Get the RSS feed or search “Lateral” on your podcast app
Episode 193: The empty-handed winner
19th June, 2026 • Sabrina Cruz, Melissa Fernandes and Taha Khan from 'Answer in Progress' face questions about Stuttgart spheres, bruising bodies and ornamental opposites.
Transcription by Caption+
Tom:
When is wet the opposite of electronic? The answer to that at the end of the show. My name's Tom Scott, and this is Lateral.
Alright, eyes up. This is the job.
We're going in for something high risk, high reward, and legally ambiguous: a full episode of Lateral.
Sabrina, you're on recon. Case the questions and spot the hidden assumptions.
Melissa, you're the distraction. Talk confidently about pasta and candles, while the rest of us are still buffering.
And Taha, you're demolition. If there's a theory that needs dismantling, or a confident answer that needs to be gently exploded, that's your department.
I'll be running point, asking the questions, watching the clock, and pretending this was all meticulously planned.
No one panics, no one Googles, and if things go sideways, we regroup and say, "I know it, I'm sitting out" like we meant it.
Let's meet the gang who are hoping to make a clean getaway with the questions today. It is the team from Answer in Progress. Welcome back to the show.
We will start with Sabrina Cruz. It has been a while. How are you doing?
Sabrina:
I am just in awe of that intro. I'm so hyped.
SFX:
(both laughing)
Tom:
What are you working on at the minute? 'Cause it's been a while.
Sabrina:
It has been a while.
I'm currently working on a video about toothpaste. I have brushed my teeth so many times.
Tom:
Is it possible to brush your teeth too much?
Sabrina:
Well, you'll find out.
Tom:
(chuckles)
Sabrina:
(giggles)
Tom:
Good teaser. Excellent teaser.
Also from Answer in Progress, Taha Kahn, welcome back to the show. What have you been working on, on your side of of the channel?
Taha:
Well, I've been working on a bank heist. But now...
Tom:
(cackles softly)
Taha:
I feel like I've been rumbled.
Tom:
Bank heist as YouTube channel. When you— Just the number of things you can convince people to do by just pointing a camera at them and saying it's for filming.
Taha:
Yeah, "Sorry, this is a production" while you're putting money in the bag.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom:
And Melissa Fernandes, welcome back to the show.
Melissa:
Hello.
Tom:
What have you been doing for Answer in Progress the last few months?
Melissa:
Guys, I've been unemployed, so it's okay. I'm a Lateral host now.
SFX:
(others guffawing)
Sabrina:
She hired herself.
SFX:
(guests giggling)
Tom:
Have I been usurped? I feel like I've just been usurped.
Taha:
And welcome Tom Scott, the new member of Answer In Progress.
Tom:
Yeah. Thank you.
Sabrina:
What have you been up to lately?
Tom:
I've been filming an enormous amount of videos that are now going out on my own channel.
I never get to plug that. I'm the host. Thank you for asking.
SFX:
(Sabrina and Melissa laugh)
Taha:
Nice.
Tom:
Well, very best of luck to all three of y— We haven't even said what the channel's about! You all did a bit! You all—
Melissa:
Oops.
SFX:
(group giggling)
Taha:
Well, except for Sabrina.
Sabrina:
There we go. 'Cause I'm a professional.
Tom:
Alright, well, positions everyone. Let's drill through the door of the vault that holds question one.
Thank you to LizaBird for this question.
During odd moments, Liza puts a button on a string into her mouth, and pulls on the string while keeping the button pressed against her teeth. Why?
I'll say that again.
During odd moments, Liza puts a button on a string into her mouth, and pulls on the string while keeping the button pressed against her teeth. Why?
Melissa:
This sounds like something to do with sewing. No? Right? That's just what I assume.
Sabrina:
Odd moments? Feels like 'odd' is a charged word in that sentence.
Melissa:
Mm, mm.
Sabrina:
I'm going full quiz bowl here.
Tom:
(chuckles)
Sabrina:
What's an odd moment? Is it hourly? Could it be a cuckoo clock? I don't know why I said that that way.
SFX:
(Tom and Sabrina guffaw)
Sabrina:
Is Liza a person?
Melissa:
Well, Liza has a mouth.
Tom:
Well, this question was sent in by someone with the handle 'LizaBird'. So, my suspicion is that either Liza is a person or Liza is a bird.
Sabrina:
(wheezes) But do birds have teeth?
Tom:
I think if it were a bird, we would be using the word 'beak' and whatever you call those ridge things that some birds have instead of teeth. So, my suspicion would be that Liza is human.
Melissa:
Human.
Sabrina:
Liza Person. Okay.
Melissa:
Human, okay.
Taha:
I just wanna— I just want all of us to be on the same page as to what Liza is doing.
Melissa:
Okay.
Taha:
Which is, button...
Melissa:
Mhm.
Taha:
On a string...
Melissa:
Mhm.
Taha:
In the mouth.
Melissa:
Mhm.
Taha:
And then...
Melissa:
Pulling.
Sabrina:
Pull.
Taha:
Pulling. And then the button is on the other side of the mouth.
Sabrina:
Yeah, button behind the teeth, on the back of the teeth.
Melissa:
Ohhh.
Sabrina:
Thread spitting out is what I'm imagining.
Melissa:
Oh, okay. Not, like, button horizontal, like a chip.
Sabrina:
Mm?
Taha:
See, this is why we need to be on the same page.
Sabrina:
Okay.
Taha:
Which one is correct? Is it the chip?
Melissa:
Okay. Well, one sounds more painful.
Sabrina:
It's a button. How painful could it be?
Tom:
(laughs)
Melissa:
I don't know. If you're pulling on your teeth.
Tom:
Words said immediately before disaster.
Taha:
(giggles)
Melissa:
Are they trying to take— get a tooth out?
Sabrina:
With a button? And a thread?
Taha:
Is Liza a child?
Sabrina:
Ohhh! Yoink.
Taha:
But you just tie it 'round the teeth.
Melissa:
What does a button do?
Tom:
None of you have the correct placement of the button yet.
Sabrina:
What?
Taha:
What?
Tom:
It is not a chip, and it is not behind the teeth.
Melissa:
On the tongue? Under the tongue? On the roof of the mouth. Where else do you put it? In the cheek. (giggles) I just listed all the places.
Sabrina:
Front of the teeth?
Tom:
Front of the teeth.
