Lateral with Tom Scott - 95: Musical fly swatters

Episode Date: August 2, 2024

Ólafur Waage, Evan Edinger and Hannah Witton face questions about cartoon creation, municipal meetings and presidential performances. LATERAL is a comedy panel game podcast about weird questions with wonderful answers, hosted by Tom Scott. For business enquiries, contestant appearances or question submissions, visit https://lateralcast.com. 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: Ólafur Waage, Jagannath, Greg Conroy, Evan Carr, Cherimoya. FORMAT: Pad 26 Limited/Labyrinth Games Ltd. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: David Bodycombe and Tom Scott. © Pad 26 Limited (https://www.pad26.com) / Labyrinth Games Ltd. 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Which cartoon character was inspired by the classic song Strangers in the Night? The answer to that at the end of the show. My name's Tom Scott, and this is Lateral. Four steps. Increase the oxygen, please. I think we're losing him. Stand clear. Stand clear. Yeah, I think we've got him. Don't worry, this is not exactly brain surgery. Oh, apparently it was. Well, that explains a lot. People here for questions that are hopefully easier than brain surgery today, we have, showing off their own grey matter, first of all, from the internet. I don't know how else to describe you. You have been making videos on a streak that is longer than mine. Evan Edinger, how are you doing?

Very good, very good. Just to clarify, you would have beaten me if you kept going this year, so... Just squeezed ahead. It has been every Sunday for... plus ten years now? Yes. Ten years, three months. What are you working on at the minute? What's the thing that is just clawing at your brain trying to get out? Trying to be ahead. I'm almost always just like the Wallace and Gromit Gif of making the train tracks.

I currently don't have a video prepared for this Sunday, but I have ones prepared for the next ones and I'm just trying to figure things out. Can I recommend taking a sabbatical? It's wonderful. I don't know what I would do. Next up we have Nordic YouTuber. I don't know how else to describe you. Other than in the conversation just before we started, you said that you have played Doom on a satellite. Please welcome, Oliver Vorge.

Thank you. I have to ask about Doom on a satellite. Yeah, I got this opportunity after a little talk where I played Doom on GitHub. So I did a talk on that. Basically, the idea was to play games on a bunch of different systems and make the computer play games for me. So that was a conference talk I did a talk on that. Basically, the idea was to play games on a bunch of different systems and make the computer play games for me. So that was a conference talk I did.

And then someone from the European Space Agency said, hey, I have a satellite. You want to play Doom on a satellite? I'm like, this is a spam account. I can just put that in. We played Doom on a satellite. And we actually, because the satellite had a camera, we could replace the sky in the game with whatever the latest photo the satellite took. So then we took screenshots and downloaded them down.

So yeah, a whole video about this, really fun. Well, very best of luck with the questions today. Rounding out the team, we have a returning player, Hannah Whitten, creator consultant. How are you doing? Welcome back to the show. Thanks for having me. I've changed careers since last time I was on the show. Yes. Well, there have been a lot of changes going on for you.

Tell us about what you're up to these days. Yeah, I stopped doing sex ed content, and I still do the lifestyle content stuff, but I've been working with a lot of creators this year, helping them with the behind the scenes of their creative businesses, which is really fun. Good luck to all three of our players today. Lateral is the game that's sure to fire your synapses. Fire, as in give them a week's notice and lock them out of slack. So while they collect their belongings into a cardboard storage box,

let's trudge along to question one. In 1930, James Hargis and a mechanic drove a car from New York City to Los Angeles, rested for two days, and then drove back. Why was the 42-day trip unusual, and how were they able to prove their feat? I'll say that again. In 1930, James Hargis and a mechanic drove a car from New York City to Los Angeles, rested for two days, and then drove back. Why was the 42-day trip unusual, and how are they able to prove their feet?

Hmm. Hmm. Did they send a letter to themselves and then catch it on the other side and then drive back? It's still like 42 days. That's quite a lot, right? But like, yeah, how fast were cars in the 1930s? I don't know. How long does it take now to drive across the US? It's like a week, I think. A week if you're doing it legally. There is the Cannonball Run, which is the very, very—

Is that just speeding? Yeah, it's the very unofficial and illegal run from New York City to Los Angeles. The Cannonball Record is something like 26 hours? Something like that, maybe a little shorter. It's more than 100 miles an hour average all the way across the continent. Oh my god! That's a speedrun! The record got set during lockdown, when there weren't many people on the road.

Yeah. So are mechanics taking a bit longer? Is he stopping at every state or something? Well, maybe, yeah. It might be stopping at every state and picking up the state's pin from every gas station. And then he has all the collection and then he can show that he has the whole thing, right? It's like a Pokemon from the 30s, right? Gotta catch them all. How many states were there in the 1930s? Because Hawaii was... there weren't 50 states.

