0:00

Hi everybody and here just before we

0:02

start this week show I have a

0:05

little announcement to make were in plug

0:07

corner because I have written a book

0:09

I have offended again against or the

0:11

people who say don't don't do another

0:13

one to stop at to and I've

0:15

heard a third one and this one

0:17

For first time ever I've written something

0:19

that is fun and funny as well

0:22

as being gripping. It's called a Beginner's

0:24

Guide to Breaking and Entering. It's about

0:26

a young man called out who lives

0:28

in gorgeous empty second homes. While the

0:30

real. Owners are way. He's got a whole set

0:32

of rules to help him get into these beautiful

0:35

houses he could never afford to live in. He

0:37

has a great life until about chapter three when

0:39

he and his friends break into the wrong house

0:41

on the wrong day, somebody ends up dead and

0:43

everything goes wrong. From there it's funny, it's gripping,

0:45

is pacey as a little bit of a message

0:48

about housing in that it's a perfect salaried. people

0:50

be really nice about it. Found with them at

0:52

least a jewel, some of the Queen's of crime

0:54

have been incredibly kind about it. It's out on

0:56

the twenty fifth of April, so if you order

0:59

it now, you will be among the first. Cohort

1:01

globally to receive your gorgeous copy. The really nice

1:03

looking copies. please do pre order it. It can

1:05

really be the difference between a book flying and

1:07

not flying of has a few preorders under his

1:10

belt. Before that crucial first week it's added all

1:12

good book jobs because I know bad book Trabzon

1:14

both bookshops in the Commonwealth basically only need to

1:16

do is go in and say I would like

1:19

a copy of a Beginner's Guide to Breaking and

1:21

Entering by Andrew Hunter Murray. Awards don't even have

1:23

signed copies if you'd like to get hold of

1:25

one of those. I promise it's good. I've put

1:27

a lot into it. I going to stop paying

1:30

out about. It. Now is go to beginners guide breaking

1:32

and entering thanks very much less think of as omit

1:34

the puck us. Hello!

1:51

And welcome to another episode of No Such

1:53

Thing As a Fish, a weekly podcast coming

1:56

to you from the Queue I offices in

1:58

Holborn. My name is Alex Bow. I'm

2:00

joined by amateurs Escape and you going

2:02

to marry and a saw him and

2:04

once again we are gathered around the

2:07

microphone to set of for favorite parts

2:09

of the last seven days. So in

2:11

no particular order here we go. Starting

2:13

with that number one and that is

2:16

Andy My factors that have the nitrogen

2:18

and your body was made in a

2:20

factory which country who I'm. More.

2:23

One of the made in the Uk

2:25

animal has another accent move as right

2:28

effects of for the last nicer makings

2:30

actually I think has just shut them.

2:33

Out to say yeah, Is that the filling the

2:35

manufacturing of yes there is a sin is that

2:37

close I didn't know that as he the has

2:39

the about it but. Let's. Zoom out

2:41

a little bet just thinking. Now set not

2:43

album billing and seven. Minutes

2:46

in assists closed so I'll eat. It takes

2:48

a while for all the nice since be

2:50

replaced, so maybe some of it's primorye like

2:52

Silly Miami. You might have some British Niger

2:54

and you, but I'm afraid of it would

2:56

be filthy. Four nights. A

2:59

That's right, everything. all life forms

3:01

don't write and some most I

3:03

phone mammals Plans: open time nitrogen.

3:06

It's a really important component anybody

3:08

or is required to make the

3:10

protein in. Your body and all

3:12

these very hormones neurotransmitters like is

3:14

vital in at night and problem

3:16

and most of the air. Is

3:19

nitrogen rises of the of cent of

3:21

the atmosphere is legit but. That's.

3:23

Not where you get united and front seat or just

3:25

breathe in the night shift from the are getting your

3:27

body know you can even if you hold your breath

3:29

for Aids is none of the nicer and goes in

3:31

that way. It doesn't work for wastes. What a waste

3:33

but you get it from your face. So.

3:36

Meat, Fish, Dairy Festival Cereals Not

3:38

all of those foods contain some

3:40

lights and right so plums. Get.

3:43

It from the air. Or into the the

3:45

top get a bacterial process by will will

3:47

get that might have been an enema has

3:49

all i think all lightning and as another

3:51

as to forget there as well as the

3:53

point is that about two or three kilos

3:55

of your body roughly half of your forum

3:57

to the end of your hand. Is.

3:59

Nice and we got were lists at all

4:01

as an enormous A. So the amount of

4:03

you made in a factory is roughly your

4:06

hand and wrist and that's because. Nitrogen.

4:08

Based fertilizer has become an enormous

4:11

thing in the last century. It's.

4:13

Incredibly important is why the human population as

4:15

rhythm from one or two billion to now

4:18

eight billion who is? The sole reason is

4:20

that we have enough ways of feeding people

4:22

because we have an aside license to grow

4:24

crops. I'm and the way we do that

4:26

is with his brilliant chemical process discovered at

4:28

the start of the twentieth century which allows

4:30

us to pull nitrogen from the sky isn't

4:32

and make it and fertilizer to make the

4:35

months grow because mean, I know, organic yeah

4:37

says he says. Is

4:39

funny My mom and I say to nine

4:41

Hundred ninety. Six seasons Ever learning about

4:43

that now is i saw of lost

4:45

interest the now something that so i

4:48

thought oh this is fascinating has a

4:50

thought my did things held it has

4:52

to be fixed no end of this

4:54

conundrum metabolism touch somewhere and it's it's

4:56

the as full of that but plants

4:58

can't take it in without assistance and

5:00

so it needs to be fixed by

5:02

these bacteria that basically make plant roots

5:04

grow these nodules which acts as their

5:06

homes and then they live in these

5:08

nodules and they six as much as

5:10

and turning into ammonia which. Plants can

5:13

use. and the nation's came originally from

5:15

a star exploding. who? Essentially I didn't

5:17

have that the beginning to make hydrogen,

5:19

helium, or anything else. nice be made

5:21

in the original nice. Temperature is a

5:24

start. Yeah, exactly. So some star created

5:26

lots of nitrogen, then it exploded. Essentially

5:28

it came to us, then eventually it

5:30

got in the sky, then eventually a

5:33

bacterium. things that is. And then it

5:35

got put into a carrot and then

5:37

you at the camera. and then again

5:39

since your bloodstream. and then a godsend.

5:42

It's proteins we've got said it's a muscles

5:44

it does. He get less exciting to the

5:46

i had a hard to journey south of

5:48

really wow and any something and occurrence Yes!

5:50

So how did we learn to make this

5:52

stuff off. On. So glad you asked! Oh

5:55

it's like inside the factory with Greg Wireless. Side.

6:00

It all got nitrogen or your lungs and

6:02

I and know if it's all thanks to

6:04

something called the Harbor Boss process or Haber

6:06

Bosch. Some has led to Flits Harbor and

6:08

called Boss with the German chemist and them

6:11

the promote like everyone knew that we need

6:13

to monitor the that the time but it

6:15

was very hard to look at how we

6:17

can actually get it and even when we

6:20

talked about guano like the Gonna Gold Rusk

6:22

have club who contains lots of nitrate so

6:24

that in the nineteenth century was used to

6:26

increase crop yields and that's a different bacon

6:28

a your premium for. A while and

6:30

ever ran out of who I threw

6:33

my bacon had knives. I'm rather have

6:35

a foster for us as I'm in

6:37

items my bacon focus on the i

6:39

am You know satan is most bacon

6:41

is cured with nitrate right? As in

6:44

that's what makes it less on that

6:46

which is a connection or it's You

6:48

know it's a molecule when nitrogen and

6:50

Ss and when it goes Green Bay

6:52

Ten Guys something called nitrate been and

6:54

it's reactions to the chemical is used

6:57

to cure it and it means they

6:59

still got. To. Eat. So if you're bacon's

7:01

gonna be green you can still eat it.

