The Unbelievable Truth

Lloyd Langford, Henning Wehn, Sara Pascoe and Miles Jupp all join David Mitchell to lie on the subjects of magic, Austria, swans and onions.

The Truths

Lloyd Langford - Magic

- Originally the cartoon character Popeye got his strength by rubbing the head of a magic chicken. Found by Sara.

- The UK branch of the Magic Circle once demanded that the EU should increase the size of euro coins to make them easier to perform tricks with. Found by Henning.

- More people have seen David Copperfield perform live than any other performer. Found by Henning.

- Isambard Kingdom Brunel once accidentally swallowed a coin when performing a magic trick for his children. It got stuck near his lung, and when an operation failed to get it out he designed and built a special table to turn him upside-down. After a few hard slaps on his back, the coin came out. Found by Miles.

- The skins of otters have long been held to have magical properties, including protection from drowning. Successfully smuggled.

Henning Wehn - Austria

- There is an Austrian-based TV channel that only shows repeats of The Sound of Music, 24 hours a day. Found by Sara.

- Gustav Mahler composed songs about the deaths of children. Shortly after doing this both his daughters caught scarlet fever, the eldest dying. Found by Lloyd.

- There is an erroneous claim that Austria is the home of the kilt, and Austrian kilts are sold today. Found by Miles.

- There was a "Potato War" between Austria and Prussia. This is a nickname for the War of Bavarian Succession. Found by Lloyd.

- Sigmund Freud believed that morning sickness represented the loathing of the baby's father and the mother's desire to vomit up his baby. Found by Sara.

Sara Pascoe - Swans

- Airline pilots have seen swans flying at a height of 29,000 feet. Found by Miles.

- The Queen, or rather her "Swan Master", gives the Queen's swans flu-jabs every year. Found by Henning.

- In 2006 a German swan once fell in love with a swan-shaped pedalo, and refused to fly south for the winter because the pedalo didn't do so. Found by Henning.

- The collective noun for a group of swans is a "lamentation". Found by Miles.

- Swans taste muddy. Successfully smuggled.

Miles Jupp - Onions

- Small onions were found in the eye sockets of the mummy of Ramses IV. Found by Henning.

- An old Scottish cure for deafness was to mix onion juice with ant eggs and pour the mixture into the ears. Found by Sara.

- Onions foiled an armed robbery in a Michigan branch of Burger King one morning. The clerk said he couldn't open the till without a food order, so the robber ordered onion rings, but was told that they were not part of the breakfast menu, so the robber left. The robber was nominated of a Darwin Award in 2005. Found by Lloyd.

- Ernest Hemingway's favourite food when he was writing was peanut butter and onion sandwiches, washed down with rum. Found by Henning.

- According to research by a Swiss company, a woman's underarm sweat smells like onions, while a man's underarm sweat smells like cheese. Found by Sara.

Scores

- Sara Pascoe and Lloyd Langford: 2 points
- Henning Wehn: -1 point
- Miles Jupp: -4 points