.
Caroline:
(laughs)
Tom Lum:
You're 100% right.
Tom Scott:
Weird tourist stuff! That's weird tourist stuff!
Caroline:
Weird tourist stuff!
Tom Lum:
Oh.
Caroline:
(laughs) Which cryptid?
Ella:
Tony Signorini was trying to make fictional tracks for a giant penguin. Or giant creature of some sort.
SFX:
(both Toms laugh uproariously)
Caroline:
Oh my goodness. So it wasn't three prongs going down. It was three prongs out!
Ella:
No, yeah. It's three prongs sticking out.
Tom Scott:
Oh! I had those on completely the wrong axis in my head.
Caroline:
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ella:
So after seeing a dinosaur footprint picture in National Geographic, Tony Signorini decided to create a fictional cryptid of his own. He made a pair of 14-inch lead shoes
SFX:
(both Toms guffaw)
Ella:
to leave footprints on Clearwater Beach near Tampa. The massive tracks baffled both locals and scientists, who wondered if it could be a 15-foot-tall penguin.
Tom Scott:
(cackles)
Ella:
(cracks up) Apparently the charade went on for about a decade, but— and Tony didn't come clean until 1988. So 40 years later.
SFX:
(Tom Scott and Caroline laugh)
Tom Lum:
Man, remember when misinformation was a craft that you had to be skilled at?
Tom Scott:
Right?!
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Scott:
Crop circles! Yeah, we'll just get some folks. We'll put, you know, flatten some wheat. It'll be fine— Oh, no. Now we've started a whole cult.
Tom Lum:
Oops.
Tom Scott:
Okay, great.
Tom Lum:
Lead shoes. Wow. I like the penguin. That's a fun novel one.
Tom Scott:
This question was sent in by Paul Andrews. Thank you, Paul.
When a certain King's legal protections expired, he employed a business strategy that's still used today for coffee machines, gaming consoles, and mobile phones. What is that strategy?
And one more time.
When a certain King's legal protections expired, he employed a business strategy that's still used today for coffee machines, gaming consoles, and mobile phones. What is that strategy?
Caroline:
Let's list three things and see where we go.
Tom Scott:
(laughs)
Ella:
So my first thought was either planned obsolescence or evergreening. Two things we've talked about on the podcast.
Tom Scott:
What's evergreening?
Ella:
When a patent is go— coming— is gonna run out, like on a drug, they'll make small changes to the drug in order to extend their patent. I believe Disney does this as well with their copyright, by re-releasing movies for home video in different forms, so that they can extend their copyright out.
Tom Lum:
Mm, mm.
Ella:
I thought maybe a games console could do something like this to keep hold of their copyright.
Tom Scott:
You're along the right lines there. Certainly it's a strategy very similar to those two.
Ella:
Mm.
Tom Lum:
Gaming consoles. Mobile— I feel like they all have versions, right? Like mobile phones, every year it comes out. Gaming consoles will sometimes. I guess a coffee machine might also have an...
Caroline:
This King keeps popping out new children that must be protected, and therefore...
Tom Lum:
Ooh.
Ella:
Ohhh.
SFX:
(Tom Scott and Caroline laugh)
Ella:
I kinda like that.
Caroline:
The new version.
Tom Lum:
The King's legal protections expired, and so he invoked something that then presumably helped with...
Tom Scott:
He's not royal.
Ella:
It's someone King or Burger King.
Caroline:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
It's not Burger King. I'll cut you off with that one, but yes. It is someone King. And you may have heard of him.
Ella:
Oh...
Tom Scott:
Well you'll certainly have heard of him. Just possibly not by that name.
Tom Lum:
Is it like a chess king? Is it castling?
Tom Scott:
Ella, you were really along the right lines with the business strategies there.
Ella:
Okay. That's what I'm known for. My business strategies. It's a patent or copyright adjacent?
Tom Scott:
A patent, certainly. Yep.
Tom Lum:
Mhm.
Ella:
Okay. Normally when— Okay, so with a patent, if you put a patent into the Patent Office, even if you don't make the thing, you're still— that patent is still protected.
Tom Lum:
Oh, yeah.
Caroline:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
How long for?