7:03

Amazing. Didn't know bacteria. it's not as if

7:05

in the spot for you, it's just a

7:07

natural part. The Pros: I thought it was

7:09

rawson. yeah I thought my back to the

7:11

gonna. I'm not saying that all Green Bay

7:13

can is the athletes it on a second

7:15

I've met a peanut butter only a week

7:17

ago is probably firemen. sorry on the you

7:19

said about Boss and the Harbor Harbor. Yeah

7:21

so basically what He was a chemist and

7:23

it was a very very difficult process to

7:25

work out. A he knew that lightning as

7:27

you such as breaks apart nitrogen bombs. Good.

7:30

Item molecule really tightly bonded. take a

7:32

lot of effort to break them apart

7:34

to turn into an idea, but eventually

7:36

he works out sort of pressurized process

7:38

to combine nitrogen and hydrogen and that

7:40

makes the money of and my son

7:42

and he develop that and Nineteen Thirteen

7:44

Harbor and is just full war. and

7:46

there's a theory that it actually kept

7:48

the festival going for longer than it

7:50

should have done because German imports of

7:53

fertilizer blockaded. But. He was

7:55

able to. he had greater prices we could

7:57

make as they called it bread from air

7:59

yeah we starts had a poo from gets

8:01

the over to Germany during the war they

8:03

could make their own stuff and of headley

8:05

yeah A and basically yeah I mean that

8:08

was there are any got the Nobel prize

8:10

for it didn't name which is extremely controversial

8:12

was very on the colleges other other like

8:14

a serious matters or has he may poison

8:16

gas right That's enough to believe the Nobel

8:18

prize in nineteen nineteen when someone who'd invented

8:21

switch with it within our in Florida guess

8:23

it was it would have a controversial yeah

8:25

he did get emotionally. Thousand people with that. No,

8:27

I didn't go round personally sprang into the. Trenches.

8:29

Yellow. He was responsible for the birth of

8:32

arguably six billion yellow and I'm sailing roundabout

8:34

easy thing on my injuries not be like

8:36

I don't want to follow this out of

8:38

my no private about his. Cousin

8:41

it because his wife blow with a chemist

8:43

as well and they had a shoes. disputes.

8:45

Off to the I think the first battle

8:47

of deeper yeah web poison gas was used

8:49

for the first i've been killed thousands. He.

8:52

Said it was no different killing them with a

8:54

vulnerability that is is very different. And.

8:56

Then see she killed herself. She

8:58

approached the. Ultimate Act A In

9:00

an argument. We don't know, so that the

9:02

argument is what led to the suicide. I really

9:05

believe any notes or anything. Laugh but when

9:07

I see rarely sees for funny things

9:09

are either and or harbor Yards. I'm

9:11

listening to his Germany first female.of chemistry.

9:13

Us got hit in nineteen hundred. And.

9:16

See turned him down the first time for

9:19

it's proposed. He turned him down the she

9:21

wanted to be financially independent which is crazy

9:23

and ninety nine hundred yeah but he gonna

9:25

want to live on the main theme and

9:27

then she decided marriage would kind of empower

9:29

her with a bloody well didn't which he

9:31

did complain about understandably she was like hang

9:33

on my husband says that's be very self

9:35

serving constantly working I didn't have a chance

9:38

asshole to develop my interest. And

9:40

even mass murderer and. It turns out is a

9:42

mass murder and that the final straw. And he was like no,

9:44

no talk about the other to. Earth

9:47

did you see pictures of her? I think she

9:49

looks but life. I'm ella them fly so they.

9:52

Are having to devote of her. I'm not very good

9:54

with faces as we all know roads are not was

9:56

when I thought. and do you associates and

9:59

with them for it the mass

10:01

murdering but mass life producing complex

10:03

character. In some ways, but I think Dan is

10:05

more of a wife guy than for example. So

10:09

then Haber escaped to Switzerland wearing a

10:11

false beard after the war. Amazing. And

10:13

then after World War I, because obviously

10:16

we then had the Treaty of Versailles

10:18

which really punished Germany, right? And so

10:20

he came up with the idea of

10:22

extracting gold from the ocean to pay

10:24

off all of the war reparations because

10:26

he knew that there was loads and

10:28

loads of gold in the ocean and

10:30

he thought, if I can get at

10:32

that, we'll be rich beyond our wildest

10:35

dreams. It doesn't work and actually

10:37

we still can't do it of course. What's

10:39

that term that I think you've told me about

10:41

James, where Nobel Prize winners win a prize and then

10:43

they come up with a really insane topic when I

10:46

did. Yeah, they go to bed. Nobelitis. Nobelitis,

10:48

I'm going to go serious James, seriously thought

10:50

Nobelitis. But if you've done it once before, you've literally made

10:52

bread from air. Yeah, right. You mean

10:54

population is going to grow by billions. True. From

10:57

a guy who brought bread from air comes

10:59

gold from the ocean. Yeah, it works. I

11:01

believe it. And actually,

11:03

sort of associated, the Nobel

11:05

Prize in 1935 was

11:08

awarded for basically being able to turn an

11:10

element into another element, which was

11:12

the alchemy that people had dreamed of forever

11:14

and ever. People had tried to make gold

11:16

and actually this was turning boron into nitrogen,

11:19

which wasn't quite the fantasy of the

11:21

alchemy. But

11:23

like these factories were

11:25

taking already existing nitrogen out of

11:27

the air and making it

11:29

into ammonia, which could be used. But

11:32

Marie Curie's daughter, who won that prize, right, I

11:34

can't remember her name, but that was actually making

11:37

new nitrogen, which no one had ever done before.

11:39

Totally. So this is amazing. And

11:41

I didn't realise that the, she

11:43

was second female to win a Nobel Prize, Marie

11:45

Curie's daughter. Was

11:47

Marie Curie the first? Yeah. Yes.

11:51

Marie. But

11:54

it was husband and wife as well. So just

11:56

like Marie Curie and her husband Pierre, who won

11:59

a joint prize, sweetly. It was Mary Curie's

12:01

daughter Irene and her husband Frederick Joliot Curie

12:03

who won the Nobel Prize in 1935 Do

12:06

you think that maybe they didn't have a chance unless you

12:08

sort of did stand behind a man a bit and then

12:10

I'm sure there Was something about although her surname was Curie.