Mine was Alaska and Hawaii. Hawaii was 59 and Alaska was before then, so... This was not the first transcontinental drive that had been done a couple of times before. So it was possible but difficult. But that was not what was unusual about this. The thought that popped into my head was like 1930s and like segregation and like, is our guy, is he the same James?

James the mechanic. James Hargis and a mechanic. Is he black? And then was it like difficult for him to like drive through some of the southern states? Like, were there difficulties there? there like I don't I don't know that's that's where my brain is going I don't actually know my suspicion would be if you were in the 1930s and doing that drive that might actually be

impossible for that reason might take longer than 42 days then yeah James Hargis and and Charles Creighton the mechanic I don't know I I don't have a picture here, but it's not part of the answer. Did it have anything to do with the fact that cars weren't as popular a mode of transport than rail? So it was, like, the infrastructure was not quite built for cars as much as the US highway system, interstate, wasn't built? There was actually a famous transcontinental trip that was the first to do it,

that had to deal with all the infrastructure problems that were just across the entire continent. But not this time, that had been done. First transcontinental trip had been done. This was there and that. Did he not drive on actual roads? Wait, how did he? And also, how did he? Like, they're proving it as well, is there no like

mileage meter on the car that goes, yeah, this car's like driven like all of these miles. Postcards, stamps. How did you prove? Because the telegram was there. I don't know if the telephone system was fully set up from coast to coast. He live streamed his trip. Yeah, it was on Twitch. There's just a massive antenna on the car, and they're just keeping Morse code going with all the names they're in. It wasn't just chatting, it was just driving.

They didn't necessarily have difficulty proving that they went there and back. Postal service could do that. They needed to prove something specific about this drive. Was it a car? Yes, it was a Ford Roadster. From the outside, looked normal. Oh, from the outside looked normal? Was it bigger on the inside?

Was it a TARDIS? Did they time travel? A Fred Flintstone type car, where you got a pedal or something? Oh my god. Did they have a different kind of fuel for the whole thing? Maybe not diesel or gasoline, maybe electric or...? Yeah, of those guesses, TARDIS, Fred Flintstone, or alternative fuel. Weirdly, Evan is the closest, but not that close.

There was definitely something weird about the car, and it was attention-grabbing. Was it a bike surrounded by it? Was it actually a bike? It was a Ford Roadster. Just modified a little. It was a car. Was it the first automatic car? Ooh, no. But they didn't change gears much. Okay, that's interesting.

Wait, so did it have no brakes? All gas no brakes? Was there no steering wheel? Oh my god. There was no something. You're very close there. There was no handbrake. There was no accelerator pedal.

There was no gear. No mirrors? No. What was that last one, Hannah? You said no gear. Gear stick. They wouldn't have needed it. Did they drive in first gear the whole time?

Not first gear? Wait, then backwards? Yes, they did. Oliver, you're absolutely right. That was driven in reverse, New York to Los Angeles and back in 42 days. No wonder it took 42 days. In reverse? Oh my gosh.

So that's the first part of the question. How did they prove that they were actually doing it? Witnesses. Partly that. There were people who were looking at it on the way, because that's going to attract attention if you're going down the highway at speed in reverse. Did they modify the car so you couldn't do it the other way around? Spot on. The three forward gears were physically removed from the transmission. You could not run this car forwards.

And they just left it running the entire time. Did they drive it backwards on the way back as well? Yes, they did. All the way out and all the way back they drove in reverse. Each of our guests has brought a question with them. We will start today with Evan, whenever you're ready. Oh boy. My question to you has been sent by Juggernaut.

And the question is, when Bill Clinton visited India in March 2000, he was advised against doing a specific tourist activity. When he visited again in April 2001, he was able to fulfill his wish. What was the activity and what was the original issue? I will repeat that. Bill Clinton visited India in March 2000. He was advised against doing a specific tourist activity. When he visited again in April 2001, he was able to

fulfill his wish. What was the activity and what was the original issue? Isn't cricket like really big in India? I could imagine he would like to, like, oh, baseball is this big thing in the US, let's do like hitting a ball with a paddle thing here, right? Yeah, but Americans haven't heard of cricket. No. As we record this, Team USA just beat Pakistan in a game, and the only reason I know is because several Indian folks I know

were celebrating. Because there's loads of Indian players on the American team as well. And their big rival just had their asses handed to them by America, who don't even really play cricket. Right, yeah. I say asses handed to them, it came down to like an extra over, it was really close. But the idea that Bill Clinton would want to play cricket, I love. I can't see him holding it.

The first thing that comes to my head is the Taj Mahal. I've never been to India. That's the main thing that comes to my head. And then the second thing that came to my head was Mount Everest, but that's not in India. That's in Nepal. I was thinking the Ganges. I was thinking that... I don't think bathing in the Ganges is a tourist activity though. That's religious significance. I was thinking maybe the Ganges is more polluted

at certain times of the year, and they warned him off it. Was it March 2000 to April 2001? It was like over a year difference? Yeah, the dates are March 2000 to April 2001. So yeah, that is significant. So the month mattered. Oh, is it because he was no longer president? He was no longer president, yes. Good point. Sorry, that was, that's in hindsight, a really obvious clue and I can't, like, well done Hannah. The rest of us just missed it entirely.

