First broadcast 8th September 2014.
Lee Mack
Simon Foster
Emily Grossman
David Wharton
John Sergeant
Dara O Briain
Holly Willoughby
Hugh Dennis
Matt McGlone
Mark Wilcox
Lee Mack
Simon Foster
Emily Grossman
David Wharton
John Sergeant
Dara O Briain
Holly Willoughby
Hugh Dennis
Matt McGlone
Mark Wilcox
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00This is a show about unbelievable facts that you've almost certainly never heard before.
00:27Each of my guests bring their favourite fact to the table and we'll then put them to the test, so let's see who's on tonight's show.
00:33An interesting fact about my first guest is that as a keen gamer, he admits to owning both a PlayStation and an Xbox.
00:39I've got neither by the way, I have something called a social life.
00:43Please welcome, Dara O'Brien.
00:45APPLAUSE
00:49An unusual fact about my next guest is that whenever she buys a new pair of shoes,
00:53she has a rule that before she wears them outside, she has to wear them while having sex.
00:58I think we can guess why her husband gets her every birthday and Christmas.
01:03Please welcome, Holly Willoughby.
01:05APPLAUSE
01:13An unusual fact about my final guest, and this is honestly true,
01:16is that whilst at university, he was approached by MI5 with a view to being recruited,
01:21which coincidentally also happened to me.
01:23Well, MFI.
01:25Please welcome, Hugh Dennis.
01:27APPLAUSE
01:34So, Dara, you're up first, let's hear your fact.
01:37My fact is simply this, people are more likely to believe a statement is true if it rhymes.
01:43Such as?
01:44A stitch in time saves nine.
01:45That's a good one, yes.
01:46Is that true?
01:47No, it doesn't matter whether it's true or not, that's the whole thing.
01:50It doesn't matter whether it's true or not, people are more likely to believe it's true if it rhymes.
01:55Is it because you're more likely to remember it if it rhymes?
01:58That helps, that helps.
01:59It feels more honest.
02:00Yes.
02:01It isn't, I mean, it isn't just sort of sayings, it's statements.
02:03Statements as well, I think.
02:04So criminals, if you were a criminal giving a statement in a police station...
02:08If you did it in rhyming.
02:09If you did it in rhyme.
02:10I didn't do the nasty crime, I was at home at half past nine.
02:14LAUGHTER
02:16That's how you do it.
02:17That's how you do it.
02:19Yeah, and if you remember, James Simpson had a very famous moment
02:22where they put these gloves on and the gloves were too small.
02:25And so his lawyer kept saying,
02:27if the gloves don't fit, you must acquit.
02:30If the gloves don't fit, you must acquit.
02:32And that was the one thing everyone remembered.
02:34It would have been awkward if they'd have forgotten, though,
02:36and they'd have gone into the thing to decide and gone,
02:38now, if the gloves don't fit, he did it.
02:41LAUGHTER
02:43One or the other, I know that.
02:46But people prefer the information of that,
02:48and if you hit them with it like that,
02:50family that prays together, says together,
02:52red sky at night, you know, whatever that is.
02:54Yeah, well, that's a good example, I suppose.
02:56Yeah, but if you said that, if you said...
02:58I can see what Dara's saying.
02:59If you said, red sky at night, wake up tomorrow morning,
03:01the shepherd would be really happy.
03:03Doesn't sound right.
03:04If you go, red sky at night, shepherd's delight, sounds true.
03:06Immediately sounds more plausible, doesn't it?
03:08Red sky at night, shepherd's delight, red sky in morning, global warming.
03:11LAUGHTER
03:12I believe you now, because it rhymed.
03:14Yeah, yeah, so it sounds believable.
03:16The shepherd isn't going to be delighted anyway, is he?
03:18If I was a red sky, I'm delighted.
03:20I don't trust anybody that works with sheep
03:23that's constantly looking delighted anyway.
03:25LAUGHTER
03:27I can't think of something, when I get home to tell my wife,
03:30that will rhyme with, sorry, love, I downloaded it by accident.
03:33Red sky at morn, I kind of downloaded porn.
03:36LAUGHTER
03:39We've all said what we think, but we have to know for sure,
03:42so here's a test.
03:48From Little Bo Peep to the lyrics of rapper Lil Bow Wow...
03:51Bow wow wow, yippee yo, yippee yay!
03:54..rhyme is a universal linguistic tool.
03:58But are people really more likely to believe a statement if it rhymes?
04:04Here's Professor Matt McGlone to clarify.
04:07My research shows that rhyming statements
04:09are easier to understand than non-rhyming statements.
04:12This is a phenomenon called cognitive fluency,
04:14and it explains why we use proverbs and nursery rhymes to teach children.
04:18When a statement is pleasing to the ear,
04:20it also turns out to be less difficult to understand
04:23and easier to believe.
04:25People have come to equate the aesthetic qualities of a statement
04:29with its believability.
04:31Rhyme is one of the easiest strategies
04:34for us to boost a statement's pleasing quality
04:38and also its believability.
04:40So if the science is true, we can prove it to you.
04:46If we use rhymes to teach young children,
04:48what better place to start than a primary school?
04:51So we need a school, some kids,
04:54and someone to read them some statements.
04:56Our actress Nessa became teacher for the day
04:59and read out some statements to the children.
05:02She then asked them to mark each one out of five
05:05for how truthful they thought it was,
05:07zero being the least truthful and five the most.