12:12

So I think that's Yeah,

12:16

and also her way of making

12:18

nitrogen was firing radioactivity at Boron

12:20

wasn't it I think yeah So

12:23

it's kind of you know in the

12:25

parents realm Okay,

12:27

yes, you're the equipment in the garage Memory

12:33

serves I think she died of leukemia. Didn't

12:35

she? I think you're

12:37

in related to the work. She does. I'm sure

12:40

Be honest, I'm going off memory But I think that's right

12:42

because Mary it was the last thing that

12:44

Mary almost did was see the results of

12:46

her daughter's Successful before she died of leukemia Yeah

12:50

One thing on the Billinga manufacturing plant off

12:52

a dog God in Stuntz

12:54

and Antis in England, we better get a

12:56

free trip It's

12:59

closed I'm not going to close down like

13:01

I've had worse day trips out All

13:06

the sucks we went there they gave him

13:08

a trip around and he based

13:10

some of Brave New World on it So, you

13:12

know in Brave New World, they like have a

13:14

factory making humans, I think yeah And

13:16

I'm like, yeah They make clones and

13:18

stuff like that Yeah, and he saw this Billinga

13:20

factory that was effectively making life by making this

13:22

nitrogen I am imagining like Willy Wonka style like

13:25

it's so whimsical and they've got it's a reverse

13:27

Willy Wonka because in Willy Wonka Don't the kids

13:29

go in and never come out? Whereas in Brave

13:31

New World you get loads of new kids The

13:34

kids do come out. They just come out all weird shapes

13:36

and colors Every

13:41

chocolate factory has a nitrogen factory next to

13:43

it to make new children It's a terrific

13:46

process I

13:48

learned about what I think is the most

13:51

exciting moment in history in all of history

13:54

As we said at the start nitrogen is essential

13:56

for life because it makes amino acids which make

13:58

proteins and that's like the The building

14:00

blocks of what all living things are made

14:02

of. But that is kind of mystery

14:05

which is how did the first louise guess

14:07

it's nitrogen to the as we said it

14:09

needs as bacteria to be made accessible and

14:11

it can also be made. By Lightning

14:13

Striking For written. But as you know,

14:16

enough seems to be generated by that

14:18

and it seems unlikely. and it seems

14:20

like the likeness explanation for why the

14:22

very first life ever came from God

14:24

would have a three. Not been in his

14:26

goes towards the unknown. As

14:29

exciting away this is this is like the original Chicken

14:31

and egg really be accountable as a of know the.

14:34

Answer is it happens. With. Volcanic

14:36

lightning such thing in the coolest moment.

14:38

and so basically when volcano erupts then

14:40

lots and lots of lightning that can

14:42

be generated from the eruption. it's when

14:44

all this ask goes off at a

14:46

really complicated place bros f a baby

14:48

the ass rubbing against seats ah that

14:50

makes static electricity and if you look

14:52

you've got loads and loads of lightning

14:54

bolt hundreds of them in this volcanic

14:56

eruption and find his have looked at

14:58

the soil around volcanoes seen a full

15:00

of nitrates which plants gays and realize

15:02

we think if this must be held

15:04

the first life other. With created was

15:06

once said loads of lightnings with firing

15:09

above a volcano as it was erupting

15:11

on the allowed nitrogen sir get into

15:13

the soil. In a way that like

15:15

eyes color isn't I can. Origin story

15:18

I can get behind. I'm so glad

15:20

we will do Just like oh the

15:22

South Hotness so I'm not solve a

15:24

saying a minor. all of the other

15:26

origins are so lame. Duck like Frankenstein's

15:28

yeah, he are the Lava yes sorry

15:30

Macedonia Jones, you Just Moves And the

15:33

Treaty of Versailles? yes. So.

15:35

The. Haber Bosch process is so significant

15:37

that it was part of the package

15:40

of the Treaty of Of Though we're

15:42

so powers ordered by the treaty Germany

15:44

to hand over the secret is making

15:46

the settlers really? Yeah. When.

15:48

I got a while sources of a couple dog

15:50

to that they do it on my review. so

15:53

when i edmunds in the public over what about

15:55

something else is somehow random Some pay was they

15:57

didn't they didn't They want to change the way

15:59

that orchestras which. Yeah, yeah yeah yeahs

16:01

it Not their leader, Baylor and the

16:03

love of. Light

16:07

hundred an argument with your partner. Out

16:11

of your life as it could dredge of

16:13

all these other things. Yeah the ultimate argument

16:15

with a father who only want something sorry

16:17

out they have the fact that champagne can

16:20

only be made in the Champagne region and

16:22

anywhere else in line that comes with the

16:24

treaty of until they are they over. Wow

16:27

are we figured with the to a different

16:29

already had some. Pay. For

16:31

you to have been hard that being that

16:33

Russia didn't sign and America didn't sign up

16:35

and both those countries you to buy some

16:37

pain which is of from France no way

16:39

of put I didn't sign the treaty of

16:41

Versailles to visit the little and find some.

16:43

Furthermore Seal guy. Has

16:46

are uncertainties they did to America and

16:48

Russia have a good culture Champagne of

16:50

a known to champagne and you are.

16:53

Californian. White wine miles to you

16:55

must be able to make good champagne Allah

16:57

and a second Alka seltzer and is the

16:59

success of your uncle. About

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18:34

it is time for outnumber to and that

18:36

is Anna My. Fight. With week is

18:39

that Harriet Tubman once walked into

18:41

a hospital and off the doctor

18:43

the cut her head open and

18:45

he immediately did the just mad

18:47

And so Harriet Tubman extremely famous

18:49

in America probably less well known

18:51

about here I would say bought

18:53

in I one of the most

18:55

influential famous abolitionists ever. when the

18:57

conduct of the Underground Railroad percent

18:59

of the smuggling lots of enslaved

19:01

people into freedom in the nineteenth

19:03

century and one thing that I've

19:06

learned through reading about has. She

19:08

was insanely hard. Cool. Though.

19:12

So. At this is this another know this is

19:14

very old of the time she must have been and

19:16

has. sixties. Or seventies I

19:18

think and eighty nineties and lace eighty nineties

19:20

says in Boston she pauses big building and

19:22

the off what it was and someone said

19:24

it with the hospital and cecil for the

19:27

onside these terrible headaches my whole life she

19:29

really have that awful like headaches and I'm

19:31

like terrible vision problems with probably disabled by

19:33

and so she went right in and said

19:36

i saw a young man there and i

19:38

said sir are you a doctor and he

19:40

said he was and then I said sunday

19:42

that you cut my head open and he

19:44

said lay right on here on this. Table

19:47

know and some painkillers. His

19:49

sword. Open her the and

19:51

raised it up apparently. And.

19:53

Then a sea breezes it as he goes up put

19:55

on her bonnet and started to walk home but her

19:58

legs did get a bit will blame give out. Under

20:00

her so they gave her an ambulance to take a

20:02

the rest of the way because no matter how are

20:04

you some questions like this he wouldn't say he raised

20:06

of of is a like a lot extension of has

20:09

got. A brain to

20:11

very good. What was going on? I

20:13

think this was a slightly out of

20:15

to fly the first novel medical procedure.

20:18

What see said watson may have been

20:20

more placebo than like sitting. go insane

20:22

Vibrate is that low resolution lower? My

20:24

has resorted my my name is an

20:26

assist assist. Or and sit. When I

20:29

did say it feels more comfortable now.

20:32

But enemies yet refused honest with a

20:34

bit a bullet. Am as they

20:36

didn't the civil thought as actually I'm

20:38

afraid. A miss but it's very interesting

20:40

subject to raise our ability of her

20:43

life which has been so turn into

20:45

the. Story My Father you read Any of this

20:47

is. A necessity

20:49

Metics the more you read like that's a great

20:51

facts and then you read again. Some of those

20:54

know that's a mess we're in and a lot

20:56

of their myths come from relatively close sources. Someones

20:58

by the first biography have heard that was written

21:00

does loads of myths and that she never got

21:02

around her own. You enjoy her engine of go

21:05

to the Them Yeah so you need to learn

21:07

to read some gas. Who have

21:09

you heard lamb to a lesser at me

21:11

I wonder. Yeah man I love your idea

21:13

of a brought hurry up some heads out

21:16

especially without them I decided to survive. value

21:18

on the reading. did you hear I'm I'm

21:20

Maginnis could be enough hopeful time as well

21:22

with as a story that she was many

21:24

years after all of her time running underground

21:27

railroad that he was on a train I'm

21:29

and a former Moscow has got on and

21:31

she was unknown figure by that point but

21:33

answer to avoid being recognized he grabbed in

21:35

a by newspaper tended to read it because

21:38

she was known. For not being able to read

21:40

and or yeah and I was on the front cover that

21:42

these. Faces

21:44

like go out on design.

