James O'Brien's Mystery Hour

00:02 This is a Global Player original podcast. 00:07 This is LBC from Global. Leading Britain's conversation. Mystery Hour with James O'Brien. 00:16 Oh, three minutes after 12 is the time. Who, why, what, where, when, wherefore, whither, whence. Whichever interrogative pronoun you prefer, your question will be welcome on Miss Jower. 00:27 Unless it's about motoring. You ring in, seriously, and you say, why does this happen? What's that about? Where does that come from? Whither, that's, whence, that, wherefore the other, art thou Romeo? And someone else rings in with the answer. The only real rules are that you're not allowed to look stuff up. It's a weird one, that, isn't it? If you followed this... for a while it used to matter people used to do it they would they would google something and then ring in an answer and we could tell that they'd rung in having google because you can always tell when someone's reading i don't know why it became a thing and then i had to point out that that's a really silly way to behave and now of course it never happens but just in case you are new to this and you were thinking oh i'll get myself on the radio i'll look it up on the old internet don't because you will be banned from listening to this program forever And that's it, really. 01:15 I mean, there's no real rules for what is and what is not permitted. You've got... Repetition used to be frowned upon, but, I mean, we're all getting on now, so who can even remember what we talked about in the first hour of the programme, let alone what's popped up on Mystery Hour over the last few years. There's an archive, I should tell you, Global Player or the LBC website. There's loads of old Mystery Hours that you can listen to, particularly good family listening. And... 01:42 And, of course, there's games, two games. I got a message off my own daughter last night, and she had taken the travel edition of Mystery Hour to the pub with her friends, and I got a message. I admit that it was slightly unpleasant to realise how surprised the message was, and also that she hadn't played it before before. 02:03 We played the big game a few times as a family, but she took the tin, the travel edition to the pub last night and got in touch to say how much they were all enjoying it with photographic evidence. And if you want to get your hands on a Mystery Hour game, either the original board game or... The travel edition, which is in a tin, very neat, very compact. You can carry it to the pub with ease. Then you need to submit my favorite contribution of the day or indeed the week. So my favorite contribution of today, of the week, of the hour, gets a mystery hour game of your choice, either the board or the travel edition, which comes in a tin. 02:42 I think that's it. The full terms and conditions, because this is a proper grown-up radio competition, can be found at lbc.co.uk. And if you don't fancy trying to win it, but you really want one anyway, great news, you can buy one. Or two, or 27, simply by going to mysteryhour.co.uk. And I think that covers all of the sorts of homework, doesn't it? It's six minutes after 12. And have I done everything? I think yes. Shall we start? Shall we crack on? That's quite an early start. Six minutes after 12 normally takes me 10 minutes to get my teeth in. 03:14 No, we're off. Lauren is in Manchester. Lauren, question or answer? 03:18 Question, please. 03:19 Carry on. 03:20 I'm wondering why are some people more photogenic than others? 03:24 Well, that's an uncanny question. 03:27 Yeah. I mean, I'm wondering if it is in our genetics. Hang on a minute. 03:31 You don't know why it's uncanny. 03:33 Well, yeah. 03:34 Do you? 03:35 No. 03:36 No. It's uncanny because I'm having a photo shoot this afternoon. 03:41 Well, I have heard you over the last few weeks talking about updating your photo, and that's what got me thinking about it, actually. 03:46 Well, that's even more uncanny because the boss came over yesterday and she said, we've got a new photo for you. This one has been approved. Are you all right with it? And I looked at it, and I can't lie to you, I went, what? That's a really flattering picture of me. And she said, very kindly, she said, well, but that is what you look like. And I said, it's not. Because usually in photographs, I look like a right old dog's dinner. And not just because I'm a scruffy git who never brushes his hair, but because I am not photogenic. I am the opposite of photogenic. 04:17 But obviously this photograph... 04:19 And I'm having some more done later today for a very exciting new thing that I'm not allowed to tell you about yet. 04:24 But this photograph was makeup and lights and a professional photographer in a studio. But that looked like what I see in the mirror, Lauren. 04:33 Yeah. 04:34 And yet usually when I have my photograph taken, I think, who's that ugly git? And what's he doing where I was standing when that photograph was taken? So are you photogenic? 04:43 No, I don't think so. And I was thinking, is it mental? Do we think we look better than we actually do? 04:48 Yeah, I've often wondered that. Is it actually all in my head? Or are we not quite as good looking as we think we are? And the photograph is telling the truth, but somehow our brain... I hope that's not the answer. Yeah, I hope that's not the answer as well. Like the mirrors in some fitting rooms that are a little bit tinted or a little bit shaped so that you look a little bit slimmer or a little bit more tanned and you sort of walk out in the clothes and then catch your reflection in a normal mirror and you say, oh, flip it out, I don't know why I've bought this. Maybe that's just me. You're on. I like this question. Why are some people more photogenic than others? It doesn't really make sense that when a photograph is taken, some people are rendered in flattering terms and some people are not really flattered at all. 05:31 03456060973 is the number that you need. Rick's in Earl's Court. Rick, question or answer? 05:36 Question, please, James. Carry on, Rick. 05:39 Okay, so I've owned dogs all my life. 05:42 I've got three at the moment. Oh, yeah. That's a lot of dogs. 05:47 I've had more. Never mind. I've noticed something really strange when dogs walk past butchers. 