05:13If the sun goes down, you can't stay in the park.
05:17You can stay in the park because there will be streetlights on.
05:21And then she read the same statement, but this time it rhymed.
05:25Don't stay in the park after dark.
05:28It's true because you might get stolen or robbed.
05:33LAUGHTER
05:35Well, that's a test with children,
05:37but surely grown-ups wouldn't fall for rhymes in the same way.
05:41Our actress Nessa is transformed into a market researcher
05:44for a large supermarket,
05:46and we invited ten members of the public
05:48to the market research centre.
05:50Welcome. Thanks for coming along.
05:52Claiming to be getting opinions
05:54to back a possible new slogan about fair prices,
05:57she began our survey with the non-rhyming statements.
06:00Don't take a risk with the cost of things.
06:03I think a risk is sometimes good, depending on what you're buying.
06:06But what did he make of the same statement that rhymed?
06:09Don't roll the dice when it comes to price.
06:12I would say free with that one.
06:14Price is fairly important, but it's not the be-all and end-all.
06:17Let's try again.
06:19Someone who has poor taste shouldn't go shopping.
06:22I don't think that's fair, cos they might have poor taste,
06:26but they should still be able to shop.
06:30Shopping can be a waste if the buyer has no taste.
06:35Hmm...
06:38It's plenty true.
06:41So far, so good.
06:43Maybe the topic of supermarket prices is a bit too flippant.
06:47What if we talked in rhyme about the state of the nation?
06:51No, Nessa hasn't become an MP.
06:53She's transformed into a serious TV presenter.
06:57Hello, guys. Do you have a moment for news views?
07:00Sure.
07:04Today we're talking politics and economy.
07:06So if I read you some statements,
07:08and if you could just give me a mark out of five
07:10for how true you think those statements are.
07:12OK.
07:13Being able to vote is nothing more than administration.
07:16One.
07:17I would go for three.
07:18I'd give that a two.
07:19Democracy is bureaucracy.
07:21Very much on the mark.
07:23I'll give it some three.
07:24Four.
07:25So, job done and science proved
07:28even if it's not what people want to believe.
07:30Do you think people are more likely to believe statements if they rhyme?
07:36Not at all.
07:38Well, the science is true, and I hope we proved it to you.
07:48So, what do we think? Is that a surprise to anybody?
07:52It surprised me.
07:54Because I think...
07:55I actually kind of did the same thing.
07:57First I was going, no, and then they go, oh, yeah, actually,
07:59when you say it like that.
08:00Sounds about right, doesn't it? Yeah, it does.
08:02Maybe it's just because it's more convincing,
08:04or it just sounds better because it's almost like a better pitch.
08:06You probably think about it less.
08:07The rhyming, when you think about it less,
08:09because you just kind of feel, well, that feels right,
08:11so I'm going to have to work out what exactly that means.
08:13Plus, we're all primarily quite stupid.
08:15So, suddenly, a nice lady going,
08:17na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na-na,
08:19we'd have gone, three.
08:22So that was Dara's fact.
08:23So we're going to score it based on what you've seen,
08:25on a scale of one to ten. Hugh?
08:27It'd be zero unless you do it in a rhyme,
08:29in which case it'd be a three.
08:33Don't be a whore, give me a score.
08:37Holly?
08:38Well, when you first said it, I wasn't that impressed.
08:41But then after the experiment... Yeah.
08:44..and saying that, I'm sort of going with it.
08:47So I'm going to say...
08:49..a six.
08:50I'm actually more impressed than you two.
08:52I'm the cynical one, but I think...
08:54I'm going to give it a seven. OK.
08:56And we're going to add that up and see what you've got, Dara.
09:00You are storming the lead with 16 points.
09:02Wow.
09:07So, we've heard from Dara.
09:08After the break, Holly Willoughby will be showing us
09:10her own amazing fact.
09:13CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
09:21Welcome back to Duck, Quack, Stone, Echo,
09:23the show where we take a look at amazing facts.
09:25With me tonight are Holly Willoughby, Dara O'Brien and Hugh Dennis.
09:31Before the break, Dara scored 16 points with his fact
09:33that people are more likely to believe a statement is true if it rhymes.
09:36Holly, you're up next. What's your fact?
09:39My fact is identical twins smell exactly the same.
09:44Please tell me that you've got an identical twin
09:46and I can test this out.
09:48They smell exactly the same.
09:50They smell exactly the same. Are they similar?
09:52No, no, no, they smell exactly the same.
09:54And the reason being is that, obviously,
09:56identical twins come from the same egg,
09:58so they share the same DNA.
10:00So any bodily odours that they secrete will have the same smell.
10:04Just inherent, like, naked smell?
10:06The inherent naked smell.
10:08Do we have an inherent...
10:10before we start sweating and running and...?
10:12Don't some people you meet have really strong smells?
10:15Well, yes, but I presume it's, you know,
10:17it's either they've been sweating a lot or they've been...
10:20Yeah, but if you sweat a lot, that's still your natural smell.
10:22What we mean is without any deodorants or without any perfume.
10:25Most teenage boys smell of potatoes.
10:28If you go into the room of a teenage boy,
10:31kind of, you know, whenever, like my son, if you go in,
10:34what, potato?
10:35There's a period as well when it all changes, isn't there?
10:37When boys' hormones go nutty about...
10:39I think you can smell that testosterone.
10:41You can smell that.
10:42What age does this potato smell?