Ella:
I think it's... seven years, it was?
Tom Scott:
It's 20 years.
Ella:
20 years. Oh maybe it's—
Caroline:
Oh wow.
Ella:
So there's something this person... doesn't want to have made. He doesn't want it in the world, So he's putting a patent in to stop other people from making it.
Tom Lum:
Oh, so, I was like, do gaming consoles— 'cause I presume, you know, PlayStation has— makes it— It's not like someone can make a PlayStation 12 and then swoop in ahead of them, because they technically haven't made it yet.
So I'm wondering if it's like a version— Yeah exactly, to your point, Ella, a version naming.
Tom Scott:
Just going back to the question: The legal protections expired is a patent. You're right there, Ella.
Ella:
Yeah.
Caroline:
Right.
Tom Scott:
And the King is someone called King. So the patent is expiring, has expired. The business strategy is changing.
Tom Lum:
So it— the patents expired. So now what do they do?
Ella:
Is it not just the make— yeah, making a small change and repa— and filing the patent again?
Tom Scott:
No, no, not for this. The whole method of what they'd invented... the patent had expired.
Tom Lum:
What if it's just about name recognition? So it's not about the actual legal thing, it's just like, you'll want to get it from me, because it's really cool if you get it from me specifically, even though technically you could make it yourself, or something like that.
Caroline:
Did they start selling it at that point, to other people, to start producing?
Tom Scott:
No, 'cause that was gonna happen anyway. The patent has expired.
Tom Lum:
Did they buy the counterfeits, and then sell them as their own?
SFX:
(Ella and Caroline snicker)
Tom Scott:
So, have a think about coffee machines, gaming consoles, mobile phones. They're kind of useless on their own.
Ella:
Oh, oh. A part. They patented the parts for the machine, for the thing he was making to stop.
Caroline:
Or an add-on. So like... Coffee machine's useless without the coffee beans. Is it that kind of thinking?
Tom Lum:
Gaming consoles need games.
Tom Scott:
Yep.
Caroline:
iPhones are useless without the charger or the apps or...
Tom Lum:
Yeah, or the network. So I'm wondering if it's—
Tom Scott:
Right.
Tom Lum:
Yeah. Okay.
Caroline:
Oooh.
Tom Scott:
Network is a very good thing. Not for the final answer, but you're thinking about how the phones might be sold by the network.
Ella:
The business strategy is... take... oh, yeah, taking control of the platforms that sell the things, or the manufacturers of—
Tom Scott:
I'm gonna give you one more object here. We've got coffee machines, gaming consoles, mobile phones and printers.
Ella:
Oh, ink! The ink in printers. You— yeah. So yeah, you patent— you make— Oh, you make a part that can only be used... is exclusive for that thing.
Tom Lum:
Yeah.
Ella:
Oh, you make exclusives?
Tom Lum:
Well, or you make the thing that goes in— So for mobile phones, right, it's like the— there used to be, now thankfully all of them are USB-C, but they're like...
Ella:
Oh yeah, the different charging cable.
Tom Lum:
Proprietary.
Caroline:
The charging cables.
Tom Lum:
Yeah. So, and then for ink cartridges, Yeah, you... you're locked into the ecosystem, as it were.
Caroline:
Mm.
Tom Scott:
Locked into the ecosystem. Definitely right.
There's one other thing. The question wasn't actually what the specific thing is. I'll happily tell you that, but you haven't quite nailed the strategy. You're nearly there.
It is about lock-in. It's about everything like that. But this is a business strategy. Particularly for printers.
Caroline:
Selling you the ink before you've run out, so that you've constantly got it. But you can only do that through that company.
Tom Lum:
Or selling the ink for cheaper so that— on the first one. So it's actually better to buy a new printer sometimes than it is to buy the refills.
Tom Scott:
That's kind of the side effect. That's the unfortunate part of it. What's the strategy? What are the companies doing with that?
Tom Lum:
Is it like you bundle in the stuff free? Like the first one's free?
Ella:
You bundle in more ink than the printer needs. So you have to buy a new printer.
Tom Scott:
Where are the companies making their profit?
Tom Lum:
Oh, they sell you the console for cheap, but then the games are more expensive. That's what happens for games.
