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

No Such Thing As Gutter Ice

January 29, 2026 • 53m

Summary

⏱️ 5 min read

Overview

Sally Phillips joins Dan, James, and Andy to explore fascinating facts ranging from Greenland's unusual New Year countdown to Australia's cultural impact on global slang. The conversation weaves through dictionary-making, aviation stories, and the quirks of language with Sally's infectious enthusiasm for research and storytelling.

Greenland's Multiple New Year Countdowns

The episode opens with Sally discussing Greenland's unique New Year tradition, where they countdown 14,410 seconds (4 hours) before midnight due to their connection to Denmark. This leads to fascinating discussions about Greenland's geography, the Mercator projection making it appear 12 times bigger than it actually is, and various cultural practices including face tattooing traditions and hair washing with urine. The conversation touches on explorer Peter Freuchen's legendary 'poo knife' survival story and Greenland's modern exports like premium ice for cocktails.

  • Greenlanders countdown 14,410 seconds before midnight because they celebrate with Denmark's timezone despite being hours behind
  • The Mercator projection makes Greenland appear 12 times bigger than it actually is - it looks as big as Africa but isn't
  • Greenland makes Denmark the biggest country wholly in Europe (excluding Russia which extends into Asia)
  • Inuit traditions returning include face tattooing after first menstruation and washing hair with urine for its ammonia content
  • Greenland exports black ice to Dubai for cocktails, with companies claiming it's environmentally friendly since boats would return empty anyway
" Craig, you live in a six-floor flat. The deadline is 31st of January. Less distraction, more action. Don't be like Craig. "
" Isn't it great that there still exists on the map of the world a joke, a prank? Isn't that great? "

The Backwards Dictionary and Lexicography

James reveals that Merriam-Webster maintains 315,000 cards with all English words spelled backwards across 129 boxes to answer queries about word endings like 'phobia' or the famous 'G-R-Y' puzzle. The discussion explores the fascinating world of dictionary-making, including how senior lexicographers work on shorter, more complex words like 'a' rather than longer simple ones. The conversation touches on the decades-long process of creating dictionaries and the evolution of including slang.

  • Merriam-Webster keeps 315,000 backward-spelled word cards in their basement to answer queries about word endings
  • The backwards system helps find words ending in specific letters like 'phobia' or the three words ending in G-R-Y (hungry, angry, and technically 'unhungry' from Shakespeare)
  • Senior lexicographers work on short words like 'a' or 'take' because they have the most complex meanings - one lexicographer spent 9 months on the word 'run'
  • A new meaning for 'a' was discovered: using it before proper nouns to show a condition is new or unusual, as in 'a furious Schreiber'
  • The OED took 70 years to complete (1858-1928), the German Brothers Grimm dictionary took 123 years (1838-1961)
" There are three words in the English language ending in G-R-Y. Hungry and angry are two of them. What is the third word? The trick is that the answer is the third word is language in the English language. "
" A furious Schreiber challenged Harkin. That would be to show that Dan is not normally furious. A new sense of the word 'a'. "

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