21:46

it's know, I. I. Think

21:48

will be entered into. That might be because

21:50

I had a different version of it which

21:53

is that when she was on one of

21:55

her missions because he left the south was

21:57

had been and slaves and seat went back

21:59

to free former slaves and delisted. Lot of

22:01

that some that boat as you that I'm

22:04

fascinated. it affects the overhead. Some men reading

22:06

her want his pasta rice which said clearly

22:08

see the lesser as and then see got

22:10

out a book and pretended to read it

22:12

and the close enough to fool the man

22:15

I'm a guy. she looks just like Harriet

22:17

Tubman. Proceed or eating say com Behavior has

22:19

really have no doubt I'm a stay at.

22:21

Why would he put on the wanted posters

22:24

that the Scoundrel Months in the eyes are

22:26

really out of thing I target and also

22:28

I think the idea that people. Even knew

22:30

who she was at the time is rise

22:32

so they knew that that was a person

22:34

who was helping all these his life people

22:37

be freed say knew that people were calling

22:39

them some kind of moses because they were

22:41

free and that people but they didn't know

22:43

anything about her personally and a lot people

22:45

assume that was a white abolitionist who it

22:47

was helping enslaved people. video is interesting of

22:49

i like a dead as a lot of

22:51

this of reducing i com be true and

22:53

is not a d down have amazing as

22:56

he was too but it to show that

22:58

she's she's become this like unbelievable cult. Figure

23:00

it's almost a myth mythological with some of

23:02

us do with mountain and consequent can for

23:04

line between the allow the most beloved and

23:06

famous women in American history and also said

23:09

of acknowledge that Lazarus on amazing stuff the

23:11

eyes of the most incredible. Past long as

23:13

incredible people have I done on, I don't have

23:15

the energy sometimes to. Sinister if that's what this

23:17

police officers and men and women he was. Like.

23:19

Suicide disable to Athena flashes and Slade. Just

23:22

this extraordinary licensee full in the Civil Wars

23:24

was the after being this abolitionist hair as

23:26

she thought in the Civil Wars years and

23:28

cut the charts both I don't understand why

23:31

she got the energy and at some actually

23:33

quite angry. At. Her

23:35

Injury: Her disability came when she

23:38

was injured by an overseer. He

23:40

thrusts still wakes her head. When.

23:42

She was quite young passing through to someone

23:44

else. I think it emits from her as

23:46

I write our that's bad luck but yes

23:49

she had sleeping spells are quite often so

23:51

she would just kind of fall asleep. Would

23:53

probably call narcolepsy today but she would have

23:55

like these kind of hazy dreams while she

23:57

was asleep and tissues. Very religious. He thought

23:59

they were kind of premonitions from got. Quite

24:02

stressful. The idea. Let's say.

24:05

You've. Been enslaved Harriet Tubman comeback she's

24:07

freed. You get is guiding you to

24:10

the North. And. That you to

24:12

fall asleep. As

24:15

such a bit of a call me that he and. Through

24:18

the recycled potential in the final

24:21

arbiters. Of another someone's had

24:23

the sitcom potential and how. It. Affects

24:27

your bags you freed as a number

24:29

varied so she rescued sixty or seventy

24:31

people herself personally and that he gave

24:33

instructions to another seventy yards and not

24:35

got slightly inflated to three hundred budgeted.

24:37

Go back. I mean the end. Between

24:39

about around ten times he made a

24:41

mission back into the south which was

24:43

really perilous You they went by the

24:45

one point give free her husband's issued

24:47

last came back found the he'd remarried

24:49

and other line which again is probably

24:52

just a biographer revis. It's like he

24:54

thought about. Making a seems but then decided

24:56

against it and rescue him as you might

24:58

sound effects behavior again of like specific two

25:00

minutes I see deciding whether to massively kcal

25:02

for you but I never woman or disable

25:04

a hidden has to be rescued per se.

25:07

Because he was nine slate he was a

25:09

free man right away I am which was

25:11

kind of the big deal at the time

25:13

because a free man marrying and enslaved woman

25:15

you would lose a lot of your rights.

25:17

Yeah because the all your children will be

25:19

automatically enslaved. You wouldn't be able to get

25:22

married unless you have permission of the of

25:24

the woman's master. As they called them am yes,

25:26

so that was quite a big deal. but yell

25:28

at you? say. Once. He was

25:30

off during her gallup on Thanks where he was

25:32

like thou just gonna find another live in I

25:34

read it again. The sitcoms taking say. I

25:38

was once. We thing I do like

25:40

is that when he retired event Stacey

25:42

retired in two or time home that

25:44

she had founded Fishing Ninety Eight she

25:46

opened the Harriet Tubman Home for the

25:48

Elderly specifically for a. Indigent and

25:50

age African Americans as as is described

25:52

and though it I will. They. Didn't miss

25:54

on a fantasy that not good at the heart. Tom Hanks.

25:56

It's just. a high you something Here's

26:01

another good thing. Okay, this is good.

26:03

And I'm pretty sure this is true as well. So

26:05

on the missions when she was taking people over to

26:07

the north, she would sing, right? And

26:09

there were particular songs. And some

26:12

people say she would sing things like Swing Low Sweet

26:14

Chariot, but that hadn't been written yet. But

26:16

she was very ahead of her time. She

26:19

was. The shooting would run. She was,

26:21

yeah. So the song's called Go Down, Moses and Bound

26:23

for the Promised Land, right? And those were real songs,

26:25

which she did sing at the time. Yeah. And

26:28

she would sing. She would change the tempo of the

26:30

songs to indicate whether it was safe to

26:32

come out or not. So she would just be walking along

26:34

singing. But the way she was

26:36

singing was a message to the people she was ferrying

26:38

north. Yeah, really? That's cool. Does

26:41

that mean like, you know, if everything's going well and they

26:43

need to run, does she like go diddle, diddle, diddle? And

26:46

then if they needed to be slower, she would just

26:48

do it. Yeah. And if she stopped singing completely, she'd

26:50

fall in the sleep. I

26:53

was looking into possibly what kind of brain surgery she had.

26:55

And then I went on a bit of a journey and

26:58

found a really fascinating

27:00

syndrome, which I cannot believe

27:03

we have never spoken about before. I feel like we all might

27:05

have it, actually. This is

27:07

the it's called Forster syndrome or also

27:09

known as Whitsul Suck. And it's the

27:11

pathological urge to constantly make puns.

27:15

Whitsul Suck. I had that for a

27:17

while. Whitsul Suck. Somebody get a doctor.

