Series 8
Further details
The Truths
Lee Mack - Reindeer
- Reindeer will happily drink human urine because of the salt in it. Found by Rufus.
- Reindeer eat magic mushrooms, which lead to the popular stories about flying reindeer. Also, people drink reindeer urine to get some of the hallucinogenic effects. Found by Graeme.
- Reindeer have different hooves for different kinds of weather, depending on the season. Found by Rufus.
- Vikings used reindeer bones as ice skates. Found by Jack.
- "Hreinn" is an Old Norse meaning "Reindeer". Successfully smuggled.
Graeme Garden - Pantomime
- During a debate in the House of Commons Chris Bryant MP called Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne "Baron Hard-up", who in turn called Bryant a, "pantomime dame". Found by Lee.
- At a 2007 production of Peter Pan Cornish health and safety officers insisted that the children should wear hard hats during the flying scenes. Found by Jack.
- A Norwich TV presenter once emailed 30 primary schools asking if they would be interested in seeing a free performance of Dick Whittington, but there was only one reply because the school's email filters blocked the emails because of the word "Dick". Found by Jack.
- In Halifax the punk band Chumbawamba produced a panto called Riot, Rebellion and Bloody Insurrection. Found by Rufus.
- A 1997 production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Southampton had to be cancelled because all the dwarves caught flu except Sneezy. Successfully smuggled.
Jack Dee - Christmas Decorations
- Candles on Christmas trees originally contained arsenic and thus caused cases of accidental poisoning. Found by Lee.
- In Ukraine a popular Christmas decoration is a spider on the front door. The myth is that a spider one decorated a bare Christmas tree belonging to a poor family with beautiful web. Found by Graeme.
- On Boxing Day until the mid-Victorian era, a tradition in certain parts of Wales was to beat the bare arms and legs of servants and the lazy with holly until they bled. Successfully smuggled.
- Christmas crackers were originally called "Cossacks". The name is believed to have been an allusion to the sudden gunfire or the crack of a whip belonging to unruly Cossack forces who occupied Paris following the first fall of Napoleon in 1814. Successfully smuggled.
- In Sweden a common Christmas decoration is a small whicker goat. Giant ones are also built, which are often victim to arson attacks. Successfully smuggled.
Rufus Hound - Boxes (Accompanied by beat-boxer Grace Savage)
- Erwin Schrödinger was probably not that keen on cats. Found by Graeme. Accidentally included by Rufus.
- During Victorian times parents made their children wear a "Self-Abuse Alarm", an electric shocker device to prevent them from masturbating. Found by Lee.
- The original table tennis bats were the lids of cigar boxes. Found by Graeme.
- In 2002, 10,500 people in Britain were injured by cardboard boxes. Found by Lee.
- In 1907 an advert campaign for Kellogg's Cornflakes offered a free box of cereal to women if they winked at their grocer. Successfully smuggled.
- Marilyn Manson collects old tin lunch boxes. Successfully smuggled.
Scores
- Jack Dee and Graeme Garden: 4 points
- Rufus Hound: 1 point
- Lee Mack: 0 points
Broadcast details
- Date
- Monday 26th December 2011
- Time
- 6:30pm
- Channel
- BBC Radio 4
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
| Regular cast | |
|---|---|
| David Mitchell | Host / Presenter |
| Guest cast | |
|---|---|
| Graeme Garden | Guest |
| Lee Mack | Guest |
| Jack Dee | Guest |
| Rufus Hound | Guest |
| Grace Savage | Self |
| Writing team | |
|---|---|
| Dan Gaster | Writer |
| Colin Swash | Writer |
| Production team | |
|---|---|
| Jon Naismith | Producer |
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