The Unbelievable Truth - 26x01 Ancient Romans, Tea, Crustaceans, Balls

Episode Date: February 20, 2022

26x01 26 July 2021 Holly Walsh, Henning Wehn, Zoe Lyons, Richard Osman Ancient Romans, Tea, Crustaceans, Balls

We present The Unbelievable Truth, the panel game built on truth and lies. In the chair, please welcome David Mitchell. Hello and welcome to The Unbelievable Truth, Please welcome David Mitchell Panel show about incredible truths and barely credible lies. I'm David Mitchell tonight Our panel features four individuals who are all in a vulnerable group out of practice comedians So please welcome Henning vein Holly Walsh Zoe Lyons and Richard Osman Let's welcome Henning Veen, Holly Walsh, Zoe Lyons and Richard Osman. The penalties are as follows. Each panellist will present a short lecture that should be entirely false,

save for five hidden truths which their opponent should try to identify. Points are scored by truths that go unnoticed, while other panellists can win points if they spot a truth or lose points if they mistake a lie for a truth. First up is Holly Walsh, one of the busiest, most successful comedians in Britain, is what Holly has said she'd like to be. Holly, your subject is the ancient Romans, a civilisation founded around the ninth century BC that came to dominate Europe. Off you go, Holly. Fingers on buzzers, the rest of you. The ancient Romans invented almost all of the worst

things in history, including pop-up adverts, close-up magic, battery hens, those signs people have on their walls saying, live, laugh, love, best man speeches that go on for an hour, and crocs. Richard. I mean, come on. There's something there, surely.

And I can tell you what. Oh, really? Yeah. What do you think it is? Close-up magic. Do you think? This is a departure. You're just speaking in an advisory role. You're on Richard's team for this buzz. I mean, listen, I have a calculation to make

now, don't I? Yeah. Which is, do I trust Henning? Hmm. I mean, listen, that was one of the things I was thinking. They might have invented pop-up adverts, rydych chi'n sgwri. Dwi'n dweud bod nhw wedi datblygu magwyd gyda'r cymharu. Nid oeddant. Mae'r ffaterion baterion yn sôn fel rhywbeth, oherwydd mae hynny'n eithaf sefydlogol, mae angen iddyn nhw'n ymgyrchu. Roedd y Romain yn hoffi gwneud pethau

fel hynny, oherwydd roedden nhw'n gwneud toalets o ben amser, ac mewn rhywbeth, yn fy marn, rwyf wedi'i gysylltu â'r ffaterion baterion. doing things like that, because they did long bench toilets, and somehow in my mind I've connected that with battery chickens. Well, I think, yes, it's a good theory, because they were organised and cruel, and that's what battery chicken farming is. Also, close-up magic is fairly cruel, isn't it? I hate it. They never trust

a magician. Yeah, if I'm ever at a wedding and a close-up magician comes near me, I'm like, no, go. I mean, why do I want to see somebody who didn't have any friends as a teenager doing something in my face? But you're right, Cyn i fy nghydweithiwr ddod y tuag ati, rwy'n dweud, na, mynd. Pwy ydw i am weld rhywun nad oedd gennynt unrhyw ffrindiau fel tyfnager yn gwneud rhywbeth yn fy myn. Ond rydych chi'n iawn, Zoe. Roedd y Rhomwnaid Eang yn datblygu hennau batteri. Roeddent yn ffermio llawer o wahanol ffyrdd o gwych yn gwarthegau llaw sy'n cael eu cynllunio cyn symud nhw i'w ffattio mewn caeau rhwystredig yn dyfodol â'r rhai sy'n eu defnyddio mewn ffermio gwych batteri modern. Roeddent yn ddiddorol iawn mewn meddygaeth, fatten them up in dark, restrictive cages similar to those used in modern battery chicken farming.

So amazing a medicine were they that it was the Romans who discovered you could cure indigestion by swallowing pig eyeballs, get rid of hiccups by wearing a mouse as a finger puppet, and alleviate a headache by strapping a fox's genitals to your forehead. Three things I still do to this day, whether or not I have symptoms. Richard, I'm going to go straight back in. I can't advise on this one. Do you know what, as so often in life I'm so tempted to say fox genitals. Fox genitals? Correct.