Taha:
But how do you keep it press— I guess you could do it with your finger.
Sabrina:
Okay, I'm— I h— I'm assuming it has something to do with sewing. 'Cause you do a weird amount of mouth stuff with sewing.
Tom:
Do you?
Melissa:
That's what I thought, but is that weird? But is that weird, though? Is that an odd—
Taha:
Lick the string to put it in the—
Sabrina:
You have to wet the thread. There's a lot of, like, you'll— You can bite stuff to cut it. There's a lotta mouth stuff.
Melissa:
Yeah. I'm with you. I'm with you. But is that odd? Do people have button devices?
Tom:
So, by 'odd moments', it's whenever she has some spare time.
Sabrina:
A hobby?!
Melissa:
I love to put buttons and strings in my mouth?
Tom:
Mhm.
Sabrina:
Oh god. A vet's worst nightmare.
Tom:
How are you—
SFX:
(group giggling)
Tom:
How are you imagining that she's holding this in? Because like I say, button on string, button in front of teeth.
Taha:
Either her lips are closed, or she's using her fingers to keep the button pressed against her teeth.
Sabrina:
Or string is attached to the back of the throat.
Tom:
Oh, no! Oh.
Sabrina:
(giggles)
Tom:
Quick loop 'round the dangly bit at the back there.
Taha:
Oh, no.
Melissa:
Wait a second. Wait a second. Wait a second.
Sabrina:
We're waiting.
Melissa:
What if the— (cracks up) What if the string is a safety precaution, okay? What if you need to put the button on the string, so that you don't accidentally swallow the button, okay? There's holes in the button, right?
What if it's (cracks up) a breathing exercise?
Tom:
That is close, Melissa. Not—
Melissa:
Wait, what?
Taha:
What?
Sabrina:
Is it a whistle?
Taha:
Oh my gosh.
Melissa:
What?
Tom:
What was that about whistling? Who said that?
Sabrina:
I said, "Is it like a whistle?" 'Cause there are holes.
Tom:
That's close. Again, we're—
Taha:
It's a musical instrument. It's something to do with the music. You know how wind instruments have those... that you have to suck on a little bit of wood for some reason?
Melissa:
Mm-mm.
Sabrina:
A reed.
Taha:
You know, the reeds?
Melissa:
Mm. Mm, mhm, mhm.
Taha:
Yeah. It's like... you just gotta do some weird stuff to play instruments sometimes, and this is just one of those things. So, is it a harp?
Tom:
You were so close, other than harp. Why would it be a harp, Taha? Why do you play the harp with your mouth?
Taha:
I don't— Listen. I'm not a harpist.
Tom:
(laughs)
Melissa:
Any other brass— What, is it a brass instrument?
Tom:
Yes, it is a brass instrument.
Melissa:
Oh, like a clarinet? Or a tuba?
Sabrina:
Saxophone.
Tom:
I mean, Liza's actually a French horn player.
Taha:
Okay.
Sabrina:
A French horn.
Melissa:
A French—
Taha:
No, no, no. No, no. She is French, and she's a horn player.
SFX:
(others laughing)
Tom:
So, why would a French horn player put a button between their lips and teeth, and pull on the string while trying to hold it in?
Sabrina:
Lip strengthening.
Taha:
Oh, is she training her lip strength?
Tom:
Yes.
Taha:
To be able to hold— Wow.
Melissa:
Whaaat?
Sabrina:
So it's like weight lifting for the mouth!
Tom:
Yes, it is!
Melissa:
What?
Sabrina:
Woah!
Taha:
Is the string attached to weights? That would be crazy.
Sabrina:
That would be crazy.
Tom:
The string, she's just pulling on it, and essentially fighting—
Melissa:
I don't think you need a weight. I think you can probably use your strength of your hand.
Tom:
She's fighting her own lips by pulling the string away and trying to strengthen her embouchure.
Sabrina:
That's so cool!
Tom:
Which is the mouth shape, that woodwind players, brass players, flautists will use to play their instruments.
Sabrina:
That's so cool.
Melissa:
That is so cool.
Tom:
And you asked adult or child. This is question sender Liza, says, "I trained this way when I was learning French horn in middle school."
Sabrina:
Whoa.
Melissa:
Wow.
Sabrina:
Dedicated.
Taha:
What?
Sabrina:
That is the most committed 12-year-old.
Tom:
She "did embouchure training during performing seasons as a break from actual playing or as a way to get my lip back after taking some time off from playing."
Melissa:
I didn't know that you had muscles in your mouth.
Sabrina:
What?
Tom:
(chuckles)
Melissa:
Like a muscle that you can strengthen, you know? Like, do you have muscles in your hands that you strengthen?
Taha:
Every muscle you can strengthen.
Melissa:
Can you strengthen your fingertip pads?
Sabrina:
Yes. Rock climbing.
Tom:
Yeah.
Sabrina:
I have... (ducks off-screen)
SFX:
(group giggling)
Sabrina:
This is a thing to train your (giggles) fingertip strength.
Taha:
No. I don't like this.
Tom:
What? What's that, Sabrina? You're holding up a thing. I'm gonna need you to audio describe that.
Sabrina:
Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm holding... I think it's called the— an ErgoPill, and it's like basically a portable hangboard, a portable mini hangboard that you use for rock climbing. This is used for rehab for your finger strength.
Tom:
So it's like a—
Melissa:
Wooow.
Tom:
It's wood with stuff carved into it, and you can just— It's a grip hold for wherever you happen to be.
Sabrina:
Yes, exactly.
Taha:
So you can rock climb performatively. Anywhere you go.
Sabrina:
Exactly.
Taha:
You have a grip that you can be like...
Sabrina:
There's a little piece of string attached to it. I could wrap it over a door frame and just hang out.
Melissa:
Wow.
Tom:
So yes, woodwind and brass players may sometimes put a button on a string into their mouths, pull on the string to strengthen their embouchure.
Let's go to the first question from our players. We will start with Melissa.
Melissa:
Okay.
This question has been sent in by Patrick Schranz.
Why is it important that an employee in Stuttgart, Germany walks around with a billiard ball, particularly because he works at a hospital?
One more time.
Why is it important that an employee in Stuttgart, Germany walks around with a billiard ball, particularly because he works at a hospital?
Taha:
Okay.
Sabrina:
Particularly.
Taha:
German man.
Sabrina:
Hospital.
Tom:
We are saying words in the question.
