No Such Thing As A Fish 608: No Such Thing As A Chocolate Sausage
15 snips
Nov 6, 2025 
Rachel Parris, a comedian and author known for her wit, joins the hosts for a lively discussion at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. She shares hilarious tales about a prank at the Earl of Sandwich's expense involving a devilish baboon. The conversation dives into the scandalous history of the Hellfire Club and quirky prison break stories, where ingenious tactics like disguising in laundry bags and using miso soup to corrode cuffs come to light. They also explore quirky historical jobs and humorous anecdotes from Parris’s experience in the world of scriptwriting.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Baboon Prank Toppled An Earl
- Rachel Parris recounts a 1764 Hellfire Club prank where John Wilkes set a baboon (or mandrill) dressed as the devil on the Earl of Sandwich.
- Sandwich publicly read an erotic poem accusing Wilkes of seditious libel, collapsing his reputation.
Number 45 Became A Protest Symbol
- John Wilkes' essay in issue 45 of the North Briton turned the number 45 into a symbol of dissent and protest.
- The symbol spread into social behaviour like eating 45 dishes and public graffiti.
Miso Soup Used In Prison Escapes
- Andrew Hunter Murray tells the story of Yoshi Shiratori, who escaped multiple Japanese prisons using miso soup to corrode cuffs and a bowl to dig out.
- He reportedly dislocated his shoulder to squeeze through a food slot and later dug his way out using a miso bowl.