Tom Scott:
Yes! That's the business strategy.
It is selling you the original item cheap, selling you the coffee maker for cheap. But the pods are where they get their revenue. Sell the gaming console cheap. Make money from the games. Sell the mobile phone cheap, provided you have a $30, $40, $100 a month subscription to the mobile network.
Tom Lum:
Right, right.
Tom Scott:
Sell the printer far below cost price, but require the expensive ink. So with that in mind, who came up with that business strategy the first time? Who is King?
Tom Lum:
Oh?
Caroline:
Ooh, ooh.
Ella:
Oh.
Tom Lum:
Whoa. And it's not a king.
Caroline:
Who did it first?
Tom Scott:
He patented this thing in 1904.
Tom Lum:
It's a classic. The frame of the guillotine is cheap, but the blades that you have to replace.
SFX:
(Tom Scott and Caroline laugh)
Tom Scott:
Here's the thing, there is a blade involved.
Tom Lum:
Razor blades?
Tom Scott:
Yes it is. This is King Camp Gillette.
Caroline:
(gasps)
Ella:
Gillette.
Caroline:
Oh my gosh!
Tom Lum:
Guys, sorry. The guillotine was— Wow, okay.
Tom Scott:
Yeah. Always say the silly thing, Tom. You're absolutely right.
King Camp Gillette patented the safety razor in 1904, and when the patent neared expiry, he changed strategy. He sold the razor handle so cheap, and then kept the high prices for the blades. Which guaranteed recurring income. That was the razor and blades model, which is now used for the coffee machines with pods, the printers with ink cartridges, everything like that.
Tom Lum:
Ahh.
Caroline:
And now people are much more likely to just buy an entirely new razor. Or it's sometimes encouraged to buy an entirely new razor, rather than just refilling it.
Tom Scott:
Tom, over to you when you're ready, please.
Tom Lum:
Rock and roll.
This question has been sent in by Joseph Stamps.
In the 1970s, Alice Cooper, Warner Bros. Records, and Giovanni Mazza each purchased something for $27,450 more than Ryan Seacrest wants today. What are they?
What was purchased?
Tom Scott:
Guillotine!
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Tom Lum:
I'll say that again.
In the 1970s, Alice Cooper, Warner Bros. Records, and Giovanni Mazza each purchased something for $27,450 more than Ryan Seacrest wants today. What are they?
I always— I love— It's very funny, I love the idea of someone seeing just this clip, and then Tom just shout "Guillotine", and everybody be like, "What does Tom have against Ryan Seacrest?"
Tom Scott:
Yeah, but here's the thing. The reason that was in my head is Alice Cooper famously used a guillotine on stage. A trick one, a magic one.
Tom Lum:
Oh?
Tom Scott:
But he did a magic trick on tour, and I think still occasionally trots it out, where halfway through one of the songs, his head gets cut off.
Tom Lum:
Wow.
Tom Scott:
And obviously, stage magic, everything like that, but self-decapitation on stage was actually a thing on Alice Cooper's tour. So when you said the name, that was the first thing I went to.
Caroline:
(laughs)
Tom Lum:
Wow, okay, alright. The guillotine also won a year of American Idol. Sorry, continue.
Tom Scott:
Okay, so I suspect the other two Brits on this call do not know who Ryan Seacrest is.
Ella:
He's a TV personality.
Tom Scott:
Yeah, he was the host of American Idol, I think, and still does radio shows and a lot of other stuff.
Caroline:
Interesting.
Tom Scott:
In that same entertainment world.
Ella:
Did you say Ryan Seacrest wants today?
Tom Lum:
So, yes. They were purchasing it for $27,450 more.
Ella:
So it's something that has devalued so much that he can't even shift it.
Tom Lum:
That's— It's not that it's devalued. It's that the ones that were purchased were a very special version of this thing. And again, 'thing' is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. So...
Tom Scott:
Alice Cooper, Warner Bros. Records, what was the other one?
Tom Lum:
Giovanni Mazza.
Caroline:
Who is that?
Tom Lum:
They were someone in this sort of industry. And I think that industry is gonna be a... sort of a hint.
Caroline:
Interesting.
Ella:
Music.