To cure a headache the Roman author Pliny the Elder suggests fastening the genital organ of a male fox round the head. Popular pastimes amongst the ancient Romans included collecting souvenir mugs, swapping models of their favourite centurions like Panini stickers and painting funny little wood blocks they stuck up around their workplaces, saying things like, gladiators do it with their massive helmets

and my other chariot has winged horses. Richard. I think maybe that they swapped, like, Panini sticker versions of Gladiators. No, they didn't. No, I think... That's a good one. No, can I help Richard on that one? Anyhow...

I think they took home souvenir mugs. Is this an official guess or just the Richard helping strategy? You're absolutely right, they did. The ancient Romans collected souvenir glass mugs commemorating chariot races, charioteers and gladiators. And 13 such mugs have been found in Colchester. But, just like every other culture in the world, the ones who had it best were the women.

As long as they looked good, which they all did by following a strict beauty regime. They would rub the sweat of gladiators on their faces to improve their complexions, soak their hair in the sweat of gladiators to make it stronger and more luxuriant, and wipe their feet with the sweat of gladiators to give them a better circulation.

At least, that's what they told their husbands whenda sŵet gladiators i roi'r cyfnod yn well. Yn olaf, dyna'r hyn y ddweud eu gwblion pan ddodd eu cwrdd â sŵet gladiators. Zoe. Rwy'n mynd i fynd i'r cladiator-gyflawniwr. Oherwydd maen nhw'n cael gair gwych, ddim'r hyn? Wel, mae'r statwys wedi'i wneud. Mae'n rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r stwytau fod yn rhaid i'r ddynion ffyrdd. Nid yw'r sŵet y Gladiators yn gwneud eu cwrdd â'u haenau yn fwy ffyrdd ac yn fwy ffyrdd. Nawr, rydych yn ei ddweud eto, mae'n ymddangos yn ddifl. Richard. Wnaethon nhw wneud yr un am'r pheitiau, beth bynnag?

Nid oedd. Nid oedd yn ei wneud. A yna, helpwch fi eto, Mr Third, Mam. Beth oedd Mr Third? Roedd yn y llyfr, fel peidio â'r pheitiau ar eu llyfr. Ie, roedd yn y llyfr. Ie, fe wnaethon nhw wneud hynny. Ydych chi'n gyffredinol am hynny? Wel, Hen was the first... Yeah, they did do that. Are you buzzing for that?

Well, Henning, you're right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wealthy Roman women bought gladiator sweat to improve their complexion. It was sold in vials outside the games. The sweat was also mixed with perfumes and was believed to increase sexual desire. So, yeah. And that is everything you need to know about the ancient Romans who ruled the

entire planet from the time of the Big Bang until 193 AD when the entire Roman Empire was sold at auction and became known as the Disney Roman Empire. Thank you Holly. And at the end of that round, Holly, you've managed to smuggle

one truth past the rest of the panel which is the very last one, that in 193 AD, the entire Roman Empire was sold at auction. Wow. This was on March 28th, 193 AD, after the murder of Emperor Commodus, the Praetorian Guard held an auction to sell the Roman Empire. It was won by Marcus Didius Severus Julianus,

who paid over 28 million drachmas for it. a gael ei gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael i gael OK, we turn now to Henning Vane. Henning has kept working throughout the pandemic and indeed is one of the few comics not to have their live shows affected by the introduction of The Rule Of Six. LAUGHTER Henning, your subject is tea, a hot drink brewed with crushed tea leaves to which milk and sugar are sometimes added. Off you go go Henning.

Tea has given British people their only way of dealing with difficult emotional situations for centuries. Before that, whenever someone had distressing news, you would have to say, Oh no, let me go and boil some water for no reason whatsoever. Queen Victoria would rub used tea leaves over her nipples in a process called teasing. William Gladstone liked it so much that he got his wife to put it in his hot water bottle so he could drink it in the morning. Zoe.

