Comedian Stuart Goldsmith, actress Sophie Ward, and mathematician Katie Steckles discuss helpful hangers, location lines, cohabiting coordination, Laser Jesus, fire-starting water bottles, historical wrecker tactics, and cedar wood clothes hangers on the 'Lateral with Tom Scott' podcast.
Using cedar wood hangers can protect clothing from moths and damage.
Spherical novelty water bottles can pose a fire hazard under sunlight due to the lens effect.
Deep dives
Cedar Wood Clothes Hangers
Cedar wood clothes hangers are often used for high-quality garments because cedar wood repels moths, providing a natural and effective way to protect clothing items from damage.
Accidental Fire Hazard
In 2018, a Russian company named Holy Spring sold a plastic novelity water bottle shaped like a football. The potentially deadly defect was discovered when someone placed it on the floor, leading to a fire hazard due to the spherical shape of the bottle acting as a lens under the sun.
Quarried Stone Lighthouse
In 1857, architect Alexander Dawson selected a site near a quarry in Australia to build a lighthouse. However, over 20 shipwrecks occurred due to the lighthouse's inconvenient location close to the quarry, leading to suspicions raised about Dawson's poor planning and design choices.
Designed Lighthouse Location
The lighthouse chosen by architect Alexander Dawson was built too near a quarry to save on transportation costs of stones, causing over 20 shipwrecks. Dawson's poor planning and design by situating the lighthouse near the quarry led to suspicions surrounding his decision-making skills.
Stuart Goldsmith, Sophie Ward and Katie Steckles face questions about helpful hangers, location lines and cohabiting coordination.
LATERAL is a comedy panel game podcast about weird questions with wonderful answers, hosted by Tom Scott. For business enquiries, contestant appearances or question submissions, visit https://lateralcast.com.