05:54 I've had dogs that have obviously, obviously to perhaps you and I, without thinking about too much, obviously rather enjoyed the... The meaty aroma, the meaty aroma. 06:06 That's the name of my first band. 06:09 But on the other hand, I've also had dogs that are scared. 06:12 Of butcher's smells, of the smell of a butcher's. 06:15 and pull me to try and get me to go on to the other side of the road really um absolutely so i kind of noticed this when we had a um bernie's mounted dog and a golden retriever yeah um and it's a theme that's that's kind of carried on there was a time up until a month ago when i had two golden retrievers oh i'm sorry One died tragically. Let's leave that. Let's leave that for the moment. Of course. But the one that died was what's called a working line dog. 06:45 And the other one is a show line dog. 06:54 and the working line dog was the one that would want to pull me to the other side of the road, and the show line dog, who's one of the most laid-back dogs I've ever had anyway, was just, you know, quite more than able and happy to walk past the butcher. 07:08 And with the other dogs you've had over the years, could you do it by breed? Were you able to... 07:14 Kind of. I had something called a Putty Basset Vondine, which is actually quite a small dog, but they were, in their DNA, they used to be used to take a deer down if somebody had been stalking a deer and not got a clean shot. 07:32 Good Lord. 07:33 And they'd set this breed, probably more likely with the Grand Basset Griffin Vondine, which was slightly bigger in size, but the same one. 07:43 They'd send that one off. 07:45 I don't know what it is about the Bernese mounted dog that made that nervous. 07:50 Still less do I know why there might be a difference between... Oh, lovely question. 07:53 I mean, we will find out. I've got a question for you, though. 07:57 It's a long while since I lived in Earl's Court, but I don't think there are any butchers in Earl's Court. 08:02 Well, I've pulled over. I've been in the car. Your research assistant said, where are you? Where are you close to? And I said, Earl's Court... 08:11 So that probably most simply answers your question. 08:15 My knowledge of London butchers second only to my knowledge of London pubs. But there aren't any butchers in Earl's Court. You'd have to go all the way to Old Brompton Road, I think, to Parsons Nose to get... Which, I mean, anyway, I digress. I love that. I like these sort of questions because a lot of people listening will be responding. I mean, here's one. Martin says, my staffy won't go anywhere near a butcher's. He's absolutely terrified. And yet it is... To continue the dog's dinner theme that came up when I was describing to Lauren how unphotogenic I am, it is a dog's dinner. So how can they be... 08:47 How can they be perturbed by the smell of what they desire, what is to them in a slightly different context absolutely delicious? Why do some dogs appear to be frightened of butcher's shops while other dogs absolutely love them? And I am, Rick, genuinely sorry for your loss, mate, seriously. Mind how you go. Two questions on the board, both I think quite good, actually. Dean is in Sunderland. Dean, question or answer? 09:12 It's a question, James. Yes, mate. 09:16 When you go for a wee, when a man goes for a wee, probably he's worked with a woman as well. Yeah. During the wee, if you sneeze, the wee automatically stops. 09:27 And when the sneeze is over, the wee carries on. 09:32 Why is that? 09:35 I mean, how often has this happened to you? 09:41 Oh, and any time that I sneeze... Yeah, but I mean, are you a big sneezer? 09:45 Are you like that girl on Roy Castle's Record Breakers, all those who couldn't stop sneezing? 09:50 No, I am quite a big sneezer. And generally in the morning, generally if I wake up early in the morning, I sneeze quite a lot. And when you wake up early in the morning, the first thing you do is go to the toilet, innit? 10:04 Yeah? So you go for a wee and you sneeze and it starts... I mean, it's muscles, isn't it? It's got to be a kind of... It's like a spasm, isn't it? A sneeze. And so everything... A reflex, a reflex, everything. But you want a little bit more than that. 10:16 Yeah, so what do you think? Is it the reflex of the muscle, which I refer to as a trapdoor muscle? Yeah, I like that. 10:23 That's the technical... That's the correct technical term. Yes? No? Or is it something else going on? Is it further up the system? 10:29 Is it your brain saying, oh, you know, I'm a man, I can't multitask... I can't do two things at once. 10:36 I can't think of any evolutionary advantage to stopping when you sneeze. I mean, I imagine it's just a sort of biological reflex, but someone might know the answer, but there's a strong chance no one will. 10:49 i just want to i would i would think so i just think it's quite amusing that it's kind of automatically yes again once the sneeze is over and it's a sneeze several times and it stops and starts and starts and starts and starts it does yeah you're easily you're easily amused things in sunderland you know yeah exactly especially if there's nothing on the telly 11:15 Thank you, Dean. That's the thing now, isn't it? What are you going to do? Wait until you need a wee and then try and sneeze? Or wait until you need a sneeze and then dash into the loo and try and have a wee? Just to detect Dean's theory of wheeze and sneezes. Snoozes, if you like. It's coming up to quarter past twelve. Squeezing one more, I think. Alison is in Bury St Edmunds. Alison, question or answer? 11:34 Hello, James. Question, please. 11:36 Carry on, Alison. 11:37 So mine is about books, specifically Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, 18th century, watched lots of dramas, films. Their books are always produced in volumes of three. 11:51 As in three separate publications? 11:54 Yeah, for one title, like Emma, whatever. But when I look at my book case, I have one book. 12:02 Yes. 12:02 So my question is, why volumes are free in those days? And when did it... Well, it's two questions. When did it change to just one book from Waterstones today? 12:11 I think it's pretty obvious. 12:15 Oh, not to me. Well, no, I mean, it's... 12:19 The cost of producing books was much higher in those days. 12:23 And so you would buy... Eleanor's giving me a look, and she's got a degree in English, you know. You would buy... I mean, it's not the same question as Dickens. A lot of people have probably already fallen down that rabbit hole, where Dickens, as you know, Alison, was writing... 