10:44The potato smells pretty well the whole way through, I reckon.
10:47All the teens?
10:48All men, I think, probably smell a bit.
10:50Do you smell a potato?
10:51It's much easier.
10:52He doesn't smell a potato because he's Irish.
10:54I mean, if he doesn't smell them, no-one's going to smell them.
10:56Do you think that cuts through, though?
10:58Do you think it is, you know, underneath all the perfume
11:01and all the deodorant and you can still smell that smell?
11:04Yeah, definitely.
11:05I think the way you can smell someone's, like, natural scent
11:09is right there, just above their ear.
11:11The smelliest part of a person's body is just above the ear?
11:14Yeah, I always think whenever you give someone a kiss...
11:16I can prove that you are wrong with that, Holly.
11:18I think that bit there always smells really strong
11:20of someone's signature scent.
11:22Can you smell Hugh and tell me what his signature smell is?
11:24Potato.
11:27I'm from the north, smell mine, it'll probably be chips.
11:29Hang on, sorry, you're talking about yourselves.
11:32You're having a smell of Holly, are you?
11:34Just above the ear.
11:35It'd be great if you just...
11:37It's just kind of, like, warm.
11:39I'll give another go if you're like...
11:43Does anyone want to smell me?
11:45Above the ear, please, that's where you have your signature smell.
11:48Yeah, that's where I think it is. This is only my theory, though.
11:50No tongues.
11:52What are you smelling?
11:53Smell... Can I smell you?
11:54This is slightly of candles.
11:58Oh, yeah, I can smell a slightly candley smell.
12:00What?!
12:02What are you talking about?
12:04I'm not going to...
12:11I have to be honest with you, I've got very waxy ears.
12:15No noise, Ken.
12:17Oh, thank you.
12:19So, Holly's saying that all identical twins smell exactly the same.
12:22There's only one way to test this and it involves you, Holly,
12:25getting up close and personal with some armpits.
12:28So, according to the science, you can sniff out identical twins,
12:32so that's exactly what we're going to do.
12:34I say we, I mean you, Holly.
12:36Yeah, me.
12:37Of course, you, yes.
12:38So, in a minute, you're going to meet one half of our identical twins.
12:41Now, you'll have to have a good smell of his armpits
12:43before we blindfold you and bring out a line-up of people
12:46that includes his other half.
12:48All you have to do is sniff your way down the line
12:50and pick out the matching twin.
12:52Are you feeling confident?
12:54Yeah, I think I can... Well, yes.
12:56It's my fact. It's your fact.
12:58It's a fact, so I'm going to do it.
13:00Now, to make sure you smell their true body odour,
13:02we've made our subjects follow some strict test conditions.
13:05I'm so sorry about this. Take a look at this.
13:08To ensure each subject emits their true odour,
13:11in the two days leading up to the experiment,
13:13we made sure they didn't eat any spicy foods or any garlic.
13:18They weren't allowed to wear any perfume
13:20or other strong-scented products.
13:23We even made them wash with a non-perfume soap.
13:27And lastly, we made them work up a real sweat.
13:32This is the highlight of my career.
13:34You've arrived, haven't you? I have arrived.
13:36Sitting on a stool, ready to sniff an armpit.
13:38Brilliant. Many armpits. Many, many, many.
13:40OK, let's meet one half of our twin.
13:42Please welcome Mehmet.
13:44Hello. Hello, Mehmet.
13:46How are you? I'm fine. How are you doing?
13:48Now, before we blindfold you,
13:51can you please have a good sniff of Mehmet's armpit
13:54so you know exactly what smell you're looking for?
13:56OK. So get your nose in that. I know, I know.
13:58This is for science, yes? This is for science.
14:00Can I just say, what a gentleman. He's shaved his armpit.
14:02I mean, that's a gentlemanly thing. Just for Holly.
14:04Right. Now, how would you describe that smell?
14:07Be honest, cos he's been exercising. Sort of musty, sort of sweaty.
14:11Yeah.
14:13It's got quite a unique smell.
14:16I think what she's trying to say, in a polite way, is you bloody stink.
14:19Now, if you're done, let's put your blindfold on.
14:21Oh, God.
14:23Let's meet our line-up.
14:30OK, so, can the first person please take position in front of Holly?
14:34So, number one... So, I don't move?
14:36You don't move, no, apart from when you faint in a minute.
14:38Right, do you need one more sniff of Mehmet before we...?
14:40Yeah, Mehmet. Mehmet's on your right.
14:42Mehmet's now on your right. Arms up, Mehmet.
14:44Have a good smell. Get it in there.
14:46Right, are you smelling right into the armpit?
14:48I'm going to guide you, cos I think you're smelling the costume.
14:50I'm going to push your face into the armpit slightly.
14:52Go on, smell it.
14:54Listen, count yourself lucky.
14:56If this was Celebrity Juice, you'd be licking their armpit.
14:58I know. I know.
15:00It may not be the armpit.
15:04Holly, start sniffing number one, please.
15:06If you could raise your armpit, number one.
15:08He's on your left. He'll guide, he'll go armpit to nose.
15:11Oh, right, it's not you.
15:13Right. Can we have a description?
15:15That's a much stronger smell.
15:18That's much more pungent.
15:21I mean, it's not a bad smell, but it's just got strength.
15:24Definitely not number one. It's not number one.
15:26Number two.
15:28How would you describe number two's smell?