That sounds like a sort of prototype to the early teas made, doesn't it? A water bottle full of tea. I mean, it sounds handy. Yeah, it's true. Yes! Yes. Yes, when her husband was at late-night sittings in Parliament, Mrs Gladstone would take a stoneware hot water bottle full of tea

with her to bed so that her husband could have a warm drink without a servant having to wait up when he got home in the early hours of the morning. That's clever. Yeah. Tea was helped up the hot drink chart by the demise of old favourites like Hot Ribena, Bovril, Muckalucky and Saloop. Richard. Muckalucky. What about it? Was an old drink. No. What is Muckalucky? What about it? Was an old drink.

No. What is muckalucky? It says here, apparently, muckaluck is a game involving a piece of bread and a group of gay men. You know, I just knew I'd heard of it. That's all. I just knew I'd heard of it. But, yes, no, it's not an old drink.

Saloop was a luxury drink. Holly? I think saloop is a thing. Saloop was a luxury drink. Holly. I think saloop is a thing. Saloop is a thing, yes. Saloop is a drink made from ground orchid tubers and it was a popular alternative to tea in the 17th and 18th centuries until a reduction in the price of tea, together with rumours that saloop was a cure for venereal disease,

caused its popularity to wane. I think the brand name was VD Tips, is that right? Novelty teas were soon all the rage, and the British Empire, being good at moving dangerous substances around, soon had everyone drinking dynamite tea, heroin tea, magic mushroom tea, and, of course, tobacco tea, based on the health- giving properties of cigarettes.

Zoe. One of those has got to be right hasn't it? Did you say gunpowder tea? No but feel free to add it. You said dynamite tea. Dynamite tea. Which I think is a 1980s rapper. I'm going to go for it. Dynamite tea.

Everyone was drinking dynamite tea. It'll blow your mind. It doesn't exist. OK, yeah. No-one was drinking that. Richard? Opium tea. Nope. I know people who have drunk magic mushroom tea. Oh, do you? Yeah. And opium tea. Have you ever been to Wittard's? LAUGHTER

Do they do a magic mushroom tea? They do a magic mushroom- opium blend and it is... I think I happened to have with us, I brought one of those little sort of metal balls you can put tea leaves in and use it like a sort of reusable tea bag. Except you don't, do you? You put it in a drawer and then never use it again. Exactly.

I think I can imagine how we'll all be in that old people's home that we inevitably end up in, talking about Wittards and the time we bought a ball to brew tea. Maybe we're there already. It's like, have you seen Shutter Island? That's the plot of that. Is it? No spoilers. What, David Mitchell ends up in an old people's home? No, that's the plot of What I Lie To You.

Heavy. Well, let me tell you a bit more about tobacco tea. Tobacco tea was believed to cure many ailments, including toothache, headaches and nephritis. It also cured not being addicted to tobacco. Holly. I reckon that's true, that you drank tobacco tea to get away from smoking tobacco.

That's not what Henning said. He said it cured not being addicted to tobacco, by which he meant it made you addicted to tobacco. So that would have the opposite effect. Richard? Can I say tobacco tea might be a true thing? It is a true thing, yes. Isn't that implicit in what I said?

No, you said that tobacco tea was used to... But then I must have believed in tobacco tea to say that statement. Yes, I know. It was tricky on you. So I guess I get a point. Well, no. The thing you thought was true was something that, A, wasn't true, and, B, Henning hadn't even said. And so it was on that basis that I didn't want to give you a point.

But you're right, implicit in it was a belief in tobacco tea. And that's all Richard said in his subsequent buzz. So I'm in a very difficult position now, and I think this needs to go out for independent adjudication. But there simply aren't the resources. So I'm going to have to make a decision, and, OK, I'm going to give you both a point. Yes!

Can I...? Can I...? That slightly sullies the point that I got. So it feels like maybe I should get two points if Hoddy's going to get one, is all I would say. Why don't you give him the point and I get an assist? What? What's an assist? It's like in football when somebody makes the pass that gets the goal. So I get five points for the goal and...

I get three for the assist...Hoddy gets three points for an assist. Yeah, yeah, for the assist. Yeah. I hate football. Neither of you are getting a point. In World War II, the British government believed their tea made you more alert and aggressive. As a result, it brought more tea by weight than ammunition during the war. Richard. Is it true that the British Army brought more tea by weight than ammunition during the war? Richard. Is it true that the British Army bought more tea by weight than ammunition?