12:37 serials for magazines so most of his novels it's why so many chapters end with comparative cliffhangers and you would then go out and buy the magazine the following week in order to find out what happens next like a kind of early soap opera but i think with the more literary fiction i think i think it was to do with the cost So the three volume became much more affordable. You could afford a volume and then you could afford the net. So and then now, obviously, producing books is relatively cheap. You can knock them out for 99p in some cases. I think that's the reason. 13:08 I wanted it to be something more romantic. Well, it might be. Like the printing press. Yeah, yeah. 13:13 It could be. I mean, I'm not taking the round of applause for that. But I think it would probably be that. But I'm going to put it on the board. Why were novels published in three volumes? And the Brontes as well, was it? Was it the same with the Brontes? 13:28 I just watched a brilliant film, They Walk Invisible. And there are scenes in that where, obviously, they printed under mail. 13:35 Yes, of course. 13:36 Not their own names. But there are scenes in that where when they present them to their father, they are all in these volumes of three. 13:44 And when you've got them, I haven't read one for a while. 13:49 Is our modern version split accordingly? Does it say volume one, volume two, volume three, albeit that they're all in one book? Or do they just run through the chapters normally? I can't remember. Can you? 13:58 Well, the last one I read, Emma, it was a normal book. 14:01 Yeah, just chapter after chapter with no demarcation of where the original volumes would have separated. But why would there be? Because they don't serve any purpose, any literary purpose. I think it was a commercial thing, but I don't know for sure. So I will leave it on the board. What a lovely question. 0345 6060 973 is the number that you need. So to recap, why are some people more photogenic than others? 14:22 Why do some dogs love the smell of butcher's shops while other dogs appear to be terrified by it? 14:27 Why do you stop weeing when you sneeze? Thank you, Dean. And why were 18th century novels originally published in three volumes? 03456060973, if you can answer any of those, or if you've got a question of your own. It's 1217. 14:46 Mystery Hour on LBC with James O'Brien. Call 0345 6060 973. 14:54 12.19 is the time you're listening to James O'Brien on LBC, where Mystery Hour continues, your weekly opportunity to achieve the sort of satisfaction not ordinarily available anywhere else on your radio. Have you achieved it yet? 15:07 Well, just be patient then. James is in Gillingham. James, question or answer? 15:11 Oh, hello, James. Oh, hello, James. 15:12 It's a question, please. 15:13 Carry on, James. It's a question. Yeah, I always wonder, what makes the sea and the ocean salty? If you went off the coast of Brighton, took a cup full of water, and then you went half a mile down in the trench, I can't remember what it's called, in the Miriana Trench or something, and took a cup full of water there, they'd both be salty. And it's a massive volume of water worldwide. 15:37 so what is it firstly that makes it salty and why how can it be so kind of consistently salty does that make sense yeah you're only really allowed one question so why no sorry well that's all right don't worry why is the sea salty yeah well what makes it salty andy's takes it to say it's all the sea salt oh very good i thought so um i thought we should know this shouldn't we isn't this kind of like kindergarten geography Probably. I don't know what it is. 16:08 I mean, all the salt in all the world, you had to walk into it. Why is it salty? 16:16 But what's the word I'm looking for? Not consistently, but all the way through the sea. Yeah, consistently salt. 16:21 Yeah, I do. I mean, the Dead Sea is saltier than other seas, but that's because it's technically a lake, isn't it? And it's not so much a mystery. Once you've got salt in a body of water... then it is going to be evenly distributed. So the level of saltiness in a body of water that is linked through various channels. But there's so much salt, isn't there? 16:43 And it's not evenly distributed unless it's in the same body of water. So more or less, some seeds will be a little bit saltier than others. But yeah, generally speaking, you're very rarely going to go for a swim and not taste salt. All right. Why? Why is it salty? I like that. I've got just a weird little niggle in the back of my brain that either I should know it or we have done it before, but it doesn't matter. Can't remember. 17:08 It is 22 minutes after 12, and Damien is in Windermere, which is not salty. Damien, question or answer? It's a question, James, please. Carry on. 17:18 Why do fighter jets have the pilots' names on the side of a jet if everything's supposed to be quite secretive and they've got call zones? 17:26 Well, I actually know this. 17:30 Oh, nice one. 17:31 It's so they know which plane to get into. 17:34 Yeah. 17:37 Does that make perfect sense? I'm not even joking. They come out of the mess or the dormitory or wherever it is. They hang out and they rush out onto the runway. I don't know if you've ever noticed this, Damien, but they all look the same, these planes, from a squadron level. They all look the same and they sort of think, well, I can't remember my call sign. It's AFG something or other. Do you know your own car's registration number? 18:07 Of course it is. Yeah, all right. That's not a very good example. Do you know your national insurance? That's not a very good example. Do you know my car's registration number? 18:13 Absolutely not. There you go. 18:15 So you're rushing out. You rush out onto the... Do you know your phone number? Do you know your wife's phone number? No? Yeah, all right. Okay, these are all very bad examples. But it's not easy to remember your call sign. But everyone remembers their own name. Also, Damien, they're often quite drunk. 