Sabrina:
Exactly.
Taha:
Billiard ball.
Sabrina:
Billiard ball.
Melissa:
Yep.
Taha:
Think laterally.
Tom:
Specifically a billiard ball, not snooker or pool. And I don't know what the difference is. They're different colours I think.
Sabrina:
I thought billiards and pool were the same thing.
Tom:
Oh, no, very different rules.
Sabrina:
That was intense. What's different about them?
Tom:
It wasn't meant to be intense.
Taha:
You just got cancelled on r/billiards.
Sabrina:
And r/pool. A pool is a body of water.
Taha:
Is it— Are we in the modern day? Can you give us that?
Melissa:
Yes, it is modern day.
Tom:
Okay. I can't remember the colours of billiards. And I feel like if this was snooker, you would have all sorts of colours.
Taha:
Yeah.
Sabrina:
I thought it was yellow and red.
Tom:
Yeah. I think pool has either... stripes or dots, or yellow and red, depending on which side of the Atlantic you're on. But I think billiards is a couple of specific colours.
Melissa:
I think I can tell you that the color of it doesn't matter.
Taha:
Okay.
Sabrina:
Home Alone. If there are people attacking the hospital Home Alone style, you throw the billiard ball underneath their feet, so they trip and fall.
Tom:
Oh, yeah.
Melissa:
Oh, yeah. 1,000%.
Taha:
And then they generate more business for the nationalized health service. And that's— Everyone knows Germany. They love their— I actually don't know anything about the German healthcare system. But I assume, as Europeans—
Tom:
I think it's a single-payer system, but I'm not sure on that, and I'm also not sure that the billiard ball would be covered by anyone's insurance.
Melissa:
Well, I can throw you one small bone here, is that another ball could work. It doesn't have to be a billiard ball. But a ball can work in this context.
Sabrina:
A ball can work?
Taha:
Is it a medical device?
Melissa:
Is what a medical device? The ball?
Taha:
The ball.
Melissa:
No. No. It's actually very functional.
Taha:
Well, 'cause I found out recently that... in some places, in the modern world, they still use maggots. So, like...
Sabrina:
Well, that makes sense.
Melissa:
Wait, to what?
Taha:
And by the modern world – sorry, in the Western world – I mean, like, some places in the NHS, from my friend's accounting of it.
Tom:
Wound cleaning.
Taha:
Yeah.
Tom:
They go specifically for necrotised or dead tissue. So it's... yeah.
Sabrina:
That's awesome.
Melissa:
Yummy.
Sabrina:
Are you a maggot?
SFX:
(group laughing)
Taha:
Okay, are you a maggot? You just sounded like—
Melissa:
That was like, "Yummy, gross."
Sabrina:
"Mm, yummy." (giggles)
Taha:
The thing that's throwing me off is that it's particularly in a hospital. So they can be in other areas and still be— it still be important.
Tom:
Out of nowhere, I am gonna say the words 'pneumatic tubes'.
Sabrina:
Oh my god, you put a billiard ball in a pneumatic tube, that's going high velocity.
Melissa:
Is that the thing that sucks the—
Sabrina:
(slurps)
Taha:
Yeah.
Tom:
Yeah. Because—
Taha:
Is it to unstuck things?
Tom:
That's what I just realis— Because hospitals tend to be one of the places that still use those for s— because they need to send samples around big campuses at speed. So I'm like, "Okay, the system's blocked. Here we go." Foomp, high-speed billiard ball!
Sabrina:
Can you imagine if it's, like, a urine sample?
SFX:
(group giggles profusely)
Sabrina:
And you sent... a billiard ball...
Tom:
Yeah. Okay.
Sabrina:
Hurtling at it.
Tom:
Now you say it like that, actually terribly, terrible plan. Not medically safe.
Melissa:
You know, that's a creative use case.
Sabrina:
Creative use case?
Melissa:
Creative use case. But you know what? The ball is doing something.
Taha:
It's doing something.
Melissa:
But the ball's not going vertically. I'm kind of going off script here.
Tom:
There is a clinic in London that uses pneumatic tubes for delivering samples.
Sabrina:
Mhm.
Tom:
And there is a specific thing that says, "Please ensure the sample is inside the carrying case before putting it in."
SFX:
(others groaning)
Melissa:
Oh no.
SFX:
(group chortles)
Tom:
I know I've mentioned that on this show before, but yeah, it rarely has there been a better time to use a urine-based pneumatic tube anecdote, you know? I wasted that one on whatever previous show it was.
Taha:
Okay, so you said—
Sabrina:
Not vertical, Melissa.
Taha:
Not vertical, so they are rolling the billiard ball.
Melissa:
Mmmh?
Sabrina:
Testing the level.
Melissa:
(widens eyes)
Tom:
Oh?
Sabrina:
Of a floor.
Melissa:
So they are rolling the ball, and you're right.
Tom:
Oh!
Melissa:
It's to make sure the floors are level.
Tom:
Nicely done.
Melissa:
But why?
Taha:
Because...
Sabrina:
If a scalpel...
Tom:
(chuckles)
SFX:
(guests giggle profusely)
Sabrina:
If a scalpel...
Melissa:
Goes flying across and slices somebody?
Sabrina:
Well, no, if it drops, you don't want it rolling around, I guess.
Melissa:
Okay, what else shouldn't be moving around?
Sabrina:
Hospital beds.
Tom:
Patients on stretchers.
Taha:
Ah, hospital— Yeah. Hospital beds with rolly feet.
Sabrina:
Oh?
Melissa:
Yeah.
Taha:
Rolly feet? Wheels.
SFX:
(others laugh uproariously)
Melissa:
I like that one more.
Taha:
Everyone knew what I was talking about.
Tom:
Yeah, yeah, to be fair, we did, yeah.
Melissa:
It's to ensure the floors are level, so that the beds with the rolly feet don't move.
Sabrina:
Why is it sp— Hold— Wait a dang second. Why specifically does this need to be in Stuttgart, Germany? Did they not invent the level there?
Melissa:
So, the Diakonie Clinic undergoes regular renovation and reconstruction work. And so to inspect the construction sites, the head of the building services uses a billiard ball to check whether flat surfaces have been constructed correctly.
They also check the floors in the older part of the hospital, which dates back to the mid-19th century, since the building has subsided in places over the years due to Stuttgart's hilly terrain.
