Which office item is called ‘un trombone’ in French?
The answer... at the end of the show.
Hello, and welcome to Lateral.
This is a quiz all about thinking outside the box
and coming up with answers that you may not expect.
Playing today, first of all, we have...
Well, do introduce yourselves.
I’m Dr Kat Arney, I’m a science writer and broadcaster.
I’m Helen Arney, I’m her sister
and I make songs and books, and shows about science.
And do you have a team name?
It seems like there’s an obvious choice here.
Okay, we were going to go Team Arney,
but thanks to some unkind bullying at primary school,
we’re going to be called Team Terminator, to get our own back on them.
-Excellent. -And we will be back.
I was going to go with the Arney Sisters, but it sounds like a really twee folk band
so team Terminator is a good alternative to that.
Anything you’re particularly strong on or weak on here?
-Physics. -Biology.
-Please no sport questions. -No sport.
I have no idea what’s coming up in this round.
I can’t promise anything.
-Can we have a question about the double luge? -Any particular reason?
It’s the only sport I know about.
I’d say I’ll see what I can do but there’s literally nothing I can do.
Okay, playing against you today, we have...
We’re Team Double Luge.
I’m Simon Clark, I’m a recovering PhD student.
I am Sally Le Page, I am doing a PhD in Evolutionary Biology at the moment.
Are you actually Team Double Luge, are we going to go with that?
No. We are going to go for a Coldplay classic and go for Viva La Vida,
and hope that Simon doesn’t get flashbacks to his viva.
Alright, I’ll probably shorten that to Team Viva
because I’m not going to be able to say all those syllables every time.
Anything you’re hoping comes up today?
I think between us, again, we’ve got a physicist and a biologist
so science would be good.
Alright, well very best of luck as we start Round One.
Round One is called Deep Thought.
There are six lateral thinking questions in this round.
You’re going to have sixty seconds to answer a question.
The earlier you buzz in, the more points you get and if you don’t know it immediately,
I’m going to give you a clue after each fifteen seconds.
It starts at worth four points; after each clue,
one of those points goes away.
If you buzz in and get it right, you get the points.
If you buzz in and get it wrong, it hands over to your opponents
and the clock starts again.
You all ready?
No.
-As we can be... -Close enough.
Team Terminator, two minutes nine seconds.
Team Terminator, you’re getting the first question this round.
Buzz in when you know the answer.
Have a look at this.
What do these two things have in common?
Okay, is that, it’s Helena Bonham Carter and a shotgun, right.
Shotgun wedding, wedding...
Er, has she been in any films that involve guns?
She’s been in like the one with the...
-I can think Tim Burton, scary things. -... the wardrobe. Tim Burton.
Weird goth, Frankenstein, is that...
The woman is Helena Bonham Carter.
Okay, yeah. That’s the worst clue ever!
-Okay. -The Burj Khalifa.
-Okay. -What kind of a clue is that?
On the right, is that a gun? Are we sure about that?
-Another clue for me? -Double-barrel...
-Oh! -Team Terminator, one minute and four.
-Oh! -Double-barrels.
Is exactly right, for three points.
Oh, I like what you did there.
Helena Bonham Carter has a double-barrelled name;
the shotgun is double-barrelled.
You left that high-five hanging a long time there.
-Just feel like... -You can wait.
-It’s okay. -I’m still the favourite, you know.
I’ve waited my whole life.
You’ve suddenly slammed that out of nowhere.
It was bold, it worked.
What did we get? Did we get...
-You got three points. -You get a gun.
Team Viva, what item of clothing is known in Japanese as a ‘Sebiro’?
A Sebiro, okay.
Items of clothing that it could be,
like literally anything in the human language, okay.
Well, I’m guessing it’s something that isn’t;
so it’s not a Japanese named item of clothing, like a kimono type thing.
-It’s the Japanese name for another item of clothing.
-Yeah. -So that’s pretty wide open at the moment.
-Do you know... -It has a London connection.
Has a London connection.
Erm, are you from London?
Oh, er, nylon has got a London connection, New York-London.
Do you want to... I don’t know.
-Let’s wait for another one. -It’s something to do with
the sound of the word.
Sebiro, so it’s onomatopoeic.
It’s an item of clothing that sounds like ‘Sebiro’.
Sebiro, Sebiro.