18:30 So they can't remember their call sign because they're often quite drunk fighter pilots. They rush out onto the runway and the only way they can be sure that they're climbing into the right plane is because they've got their name written on the side of it. 18:44 Yeah. You're not taking that, are you? No, no, not at all. I didn't think you would. Are we sure it's true? I mean, it's not just something that we get from films? 18:53 I'll tell you what I was thinking. I was watching a film and... 18:57 Yeah, I'm not as worried about that bit of it as you are. I mean, if you get captured by enemy forces, it doesn't really matter what your name is. 19:15 I didn't know if it was like, I don't know, superstition. 19:17 I think it's more likely to be that, some sort of tradition. But I mean, that's working on the presumption that it's true. It's true in that film. But I don't know. I don't remember seeing names on the side of Spitfires. Do you? 19:31 No, I don't think I've seen this before, though. 19:33 No? All right, you're on. I like this question. Nice one, Steve. Why do they put the names on the side of fighter jets if, brackets, they do? Close brackets. Nice one. It is 24 minutes after 12. Because some things happen in films. I don't know if you've watched Slow Horses. It's on Apple, so I fully appreciate not everybody has the subscription. 19:52 My God, it's good. Mick Heron's been on the show a few times, been on Full Disclosure as well. He's just a genius. And another mate of mine, actually, Edward Dox, has written one of the episodes for this series. I think the best series yet, series six of Slow Horses. But something happened last night, no spoilers, that was so well observed that you sort of almost did a double take. There were two things I noticed last night on Slow Horses. 20:18 The first was there's a character who's an oaf. He's quite a likable oaf some of the time and the rest of the time he's not a likable oaf at all. He's pure oaf. 20:28 But he thinks he's Rambo and he's a sort of rubbish spy is the best way of describing it. And at one point in the final episode of Slow Horses, he has to try to shoot someone. And it's not, despite his self-image as Rambo, it's really not part of his natural skill set. He's a geek. He's very good with the computers. But he thinks that, given the right opportunity, he'd be James Bond crossed with Rambo. And he shoots the gun. 20:54 sideways you know when you turn your hand you turn your hand side like that which nobody who's ever got any firearms experience whatsoever would ever do but you see it happening in Hollywood movies you might see someone like I don't know um Eddie Murphy do I don't even think Eddie Murphy did but it's a it's a complete Hollywood mythology that you shoot your gun sideways you can't aim properly if you shoot it sideways anyway and and the character does it I don't even know if it was in the script, but it's exactly what that character would have done in real life. 21:27 He'd have watched so many Hollywood movies that he'd think he was shooting. So no spoilers there. So it might be that the names on the side of fighter jets are the same. It's just something in films, not real life. 21:39 The other thing I noticed last night, I don't know if anyone else noticed this, that there's a scene where the camera pans over an abandoned toilet, an abandoned public convenience, and there's loads and loads of graffiti on the facilities as it makes its way towards a sort of Russian spy who's trying to... 21:56 recover from a terrible car accident. Again, no spoilers. And one of the words in the graffiti is boom, B-O-E-H-M, or possibly it may be spelt B-E-O-H-M in the graffiti. And Mick Herron's other great series of books, which were published before Slow Horses came out, before he was famous, really, but they've gone back to them and they filmed it also for Apple with Emma Thompson, are the Zoe Boom thrillers. I love stuff. These Easter eggs. Are these what you call Easter eggs? 22:27 I love stuff like this. So there's just this graffiti and my brain, my lizard brain went ping. And I thought, why is my lizard brain... Ah, there's a little nod there to Mick Herron fans because that's the name of his other major character in his other series of... brilliant books and it was just written in the middle of a wall full of graffiti and the other amazing thing about the new series of uh slow horses it's got lenny rush in it who is such an incredible talent i would watch him in absolutely anything seriously the the lad is a acting genius a joy joy to behold anyway that's the end of this week's recommendations steve's in crawley steve question or answer 23:05 Answer, please, James, and thanks for the spoiler on last night. 23:09 There was no spoiler there. There was no spoiler. 23:12 I'll let you off. 23:13 You don't let me off. I was absolutely painstaking to ensure there was no spoiler. Someone shoots a gun, Steve. Someone shoots a gun in an espionage. Anyway, go on, answer, answer, answer. 23:24 Answer, answer. The photographic, why are some people photogenic and some not? 23:29 Yeah, I'm a photographer, have been for nearly 20 years, and people often come up to me when I'm mainly a people photographer. I'm literally sitting here editing last week's wedding as we speak. And they say, will you teach me how to pose? I said, no, but I'll teach you how not to. The people who are photogenic are the ones who can relax in front of a camera. You don't need to look like Charlize Theron or... whatever your favourite model is, you just need to be able to relax in front of the camera and not have unrealistic expectations. I do get those occasionally. 23:59 I mean, that's not true. 24:02 I mean, it's true. No, it's true. Obviously, being relaxed helps. But I have been, how can I put this diplomatically? I have been incredibly relaxed in some of the photographs that have been taken of me. And I still look like a right old munter. 