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Hello, and welcome to QI, where it
is T time,
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with an all types of T theme.
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Before we tee off, let's see
what we've got in the pot.
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A splash of milk, it's Henning Wehn.
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A spoonful of sugar, it's Ahir Shah!
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A natural sweetener,
it's Rosie Jones.
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And do me a lemon, it's Alan Davies.
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Let's hear your T chimes.
Henning goes...
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# Would you care to sit with me
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# For a cup of English tea? #
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Ahir goes...
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# A cup of tea-ee-ee-ee
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# Have a cup of tea. #
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Rosie goes...
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Tea For Two Cha Cha
by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
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And Alan goes...
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# So Charlie and me had another
cup of tea
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# And then we went home. #
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Oh, I like that one.
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Right, question one. Let's begin
with some T words.
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Can you put any of these words
into a sentence?
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Oh. Oh.
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Shall we start with twiffler?
Is it a person who twiffs?
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It's a thing, it's an item.
It's a thing for doing something.
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It's an object, yes. To someone?
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Well...
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..it depends how posh
you are, is the thing, is the truth.
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Not posh enough. OK.
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So, Alan, have you never... Have you
never encountered a twiffler?
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Oh, dear boy!
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It's a plate.
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It's intermediate in size,
between a dessert plate
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and a dinner plate.
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It's called a twiffler. Oh.
That's a twiffler.
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Straight away,
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you've already lost me.
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Because what is the point
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in any size plate?
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Do you just want a massive plate?
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No! No plate!
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I normally eat out the pan.
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It's from the Dutch "twiffler" - to
vacillate, to be unsure.
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Let's try throttlebottom.
In the English language, you can...
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Any old word, you can say,
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"We used to ride out and then do
like a hand gesture
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"that you're not happy with it."
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And then it's perfectly reasonable
thing to say, isn't it?
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Like, "Oh, yeah, oh, load of
twiffler, what he's going on about."
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And, "Oh, he's a right old
throttlebottom."
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You usually get away with it.
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Actually, you could just put bottom
on the end of virtually anything.
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Yeah. It's an inept but harmless
public official.
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I'd give my right arm for inept
but harmless.
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What about testacel, do we think?
Testacel?
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Probably something to do
with the education system.
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Oh, OK. In what way?
I don't know.
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There will be some quango government
body that just introduces more tests
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to make sure only the people
from a good background
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make it into the good university.
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That's from a throttlebottom.
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It's a type of earthworm-eating land
slug, with a tiny, little shell
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on its back. I think I know what a
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twattle-basket is. A twattle-basket?
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That's one of my favourites. What do
you reckon?
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Is it another word for
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knickers?
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Oh, I've got biscuit crumbs in my
twattle-basket.
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How's that happened again?
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Do you not want M&S to have a
twattle-basket section?
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This is not just a twattle-basket.
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I've got a turdoid in me
twattle-basket.
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Pull down me twattle-basket.
I'm going to have a twankle!
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It's a chatterbox, and it's a word
from 1688.
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It's the first time it's recorded,
twattle-basket.
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It's where we get twaddle from.
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You know, when people say, "What a
load of twaddle, silly talk."
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It's from twattle-basket.
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Tootsicum is a term of endearment
for a child or a small woman's foot.
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Turdoid...something that... Hang on.
Hang on.
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A child or a woman's foot? Yeah.
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What about men with tiny feet?
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Well, they're never as popular
as men with big feet.
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Turdoid... It just means that it
resembles a thrush.
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How disappointing. I know, right?
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I thought it was some sort of
AI poo.
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A poo that follows instructions
and gradually learns.
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The turdoids are taking over!
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I thought it was a tiny poo.
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Yeah, a tiny poo. You know when you
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go to the toilet?
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Yep. And you prepare yourself
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for a biggun'? Yeah.
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When you look round and you go,
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"Oh, no.
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"It was only a turdoid."
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That was barely worth taking my
twattle-basket down.
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To twankle is to play idly
on a musical instrument.
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Yeah, whatever.
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There's a couple of words that I
need to check with you, Henning.
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These are said to be German
words, OK?
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So, torschlusspanik.
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Well, you're not doing it full
justice. Oh, sorry.
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Yeah, torschlusspanik. Do you know
what it means, torschlusspanik?
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Yeah, torschlusspanik is if
something's all the rage, and then
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you feel like you have to get
involved as well.
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And then you might jump
into something, which then quite
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frequently turns
out to your disadvantage.
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Brexit. Yeah.
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What about this one?
Teppischfrescher. Carpet eater.
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Teppischfrescher, yeah.
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That's someone who works
really, really hard
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and constantly exerts themselves.
So...
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In the national football team, you
really want 11 teppischfreschers.
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Yeah. Who really go to the absolute
limit and beyond.
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I love that that's the German
attitude to a carpet eater.
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We would just think it was
somebody... Yeah.
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The idea is they've already
exerted themselves,
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so they are on the deck,
and then they don't give in,
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but they carry on. Carry on.
Exactly.
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Eating the carpet. Yeah.
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Well, apparently, it was a nickname
for Hitler. Did you know that?
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I've got a quote about him. It says,
"Whenever he goes on a rampage, he
flings himself
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"to the floor and chews the edges
of the carpet."
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Hence the teppischfrescher.
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Well, that sounds to me like foreign
propaganda, to be honest.
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I don't want anything in common with
Hitler.
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But now I do.
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Yeah. You are both
teppischfreschers. Yeah.
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I would say, don't worry if
you feel as though you've got
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something in common with Hitler.
You know, I'm a vegetarian.
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Alan's only got one ball.
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Is that true, Alan?
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Not the last time I checked.
Oh, fine.
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Paired up nicely, thanks.
Yes.
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The twattle-basket nicely full.