Yeah. GG. Was that the issue? Er, it's related to the issue. OK. My thinking is it's food-related, because when he visited Iceland, there's a big thing where he visited a hot dog stand in Iceland. And now they have a photo of him in the hot dog stand and they're like,

this is the hot dog stand Bill Clinton came to visit. So I'm wondering... Is that the one in the square in Reykjavik? Yeah. With the famous one? Yeah. Yep. So is it food related?

It is not food related, no. Yeah, because the Secret Service would have to double check everywhere he's going to eat first. Yeah. Is it something where, like, an American president can't be seen doing a certain thing? Like, it would just be politically, like, bad optics. So politically bad optics.

I would agree to give you a little nudge in the right direction. I mean, that's something Clinton was very good at. Oh, yeah. Has it got anything to do with sport? It has nothing to do with sport, no. It was a tourist activity, though. A very specific tourist activity in India. Okay, what are the tourist activities in India?

Would we know what it is? Absolutely. Go into the beach. Let's go get away. Well, what activities would a tourist really want to do in India? Beach, eat. India specifically. Walk.

India specifically. You could do those things in bloody England. Taj Mahal. Tigers. I've never been to India. I feel like I'm just being completely sensitive. I should know this. Well then go on. Keep going. Oh. Thank you. Oh, it's like a vision trip. Did you want to go on like a vision trip? Bye bye. Go to like a temple? Is it anything to do with animals? Yes. Monkeys. Elephants.

Yeah, I think Hannah's there. Did you want to ride on an elephant? Were they still doing elephant rides back then? Because I feel like that's something that's not really a thing anymore. It's very much still a thing. Is it? Okay. Was it something that would have been bad optics because of animal cruelty or anything like that? Oh, it's the Republican Party in the US has the logo of an elephant.

It's an elephant and a donkey. The Democrats have a donkey and he's a Democrat. So it would be a really, really bad idea for the Democrat president to feed an elephant. That's a political cartoon made real. Or ride an elephant? Or... Yeah. Yeah, it's the riding of the elephant. Just to be involved with an elephant in any way. Yeah. Congratulations. That's a point, I guess, for you.

So then a year later, when Clinton wasn't president anymore, he could hang out with the elephant and no one would care. Yes. That's so why he went. He wasn't president literally January 2001. So he went and fulfilled his dream. He was also the first sitting US president in 22 years to visit India since Carter. So as an extra tidbit, the elephant has been the logo,

the symbol for the Republican Party since 1874. A cartoonist just used an elephant to represent them and then that basically took off. I thought there was some deeper meaning behind it. It was literally just one cartoonist. It was one cartoonist. I believe his name was Thomas Nast. It was a cartoon that represented the Republican vote as being like, there was a lot of things that they couldn't focus on. It was a big blundering elephant, but they couldn't, yeah, focus on things like inflation, economy, blah blah blah. So what's the elephant in the room?

Oh hey! I found out the only reason that we have red and blue as the colours for the two parties is because of, like, a couple of newspapers in 2000 that picked those colours. In 2000? It's not a thing that goes back decades— What? Yeah, it only goes back to, like, this century. You mean in the UK?

In the US. No. Mm-hmm. No. It amazed me as well. The only reason that they've got Red for Republican, Blue for Democrat is because of one or two newspapers in the 2000s. Before that, it was just, there weren't really colours, everyone kind of picked their own, because it's all red, white and

blue, they're all patriotic. The Defender 110 is up for the adventure. This iconic award-winning vehicle has been redefined with a distinctive modern design. A reimagined exterior features compelling proportions and precise detailing. Built with integrity and purpose, the interior boasts robust, durable materials. Whether it's the all-terrain capability, ample cargo capacity, or innovative camera technology, the Defender 110 lets you go further and do more.

And with seating for up to seven, everyone can enjoy the journey. Learn more at LandRover.ca. Switch to Freedom Mobile and get 50 gigs to use in Canada, the US and Mexico for just 35 bucks a month for 18 months. That's all the savings, none of the worries. Conditions apply. Details at FreedomMobile.ca. Next question was sent in by Evan Carr. Thank you very much, Evan. In the 1910s, why did jazz bands find it helpful to buy fly swatters? I'll say that again. In the 1910s, why did jazz bands find it helpful to buy fly swatters?

Is this percussion related? Are they performing outside? And there was hot and there were flies? I mean, that's the classic joke of slapping the bass. So you'd slap the bass with a... Does it make a good sound? Woof woof! Woof woof! Yeah, I'm imagining you can maybe clap two together and make some good sound.

