The Trev and Ben Podcast
240: The Trev And Ben Podcast Episode 240
(upbeat music) - Hello, and welcome to another Trevor Ben podcast. Hello Ben. - Hello, Trev, how are you? - I'm right, it's a, what a week it's been. - It's been a lively one. - It's been a lively whole week, isn't it? And what a week it's been for two ends of the spectrum, a week to be very proud of Britain in terms of Team GB at the Olympics. We've had a terrific first week. At the time of recording, 34 medals already. I think 10, maybe 11 golds. It's been absolutely incredible. I've been quite transfixed since we spoke last week. I won't talk too long about the Olympics 'cause we did that last week to death really, but it has been incredible. - Yeah, it's been great. - I was watching the BMXing. There's something I didn't think I would really feel passionate about, and I was gutted when the girl, what was her name, is it Beth Shriver? I think something like that. Anyway, she won every race, like at a sprint, and they all got to the final, and it just went wrong. I couldn't believe that gutted, I felt, by not getting a gold in the BMXing. - Who knew you cared? - And also, I may have said the most old man thing I've ever said yet. - Oh, wow, this must take some doing, what did you say? - I met up with a couple of friends, and they're 12-year-old son, and we were talking about the Olympics, and we were just talking about some of the events, and I said to the 12-year-old, I said, "What events are you really looking forward to?" He's into his tennis, and he likes his football and athletics, and he said, "What I'm really looking forward to "is the break dancing." - Right. - And I'd forgotten that that was now in the Olympics, and I couldn't hold back. It was like almost a Tourette's tight response. I just went, "That's not a sport, "let's just rolling about on the floor." And the look I got from a 12-year-old, it was confirmation to me that I have nothing in common with young people anymore, that I have crossed the Rubicon. I am now officially properly an old man, because when I say break dancing, he's not a sport, it's just rolling about on the floor. But maybe, maybe I've got to experience the same BMX thing I want to start watching in. Who knows? Next week, Ben, I might be sitting there going, "Do you know what, but I've taken a break dancing." - But, you know, I was going to say, maybe they want to keep it relevant for a younger audience, but I didn't even know that the youth of today were still into break dancing. I thought break dancing was a thing about 30 years ago. - Well, I mean, I must admit, I thought it was a thing in the past. I mean, when I was a kid, like in the '80s, but I would roll about on the floor and pretend I was break dancing, 'cause in the '80s, that was a massive thing. But yeah, I didn't know it was, you know, it's obviously popular enough. I mean, it's obviously sort of moved from a thing on the street, a past. It's gone through all the categories now. It started just a thing on the street. It's like people expressing themselves on the street. Then it became probably sort of a pastime. It then maybe moved into gyms. And it's worked. It's now a sport. It's a clear boarding. We'll probably now be introducing break dancing. Who'd have thought that would be a thing? - Speaking of people expressing themselves on the street. - No, I was saying it's been a mixed week for GB this week. - Yeah, we've had the proud moments of everything that's good about Britain. And then we've had the fucking morons, the right wing pricks out on the street. I just find it so depressing, so depressing. I'm not saying there are legitimate discussions to be on. This isn't the place to have it. This isn't the podcast where we have these things. But I just want to say there is possibly a legitimate discussion to be had about levels of immigration. But I don't see what possible bit of your argument involves going out and looting and burning buildings down. You know, these people, they are fucking stupid. The worst thing I heard was on the news. They didn't interview the guy. But the reporter said I spoke to somebody earlier today who said that the country was full and that the problems were all down to the foreigners. And I thought, hang on, hang on. Look at who's causing the problems right now. It's immature, ridiculous pricks roaming the streets, looking ridiculous. I'm worried about it, by the way, using the flags and George or the Union. Jack, stop using that. That's the flag that represents us all as a nation. And what you're doing doesn't represent me. It doesn't represent the nation that I want to be part of. It certainly doesn't represent the nation. I think we are. So just stop it. Pisses me off shameful, please. Also, the slight problem that's being caused is that they're screaming at the police, protect our kids. Well, they can't if they're having to defend a riot, can they? Yeah. And there was a little glimmer of humor that I found within the riot. So it's always nice to try and find something just to put a smirk back on your face. Please tell me you've seen the clip of some very cocky bastard who goes up, thrusting and dancing in front of the police, and then catches a brick to the back of his