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So, there are some T words
that might come in handy one day.
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All part of the T service.
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And speaking of T services,
let's talk teapots.
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Can you tell me about an assassin's
teapot, a cricketer's teapot,
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a cubic teapot, or Bertrand
Russell's celestial teapot?
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Any of those teapots.
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A cricketer's teapot sounds
like something you might put
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in your twattle-basket.
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Do you know what it is? It's a
sporting term, a cricketer's teapot.
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It's a response...
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..if you're not pleased with one
of your team-mates.
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What, your hands like this?
That is exactly right.
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You get two points, Henning.
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The German beating the Indian
to a cricket answer is really...
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It's a gesture of annoyance.
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So the guy with the one hand,
he's actually doing the teapot.
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The guy with the two hands,
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that's the double teapot -
or sugar bowl - which I prefer.
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And look, the fellow
in the background as well. Yeah.
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Two sugar bowls and a teapot.
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I have here an assassin's teapot.
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I will show you. Let me bring it
out. Right.
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So, have a look here. I'm going to
pour you, for example, I'm going to
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pour you some tea. So, here it is.
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There's lots of nice tea
going out like that.
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Now, what you want is milk.
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And so...
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Oh!
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Honestly, that is the sexiest thing
ever!
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So, two different liquids from the
same pot without them mixing.
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Why might you want to do
that? For the poison.
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Yes. You get two points.
Absolutely. To poison anybody.
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Students use that, don't they?
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They've got it half tea and half
Pot Noodle.
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Well, to find out how it works,
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we have an old friend of the show
and YouTube scientist.
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Please welcome science
communicator Steve Mould.
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Tell us how it works.
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So, I made this 2D version
for a YouTube video, so you can see
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what's going on inside. There's two
chambers.
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The bottom chamber leads
to the spout, but it also leads
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to this hole at the bottom
of the handle here.
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The top chamber leads to the spout
as well, and it has a little
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hole as well.
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So, if I cover these two holes
and try and pour, nothing comes out.
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But if I open this hole and try
and pour,
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a green drink comes out.
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But if I open the bottom hole,
a pink drink comes out, mostly
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onto the table.
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And if I open both holes, then a
sort of kind of chocolate milk,
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maybe, comes out.
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So, why, Steve, why does
it work that way?
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So, it's a bit like when you put
your thumb over a sort of a straw
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on your drink and you lift it up.
Some of the drink comes
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with the straw, and that's
because of surface tension
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and atmospheric pressure
and things like that.
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But intuitively, you know
that the drink can't come
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out of the straw unless air can get
in to replace the drink
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that was there. And the air can't
get in at the top, because you're
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covering it with your thumb, and the
air can't get in at the bottom
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because of the surface tension.
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But if you open the hole at the top,
then air can get in and the liquid
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can get out. No way.
Yes, way, Henning.
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Witch! He's a witch!
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The assassin's teapot is essentially
a fancy, weirdly shaped pair
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of straws that you can put
your fingers over to make things
happen.
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And you could kill somebody.
And you can kill somebody.
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If you're going to do that,
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use the same coloured liquid.
Otherwise... They might spot them.
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Yeah.
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00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,720
Steve, thank you
so very much for coming in.
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00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:32,520
So, the whole idea is you want
to assassinate someone, right?
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Yeah. But if you're that close to
them, why don't you just knife them?
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Because this is being done
with good manners.
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Don't be rude. Not at a tea party.
Yeah.
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The celestial teapot.
It was a Bertrand Russell thing.
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Any...? Yes. You do know this?
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00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,200
So, Russell was talking about... He
was saying, like, "If I said
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00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:55,720
"that somewhere in the asteroid
belt, there's just a tiny, little
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"teapot floating around and
everything, you can't prove that I'm
wrong."
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00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,480
Yeah. And so he's illustrating the
idea that if somebody makes a claim
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that can't be proved one way
or another, like the existence
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of God, it's up to the person who's
making the claim to prove it.
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That's the point.
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A, there isn't a teapot in space.
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B, there's no God.
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OK, that's two things knocked out
from that.
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The cubic teapot I have here,
and indeed, I saw them quite often
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as a child.
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Why might you want a cubic teapot?
For keeping on the shelves.
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Stack them? Yes, on a ship. They
were designed for Cunard,
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by a man called Robert Crawford
Johnson in 1917.
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And the idea is that in rough
seas, they won't tip over.
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And I saw this often as a child
because we used to go
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by the great Cunard ships,
and there were teapots like this.
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And on one occasion, the stabilisers
in the boat broke during a hurricane
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and the boat tipped on its side.
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And I remember that the teapots
were unbroken, but the chef
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was very upset and he kept
saying, "I can cook nothing!
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"The kitchen is ruined.
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"I can only do lobster steak,
maybe a baked Alaska."
237
00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:14,160
Now, from teapots to tea pets, why
would you want this little man
238
00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:15,760
at your tea party?
239
00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,840
There he is.
Well, as a gay woman,
240
00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:22,960
I would not want that.
241
00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:26,640
He's got a tiny, little twankle.
242
00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:29,840
It's more like an outie.
243
00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:33,920
Nothing wrong with that size. No.
Sorry. No.
244
00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,280
It's a Chinese pee-pee boy, OK?
245
00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:40,840
It's from the Song Dynasty,
246
00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,480
so we're talking about over 1,000
years ago. And he urinates
247
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:46,680
hot liquid when you heat him up.
248
00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:48,560
Have a quick look at this.
249
00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:50,840
See? See that?
250
00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,640
So... I never do that in the shower!
251
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:04,480
If you measure the distance
that he pees, you can work out
252
00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:06,440
the temperature of the tea.
253
00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:11,960
It's probably the earliest
known thermometer.