15:30Um, much more delicate than number one.
15:33Let me have another go.
15:35You were very reluctant. Now you're really into this, aren't you?
15:39There is a similarity.
15:41Can I hold on to number two as a kind of possibility?
15:43As a possibility. OK, number two, you might be called back.
15:45Go back there. Can we bring on number three, please?
15:51What does it take to disgust you, Holly?
15:54Where are you? There you go. Go there.
15:56Oh, no, it's not you. It's not you, number three.
16:00OK, one more smell of lemon. Go for it.
16:02Have another blast on that.
16:04This is how they should check people before they get on the tube.
16:07Bring on number four, please.
16:10Have a smell.
16:12Ooh.
16:15I did actually touch it with my nose then.
16:18A little wet pit.
16:20Are you there? What is going on?
16:25It could be you. Go back to number four.
16:27Number five, get over here. OK.
16:29I feel I need to cleanse my palate.
16:31To your right, a bit more amoeba.
16:33I need some, like, smelling salts or something.
16:35Have a big smell.
16:37Are you there? She's there, yeah. Have a smell.
16:41I think it's number four.
16:43Take your blindfold off, have a look.
16:46CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
16:48Thank the Lord!
16:50I thought it was going to go!
16:53How am I doing?
16:55There you have it. I don't think twins really do smell the same.
16:58Thank you very much to our guinea pigs, Mehmet and Erdo.
17:01APPLAUSE
17:13So, what do we think?
17:16Well, actually, it looked really, really strange, I'm sorry,
17:19but after a while, that became really normal
17:21and you could have just watched Gina do that for hours.
17:24Well done, Holly, I was very impressed with that.
17:26But how impressed were you? Marks out of ten, please.
17:28Hugh? I'll give it, like, an eight.
17:30That's a good start. Thanks. Yes, so an eight.
17:32Dara? Oh, that's an eight for me as well.
17:34Aw, boys. What? Thanks.
17:36She got me worried because we don't fail many experiments on this show
17:39and you did get me worried after the first bit of it,
17:41and I was thinking, this isn't going to work.
17:43I'm going to mark you down to a six.
17:47That's outrageous.
17:49You're still winning.
17:50What do I have to miss to get an eight from you?
17:57That's a ten, Holly, well done.
17:59No, I'm going to give you a six, I'm going to stick with my six.
18:03So let's add that all up and see where it puts you on the leaderboard.
18:06Holly Willoughby, you're in the lead with 22 points.
18:09APPLAUSE
18:13And now, last but by no means least, let's see Hugh's factors.
18:17OK, now, if you flush a lid and you haven't got the proper lid down...
18:21Yeah. ..the churning of the water and the swirling of the water...
18:25Yeah. ..creates a sort of mist that can travel up to six feet
18:31and carry bacteria, harmful bacteria, to all parts of your bathroom,
18:36including, of course, your toothbrush.
18:38Oh, stop!
18:40When you're saying bacteria,
18:42is it just little poo particles floating around?
18:46Well... Is that what it is?
18:48Well, what else could it be?
18:50Yeah, there are bacteria that live, you know, in the toilet.
18:53You know, you bend and under the rim and all that lot.
18:56We need to invent toothbrushes with lids.
18:59That'll do it.
19:00Or you need to invent toilets with lids.
19:02Oh, wait a minute, they have and no-one uses them.
19:05I'm more worried about the fact, if your toothbrush is within six foot
19:08of the toilet when it flushes,
19:10your mouth is usually within two or three foot of the toilet
19:13when it flushes.
19:14Your mouth is filthy, though, your mouth is covered in bacteria.
19:17Me, or generally? No, specifically...
19:19Are you having a go at me? I'm just saying...
19:21It's your mouth, it's filthy!
19:23Your mouth is covered in bacteria anyway, we're surrounded by bacteria.
19:26You know where that's coming from, don't you? Your toothbrush.
19:29Most of the bacteria you're talking about that are in the toilet
19:31are doomed to any damage to you whatsoever.
19:33Am I wrong?
19:34No, there is bad bacteria in poo, but there's also...
19:37The stuff that's flying around in the air and landing on your toothbrush.
19:41It's just the idea that it's poo particles.
19:43It's not poo, it's not let it go, but the poo.
19:45It is not literally smeared in poo.
19:47You're taking a vivid view of it.
19:49You're not flushing it out, it's all flying through the air.
19:52The toothbrush is just taking the hit.
19:58You're defending yourself against a wave of poo, yeah.
20:02Yeah, cos you know the way in Australia it goes the other way?
20:05Does that suck it down?
20:06No, it goes up in a big spiral and shoots poo.
20:15OK, we've heard our views, but join us after the break
20:17to see us put the fact to the test. See you in a few moments.
20:21CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
20:32Welcome back to Death Claps Don't Echo,
20:34the show that has the answers to the questions you never even asked.
20:37Before the break, Hugh Dennis told us that airborne bacteria
20:39from a flushing toilet can reach a toothbrush placed within six feet.
20:43We've all said what we think, but we have to know for sure,
20:45so we put it to the test.
20:51We learned from a young age that oral hygiene is mightily important
20:56and that it's better to rinse your toothbrush in the basin
21:00and not in the toilet.
21:02But if it's true that bacteria from a flushing toilet
21:05can reach a toothbrush six feet away,
21:07then maybe it doesn't make a difference.
21:10Here's an expert.
