First broadcast 31st August 2015.
Lee Mack
Simon Foster
Emily Grossman
Maggie Aderin-Pocock
John Sergeant
Emma Bunton
Jason Byrne
Jerry Springer
Polly Dalton
Barbara Murray
Mat Ricardo
Lee Mack
Simon Foster
Emily Grossman
Maggie Aderin-Pocock
John Sergeant
Emma Bunton
Jason Byrne
Jerry Springer
Polly Dalton
Barbara Murray
Mat Ricardo
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Duck, Whack, Stone, Echo. This is a show where we reveal some of the
00:22most bizarre and brilliant facts you've ever heard. Each one of tonight's guests have brought
00:26along their own favourite facts which we will be putting to the test to decide who's his
00:29best. So, who do we have with us tonight? Well, a fact about my first guest is that
00:33one of the most notorious topics of his hugely successful talk show was, Mom, Will You Marry
00:38Me? Which I actually remember because it was also my first appearance on television. Please
00:42welcome Gerry Springer. And an interesting fact about my second guest is that whilst
00:52working as an electrician, he had a reputation as a prankster. Once tying his boss up on
00:57his birthday, hanging him from the ceiling and dipping his face in and out of a birthday
01:01cake. Shortly after that he also got the reputation of being an unemployed prankster. Please welcome
01:07Jason Bourne. And a fact about my final guest is that she recently released her own range
01:16of clothes for Argos. So, we're going to make her feel at home tonight by having a surly
01:21attitude, making her wait ages for a response and only letting her have a very small pen.
01:24Please welcome Emma Bunton. Okay, let's get on with the show. All of tonight's guests
01:34have brought in a fact that they really love, but who's his best? It's time for round one.
01:38Fact off. Gerry, you're up first. What is your fact? My fact is men would rather cause
01:48themselves pain than experience boredom. Can you expand on this? I think we're a little
01:56confused. Here's how they did the experiment. They sat men in a room for 15 minutes alone
02:02with nothing going on except they could push a button and get an electric shock. Gerry,
02:10if you're leaving men on their own in a room for 15 minutes, I'm surprised that's all they
02:13did. Yeah. Yeah, how come it's just men? How come it's just men? They did women too. Women
02:18just sat there for 15 minutes. Really? Right. Well, think about it. When you have a remote
02:24control at home, men don't have an attention span. Don't remind people watching this there's
02:28a remote control. No, when there's a guy holding the remote control at home, you know, if there's
02:36something he's just bored with, he keeps changing the channel. As soon as the commercial comes,
02:41he changes the channel. And the woman is always complaining, what are you doing? I was watching
02:44that. I was watching that. A man's attention span is six minutes. So when your wife is talking to
02:51you after six minutes, you tune her out. This is a fact. You're telling me that you last six minutes?
03:00Well, if you're talking about what I'm talking about, then I haven't made it for six minutes
03:12either. My missus, if I'm talking to her and I zone out, she just says boobs after three minutes.
03:19She just says it. Yeah. She just goes, so I've got to go here. And I just zone out and then I can
03:25just hear boobs. And I'm back in again. Is it a visual prompt or just audio? No, no. Because
03:32genuinely it's a visual prompt. Oh, is it? And I always go, Anglin, you're married to Jason,
03:37that's well out of you. I wouldn't mind my wife doing that, Lee, it's alright. I get the idea,
03:43listen, men, I don't think anyone disputes that men's attention spans, you know, are low. Men quite
03:49like sitting on their own and saying nothing and doing nothing. But you're saying they do. They
03:53have to have some activity, something they're interested in. We're talking about doing nothing,
03:57nothing. Just doing nothing, sitting there. You'll turn the game on. You've got to see some
04:02sporting events. I'm genuinely not listening now because I've just realised that you're Gerry,
04:05you're Ginger and you're Emma. We've almost got the Spice Girls. So, look, Emma, we're saying
04:13that obviously men, I don't think anyone disputes, but there's a leap, right, from causing pain. I
04:17think I would press that button too because I get bored very quickly. Well, I tell you what,
04:23if there's any one way to find out for sure, we gave some men the opportunity to electrocute
04:27themselves all in the name of science. If you crave a few minutes me time away from the kids
04:38to relax and think, be careful because the chances are you really won't enjoy the experience.
04:44Throughout human history, it's been really important for us to explore our environments
04:48and seek out new and interesting experiences, rather than spending long periods of time
04:53focusing inwards on our own thoughts. For some people, this drive to engage with the external
04:58world persists, even when that involves seeking out negative experiences. This particularly affects
05:04men rather than women. And in fact, research has shown that up to two thirds of men would prefer
05:08to experience pain rather than endure boredom. Surely not, that can't be right. Out this quiet
05:14room, it's completely empty, apart from a red button, which has been rigged to an electric
05:20shock device. We invited 10 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 50 to sit alone in the room
05:27for 15 minutes. They were asked to sit and do nothing. The men knew the buzzer would hurt,
05:35and it was left entirely up to them whether they would press it. Just to clarify,
05:41this experiment is not about curiosity, it's about alleviating boredom. Let's see how they got on.
06:05Four minutes in, and as you would expect, none of our men had pressed the button.
06:12Two minutes later, and while most of the men had resisted the urge,
06:20a couple were beginning to get restless.
06:22Unbelievable! He was so bored that he consciously decided to cause himself pain.