And because there's holes in a flyswatter, it allows more speed. More of a bang. I wish I had a flyswatter now to test the noise it makes. You're actually all circling around the answer quite well here. I'm not going to say much. It is absolutely percussion-related, Evan. And you're right, they're not being used to kill flies here. But it's not quite just the noise itself.

Oh, is it the... because on the drums, you'd have the whisk? Yeah, that one. I'm not it the... Because on the drums you'd have the whisk, which is like the... Yeah, that one. I'm not going to do that through the microphone. But it's like a fly swatter, a good replacement for that. Like instead of drumsticks. Yes. You've got it.

Almost straight away. These are early fly swatters. So these were made of little metal wires rather than plastic. Ah. Yeah, because it's rather than plastic. Ah. Yeah, because in our heads, yeah. Yep, these days drummers would use brushes or something soft to kind of get that sound they want. Back then, turns out fly swatters were a good substitute if you didn't want to actually just bash a drum.

Because I think in all of our heads we're like, yeah, it's the classic plastic... Yeah, I had the plastic one in my head, but now that I'm picturing the brushes that drummers use, I'm like, okay, yeah, metal version of that makes sense. Pretty metal. One thing we haven't talked about, though, is why. If they're performing in the 1910s, what's different to today? More flies. Because it's before World War I, so there wouldn't be material shortage, is what I'm thinking.

It's not about the materials. There's something that hadn't been invented back then. Plastic. Okay, yes, that is true. That's a material, though. So what hadn't been invented is the other fun little percussion, little whisky thing. So they were like, this works. The drumstick. I feel like that was probably one of the first inventions. Yeah.

That was probably... A stick? I don't mean to sound sarcastic now. A stick to bang on something. That's probably pre-wheeled. It seems really advanced to me. That's probably pre-human, I feel. Like, you see a thing, you go bonk, right?

And like, huh, sound bonked. Yeah. You see a thing, you go bonk. Because they had them. They had them around. This is the night, you know, they're playing jazz outside. It's hot, it's sweaty, there's flies, so they've got fly swatters already. There's a problem they're trying to solve with them. Why aren't they just using the drumsticks? Because it makes a different sound.

Also like, again, before we're thinking of the classic drum, is a drum the same? Like, it's not the same, because now it's more of a... not plasticky, but it's kind of a... but you do skins for drums back in the day. I'm wondering if the material is different. It's more a problem to do with how they're performing, where they're performing, and how it might sound. Not just the different sound you get,

but something else about it. Well, jazz was born in the south, so I don't know if heat has anything to do with it. It's much simpler than that. Oh. Is it not as loud? It's not as loud. Yeah. Because with the process, it's more of a more gentle underlying tone.

Yeah. So this was because they were playing in small environments, large amounts, whatever happened, the drums drowned everyone else out. So it was finding a drumstick that wouldn't completely spoil the sound for everyone else. And they used fly swatters, and for decades afterwards, even after brushes were invented, they still were called fly swatters sometimes. Yeah, I can imagine anybody was going to a rock concert in a tiny bar, and they'd be Decades afterwards, even after brushes were invented, they still got called fly swatters sometimes. Could you imagine, like, anybody was going to a rock concert in a tiny bar? No, it's like, yeah, the drums are there.

Yep. You just can't hear anything else. Hannah, it is over to you for the next question. This question has been sent in by Greg Conroy. So, Grace has been gifted a bag of four different coins. She likes the silver 50 cent coins the most, closely followed by the 20 cent coins. The gold one dollar coins are less desirable

and she happily gives the two dollar coins to her brother, Greg. Why? I'll say that again. Grace has been gifted a bag of four different coins. She likes the silver 50 cent coins the most, closely followed by the 20 cent coins, the gold 1 dollar coins are less desirable,

and she happily gives the 2 dollar coins to her brother Greg. Why? Because 20 cent coins don't exist. So first of all, this is a math question. Do I need to bring in a calculator? When you say a bag of four different coins, are they just four coins in there? Or are there a lot of coins that are four different types? It doesn't specify, but I believe it's four different types. And there's an undisclosed

amount of total coinage. And there's no sort of wordplay with a two dollar coin, meaning a coin worth two dollars versus two dollar coins, like two of the... No, so yeah, I believe that the four different types of coins are fifty cent, twenty cent, one dollar, two dollar. I mean, you said twenty cent coins don't exist. Yeah. They don't exist in the States, at least.

I'm fairly certain it's been like that for as long as I've been alive. So they might have existed in the past, or it could be Australia who uses dollar dues as well. So they probably might have a 20 cent. I don't know. But those coins aren't silver or gold either. Correct. They're just other metals. In the US, we do have dollar coins with Sacagawea on them.