21:12Every time you flush your toilet,
21:14droplets of water are sprayed into the air
21:17and these can contain bacteria and viruses.
21:20This process is called aerosolisation.
21:23If the lid is in an open position,
21:26then the aerosolised bacteria and viruses can settle onto any surface,
21:32particularly within a six-foot radius of the toilet.
21:35The smaller droplets can take up to a couple of hours to settle.
21:39The six-foot radius includes, potentially, your toothbrush.
21:44Well, I'd love to think that I'm not brushing my teeth
21:46with toilet water every morning,
21:48so can we put this to the test?
21:52For our experiment, we needed a bathroom with a toilet
21:56and a toothbrush.
21:58A sweet, innocent toothbrush,
22:00unaware of the monstrosities that might be inflicting on it
22:03at any moment.
22:05Sorry, getting a bit carried away there.
22:08So that's the easy part,
22:10but how on earth are we going to do it?
22:12That's the easy part,
22:13but how on earth are we going to prove the science?
22:16With ultraviolet light, that's how.
22:20We put ultraviolet dye down the toilet,
22:22allowing us to monitor any toilet water movement
22:25and turned our bathroom into a disco toilet.
22:33The first part of the theory
22:35is that a toilet will spray droplets of water into the air,
22:38but how far?
22:40We laid out markers in the bathroom
22:42at intervals of one foot,
22:44all the way up to six feet,
22:47where we placed our toothbrush.
22:51But we also needed a flusher,
22:53and this chap's taking no chances.
23:00So, it's time to flush in three, two, one.
23:05Filmed in slow motion with ultraviolet light,
23:08you can see that simply flushing a toilet
23:11can fling water droplets over two feet away.
23:14But it hasn't reached our toothbrush six feet away,
23:17or has it?
23:19What about the microscopic aerosolized droplets
23:22we can't see with the naked eye?
23:26Well, that can be solved by using dry ice to see them.
23:30This cloudy spray
23:32provides a visual backdrop,
23:34so the tiny droplets we missed before can hide no more.
23:38Combined with the UV light and a high-speed camera,
23:41we capture the movement of the aerosolized water droplets
23:44through the air.
23:46But will they reach the toothbrush six feet away?
23:53It took no time at all to notice droplets above the toilet,
23:57and as our man in the suit moved the dry ice over,
24:00and as our man in the suit moved the dry ice further away,
24:03slowly but surely we observed them spreading through the room.
24:07Finally, after an hour and 49 minutes,
24:10we recorded water full of toilet germs around the toothbrush,
24:14proof that airborne bacteria from a toilet
24:17can reach a toothbrush six feet away.
24:21So, next time you brush your teeth,
24:23have a think about what might also be on those bristles.
24:31That, er...
24:33That surprised anyone?
24:34Well, it actually surprised me, though,
24:36cos it sounds like once you've flushed them,
24:38you've got one hour and 49 minutes to clean your teeth.
24:41And I think I can cope with that.
24:44Every time I do my teeth now, I'm going to think about that.
24:47It's fine. What you've got to do is...
24:49Wash the brush. That's the only thing you could do.
24:51Wash the brush. You don't have to...
24:53Will poo particles come off under the water?
24:56Poo particles...
24:59So, Holly?
25:00I'd rather not know, so I'm giving you a three.
25:02A three? That's harsh. That is harsh.
25:05I want her to know, so I'm giving it a ten.
25:08APPLAUSE
25:11You've got big differences in story on this one.
25:15I was very impressed with that fact,
25:17and I'm also, like Dara, going to give it a ten.
25:19Well done, Hugh.
25:23So, let's add that all up and see where that puts you
25:26in the lead of board, Hugh.
25:29You've gone in the lead with 23 points.
25:35So, Hugh is just ahead with 23 points,
25:38but that could all change in our next round.
25:40It's time for Fact Finder.
25:47Yes, it's not just my guests who've brought in facts,
25:49we've also asked our studio audience to bring in theirs.
25:51We've had a look at them, and during the break,
25:53Hugh, Holly and Dara have tried to find them
25:55the fact that they think is the best,
25:57and will win them the most points.
25:58Right, Dara, which member of the audience
26:00did you think had the best fact?
26:02I thought an interesting fact, and I want us to read to you,
26:04is from Jack Fitzsimons.
26:06Jack Fitzsimons. Where are you, Jack?
26:08That's me. Would you like to stand up, Jack?
26:11OK, what's your fact?
26:13Aggression is the normal response to cute animal pictures.
26:17Aggression is the normal response to cute animal pictures?
26:21That's the one.
26:22I don't like scary animal pictures, though.
26:24Do you find that when you're looking at cute animal pictures,
26:27you get aggressive? Not particularly, no.
26:29Well, then, surely it's not true?
26:32It may not be.
26:33It may not be that you're aggressive
26:35towards the cute animal in the picture, right?
26:38You may be aggressive in defence of the cute animal in the picture,
26:41it may create that kind of... The protective instinct.
26:43It might be a protective thing or whatever.
26:45I don't think it's necessary to go,
26:47Oh, my God, a kitten!
26:49So it might be more complex than just that.
26:51You said aggression is the normal response to babies in the room.
26:55Yeah. You'd accept that a lot more, wouldn't you?
26:57Oh, without a doubt. Yeah.
26:59We all go, Oh, yeah, God, I hate babies.