254
00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:15,720
I mean, this predates Galileo's
thermoscope by about 500 years.
255
00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:17,640
And it didn't have to be just
a urinating boy.
256
00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,640
You can get ceramics in the shapes
of pigs or toads or elephants,
257
00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:22,760
dragons or whatever,
and they're known as tea pets.
258
00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:24,480
Is the thing that comes out of him
259
00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:26,600
the thing that you drink? Like, do
you have to put him
260
00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:28,800
there and, like, try and get
exactly the right angle?
261
00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:30,440
Just like... Ah! No.
262
00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:34,640
Oh. Another gif!
263
00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:43,520
Basically, the hotter the water,
264
00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:45,680
the more the air expands
and the stronger the stream.
265
00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,280
So the... I've been saying it for
years.
266
00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:52,400
It is very clever.
267
00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:59,400
But why is a boy
drinking a bowl,
268
00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:02,760
with his willy out?
269
00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,200
I mean, it's very hard to know
what was going through his head.
270
00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:09,960
Water. Water, yeah, absolutely.
271
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:12,640
Now, let's have a quick look
at stirring our tea, shall we?
272
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,880
Because I've had an etiquette
lesson from Whittard,
273
00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:17,560
the tea merchants. How would you
stir your tea?
274
00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:21,520
Very, very fast. With gusto.
With gusto?
275
00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,200
With a pen, because I haven't got
time.
276
00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:29,800
So, you mustn't do a circular
motion. Oh! Oh!
277
00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,600
Oh, no!
278
00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,560
You've already fallen on the first
hurdle here.
279
00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:36,960
Do you go like this?
280
00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:42,880
You go from six to 12...
281
00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:45,760
Six to 12! Six to 12! Six to 12,
like that.
282
00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:47,840
Three times. Two to three times.
Yeah.
283
00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,040
And then what do you do with
the teaspoon?
284
00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:58,080
It has to go on the right-hand
side.
285
00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:04,080
I don't actually ever use
a teaspoon.
286
00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:06,760
Do you make tea in the pan as well?
Yeah.
287
00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:14,040
Because I figure, having cerebral
palsy...
288
00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:22,480
..as it goes from the table to my
mouth,
289
00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,080
I've stirred it.
290
00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:33,200
Sandi, when you're saying like, "Oh,
you have to do it that way."
291
00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,800
Yeah. Is there, like, an actual
reason for that, or is it
292
00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,680
just that if you did it the wrong
way in front
293
00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:40,040
of a duchess, she'd faint?
294
00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:42,160
You can do what you bloody like, is
the truth of it.
295
00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,840
You can drink it out of a saucepan.
And I do. Yes, there we are.
296
00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:49,880
The thing about good manners
is that you must do the thing
297
00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,320
that makes the maximum number
of people in that moment feel
298
00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:54,880
comfortable. I'll tell you a very
good story about manners.
299
00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,080
The King of Denmark
was having a dinner party,
300
00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,640
and an old friend of mine,
Patrick Lichfield, a wonderful
301
00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:01,120
photographer, was invited.
302
00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:03,880
And in those days, you wore a shirt
and then you had a sort of false
303
00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:07,240
front like this, and cuffs, right?
And he didn't have enough money for
a shirt.
304
00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:08,960
He just had the false front
and the cuffs.
305
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,120
It was an unseasonably
warm evening in Copenhagen.
306
00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:14,360
And the king decided that everybody
should take their jackets off.
307
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:17,840
And, um.. And Patrick was mortified
because he didn't have a shirt on.
308
00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:20,160
So he took his jacket off,
and the king said, "Good idea.
309
00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,200
"Shirts as well."
And that...that is good manners.
310
00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:29,560
Now, onto a different type of T.
311
00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,480
What's the most fun you can
have in a Model T Ford?
312
00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:35,520
# Tea-ee-ee... #
313
00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:37,360
A massive shag.
314
00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:48,160
Why would you say that?!
315
00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:53,240
Why would you lower the tone?!
316
00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:56,600
Lowering the tone. Absolutely right.
317
00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,240
Cheapening the whole brand
of QI. I know.
318
00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:04,320
They build it up. You turn up,
ruin it in a day!
319
00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,000
That's not your job - it's Alan's.
320
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,480
The most fun you can have in a
Model T Ford?
321
00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:11,400
It is a sports thing. Racing them.
322
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,000
Well, this is so mad. You know polo,
323
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:16,800
played on a horse with a mallet?
324
00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,960
For a brief while,
there was auto polo.
325
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:25,480
So it's exactly like the horse
version, only with a Model T.
326
00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:29,200
The very first game took place
in an alfalfa field in Wichita,
327
00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:33,280
in Kansas, in 1912, and 5,000
people came to watch.
328
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,000
And it was incredibly dangerous,
especially if you can imagine
329
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,680
the referee was on foot. OK.
The referee...
330
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:44,240
I'd actually like to complain about
my big buzzer
331
00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,160
earlier, because you asked
what's the most fun
332
00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:47,840
you can have in a Model T Ford.
333
00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:52,640
And you're saying that nearly
dying in an alfalfa field...
334
00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:54,760
..is just better than a shag. Like,
wha...
335
00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:58,080
Well, apparently,
it was good fun.
336
00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:01,560
People stopped having sex
to take part! Yeah.
337
00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:05,120
It started as a publicity stunt
for Ford, but it became the most
338
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,880
expensive sport in the world.
In the 1914 season,
339
00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:11,720
2,000 wheels were smashed off
Model Fords.
340
00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:14,880
But it still looks a lot more
working class than the horse polo.
341
00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,880
Yeah, weirdly, doesn't it?
So this doesn't exist any more.
342
00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:19,080
It died out in the 1930s.