27:21

Fucking hell. Fucking

27:23

hell. So this is first

27:26

noted in 1929 by a German

27:28

neurologist called Otfried Forster, which is what his name

27:30

is, who's named after. He was operating on a

27:32

patient to remove a tumor and the patient was

27:34

awake. As often happens, as was the case with Harriet

27:36

Tubman. And as

27:38

he started moving around this tumor, the man

27:40

suddenly he was face down strapped to the

27:43

table. He suddenly just started talking manically and

27:45

just like making pun after pun. They all

27:47

basically. I hardly even met. Literally that. All

27:50

about knives and surgery and the heat obviously because that

27:52

was what was on his mind because he was having

27:54

brain injury. Literally what was on his

27:56

mind. Exactly. Jesus, guys, can you

27:58

stop like. It's

28:00

absolutely fascinating and then there've been more recent examples

28:03

of this. There was a man a few years

28:05

ago He we just know his name is Derek

28:07

because he was anonymous But he had a couple

28:09

of strokes and his behavior changed in many ways

28:11

He used to try and compulsively recycle stuff and

28:14

things like that And he started waking up his

28:16

wife in the middle of a night being like

28:18

I've just come up with another pun And eventually

28:20

his wife was like why didn't you start writing

28:22

them down and not telling me and but eventually

28:24

realize that this is like a pathological Behavior change

28:27

and the interesting other side effect is that it's

28:29

a really simple Basic humor like basic

28:31

pun connections basic really basic joke A

28:35

lot of skill involved. Yeah, you're only just studies

28:38

this and they showed them more complex joke passes

28:40

They didn't find it funny at all And it's

28:42

something to do with that really basic pleasure of

28:44

making a connection in your head But they also

28:46

didn't find other people so funny at all. That's

28:48

basically every comedian Another

28:51

thing about Tubman is that she did get famed

28:53

by the end of her life and was recognizable

28:55

and a bunch of receptions Were put on in

28:57

her honor in the 1890s. They were

29:00

put on in Boston and she didn't live there

29:02

She had to get a train but to pay

29:04

for the train ticket She had to sell one

29:06

for cows So in order to get

29:08

to a bunch of receptions thrown in her

29:10

honor where she was the star guest She

29:12

sold her cow to get the train I think

29:14

she was she spent so much of her life in

29:16

different parts of her life in poverty just because she

29:19

just gave away So much stuff and when she rescued

29:21

people from slavery She used to then follow through and

29:23

like get them jobs and like set them up in

29:25

the new places updated She didn't just like get them

29:27

somewhere and be like fear Yeah She did a lot

29:29

of cooking too and that was relevant because she raised

29:32

a lot of money for the missions by

29:34

cooking basically And there was a

29:36

really interesting piece about this sort of faster for

29:38

life on NPR So she was once in a market. She

29:40

came to face-to-face with a former Slave

29:43

overseer basically and she was

29:45

holding two chickens, right? Yeah. What did

29:47

she do? She pretended to read the chickens brilliant She

29:52

said oh looks like there's three cocks in the

29:54

room Very sad. We're going in the pilot's grip

30:00

They can and to disguise as over the ticket. Sick

30:02

kid and with the tickets if you

30:04

I grew him. She released one of

30:06

the chickens and then pretended to chase

30:08

it, causing a comic kerfuffle. Ironically by

30:10

drawing attention to herself, she deflected touch

30:12

from a second another seen in the

30:14

sitcom or thousand One Hundred Mr Bean's

30:16

Holiday. He changes his chicken for like

30:18

forty minutes. As comedy goes well, her

30:20

guns Athena to the idea. Of

30:25

is to be and so is a

30:27

link between her and Queen Victoria to

30:29

find into So it. Eighty Ninety seven

30:31

Quiver tourists. And her soul. To

30:33

sort of marker. Amazing. What a gift?

30:35

See? I guess. yeah, but I thought

30:38

I could do that. Quincy Now Brilliant!

30:40

Who? Who was

30:42

taller? Queen Victoria Oh Harriet

30:44

Tubman who will only be Tarja was no

30:47

more than five Thought: I think that's less

30:49

for for left your name is the question

30:51

right? Officials have. Any famous yes, the conference

30:53

and that thing more than half heights of the

30:55

engineer lines. As the help us with the southern

30:57

that someone's gotta be toll I know she was on

31:00

the small size are you going to be smaller? kids

31:02

is not Fun quizzes and prayer requests your I think

31:04

we all have a book I think the funds have

31:06

his now. I gotta

31:08

say I think of them was an installer.

31:11

okay I rapid she was five foot on

31:13

the.can I consider executive him? might be brilliant.

31:15

I'm is a common with an inch so sir. I'm

31:18

well, as close as possible

31:21

tablet with forfeit eleven whom

31:23

crematoria know. A James I have

31:25

read I I I went on a real rabbit hole.

31:27

I'm sure you're right. Basically. We

31:29

know there's a surviving tape measure cast by

31:31

portraitist and eighteen thirty seven Michael Way. So

31:33

she was five foot one cause she had

31:35

been good Victoria I'm a lot of and

31:37

greeted her big claim to be fully fit

31:39

to and they they boosted a high finance

31:41

their own fate will be ridiculous say he's

31:43

five foot ten and it I agree Maggie

31:45

Smith was referring to your senses forgiveness Basically

31:47

they were bit embarrassed royal family that she

31:49

was that if I have one because it

31:51

made it seem like she had been said

31:53

one in childhood and he does it like

31:55

it's all a doesn't have to tend to

31:57

be that affects they. Boosted our height, The

32:00

have public kind to five foot Two

32:02

out as you may remember that but

32:04

not who drank daughter had them receipts.

32:06

I think it's interesting is that this

32:08

means approximately that Queen Victoria about the

32:11

same height as Sandi Toksvig on her

32:13

It something was about the same height

32:15

as Susan Calvin. Yeah, so if we

32:17

need people in your sitcom or help

32:19

on an idea for the problem, I

32:21

had coffee my favorite comedy for the

32:23

role of Harriet Tubman. I bet you

32:26

feel that your area. Okay

32:35

time. Now for fact number three

32:37

and that is James. Okay, my

32:39

fat this week is that wasabi

32:41

is good on sushi rolls and

32:43

to Piris Scrolls Moon Lovely of.

32:46

The beg to differ personally. What?

32:48

Never tasted the virus on yet Rsm

32:50

I know it's not that. ah without

32:52

with Rb. Well we come to the

32:54

fact that this I. Have

32:57

worded it humorously. I definitely has since

32:59

I wouldn't say that see the humor

33:01

as it's just a rhyme flair lyric

33:03

make right ear and even where did

33:06

it misleadingly in the hope of humor

33:08

around me I found it amusing. It

33:10

is not misleading soul so it's good

33:12

of seashells to the taste good in

33:14

my opinion and there are of the

33:16

reasons that we might come to prepare

33:18

a skull. So is the main interesting

33:20

part which is this new technique of.

33:23

Looking after Piris now there is

33:25

a problem that because piracy is

33:27

made from plants it can fall

33:29

victim to fungal infections are and

33:31

the fungus can damage the paris

33:33

and it can cause the paints

33:35

to fade and stuff like that.

33:38

And so there has been a

33:40

study in the Journal of Archaeological

33:42

Science which has put some was

33:44

Sabi vapors on sued the Piris

33:46

and the smells kill off the

33:48

phone the says or other start

33:50

the focus is from growing very

33:52

well. And they don't get rid of

33:54

the color see to still read them. And yeah,

33:57

this is a lot safer and better for the

33:59

environment than. Or you might use before

34:01

which is chemicals in a nominal fee for

34:03

non invasive because they just put the with

34:05

Rb near the cut Pirate? yeah yeah yeah

34:07

why really like in this study is that

34:09

they they want to use actual you know

34:11

it agency gypsum to piracy as but they

34:13

wanted to see if it worked on something

34:16

like that so they did exactly what you

34:18

didn't primary school which is heated up some

34:20

piris to make it look like it was

34:22

really old. you know I you I'd do

34:24

if you're making a pirate batter. yeah well

34:26

what they do the intake they didn't have

34:28

it in the same without. Us they made

34:30

new piracy a new Paris and to

34:33

up fast they a steadfast by heating

34:35

up. That. So clever. Yeah. and then

34:37

they mix watch him with Sabi. Almost like

34:39

if he makes us happy with soy sauce.

