British Comedy Guide
The Unbelievable Truth. David Mitchell. Copyright: BBC / Random Entertainment
The Unbelievable Truth

The Unbelievable Truth

  • Radio panel show
  • BBC Radio 4
  • 2006 - 2024
  • 183 episodes (30 series)

David Mitchell hosts this Radio 4 panel game built on truth and lies. Contestants must try and smuggle truths into lie-filled speeches.

F
X
R
W
E

Episode menu

Series 1, Episode 4

Sandi Toksvig talks about George W. Bush, Dara O'Briain looks at women, Jo Caulfield discusses ants and Graeme Garden chats about the Olympic Games.

The Truths

Sandi Toksvig - George W. Bush

- Bush went to Yale University. The White House website says that he graduated in the top 86% of his class. Found by Dara.

- Bush was the first President to be elected with a criminal record. His offences were drink driving, stealing a large Christmas wreath from a hotel, and ripping down the Princeton goalposts after an American Football match between Princeton and Yale. Found by Jo.

- Bush has a sister called Dorothy. Found by Graeme.

- At Yale, Bush has a head cheerleader. Successfully smuggled.

- Bush has a collection of over 250 signed baseballs. Successfully smuggled.

Dara O'Briain - Women

- The first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel was a woman called Annie Taylor. Found by Sandi.

- The Chinese character for "trouble" is two women in the same room. Found by Graeme.

- Women blink twice as often as men. Successfully smuggled.

- According to a survey from the University of Arizona, beautiful women have less confidence than plain women. Successfully smuggled.

- More than 40% of English women have punched or kicked their partners. Successfully smuggled.

Jo Caulfield - Ants

- An ant's sense of smell is as good as a dog's. Found by Dara.

- There are 10,000 trillion ants in the world. Found by Sandi.

- Ants squeeze their food tight and suck out all the juices and throw away the dry remains. Successfully smuggled.

- Ants communicate by touch. They tap, stroke and dance messages. Successfully smuggled.

- Male ants do no work. Their sole function is to mate with young queens and they die soon after. Successfully smuggled.

Graeme Garden - The Olympic Games

- Originally the marathon was just 26 miles, but it was extended in the 1908 London Games, by 365 yards so that the Royal Family could see the athletes run down the Mall. Found by Sandi.

- In the 1976 Games, all the women athletes were sex tested apart from Princess Anne. Found by Sandi.

- In the 1976 gymnastics event, spectators were outraged when Nadia Comaneci's perfect display was reward with a score of just 1. This was because the scoreboard could only go up as far as 9.99, so here perfect ten was displayed as 1.00. Found by Sandi.

- Certain glue on table tennis bats is banned because they make the ball travel faster. Successfully smuggled.

- The most famous dead heat in the Olympics was in 1948 when Yrjo Lindegren of Finland and Adolf Hoch of Austria in the architecture section, where they both won gold. Successfully smuggled.

Scores

- Everyone wins (and loses) with 3 points.

Broadcast details

Date
Monday 14th May 2007
Time
6:30pm
Channel
BBC Radio 4
Length
30 minutes

Cast & crew

Cast
David Mitchell Host / Presenter
Guest cast
Graeme Garden Guest
Dara O Briain Guest
Sandi Toksvig Guest
Jo Caulfield Guest
Writing team
Iain Pattinson Writer
Production team
Jon Naismith Producer

Share this page