Correct. What? Yes. In order to boost morale amongst the troops during World War II, the British government bought up all the black tea available in Europe. It's reported that at any given time during the war, there were at least 30 million tonnes of tea in Britain. Some historians believe tea was Britain's secret weapon during the war, Mae'n cael ei adrodd fod ar unrhyw amser yn ymlaen yn y ffordd y mae atleisyddion 30 miliwn o tŵn yn Brytain. Mae rhai hanfodwyr yn credu bod tŵn yn ddynion bryd-eang yn y ffordd y mae'n unig y dynion ac yn gofyn i'r troiadau o'u ffwrdd.

Ond byddwn i'n dweud bod yr awyrennau yn fwy effeithiol. Henny. Er bod dim ond un fath o tŵn, gallwch newid y bwyd drwy'r sain y mae'n eichrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda.

Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda.

Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. Mae'n dechrau'n dda. 20% higher when played It's My Life by Dr Alban? Yes. No. Now, after all this talking about tea, who fancies a cuppa?

Thank you, Henning. Well, at the end of that round, Henning, you've managed to smuggle one truth past the rest of the panel, which is that there is only one species of tea. All tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Other plants commonly referred to as tea, such as chamomile, peppermint and rooibos, are not actually tea. And that means, Henning, you've scored one point! Next up is Zoe Lyons.

Zoe, your subject is crustaceans, mainly aquatic animals with bodies typically covered by a hard shell or crust. Off you go, Zoe. Known as the catwalk models of the seafloor, crabs walk sideways as they are incredibly vain crustaceans that have evolved to believe they look more attractive to a prospective partner in profile. These creatures are so preoccupied with their looks

that they hold an annual miscrustation beauty pageant, which takes place every year in Ocean City, New Jersey. The swimwear round is the most hotly contested, but participants also score points for volunteering with the elderly and being able to play a musical instrument. Henny. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a miscrust. One of them things win a prize for looking tasty.

You're absolutely right. Yet every year since 1976, Ocean City, New Jersey has hosted the Miscrustation Beauty Pageant for hermit crabs. Asked to explain the event's longevity, a spokesman for the pageant said, It makes no sense, it has no redeeming social value and offers no prize money. Is he talking about this show?

In Zanzibar, it is considered a huge compliment to say that someone has eyes like a horny lobster. This is because lobster's eyes can almost triple in size during their mating season. Reflectors used on the roads in that country are actually called lobster eyes. Holly. Yeah. Lobster eyes. No, it's not true, I'm afraid.

I mean, when you think about it, Holly, they'd have to be on stalks, so cars would... That could be what they call those... You know the lights that you get over motorways? Lamp posts. Oh, yeah. Lamp posts. Yeah. No, it could be, but it's not. I'm going to call them that from now on. Yeah.

Oh, the lobster eyes have come on. The Scandinavians are so obsessed with prawns that the firstborn son in Norwegian families was traditionally presented with a preserved prawn on a necklace. In Sweden, something of rare value is said to be worth its weight in prawn's teeth. Holly. Yeah. Prawn'sithion ysgafn. Holly. Ie.

Teithion ysgafn. Ie. Nid. Byddai'n ysgrifennu da, oherwydd dydw i ddim yn credu bod ganddyn nhw teithion. Iawn, rydw i'n mynd i fynd â'r un cyn i, y gwaith ysgafn cyntaf sy'n cael ychydig o ysgafn o'i llawr o'i llawr. Rydych chi'n gwneud cyd-dwy? Ie. Iawn.

Nid oes dim beth i'w golli nawr. Nid yw hynny'n wir hefyd. Felly, rydych chi'n colli pwynt. Y cyfweliad Swedda o fod yn ganddesodd gyda sbwn silfa yn eich maeth yw cael eich hwnnw wedi dod i mewn ar sgwm sgwm. Mae crabs ysgolol yn ffis sydd wedi gallu cael ychydig o ffwrdd ar y lladr lleol. Richard. Sgwm sgwm. Ie.

