The Unbelievable Truth

David Mitchell is joined by guests Alan Davies, Holly Walsh, Angela Barnes and Henning Wehn who are obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as pubs, the postal service, cleaning and languages.

The Truths

Angela Barnes - Language

- The word "boredom" did not come about in English until 1864. Found by Henning.

- The word "panic" derives from the Greek god Pan, because he liked to jump out and frighten people. Found by Holly.

- In the most recent concise edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, "cassette player" is considered an obsolete term. Successfully smuggled.

- The word "twerk" has been in use since 1820, originally referring to a twisting, jerking movement or twitch. The verb "twerking" is believed to have originated in 1848. The word was originally spelled "twirk", becoming "twerk" in 1901. Successfully smuggled.

- In Chile, the word "achaplinarse", means to arse about or change direction in the manner of Charlie Chaplin. Successfully smuggled.

Henning Wehn - Maps

- The first jigsaw puzzles were of maps. They were invented in 1767 to teach children geography. Found by Holly.

- The reason why old maps have pictures of sea monsters on them is that in medieval times it was believed that every land animal and a sea equivalent. Found by Angela.

- In 1875, the Royal Navy erased 123 islands from their charts because they did not exist. Found by Holly.

- In general, men are better at using maps than women. Women tend to navigate using landmarks and visual memory, whereas men use direction and distance. Found by Angela.

- The maps used by self-driving cars cannot be read by humans. Found by Angela.

Holly Walsh - The Postal Service

- By the late 1800s, people in London were getting deliveries 12 times a day. Found by Henning.

- Until 1993, the Post Office Tower (now the BT Tower) was a classified location and covered by the Official Secrets Act, despite being for 15 years the tallest building in London and having a revolving restaurant in it. Found by Alan.

- There was a post office on the Mir Space Station. Found by Angela.

- Vanuatu has a fully working underwater post office, located in a marine sanctuary 50m off the coast. Found by Henning.

- Bhutan has miniature vinyl stamps that could be played as records, playing local folk songs a spoken history of the country. Successfully smuggled.

Alan Davies - Pubs

- There was a pub called "Oily Johnny's". It was named after a former landlord who sold paraffin oil from a shed next to the pub. Today it is now a pub restaurant called "Oilys". Found by Holly.

- In one Canadian pub in Dawson City, Yukon, who can drink whisky with a severed toe inside it. You must drink the whisky to prove you are a true Yukoner. The rules are: "You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but you lips have must touch the toe." If you swallow the toe, you are fined $500. Found by Angela.

- The pub name "The Dog and Duck" comes from the practice of "duck-baiting", which involved a duck with its wings clipped being thrown into a pond next to the pub, with dogs chasing after the duck. The most famous of these ponds belong to one John Ball, whose pub "The Salutation" is located in the area of Islington which now bears his name: Balls Pond Road. Found by Angela.

- Adolf Hitler's former mountain retreat, the Eagle's Nest, is now a pub. Found by Holly.

- "Puff the dart" was an early form of pub darts in which the player blew the dart down a blowpipe instead of throwing it. In 1844, in one game in a London pub, one player died after their mistakenly sucked the pipe and swallowed the dart. Successfully smuggled.

Scores

- Angela Barnes: 5 points
- Holly Walsh: 4 points
- Alan Davies: 0 points
- Henning Wehn: -2 points