24:17 Well, yes. I mean, when I'm shooting at someone who isn't used to being photographed, I'm not using the word shoot, it doesn't sound right. When I'm working with someone who's not used to being photographed, I sometimes spend 20 minutes or so just finding them. Really? There's one look. Oh, yeah, one look or something that is really them. I've got one absolutely stunning model I work with, but I only like shooting her from her left-hand side. There's something not quite right when I shoot her from the right-hand side. Right. And you just see it. When you see it, you see it. Yeah, OK. 24:47 So it might be something to do with facial symmetry or it might have... 24:51 Yes, the golden ratio. The golden ratio could contribute to it. 24:55 OK. I mean, it's not... I don't think that this is a comfort to me and Lauren. I think because you're suggesting we could learn to look better in photographs. I don't know how old Lauren is, but I'm, hard though it is to believe, in my 50s now. And I have never learned how to look better in photographs. I've lifted my chin. I've put my chin down. I've tried to relax. I've leant forward. I've done the bird. Do you potentially think you've got unrealistic expectations? That is another possible answer to the question. 25:24 Have I seen really good photos of you? 25:26 Well, exactly, because then one comes along, you see. And I look at it and I go, hello, sailor. 25:32 But it just doesn't happen very often. 25:36 That's your look. All right. Qualifications? As good models. People are professional photographers for nearly 20 years. There you go. 25:42 Round of applause for Steve. And to answer your question, Steve, I don't really have a favourite model, but I am quite a fan of Senator John Husted, the Republican for Ohio. 25:53 I don't know if you're... Yeah, OK. Never mind. It's 1231. And Dominic Ellis has your headlines. 26:05 It's 1234. You're listening to James O'Brien on LBC. I've still got room for some more questions, actually. So we've answered the photogenic one. That's pretty much it. Have you had dogs in your life? Have you ever walked past a butcher's? Sounds like I'm doing an advert, doesn't it? Have you had dogs in your life? Have you ever walked past a butcher's? Did you notice how the dog responded? Do we know why some dogs are apparently spooked by the smells emanating from a butcher's shop while other dogs are absolutely entranced by them? 03456060973. 26:33 Why were novels in the 18th century and possibly elsewhere, but certainly not now, published in three volumes? Novels that are now published in one by, for example, Jane Austen would originally have been published in three. Do you know why? If so, 0345 6060 973. Why is the sea salty? 26:54 And why do fighter jet pilots write their name on the side of the plane, given that it could, at the very least, be some sort of security risk? If you can answer any of those, or if you've got others that you would like to ask, then the number you need remains the same, 03456060973. And just, I don't want to sound... 27:12 Chippy or Moody, perish the thought. But I didn't give any spoilers away when I was talking about slow horses. I literally just revealed that someone got shot and that an actor is in it. There was absolute... So stop it with your moaning and your complaining. Otherwise, I'll stop doing charming asides into my cultural life. And then you'll be sorry. Bessim is in Seven Kings. Bessim, question or answer? It's a question, James. Carry on. 27:42 I'm wondering which language has most unique words. 27:49 Blimey. How do you mean? 27:51 Well, being bilingual, I noticed that in English you've got takeover, take in, take up, take down... 28:04 And in Serbo-Kroat, which is my second language, we have a word for each of those, not to mention hair dryer, screwdriver, nail hitter, or you've got a nail hitter, it's a hammer. But there are also different hammers, like you have club hammer, pin hammer, which again, we have words for. So Google will tell you that English has most words, but I'm kind of doubting that with my experiences. 28:33 I mean, what language has the most words? The most unique words. But all words are unique. Either object or like a verb, that sort of thing, rather than coined words like take up, take in, that sort of thing. What do you mean? 28:51 I don't. Oh, I see what you mean. But they're not really coined. All words are coined. 28:58 At some point. 28:59 Take up and take in are completely different words. Yeah. 29:03 Well, take in is not a word. Take in is two words. 29:07 Yes. But it refers to a single item, if you like. 29:12 Yeah. 29:13 Take in is the action that you do. 29:15 Right. I don't understand the question, Basim. It's my fault, not yours. 29:21 Well, if we concentrate on coins with take, take up, take in, and so on. 29:29 I would class that as one word in English. But in Serbo-Kroat, it would be a separate word for each of these actions. 29:39 Take in, take up, take over. 29:41 Okay. Take down. Yeah. Take away. Take away. Yeah. 29:48 That is actually one word. 29:50 There you go. I'm putting it on the board because I'm sure that other people listening understand it better than I do. Right. 30:00 Because I don't quite get what you mean. I don't understand the difference. 30:04 Say a hairdryer. 30:06 Yeah, all right, a hairdryer. 30:08 Yeah, we've got a word for that, which is a single word, not something that dries your hair, but it's a word. Same as the nail clippers. Same as a hedge trimmer. 30:18 So... 30:20 English language being the one that Google says has most words in a dictionary. 30:29 I'm kind of wondering, is there a language that would have More unique words than English, if that makes it any clearer. 30:40 Not even a tiny bit. But that's all right. It's my fault. I mean, it's on the board. We'll try it. Someone will know. I mean, I don't know. I mean, the Inuit have like 28 different words for snow. 30:54 But that's only one word that they've got 28 different words for. 30:58 Yeah, yeah. 30:59 It feels like it might be relevant, but... Yeah. I don't know. All right, you're on. Well, I mean, we probably won't, but we'll try to find an answer to that question. Which language has the most unique words? 03456060973 is the number that you need. 31:18 Who put that through? 31:22 Yeah, do they understand what that question was in a way that I didn't? 31:27 Or are we... 31:29 Am I missing? 31:32 Oh, okay. 31:33 Oh, how convenient. Paul's in Tottenham. Paul, question or answer? Question, please, James. Great show, by the way. Thank you very much. 31:39 It's all right. Carry on. 31:41 Okay. My wife and I are both right-handed. Our parents were both right-handed. We have two children. They're both left-handed. Gosh. How does that work? 31:54 I don't know, really. I mean, it's... 32:02 Thank God for that. I thought this was going to be like a Jeremy Kyle episode, so I actually broke one of the great rules of mischief, and I googled it, mate, because I thought this could be a terrible thing happening live on the radio, but two right-handed parents can have a left-handed child. 