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No Such Thing As A Fish
No Such Thing As A Fish

Little Fish: Four Times a Knight

September 13, 2026 • 30m

Summary

⏱️ 7 min read

Overview

A delightful episode of Little Fish where hosts James Harkin, Andrew Hunter-Murray, and Anna Tushinsky explore fascinating listener-submitted facts ranging from ancient Greek theatrical mishaps to Kenyan cave elephants. The discussion meanders through historical curiosities, celebrity trivia, and bizarre animal behaviors, all while maintaining the show's signature blend of humor and educational content.

Ancient Greek Actor's Legendary Mistake

The hosts discuss Hegelicus, an ancient Greek actor who became infamous for flubbing a crucial line in Euripides' Orestes in 408 BC. Instead of saying 'After the storm, I see calm once more,' he accidentally said 'After the storm, I see a weasel once more' due to the tonal nature of ancient Greek. This mistake was so memorable that writers mocked him for 300 years, and Aristophanes even referenced the weasel line in a play three years later, demonstrating how a single blooper could dominate ancient entertainment.

  • Hegelicus became famous throughout ancient Greece for mispronouncing a line in 408 BC
  • The mistake changed 'calm' to 'weasel' due to tonal differences in ancient Greek
  • Ancient Greek was a tonal language like Chinese, making similar words easy to confuse
  • Aristophanes referenced the weasel line in a play three years later
  • Writers mocked Hegelicus for approximately 300 years after the incident
" It's so funny you mention Aristophanes. Oh, is this not Aristophanes? No, it wasn't, but it was in Euripides but then Aristophanes wrote a play three years later where he quoted the Weasel line. This is how famous it was. "
" In ancient Greece there's one blooper and it just is on repeat for 300 years "

Gandhi and Jack the Ripper Connection

The episode explores the surprising fact that Mahatma Gandhi could have theoretically met Jack the Ripper, as both were in London during 1888. Gandhi was a 19-year-old student in London during the Whitechapel murders, leading to humorous speculation about whether his entire peace-focused career could have been an elaborate cover-up. This segment connects to an earlier episode discussion about historical figures and wind turbines.

  • Gandhi was in London as a student during 1888 when Jack the Ripper murders occurred
  • Gandhi was approximately 19 years old at the time
  • This fact connects to a previous episode about Gandhi and wind turbines
  • Everyone said Gandhi was a great neighbour who kept himself to himself
" If you were to list all, like, 10 billion people who have ever lived, who was most likely to be Jack the Ripper, I think Gandhi would have been the last. "
" Was Dan his whole career an act of atonement for a killing spree? A cover-up. "

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