343
00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:22,240
But you can still have elephant
polo, canoe polo, bicycle polo,
344
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:24,600
but just not Model T stuff any
more.
345
00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:26,760
Here's another famous Model T
driver.
346
00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:28,520
What use did she have
347
00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:32,280
for bananas and elephants?
348
00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:34,520
The car is a clue to her name.
349
00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:36,680
It's Aloha Wanderwell, is her name.
350
00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,240
She was actually born in Winnipeg
as Idris Hall.
351
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:41,880
She's fabulous. She's from the
1920s.
352
00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:45,960
She was known as the world's most
travelled girl, and she travelled
353
00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,080
around the world in a Model T,
and she frequently broke down.
354
00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:50,960
And as you'd imagine, there
were no garages.
355
00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:52,680
So she improvised solutions.
356
00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:56,440
She used crushed banana skins
to grease the differential,
357
00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:59,520
and rendered elephant fat
down to use as a lubricant.
358
00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:02,520
She is incredible.
Where was she getting elephant fat?
359
00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:04,200
Well, she travelled
all over the world.
360
00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:06,960
So her travels began in 1922,
when she was just 16.
361
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:08,440
She was a convent school girl.
362
00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:11,640
She saw an ad in a French newspaper
for a young woman with brains,
363
00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:15,120
beauty and britches to join
an expedition as a secretary
364
00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:16,760
to Captain Walter Wanderwell.
365
00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:18,680
That's the guy there standing
in the uniform,
366
00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,440
looking very pleased with himself.
He was a Polish adventurer.
367
00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:27,120
Why do they require beauty?
368
00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:30,280
Because what he wanted to do
was to travel all over the world,
369
00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:32,880
take photographs and film
his adventures, and have a beautiful
370
00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,520
woman on his arm and thus
make money.
371
00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:39,200
Oh, so you need to like
372
00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,440
adventure, but you've got
373
00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:44,640
to be fit. Yeah.
374
00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:46,000
Yes, exactly that.
375
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,520
And she was basically a marketing
ploy. And they spent seven years
376
00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,480
travelling the world together. They
drove two modified Model Ts.
377
00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,800
They went through 43 different
countries.
378
00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:57,840
She became an honorary colonel
in the Siberian Red Army.
379
00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,520
She drove across India, from the
Nile to Cape Town, first woman
380
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,120
to drive around the world, and they
did eventually marry
381
00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:05,360
and had two children.
382
00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:07,800
And actually, her grandson,
Richard Diamond, helped us
383
00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,160
with the research on this question.
Ah! Ah!
384
00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:16,160
And he is, of course, curiously
quiet about where his granny
385
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,080
was getting all that elephant
fat from. Yes.
386
00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:21,840
At one point, their plane they were
on went down in the jungle,
387
00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,760
and Aloha had to stay in the Amazon
while Walter went
388
00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:26,040
in search of replacements.
389
00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,200
And so she made films of the Bororo
people of the Amazon,
390
00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:31,840
and they are the earliest recorded
footage of those people,
391
00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,400
and still highly regarded
by the Smithsonian Institute.
392
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,600
I just love that she thought,
"I'm not just going to sit
393
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,520
"here amongst all these fabulous
people. I'm going to document them."
394
00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:41,840
And so you can imagine, the 1920s,
that was quite a thing.
395
00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:43,920
Here's another workplace
dispute. Where the hell
396
00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:45,360
have all the teaspoons gone?
397
00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:47,600
So you didn't have a teaspoon.
I didn't have a teaspoon.
398
00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:49,200
No. So where the hell are they?
399
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:50,960
I think teaspoons are getting
bigger.
400
00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:56,000
I've noticed that recently teaspoons
appear larger than they used to.
401
00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:02,120
Wait. Alan,
are you buying tablespoons?
402
00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:06,800
These teaspoons are enormous!
403
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,200
In 2004, there was a group of
epidemiologists in Melbourne,
404
00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:15,680
and they decided to set up a study
using numbered teaspoons, and they
405
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:18,760
distributed them through the
institution's tea areas,
406
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,000
and they concluded that the
half-life of a teaspoon was 81 days.
407
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,240
What that means is within 81 days,
half the spoons had vanished.
408
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:28,920
OK? And overall, they worked out.
409
00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:33,000
this would mean 18 million teaspoons
had gone missing every year
410
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:34,400
in Melbourne alone.
411
00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:39,160
Just to help you, Alan,
that is the equivalent in weight
412
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:40,480
to four blue whales.
413
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,000
Wow.
414
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:43,880
What are people doing with their
teaspoons?
415
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,760
Well, it's really interesting.
416
00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:49,920
Teaspoons are six times more likely
to disappear than forks.
417
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,920
I think that's because a fork is
very uncomfortable in your back
pocket.
418
00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,680
I do think that's why. My
grandmother, a few years ago, told
419
00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:58,320
me about when she first came
to this country and was working
420
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:02,800
in a factory, and cutlery kept
going missing from the factory.
421
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:07,360
And she said, "Oh, and one
of these women who I was working
422
00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:10,960
"with said that, 'Oh, she would
have stolen them because she's
423
00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:13,120
"'Indian and they steal cutlery.'"
424
00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:15,680
And I was just like, "Is
that a racial stereotype
425
00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:17,520
"about Indians, that we steal
cutlery?"
426
00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:21,080
Is that what people
used to think about us?
427
00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:23,200
The thing is that everybody
does, is the truth of it.
428
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,400
So there's an economic theory called
the tragedy of the commons. OK?
429
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:30,120
And it holds that when individuals
share property, they tend to exploit
430
00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:32,760
it more for themselves
at the expense, basically,
431
00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:33,840
of the group as a whole.
432
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,680
If each individual takes a teaspoon,
they think it doesn't matter.