27:01Aggression is... On the outside, we're all going,
27:03Oh, but on the inside, we're all going,
27:05You've got a lifetime of health?
27:07Aggression is the normal response to a baby with you on an aeroplane.
27:10Everyone would agree with that.
27:12So it may not be that much of a leap to go, kittens.
27:15Or a baby on an aeroplane dressed as a cute animal.
27:18After it's popped over that back seat a few times, you're going...
27:23When I was growing up, I don't even believe in cute animals, really.
27:26When we had a... I was sort of nine or ten.
27:29We had a cat.
27:31And this cat was a Burmese cat.
27:33And they are... They're quite aggressive, actually.
27:35And you would be stroking the cat here,
27:37and suddenly the cat would stop purring.
27:39You'd hear it stop purring.
27:41How hard were you stroking it?
27:43No, no, no. Generally, you'd be stroking,
27:45and suddenly it would go quiet, and you'd think,
27:47I've got about...
27:49LAUGHTER
27:51Literally, you'd think, I've got about a second now
27:55before she's just going to go for me.
27:57Cos she would. She would just sort of leap at your head.
27:59As you were doing that.
28:01So you just had to go, you had to go...
28:03Like that.
28:05It's Burmese. Essentially, it's a Gurkha cat.
28:09It operates by stealth. It lures you into the trap.
28:11When it turns, that's it. You have to do everything to get out of there.
28:14You've got one second to get away from the Gurkha cat
28:16before you're done.
28:18So that's what we all think of Dara's chosen audience fact,
28:20but obviously we couldn't test all these facts,
28:22as we've only just heard them tonight.
28:24So instead, we have a special panel of boffins.
28:26So please welcome rocket scientist Dr Simon Foster,
28:28expert in cell biology and genetics Dr Emily Grossman,
28:31and chemical engineer David Wharton.
28:33It's our Verifiers.
28:35APPLAUSE
28:37..pictures of animals and classified them as either cute,
28:40fluffy or normal,
28:42and put them in front of people
28:44and gave them expressions on cards they could associate with,
28:47such as,
28:49it's so fluffy, I could kill it.
28:51Or things like that.
28:53And what they had to do then was associate which phrase
28:56they wanted to put with which animal,
28:58and the researchers reckoned they put the aggressive statements
29:01with the cute animals.
29:03They took it a step further.
29:05They then gave them bubble wrap, and we all like popping bubble wrap,
29:08and they said, you're free to pop bubble wrap as much as you like,
29:11and found that they popped 1.5 times as much bubble wrap
29:15when looking at a cute animal,
29:17as opposed to what they classified as fluffy or normal animals.
29:22And the researchers interpreted that as aggression.
29:26Now, this has never been published in a scientific journal properly,
29:30so we don't know whether it's right or not.
29:32I think it makes good headlines.
29:34They hypothesised that actually the reason was pretty much,
29:37as Dara said, that it was more of a protective action towards it,
29:40or it was a frustration that you couldn't actually cuddle it,
29:44because it was a picture, and that worked its way out as aggression.
29:48APPLAUSE
29:52Wow. OK, we'll score at the end once we've heard everyone's facts.
29:55Your turn, Holly. Whose fact have you chosen?
29:58My fact comes from Ross Bartley.
30:00Ross Bartley? That sounds like a name of a spy.
30:02I like Ross Bartley already.
30:04Where are you, Ross? Could you stand up, please?
30:06Hi, Ross. How you doing?
30:08By God, you're big.
30:10So, where are you from, Ross?
30:12Northampton. The land of Nordor.
30:16What's your fantastic fact?
30:18My fact is, if your earlobe isn't attached and your dad's is,
30:24he's not your real dad.
30:26Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't be breaking it to me like this.
30:30If your earlobe isn't attached, but your dad's is,
30:35meaning the little flappy bit at the bottom's got to be properly joined onto the side,
30:39it's one of those ones you really hope isn't true,
30:41cos people at home are literally weeping.
30:43That's exactly what I think now.
30:45Oh, no! Let's have a look at yours.
30:47I'm unattached. You're unattached?
30:49Well, my earlobes are unattached.
30:51Well, surely, if you're attached, you mean...
30:53Yeah, if you're married, you mean your earlobes are attached.
30:56Yes, I'm attached, but my earlobes are available.
31:01It's not that easy to tell whether your earlobes are unattached.
31:04These are definitely unattached.
31:06Cos I think when you pull it out, they're attached.
31:08Come on, give it a sniff while you're there.
31:10Look, I'm not being funny, that is attached.
31:12If you hold it like that, it's attached.
31:14If you leave it in its natural state, it's unattached.
31:18Look at your ear here.
31:20So in your ear, the lowest point of your ear is the point at which it's attached to your head.
31:25Can you remember your dad's earlobes?
31:27They are unattached.
31:29Oh!
31:32Is that what that means?
31:34No, no, no, no, no.
31:36That's fine, you're fine.
31:38It's just horrific.
31:40Terrifying.
31:42Controversial, this one. What do you think?
31:44Well, this fact is based on a common theory about earlobe inheritance
31:49that's commonly taught in schools, but it's not actually true.
31:52Firstly, if it were controlled by a single gene,
31:55then all people would either have attached or unattached earlobes.
31:59But as you said, that's not the case,
32:01because there are some people with a sort of intermediate type of earlobe,
32:04which means that it's a lot more complex than we think.
