
Lateral with Tom Scott 175: Food tattoos
19 snips
Feb 13, 2026 Sophie Ward, actor and podcaster, offers quick recommendations and commentary. Katie Steckles, maths communicator and author, brings playful real-world maths thinking. Lizzy Skrzypiec, comedian and improv performer, shares tour tales and role-swapping stories. They tackle meal mix-ups, a literal-text cooking mishap, a knuckle-sandwich tattoo riddle, a private 1881 opera line, fireworks puzzlingly tied to Bohemian Rhapsody, and more.
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Bohemian Rhapsody Sparks Dutch Fireworks
- The Netherlands tradition ends New Year's with Bohemian Rhapsody followed by nationwide fireworks at the final notes.
- Tom Scott and guests describe how barium, lithium and zinc fireworks produce colours timed to that song's finish.
1881 Aristocrat Installed Private Phone Line
- In 1881 Emily Fazakali paid to install a dedicated telephone line from the opera house to her mansion so guests could listen live at home.
- It was reportedly the first phone in north Wales, installed five years after Bell's patent amid telegraph monopoly disputes.
Use Knuckles For A Sequential Pun Tattoo
- Place tattoos on knuckles to create a visual pun across fingers, using repeated elements as bookends of the motif.
- Sophie Ward describes a knuckle-sandwich tattoo with bread slices on outer knuckles and fillings on inner knuckles.




