No Such Thing As A Fish

Daniel Sloss joins Dan, James and Andy to discuss Lord of the Rings, North of the Border, and the Father of Electricity. Join Club Fish for ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content at apple.co/nosuchthingasafish or nosuchthingasafish.com/patreon

A rapid-fire run of oddities from guard geese on borders to quirky Kentucky Derby horse names. They trace almond extract back to bitter fruit stones and debate avocado pit hacks and ancient megafauna. Tax rules get weird with wigs and costumes, while a comet is described as smelling like rotten eggs and cat urine. Stories range from protamine from salmon sperm to medieval broomstick theories.

Melanie Bracewell, New Zealand comedian and writer, brings sharp humour and curious facts. She chats about Selena Gomez–flavored Oreos used to trap possums, the unexpected problems hedgehogs and peacocks cause, and quirky Victorian beliefs about twin beds. There are lively detours into daffodil microclimates, snot transplants and bees heating up when carrying pollen.

Listener-submitted curiosities spark tales of a spectator hit twice by a baseball, a forgotten Air India plane tucked away since 2012, and a supermarket pack hiding new mushroom species. Conversations wander to a mysterious guinea pig in the Burmese zodiac, a rotating indoor ski tunnel idea, and how ferries used infrared goggles to dodge floating debris.

Ray O'Leary, New Zealand comedian known for deadpan wit, joins the conversation. They jump from Merv Griffin's surprising royalty windfalls to Japan's meticulous phone-answering championships. Lively threads on Rousseau's contradictions, manta and mobula ray reproductive oddities, and bizarre reception stories keep the pace brisk and quirky.

Short bites on language quirks and strange local folklore. A spider named Sisyphus moves like a Hot Wheels toy. Industrial citric acid from black mold and bizarre funeral logistics make surprising cameos. A saxophone tune doubles as a cultural cue in China and a shark cruises at about a mile per hour. Odd recruiting sites, historical whiskey tales and quirky metaphors round things out.

Maddie Moate, science communicator and children's TV presenter, shares curiosity-led tales. They chat about recalled cereal toys and vintage promotions. Conversation moves to cosmic distance markers, Hubble and expanding universe history. Geothermal power and inventive extraction methods are explored. Stingless bees, their biology and legal protections in Peru also make an appearance.

A mix of bizarre historical and natural curiosities. Stories range from KGB confusion over a Scottish accent to séance diaries of a prime minister. Strange animal tales include pangolin mishaps, sea slugs that regrow heads, and lizards caught with dental-floss lassos. Other highlights: pig decomposition studies, sperm-as-data trivia, a century-old car nameplate, and a quirky Hong Kong street sign.

Lieven Scheire, Belgian comedian and science communicator, hops into a whirlwind of odd science stories. They unpack Seymour Cray's eccentric supercomputing lore. They trace cranes from medieval treadwheels to Big Carl. They marvel at silica gel's vast porous world. They also spotlight Mary Somerville's outsized influence on 19th-century science.

Quirky listener facts spark tales from Joan of Arc’s relocated chapel to Lily Allen turning down a Bitcoin-paid gig. They unpack Vidkun Quisling’s radio coup and botulism’s medical flips. Science pops up with manure predicting snow, Oxford’s coldest freezer and fusion heat, and a mind-bending estimate of cloud water mass.