All Podcasts / Lateral with Tom Scott / 174: The metal bar
Lateral with Tom Scott
Lateral with Tom Scott

174: The metal bar

February 06, 2026 • 47m

Summary

⏱️ 6 min read

Overview

Tom Scott hosts three professional quiz show consultants and question setters from the podcast 'Here's What You Do' in what he calls a bold decision to bring 'ringers' onto a lateral thinking game. James Smiles, Johnny Robbins, and John Cantrell each wrote their own questions for this episode, which covers topics ranging from Pokemon cards blessed by the Pope to radioactive cobalt warnings, featuring clever wordplay and unexpected cultural insights throughout.

Pokemon Cards and Pope Leo XIV

The episode opens with a clever question about Pokemon trading cards that connects the name 'Popplio' to Pope Leo. A young Catholics of Denmark youth trip member named Chi Nguyen took two copies of a Popplio Pokemon card to meet Pope Leo XIV in 2025. The connection between the Pokemon's name and the Pope's name created a unique opportunity for both a signature and a blessing.

  • Pokemon Sun and Moon features a starter Pokemon called Popplio, which sounds similar to Pope Leo
  • Chi Nguyen took two copies of the Popplio card on a European trip with his youth association
  • One card was signed by Pope Leo XIV because of the name similarity
  • The second card was blessed by the Pope and dubbed the 'Holy Hollow' (reverse holographic version)
" Pokemon can't sign it. They're not real. "
" The Pope also blessed a reverse holographic version of the same card, which has now been dubbed the Holy Hollow. "

Batman Returns and the Celebrity Penguin

Johnny Robbins presents a question about a 1991 film production that required refrigerated transport across the Atlantic for Seth and his friends from England. The answer reveals an unusual Hollywood request: Tim Burton needed real penguins for Batman Returns, and the only tame ones available were at Birdland in Gloucestershire, England. Seth the penguin became a celebrity, now 40 years old and known for his distinctive strut.

  • In 1991, director Tim Burton requested Seth and friends fly over the Atlantic with refrigerated hold
  • The penguins were needed for Batman Returns, where Danny DeVito's Penguin character would be surrounded by real penguins
  • The only tame penguins available were found at Birdland in Gloucestershire, England
  • Seth is now 40 years old, believed to be the world's oldest penguin, easily distinguishable by his celebrity strut
" Keep your eye out, look out for Seth. Look out for the cockiest penguin because that's Seth. "

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