Summary
Overview
In this episode of Lateral, host Tom Scott tests three Australian guests with lateral thinking puzzles covering topics from Elvis's car painting choices to sumo wrestlers' dietary superstitions. Michelle Wong from Lab Muffin Beauty Science, and Dani Siller and Bill Sunderland from Escape This Podcast work through questions about border control mix-ups, Formula 1 helmet controversies, and the surprising connection between coin collecting and stamp collections.
Elvis's Red BMW: Avoiding Lipstick Kisses
The panel tackles why Elvis Presley repainted his ivory-white BMW 507 bright red while stationed in West Germany in 1958. After exploring various Elvis-associated colors and military regulations, the guests discover that female fans repeatedly covered his white car with lipstick kisses and messages, prompting the color change to camouflage the marks.
- Elvis was stationed in West Germany in 1958 with an ivory-white BMW 507
- Female fans repeatedly covered the white car with lipstick kisses and messages
- Elvis had the car repainted bright red to discourage and hide further lipstick decorations
" They loved Elvis so much and people just couldn't stop kissing his car? "
Sumo Wrestlers and Chicken Chankonabe
The discussion turns to why sumo wrestlers prefer chicken chankonabe stew over versions with beef, pork, or fish, especially during tournaments. The answer reveals a superstitious practice rooted in the physical posture of different animals and the rules of sumo wrestling, where only the soles of feet can touch the ground.
- Chankonabe is a traditional staple food eaten by sumo wrestlers to maintain weight
- In sumo, wrestlers cannot let anything but the soles of their feet touch the ground during matches
- Wrestlers eat chicken to emulate two-legged animals that stay upright, avoiding four-legged animals like pigs and cows
- Sumo wrestlers eat chankonabe twice daily and sleep immediately after to convert food to body fat
" Chickens are light on their feet and sumo wrestlers have to be light on their feet, heavy in their waist and light on their feet "
" They'll eat this twice a day. They will then sleep immediately so that everything they've just eaten will do its best to turn straight into body fat. And they'll also have about six pints of beer with these meals. "
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