Level floors are extremely important in hospitals, so that anything that runs on casters, such as patient beds... Casters, that's the rolly thing.
Tom:
That's the rolly thing.
Melissa:
...must not roll uncontrollably across corridors, 'cause danger.
Sabrina:
That's very good. 'Cause danger. Can I say that the reason I thought of this is I learned that the floors in my apartment aren't level. 'Cause I dropped a stress ball, and then it rolled out of my reach. (giggles)
Melissa:
Oh my goodness.
Taha:
That was just the stress ball.
SFX:
(others laughing)
Taha:
The stress ball was just like, "Alright, I'm actually done with this."
Melissa:
Too much.
Taha:
"Sorry, too much stress."
Tom:
Thank you to Ryan for this next question.
In 2013, a body was suddenly found 20 miles from Chelyabinsk, a small city in Russia. As a result, 1,500 injuries were caused soon afterwards. Even though no one was blamed, it inspired reform worldwide. What happened?
I'll say that again.
In 2013, a body was suddenly found 20 miles from Chelyabinsk, a small city in Russia. As a result, 1,500 injuries were caused soon afterwards. Even though no one was blamed, it inspired reform worldwide. What happened?
Taha:
Worldwide?
Tom:
Mhm.
Sabrina:
So I weirdly know about the things that you need to do when trying to bury a body at sea. 'Cause I was curious one day.
Tom:
(chuckles)
Melissa:
(snorts)
Taha:
Right.
Sabrina:
And there's a lot of global regulations about like, what a body—
Taha:
This is to do with our bank heist.
Tom:
(chuckles)
Sabrina:
Of course. But what do we do with... Anyway, so I gave up on the playing along with the joke.
SFX:
(group giggling)
Sabrina:
Anyway.... A body cannot be altered in any way. It can't be embalmed. It can't have any diseases before you try and bury it at sea, because there are health ramifications. Like, if you might— You're basically polluting the ocean with your body. So you can't do that.
And I wonder if we have the body that appeared... potentially human, potentially not, 'cause we didn't say it... had something super gross going on with it. Like, was it an irradiated body that, like... it ended up poisoning somebody? 1,500 somebodies?
Taha:
But it was injuries, right? It wasn't illness?
Melissa:
Yeah, injuries.
Tom:
I'm not sure why you've gone with the ocean here, other than burial at sea. Unfortunately, Chelyabinsk is very much inland, a long, long way inland.
Sabrina:
Well, my North American geography skills really showed up there.
Tom:
(chuckles)
Melissa:
Mhm.
Taha:
Okay. So, body was found, and then lots of people took damage.
Tom:
Yes.
Taha:
Now that we're playing a video game.
Sabrina:
Is this like permafrost stuff?
Tom:
I think... too far south for that. It's near the Kazakhstan border.
Sabrina:
Okay, now we're getting there. We're getting the geography of the place.
Melissa:
But why are people getting injured?
Tom:
Some people with very specialised occupations had been looking for this body.
Sabrina:
A very special set of skills. Liam Neeson filming Taken 2. (snickers)
Melissa:
Okay. Was this person— This person must have been— Were people upset that this person had died, or were they like... (squints) And it was a big thing when they found the body? And then they revolted!
Sabrina:
It's giving, like, the race for King Tut, you know? Like, everyone was trying to find this body.
Melissa:
Mm.
Sabrina:
But also, we found King Tut.
Tom:
There's a lot of words in here that you haven't really drilled down on. And this is one of those Lateral questions where... I think you may... have some issues with how it's phrased.
Melissa:
Okay, wait. One more time. Can we hear it one more time?
Tom:
You know, we'll start with the first bit. In 2013, a body was suddenly found 20 miles from Chelyabinsk.
Sabrina:
Suddenly.
Melissa:
Suddenly.
Taha:
It's not entirely clear that the body is dead.
Sabrina:
It's not entirely clear that a body was a living being.
Melissa:
Mm.
Tom:
Keep thinking that way, Sabrina.
Melissa:
Oooh.
Taha:
A body...
Sabrina:
Of water.
Taha:
Of...
Sabrina:
Lava.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Taha:
A body of...
Melissa:
A body of...
Tom:
Not lava, Sabrina. But again, close.
Sabrina:
(blurts laughs)
Tom:
I don't know what a body of lava is, but whatever it is, it's kinda like this thing.
Sabrina:
Gas, natural gas. I don't know, fracking. RuPaul. I'm doing a full workup.
SFX:
(group snickering)
Taha:
Okay, so... Oh, this would make a lot more sense. Whatever this body is... it then interacts with people, who get injuries from the body.
Tom:
Not directly.
Sabrina:
Is this the sinkhole? No, it's probably not the sinkhole.
Tom:
It's not, but you're starting to think... more outside the idea of human body here.
Melissa:
Oooh.
Taha:
Geological body.
Tom:
Yes, I would say that's a fair thing. This is actually the correct term. This isn't just an obscure word the question writer's come up with. This type of thing is called a body.
Taha:
The only bodies I know is body of water...
Melissa:
Me too.
Taha:
And no.
Melissa:
No?
Taha:
Body. Anyway.
Sabrina:
Oh, boo.
Melissa:
(stifles laughter)
Tom:
(laughs)
Taha:
You fell right into my trap.
Tom:
Alright, Odysseus(!)
Taha:
(snickers)
Sabrina:
Body suddenly found. What's the next sentence in the question?
Tom:
As a result, 1,500 injuries were caused soon afterwards.
Taha:
Is it a geological injury?
Tom:
Not directly, but I think you could call it that.
Taha:
Oh my g—! It's not a medical injury, is it?
Tom:
Oh, no, it's absolutely a medical injury. All of them pretty minor.
Taha:
Right. Okay.
Tom:
But also 7,200 buildings damaged, 33—
Sabrina:
Whoa, whoa, whoa. New information.
Tom:
$33 million worth of damage. I don't know what that translates to in rubles, but that's the estimated cost.
Melissa:
This is not a meteor?
Tom:
This is a meteor! Where did that come from?
Melissa:
I was thinking of, well, I was like, if it's not a human body, what other bodies exist in nature? I've never once actually called a meteor a body, but I'm like, maybe just, let me just say it.
Tom:
Yep.
Sabrina:
"Let me just say it." That really is our strategy on Lateral. "Let me just say it."
Tom:
An asteroid. A celestial body. So— was suddenly found—
Sabrina:
I've heard that term!