32:17 oh it's a nine to eleven percent i thought i was going to be asking about what what you know when the milkman delivers the milk does he lift them out of the crate with his right hand or his left hand yes i had the same idea yeah sure oh i'm honestly relieved that i just had a right old moment because i know what the people who listen to this program are like and their minds would have gone to exactly the same place that i went to so um you Yeah. All right. How does that happen? It means that it's not a sort of genetic dominance, doesn't it? It's not a dominant gene. 32:47 So we need to know what it is. How can two right handed parents have left handed children? It's funny as well, I suppose, because you can't really help them deal with the difficulties or the differences of being left handed. Do you have a selection of implements in the house? Do you have like left handed scissors in the drawer for the kids and right handed scissors for you and your wife? 33:05 No, and I'm not allowed near scissors either. 33:07 No, that's fair enough. On reflection, it's probably just as well. I like that. How does that work then? Because we'd have always thought that it was somehow genetic, but apparently not. 0345 6060973 is the number you need. 12.41 is the time. James is in Horsham. Question or answer, James? 33:26 Question, please, James. Carry on. 33:28 So... What I want to know is, where does the term he's a dead ringer for someone, or someone's a dead ringer for someone else, where does it come from? 33:38 I think I read this quite recently, Matt. 33:41 Because I thought it might have, you know, the thing of a dead ringer in Victorian times, they had, like, people were buried in coffins, had a bell to ring in case they weren't dead. Yeah. 33:52 How does that become a copycat or someone who looks exactly like another person? It's a dead ringer. I've read it recently, I think. 34:01 Yeah. I've read it recently in a novel that I'm reading about a police officer in 1950s Brighton who teams up with a magician to solve crimes. Yeah. And it came up, I'm sure it came up in one of those books. 34:14 So that, yeah. I've got this going round and round and round and I can't answer it. 34:20 You're on, yeah. Why do we say Dead Ringer to describe like a sort of carbon copy or a splitting or a splitting image? Thank you, James. 34:30 0345 6060973 to join in with any or to answer any of these questions. 34:35 Shah is in Ilford. Shah, question or answer? Yes. 34:39 It was originally for one answer, but while I've been under half an hour, I've got an answer for two. 34:45 No, you're not allowed to, mate. Only one. The one you cleared with the people that put through Bessim's question about which language has the most unique words. 34:53 No, no, that wasn't me. 34:54 No, I know, but I'm just pointing out that the person you cleared your answer with are the same people that put through the question about which they are. Oh, I see, fair enough. So I'm not exactly overcome. You're going to have an inquest? I'm going to have more than an inquest, mate. It's going to be P-45s flying around the studio. What have you got? Which one do you want to answer? 35:10 Okay, the question regarding when you sneeze, why does the urine stop? Yes. And you were pretty much right on the ball with it. 35:20 your urethra goes through the pelvic floor for both men and women to go out and urine from the bladder. to the outside to where it's a penis to the vagina. And when you sneeze, your pelvic floor, which is basically a sheet of muscle that holds your abdomen together, that contracts and that contracts and that squeezes the urethra and your urine stops for that fraction of a second. 35:43 Perfect. Why then did so many women get in touch with me to describe the opposite happening, i.e. when they sneeze a little bit of wee comes out? 35:52 That's also to do with the pelvic floor, but that's generally... 35:56 um now you're making me answer two questions uh that's that's that's okay i can answer three i know the answer to the uh the salt sea as well no you're not allowed to answer three but you are somehow allowed to answer two and that is also the pelvic floor so as the pelvic floor has become weaker women of a certain age absolutely and it normally it happens to women who've had gone through natural childbirth yes and that the the birth canal is also the same opening through the pelvic floor that the urethra comes through so when the pelvic floor when you have natural childbirth that widens that aperture in the pelvic floor and hence why women are advised to stop and start urine when after child was a try to get the muscles back in shape get the muscles back and so then they're not incontinent they don't have so many incontinent issues there you go we heard you heard it well not first um but you were spot on you were pretty much yeah i mean kind of self-evident but it's nice to hear well i presume you're an expert i haven't established that 36:58 yet what are your qualifications um i'm a biological scientist i work for a pharmaceutical company and i spent around about four years within the urology therapy arena to do with incontinence. 37:10 Very well. That's about as qualified as you can get in this kind of conflict. Great stuff. Thank you. No, thank you. You too. 12.45 is the time. 37:20 12.48 is the time, and here are some words to soothe even the most furrowed brow. Mark is in Barrow-in-Furnace, which means there must be a word-based question on the board. Mark, question or answer? 37:33 It's an answer to the question about English and Serbo-Croat with the types of words that are common. 37:38 Blimey. Go on, then. 37:40 Well... A lot of languages have compound words in large numbers, and English is a good example of that. 37:47 So when he said unique, you think he meant non-compound? 37:50 I think he's meaning that in Serbian and Croatian, there are more non-compound words, with the same meaning as a compound word in English. Now, the compound word in English, it doesn't. Sorry. No, I'm sorry. 38:03 I'm apologizing to Bessim for not understanding what you managed to understand very easily and quickly. I said it was my fault. I did say it was my fault. 