Ie. Ie. Yn ymddygiad ysgolol, roedd sgwm yn cael ei ystyried fel bwyd uchaf, Well spotted. In Swedish society, shrimp was regarded as an upper-class food item, hence the idea that someone who appears not to have had to work to get where they are might be described as having slid in on a shrimp sandwich. A world shortage of suitable shells for hermit crabs to move into has seen crabs staying at home in their mum and dad's shells up until their 30s.

When a single new shell washes ashoreore the crabs will line up from the biggest to the smallest and exchange shells and pray that they won't get gazumped at the last minute all the hermit crabs like to downsize with their advancing age and prefer flatter shells without stairs and manageable gardens Holly I think older ones do downsize no they Mae'r rhain yn llwyddo? Nid, dydyn nhw ddim. Dwi'n meddwl eu bod yn marw. Maen nhw'n marw yn y llen a phobl ddim yn eu canfod am ddau. Maen nhw'n marw yn eu llen mwyaf. Ie, maen nhw'n cael eu bwydo gan eu gwartheg eu hunain. Maen nhw'n anabod i ffwrdd.

Wel, maen nhw'n gwneud hynny, ond na? Beth? Mae popeth yn dod yn fwyach wrth i'w gael llawer. Dwi ddim yn meddwl bod hynny'n wir. Dwi'n golygu bod trefi yn debyg ddim. Ie, maen nhw'n dod yn ffynion. Mae wedi cael ei ddweud bod Banksy'n mynd i fynd gan enw Mr Barnacle D. Ac roedd Bram Stoker yn credu bod wedi cael yr syniad am Count Dracula... ..aeth drosodd crab yn ei roi llyfrau.

Holly. Rwy'n credu bod hynny'n iawn am Banksy. Roedd yn mynd i fod yn Mr Barnacle D. Ie. Rydw i ddim yn gwneud hynny. Ie, cyntaf. Mr Barnacle D. Nid yw'n wir. Ond beth oedd y cyfrif hon? Mae wedi bod yn ymwybodol...

...bod Banksy'n mynd i fynd gan enw Mr Barnacle D. Roedd yn ymwybodol. Roedd yn ymwybodol. Roedd yn ymwybodol. Roeddech chi'n dechrau'r y the name of Mr. Barnacle D. It was rumoured. There were rumours. You just started that rumour. Also... LAUGHTER Yeah, no... OK. But at the time that Zoe said that... She started the rumour and you reiterated it.

This is how rumours work. No, no, no. You hear it from one person, someone else says it, we've all heard it. Before you know it, it will be on national radio. LAUGHTER We'll hear it from one person, someone else says it, we've all heard it. Before you know it, it will be on national radio. For it to... LAUGHTER For it to be a rumour, someone has to have said it and at least one other person has to have reiterated it.

That's exactly what just happened. That's exactly what's been happening. But not at the point you buzzed. At the point you buzzed, she had said it, only her. It wasn't a rumour yet. It became a rumour as a result of your buzz, and therefore... I'm not...

Richard, I will come to you in a moment. It became a rumour only after your buzz and because of your buzz. Listen, I'm going to refer you to my lawyer. At the point of your buzz, it wasn't a rumour, therefore it wasn't true, therefore you lose a point. Richard. Yeah, I've heard two times now that he was going to be called... Yeah, it's a rumour now.

Yeah, so Richard gets a point. Thanks, Hoggy. Zoe. French poet Gérard de Navarre overcame the strict no-cats-or-dogs policy of his apartment block in Paris and acquired a lobster, which he took for walks on a lead.

He is reported to have said that the animal was a perfect pet, as it didn't bark. Henny, that is a fact. It is a fact, as it happens. Well done. Yes, Gérard de Naverval, a French romantic poet, acquired a lobster and named it Thibaut. It's believed that he even walked it on a leash of blue ribbon

through the Palais Royal gardens in Paris. Nerval suffered various periods of mental instability during his lifetime, including a diagnosis of insanity in 1841. Thank you you Zoe. And at the end of that round Zoe you've managed to smuggle two truths past the rest of the panel which are that when a single new shell washes ashore, hermit crabs will line up from the biggest to smallest and exchange shells. And the second truth is that Bram Stoker

claimed to have had the idea for Count Dracula after a crab supper gave him nightmares. And that means, Zoe, you've scored two points. It's now the turn of Richard Osman. Your subject, Richard, is balls, spherically shaped objects that are commonly hit, thrown or kicked in a game. Off you go, Richard. Ball is one of the most common surnames in England.