34:41

That kind of you know. I'm like after

34:43

the end of the first as you've got

34:45

a smack. Yeah things. I'm. Less worried about

34:48

wasting the pie read on this process

34:50

and more not wasting get with Saw

34:52

the On the Fraser I'm sorry process

34:55

of with all the it's very hard

34:57

to make isn't it as cornea obtain

34:59

it alleges like steaming away with Saw

35:01

The at the Tyree. And isn't most was

35:04

ah be not real with all the i mean

35:06

I probably never had real without might have to

35:08

cover headroom Arabic in our Peter Pan though you

35:10

must have done I've been but I read that

35:12

even in Japan a lot of his and I

35:14

believe know like that in Japan Blue horseradish life

35:16

I went on a really nice restaurant it's a

35:18

pub you probably find wouldn't be I think five

35:20

attempts at of was ah be served in Japan

35:22

is real with of a agree on that but

35:24

in the west as heck one percent Israel with

35:26

of Israel radio pretty cool horseradish is with i

35:28

will have a sad who's is really strong but

35:31

I think was hobbies a bit gentler to bit

35:33

more Interestingly. Delicate, a bit more flavoursome

35:35

know thats why. Read yeah yeah and

35:37

a bit Greek and tell you that real

35:39

stuff because it's a bit should be a

35:42

bit garcia. Also, I didn't realize that you

35:44

need to eat it immediately. As

35:46

soon as they embrace it because it

35:48

loses and mean so essentially you're. that

35:51

sometimes they bring a route to the table and

35:53

a greater and greater fresh on your face not

35:55

going to another person who how does it real

35:57

is hobbies bland and gritty and you have to

35:59

have a comedian pressure it goes off even more.

36:01

No one said bland, I just want to say if there

36:03

are any chefs out there, oh Alex said bland,

36:05

we didn't say bland. I believe delicate. And

36:08

the other thing, the other reason wasabi is good

36:10

on sushi rolls so not just because it tastes

36:12

good but also because it

36:14

has antimicrobial properties so

36:16

as well as stopping funguses from growing

36:19

it can stop bacteria from growing and

36:22

it has something in

36:24

there called 6-methylsulfonylhexyl isothiocyanate

36:27

which stops E. coli, staphylococcus and salmonella from

36:29

growing. Really? Yeah. Sounds like we should be

36:31

taking bath in it or something, it would

36:33

be good for us as an anti... I

36:36

think even the delicate wasabi, if

36:38

you have a bath in it, is

36:40

gonna get right up your nose. Yeah, yeah. And

36:42

it'll cost you a fair few Bob. You

36:44

could put a bit in your shoes and

36:47

stop fungal infection. You could go for a

36:49

bath in Onsen in Japan and maybe someone

36:51

could come over and just grate a little

36:53

bit of wasabi. Yeah, that would be so lively.

36:55

Yeah, that's luxurious. You can lick it. Sorry?

36:58

You can lick it and you won't taste the spice.

37:01

Oh. So... There's no point in licking it.

37:04

No, unless you don't like spicy food but you want to

37:06

eat wasabi in which case just lick it and

37:09

then you won't get the spice but you'll have touched

37:11

wasabi with your tongue. If you have fungus or

37:13

microbes on your tongue. Yes. Yes. Good

37:15

point. I think that should work. In

37:17

fact, it's a lot like how lightning

37:19

can split up nitrate so

37:22

by grating wasabi, think of the greater

37:24

as the lightning, that splits up the

37:26

wasabi plant and it splits up itself.

37:28

What a torture now! I feel like I

37:31

could have understood it without any of the

37:33

previous callbacks. Are you sure? Is that what

37:36

creates the flavour? It brings up the cells

37:38

and creates the flavour exactly. Anna, how does wasabi

37:40

work? Well, let me take you back to

37:42

the dawn of the universe. Do

37:46

you know horse reddish is poisonous to horses? No.

37:48

So they don't know why it's called that but I actually like both options.

37:54

So the word horse reddish first appeared in

37:56

1597 in English. People think it might be

37:58

because it resembles a f horses

38:00

genitalia. It speaks of

38:02

a time when more people were familiar with what horses

38:05

knackers look like. I could probably

38:07

draw you one but I would probably.

38:14

Absolutely no you could do an amazing

38:16

shaded sketch. So it's either

38:19

genitals. Yes. They do look

38:21

a bit like their... hot radish is like

38:23

like a moolie. I mean that's probably less

38:25

like a long white radish

38:28

right. It's like a

38:30

long white root. Yeah. Are they really

38:32

big? Yeah it's probably I would say how big

38:34

is that about foot long? I

38:36

think your moolie simile might have been up there with

38:39

my confusing lightning. What's

38:41

a moolie? A moolie is like a large radish.

38:43

Like a horse radish? Yeah. Oh right they're similar.

38:45

I understand. I can see us going round in

38:48

circles on the side. I genuinely thought people would

38:50

know what a moolie looked like. Yeah okay fine.

38:52

What's the other option Anna? Well remembered thanks

38:54

James. So in

38:56

German, you might be able to guess

38:58

if I tell you that in German

39:01

a horse radish is called meer-rattich to

39:03

mean sea radish actually. Not

39:05

to be confused with the sea radish which is a

39:07

different plant. I know because it looks like

39:09

a seahorse's genitalia. Yeah very nice. You're

39:12

miles off. In the older days everyone knew what that

39:14

looked like. A wheelrow

39:16

sea horse radish. What grows

39:19

in the sea looks like a

39:21

radish. It's more about pronunciation. Barns,

39:23

bulbs, square, patterners. It's about the

39:25

pronunciation so when we were translating

39:27

into English we heard meer-radish. Oh

39:29

meer as in like the meer as in

39:32

a female horse. As in a horse. Let

39:34

me give you another reason why it might

39:36

be called that. Albertsus Magnus was writing

39:38

in the 30th century and he discussed horse

39:41

radish. He just called it radish. He suggested

39:43

it as a treatment for constipation in horses.

39:47

So it could be that we kind of

39:49

heard the meer thought we use it for

39:51

constipation in horses anyway and so maybe that's

39:54

why we call it horse radish. Is

39:56

it up the bottom? It didn't

39:58

say. Albertsus Magnus didn't say. say, he

40:00

just said it's used for constipation in

40:03

horses. It might have been up

40:05

the bum because there's another thing called

40:07

Rathanidosis, which is

40:09

a punishment in ancient Greece of

40:11

inserting the root of a radish

40:14

up the bum as a

40:16

punishment for adultery. Now

40:18

we don't know what kind of radish that was. It

40:21

probably wasn't one of those little red ones that you

40:23

get insane. That's the first offence. But

40:27

if it was horse radish, for instance, then

40:29

that would be much more of a punishment

40:31

because you're going to get that kind of

40:33

wasabi burning on the bum as well as

40:36

having something that's the size of a mooli

40:38

going up your bum. Not the size of

40:40

a mooli. I

40:42

bet there was one person who got really turned on

40:44

by it. I bet there was

40:46

one example where someone was like, oh no,

40:48

my adulterated again. Get

40:51

the hammer. Here's

40:55

the thing on papyrus. Right.

40:58

Oh my goodness. Okay. Have

41:00

you, right. You know the library of Alexandria?

41:02

Yeah. Okay. Ancient Egypt,

41:06

founded in 295 BC. Yeah. They

41:08

had a copy of every book or they were trying to

41:10

get one. So the Ptolemies with

41:12

pharaohs at the time, they're all

41:14

called Ptolemy basically. And they would

41:17

hunt for manuscripts everywhere, right? And they would send out

41:19

if a foreign ship sailed into Alexandria, it

41:21

was searched for scrolls and then they'd be

41:23

confiscated and copied out and then given back.