06:34Followed shortly by this fellow, and this chap.
06:41Eight minutes in, and more of our volunteers could no longer sit in silence.
06:49Astonishingly, after 15 minutes, eight of our men had hit the button,
07:07and two of them hit it more than three times, which left these two heroes to preserve the
07:16dignity of mankind. Proof that men would rather cause themselves pain than experience boredom.
07:23And once and for all, we have proved scientifically that men are stupid.
07:33What do we think? I think that they press that because it's a big red button.
07:39Before that I said I wouldn't press that, no way, but now I definitely would.
07:45It's intriguing to know what that pain is like, isn't it?
07:48Whether it's a strong pain, or whether it's just a little flabby.
07:51Some of them just... Some of them are like, oh, that's all right.
07:54One guy looked like he liked it. He was actually like that.
07:57I think if this show gets boring, I'm going to punch myself in the face.
08:01If you make this show boring, we're going to punch you in the face.
08:05What you could do, of course, this could solve the whole thing about capital punishment, couldn't it?
08:09Because what you could do is you could get a man in a cell,
08:13hook him up to an electric chair, just leave him long enough,
08:16and then it's his own choice, isn't it?
08:20Now thankfully every week we are joined by our resident experts
08:23who can tell us a little bit more about this fact.
08:25So please welcome specialist in cell biology and genetics, Dr. Emily Grossman,
08:28rocket scientist, Dr. Simon Foster, and expert in space and mechanical engineering,
08:32Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock. It's our Verifiers.
08:40So, come on, why would anyone choose pain over boredom?
08:44What is interesting about pain is that it releases endorphins,
08:47which are obviously similar to the sorts of endorphins that we get through pleasure,
08:50but this time for pain, the endorphins actually block our pain signals a little bit,
08:54so it's like our body's own natural pain relief or stress reliever.
08:58Gerry was saying attention span is six minutes.
09:00Apparently, a couple of years ago, a new study was done,
09:02and since the advent of mobile phones and all the technology and Twitter and all that,
09:06the attention span has now gone down to nine seconds, which is less than that of a goldfish.
09:11Yes!
09:13I genuinely can't remember what she just said.
09:16Kids!
09:17Do you ever do that when you just catch the tail end and you think,
09:19I better look like I'm listening, so you repeat the last few words.
09:22But your wife will catch you with that. Eventually she'll say, what do you think?
09:25I know.
09:26And that's the worst question.
09:28When my wife is talking for a long time and I'm properly zoned out,
09:32she sounds like, remember the teacher from Charlie Brown?
09:36So I'm pretending to listen and I'm all in her ears.
09:41Oh my goodness. Do you not listen to us at all then?
09:44What?
09:52So that was Gerry's fact, but how good was it?
09:54That's down to our audience here tonight.
09:56So, using your keypads, on a scale of one to ten, how impressed were you?
10:00Please vote now.
10:06OK, so let's find out what the average rating was from our audience.
10:11Gerry, they've given you an eight. That's not bad.
10:13That's good.
10:14That's pretty good.
10:18So, hey, that's all right, yeah? You're pleased with eight?
10:20I'm very... Honestly, I'm starting to well up.
10:24OK, so we've heard Gerry's favourite fact, but join us after the break
10:27when Jason will be trying to win us over with his.
10:36CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
10:39Welcome back to Goodquatch.co.uk,
10:40the show that puts extraordinary facts to the test.
10:42Still with me are Gerry Springer, Jason Byrne and Emma Bunton.
10:49Before the break, the audience gave Gerry eight points
10:52for his great fact that men prefer pain to boredom.
10:54Jason, you're up next. What fact have you gone for?
10:57Yes, my fact is ten elastic bands
11:01can support the weight of an average-sized man.
11:04Just ten? Yeah, just ten elastic bands.
11:06Are they the thin kind of elastic ones,
11:08or those thick kind of industrial elastic bands?
11:11The thing that the postman leave on the doorstep, or...
11:13Or just normal rubber bands?
11:15I'll just check. Yes.
11:19The one you put around money, maybe. OK.
11:22So I just know that elastic bands, they're really strong.
11:26They have, like, these molecules, they're called polymers, right?
11:30And they're crisscrossed in elastic bands,
11:33which is why it makes them so strong. Right.
11:35They do... Watch this.
11:37They do that, right, when they're not stretched,
11:40and they do that when they're stretched.
11:42And when you let go, they go boing, boing.
11:44And do you know what? I haven't a clue if that's right.
11:47I'm just trying to prove how strong the elastic band is.
11:49If you put elastic bands in the fridge, they are stronger,
11:52because of those things you were talking about.
11:54Am I the only one that's not putting elastic bands in the fridge?
11:57I don't put them in the fridge, but I just know that
11:59if you put them in the fridge, they become stronger.
12:02Who told you that? Yeah, but what's that?
12:04I've just read it somewhere. It's this.
12:06Do you know what else is good with elastic bands?
12:08This is a good trick. If you write a word on an elastic band
12:11and stretch it and read it at the same time,
12:13you sound like an Australian.
12:16So your name, if I wrote Jerry, and if I stretch it, I just go...
12:19Jerry.
12:22I'm going to get an average man somewhere out there.
12:26Jason, don't worry, we've got it covered.
12:28We've got it covered, the test, because you obviously believe the fact,
12:30that you and I tested out. Oh, my goodness.
12:32And when I say you and I, I mean you.