Tom Scott:
Music and entertainment, certainly.
Caroline:
Yeah, entertainment.
Tom Lum:
Entertainment is sure right on the money.
Caroline:
Okay.
Tom Scott:
Okay. So is this something... (sighs) that was in the 1970s... and has now been revived? Like there's a reboot or something like that?
Caroline:
Oooh.
Ella:
Oooh.
Tom Lum:
(chuckles) This is gonna be the least helpful yes. 'Cause in— and you'll see why. This really was rebooted.
Tom Scott:
(chuckles)
Tom Lum:
But not in a way that will be helpful. But that's what the money went to, actually, was—
Tom Scott:
$27,450 is such a specific number.
Ella:
Is it something that was auctioned off when this thing originally, if you're saying something's rebooted, when this thing originally ended?
Tom Lum:
You're spot on that it is sort of a like—
Ella:
Ohhh.
Caroline:
(gasps)
Ella:
I know what it is.
Tom Lum:
Oh my god.
Caroline:
What?
Ella:
I'm so sure I know.
Tom Scott:
Oh, I mean, as mentioned in the previous episode, if you're wrong, you are risking being mocked for your hubris.
Caroline:
Yeah, yeah.
Ella:
Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Tom Lum:
Oh, it's on the table. Even better. No, Ella, can I ask, what hint sort of got you there?
Ella:
For one?
Tom Lum:
Yeah. Yeah.
Ella:
Mhm. Does that make sense to you?
Tom Lum:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Caroline:
For one?
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Scott:
Oh, come on!
Caroline:
For one?
Tom Lum:
Oh, my apprentice. You have learned the ways!
Caroline:
For one.
Tom Lum:
Joined me now!
Tom Scott:
(laughs)
Tom Lum:
So you— So, right. Something was sort of— I don't know if it was technically auctioned off, but that's sort of the vibe of this.
Ella:
Mhm.
Tom Lum:
For something to be rebooted, that might be less helpful. Entertainment industry is extremely helpful for this. And we could try to go for the Ryan Seacrest if that might help you. I dunno if it will.
Tom Scott:
Is he still doing American Idol?
Tom Lum:
No.
Ella:
I realised what Ryan Seacrest was doing.
Tom Lum:
Ahh.
Caroline:
Oh?
Tom Scott:
(chuckles anxiously)
Caroline:
What?
Tom Lum:
He— Can I say that he hosts a...
Tom Scott:
(gasps loudly)
Tom Lum:
Can I say?
Ella:
(wheezes)
Tom Lum:
Wow. That's beautiful.
Tom Scott:
Okay.
Tom Lum:
Video watchers. You see a realization happening in front of your eyes is really cool.
Tom Scott:
There's no way I can connect this to Warner Bros. Records.
Caroline:
Interesting, okay.
Tom Lum:
Uh-huh.
Tom Scott:
Does Ryan Seacrest host Wheel of Fortune now?
Tom Lum:
Yes.
Tom Scott:
Ryan— Okay. No, I'm going ahead with this. I'm going ahead with this because
Caroline:
Please do.
Tom Scott:
I cannot work out the last part of this for the life of me. And I'm hoping one of Ella or Caroline brings it home. Wheel of Fortune has a thing where you buy a vowel. And you said it is what Ryan Seacrest is asking for?
So I assume the amount you pay from your prize pool to buy a vowel when you wanna check the clue. It gives you a vowel up on the board?
Tom Lum:
Yes. Yes.
Tom Scott:
I'm assuming that's— It's not gonna be $27,000. It's gonna be something like $500 or whatever.
Tom Lum:
Yeah, it's about— it's $250.
Tom Scott:
It's $250. That is somehow— So I've got that bit. I can't connect it to Alice Cooper or Warner Bros. Records or anything of that.
Ella:
They bought the letters, right? That's the idea. They bought the letters.
Tom Lum:
They bought the— this— They bought a specific letter for this amount of money. For a lot of money.
Ella:
And then— And that— But he asks, when he asks, doesn't he say "for one"? That's why I was saying "for one". That's the only thing I had in my head. Like for two— You're saying for $250. But I had this image in my head that the Wheel of Fortune host asked, "Okay, for one, can we get a U?" oor something like that?