I don’t think if I say it over and over again, it’ll be obvious.
It has a connection to a specific street.
This would be really helpful if either of us lived in London.
-It’s like a suit, or a jacket. -Oh, erm...
Go for it!
-For one point. -A jacket.
-Specifically? -A suit jacket, a tailored jacket.
-Team Viva. -Yes.
-Savile Row.
Yes, it’s a Savile Row business suit.
-I heard a gasp from over there. -Yeah, we’ve got to do something.
Yes, you’re absolutely right.
Saville Row gets translated into Japanese as Sebiro.
Ah, okay.
Team Terminator, this one’s for you.
In 2012, the Australian Broadcasting Company
had to permanently remove one of the episodes of Peppa Pig from its library
because of one of the show’s characters.
However, the episode continues to run in the UK.
What was the problem?
-Oh, I remember, yeah... -I know this.
Because I was talking about it with my husband last night, exactly this.
It was about spiders and it was saying,
“Don’t worry, everyone. Spiders are fine.
“Spiders are our friends. Love spiders, don’t kill them.”
This is not a good plan for your personal safety in Australia.
They hide in the toilet and kill you.
-Even I know this. -Aaargh!
You’re exactly right, that's four points straight off the bat, congratulations.
I don’t know who Peppa Pig is but I know about the toilet spiders.
Team Viva, in some French villages,
it's traditional to call upon the services of a ‘Quatorzième’
at a dinner party or restaurant meal.
Though likely unknown to the group,
it’s thought to be preferable to feed a stranger than to leave it to luck.
Why?
‘Quatorzième’ sounds like it’s got four to do with it.
Four, so fourth.
Oh, no, fourteenth.
-Fourteenth at a dinner. -Oh, is this because it’s got a...
Because you don’t want to have thirteen guests?
A fear of the number thirteen or associating it with being unlucky.
Yes, you’re absolutely right, they’re the fourteenth person at the table.
To avoid having the number of thirteen around the table,
-that’s absolutely right for four points. -Okay.
This is a high scoring game, this is going well.
How many people do we have to pay to get fourteen on our team?
I mean, I’d say I accept bribes, but... I do accept bribes.
That’s absolutely true.
The next two questions are on the buzzer for both teams.
So both of you, fingers on buzzers.
In the 1910s, Brooklyn had streetcar trams on the city’s roads,
which proved to be an occupational hazard for pedestrians of the city.
It was such a feature of the city that they named a sports team
after those pedestrians...
That was a buzz!
You better have got this right.
Is it the Dodgers, the LA Dodgers?
It is, astonishingly for four points, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
What? That’s not even in Brooklyn.
-I mean, Brooklyn... -Team ‘Don’t Ask us Questions About Sport’.
I don’t even know anything about sport.
-Then the question goes on to say... -Finish reading it out.
They moved to the West Coast.
You’re absolutely right, that is four points for Team Terminator.
-Congratulations. -Ooh!
Well, the Philadelphia Tutters are...
Last question in this round is on the buzzer, so if you’re ready...
London’s Millennium Concert and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana
are just two of the major events that required laying of cables over long distances
through tiny underground tunnels.
The engineers didn’t have poles
that could push the wire through these long, twisty tunnels.
So what did they do instead?
Used ferrets?
-Is absolutely right, for four points. -Yes!
-No! -Good grief!
See, we can do it too!
They do that for aeroplanes as well,
when they want to feed wires into aeroplane engines, they put a ferret through.
Not only have you got the question right for four points,
you have also given the background information
that I have got on my card for an extra point.
-That’s not an extra point. -Damn it!
In what is frankly an astonishingly high-scoring first round,
-Team Terminator, you have eleven points. -Whoa!
Team Viva, you’re on nine.
The second round is called Second Thoughts.
Teams, you’re going to see twelve numbers on the board.
Each of you is going to take turns to pick a number and reveal the clue that is behind it.
There is one thing that all those clues point to, and I need you to tell me what it is
and it’s got to be exactly what’s on there.
There are plenty of things that some of these clues could match with.
It needs to be what’s true for all of them.
No penalty for guessing wrong, so take a guess even if you’re not sure -
it might just be right.
Team Terminator, you’re starting this round
so pick a number off the board.
-Eight. -Number eight.
Needs cement.
-A building! -Dentistry.