433
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:38,840
But if everybody does it,
it is actually going to harm
434
00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:40,000
the whole group.
435
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,520
So, Ahir, did your grandmother
in the end, did she give
436
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:45,600
the spoons back or not?
437
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:59,880
Actually, I shouldn't say
this on TV -
438
00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:02,400
she'll kill me -
439
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:07,440
but I know where all the teaspoons
are.
440
00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,640
Oh! My mum.
441
00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:15,720
Every restaurant we go in,
442
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:19,600
she steals a teaspoon.
443
00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,680
Oh... I don't know why!
444
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:25,760
Where are they?
445
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:27,640
In her drawer!
446
00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:33,640
And she remembers where
they're all from.
447
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:42,400
I'll have a teaspoon,
and she'll be like,
448
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:43,920
"Milan."
449
00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:53,160
It got to a point
where we'd go
450
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,560
in a nice cafe,
451
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,240
and we go, "Don't.
452
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:06,800
"Don't." And Mum goes...
453
00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:08,320
"I won't."
454
00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:13,280
And we'll come out
455
00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:15,840
and she'll be like...
456
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,280
Sorry, Mum.
457
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:27,840
Sorry.
458
00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:31,000
But you need to be stopped.
459
00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,680
Did your...your mother
work in a factory at the same time
460
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:42,240
as my grandmother?
461
00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:46,400
Nobody knows where the teaspoons
go, but we suspect
462
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,280
they're stirring up trouble.
463
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:50,760
Wahey!
464
00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:56,680
Now, let's look at time and towers.
465
00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:01,080
Who was that Italian scientist
who dropped his balls off a leaning
466
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:03,080
tower to see how fast they fell?
467
00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:04,960
Galileo.
468
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,640
It was mentioned in the G series
gravity show, the story that Galileo
469
00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,440
physically dropped cannonballs
off the Leaning Tower of Pisa
470
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:22,000
to demonstrate that different
weights fall at the same speed
471
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:23,560
is regarded as apocryphal.
472
00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:25,400
It was probably a thought
experiment.
473
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,560
What was not mentioned on that show
is his contemporary, who's
474
00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,440
a fascinating guy called
Giovanni Battista Riccioli.
475
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,800
And he did drop balls off
the Asinelli tower in Bologna
476
00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:38,520
and timed them very precisely.
477
00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,160
Isn't it curious that we know
about Galileo, but we don't know
478
00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:42,480
about this guy? Yeah.
479
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:44,400
He didn't have a song
written about him.
480
00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:45,600
That's what I'm saying.
481
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,520
I think that's... Also, why are
Italian towers so bad?
482
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,000
That leaning thing
is your basic foundation.
483
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,560
This one's not as bad. The Leaning
Tower of Pisa is 5.5 degrees.
484
00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:55,400
This one is just 1.3 degrees.
485
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,880
I know how he timed that.
He timed the drop
486
00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:00,960
to exactly when there was a tourist
487
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,280
standing underneath,
trying to do one of them pictures.
488
00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:07,320
And then... Well, you mentioned
that he'd timed it exactly.
489
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:09,920
He did need to measure time
accurately,
490
00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:14,080
so he calibrated a pendulum
to swing precisely once per second.
491
00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:15,480
Now, here's the question.
492
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:19,680
How would you do that at a time
when even the best watches
493
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:21,160
didn't have a minute hand?
494
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:23,200
You just say you've done it.
495
00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:25,280
OK.
496
00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:27,760
Yeah, we're back to the celestial
teapot, aren't we? Yeah.
497
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:29,640
"That is a second,
and you prove me wrong."
498
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:30,800
"Yeah, but I can't
499
00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:32,920
"because we haven't got any
instruments for that."
500
00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:35,040
It's going to be something
in the natural world...
501
00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:36,320
Uh... ..he copied.
502
00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:41,560
So, knowing that there are
86,400 seconds in 24 hours,
503
00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:44,920
he first measured a day
by reference to the movement
504
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,320
of the star Arcturus, OK,
across the Meridian Line.
505
00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:49,760
This is the bit I like.
506
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,600
He got a group of nine
Jesuit priests to chant in time
507
00:28:53,600 --> 00:29:00,480
with a pendulum, counting out
exactly 86,400 swings, OK?
508
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,320
So the poor guys had to chant
exactly -
509
00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:04,560
Boom, boom, boom.
510
00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:08,160
Why didn't he do it?
511
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,840
Yeah, he's more, like, conducting.
Yeah.
512
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:12,760
I really like him.
He's really interesting.
513
00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:15,360
He used logic to conclude, I mean,
incorrectly, that the earth
514
00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:16,840
was the centre of the universe.
515
00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,280
And the reason he thought that
is he thought that if the earth
516
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,880
was travelling through the universe,
then you would see birds
517
00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:24,080
constantly fighting
against the motion, like that.
518
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,000
And then, there was a German
astronomer called Johannes Kepler,
519
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,600
and his work showed that the planets
moved in elliptical orbits,
520
00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:32,280
and he thought,
"Well, how can that be?
521
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,200
"How can planets move
in elliptical orbits
522
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,240
"and the Earth be the centre
of the universe?"
523
00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:39,760
And his explanation was that God
had come up with a very complicated
524
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:43,000
bit of mathematics that made
the planets appear to have
525
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:47,280
elliptical orbits in order to give
human beings the satisfaction
526
00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:48,720
of working that out.
527
00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:58,800
I love that a scientist can
be so clever,
528
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:06,640
and then one day come to something
they can't explain,
529
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:10,720
then they go, "Oh...God."
530
00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:13,120
Yeah, yeah.
531
00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:15,120
OK, it's teatime.
Everyone likes a takeaway.
532
00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:18,520
But how could we improve
delivery services in this country?