12:36So, whilst Jason's getting ready, here's the science behind it.
12:39Rubber has been commonly used for over 1,000 years.
12:43The molecules in natural latex rubber
12:46are long chains of hydrogen and carbon atoms
12:49that are tangled and only weakly linked together.
12:52As a result, it's relatively easy to pull them apart,
12:56and this is why rubber has such high levels of elasticity.
13:00In rubber bands, the latex is treated with sulphur
13:03to form extra bonds.
13:05These work a bit like the trusses you see on a bridge,
13:08tying the molecules together
13:10and making them much stronger and harder to pull apart.
13:14So an average office rubber band,
13:16eight millimetres thick and 120 millimetres long,
13:20can surprisingly support up to ten kilos,
13:23the weight of a watermelon.
13:25Therefore, with the average man weighing in at around 85 kilos,
13:29you should need just ten elastic bands to support his weight.
13:35OK, Jason, you say that ten standard elastic bands
13:38can support the weight of an average man.
13:40Now, according to the statistics,
13:42the average man is about 13 and a half stone.
13:45So the first question we have to ask you,
13:47for health and safety reasons, how heavy are you?
13:4913. 13 stone?
13:51Yeah, and a bit.
13:54Is that your showbiz weight or your real weight?
13:56That's the showbiz weight.
13:57Trust me, this is not the time to be lying about your weight.
13:59Yeah, yeah, it's about 13.5.
14:01OK, all right, so you should be all right now.
14:04First of all, I've got to give you these.
14:06These are genuine.
14:07If the elastic bands were to snap, for health and safety reasons,
14:10not just you, but I have got to wear these.
14:12So if I fall and cream meself,
14:15you've got to make sure you're all right.
14:18OK, Kevin is going to hook you up to the elastic bands.
14:21I've no fear of this, this is fine.
14:23And in fact, I have to be honest with you,
14:24we genuinely would have used a stunt double for this,
14:26but they were all too scared to do it.
14:30When you're pulling that, there's something else happening.
14:33Oh, because you've got the harness on?
14:35There's a harness on underneath,
14:37and it likes to take everything with it.
14:39OK, first of all, let's take Jason up.
14:41There is a safety harness on.
14:42Oh, my God, am I supposed to go? Oh, I am!
14:45Oh, my goodness!
14:46So at the moment, the weight is being taken by the safety harness,
14:49but in a minute, we're going to...
14:50I didn't think it would be this high!
14:53I thought it was just going to hold me a bit.
14:56So in a minute, we're going to take the safety harness pressure off
14:58and see if ten bands can really take his weight.
15:01Here we go.
15:02Oh, my God, what is happening?
15:03Oh, my God, oh, my God.
15:05Oh!
15:06I don't know about this!
15:09Oh, my God, it's happening!
15:13Me, me, me, me!
15:15Me, me, me, me!
15:19Stop the bed! Stop the bed!
15:23Me, me, me, me!
15:25Don't worry, that was just your sphincter muscle going.
15:27Wait a minute!
15:28Right, don't worry, we're just going to do one more experiment quickly.
15:31We're going to find out how short a distance you have to travel
15:33to break your leg.
15:35And just to prove that,
15:36is it only the bands that are holding him up?
15:38In the name of science, Kevin, can you quickly come on?
15:40Oh, my God, I know what a baby feels like in a doorway.
15:45This is not good.
15:46We've got to stop doing this, people.
15:48What are you doing?
15:50Oh, my God!
15:53That has just definitely proved that ten elastic bands
15:55really can support the weight of an average man.
15:57Bring him down.
16:06So, what do we think?
16:10I was petrified.
16:11Now, I can't believe that I think two or three of the elastic bands
16:14snapped, and you needed a certain amount, obviously,
16:18to hold an average man.
16:19Exactly.
16:20So, he could have gone flying.
16:21Here he is, the man himself.
16:22Oh, you've made it!
16:24How are you feeling?
16:26Nicely done.
16:27How are you?
16:28Very good.
16:29Yeah, that was all right.
16:30I didn't...
16:31The height was a bit weird.
16:32It wasn't ready for that.
16:33And to be fair, when we went through it in rehearsal
16:34with the stuntman, I didn't pull his legs up and down vigorously.
16:36No, you didn't!
16:38The only thing, to be fair, with the elastic bands
16:40is, as far as I know, that they have a lifespan.
16:42So, I don't know how old they are.
16:43You know what we should have done before?
16:45Stuck them in the fridge.
16:46Stuck them in the fridge!
16:49OK, so we've tested Jason's fat, but let's find out
16:51how impressed our audience were.
16:53Time for you all to give it a mark out of ten.
17:01So, let's find out what the average rating was for your fat
17:03and where that puts you on the leaderboard.
17:06Oh!
17:07Jason gets seven points, puts you in second place.
17:08That's impossible!
17:09I know!
17:10I took no risks.
17:12I had Lee and Mike hanging out on me ankles.
17:14You took your life in danger.
17:16To be fair, though, you said it would take the weight
17:18and two of them snapped, so...
17:20Two snapped, two marks off.
17:21That's how it worked.
17:22Sorry, say it again?
17:23Two snapped, three marks off.
17:28OK, let's see who was impressed by that fact.
17:30Naomi Brown.
17:31You were quite impressed, weren't you?
17:32You gave it a ten.
17:33I didn't think I'd ever see a man hanging from the ceiling
17:35by rubber bands, so thank you for that.