Tom Lum:
Uh-huh.
Ella:
On the board.
Tom Lum:
Yeah, yeah.
Ella:
And so if... Does it ma— So do— okay. That's as far as I had gotten, that there was just the— It's the price differential between the letter and the— how much—
Tom Lum:
In the time— No, it's not. It's a completely different one of these.
Ella:
Ohhh!
Tom Lum:
Yeah, okay, so—
Ella:
Okay, well I got— Okay, so I actually— So you can mock me, 'cause I guess I didn't know.
Caroline:
Wow, Ella. Can't believe you didn't get that right(!)
Tom Scott:
Alice Cooper, Warner Bros. Records, and someone else bought... a vowel, a letter?
Tom Lum:
It sure was a letter. It was a specific one. For this amount of money. How could this letter be this expensive?
Ella:
'Cause there's only one of them? Oh, like there's very— Z?
Tom Lum:
Yeah. No, there's— it's— (chuckles) There's only a few of them.
Caroline:
Oh my god. It's not like a Hollywood letter, is it? Or something like that?
Tom Scott:
(gasps loudly) On the Hollywood Sign.
Tom Lum:
It exactly is. Which letter?
Tom Scott:
'O'!
Ella:
'O'.
Caroline:
The 'O'?
Ella:
They bought the 'O's in the Hollywood Sign?
Caroline:
Hollywood. There's three letters. So it was sold to three people, to three different organisations. They all bought the 'O's.
Tom Lum:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
Those are the three people and corporations who bought the rights to, or the sponsorship of the letters...
Caroline:
Uh-huh.
Tom Scott:
for $27,500 each?
Tom Lum:
About $28,000, yeah.
Tom Scott:
And Ryan Seacrest now sells vowels on Wheel of Fortune, which is filmed in Hollywood.
Tom Lum:
That's the connection.
Tom Scott:
Auuugh!
Ella:
How much does Ryan Seacrest sell the O for on Wheel of Fortune?
Tom Lum:
$250.
Ella:
Oh, why'd I think it was "for one"? For one dollar, the 'O'.
Tom Scott:
No, that's the Price is Right gag.
Ella:
That is The Price is Right!
Tom Scott:
It's the bidding thing. If you think all three have overbid, you say $1.
Ella:
So I was wrong in all kinds of different ways, but also right?
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Scott:
Half-remembered little bits of American pop culture.
Caroline:
Wow, yeah!
Tom Lum:
The answer here is the vowel 'O'. And specifically they were buying the 'O's in the Hollywood Sign. I feel like you guys did a great job getting there. It was great.
Caroline:
Real team effort, that one. Yeah.
Tom Lum:
In the 1970s, the famous Hollywood Sign was basically dilapidated. I had no idea. It was originally just a realtor marketing thing. That it originally said 'HOLLYWOODLAND', and it was basically just being like, "Come live up here in Hollywoodland." And they just made a huge sign on this mountain, and then it just became beloved, I suppose.
And so to basically fix it up, because again, it was just an advertiser that they left there, to basically just, just to fall apart. So to fix that, people donated $27,700 per letter. Nine people did this for the letters – various individuals and companies – to replace each letter, to make it actually something that could stand the test of time.
And then, yes, like you said, Ryan Seacrest, hosts Wheel of Fortune.
Giovanni Mazza was the co-founder of Panaria Film. Other letter purchasers include actor Gene Autry, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, and Andy Williams, who got the 'W'.
Tom Scott:
Which brings us to the question from the top of the show.
Thank you to Crashington for sending this in.
In France, what is known as 'Château-la-Pompe'?
Anyone want to take a punt at that before I give the audience the answer?
Tom Lum:
Château is like...
Caroline:
Like a house.
Tom Lum:
a house or a building.
Ella:
House of...
Tom Scott:
House of the something, yes.
Ella:
Pomp, Pomp...
Tom Scott:
Pompe.
Ella:
And Circumstance.
Tom Scott:
(laughs)
Ella:
Nope.
Tom Scott:
Not pomp, but there is definitely a connection between the French and the English here.
Ella:
Pump.
Tom Scott:
Pump. Pump would be close.