Tom:
So, was suddenly found 20 miles from Chelyabinsk. That's the next bit of the question.
Melissa:
Wait, so how were people injured?
Taha:
Radiation.
Sabrina:
Wait, I swear I've seen YouTube videos of this happening.
Tom:
Yeah.
Sabrina:
It's 2013.
Tom:
Mhm.
Sabrina:
I don't think— it's not necessarily radiation. It's just when something comes hurtling out of the sky around the city, it causes damage.
Tom:
Yeah, it does. There's a shockwave. That's where the injuries came from.
Taha:
Wow! So we had like a mini dinosaur moment?
Tom:
20 miles from. I'm— I keep drilling down on that. There's one other thing you haven't spotted, where it was suddenly found 20 miles from Chelyabinsk, that's absolutely true.
Sabrina:
Okay.
Melissa:
It inspired reform.
Tom:
You haven't quite got the direction.
Taha:
20 miles from...
Sabrina:
The sky.
Tom:
20 miles up, Sabrina, yes, absolutely right.
Taha:
What?
Melissa:
Wait, what? What does that mean?
Taha:
Oh, they looked up?
Sabrina:
Wait, so it was just doing a flyby, and it caused damage?
Tom:
This shockwave came from the asteroid entering the atmosphere and exploding 20 miles above Chelyabinsk.
Melissa:
(gasps)
Sabrina:
Wow.
Taha:
Whoa.
Tom:
1,500 injuries, 7,200 buildings damaged. So, no one was blamed, as I said. It inspired reform worldwide. Why might that have been?
Taha:
Because they're like, "We need to shoot the meteors earlier."
Tom:
(giggles) Yes.
Melissa:
Wait, what?
Sabrina:
I attend— Melissa, you and I attended this talk with Chris Hadfield, where we were like, "I wonder what he's gonna talk about." And then his talk was like, "We need to point more lasers at space to blow up the space garbage."
Tom:
Yes.
Melissa:
Yes!
Tom:
Yep! The meteor's path was so close to the glare from the sun that it was not detected earlier. And so there was this worldwide rethink in, how do we detect stuff coming at us that we can't yet see?
Melissa:
That's amazing.
Sabrina:
Wow.
Taha:
Everyone needs to wear eclipse glasses.
SFX:
(others chuckling)
Tom:
Taha, we will go over to you for your question please.
Taha:
Alright, so...
This question was sent in by Joshua and Hannah.
When Elmer CA Berger patented his rear-view mirror in 1921, it wasn't promoted as a safety device. Why did drivers originally want it?
I'll say that again.
When Elmer CA Burger patented his rear-view mirror in 1921, it wasn't promoted as a safety device. Why did drivers originally want it?
Sabrina:
Look at themselves.
Tom:
(laughs)
Sabrina:
Check the fit.
Melissa:
Yeah. (cracks up)
Sabrina:
(laughs)
Melissa:
The side view mirrors, right? Why did—
Sabrina:
Look at them eyebrows.
Tom:
Oh, I was gonna say for makeup mirrors and things like that, but I'm not convinced that there were many female drivers in 1921.
Sabrina:
Woof.
Taha:
Wow. So unprogressive of you.
SFX:
(guests snickering)
Tom:
No, no, Taha. So unprogressive of 1921! I'm not taking the blame for 1921.
Taha:
How dare you?
Tom:
I wasn't born then.
Taha:
Mmh.
Tom:
Oy!
SFX:
(group laughing)
Sabrina:
It was so easy to go, "Are you sure about that?"
Tom:
Yeah, no, I set myself up for that one. That was— It's fine, it's fine.
Taha:
Okay, yeah.
Sabrina:
Okay.
Melissa:
Okay, wait. If it's not for safety... it's maybe— maybe it makes the car go faster. Maybe it's like a... (cracks up) It's aerodynamic.
Sabrina:
(giggles profusely) That's...
Taha:
Interesting. I would love to get a lesson. I need an Answer in Progress episode where there is no research. It's just Melissa explaining physics.
Sabrina:
Oh, boy.
Tom:
There were a lot of odd rules for cars, in the early days. Like, in Britain, for the first few years that cars were a thing, someone had to walk in front of your car with a red flag to warn people that the car was coming. That law didn't last long, but they were so strange, and they moved at walking pace. So you also had to have someone saying, "Look out, a car is coming."
Sabrina:
That's very good.
Tom:
So I'm wondering if it's something strange that they had to do for that?
Taha:
The rear-view mirror was something that drivers wanted. They had a— Drivers were interested in having it. Drivers definitely found value in it, but... the rules weren't mandating rear-view mirrors for some reason.
Melissa:
Okay, so it's not to check your blind spot.
Sabrina:
Mm-mm.
Tom:
It's so you can... Actually, I say that. I was gonna say this as a joke, but I'm gonna put this forward as a serious answer. It's so you can maintain a conversation with your passenger in the back. And you can keep eye contact.
Melissa:
(gasps)
Sabrina:
How polite.
Tom:
Because you are gonna be sat up in the front of your vehicle as the stagecoach driver. Doesn't even have to be a car. Could be a stagecoach driver or something like that.
Melissa:
Wait, I hope this is the answer.
Sabrina:
I hope this is it.
Tom:
It's so you can talk to your passenger in the back and maintain eye contact.
Taha:
Tom, you are brilliant.
Tom:
Eyyy!
Taha:
But in this case, you are wrong.
Tom:
Oh! Oh, you— Oh!
SFX:
(Melissa and Sabrina shout)
Tom:
I fell for the fake-out.
Sabrina:
Boo!
Tom:
I fell for a two-layer fake-out. A three-layer fake-out.
Sabrina:
I really thought it.
Taha:
You guys all were like, "It's the one."
Tom:
Ohhh.
Taha:
But it's great.
Sabrina:
I mean, it's fantastic. It's the kind of stupid thing that people in the past would've cared about.
Taha:
Buying one could save you money... in some way.
Tom:
Alright, I'm going for a second big swing.
Sabrina:
(stifles hard giggle)
Melissa:
(snickers)
Tom:
It's not to try and spot the passenger behind you. It's to spot the thief with a siphon, who's gonna try and nick your petrol... out of the side.
SFX:
(Melissa and Sabrina giggle)
Taha:
Tom, you are brilliant.
Sabrina:
Tom, are you sure you weren't born in 1921?
