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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ANECDOTE

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.
ANECDOTE

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.
ADVICE

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.
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