17:37All round entertainment.
17:40She's using the word man loosely.
17:43Tracy Fulbro.
17:44Where are you, Tracy Fulbro?
17:46Fulbra.
17:47Fulbra?
17:48You've spelt it wrong, then.
17:49You've spelt it F-U-L-L-B-R-O.
17:51It went off before I could finish the spelling.
17:56Tracy, you gave it a one.
17:58You weren't very impressed.
17:59It was funny but pointless.
18:01Oh, my God!
18:03You have just totally summarised his life.
18:06But this is...
18:08Don't listen to her, Jason.
18:10I think you're unfunny but meaningful.
18:12I think my wife's going to see this and wear that T-shirt.
18:17OK, verifiers, are there any other surprisingly strong materials?
18:21Well, the UK government recently did a fascinating study
18:24of supermarket carrier bags, and one of their findings...
18:27Whoa, whoa, sorry, you can't use the word fascinating study
18:29and then end it with that.
18:31It really is.
18:32Really?
18:33Yeah, seriously, it's amazing.
18:34One of the findings was that a disposable carrier bag
18:36can hold up to 18kg,
18:38so you'd only need five disposable carrier bags
18:41to actually take the weight of an average human being.
18:43OK, OK, so just answer me this, right?
18:45If a carrier bag could take how much?
18:47Over 18kg.
18:48No way.
18:49Why is it when I put one bottle of squash in them, it falls?
18:51Because if you put too much pressure in one point, it'd tear.
18:55If you've averaged that weight over the whole bag, it'd be OK.
18:58Oh, I see.
18:59So we're supposed to evenly spread out throughout the bag.
19:03I'm taking it these people don't have kids that did this.
19:06I'm busy just trying to stop and run around the supermarket.
19:09I haven't got time to distribute the weight.
19:14OK, last but not least, it's Emma Bunton.
19:16Please tell us, what is your finding?
19:18OK, if you draw a straight line with a pencil,
19:21it will last for just over 20 miles.
19:25A normal-sized pencil will last 20, and what kind of...?
19:28Because there's different types of pencils.
19:30Who bothered to figure this out?
19:32Welcome to my world, Gerry.
19:35I thought that was very interesting.
19:37Well, yeah, with the London traffic,
19:39you could probably walk 20 miles with a pencil and...
19:43And if you'd used a yellow pencil,
19:45I'd have more places to park after 6 o'clock.
19:47Exactly.
19:48That's a good idea.
19:49Do you have to keep pairing it as you go along?
19:51Keep what?
19:52Pairing.
19:53Pairing?
19:54Do you mean sharpening?
19:55Sharpening, you mean.
19:56Sharpening.
19:57What do you mean, pairing?
19:58Do you not pair pencils?
20:00If you put two together, you do.
20:02Oh, my God!
20:03You've never heard of pairing a pencil?
20:05No!
20:06Give me a cheer if you've heard the phrase pairing a pencil.
20:09Oh, yes!
20:10Two people!
20:11Yes, two or three people.
20:12Yeah, but on average, that's a what?
20:14Yeah, but they're sat naked licking their own knees.
20:18But listen...
20:19Wait, this is amazing.
20:21So in Ireland, it's a pencil sharpener,
20:23but also a pencil pairer.
20:24What would you do with a pencil pairer?
20:26Sharpen your pencil?
20:27Why not call it the pencil sharpener?
20:30Oh, my God!
20:31I can't believe I've been saying this for all these years.
20:33Yeah, but maybe no one else has.
20:34No.
20:35You've got Irish cousins.
20:36I have got Irish cousins.
20:37I've never heard that.
20:38At Christmas, they wouldn't go,
20:40do you want to pair the pencil?
20:41No.
20:42Whoa, whoa, stop!
20:43Even if they said sharpening pencils,
20:45why are they doing that at Christmas?
20:47Have you not heard of charades?
20:49Well...
20:50All right, it's time to sharpen your pencils!
20:51This is racist!
20:52Yay!
20:53I'm not having you!
20:56It's a game!
20:59It's a game in Ireland.
21:00Yes, come.
21:02Pair your pencil.
21:03Pair your pencil.
21:07It's on New Year's Eve.
21:08It happens, actually, not at Christmas.
21:13It's a good thing we know each other a long time, isn't it?
21:17You know what?
21:18Here's a fact about pencils.
21:19Yes?
21:20You can't get lead poisoning off pencils.
21:21No, you can't.
21:22There's no lead in pencils.
21:24It's clay and graphite?
21:25Yes.
21:26When did they stop using lead in pencils?
21:28When they found out you could be poisoned by lead.
21:33So back to the fact,
21:34you're saying any normal-sized pencil...
21:36Normal-sized pencil, yes,
21:38will last about 20 miles.
21:40Yeah, but that's just confusing.
21:42That sounds like you're...
21:43That sounds like you're going somewhere.
21:45You know when you're not getting on well with your partner
21:47when she suggests to you,
21:48here's a pencil,
21:49go and draw a straight line
21:52and keep going till you run out of pencils.
21:55OK, you've heard it, this whole thing,
21:57but join us after the break when we put this to the test.
22:10Welcome back to Don't Quack, Don't Echo,
22:12the show that brings you brilliant and bizarre facts
22:14that you've probably never even heard of.
22:16Now, during the break,
22:17Gerry knows the reason why they're called Pairing a Pencil.