32:06But secondly, if it were that one was dominant,
32:09and if it were, it would be the one that's the free-hanging form,
32:12so that would be stronger, if you like,
32:14then if your dad had attached earlobes,
32:16he would have to have two copies of the weaker or recessive version of the gene.
32:21But that doesn't matter, because even though he has to pass that on,
32:24if your mum has free-hanging earlobes,
32:27she could pass on the dominant, stronger form,
32:30and that would win over the weaker form from the dad,
32:33and the child could still have free-hanging earlobes,
32:36even if the dad had attached ones.
32:38Can I just clarify, you're saying free-hanging,
32:40you're not saying three-hanging earlobes?
32:42Three-hanging ones.
32:47Finally, your turn, Hugh.
32:49Who are you hoping will lead you to victory?
32:51I'm hoping that Emma Smith will lead me to victory.
32:54Emma Smith, where are you, Emma? Could you stand up for us, Emma?
32:56What's your amazing fact?
32:58If you feed curry to sheep, it reduces their farts by 40%.
33:05If you feed curry to sheep, it reduces their farts by 40%.
33:09How do you know that, Emma?
33:11I have a farmer friend.
33:13Surely that's anyone who wants to be a millionaire.
33:18It works. Feed them curry, much less slurry.
33:27I suspect, you see, I think this is interesting,
33:30cos I suspect it's because of the amount of methane they produce.
33:33Is that right, do you reckon?
33:35Cos I reckon if you had a stomach full of grass...
33:37You get less methane off a stomach full of curry
33:39than you would off their ordinary food.
33:41I suspect you get 40% less methane.
33:44Plant curry.
33:46Plant curry to a sheep?
33:48And you've got all sorts of problems, haven't you?
33:51But why would that work for sheep and not for us?
33:55Cos we don't eat grass.
33:59I'll give you that.
34:05Right, well, I think we've got to go to our verifiers and check this.
34:08Verifiers, what are we thinking?
34:10You're actually thinking along the right lines with this,
34:12and people and scientists do actually study this sort of thing,
34:15but it's actually the burps rather than the farts.
34:18Because burps and farts are full of...
34:20They're mainly oxygen and nitrogen, which is the air we breathe in,
34:23but there is a small amount of methane in there.
34:25And the reason why research is conducted into this
34:28is cos methane is a really potent greenhouse gas.
34:31Over its lifetime, it's about 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
34:35And so for farmers and stuff,
34:37that's actually added on to our greenhouse gas emissions for countries.
34:40So there's a lot of research going into this.
34:42Now, the reason the curry comes in
34:44is cos most people think that curry's actually bad for you and all the spices.
34:47Actually, coriander and turmeric that's placed inside it
34:50is actually natural antibiotics.
34:52And there's things called methanogens, and they're little microbes,
34:56and they make methane in sheep bodies and cows,
34:59and actually including us as well.
35:01And they kill off these microbes, these spices,
35:04reducing the amount of methane by 40%.
35:07APPLAUSE
35:10The question is, though, does it reduce the farts?
35:12No, it doesn't reduce the volume.
35:14So you still get a lot, you're still going to burp and fart just as much.
35:17It's just that horrible greenhouse gas content is reduced by 40%.
35:22So we've heard whether the facts are true,
35:24but what scores will the verifiers give them?
35:26Find out after the break.
35:27APPLAUSE
35:39So, before the break,
35:40each of our guests chose their favourite fact from the audience.
35:42We found out whether each fact is true,
35:44but who will get the most points from our verifiers and win tonight's show?
35:47Let's find out.
35:48Dara, can you remind us of your chosen fact?
35:50Yes, my fact was given by Jack Fitzsimons,
35:52and it was that aggression is a normal response to cute animal pictures.
35:56OK, verifiers, what are we giving that?
35:58Well, we thought that was fairly interesting,
36:00but because we can't actually say aggression is the normal response,
36:04and because that scientific research really needs a lot of interpretation,
36:08we felt we could only give that two marks.
36:10Two...
36:13Ooh, you've got them very aggressive.
36:16So, Holly, remind us of your chosen fact.
36:18Yeah, my chosen fact came from Ross Bartley,
36:21and it was if your earlobe is not attached and your dad's is,
36:25he is not your real dad.
36:27Verifiers.
36:29Well, this isn't actually true,
36:31and we're slightly concerned that it might lead
36:33to some unnecessary...
36:35So, we're actually going to give it just one point.
36:38Sorry. Fair enough. Fair enough.
36:40And Hugh?
36:42Well, my fact was from Emma Smith,
36:44eating curry to sheep reduces their farts by 40%.
36:48Well, we were going to score all this quite low,
36:50and then we kept hearing this rhyme about more curry, less slurry,
36:54going over and over again,
36:56and I don't know, we all just suddenly instantly changed,
36:58so we've got to give it six. Six points.
37:02So, let's put all that up onto the leaderboard
37:05and see how it's affected the final score.
37:07In third place, Dara O Briain.
37:09Holly, Willoughby in second.
37:10But tonight's winner, with 29 points, is Hugh Dennis.
37:13Lovely. It's his rhyme.
37:15It's his rhyme, isn't it?
37:17Well done, Hugh.
37:19You've won tonight's star prize,
37:21the chance to prove a fact of my very own.
37:23Soaking your muscles in cold water makes you 25% weaker.
37:27Hugh, time to get your experiment suit on.
37:30Let's go and test MaxFact.
37:37This is called the Hercules Hold.