They're very rare, but you get them. I once got like a dozen of them from a subway vending machine in New York. Because one of the ways they put them into circulation was they were just like, oh yeah, all the New York metro machines are now going to give change in dollar coins. Nowhere else understands what a dollar coin is. You just get this heavy lump of metal that's unhelpful. But isn't that an interesting logistic problem? Like, now you've made a certain amount of coins,

how do you, like then what? You just sit on the streets and hand them out? Like what are you going to do? Especially because collectors will try and keep them and you're like, no, no, spend them, please. But yeah, so she wanted to give away the gold ones because she said she didn't like them or they weren't as valuable. She happily gives the $2 coins to her brother Greg. It says that the one dollar ones are gold, but it doesn't say what the two dollar ones are.

I'm wondering if this is not about the coins, if there's something about her. Is she blind and likes the feel of them? Grace is just really bad with money. Just really, really bad. She's a child. And Greg has been exploiting that for a while. Some bills have different sizes and coins have like an in... some of them have in-tents or holes in them to be like, you know, which one you're dealing with.

So it's not about the money, it's about her. You're kind of onto something about it being her personal preference and the size. Those are two things that you've said that are relevant to this answer. Ah. Is she not using it as money? She's putting them somewhere else. So the coins might not have any... ...monetary value.

...inherent value. They might be... or they've got a bit from the metal, but maybe it's antique coins or something like that that aren't currency anymore. Yeah. And if the dollar coins are gold and the two dollar coins aren't gold, they might be an inferior material that she's trying to maybe donate, not donate, but convert meltdown into a better thing. Yeah, see, that's a silver one.

So, you see, making like silver statues out of the coins. There's a clue if I tell you, then you might get it too quickly. Mmm. Because you're like, you're going really hard in a certain direction that is wrong. Okay. Wow. The thing that you're really fixated on is irrelevant. Oh, okay.

Oh, okay. Grace just likes coins. Cool. Question over. Next one. This is ringing a bell in my head from somewhere. It's not monopoly money, but it's some other thing that looks like coins. And it's not valid currency, but it's something like that. And there's something ringing a bell in my head, and I cannot place the damn thing.

You're getting closer now. Like a Chuck E. Cheese token. Now dive into that Tom Scott database and look it up. Because then that means that this is not like the currency of her country. Because we haven't gotten into like if she's American, this is not dollars. Or this is not like regularly circulating money. Does the size of the coin matter? Yes. So for what she needs it for, the size of the twos aren't very useful compared to what the ones are.

But is she using it as money, and it's the same size as the money in her country? So it's like putting... because some money goes into vending machines correctly, right? Yes. You get like a ten-pence piece and it comes out as the equivalent of a pound in another country. Put it into the machine, no-one will notice. You need to keep going down... Just to be clear, it does not endorse crime. You need to keep going down Tom's route of what other money things are there. Like, you had your Monopoly example.

Monopoly, Bitcoin, no wait that's the same thing. Well. What is money? What is aesthetic money that... Is it a toy money type thing? Clothes? It's not, it's just a toy and she prefers the way that the other ones are. Grace has been gifted a bag of four different coins. What kind of coins might be given as a gift?

Oh my god, is this chocolate money? Beep beep beep beep! Ah... Oh! Oh, who wrote that question? I'm angry about that question. That was too easy a clue. I thought I was enjoying you finding it really difficult.

No, you're right. As soon as we've gone into like food territory, we've been immediately like, yep. Yeah. And the dollar coins are a different type because the colour of the wrapper tells you whether it's like milk chocolate or dark chocolate or white chocolate or something like that. Well, yeah. So the other part of the question is why? So you've got that it's chocolate coins. So why does she give the two dollar coins away? Why does she like the silver 50 cent coins the most followed by the 20 cent coins?

Yummy. Yeah, I'm numb. Is it flavors and types? The question that Evan asked about does a certain thing matter? The size? Mm-hmm. Oh, so the one dollar ones are actually larger than the two dollar ones. So the ones that she prefers, the silver 50 cent coins are the biggest. They're the biggest.

And she just wants more chocolate. Mm hmm. Valid. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So, but you are right. She lives in Australia. This is based on Australian cents and dollars. And the 50 cent coin is the largest and so the most chocolate.

And she doesn't mind giving her brother, Greg, the $2 coins because they are the smallest. But they're worth more, Greg. Just tell the kid that they're worth more. There's a bigger number on it. So it's more chocolate, right? And there's a fun fact here that chocolate coins have been around since the 16th century. And they're inspired by the fourth century tale of St. Nicholas, who gave three women small bags of gold to pay off their dowries. And I have a personal fun fact about chocolate money, which is I'm Jewish, and we would always

get a bag of chocolate money at Hanukkah. And it was called Hanukkah Gelt in my family. And I loved getting Hanukkah Gelt, as every kid does, it's delicious. And then I remember being at school and seeing other kids with their Hanukkah Gelt on the playground, and I was like, oh my God, I had no idea you were Jewish. And they were just like, this is just chocolate money. I just didn't realise that it was something that everybody got at Christmas time. I thought it was a special Jew thing for me. This question has been sent in by Cherimoya, thank you. In April 2020, the Finance Committee

of Waiapā District, New Zealand held a Zoom meeting for one and three-quarter hours, which was later uploaded to YouTube. Why has the video clocked up two million views, even though nothing of note happens? I'll say that again. In April 2020, the Finance Committee of Waipa District, New Zealand, held a Zoom meeting for one and three-quarter hours, which was later uploaded to YouTube.