22:19I assume it's the reason because in...
22:21Not just olden times, but in rural areas,
22:23they used to take a piece of wood
22:25and if you wanted to sharpen it for whatever reason,
22:28as a tool or a peg to put in,
22:30you would pair it.
22:31Can I just say, what you've done there...
22:32That's it.
22:33No, no, that's not explained anything.
22:34What that has done
22:35is taken the same confusing word
22:37and changed the thing you're sharpening.
22:41Well, why do they call this a table?
22:43Because it was called a chair, everyone would sit on it.
22:50So, before the break,
22:51Emma told us that an average pencil can last for 20 miles.
22:54We need to know for sure, so we put it to the test.
22:56Yes.
23:01The ordinary pencil.
23:03They seem to last for ages.
23:05But the question is, exactly how long do they last?
23:10Pencil lead is actually graphite,
23:12a type of carbon where the atoms are bonded together in layers.
23:15These layers can slip and slide over each other
23:18when pressure is applied,
23:19leading to the marks we create when writing and drawing.
23:22Because we are taking only molecules worth of graphite
23:25being applied to a surface every time pressure is exerted,
23:29it will take the average pencil a long time to be used.
23:32Our calculations are that the most common pencil,
23:35which has a mass of 1.25 grams
23:37and loses about 0.000032 grams for every metre it is used,
23:44would last somewhere between 20 and 25 miles before running out.
23:49That's the theory.
23:50But it's never been tested.
23:53Until now.
23:55We built a machine that would allow us to draw a continuous line
23:59with a single 170mm length of graphite
24:03taken from a normal HB pencil.
24:06The machine had paper on a roller
24:08and with constant pressure applied to the graphite,
24:11it would allow us to create a continuous mark
24:14until the graphite ran out.
24:16And we fixed a pedometer to keep track of the distance travelled.
24:20All we needed now was someone to push the contraption.
24:25Meet hiking legend Paul Steele,
24:28an ex-marine who's conquered some of the highest mountains in the world.
24:32If we are correct in our calculations,
24:34the graphite would take him nearly 25 miles
24:38from Alexandra Palace in North London
24:40through the middle of the city centre,
24:42finishing somewhere in Surrey.
24:46After being given a few moments to familiarise himself with the machine,
24:50our pencil pioneer was ready.
24:54This was it.
24:55There was no looking back for our intrepid adventurer.
24:59With the pencil machine in full flow,
25:01he got off to a pretty good start.
25:03And it was a little over two hours
25:05before he had reached London's fashionable East End.
25:12With just over six miles on the clock,
25:14the graphite had been worn down by 48 millimetres.
25:19We calculated that the graphite would last
25:22for another 17 miles at least.
25:291.3 miles later, and despite windy conditions,
25:33he was crossing the River Thames
25:35and showing no signs of slowing down.
25:44After six hours of walking,
25:46he had made it right through central London.
25:51At 20 miles, just over 36 millimetres were left of graphite.
25:56The sun had begun to set.
25:58Our hero strode on through the last hours of daylight.
26:04After walking long into the night,
26:10Paul had hit the 24-mile mark.
26:13Surely there couldn't be much further to go.
26:16But then finally, after a gruelling ten hours of walking,
26:21the last bit of graphite gave way.
26:24And the machine came to a halt.
26:28They'd done it.
26:2924.31 miles.
26:32This pioneering experiment had given us proof
26:35that a pencil can indeed draw a continuous line
26:39for over 20 miles.
26:41An incredible achievement.
26:43A groundbreaking moment.
26:45And yes, Paul did pretty well.
26:53What do we think?
26:54It makes you think, doesn't it?
26:55If one pencil can do 20 miles, what would two pencils do?
26:58What do we think?
26:59Well, can I just say something straight off?
27:01What in the name of God did he go walking for 22 miles for?
27:04Bless him.
27:05What do you mean?
27:06Well, why didn't you just put it up onto a treadmill or something?
27:12All you had to do was turn that wheel for 22 miles.
27:16You didn't have to go anywhere.
27:18That machine looks odd, doesn't it?
27:19Yeah.
27:20If there's one thing odder than a man pushing that for 20 miles,
27:23it's a man pushing that on a treadmill.
27:28So that was Emma's facts.
27:29Now our audience and I are going to score it
27:31using your keypads on a scale of one to ten.
27:33How amazing do you think that fact is?
27:41OK, now, Emma, let's find out what the average rating was
27:43from our audience for your fact.
27:46Ooh.
27:47A measly little six.
27:49That's really harsh.
27:50Ash, I'm the poor fellow that walked for 20-odd miles with a pencil.
27:53That was the first time that's ever been done.
27:55Yeah.
27:56You would never have known that.
27:57Who gave me a high score? Anyone?
27:59Oh, yes, sorry, yes.
28:00Gareth O.R. Evans, why did you give it a ten?
28:02Well, I felt after walking 20-odd miles, he deserved it.
28:05Yeah!
28:06Shoot, that wasn't he or her with a shaved head.
28:08And his baby's fine.
28:10Sorry, I meant the chap who walked.
28:11After 20 miles, I think at least he deserved it.
28:13I agree, I agree.
28:14Yeah, exactly.
28:15Thanks, Gareth.
28:16So, look, Gerry's in the lead, but there's still plenty of time
28:18for Jason and Emma to catch up in the next round.
28:20It's time for Fact Finder.