533
00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:22,960
Tip them better.
534
00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:27,760
We are looking at a delivery system
in Mumbai for our influence here.
535
00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:30,600
This would be the dabbawallas,
or the tiffin wallahs, as they were.
536
00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:32,360
The tiffin wallahs, yeah.
I love that.
537
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:33,640
Can you tell us about them?
538
00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:37,520
So, this is a system where
sort of lunches will get made
539
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,400
and packed up in the home,
in these sort of tins
540
00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:42,480
which stack on top of one another,
541
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:46,520
and then a whole network of people
who get on cycles
542
00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:48,680
and will load these things up
onto trains,
543
00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:51,080
and it will go into offices
and stuff, and then,
544
00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,040
they'll collect them and bring
the boxes back at the end of it.
545
00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:56,120
And through, like, symbols
on the top to tell them
546
00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:57,320
where it's supposed to go,
547
00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:00,000
there are very, very few mistakes,
despite hundreds of thousands
548
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:02,000
of these orders happening
constantly.
549
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,560
It is astonishing that they have
an accuracy rate of 99.99%.
550
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,160
There are about four mistakes
per million transactions.
551
00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,480
Because there's a caste system
in India, it meant people
552
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:13,400
were unlikely to want
to have food prepared
553
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,160
from someone outside their caste
or even outside their home.
554
00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:18,000
And so, in the 1880s,
some workers decided,
555
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,280
"Well, why not have somebody pick up
food from my home and bring it?"
556
00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:23,640
And then, there was a guy
called Mahadeo Havaji Bachche,
557
00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:26,480
in 1890, saw an opportunity,
and he hired 100 men
558
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:27,640
and started this thing.
559
00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:29,920
And today, there's roughly
5,000 dabbawallas.
560
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,000
It's amazing.
It's a phenomenal system.
561
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,040
It sounds great,
562
00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:36,080
sure...
563
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:44,200
..but how do they fit
my 18-inch pizza...
564
00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:49,720
There used to be a similarly
impressive delivery system in Tokyo,
565
00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:51,600
but it doesn't exist any more -
the demae.
566
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:54,360
And they could carry up to 100
soba noodle soups...
567
00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:56,440
No way! Yeah. Oh, wow.
568
00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:57,640
Isn't that amazing?
569
00:31:57,640 --> 00:31:59,520
And how does he get it down?
570
00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:01,480
Well, very carefully,
I would imagine.
571
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,240
But they were a common sight
in the 1940s and 1950s
572
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,320
that were banned, unfortunately,
in 1961, because more and more cars
573
00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:10,400
were coming into the city,
and they were colliding
574
00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:12,360
with the bicycles,
so they don't exist any more.
575
00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:15,520
But sometimes, you get races now,
soba-delivery bicycle races,
576
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,520
and then you'll see the demae
out again, and people proving
577
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:19,960
they have the skills of the old...
578
00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:22,320
That is amazing.
Isn't that fantastic? Yeah.
579
00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,120
Your rider is approaching
the restaurant.
580
00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,160
Now, what's the most attractive
thing a man can have printed
581
00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:31,520
on his T-shirt?
582
00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,360
"Trump 2024."
583
00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:44,760
It's a study
by an experimental psychologist
584
00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:47,360
at Nottingham Trent University
called Dr Andrew Dunn.
585
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:52,240
And if you put a large T
on a white T-shirt,
586
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:56,600
it makes men 12% more attractive
to heterosexual women.
587
00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:03,360
If you put it upside down,
it makes them 12% less attractive.
588
00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:07,280
Apparently, the right-way-up T
accentuates the broadness
589
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:09,240
of the shoulders
and the slimness of the waist,
590
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:11,840
whereas the other way round,
the person doesn't look as nice.
591
00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:13,280
Now you mention it, all the people
592
00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:15,560
who have got...like,
all the seafarers who have got
593
00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:17,720
big anchors tattooed,
they must be livid.
594
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:23,280
Can the panel tell me anything else
interesting about T-shirts?
595
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,880
They used to be underwear,
and they've become outerwear.
596
00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:28,200
Yes, quite right.
We're talking about the 1890s.
597
00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:30,520
They were called bachelor
undershirts and it was for men
598
00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:31,920
who couldn't sew buttons.
599
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,560
So, before that, you would have had
some sort of long-john thing,
600
00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:36,000
and you would have had buttons on.
601
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,880
It became outerwear in the 1950s,
so you get films with Marlon Brando,
602
00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,560
in Streetcar Named Desire,
James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause.
603
00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:44,840
My favourite - Jack Nicholson
in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's...
604
00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:47,160
I mean, that's a sexy thing,
isn't it, don't you think,
605
00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:48,440
in a T-shit?
606
00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:50,400
He doesn't need a T on his top,
does he?
607
00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:51,600
No.
608
00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,040
And there's a curious thing -
for big sporting events,
609
00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:56,440
things like the Super Bowl,
the clothing manufacturers,
610
00:33:56,440 --> 00:34:01,280
in advance, they print thousands
of T-shirts in the winning strip.
611
00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:03,560
And then, of course,
half of them are no good, right?
612
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:04,960
Because somebody loses.
613
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:06,600
And so, they give them to charities,
614
00:34:06,600 --> 00:34:08,680
they ship them out
to poorer countries, and so on.
615
00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:12,320
In fact, we have an "Arsenal
Champions League Winners 2006."
616
00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:17,240
Oh.
617
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,800
That's not funny, Sandi. Sorry.
618
00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:25,360
Sorry, if you don't know the story,
619
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:27,440
Barcelona came from behind
to beat Arsenal 2-1.
620
00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:29,640
It's the only football fact I know.
621
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:34,080
A record for the most
T-shirts worn at once?
