The Unbelievable Truth

David Mitchell is joined by Lucy Porter, Holly Walsh, Tony Hawks and Alan Davies as they talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as scouting, hair, South Korea and Nicolas Cage.

The Truths

Holly Walsh - Hair

- There was an American criminal who broke into people's houses and shaved off the hair of those inside while they slept. In 1942, one small town in Mississippi was terrorised by "the phantom barber". Found by Lucy.

- There was an 18th century hairstyle called the "drowned chicken". In the same period there were also styles called the "spaniel's ears", "Indian chestnut tree" and "sportsman in the bush". Found by Lucy.

- In Roman times, women dyed their hair blonde by using pigeon droppings. Found by Lucy.

- Julius Caesar had a comb over. Found by Lucy.

- The perm was originally held in place with a mixture of water and cow urine. Successfully smuggled.

Tony Hawks - South Korea

- The Restroom Cultural Park is a toilet-themed them park in Suwon. It includes WC signs from around the world, fun facts about human waste, and a garden containing scatological sculptures. Found by Alan.

- Tony's rendition of "Gangnam Style" was considered by Chris Evans to be so good that he got Tony to sing it down the phone on his breakfast show. Found by Lucy.

- In 2015, South Korea legalised adultery. Found by Holly.

- South Korea has fake wedding guest agencies that you can use to make your congregation larger than it actually is, because larger gatherings are considered higher status. The average fee is $20 per guest plus food and drink. Found by Alan.

- There is a sex theme park called Love Land. As there are many taboos around sex in South Korea the park helps as an ice breaker for shy couples, and arranged couples were sometimes sent there as part of their honeymoon. Successfully smuggled.

Lucy Porter - Scouting

- Scouting for Boys was the fourth-bestselling book of the 20th century. The top three are the Bible, the Koran, and Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. Found by Tony.

- Paul McCartney missed the first Beatles performance (back when they were the Quarrymen) at the Cavern Club in 1957, because he was away on a Scout camp. Found by Tony.

- 11 out of the 12 men who have walked on the Moon were once in the Scouts. Found by Alan.

- Rarer Scouting badges include dentistry. Successfully smuggled.

- David Bowie used to be a Scout, and his first performance was in 1958 in a Scout camp on the Isle of Wight. Successfully smuggled.

Alan Davies - Nicholas Cage

- Cage claims his earliest memory was being fed fox meat stew and sambuca by nuns, at the age of three. Found by Lucy.

- In Vampire's Kiss, in order to get aroused for a love scene with Jennifer Beals, Cage requested that hot yogurt was dripped onto his toes. If you watch the scene, Cage's feet are out of shot. Found by Holly.

- While searching for the Holy Grail, Cage once drank water from a stream near Glastonbury Tor and claimed it tastes like the blood of Christ. Found by Holly.

- Cage once woke up one day to find a man naked except for Cage's leather jacket at the foot of his bed eating a fudge ice cream. Found by Holly.

- While he was filming Bringing Out the Dead, Cage was stalked by a mime wearing white face paint. Successfully smuggled.

Scores

- Holly Walsh: 3 points
- Lucy Porter and Alan Davies: 1 point
- Tony Hawks: 0 points