I’m going to take your first answer as I have to.
I’m going to take your first answer there on building.
What kind of a dentist do you go to?
I’m not going to ask; we’re going to throw it over.
-Pick a number. -After you.
One. -Number one.
Makes a picture or a pattern.
-Makes a picture and needs cement. -Masonry art.
Is not what I have, so we’re going to pass that back over.
You pick a number this time, I didn’t do well. -Six.
Number six.
-Glass or stone. -Ooh, I think mosaic.
Mosaic because you would have cement,
you’d make a picture, and could have glass or stone.
-Need an answer. -Jupiter.
-Need an answer. -Mosaic!
Is correct, for four points. Absolutely right.
You were very clear with masonry art,
but if we have a look at what else is on the board,
there isn’t a browser called Masonry Art and you don’t generally find one in paint.
Team Viva, you kick off the next one.
Pick a number off the board. -Number ten.
Number ten. Sam’s fire engine.
Red.
Lots of fire engines are, but no, not what I’ve got on the card.
So Team Terminator.
-Let’s go three. -Number three.
Zeus.
-Is it lightning? -It’s not.
I’m going to pass it back over for four points. Pick a number.
-Number eight, please. -Number eight.
Roman army symbol.
Lightning bolt?
No.
No, I’m going to pass that back over, so for four points, pick a number.
-Five. Five is calling to me. -Number five.
The largest of eight.
Octave? No.
Octave is not what I’ve got, so pass it back for three points.
-Number two. -In case I’m completely wrong?
A famous anticyclone.
Famous...
-Eagle! -Eagle.
I can sort of see why you’re going there but it’s not what I’ve got.
-Okay. -Passing it back over, pick a number.
-Eleven. -Okay.
-Eleven. -Number eleven.
One of the giants.
So like thunder, tornado...
I can’t think of any.
-Eight sticks. -Eight sticks?
I’m saying eight sticks.
-I’m saying something. -It's not eight sticks.
For two points?
-Number four, please. -Number four.
Strong magnetic field.
Tesla, earth, iron core, iron...
The planets...
Yes!
Correct, for two points.
-You are exactly... -Impressive!
-Where did that come from? -The strong magnetic field.
Jupiter has a really cool magnetic field because it’s metallic hydrogen in its core.
It’s the big red spot.
The famous anticyclone is the Great Red Spot, yes.
And Zeus is Jupiter in a different...
Fireman Sam’s fire engine is called Jupiter.
Team Terminator, you’ve got the first choice on the next board.
Two boards left on this round so pick a number.
-Okay, four. Let’s go with number four. -Number four.
-You’re doing all the guesses. -Funny. Take a shot.
My sister, Kat.
-It is not. -Aww!
It’s lovely, but not what I’ve got on the card.
I’m the youngest, I’m always trying to curry favour, always.
Team Viva, pick a number.
I’m going to keep the symmetry; let’s go for nine.
Number nine.
Parts three and four have similar endings.
One of the Shakespeares.
-Henry VIII. -Or it could be Star Wars.
-You like Star Wars. -Star Wars.
No, not what I’ve got, so pick a number.
-Six. -Number six.
-Six. -Number six, okay.
-Anapaestic. -I'm sorry, but ‘Anapaestic’ sounds
like something your doctor would say if you’re pregnant.
Can I get a guess, please?
Back to the Future.
Is not what I’ve got, so...
-Keep the symmetry, number seven. -Number seven.
Thirteen feet in total.
A very unusual football team.
No, no, what’s the imperial measurement?
Rod.
Is not what I’ve got, so Team Terminator?
Sometimes rude.
Funny, sometimes rude, thirteen feet - it is me, you know.
It’s my sister, Kat.
It still isn’t, so I’m going to take that as your answer
if you don’t give me anything else. Pick a number.
Number one, please.
-Number one. -Oh, we broke the symmetry.
Introduces a person and place.
By-line.
By-line is not what I’ve got, so for two points, Team Terminator.
Let’s go for eight.
-Number eight. Irish county. -Oh god.
-Okay, so you’ve got Galway. -So you’ve got Wexford, Galway.
-Kilpatrick.
-Killarney! -Kilarney.
I hope that’s not an instruction, but no, it’s...
-It’s not what I’ve got. -It’s my sister, Kat.
Handing it over.