622
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:36,080
What do you reckon? How many?
623
00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:39,000
68,000.
624
00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:45,040
260, held by a man in Ontario
called Ted Hastings.
625
00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:48,840
Didn't want to pay extra baggage?
Have you all got a T-shit? Yeah.
626
00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:50,920
OK, I'm just going to show you
a little thing.
627
00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:52,840
So, this is a trick
for folding a T-shirt, OK?
628
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:57,840
So, if you want to fold a T-shirt
and you haven't got a lot of time,
629
00:34:57,840 --> 00:34:59,000
all you do...
630
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,840
..is that. What? Yeah...
Want to try?
631
00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:10,080
So... Show us again. So, go here
and here, and bring it down here...
632
00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:11,680
No, hang on. Start again.
633
00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:13,640
I'm here, I'm here...
634
00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:15,680
..and then what? Here and here.
635
00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:20,240
Yeah. And then bring it down
to the bottom, pick it up...
636
00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,240
..shake and fold.
637
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:31,400
There, there, now bring...
638
00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:33,360
..bring your left hand down
to the bottom.
639
00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,040
No, no. Oh. Underneath. Underneath.
640
00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:36,280
No, no. Ah!
641
00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,320
OK. Let's do this. We'll get this.
We'll get this. Right.
642
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:42,840
Put your right hand here. OK.
Put your left hand here. Yeah.
643
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:47,000
Bring your left hand underneath,
all the way to here. Yeah.
644
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:49,400
And pick up at the bottom like that.
Oh, yeah.
645
00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:51,800
Now bring it out. Shake, shake.
646
00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:54,600
And... Yeah!
647
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:57,800
Yeah. You're damn right.
648
00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:01,800
I mean, I wouldn't bother.
649
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:04,800
Now it's time to cast a tealight
on a pot of general ignorance.
650
00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:06,400
Fingers on buzzers, please.
651
00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:08,160
Teeing off with a question
about golf.
652
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:11,080
Which Scottish city
is the home of golf?
653
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:14,400
St Andrews.
654
00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:17,880
No!
655
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:21,520
Is it Glasgow?
656
00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:24,160
We're going to go round Scotland.
Yeah.
657
00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:27,320
Edinburgh. Is correct.
658
00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:32,800
The first formal rules
were written in 1744
659
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,600
by The Honourable Company
Of Edinburgh Golfers,
660
00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:38,560
and then they had the first
official competition there.
661
00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:41,800
St Andrew's Royal, an ancient
golf club which you mentioned,
662
00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:44,600
was founded about ten years later,
1754.
663
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,040
Golf has been played in the town
since the 12th century.
664
00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,240
But we were talking
about the original rules.
665
00:36:49,240 --> 00:36:51,680
It's a curious thing
about St Andrew's
666
00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:53,240
is that Prince Andrew
was the captain
667
00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:55,040
of the St Andrew's Royal
and Ancient. Ooh.
668
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:58,160
And he was captain
because he was the son of the Queen.
669
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:01,440
But she, because she was a woman,
was not allowed to join.
670
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:05,200
And women were not allowed to join
until... Anybody have any idea?
671
00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:08,280
Tuesday.
672
00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:10,360
It wasn't till 2015... Really?
673
00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:12,400
..that women were first allowed
to join. My God.
674
00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:13,760
But it's a very old game.
675
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:16,760
It had its roots in a Roman game
called paganica,
676
00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:20,160
a Chinese game called Chui Wan,
meaning "stickball" -
677
00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:23,520
there it is,
being played in China around 1100 -
678
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:27,360
and a Dutch game called kolven
from the 13th century.
679
00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:29,680
But basically... I love that.
It just... Do you not think
680
00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:32,000
it looks like a page out of the QI
History Colouring Book?
681
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:33,760
It's a sort of...
682
00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:36,080
They look like they've been told
"You've got to duck down
683
00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:37,600
"or you won't fit in the frame."
Yes.
684
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:41,240
We've said it before,
but it does bear repeating.
685
00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:43,080
It's one of my favourite
things about golf.
686
00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:45,200
During World War II,
Richmond Golf Club had
687
00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:47,320
the local rule, "A player
whose stroke is affected
688
00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:49,920
"by the simultaneous explosion
of a bomb or shell
689
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:53,120
"or by machine-gun fire,
may play another ball
690
00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:55,920
"from the same place..."
691
00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:59,600
Still exists. "..but there's
a penalty of one stroke."
692
00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:03,200
We can thank
the University of St Andrews
693
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:05,520
for the great doctor Edward Jenner,
694
00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:08,840
but what Discovery got him
into the Royal Society?
695
00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:10,520
What did he discover? Edward Jenner?
696
00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:13,680
He's...he's thought of in relation
to the smallpox vaccine,
697
00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:15,720
but he wasn't the first person
to come up with it.
698
00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:18,800
And in fact... So, variolation
to deal with smallpox
699
00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:21,720
had been happening sort of
in the Far East
700
00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:23,760
and through to West Africa.
701
00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:28,680
So, this was where people would
essentially, like, take a bit
702
00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:31,800
of dried smallpox wound
and essentially just
703
00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:34,440
do a fat line of smallpox.
704
00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:36,880
And if you didn't die,
you were golden.
705
00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:40,680
Quite right. We can, of course,
thank Jenner for the...
706
00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:42,600
He helped develop the vaccine
for smallpox.
707
00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:46,200
His first major work,
which I really like, was to explain
708
00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:50,520
how baby cuckoos remove
rival eggs from the nest, OK?
709
00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:52,640
So, you know that cuckoos
lay their eggs
710
00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:54,040
in another bird's nest.
711
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:56,600
And it was long thought
that it was the adult cuckoos
712
00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:59,760
that got rid of those babies
that were not their babies.