SFX:
(group giggling)
Taha:
Okay, I will say there is a piece of what you said... that is correct.
Sabrina:
You have to look through the mirror.
Taha:
You have to look through the mirror, and you are looking... out of the car. For something.
Sabrina:
Something. We're looking through it. It's not for safety. We're trying to look at something outside of the car. And it's gonna save us money if we see it?
Taha:
Unless, unless... they see you first.
Sabrina:
Cops.
Melissa:
The police.
Taha:
Yes!
Tom:
What?!
Taha:
The original use was to see police cars behind them.
Melissa:
Oh, it's like the, what's it, Waze? It's Waze.
Sabrina:
It's like Waze? Oh my god.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom:
Yeah, 'cause it pops up. There's a— You slow down, and you make sure you're doing the exact speed. I mean, I don't, but you might. You might be doing a little bit over the speed limit and get a notification there's a police car coming, and...
Melissa:
Ohhh.
Sabrina:
Wow.
Tom:
I'm surprised there were even traffic laws in 1921.
Sabrina:
Exactly. This is so unintuitive!
Melissa:
Wow.
Sabrina:
Wow. And I guess, was that the only way we were able to tell? They had to be behind you. If they're already behind you—
Melissa:
Couldn't you see or hear?
Taha:
So, when Elmer CA Berger patented the rear-view mirror in 1921, it was marketed as the Cop-Spotter, a device that allowed drivers to detect if police vehicles were behind them.
Because at the time, there were no radar guns. So to catch a speeder, an officer had to follow the car, and match their speed using a speedometer, or using their own speedometer.
Melissa:
So it was about not getting tickets!
Sabrina:
They have to speed in order to know that you're speeding?
Tom:
Oh, no, that still happens sometimes.
Taha:
That still happens.
Tom:
If you see dashcam footage from police chases on, like, highways, the police officer will be like, "Well, I'm doing 80", and it's on the dash – or no, on the GPS thing – "and he's still accelerating faster than me. So we know that he's doing at least 80."
Sabrina:
Wow.
Taha:
So, if a driver spotted the patrol car early enough, they could reduce their speed before the officer had gathered the evidence. And the mirror therefore functioned less as a safety innovation, and more as an early warning system. Like Waze.
Sabrina:
Like Waze.
Tom:
Thank you to Fraser Marshall for this question.
At the Green Lakes Endurance Run 50K in August 2019, ultra-runner Richard Ellsworth finished ahead of everyone in his category – yet he still didn't receive a prize. Why?
I'll say that again.
At the Green Lakes Endurance Run 50K in August 2019, ultra-runner Richard Ellsworth finished ahead of everyone in his category – yet he still didn't receive a prize. Why?
Sabrina:
Either didn't run 50K, or... there are no prizes. 'Cause ultra-endurance running is just... it's a mental battle.
Taha:
I think I know this.
Tom:
Ooh.
Sabrina:
Then tell us the answer.
Taha:
I think I know this.
Tom:
Alright. Here's the thing, Taha.
Taha:
I think I have to sit out.
Tom:
After that fake-out earlier, we could just go for this, and I'll just run you through a gauntlet of yeses and noes.
Taha:
Do you want me to just— I could— I mean, I think I know it. I have a good guess.
Melissa:
My guess was cheating, so... your guess is probably better than mine.
Tom:
He followed every rule.
Taha:
Should I try?
Tom:
Go for it.
Taha:
There is, in this— in the edges of my brain of knowledge, there is a vague memory of, there is an ultra-marathon race that you have to complete within a certain time, in order to complete it within the timeframe and be considered a finisher.
So, he could have been the first person to finish the race, but still outside of the time window that's acceptable for the race.
Tom:
Taha...
No.
Taha:
Awwh.
SFX:
(others laughing)
Tom:
Not even close!
Sabrina:
The reason he beat everybody else is because... he fought them. (cracks up)
Tom:
(laughs)
Sabrina:
He knocked them out.
Melissa:
Punched them. They're all dead.
Sabrina:
And then— oh! I just said he knocked them out, and then he finished the race, and then he was like, "Can I have my medal?" And they were like, "You just punched a bunch of people. You can't do that."
Melissa:
Wait, no, they followed the rules.
Sabrina:
They forgot to write a rule that says, "Don't punch people."
Tom:
(laughs heartily) Like the Air Bud thing. There's no rule that says you can't punch the other—
I'm pretty sure there is a rule that says you can't punch the other runners, somewhere in there.
Sabrina:
Darn.
Taha:
Was it a— I'm just trying to continue to configure new rules that could be in this ultra-marathon. Could it be a team average, and so he was first, but his team... are bad?
Tom:
No, it's a 50K run. It is just a very, very long ultra-marathon.
Sabrina:
Is that a long ultra-marathon? I'm sorry to say this, 50K is the baseline of what an ultra-marathon is.
Tom:
(cackles)
Sabrina:
(cracks up)
Tom:
That's fair.
Taha:
I guess so.
Tom:
I think I was just describing anything over about two miles as very, very long, to be honest, Sabrina.
Sabrina:
I see.
Melissa:
Yeah, yeah.
Sabrina:
Because there are these monstrosity ultra-marathons that's like, run until you can't run anymore, for people who are very good at running.
Tom:
Yeah.
Sabrina:
But so, he runs the race, finishes ahead of everyone else in his category.
Tom:
Yep.
Sabrina:
Doesn't get a prize.
Tom:
No. And they did hand out prizes. One runner even got two of them.
Melissa:
Wait.
Taha:
Wait.
Tom:
Ooh, okay. Melissa first.
Melissa:
Okay, wait. Maybe— Maybe he— Maybe it's not that he didn't get one, or that they didn't offer him one, but maybe he didn't want to accept it, 'cause he donated it to somebody else?
Tom:
Taha, what were you gonna say?
Taha:
I was gonna say maybe his category his category was not... allowed to win, because it was like, he was in the... positive for doping category or something.
SFX:
(group laughing)
Tom:
Okay, not quite, but that's getting closer. The organisers had made an assumption.
Sabrina:
Did he use them robot legs? (wheezes)
Melissa:
(snickers)
Tom:
I think that might count as doping. Were you...
Melissa:
Mm, mhm.
Sabrina:
True.
Taha:
They'd made an assumption?
Tom:
Have a think about what the categories might be.
Sabrina:
I assu— Oh. Wrong age. Lied about their age. (giggles)
Taha:
Okay, so there's the groups. There's the over-25s. There's...
