Lateral with Tom Scott

173: Hairdryer on a pole

14 snips
Jan 30, 2026
Jarvis Johnson, YouTuber and comedic podcaster; Jordan Adika, YouTuber and co-host; Rowan Ellis, video essayist on sociology. They crack jokes and tackle lateral puzzles about mangled magazines and magicians, improvised hairdryer poles used against IEDs, frozen veg tricking thermostats, and why Chilean strawberries bore no fruit. Fast, funny, and full of oddball puzzles.
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ANECDOTE

Magician’s Eye-Contact Training Trick

  • Magicians pin cut-out celebrity eyes around a room to force direct eye contact during performances.
  • The trick helps shy performers focus on matching gaze instead of looking at chins or elsewhere.
INSIGHT

MIDI Visuals Create Symbolic Patterns

  • A MIDI piano-roll view can visually mirror musical motifs as shapes, producing unexpected symbolic patterns.
  • David Lynch called the Twin Peaks theme's MIDI "cosmic" when its piano-roll spikes resembled the show's two peaks.
INSIGHT

Magician’s Eye-Contact Training Trick

  • A MIDI piano-roll view can visually mirror musical motifs as shapes, producing unexpected symbolic patterns.
  • David Lynch called the Twin Peaks theme's MIDI
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