713
00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:02,440
But in fact, he noticed
that it was the chicks
714
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:04,320
that were murdering their rivals.
715
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:08,080
They were born with a small
depression in the back, OK?
716
00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:13,360
It's the perfect size for the eggs
of the birds that they parasitised,
717
00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:17,360
and they use that dent,
the baby birds, to push the egg
718
00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:20,880
and sometimes a rival chick
out of the nest. Wow.
719
00:39:20,880 --> 00:39:24,960
It's basically a deformity,
and it goes away after 12 days.
720
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:29,920
It's there specifically for them
to be able to push a rival's egg
721
00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:31,720
out of the nest.
722
00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:33,800
What's interesting,
it was very controversial,
723
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:36,520
so anti-vaxxers of the time used it
to say he was a quack -
724
00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:38,600
because he'd come up
with this stupid thing
725
00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:40,920
about cuckoos, he clearly didn't
know anything. Ah.
726
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:43,520
And therefore, it was a good way
to have a go at him as a scientist.
727
00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:46,640
Interesting. But there was a famous
illustrator called Jemima Blackburn,
728
00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:49,080
and she made a drawing of a cuckoo
pushing a bird from its nest
729
00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:52,040
with this depression, and the case
was absolutely closed.
730
00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:54,480
And Jemima Blackburn,
she's also a fascinating woman -
731
00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:57,280
huge influence on Beatrix Potter
and almost certainly the person
732
00:39:57,280 --> 00:39:59,240
that Jemima Puddle-Duck
is named after.
733
00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:03,240
Anyway, moving on,
what's inside these bubbles?
734
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:08,320
Air.
735
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:14,760
Not air. Any more thoughts.
736
00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:16,880
Water?
737
00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:20,120
Well, if it's not air, that's the
only other thing that's in there!
738
00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:23,840
Yeah. The big bubbles in boiling
water contain water vapour, OK?
739
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:25,480
They contain water vapour, not air.
740
00:40:25,480 --> 00:40:27,920
What happens is, when you first
boil water, the tiny bubbles
741
00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:29,120
are indeed made of air,
742
00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:31,000
that were previously trapped
in the liquid.
743
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:33,360
But the big ones in this,
what's called a rolling boil,
744
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:36,000
are the result of the water
accumulating enough energy to turn
745
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:37,640
from liquid into gas.
746
00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:40,680
Just to clarify - so it is water,
just a different state of matter.
747
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:43,960
Yes. So I'm going to give you
a point. Yay! There you go.
748
00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:54,040
"Duck Shit Aroma" is a type
of oolong tea,
749
00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:56,680
which comes from the species
camellia sinensis.
750
00:40:56,680 --> 00:40:59,720
Can you name any other type
of tea plant?
751
00:40:59,720 --> 00:41:02,720
Duck Shit Aroma, that's a colour
on the Farrow & Ball chart.
752
00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:09,880
I think... Now, I might be wrong
here, which doesn't normally happen,
753
00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:12,280
but on this occasion,
I might be wrong.
754
00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:14,720
Isn't there only one kind
of tea plant?
755
00:41:14,720 --> 00:41:16,800
You are absolutely right,
and you get five points.
756
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:19,760
Oh.
757
00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:28,120
There's only one species
of tea plant, the camellia sinensis.
758
00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:30,960
The difference between the various
styles are down to oxidation,
759
00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:33,000
infused flavours,
that kind of things.
760
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:35,200
Of course, not all tea bushes
are of the same quality.
761
00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:37,280
So, Duck Shit Aroma,
which is a thing,
762
00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:40,800
is harvested from a single bush
and its cuttings
763
00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:42,000
in the Guangdong province,
764
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:46,200
and it sells for 40 times
the price of normal tea.
765
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:48,760
Oh. And do the ducks benefit
from that?
766
00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:51,200
No. Apparently, it's just
the farmer called it that
767
00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:52,920
to stop people nicking it.
768
00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:57,640
It's good, isn't it? Yeah.
769
00:41:57,640 --> 00:41:59,480
It actually... I don't know
if you know this.
770
00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:01,280
It's best grown in cold
and wet conditions.
771
00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:03,360
I think people think of it
as tropical. Yorkshire.
772
00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:05,320
Yorkshire?
773
00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:07,360
Grown in the tropics,
but only at high altitude,
774
00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:09,320
so it needs to be cold
and it needs to be wet.
775
00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:11,640
Which brings us to the scores.
776
00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:14,960
Tonight's winner
with a "tea-mendous" 11 points
777
00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:16,520
is Alan!
778
00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:20,080
What?
779
00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:27,760
Hot on his heels with ten points,
780
00:42:27,760 --> 00:42:30,720
it's Henning!
781
00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:34,880
Then, with three whole points,
782
00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:37,840
Ahir!
783
00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:44,320
And left stewing in last place
with -22...
784
00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:47,200
..it's Rosie!
785
00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:57,880
Our thanks to Rosie, Ahir,
Henning and Alan,
786
00:42:57,880 --> 00:42:59,440
and I leave you with this,
787
00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:02,720
from the eighth-century Chinese sage
of tea, Lu Yu,
788
00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:06,560
"The best quality tea must
have creases like the leathern boot
789
00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:10,080
"of Tatar horsemen, curl
like the dewlap of a mighty bullock
790
00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:12,920
"unfold like a mist rising
out of a ravine,
791
00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:15,320
"gleam like a lake touched
by a zephyr,
792
00:43:15,320 --> 00:43:17,040
"and to be wet and soft
793
00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:19,640
"like a fine earth,
newly swept by rain."
794
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:21,080
I think we can all agree with that.
795
00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:23,480
And I'll have six sugars with mine,
thank you very much.
796
00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:25,400
Thank you. Goodnight.