Lateral with Tom Scott 63: Upside-down riches
Dec 22, 2023
Mathematician Hannah Fry, domino artist Lily Hevesh, and comedy writer Brian David Gilbert discuss topics such as flying planes upside down, improving inventions like ketchup bottles, the existence of two javelin events in the Olympics, the mystery of a man-made water trough, and the challenges of organizing a massive funeral scene in a movie.
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Upside-Down Shampoo Valve
- Paul Brown invented a valve that let shampoo bottles sit upside down so you can squeeze out the last of the product.
- He sold the idea to Heinz and later sold his company for about $13 million.
Ball Pit Born From A Jar Of Onions
- Eric McMillan saw a jar of pickled onions and imagined crawling through similar objects, inspiring the first ball pit.
- The original ball pit opened in San Diego with 40,000 balls and sparked global soft-play designs.
When A Town 'Banned' Dying
- The French town of Cunio passed an absurd law making dying illegal when cemetery space ran out.
- The law was symbolic and intended to attract attention until new burial space was secured.