28:22Not only do we ask our guests to bring a fact for the show,
28:24we also ask our audience, and Gerry, Jason and Emma
28:27have each picked out the audience fact that they think is best.
28:30Gerry, you're first.
28:31Whose fact have you picked?
28:33Scott Naylor.
28:34Scott Naylor.
28:36Tell us, Scott, what's your amazing fact?
28:38Fish can, in fact, drown.
28:41Fish can drown?
28:42Yeah.
28:43How do you know this?
28:44Pub quiz.
28:47So, hang on, why did you say pub quiz?
28:49The question was, can fish drown?
28:51Yeah.
28:52What did you say?
28:53Yes.
28:54And the answer was?
28:55Yes.
28:56Good, aren't you?
28:57Your pub quiz, is it always multiple choice, yes or no?
28:59The majority of the time, yeah.
29:01It's a pretty basic pub quiz, they're asking yes or no questions.
29:03Pretty basic pub.
29:06How does a fish drown?
29:08When you pull it backwards.
29:10Can I just ask what kind of evil child found this out?
29:15OK, verify, is there anything in it?
29:17I think, yeah, well, there's two ways.
29:19If you do pull it backwards, yeah, the gills won't inflate
29:22and it won't get oxygen passing over the gills,
29:24so that's one way, and there is the other way,
29:26that if there's, it needs to breathe the oxygen
29:28that's dissolved in the water, and if that oxygen level drops,
29:31then there's not enough oxygen in the water for it to stay alive,
29:34and it will just drown, it'll just bring water over its gills,
29:36can't extract any oxygen and it'll suffocate.
29:38There's a third way, third way.
29:40Get them addicted to Maltesers,
29:42but, at the last minute, get a ball burring and paint it brown.
29:45What's what happens?
29:47Fish don't eat Maltesers.
29:49I know, that's the tricky bit.
29:51Every time I try and get it in them, they always go,
29:53well, before the performance?
29:55OK, we'll score it at the end, once we've heard everyone's facts.
29:58OK, Jason, you're next, whose facts have you gone for?
30:01I didn't know this show was this much fun.
30:04Sam Carter, anyway, Sam Carter.
30:07Sam Carter.
30:09Sam Carter, anyway, Sam Carter.
30:11Sam Carter, what's your fact?
30:13If you flick your nipples, it takes approximately seven seconds
30:16to make them hard.
30:20Do it, do it, do it.
30:23Hang on, has anyone wanted to take the top off?
30:26All right, forget it, what about any men, any men?
30:30Within seven seconds?
30:32Well, he says approximately seven seconds.
30:34It says, what says, the manual?
30:36Hang on, love, I'll turn the lights off in a minute,
30:38I'm just checking something.
30:40Page 82 of Northern Karma Sutra.
30:45Get the lights off.
30:47Can I just check, what did you really type into Google to find this out?
30:50Clearly nipples was one of them.
30:52Literally just 100 random facts.
30:54And does it also affect it by the width of the areola?
30:59We don't have that, do we?
31:00The areola, I think we do, but it's just a lot smaller.
31:02Of course you do.
31:03Is ours called the...
31:04If you don't, it just looks like...
31:06If you didn't have an areola,
31:07it'd just look like a skittle sitting in the snow.
31:10OK, time for our verifiers to give us their verdict.
31:13This is more or less true.
31:15When you flick your nipple,
31:17what happens is you are stimulating the nerves in that area,
31:20and blood does flow to that area, erecting the nipple.
31:23This can work for other body parts too,
31:25and we can demonstrate.
31:30For instance...
31:32What other parts?
31:33For instance, if you just take your arm
31:35and you tap it gently, it will go red,
31:37so it increases the blood flow there.
31:39Is it quite innocent?
31:44Gentle, gentle.
31:46Is that because the blood thinks that area's injured?
31:49You're stimulating the nerves there,
31:51so blood will naturally flow to that area.
31:53So if you smacked a dead body, it wouldn't go red?
31:55No.
31:56Good, it's just a hobby.
31:59Some women actually use this technique for breastfeeding,
32:03because it erects the nipple,
32:05and so the baby is able to latch on more easily.
32:07So it has actually got a practical use.
32:09But I think the seven seconds is a bit fictitious,
32:12because I think it will probably vary from person to person.
32:15That's a brilliant fact. I think that's very interesting.
32:18Finally, Emma, whose fact have you picked out?
32:20Oh, Rob Anderson. Rob Anderson, where are you?
32:22Hi, Rob. Hi, Rob. Are you well?
32:24Well, how are you?
32:29Go on, then. What's your fact?
32:31The Chinese language is hard to whisper.
32:34The Chinese language is hard to whisper. Why is that?
32:37If you misspell one word, wisdom can become prostitute.
32:42And it's also how you... When you speak it as well.
32:46See, I was asking for some wisdom.
32:51Is that what happened? That's what they all say.
32:53That's what happened.
32:55That's always a problem, Gerry.
32:57And nobody would believe me.
33:01OK, and have you been to China?
33:03All the time. Have you been a lot?
33:05No, never.
33:08What kind of practical joker are you?
33:11If you just said, oh, your lorry's in the canal,
33:14and I go, is it? You go, no, I got you.
33:16But you can't go, have you ever been to somewhere?
33:18Yeah. Have you? No, you fell for it, you idiot.
33:20You're talking.
33:22OK, Emma likes Rob's fact, but is there anything in it?