38:09 It is grist to mine, though, I suppose. True, true. It doesn't mean you can always easily tell what the two parts mean when put together. So, for example, understand, meaning comprehend. But it looks as if it should mean stand under something. 38:24 Ah. 38:24 But it doesn't actually mean that. And it may once have done. In ancient Greek, the equivalent word is literally overstand. 38:33 Of course. You mean, understand. And a lot of the Indo-European languages have this, and Sanskrit has so many that they have a terminology for different types of compound in their ancient literature. In the grammar by Panini, for example, big account of all the different types of compound word. Now, the Slavic languages, which include Serbo-Croat, probably have less of that than most Indo-European languages. 38:57 They have more unique words, as your speaker said. Wow. And... I mean, the Slavic language I know most of is Russian. 39:06 Okay. 39:07 And I think Russian doesn't have it quite to the extent Serbacoat does. I think there are more compound words, relatively speaking, in Russian. 39:16 But certainly that group is known for having a lot of, as was said, unique words where... 39:23 there's a word which is a single word, a single morphine. 39:26 Oh, I see. 39:27 Which corresponds with a compound. German has loads of compound words. Some of them are very long. 39:34 Yeah, of course. Do we know why? Do we know why Serbo has this status? 39:39 I don't think we do know, partly because this probably goes back into the mists of time. And at one stage, these languages weren't written much at the top. So the records are mostly quite recent. So we often can see a pattern, but we don't know the remote past well enough to know how that pattern arose. But it has to go one way or another. This is called language typology, languages of different types in different respects. And very often it's so deep-seated that it would apply to a whole language family. 40:09 And if there is an explanation, it's in the far past. 40:12 Good Lord, what a brilliant answer. Do you know the Serbo-Kraut word for beer? 40:18 It may be piva, which that's the Russian word. Oh, it's probably be similar to that. 40:23 All right. Well done. That was it. That was my contribution to this conversation. 40:29 Well, the thing is, the thing is, these languages, you know, they have because they have close, close common ancestors, the Slavic languages. They're similar to each other. So you'd notice any cases where there is a small difference. 40:42 Ah, yes, which is why he was alive to it in a way that I was too dozy even to understand what he was talking about. Bessim, you got an answer. I mean, we can't put a crown on a single language, but you were quite right to think that Serbo-Croat was particularly unique, unique heavy, unique word heavy. Reminders of your qualifications, Mark? 41:00 I'm a longstanding professional linguist. I was going to add very briefly that those private languages are so similar. The main language non-Slavic they've been in contact with is German. 41:10 Okay. 41:11 And Slavic words for Germans are the people we can't talk to. 41:15 Oh, wow. Oh, that's lovely. Gosh. 41:17 You get the gist of each other, you know. 41:20 Yes, of course. 41:20 But not German, because it's so different. 41:22 It is measurably different. That's a beautiful... You always do this. Absolutely charmed by your answers, Mark. 41:29 Thank you. Thank you for your ego. Always. 41:31 It's Pivo, anyway, the Serbo Kraut word for beer. But he was near enough. Here's a word you've never heard me say. Well, here's something. I learned that on pilgrimage. 41:42 There you go. I was on a pilgrimage in Yugoslavia when I learned the word for beer. Also, I did a 24-hour fast while I was on pilgrimage in Yugoslavia, the former Yugoslavia. And at the end of the fast, I thought that I would order a nice glass of schnapps. 42:00 And I ordered it in fluent Serbo-Croat, and they brought me a pork sandwich. Tony is in Eastbourne. Tony, question or answer? It's answer. Carry on. Answer, James. Carry on, Tony. 42:10 It's names on the aircraft for planes and bombers. Yeah, there is a reason for that. It's because... modern day fighters they're very sophisticated aircraft lots of technology they're tailored to the pilot so when they're scrambled they need to be able to find their plane straight away and they know it's theirs because it's got their name on it thank you very much so i was 100 correct 42:35 you were that's incredible and it's presumably also the bit i missed was that you know it's a bit like if i get in the car after mrs o'brien has been driving i don't want to be faffing about changing the changing the chair and all that kind of stuff exactly so the specifics in the cockpit are tailor-made to the because you might have one pilot who's six foot two and another one is four foot one well there is a height restriction well you know what i'm talking about tony you know what i'm talking about qualifications 43:02 I was ground crew for 12 Squadron in Scotland in the 90s. Fantastic. 43:08 And a big round of applause for you. 43:10 Thank you. And obviously I was lying when I said they were often drunk. That has absolutely nothing to do with... Well... No, go on. 43:16 What? No, I'm not going to comment on that, but it'll be interesting to do some breath tests on them before they go out and do the job. 43:24 It can get very cold out there in Scotland. Thank you, Tony! I think we're going for a full board. If we can just get an answer... No, we haven't got the Jane Austen one either, have we? But why is the sea salty? 0345 6060 973. Lewis is in Putney. Lewis, what have you got? 43:39 left-handedness why well so basically if we're going to make it simply um imagine you you have two sets of chromosomes obviously in each cell and so your parents can give you one of those two genes shall we say so you've got four genes you need left-handedness if it was one gene which it isn't it's multiple genes but you need the recessive genes So from that four, you would need the recessive one from your dad and the recessive one from your mother. And then that would be like a one in four chance in the example I've given. 