Lateral with Tom Scott 161: A railway puzzle
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Nov 7, 2025 Join Tom Lum, Ella Hubber, and Caroline Roper from 'Let's Learn Everything!' as they tackle quirky lateral puzzles with humor and wit. They discuss why Slayer fans often bought two copies of an album and reveal a curious connection between chess and a sum of $4.76. Caroline shares a hilarious breakup video involving a modified MacBook, while the crew solves a train puzzle that leads to a surprising amusement-park twist. This lively banter is filled with unexpected insights and delightful anecdotes!
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Thrash Album Printed Twice On Cassettes
- In 1986 Slayer's Rain in Blood cassette had just 29 minutes of music so the label duplicated the album on both sides of the tape.
- Most fans bought a cassette and unintentionally received the same album on side A and side B.
Crowds Watch Smoking Deaths Counter Reset
- A Los Angeles public-health billboard that counts 'smoking deaths this year' draws crowds at midnight on New Year's Eve to watch it reset to zero.
- Spectators treat the reset as a morbid local tradition similar to a ball drop.
Playing Chess With Coins In The Park
- In Washington Square Park, bored visitors used coins as chess pieces and the assembled set totaled exactly $4.76.
- Emily reported using pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and dollar coins to represent pawns through kings and playing heads/tails to differentiate sides.