41:25

And all this was on papyrus, right? And

41:28

the Nile Valley was the center of

41:30

the written word because papyrus grew on

41:33

the banks of the Nile. So the

41:35

Ptolemies have basically a control supply. And

41:39

then there's this rival library that

41:41

sets up. King Eumenes of

41:43

Pergamum found the rival library, the library of

41:45

Pergamum. And Pergamum was huge at the time.

41:47

It was a big kingdom, like massive Turkey,

41:50

modern day Turkey and more, you know,

41:52

they were the big deal, the Pergamites.

41:54

Anyway, basically talk about the second competence.

41:58

There's this Stalin history. From

42:00

the makers of Harriet Tubman! Exclamation mark.

42:04

There's still an history where both libraries

42:06

are trying to secure every book on

42:08

the planet. And they are

42:10

bidding huge wages for scholars, like Premier League

42:13

footballers for scholars and scribes. Some scholars are

42:15

in prison so they can't run off to

42:17

the other library. And then

42:19

the huge move happens. Ptolemy V

42:22

takes the rivalry to a new level about 100 years

42:24

after the founding. He bans the

42:26

export of Papyrus. Huge

42:28

move. Ouch. That's what he's thinking of. Eat

42:31

it, Pergamum. I'm taking the football off the

42:33

pitch. Basically it is. You can't make any

42:35

scrolls. You can't copy any manuscripts. We own

42:37

literature. So what did Pergamum do? Well,

42:40

he... Invented paper? Yes,

42:42

he must have invented paper. The audiobook.

42:44

He invented the audiobook. They

42:48

started manufacturing parchment from the skin

42:50

of animals. And parchment literally means

42:52

from Pergamum. That's the etymology. Oh,

42:54

nice! That's so

42:57

cool. And the thing about parchment is you can

42:59

cut it up in layers and you don't need

43:01

to roll it in a scroll. It's incredibly inefficient.

43:03

You can have pages. You can have pages. That's

43:06

so interesting. And that is where... Like,

43:08

parchment already existed but they, as

43:10

it were, put a lot of manufacturing behind

43:12

it and made it bigger, you know. And

43:14

the book is better than the scroll. Wow.

43:17

The bend is mightier than the sword. And the book is

43:19

better than the scroll. You know what, Andy? I'm going

43:21

to come out and say it. That etymology is even

43:23

more interesting than the horse genitalia. Wow. Well

43:26

done. Wow. Drugs

43:28

disagree. Stop

43:35

the podcast. Stop the podcast. Hi,

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On with the show. Okay,

45:19

it's time for our final fact and that

45:21

is my fact. My fact this week is

45:23

that bees smell like bananas when they get

45:25

angry. I've never seen an angry banana. So

45:31

I think this is just a weird coincidence

45:33

really. Bees use pheromones a lot

45:35

to communicate. They release different

45:37

chemicals which other bees can smell. One

45:39

of the pheromones that they release is a distress

45:41

or alarm signal. Maybe there's a predator. One of

45:44

their bees is in trouble. Makes them really angry

45:46

too. And one

45:48

of the chemicals in this

45:50

pheromone is called isooamyl acetate

45:52

and that also happens to

45:54

be the chemical which is

45:57

banana flavour. Yeah. Can I Just

45:59

say we mostly. The voting people off as

46:01

a what you would not have been on a flavors

46:03

up to the for a specific plans and most evil

46:05

know been on a favor from actual bananas right I

46:07

mean I don't have that many been honestly with they.

46:10

Have more be deleted and bananas always end

46:12

up another flavored of angel Delight maybe a

46:14

little higher are there and say more people

46:16

of is some bananas than banana flavored. Age

46:18

of knowledge as confident as have an interest

46:20

about the tonight arguably banana five an Angel

46:22

Delight is better than of a non. I

46:25

think there are three. The separatists actually effort

46:27

you have a the point of been on

46:29

a flavor. The Archbishop non flavoring today is

46:31

not quite the same with the dollars we

46:33

today. yeah I'm you have mechanism of August

46:35

before and there's a there was a previous

46:38

species have been on our awestruck strain. Have

46:40

been on a cooler. Grooming shall been on us

46:42

with used to be all around the world states

46:44

got need? I think it's still around in Thailand

46:46

some I bet is not commercially really available. Used

46:48

it was like nearly completely wiped out if nor

46:50

could they be wiped out since by the Angel

46:52

Delight market. On Cavendish

46:55

and on is now a yellow that and

46:57

and I supposed to be less tasteful and

46:59

say actually as the dislike the tiniest from

47:01

the of artificial banana flavor in a tiny

47:03

sweets it again and not not the one

47:05

he got from the days of easier. And.

47:07

People it has ever known thing the big me

47:09

as a I was messaging lives who is one

47:12

of our colleagues is the next you I longer

47:14

than all of us and facts and and see

47:16

the beekeeper. As well and lives. This is

47:18

a success but have an. Unbelievable.

47:21

Do the same set of guess.

47:24

Sometimes he will end of the hi as a

47:26

real banana stance is. Really. and if we

47:28

don't go near high with a banana is the

47:30

other thing I won't cause illinois of not really

47:32

because I think it's and I doubt they'll ever

47:35

my own think it on loud be yeah he'll

47:37

actually in his hey this is Black Stripes on

47:39

the Banana peppers. I

47:41

do. you feel comfortable he to have it a

47:43

big sign that you said I killed your friends.

47:45

Don't also go to a beehive with a pregnant

47:47

mouse. Or

47:50

I like Roger so pregnant mice know I've

47:52

been on for they they say now and

47:54

day it's some I said that they give

47:57

off. And. they also stresses out male mice

47:59

i saw Amol acetate the smell of a

48:01

pregnant female man. Yeah, it does rest is

48:03

out mail. Yeah, because mice are

48:06

often Cannibals and they will

48:08

eat baby mice But

48:10

not if you make yourself smell

48:12

like a banana the males will go.

48:15

Oh not going near that and they won't Yeah

48:22

I Didn't

48:27

know the range of Theravines the bees

48:29

use there's so many there's a massive

48:32

list online. Yeah extraordinary weird things that

48:34

they can do So for

48:36

example the Queen there was a great

48:38

option I

48:46

found a piece on this from 2014. I just want to give

48:48

a shout out to Luke Holman on the conversation I don't know

48:51

if you wrote the headline, but it was called smells like Queen

48:53

spirit I Queen

48:56

bees they broadcast data via pheromones to the

48:58

rest of the hive and one of the

49:00

things is to say they are the Queen

49:03

That's just communicates, you know clear leadership in

49:05

place Another is whether or not they

49:07

are mated and have been waiting around

49:09

and also how well mated they are So they

49:11

have pheromones to release to say how many males

49:13

they've had sex with Imagine if

49:16

our crew did that Opening

49:19

a school more

49:22

promiscuous Queens are better for the

49:24

colony because they provide a bit more genetic diversity And

49:28

that keeps the colony nice and healthy every

49:30

every queen has to I was reading this interesting

49:32

about how you introduce a queen to a colony

49:34

if you just take your queen and Plonk it

49:36

in the bees will kill it because she's got

49:39

the wrong pheromones She's from another hive and

49:41

the worker bees need a chance to get used to her

49:44

so the way that you do it is that you

49:46

have a box and You put

49:48

this box in the hive and the doorway to

49:50

the box is sealed up with sugar Basically the

49:52

bees eat through it and takes them a while

49:54

But it means that they end up being quite close to

49:56

the queen who's sitting inside the little box waiting to be

49:58

released from the box and so time

50:00

it takes for the bees to eat through the sugar, they

50:02

can smell the queen on the other side and they get

50:04

used to her and then they don't want to kill her.