-Five, please. -Number five, okay.
Spike Milligan.
Oh. Monty Python.
Monty Python is not what I’ve got so for one point, pick a number.
-Three? -Number three.
Parts one, two and five have similar endings.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Again, I can see where you’re going with that, but...
-It's a quadrilogy, there’s four. -It’s not what I’ve got, so...
-Number twelve. -Number twelve.
‘Book of Nonsense.’
Book of Mormon.
Book of Mormon is not what I’ve got.
-We’re still on one point, so... -Okay, I know what it is now.
Well, let’s have another clue though. I mean, you know...
-Number two. -In case I’m completely wrong?
Rhymes.
-It’s Limerick. -It is Limerick.
-You’re absolutely right. -Oh.
So what does ‘Anapaestic’ mean?
‘Anapaestic’ is the da-da-da-da, da-da-da-dum.
-The meter of it. -The meter of it.
-Ah, okay. -Feet are the counts of the rhyme scheme.
If we’d got ‘There was’, I think we would have had that.
So that is one point still.
-Last board in this round. -Okay, they’re a point ahead.
Team Viva, you need five points to tie.
-It can be done. -We’ve done it before.
So pick a number.
-Number six, please. -Number six.
University course.
Physics.
Physics is not what I’ve got, so Team Terminator, pick a number.
-Three. -Number three.
-It’s like the Mind Meld. -Oh yeah.
Created by an earl.
Okay, so sandwich.
-Ah, sandwich. -We’ve...
Sandwich is the right answer.
-What?! -For five points.
How on earth is a university course a sandwich?
-A sandwich course. -A sandwich course.
Oh, I just thought you meant it was like sports studies;
you can now do like sandwich studies or something.
No, there's a thing called a sandwich course.
Also, all of those on the board but you...
What’s a sandwich submarine?
A submarine sandwich, it’s what Subway sells.
I didn’t know that's what it was short for.
That’s why it’s called Subway.
Which means that as we go into the final round,
Team Terminator have a ten point lead.
-God. -Ooh.
-I feel... -You can leave me hanging now.
Yeah!
Round three is Quick Thought.
Each team has ninety seconds of thinking time
but because you’re in the lead, you’ve got an extra five seconds
for each of those points you have in hand.
So that’s an extra fifty seconds, puts you onto two minutes and twenty seconds.
And your clock is going to start first over there
so as soon as you think you know the answer, buzz in.
If you’re right, your opponent’s clock is going to start.
If you’re wrong, you’ll lose ten seconds and you’re going to get the next question.
First team whose clock runs out is going to lose
so very best of luck to you both.
It’s fine, we’re going to win this.
-Psyche them out. -Okay.
Good luck, losers. We love you.
Fingers on the buzzers, your time starts now.
On which day of the calendar year do the fewest people die?
February 29th.
-The Queen. -Is correct.
-Ooh, good one.
-Oh, it must be five... -Ooh.
-2:20 on your clock.
In 1939, who received an Oscar
consisting of a full sized award next to seven miniature ones?
-So it must be Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
-Walt Disney? -So it would be Walt Disney.
-It was given for the... yes? -Walt Disney.
Walt Disney is correct.
1:26 on your clock.
An organisation took out adverts in Playbill saying
-‘You’ve seen the play, now read the...’ -Church of Mormon.
No, it’s Book of Mormon.
I was going to ask about the Playbill they were advertising in.
- It is not the correct answer. - Fifty-fifty.
- So that’s ten seconds away... - (Sorry.)
- and the clock restarts for you.
Which building, completed in 2013,
was designed to have an architectural height of 541.3 metres?
-Wait, is it the Gherkin? -No, it’s the Burj Khalifa.
Is not the right answer.
That is 1776 feet.
It was One World Trade Center in New York.
-That’s ten seconds away again. -I’m not letting you buzz without confirming.
-I’m going to sit on my hands. -Christ.
Clock restarts.
Why do so many tourists take photos outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art
but don’t go in?
-What’s on the outside? -It’s where Rocky runs up the steps.
-Because I’m sitting on my hands. -Do you actually think that?
-That’s where Rocky runs up the steps. -The entrance is up high from the ground level.
It’s where Rocky runs up the steps.
-Yes, you’re absolutely right. -What does that even mean?
-What did I just say? -They are the steps from Rocky.