33:25Well, in Mandarin, the meaning that we ascribe to a word
33:28is not just about the word itself,
33:30but it's also about the way that we say it.
33:32Now, I don't speak Mandarin,
33:34but I've been informed that there are four different ways
33:37that you can intone a word in terms of its kind of musicality,
33:40and each has a slightly different meaning.
33:42So, for example, the word ma means mum.
33:45If you go ma, so it's rising...
33:47It means she's upstairs.
33:49LAUGHTER
33:53If it's rising, ma actually means numb.
33:56If you do a dipping sound, say ma...
33:59Falling down a hole.
34:01I'm not following this, am I?
34:03The dipping sound means horse.
34:05Oh, OK.
34:07And if you go ma, as a sort of falling sound,
34:09it's more of a telling off or a scolding, like an insult.
34:13And so if you try and whisper that,
34:15obviously you lose a lot of the different meanings.
34:17So it could mean anything, wouldn't it?
34:19We're just trying to whisper them all.
34:23It's hard to have an awkward inflection and whisper,
34:25that would be fair to say.
34:27That sounds like you're asthmatic.
34:30OK, so we've heard the facts,
34:32but how many points will our verifiers give them?
34:34Find out after the break.
34:36APPLAUSE
34:46So, before the break, each of our guests
34:48chose their favourite fact from the audience.
34:50We found out whether each fact is true,
34:52but who will get the most points from the verifiers?
34:54Let's find out. Gerry, please remind us of your chosen fact.
34:57Scott Naylor had the fact that fish can drown.
35:02Fish can drown. Verifiers, what score are we giving that?
35:05If this is true, it's quite sad as well,
35:07so we're going to give it a seven.
35:09OK, Jason, remind us of the fact you backed.
35:12Sam Carter, while looking up something else on the internet,
35:15found out that...
35:18..it takes roughly seven seconds
35:20for your nipples to get hard while flicking them.
35:23Verifiers?
35:24I think the seven seconds is a bit spurious,
35:26but for pure entertainment value, I'd give it an eight.
35:29And finally, Emma, which fact did you go for?
35:31OK, so I backed Rob Anderson,
35:33but Chinese is the hardest language to whisper.
35:35Verifiers?
35:36I think we can safely say it is the hardest language to whisper,
35:39because without those intonations, you're going to muddle up
35:41horse and mum and num and telling people off,
35:43but I'm not going to give it ten,
35:45because you do get a bit of understanding
35:47from the context of the word, so I'm going to give it nine.
35:49I definitely don't want to muddle up horse and mum.
35:51No. Again.
35:55So, let's put all that up on the leaderboard
35:57and see how it's affected the schools.
35:59It's a tie.
36:01Well done, Ger.
36:02Wow, how did you do that so quickly?
36:04That's Jason, Emma and Geri, all on 15 points.
36:08Well, we've heard all the guest facts
36:10and the audience have brought theirs, so now it's my turn.
36:12It's time for Max Facts.
36:18So, I've got some facts,
36:19and you've got to guess what they are from a series of clues,
36:22and you'll get points for each one you get right.
36:24So, first of all, can you guess my fact from this...
36:28Bubbles?
36:29..and this?
36:31These are bubbles.
36:32Oh.
36:33It's bubbles in a glove,
36:34and it's got nothing to do with Michael Jackson.
36:42How many bubbles can you fit inside a glove?
36:46I love how your mind works.
36:48When you've got gloves on Christmas Day,
36:50do you ever go,
36:51Oh, they're lovely, Auntie.
36:52I wonder how many bubbles I'd get in there.
36:55So, bubbles in a glove, come on.
36:57When you blow bubbles, you don't get your hands sticky.
37:00You're close, but that's a different fact for another week.
37:04All right.
37:05If you pour the bubbles...
37:06Oh, no, no.
37:07Is it how the Queen bursts bubbles?
37:12Look, I'll tell you what it is, right?
37:14I'll tell you what it is.
37:15It's an interesting little fact.
37:16Listen, what happens if I blow this bubble?
37:18Watch.
37:19Nothing.
37:20Great experiment, that.
37:22What happens if I blow this bubble? Watch.
37:24Now, watch it. What's going to happen?
37:26Burst.
37:27It bursts.
37:28It bursts.
37:29Now, watch what happens when I put on my nice white cotton...
37:32It won't burst.
37:33My white cotton glove.
37:35Has to be cotton?
37:36Has to be cotton, yes.
37:37Not rubber?
37:38Definitely not rubber gloves, no.
37:42Oh!
37:43Oh!
37:44Wow!
37:45It works pretty good.
37:48To be honest, you all have a go, don't you?
37:50Yes, definitely.
37:51Now, obviously, if you're right-handed, put the glove on your left hand.
37:54Thank you.
37:55There you go.
37:56OK.
37:57Oh, God, help.
37:58Oh!
37:59Oh.
38:00Oh, it's gone.
38:01Oh, no, it's back.
38:02Look, it's bouncing.
38:03I've got a bouncer.
38:04I've got a bouncer.
38:05Oh!
38:06Oh!
38:07Oh!
38:08Oh!
38:09Oh!
38:10Oh!
38:11Oh!
38:12Oh!
38:13Oh!
38:14Oh!
38:15Oh!
38:16Oh!
38:17Oh!
38:18Oh!
38:19Oh!
38:20Now, bubbles dissolve in oil.