37:39You've probably seen it before on The World's Strongest Man,
37:42and if you'd like to step up onto there, Hugh.
37:45Now, the idea is that...
37:46Why do I have to be dressed as a member of Diversity?
37:49I'll be honest with you, it looks a lot like a member of YMCA,
37:52if I'm going to be honest.
37:53The idea is that it tests the strength of your arms.
37:55Now, you grab these hand grips here.
37:57Have a grab of one of them. Thanks very much.
37:59And you hold on for dear life.
38:00Obviously, you'll hold the other one as well.
38:02And when you get tired, just let go, OK?
38:04I should tell you, each of these columns weighs 80kg.
38:07So, first of all, we need to get an idea of Hugh's strength
38:10when his arms are at room temperature,
38:12and then we'll prove the fact by making his arms cold.
38:14Now, obviously, I would not expect you to do this on your own, Hugh.
38:18So, I will be right over here giving you moral support.
38:23I've never seen World's Strongest Man.
38:25Well, it looks like this, but less middle class.
38:29So, let's get cracking and see how long Hugh can last
38:31on the Hercules Hold.
38:33OK, are you ready? Take the strain, lads.
38:35Right, you'll be getting loads of moral support from me, Hugh,
38:38so don't worry, I'll be here for the whole thing.
38:41OK. Right, are you ready? Yeah.
38:43Three, two, one, go!
38:46Come on, audience, give him some support.
38:48CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
39:01Three across.
39:04Like a cat, three letters, but more like a dog.
39:09Begins with a D, ends with a G.
39:16Look at you, you're doing good.
39:20Wow.
39:22This is incredible. I'm...
39:28Oh, he's getting on! Come on, Hugh!
39:31Come on, Hugh!
39:32Oh!
39:36I can reveal you lasted 59 seconds, ladies and gentlemen.
39:42You could have rounded off.
39:44I could have said a minute, but I thought, no,
39:46I just thought 59's about right.
39:48Now, it's time to cool those arm muscles down.
39:50If you'd like to flip... Look at that.
39:52Flip that little seat up there, like that.
39:54Now, get your arms in there.
39:58This is like when you fly business class on Ryanair.
40:02Now, it's worth saying that this water,
40:04it's not iced or anything, it's about 10 degrees Celsius.
40:07There you have that.
40:09That's about the same as a cold tap,
40:11so that's all it takes to lose 25% of your strength.
40:14This is really cold. Is it really cold? Really cold.
40:17I've never seen anyone, a world's strongest man,
40:19get off a podium and go, oh, this is really cold.
40:23Now, whilst you're cooling down,
40:25let's hear the science from Dr Emily Grossman.
40:27So, muscle contraction is triggered by a nerve impulse
40:30in the brain which causes the release of calcium ions
40:32deep within the muscle.
40:34When your skin gets cold,
40:36a process called vasoconstriction occurs to keep you warm,
40:39whereby the vessels bringing the blood
40:41close to the surface of the skin narrow,
40:43therefore reducing the flow of blood to the skin,
40:45and because blood carries heat,
40:47this reduces the heat being brought to the skin
40:49and leaving the skin by radiation, keeping us warm.
40:52So, what's this got to do with muscle contraction?
40:55Well, it seems that a side effect of this vasoconstriction
40:59is to reduce the amount of calcium released by the muscle cells,
41:03therefore reducing the strength of contraction
41:06and making your muscles weaker.
41:08Thank you, Dr Emily. Right, I think that should do it for you.
41:12So, as quick as you can, get yourself up, get your hands dried.
41:15We can't mess about because we need to get you
41:17onto the Hercules hold straight away
41:19before your arms start warming up again.
41:21If you take the strain, lads.
41:25Three, two, one, go!
41:29CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
41:37Come on, Shu! Come on!
41:40Come on!
41:42You're a good actor. Act like a strongman!
41:45Come on, Shu!
41:47Would it help if I tickle your testicles?
41:50Come on!
41:54Oh, he's going, he's going.
42:00Come on!
42:12Oh, no!
42:16Oh!
42:21So, Shu, that was a time of 53 seconds.
42:23I can tell you that's six seconds less than your first time.
42:26A drop of 10% in strength.
42:28I'm not going to lie to you, I was...
42:30You almost, and this is the first time,
42:32you almost proved the fact wrong.
42:34Well, I was trying a lot harder second time round.
42:37Do you think you'd give it that extra bit of oomph?
42:39Yeah. I was giving it almost exactly 15% more.
42:43I think that balances the book perfectly. Thank you.
42:46So, that's just about all we have time for.
42:48Big thanks to my guest, Dara O'Briain!
42:51Holy Willoughby!
42:53And, of course, Shu Dennis.
42:55Thank you very much. Goodnight.
42:59Here we go.
43:01Danny, I promise I'll love you in the morning!
43:04You said come on the show when I'm...
43:07Oh, Jesus!
43:09You're turning this into pulp, ladies and gentlemen!
43:12It's starting out for science!
43:19So, well done, Holly, for going that extra nasal mile.
43:22And well done, you at home. 80% of you got it right.
43:24That identical twins smell exactly the same.
43:27Thanks for all your tweets.
43:28And play along again when new DuckWax Don't Echo continues next Monday, idiot.
43:32Stay with Sky One as Nancy's taken Florida by storm.
43:35Or at least parasail.
43:36Baz has a brand new 50 ways to kill your mummy next.