Why has the video clocked up two million views even though nothing of note happens? Is this got anything to do with COVID? Well, it was COVID. April 2020, New Zealand. Mm-hmm. It was because nothing of note happened, and something of note should have happened.

Was no one in the video because everyone was not able to be going, but it was scheduled to go live, and so all the cameras were on, but it was just empty chairs. Everyone was ill. Everyone was ill. Yeah.

It was the first ever governmental, like, zoom call for this type of thing in New Zealand. I mean, in April 2020, given how New Zealand reacted and locked down early, everyone was fine. They did not have many cases back then. Might have been none by that point. Yeah, April 2020 is very early. It is just a regular finance committee meeting. That would have happened on Zoom anyway,

even if there was no Covid. It might have been in person, but either way, it's just a meeting. It's like an hour 45, someone's paying for Zoom, because that's over 40 minutes. Sixteen people on this call as well. The algorithm really just enjoyed the content, so... Was there, like, some good music in it? Some, like, lo-fi study vibes?

And then everyone... It was just a co-working session, and then just like two million people stick it on in the background whilst they're working from home. – You say that nothing of note happened. How literal is that? – It is 16 councillors discussing local issues. So certainly there is no drama from there, there is no newsworthy story here. It is just a council meeting. Evan and Hannah, you are closer than you might think, though. Because Hannah talked about the music.

I was talking about the algorithm, I thought. It's just a fluke of the internet, classic. Just one of those times. That's part of the answer. Was it, like, titled something? Was it mad clickbait for this council meeting? Hannah's actually really close. The answer does say by some fluke of YouTube's algorithm. But it's not quite the reason you think at the moment. I'm wondering if it... Because sometimes when videos have a high amount of views,

that is because they are set as the default of something, or they're set as the... Wasn't that the case, I think, from an earlier episode, where some video was the default search video in some smart TV? So it got a lot of views. So was this like some... Like, oh, if you went to some page, you would autoplay this meeting. You are very close, Oliver.

You are very, very close, but there's one key thing that no one's putting in. Did it, like, end up in the YouTube Kids app by accident? That's great. I can't see many iPad kids watching 16 counselors talking about local issues. It is something like that. You're dancing around it. Yeah, what's the watch time on this? I bet it, like, is the watch time just, like, five seconds and people are like, No's the watch time on this? I bet it's the watch time, just like five seconds, and people are like, what?

No, the watch time on this is great. Yeah, because then it's auto-playing somewhere. It's going through the whole thing and looping around. It's not an auto-play. There is some other reason going on here. People are genuinely seeking out this video. Well, they're seeking out a video. A video? Does it have the same name as, like, a music video?

Or, like, a... It's... what? Don't forget to be successful on YouTube. A video needs to have good watch time. If people go in, find out it's the wrong thing, and then go away... Yeah, YouTube's not gonna... No. ...not gonna boost that. So it's an hour and 45 minutes away. Yeah, YouTube's not gonna boost that.

So it's an hour and 45 minutes long. Yep. Oh, the dull meeting. Did they think it was a film? No, the dull look of it is part of the success, it's part of the reason why. Does it look like 12 Angry Men? Oh, no. Are people faking Zoom meetings because of COVID?

Yes, they are. Yeah. Because it looks like a meeting you're in. Yeah. Yep. What? Absolutely. They search for Zoom meetings. Yeah. They search for Zoom meetings and what happens?

They get that video, click on it, it looks like a meeting, they can place themselves in, like they're in the meeting, and then they can sit there like we are right now. Spot on. I tested this at time of recording. If you just type in meeting on YouTube with no other words, or Zoom meeting, something like that, then yes, the Finance Committee of a little bit of New Zealand is the video that comes up at the top by, like you said Hannah, by a fluke of the algorithm. If you search for meeting because you want to fake being

on a Zoom call, because you're slacking off work, or you want to avoid your family for a bit, that is what pops up. And so millions of people have just played this in the background. You are all so close, and it is just because they are faking having a Zoom meeting. Fast. Isn't it like the old games from the 90s would have like a like a boss mode, it would be called. You could do like a command, like you would be playing a game at work and you'd be hitting

a command and it would pop up like a fake Excel spreadsheet in the game. And you could be like, hmm, yes, yes. And then the boss goes away and click on the thing. Summer's here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well you can't get a well-groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana? That's a no. But a banana? That's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry, nope. But a box fan? Happily yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that.