50:06

So it's like she burst out of a cake. It's the

50:08

impact of all that. It really does, yeah. It's

50:11

exactly how every new queen is introduced to a

50:13

beehive. Another

50:15

use of isoamyl acetate is

50:18

to make fake bananas. And

50:20

this happens during World War II. Let's

50:23

say we've stopped any poo getting to Germany and

50:25

they've said, right, well, you're not having any bananas

50:27

then. So you can't get

50:29

any bananas there, so you have to make fake

50:31

ones and they made not bananas by using parsnips.

50:35

They would get some parsnips,

50:37

they would add some isoamyl

50:39

acetate, which was available banana

50:41

essence, essentially, literally essentially, and

50:44

they would eat them. And apparently there

50:46

was a modern day blogger called Carolyn

50:48

Ekin who recreated it and

50:51

said it's a rather strange and

50:53

bizarre taste, but not unpleasant. Although

50:55

there is a aftertaste of parsnips.

50:58

I think it's so tragic. The idea of

51:00

like mash up your parsnip, that was the

51:03

war. Banana. Yeah,

51:05

no, it really was. When a queen bee dies, she

51:07

stops releasing the pheromones that she's been using to keep

51:10

the colony happy

51:12

and placid. And it's

51:14

called the big reaction and the workers basically get

51:16

going on an emergency queen. So

51:18

this is really interesting. They build

51:20

these huge queen sized chambers, like

51:23

queen sized bedrooms effectively, and they

51:26

get 10 to 20 candidates, workers, and they start feeding

51:28

them royal jelly and they find out who becomes

51:30

the queen. That sounds like a reality format. It actually

51:32

is. And the first one

51:34

to emerge kills all the others and then

51:37

begins to lay eggs. We

51:39

make it past the ethics committee, the BBC, I don't think.

51:43

There is only one pheromone

51:46

which two dung

51:48

beetles share. So

51:51

most dung beetles have their own pheromones, but

51:53

there's one that's shared by both of them

51:55

and it's called Anisole. It

52:02

comes because it smells a bit like

52:04

anise, like star anise. Oh, that is

52:07

the name that works, I'm sure, brilliantly

52:09

in the French market. Is

52:12

there a whole thing where beavers, anal

52:14

glands are the origin of an awful

52:16

loss of chemicals, flavors including vanilla and

52:18

strawberry, raspberry flavouring. They're not necessarily used

52:21

anymore, because I think it's still quite

52:23

rare and expensive and also people don't

52:25

really want that. 25%

52:28

of strawberry anal glands

52:30

actually, beaver, anal glands do, sadly.

52:32

And if I went to really nice

52:34

restaurants, I did really get finger anal

52:36

glands. Don't worry, if you're anal glands...

52:40

The sternals are light. Anal

52:43

delight. Can

52:47

you guys smell ants? Yeah,

52:50

I love ants! Oh my God, the

52:52

ant insects are going off. I'm

52:55

going to line up, pick up something much heavier than you and pile

52:57

out of the building. I'm

53:02

not asking right now, I'm saying in general, if there were

53:04

some ants on the table, do you think you'd be able

53:06

to smell them? I've never... No,

53:08

I don't think I would. Yeah, so the interesting thing

53:10

is that this is a thing that people have said

53:13

on the internet. A lot of people have said, oh,

53:16

I can smell ants. And then other people have said, you

53:18

can't smell ants. And then there's been big arguments. It's

53:20

not like the internet to argue over something

53:22

completely pointless. But IFL

53:25

Science, which we all love,

53:27

that website, they carried out a Twitter poll

53:30

and they found that 20% of respondents

53:32

claim that they can detect the odor

53:35

of an ant, compared to 8% who

53:37

can't. Ants are

53:39

heavily dependent on pheromones. Were 20% of respondents

53:42

ants? I don't know, well

53:44

we don't know exactly. I think one thing

53:46

we can say is that this is not

53:48

a particularly scientific survey. But

53:51

let's say for instance, it is true, there are various different

53:53

reasons that it's not that it might be true. It

53:55

could be that some people have a certain gene that

53:57

allows them to smell ants, like you can smell ants.

54:00

smell asparagus wee, some people can, some

54:02

people can. It could be

54:04

that some ants smell, and the ones that live

54:06

in certain areas smell, and the ones that live

54:08

in certain areas don't smell, and that's the responses

54:10

we've got, but we don't know. Well, they're living

54:12

in smelly areas, and we're smelling other things, and

54:14

it's covering them up. Could be. If

54:16

I'm in the ground floor of John Lewis,

54:18

I'm not gonna smell an ant, because it's

54:20

the perfume section. Yeah, absolutely. So if all

54:23

of the UK smelly ants live in perfume

54:25

sections of John Lewis, we would never smell

54:27

them. It's a very relatable comparison point. So

54:30

it's just something, it's a bugbear of mine. How awful, yeah.

54:32

I like going to John Lewis. I nearly

54:34

pass out every time I go in, you have to sort of,

54:36

I can't stand it. I love

54:38

the perfume section in the pub, let's talk. I

54:40

really like it. I really like going in an

54:42

airport and trying out all the samples. Yeah,

54:44

me too. And then coming, yeah, yeah. And then

54:46

getting on the plane, and really offending everyone.

54:51

I've never tried that, I should do it. You should go

54:53

through the duty, as you go through that winding bit. As

54:55

you go through the duty three, there's loads of free samples.

54:57

That's another bit I hate, because it smells so awful, as

54:59

in so strong, and it gives me headaches. So you've got

55:01

quite a sense of sort of pipes on you. There's definitely

55:03

an ant in this room. Right. Yeah.

55:07

Quite a lot of hotels have got cameras

55:09

in their bedrooms these days. In

55:11

the beds, in fact. What, where's this,

55:13

what? Be hotel, what? Do you mean be

55:15

hotel? No, it's human hotels. Human hotels. And

55:17

so this is something called the spotter gadget.

55:20

It's got loads of pheromones in it, and

55:22

a tiny camera, and you put it

55:24

in a hotel bed. And the pheromones

55:27

attract bed bugs, and

55:29

then when the bed bugs go into where the pheromones

55:31

are, the tiny camera takes a photo of the bed

55:33

bugs and sends it off to someone who looks at

55:35

it and goes, yes, that's a bed bug. It's poor.

55:39

And then if they say, yes, it's definitely a

55:41

bed bug, then it means that you have

55:43

to go in and fumigate it. So he's exterminated

55:45

then. Yeah, yeah. But so these are in hotel

55:48

rooms. Yeah. But can the camera capture

55:50

anything else that's happening in the hotel room? If your

55:52

penis is the size of a bed bug. Oh,

55:55

dear. Here. Okay.

56:00

It was just drawn to that little tube, I didn't know it had a

56:02

hat! Okay,

56:10

that's it, that's all of our facts. Thank

56:12

you so much for listening, if you'd like to get in

56:14

touch with us, we are all available on social media. I'm

56:16

on Instagram, at Alex H Bell. James? I'm

56:19

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56:22

too, at Andrew Hunter M. And Anna? You

56:24

can get in touch with the podcast

56:26

by Twittering at no such thing, or

56:28

on Instagram at nosuchthingsofthish, or you can

56:31

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56:33

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56:41

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56:44

you so much for listening, we'll be back

56:46

again next week. Goodbye.