-You shouldn’t have sat on your hands that one. -I don’t trust myself, Tom!
Who is the subject of Alberto Korda’s photograph with the English title,
‘Heroic Guerrilla Fighter’?
Heroic Guerrilla Fighter?
-Che Guevara? -Is correct. 40.7 seconds.
In which film is the Sonny and Cher song, ‘I Got You Babe’ heard ten times?
-Groundhog Day. -Groundhog Day is correct, yes.
Two minutes and two seconds.
What object has yellow opposite white, green opposite blue
and orange opposite red?
Rubik’s cube.
A Rubik’s cube is correct.
-God, I nearly said Trivial Pursuit. -37.6 seconds.
Which instrument measures altitudes in astronomy and navigation
to a maximum arc of sixty degrees?
Altitudes in astronomy?
It’s not a theodolite.
What...
-Sextant? -I don’t know... Let’s wait for...
There’s 360 degrees in a full circle.
I know that.
Shall we try... sextant.
Sextant is correct, yes.
-You have ten seconds left on your clock... -Jesus.
...but you’ve stopped it.
Team Terminator, 1:57.
Which world famous landmark is known as ‘The Long Graveyard’?
I don’t even want to say anything because anything I say would be like...
Plenty of time, take your time, guys.
Many people died during its construction.
-Oh. -Oh, is it a canal...
No, it’s a canal or a railway.
The Suez Canal.
Suez Canal.
Is wrong. It’s the Great Wall of China.
So that’s ten seconds away and your clock restarts.
Which chemical element is named after the Greek word for ‘foreign’ or ‘stranger’?
Oh, come on, I know this.
You’ve got time, go through them all.
Antimony, arsenic, aluminium, iridium, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen...
It was discovered shortly after krypton and neon.
Nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium, iron, americium,
ruthenium, uranium, europium, zirconium...
-This isn’t getting anywhere. -No.
So what’s stranger?
It starts with an uncommon letter of the alphabet.
-Oh, xenon. -Xenon.
-Yes! -Xenophobia, all words like that.
You’re right.
-10.7 seconds – it can be done. -Buzz if you know it.
Which general wore his bicorn hat sideways
because it didn’t restrict his view of the battlefield?
-Either Napoleon, or... -Napoleon.
Is correct.
Which fictional land was inspired by the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet?
-Narnia? -Is the wrong answer.
-That’s ten seconds away. -No, why would you say that?
It was the Land of Oz.
The bottom drawer was O to Z.
48.9 seconds, your clock restarts.
Which two-digit number is considered unlucky in Italy
because ‘Vixi’ means ‘I have lived’ in Latin?
-So it’s five, one, ten... -‘I have lived’ implies you’re dead.
-Five. -Five one ten one, so it’s...
No, six eleven.
-Seventeen? -Seventeen is correct.
It’s the sum of the letters.
Can we have a nice quick question, please?
4.7 seconds.
What is the main image on the obverse of the new £1 coin?
The obverse is the side with the Queen’s head.
-Oh my God!
-It’s always the Queen’s head.
It’s fine, human reaction time is 0.1 seconds, we can do this.
-Team Terminator, 32.4 seconds. -Oh God!
Which food items come in four official shapes: the bell, ball, boot and bow-tie?
-I need an answer now. -Pasta.
No, it’s Chicken McNuggets.
-What? -How is a ‘bow-tie’ a chicken nugget?
17.1 seconds.
Which fashion house was named after the type of tree
that the founder used to walk past on his way to school?
Like... oak, lime...
It’s a heritage British label.
Bir... Burberry?
-Mulberry! -Is not the right answer.
It’s mulberry!
-We did it! -With 1.1 seconds on your clock.
Congratulations, Team Viva, you are straight through to the next round.
Team Terminator, you are not out yet.
We will see you again,
-but you've a slightly longer route... -And the fashion house?
-It was... -It was Mulberry.
Mulberry and you knew it, but I have to take the first answer.
So thank you very much, both of you, for playing.
-Congratulations, we’ll see you... -I want a lie down after that.
...in an episode’s time.
-We’ll see you soon as well. -You’ve ruined next Christmas.
We’ll see you next time, on Lateral.
I’d say as a mother of a toddler,
this is really disappointing that I did not get the Fireman Sam.
"Norman Price! Get back here this minute!"