Tom:
That's The X Factor!
Taha:
I was like, how long do I have to do this before someone realizes?
Tom:
(laughs) Sorry.
Sabrina:
So Taha, you have registered for the London Marathon. Haven't run it yet. But you have registered.
Taha:
Probably won't.
Sabrina:
What group would you have been in?
Taha:
I didn't know there were groups. Maybe I... (gasps) Wait! I registered as like a, you know, just like, incompetent, right? So I registered not as... They don't assume I'm gonna win.
Tom:
Have you actually got a place in the London Marathon? 'Cause they're really difficult to get.
Taha:
Yeah, but I'm injured, so I don't think I'm gonna get to run it.
Tom:
Oh, okay.
Taha:
But I registered in the general just like, I'm just running as just a normal geezer. I don't plan to win the marathon. But maybe he wasn't running competitively, and then just won.
Tom:
I think out of all those words, Taha, I think 'geezer' is the correct one to go in on.
Melissa:
What?
Taha:
Is this like a gender thing?
Tom:
Yes.
Taha:
Wait, who won the race? Do we have their name?
Tom:
Richard Ellsworth.
Taha:
I was gonna say, there's an ultra-marathon that was won... like a mixed ultra-marathon, that was won by a woman.
Tom:
That would be this ultra-marathon.
Taha:
Oh, so it was this one. Okay, so... she won the ultra-marathon, and so—
Tom:
No, no, Richard— Look, I'm just read the question again. Ultra-runner Richard Ellsworth finished ahead of everyone in his category, yet he didn't receive a prize.
Taha:
Is that because it was like first, second, third, and they were all women?
Tom:
The winner of the entire marathon was Ellie Pell.
Taha:
Yes, okay.
Tom:
3 hours, 58 minutes for 50 kilometres.
Taha:
Yeah.
Sabrina:
Dang.
Tom:
Richard Ellsworth – 4 hours, 6 minutes.
Sabrina:
Did Richard start with the wrong group? Well, there's no gendered starts, as far as—
Tom:
There are for this. These categories were gendered.
Sabrina:
Oh. So did Richard start with the wrong group?
Tom:
Nope.
Sabrina:
'Cause he should've noticed.
Tom:
Nope, he was faster than every other person in his category.
Taha:
But his category were all slow.
Tom:
Yes. So what might the prizes have been?
Taha:
First, second, and third.
Tom:
No.
Melissa:
Hmm.
Taha:
What?
Melissa:
Participation? Participation marks?
Taha:
So, the organisers have made a mistake w— 'Cause they assumed that a man was gonna win the award.
Tom:
Yes.
Taha:
So they— did they do like... Man of the Year or something?
Tom:
Oh, you were s— you just, just—
Taha:
Woman of the—
Tom:
You were heading straight for the correct an—
Sabrina:
Fastest man.
Tom:
Now, not quite, Sabrina.
Sabrina:
Ultra-est man. (giggles)
Taha:
(gasps) They had a first place prize, and then they had first woman to finish.
Tom:
Yes, they did.
Taha:
And they did not have a first man to finish, Because they assumed that the first place would be a man.
Tom:
Yes, they did.
Sabrina:
Ohhh!
Melissa:
Ohhh.
Taha:
Wow.
Sabrina:
Wow.
Tom:
The organisers had prepared trophies for overall winner and first female, and had just assumed that those would go to different people.
Ellie Pell qualified for both those prizes, and Richard Ellsworth—
Sabrina:
And they got two.
Tom:
Fastest man, won neither of them.
Taha:
It's an L. I mean, listen.
Tom:
(laughs)
Taha:
Wow. Shoutout to Ellie Pell.
Tom:
Sabrina, whenever you're ready, your question, please.
Sabrina:
Let's do it.
This question has been sent in by Erissa Nussbaum.
According to an old local folklore, why is it illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket in Georgia on a Sunday?
I'll say it again.
According to an old local folklore, why is it illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket in Georgia on a Sunday?
Melissa:
Well, that just seems like a bad idea.
SFX:
(group giggles)
Melissa:
It's gonna get everywhere. You're gonna sit on it. It's gonna be sticky.
Sabrina:
I mean, most laws are made to stop bad things from happening. But it's usually, like, to stop it from happening to other people. (snickers)
Tom:
(chuckles)
Taha:
Is it because if you sit down, it will get on a seat, and then someone else will have to sit on the seat afterwards?
Tom:
On your church seat. This is Georgia on a Sunday.
Melissa:
Mmmh.
Tom:
I'm assuming it's the state of Georgia, not the country of Georgia.
Melissa:
Okay, but a cone. It's a cone of ice cream, right? Is that what she said?
Tom:
I mean, we don't know whether it's just the wafer cone, or whether it's a full ice— If you're carrying a full scoop of ice cream on top of a cone in your back pocket, that feels like a... it feels like a villain from a Saturday morning cartoon series who's trying to tempt kids away.
Taha:
(snickers)
Sabrina:
You know what's funny, Tom? You're not far off.
Melissa:
Wait, what?
Tom:
With the—
Sabrina:
(laughs heartily)
Tom:
With the church or the Saturday morning villain, Sabrina? Those are two very different things!
Sabrina:
Which one would be weirder?
Melissa:
Bo...
Tom:
The villain. The villain would be weirder.
Sabrina:
And it would be that one that you're closer with.
Tom:
Right, okay.
Melissa:
What? Okay.
Sabrina:
I'll say this. This is an old-timey thing, right? It's not a problem that currently people are facing now, which is why it— this law feels so outdated. But at the time, back in ye olden days, it would've— It kind of made sense.
Tom:
Okay, so we're thinking, like, old-style clothing as well.
Sabrina:
I— Sure. I don't— Old-style clothing is nuts, dude. I don't know what that means.
Tom:
I mean, still had back pockets, I guess.
Sabrina:
Yeah, still had pockets. So there were still trousers.
Taha:
What happened to the pockets?
Sabrina:
(cracks up) There are still pockets.
Taha:
We still have pockets now.
Sabrina:
(giggles) I'm— Okay, wait. I'm trying to figure out how to get us back on track.
Tom:
Maybe it's not pulling kids away. Maybe it's because it would tempt dogs or something like that, but I don't know why that would be a Sunday.
Sabrina:
I think that you did mention that Sundays in the South, in Georgia...