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Oliver, the next question is from you, whenever you're ready. So this question was written by me. Yes. Oh! Uh-huh. A Swedish hospital asks one of their nurses to change his name. He understands the situation and now goes by his middle name, Manuel. Why?

So, say it again. A Swedish hospital asks one of their nurses to change his name. He understands the situation, and now goes by his middle name, Manuel. Why? His first name is Juan, and everyone thinks they're ordering one of something. No, that doesn't work. Can I have one Manuel? That doesn't work on multiple things, because A, people aren't that stupid, and B, it's

Sweden. Manuel isn't necessarily a Swedish name, is it? No. That's why I immediately went to Juan. They don't have the same, like, a lot of the Nordics have, like, name laws. So, like, in Iceland, you can't name, there's a list you have to name people from. Yeah, Germany has that as well. You cannot name any child Adolf.

That's fair. But there's other rules as well. Oh, I know, that's just... That's fair. But there's other rules as well. Oh, I know. That's the top of the list. I'm all right in saying in Iceland that's because of grammatical reasons. The names decline in different ways depending on the rest of the sentence. Yeah. So you have to make sure the name works that way.

So I'm Olafur, but if you're going... So I could be Olafur, Olaf, Olafi, or Olaf's. The name changes. So depending... if you're sending me a letter, if you, or Olaf's, the name changes. So depending if you're sending me a letter, if you're going towards me, if you're walking from me. Oh my God. Wow.

Wait, sorry, walking towards and going from? Yeah. And I think Finnish has like going up and going down is different. I might be wrong on that one. Wow. That's declension. So any, like when you have a language that has declension, people from a language that doesn't have a declension find that super weird.

I'm kind of thinking with this question, is there something to do with like common words that are used in a hospital setting that this nurse's first name was similar to or the same as in Swedish. And so it was just very confusing because it would be like, like, their first name would be like, emergency. As a siren starts in the background of someone's call, somehow whatever Hammond says, emergency, they arrive immediately. They come, they come. So he is very understanding of this. Somehow whatever Hannah says, emergency, they arrive immediately. They come. They come. It's that quick. Yeah.

So, here's very understanding of this. This is, like, yeah, I get it. Is it a swear word in Swedish, but not in, like, if they're from somewhere else? No. But Hannah talked about confusion. I would like... I like that path. That's a good one. How do you address a nurse? It's not like doctor, do you just say... I actually don't know.

Is there a suffix or a prefix that you're supposed to say? Some addressing salutation? No? Because I was thinking maybe that gets mixed up with this first name. Not in the UK. No. But there could be a Swedish word that means doctor or nurse or something like that. Oh my god, did that name mean doctor? Or it means heart attack.

Or it means some terrible medical condition. It means anaesthetic. I can say that the number of—the amount of Swedish you need to know for this question is zero. Oh, okay. For most things. That's good, because that... The amount of Swedish you need to know for this question is zero. Oh, OK. For most things. That's good, because that is the amount of Swedish I know. Yeah, I know a little bit.

I know... Tug. Yep. Correction, that is one less than the amount of Swedish I know. I've got Tuck. IKEA. Are we along the right lines with a name that's causing confusion here? There's a word that is also a first name.

In a hospital setting? The hospital setting matters. It's something you don't want to happen in a hospital setting. Fire! So what was his middle name? Manuel. From what culture is that? From Spain?

Sorry, his first name, and just, I apologise, because this joke seems questionable at best, his first name is Man-ill. Man-ill. No, man as well. He's fine. Man-okay. Man go home. Man-okay.

Man go home. This feels like a question, this feels like a joke from a 1970s sitcom, that everyone's coming up, oh, that's not okay these days. Oh, my God. But his first name is, like, you could talk about Spanish or Hispanic or... Yeah. The first name is of a similar origin.

Juan. Carlos. No, I have my car. There's no Carlos, right? No, no. Hold on again. Pablo. Pablo Manuel. And Pablo is Swedish for dead, so he could do that.

We don't need to know Swedish, it's got to be something that... Yeah, we don't. We don't need to know Swedish, but we do need to know Spanish and Hispanic names. Yeah. It's a Spanish name that sounds like something that you don't want in a hospital. You all know this name. I just can't think of any off the top of my head. That's bad.

It's one of the big ones. One of the big ones. One of the names of all time. I'm kind of trying to rephrase the hint in another way. I'm trying to think of, like, footballers' names. Go bigger. Go bigger than football? Oh yeah. It's one of their names.

Jesus. There we go. Jesus. Jesus. So why is this a problem? Jesus can't be a doctor. Jesus Manuel. Jesus Manuel.

Because you don't want to call for Jesus in a hospital. There we go. Because it's pronounced Jesus. It's a different pronunciation of everything, but Sweden is generally not going to know that. Or if you write it down or... Yeah. And if you're in a culture where that's not a common name, you don't really want to page Jesus for someone who is close to death.