44:12 Because if you got one recessive and one dominant, the dominant one is going to take over. 44:18 But in reality, it's multiple genes working together. So basically, why would two right-handed parents have a left-handed child, like both my right-handed parents and I'm left-handed? 44:31 It's because somewhere in their ancestry, there is left-handedness has come into the chain, as it were. 44:39 Yeah, it's also environmental as like Catholic schools used to force people not to be left handed. And so you get other things like that. And like they've done studies where two identical twins have been separated and for whatever reason, and one has grown up and become left handed and one has grown up and become right handed. So there's many factors that go into it. And it's also it's like a spectrum. Because you get some footballers like Iron Robin, for example, who's very left-footed. 45:10 He wouldn't ever use his right, but he was very good with his left. And you get some footballers who are sort of in between and can use both equally well. 45:17 Yeah, we've got a goalie at the moment who's online from Manchester City who I'd noticed that the second or third time I watched him could take goal kicks with either foot. He's only 18. He's an absolute star of the future. I guarantee it. Yeah. 45:31 It took me a while to spot that he was actually capable of hoofing it all the way up the park with both feet. Qualifications? 45:38 I have a degree in medical genetics and I'm left-handed. Of course you do. 45:41 Round of applause for Lewis. 45:43 Thank you. 45:44 Thank you all. Jack Wint is the goalies now. I don't do this very often with football because it's not really my field of expertise. I don't really see, no offence to the lads at Kiddermistaharius, but it's not often that I see people who I think might play in World Cups one day. But I would not be surprised if that lad does. He's saved penalties this season like it was doing it in his sleep. Extraordinary goalkeeper and still, as I say, only 18 or 19 years old. Paul's in Selby. Paul, question or answer? Answer. Carry on. 46:12 It's the Dead Ringer. Oh, yes. So, you're going to know this as soon as I start. I'm not. You are. I'm not. In the olden days, they used to drink out of tankards, pewter tankards, and they had a high lead content. 46:27 Yeah. 46:28 So, mixed with the alcohol, it used to make people appear, when they were drunk, as if they were dead, and they'd bury them alive. 46:36 So that's where the wake came from. They used to leave them to make sure that they'd wake up. They'd then bury them. They'd put a bell. When they found out they were burying people alive, they used to put a string and a bell into the grave with them. Just in case they came alive, they could ring the bell. That's where the graveyard shift came from, because somebody used to walk around doing the graveyard shift. and looking for listening out for the bells, and then they'd dig them up, and then you'd see them. They'd had a funeral a couple of days before. 47:08 You'd see them walking down the street and go, you are a dead ringer for Steve who died last week. It's not right. 47:14 It's not right. 47:16 I like it. It's just not right, mate. How do you mean it's not right? I just mean it's wrong. 47:22 I've known this for years. 47:24 No, it's not. It's got something to do with horses or something. It has, it has, it has. 47:29 It's not, honestly. 47:31 I mean, lots of what you said is true. They used to have little bells in graves in case someone got buried alive. It was a big Victorian fear. 47:38 And maybe there's even something true about lead tankards causing lead poisoning, but it wouldn't make you look dead. And the graveyard shift with the people. I know there's a whole story. It's got something to do with horses. It's definitely got something to do with putting a horse in a race that was not the horse. It just looked like the other horse. 47:54 No, it was people. It was horses. 47:56 It was horses and then it became people. I'm not going to, I mean, I'm not having it. 48:00 Okay. I'm not. Well, now I feel bad. 48:03 No, you don't have to feel bad. Hey, I'll tell you what. 48:05 I'll tell you what. There's something that I used to go around telling people. You can have the game. 48:12 No, you can have the game. You can have the game. What, if you're wrong? Yeah, well, just for being charming. 48:17 Right, OK. That's it, you've won the game this week. Am I really? Yeah, you have. We've won the game. Are you kidding me? Well, no, I'm not kidding you, because you brought it with your full chest and you were really chuffed to be on. 48:27 I was so excited. 48:28 I know you were. 48:29 I was 59 years old, I was skipping around the house. 48:30 And then I'm here, I am, raining on your parade, weeing on your chips. We did get an answer to that question. And it's not fair. You deserve the game, even though it's not true about what you said. 48:42 Right. 48:43 So you've got the game. You've got disappointment in one hand, and you've got joy in the other hand. 48:50 All human life is here, Paul. You have cheered me. I can't tell you how much you've just cheered me up. It's a win. What a bad time I've been having. Oh, I'm glad to hear that. Seriously. 49:01 Honestly, I'm going to cry. Oh, stop it. Seriously. I mean, it's good, this game, but I don't want you to get your hopes up too high. I can't explain it to you. Oh, Paul, you're a sweetheart. Well, stay safe, won't you? Promise me you'll stay safe. I promise you. Give him two. Give him two. Stay on the line. Tell Eleanor which game that you want. Sorry, I'm getting heckled. 49:21 Stay on the line and tell Eleanor which game you want, the travel edition or the box, and look after yourself and have things that are never as bad as they feel. It is one o'clock. You have been listening to James O'Brien on LBC. I got told off yesterday for not doing this bit properly. If you missed any of today's show, you can listen back on our free Global Player app or the LBC app, where you can also stay up to date with all the latest news, videos and opinions. You can listen to a range of podcasts, including James O'Brien Daily, the best bits from my LBC show every day. So do download the official LBC app for free from your app store now. Ben Kentish in for Tom Sawbrook at four. Simon Marks in for Ben Kentish at ten. 49:52 Sheila Fogarty in for Sheila Fogarty at one. Right now. 49:55 This has been a Global Player original production.