Tom:
Church.
Sabrina:
would have something going on.
Tom:
Yeah.
Melissa:
Church.
Sabrina:
Church, yes. Church and luring. That's what you've got so far. Not luring children, I'll even give you that.
Melissa:
Okay.
Taha:
Luring the devil... into church.
Sabrina:
(cracks up)
Melissa:
With ice cream. Mmm.
Tom:
You go to a crossroads at midnight with an ice cream cone in your back pocket.
Melissa:
Yeah, that's the— Yeah, that's it, right? You're laughing 'cause we're right? Yeah.
SFX:
(Sabrina and Taha crack up)
Taha:
That's what people do when you're right. They laugh at you.
Sabrina:
Luring the devil into church was the craziest sentence.
Melissa:
With ice cream.
Sabrina:
I think that there is something about it being a little bit low-key. You don't really want people to see the ice cream cone, 'cause it's— they're not using it for good. Like I said, there's some luring going on. I'm saying "luring" so weird.
SFX:
(Tom and Sabrina giggle)
Melissa:
And it's not children. We've established.
Sabrina:
It's not children.
Melissa:
Is it something in the physical world? Can I see it? Can I see the thing that they are luring?
Sabrina:
Yes. Tom was kind of getting there when he mentioned... animals.
Tom:
Bees.
Sabrina:
(blurts laugh)
Taha:
(laughs)
Melissa:
I was gonna say bees as well, Tom.
Tom:
(laughs heartily) Would you like to bring a swarm of bees to your church? Well, have I got a method for you!
Sabrina:
I really can't— We're not trying to bring the things into church, guys.
Tom:
We're trying to get people out of church.
Taha:
You're luring... We're luring...
Melissa:
People leaving church early to go to the ice cream truck that doesn't exist in the 1800s.
Tom:
And that is in someone's back pocket?
Melissa:
(snickers)
Sabrina:
How about this? When people go into the church to do church stuff... (cracks up) what are they leaving outside?
Melissa:
What are you leaving outside?
Sabrina:
In the 1800s.
Taha:
A horse.
Sabrina:
Horse!
Melissa:
Horse?
Tom:
Horse! I don't know, I just— Everyone was getting excited and yelling "Horse" and pointing at the screen, so I thought I'd join in.
Taha:
Horse. You leave your horse outside in Georgia, which is cowboy town. Maybe? I don't know.
Sabrina:
Okay, sure.
Melissa:
What does this have to do with the ice cream?
Sabrina:
Again, the luring. Think of the luring. Imagine a f— I— This is a comically villainous scenario.
Taha:
A whole horse.
Tom:
You could rustle horses.
People would go to church. They would leave their horses outside. If you would like a horse to follow you, you would need to tempt it with something sweet in your back pocket, and then simply walk, and the horse will follow you, and you have rustled a horse.
Sabrina:
Boom, nailed it.
Taha:
Wow. Now I know how to steal a horse.
Sabrina:
Exactly.
Tom:
(laughs)
Melissa:
Got a little waffle cone, a little chocolate.
Sabrina:
You're really focused on the specifics of the ice cream, Melissa.
Melissa:
Well, yes. I think it's important.
Tom:
Is the law about ice cream, or is the law about anything sweet in your back pocket?
Sabrina:
I think it's specifically an ice cream cone.
So like you said, to prevent rustl— we— This law exists, according to old local folklore, to prevent rustlers from luring the horses away.
On Sundays, horse riders would be in church for part of the day, and it's said that would-be horse rustlers would put ice cream in their pockets to attract the horses and then lead them away.
Other weird laws in Georgia include:
In Marietta, it is illegal to spit unless you're in a truck.
In Gainesville, it is illegal to eat fried chicken with a fork.
And in Quitman, it is illegal for chickens to cross the road.
Tom:
Eyy!
Taha:
Wow.
Tom:
Thank you to Katie Waning for the question I asked at the start of the show.
When is wet the opposite of electronic?
Now, when I asked that question, every single one of the Answer in Progress team just went, "What?" So before I give the audience the answer, does anyone want to take a quick shot at that?
Sabrina:
When you really misspell the word 'wet'.
SFX:
(group giggles in turn)
Taha:
I was gonna say...
Melissa:
Yep.
Taha:
Is it something to do with the way music sounds? Sometimes they use words like 'dry' and I assume, 'wet' and 'electronic'.
Tom:
They do, but it's not that industry, I'm afraid. The wet version is often considered more important or trustworthy.
Melissa:
A file name? It's not, like, a file name?
Tom:
It's some sort of name.
Taha:
Electronic name.
Tom:
Yeah, electronic's become more popular than wet in recent years as well.
Taha:
Tom, what are you talking about?
Tom:
It'll make sense.
Taha:
Ah, enough of this.
Tom:
It'll make so much sense. When might your name be electronic, versus when might your name be wet?
Sabrina:
Written in ink versus a digital signature.
Tom:
Correct, Sabrina! Absolutely right.
Sabrina:
Bosh.
Tom:
A wet or wet-ink signature is a physical one with pen and paper. And in some circumstances, you may still need to use that.
Thank you very much to all our players. You are all part of Answer in Progress, so...
Taha, what is Answer in Progress?
Taha:
Answer in Progress is a wonderful YouTube channel where the three of us ask questions about the world, and then document our hijinks as we try to figure out the answer. Sometimes we do it.
Tom:
Sabrina, what sort of hijinks have you been up to?
Sabrina:
We have looked into a lot of toothpaste. We have looked into... (cracks up) We haven't made a lot of videos, actually.
SFX:
(Tom and Melissa laugh)
Sabrina:
But toothpaste!
Tom:
And Melissa, where can people find Answer in Progress?
Melissa:
You can find us at youtube.com/@answerinprogress.
Tom:
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 and join the Lateral Producer's Club. We are @lateralcast basically everywhere, and there are full video episodes every week on Spotify.
Thank you very much to Melissa Fernandes.
Melissa:
Bye, bye.
Tom:
Sabrina Cruz.
Sabrina:
Ah.
Tom:
Taha Khan.
Taha:
The heist!
Tom:
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, Erissa Nussbaum, Patrick Schranz, Joshua and Hannah, LizaBird, Ryan, Fraser Marshall |
| FORMAT | Pad 26 Limited/Labyrinth Games Ltd |
| EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS | David Bodycombe and Tom Scott |