Ella:
Like a danc— it's a club.
Tom Scott:
Oh no, not that kind of pump.
Ella:
Like pump it up, pump up the jam. Pump it up, while your feet are stomping.
Tom Lum:
Has like... fluid dynamics, pumps?
Tom Scott:
Different kind of pump.
Caroline:
Oooh?
Tom Scott:
well, I mean, it is a literal pump, but we're not talking... petrol pump or anything like that. Some other... A similar related word maybe.
Tom Lum:
Bicycle, bicycles? Egghh, pump up the tires?
Caroline:
What other things do you pump?
Tom Scott:
There are very few working pumps in France that are like this anymore.
Tom Lum:
Guillotine?
Caroline:
Is it like a wat—
SFX:
(Caroline and Ella chuckle sardonically)
Caroline:
Is it like a water pump?
Tom Lum:
Oh yeah.
Tom Scott:
Yes. Yeah. So perhaps a better translation would be 'castle of the well'. Château-la-Pompe.
Caroline:
Is it just a water mill? Or...
Tom Scott:
You would use this if you wanted to prevent embarrassment or awkwardness. And water is absolutely right.
Tom Lum:
Is this the... I know there's a thing in... so I believe in Japan, where... fancy toilets can make the sound of running water.
Caroline:
Oh yeah!
Ella:
Yeah, yeah.
Tom Lum:
Yeah.
Tom Scott:
If you asked for this, you would get a drink.
Ella:
Oh?
Caroline:
Interesting.
Tom Lum:
Oh?
Caroline:
Huh.
Ella:
Is it when you're too drunk? It's just to get— have a— to get water for...
Tom Scott:
Yes, it is. Absolutely righ—
Tom Lum:
Is it a fancy name for wa— Is that what you're saying, Ella?
Tom Scott:
A fancy name for a specific type of water. There's one word I'm looking for here.
Tom Lum:
Still? Sparkling?
Caroline:
Sparkling?
Tom Scott:
What else might you request?
Tom Lum:
Warm?
Caroline:
Cold?
Tom Scott:
Yall are much fancier at restaurants than I am.
Ella:
Tap water. Oh it's—
Tom Scott:
There we go!
Ella:
Oh, it's a way to...
Caroline:
Ohhh!
Tom Lum:
Ohhh!
Ella:
ask for tap water without embarrassing yourself.
Caroline:
Wow.
Tom Scott:
Château-la-Pompe means 'castle of the well'.
So you are perhaps asking for an expensive drink, seeming like you are... but it is shorthand for tap water. Castle of the well, Château-la-Pompe.
Tom Lum:
Weaponized dads across the nation to have this joker handy and ready. Oh!
Tom Scott:
Thank you very much to our players. As ever, it is a delight to have you.
Where can people find you? What's going on with your lives?
We will start with Tom Lum.
Tom Lum:
We are Let's Learn Everything, the science and comedy podcast. And... soon, as this is recording, but when you're listening to this, the 100th episode of our show will be out.
Tom Scott:
Eyyy!
Tom Lum:
Because we've been doing it for that long.
Tom Scott:
Ella, what are some of the things in those shows?
Ella:
Well, the 100th episode, we covered everything! Whatever that means!
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom Lum:
You'll have to see what that means. We'll have to see what that means!
SFX:
(guests laughing)
Ella:
We don't know yet!
Tom Scott:
And Caroline, where can people find that episode and 99 at least others?
Caroline:
You can find all of our details over at LetsLearnEverything.com.
Tom Scott:
And if you wanna know more about this show, you can do that at lateralcast.com, where you can also send in your own ideas for questions. We are at @lateralcast basically everywhere, and there are video episodes up on Spotify.
Thank you very much to Caroline Roper.
Caroline:
Yeah!
Tom Scott:
Ella Hubber.
Ella:
Yeah!
Tom Scott:
Tom Lum.
Tom Lum:
Yeah!
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 | Katie Waning, Kagan Yildiz, Joseph Stamps, Crashington, Meredith Lowmaster, Rob, Paul Andrews |
| FORMAT | Pad 26 Limited/Labyrinth Games Ltd |
| EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS | David Bodycombe and Tom Scott |