Michael Foot's wife had the maiden name Ball, so he should have been called Michael Foot Ball. Henning. Yeah, Ball is one of the more common English surnames. OK, this wasn't a truth that Richard was given. Ball ranks 129th in English surnames. Yeah, but out of about God knows how many. I mean, there's even an English World Cup winner called Ball,

and there isn't many English World Cup winners, so... OK, well, I'm... I'm actually... I'm going to go to the audience on this in a sort of departure from the format. It's probably worth asking if there's anyone with the surname Ball because there's probably about 129 people in the audience. Any Balls in?

Yeah, are there any Balls in? Yes. Yay! One Ball. We're like Hitler. But do you think, as an audience, that being the 129th most common surname makes it one of the most common surnames?

If you think it does, clap now. And if you think it doesn't, clap now. I'm sorry, Henning, the louder clap came second. Once again, let everyone know. The following is a list of genuine hip-hop artists. Big Balls, Little Balls, Medium Balls, Blue Balls, Red Balls, Golden Balls, Ox Balls, Yak Balls and Buffalo Balls.

Former T-Shock Charles Hockey's wife had the maiden name Ball, so he should have been called Charles Hockey Ball. Holly. Little Balls. How dare you? You're going back to the list of hip-hop artists. Little Balls. No, it's not true.

Zoe. I think that Taoiseach's wife's name was Ball. No, her maiden name was La Masse. The Massive Ball. It's not a ball. You were definitely a school bully, weren't you? Richard. Westminster Abbey has a cleric called Cannonball

and there is a football in the painting of The Last Supper. It is illegal to use a white golf ball in Iceland. In fact, it is illegal to use a golf ball in almost all frozen food stores. Zoe. It could be illegal because it's dangerous and golf is rubbish. So dangerous and rubbish, it's like the double whammy. You make a strong case for it, but it isn't illegal. OK. It may be good practice.

Feel free to warm your balls up before a game of golf, but it is against the rules to warm them up during. Until the 1950s, basketballs had to be made in the Basque region. Squash balls used to be orange, table tennis balls used to be edible, and tennis balls used to be black, until David Attenborough suggested yellow instead. Holly. That's true. David Attenborough, that's true.

It is true. Yes. Tennis balls were originally white or black until the dawn of colour television. Sir David Attenborough was controller of BBC Two in 1967 when Wimbledon was first broadcast in colour and says he was the first to suggest introducing yellow balls as the white balls were hard for viewers to make out on a colour screen. It took a further 14 years

before Wimbledon finally decided to heed Sir David's advice. And we're making the same mistake again, aren't we, with global warming? Yeah. The highest ever bounce achieved by a rubber ball was over 60 metres, but if you were looking for a nice Christmas present for a small child, a steel ball will actually bounce higher than a rubber ball. Henning. I mean, can I see something bouncing up 60 metres if it's dropped from high enough?

Just did anyone bother ever to chuck one out a plane? You've fully put your interior monologue onto speaker. Nothing I say. I thought there'd be more going on in there than this. Listen, at least he's not planning anything. No, I'll tell you what, 60 metres. There you go. Bounced up 60 metres.

No, there's no record of that. And that's the end of Richard's lecture. And at the end of that round, Richard, you've managed to smuggle four truths past the rest of the panel Which are that there is a genuine hip-hop artist called yak balls The second truth is that Westminster Abbey has a cleric named cannonball The Reverend Anthony ball was installed as a canon of Westminster in 2016 The third truth is it is against the rules to warm balls up

during a game of golf. The rules of golf dictate that golf balls may be warmed prior to a round but not during. And the fourth truth is that a steel ball will actually bounce higher than a rubber ball. And that means Richard you've scored four points. Four points. Which brings us to the final scores. In fourth place, with minus eight points, we have Holly Walsh.

In third place, with minus two points, it's Zoe Lyons. In second place, with nought points, it's Richard Osman. And in first place, with an unassailable one point it's this week's winner Henning Vein The unbelievable truth was devised by John Naismith and Graham garden and featured David Mitchell in the chair with panelists Thank you.