That's not a good look for a hospital. Paging Dr Jesus. Jesus will come and see you now. Oh no. Okay. Yeah. So yeah, that's why he's in a disaster situation. You've got an appointment with Jesus at 3pm. No, that's not okay. Yeah. Jesus is coming to take your blood. And turn into wine or what's the... Hey. There we go. So Jesus was a 25 year old auxiliary nurse at Hyttinge Hospital in Stockholm.

He was asked to change his name to avoid conversations like Jesus will see you soon or Jesus will come and help you in case patients thought that might be a trip to the pearly gates were imminent. And speaking in 2006, he said, at work I'm Manuel in ordinary life I'm Jesus. My name never usually causes me problems. I understand why this is necessary. Jesus is coming to get you, don't worry. Oh.

What? Which leaves us with the question that I asked the audience at the start. Which cartoon character was inspired by the classic song Strangers in the Night? I don't know if any of our panel here will recognise that song. No. Strangers in the Night.

Yes? Is it a cartoon character that is from McDonald's? Why do you say that? Well, because hypothetically it could be the cartoon character Mac. Here's how sceptical I was about that, Evan. My voice cracked while asking, how sure are you of that? I don't know, for some reason I was thinking of Mac Tonight, which was an animated moon for McDonald's.

Yes, based off Mac the Knife. Mac the Knife, okay. I was thinking of Strangers of the Night. No, Mac the Knife was a song, and then McDonald's called the cartoon character Mac Tonight, because they were doing late night service. That makes sense, yes. Alright, my bad. Bit of a stretch, but I went for it.

Well, it's not that much of a stretch, because Strangers in the Night and Mack the Knife are both the same kind of Rat Pack songs. I think they were both Sinatra, actually. From a well-known franchise, yeah. From extremely well-known. Everyone here will know this cartoon character. Have a think about how Frank Sinatra might sing. Ha ha ha. Sorry.

I realize that this is an audio show, but Evan just pulled a face that was somehow a excellent Frank Sinatra impression. I don't know how, but he made it. Uh, that's how he sings. Well, really well known. Have a think about how Sinatra sings, what you might do when you sing a classic song like that. You might improvise a bit. Like smooth... Jazz.

Yeah. So is this like a TV show character, movie character? Yeah, from the late 60s. TV show from the late 60s. Oh, like Mickey Mouse? Mickey's earlier than that. Yeah, you're right, actually, Mickey's. The key section is that Sinatra's just improvising at the end. He's just doing scat singing at the end of Strangers in the Night.

Skiddily-loo-bop-bop-bop-beedily-a-bop-bop-bop-biddy-boop-boop. Oh. Is it the Tasmanian Devil? Oh, no, but Evan, you almost said the cartoon character's name. Do you just want to riff a bit more? Skibbidy toilet. Uh, skibbidy boop bop bop. Skibbidy boop bop.

I'm there! Skibbidy... Oh my god, why is it, like, why does it feel so close? Scooby-doo! There we go! Oh! Skibbidy boop bop bop. Skibbidy boop bop?

Scooby-doo! At the end of Stranger in the Night, Frank Sinatra sings Scooby-Dooby-Doo as part of his improvisations. And Fred Silverman, one of the creators of Scooby-Doo, was listening to this on the flight and took the name from there. Oh, so it was that way around. It was that way around. I thought I was thinking of a cartoon character

that looked like Frank Sinatra singing, so I was like, I have no idea. Yeah, because I was trying to be like, who has a microphone? That's what I was, so I was like, I have no idea. Yeah, because I was like trying to be like, who has a microphone? That's what I was thinking, I was like Tom and Jerry. Scooby-dooby-doo. Josie and the Pussycats were right there, but in this case, no, it was very much just the name Scooby-Doo, which comes apparently from Frank Sinatra improvising. Love that.

With that, thank you very much to all our players. Let's find out, where can people find out about you, what's going on in your lives. We will start with Oliver. I'm on the internet, Oliver W. And you can yell at me if you want. I'm on most of the platforms. Hannah.

You can find me at Hannah Whitton on social media and my YouTube is more Hannah, where I just do fun stuff. And Evan. YouTube, you can find me where I just do fun stuff. And Evan. YouTube, you can find me at youtube.com slash Evan. I've got the four letter name. That's me. Fancy. And if you want to know more about this show, you can do that at lateralcast.com.

We can also send in your own idea for a question. We are at lateralcast, basically everywhere, and there are regular video highlights at youtube.com slash lateralcast. Thank you very much to Hannah Witton. Boo! Evan Edminger. Dabbing does not work as an audio show, but I appreciate the effort. You have to say it, you have to go, dab.

Dab. And Oliver Borgheim. Scooby-dooby-doo. I've been Tom Scott, and that's been Lateral.