38:22And because our hands are covered in sort of natural oils and a lot of dirt,
38:25they'll dissolve and therefore burst if you touch them.
38:28But if you wear a cotton glove, as long as it's nice and clean and not too greasy,
38:32then that will stop the bubble from bursting because there's no oil.
38:35The other thing is that the cotton has got lots of tiny little fibres poking up,
38:40and that actually helps to cushion the bubble
38:42and to sort of support it as it drops down so it won't burst.
38:46And that's why, I don't know if you've ever noticed,
38:48but the bubble can actually land on the hairs of your arm and it won't burst there,
38:51or actually on your head as well, as long as it's not too greasy, your hair.
38:55OK, so next one.
38:57It is this.
39:00It is this.
39:03That was that, by the way. I just had a really good idea.
39:07And this.
39:09Is that somebody we know?
39:10No, that represents a person.
39:12It doesn't have to be a man, it could be a woman.
39:14Does it take seven hours to shrink a man down to a foot?
39:19Is that on a clock or an alarm clock?
39:21Well, that's an interesting... Have a look at the time, that's quite relevant.
39:24Seven.
39:25It's seven. Is it seven in the morning or seven at night?
39:28Oh, I know what it is!
39:29What is it?
39:30You're taller at night or smaller at night. I can't remember which way around.
39:33You're there, but you've got to get it right.
39:35You're lighter in the morning. You're lighter in the morning.
39:38I know that.
39:39You are, because you haven't eaten breakfast yet.
39:41You're taller in the morning.
39:42Walking around all day, you get shorter because of the weight.
39:45So when you're lying down, you'll be taller.
39:47Yes, it is true, yes.
39:49Verify, can you explain this?
39:51Yep, through the day, gravity is pulling you down
39:53and all that cartilage and tissue between your vertebrae gets compressed
39:56and you actually shrink by about a centimetre or a centimetre and a half.
40:00And at night, when you relax, all that cartilage can stretch back out
40:04and you'll basically grow back to your real height.
40:07So, there you go. That proves that if you're small, you're lazy.
40:12My last fact tonight is just...
40:17Oh, I love a tea party.
40:19Nobody will come to your house if it looks like that.
40:22Well, they will, but they just won't be able to get through the front door.
40:25I'll give you a clue. Right, look at this tablecloth.
40:28You've got to whip the cloth off?
40:30Yes. The tablecloth off the table.
40:32The fact is that the tablecloth trick is just pure physics.
40:35It's nothing to do with tricks or anything like that.
40:37It's how fast you can pull that.
40:39It's just pure physics, isn't it? It verifies. Can you explain all this?
40:42Newton's first law states that if you don't interfere with anything,
40:45if you just leave something, it will stay put
40:48until another force interacts with it.
40:50For instance, if I went out into deep space, far away from all the planets,
40:53and left something there, it would stay there for an eternity
40:56unless another force came and interacted with it.
40:59Now, let's look at the table experiment.
41:02Here, what we've got is gravity pulling down on all the table,
41:05the plates and everything on the table.
41:07Now, when you move the tablecloth,
41:09there's friction between the plate and the tablecloth.
41:12Now, if you move it slowly, that friction, that frictional force,
41:15is felt by the plates and they move.
41:17But if you jerk it really fast,
41:19then the inertia of the plates on the table don't react with the force
41:22and you actually take the tablecloth out.
41:24So what you need for this is a clean, swift jerk.
41:27Whoosh!
41:29LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
41:32OK, so here's Max, and unlike us,
41:35he's actually practised this and he knows what he's doing,
41:38so let's put it to the test.
41:40Now, Matt, I presume you've been doing this for years.
41:42Little bit, yeah. Little tip, by the way.
41:44I don't want to tell a granny how to suck eggs here,
41:46but I once did this during a dinner and they were still eating.
41:49And this is a genuine true story.
41:51My auntie, I hadn't realised, had took the tablecloth in
41:53and was using it as a napkin.
41:55And I went like that, and she went forward,
41:57she broke her face on a fray bentos.
41:59Just to let you know, that's a little tip there.
42:01So, away you go, Matt.
42:04Oh. Oh!
42:06CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
42:12Shall we have a go? Yeah! Let's have a go, let's have a go.
42:15Piece of cake. Right, OK.
42:17If you would like to take your position.
42:19So we're going to do this on the count of three, shall we?
42:21So we have to put safety goggles on, obviously.
42:23So get your cloth. Now, Matt, is there any tips before we do this?
42:26Bit by the corners, one big hard jerk.
42:29LAUGHTER
42:32OK, here we go. On three.
42:34Ready? Yep. Yep.
42:36One, two, three!
42:41I did it! I did it!
42:43I actually did it!
42:45CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
42:52Before we go, let's look at the final scores.
42:54In third place, it's Jason with 15, Emma's on 17.
42:57This week's winner is Gerry with 19 points.
42:59Oh, well done, Gerry!
43:01Thank you. Hello, Gerry.
43:03So that's it for tonight's show.
43:05A big thanks to our verifiers and to our special guests,
43:07Gerry Springer, Jason Byrne and Emma Bunton.
43:11Right, we are going to clean this mess up. Good night!
43:22Join me, Jim White, on Sky Sports News HQ tomorrow
43:25for all the Deadline Day drama
43:27as this summer transfer window comes to a close
43:30at the earlier time, remember, of 6pm.