head. Yes, thrown by one of his own idiotic mates. He then holds his head in pain, turns round to start hobbling back to his morons, and then he cops another one straight in the bollocks. I know. I mean, that instant karma going on there, isn't it? And you think it's like, it doesn't matter how many bricks hit his brain. It won't matter, he does. There's no brain to be damaged. It's fine. You can tell him it's fixed. Well, maybe the one to the bollocks means he won't procreate. That'll be a hell of a hell of a hell of a hell of a hell. Yeah, there's a bonus. Maybe that's what the police do, just launch bricks, that they're reproductive parts. So I don't like, I don't usually like to celebrate anyone being hurt, but that was so fucking funny. And you sent me a clip just before we started today. We were just discussing it before we started recording, because I was angry about it. I'm angry about it. And you sent me another clip? Yes, because this is a little inside tip for the listeners. But I know Trev is a little bit annoyed about something. I'll then start digging out extra stuff to really wind him up. So you sent me a clip of some moronic woman standing it on the street somewhere. But you tell me what she said. You tell me what she said. Well, it's important for context to know that she's wearing some sort of Union Jack hat. And she's draped in some sort of Union Jack's sort of flag, sort of sort of robe. And she's waving a little Union Jack as well. And she says, now the problem with the Titanic is there's a statement. The problem with the Titanic, now everyone's thinking, well, we all know what the problem with Titanic is. No, no, because the problem with the Titanic, according to this lady, was that what happened, they let too many people on it, and it sank. And that's what's happening to this country. They're letting too many people in, and it's gonna sink it. I mean, she tried a metaphor. She forgot the bit about the iceberg, though. Yeah, quite an important part of the Titanic sinking story, the iceberg. Like, I wouldn't mind, I wouldn't agree with her. But I wouldn't mind if she used the iceberg as the metaphor. You know, that she feels the immigration to the in this country is like the iceberg. But she doesn't, 'cause she's so stupid. She goes, oh, well, the Titanic song, it was with two people fucking people on. Fuck off, you ridiculous waste of human skin and bones. Sick of people like it. I know it's an interesting thing. Which you quickly identified was, how on earth did it get all the way to the Mid-Atlantic? Why did it not sink in Belfast? Yeah, it was not sink first. Yeah, well, people quite climbing on it from their little dingies, was that the problem? Was it the little boats, people in the little boats, climbing on the big boats? Just stupid people. So just, I'll add enough of it. But I think the police, I've never been a proponent of water cannons. But I'm starting to think, let's get them on the streets, we're filling with acid. (laughing) Just for hire them at these dickheads. I saw that people going on, I saw someone call it the so-called extreme right. They are the extreme right. It's not so cold, is it? You are the extreme right. Anyway, let's not dwell on these dickheads. I just, I feel I need you to get over my chest then, 'cause people piss me off. Has it helped? Not really. (laughing) But I hate people that are stupid. I was standing outside of pub this week, right. This really pissed me off. I was standing outside of pub, waiting for my mate. He'd gone to the lube before we left. And so I'm standing, I'm just on my phone, and this guy comes out for a cigarette. Now I'm big bloke, right? And I heard Richard Osman on a podcast say recently, if you see someone that's different to you, if they're big, overweight, tall, small, they hear it every day. They don't need people to come up every day and say the same fucking thing. Yes. And then this guy comes up and he sidles up to me. He goes, "Huh, I bet the bouncer would never ask you to move." Oh, that's rude. He could tell by my response, I wasn't particularly happy. I went, "What?" Yes, all right. And he went, "Oh, it didn't mean that rude to me." "How else did you fucking mean it?" (laughing) What was the polite interpretation of that exactly? Oh no, it's ridiculous. I mean, imagine if I sidled up next to him and went, "Oh, I doubt ments are gonna be bothering you any day soon." (laughing) Show me! Prick, people are out of pissing me off. People are stupid. I've just everywhere I turn. They're fucking idiots. I think, I don't know how we deal with it. I don't know how we deal with idiots. It seems to me that there's a great film called "Idiocracy." I mean, it's not a great film, but the idea is a great idea. It's basically a guy who has woken up. He was put to sleep in stasis somehow and he woke up way in the future. But everyone's stupid. It's that people have got so thick and I sort of feel that's where we're living right now 'cause people don't seem to be able to think things through rationally. Yeah, it's a bit of a worry. And I think it was the late George Carlin who once said, "Think of how stupid the average person is and then remember that half the population are dumber than them." Yes, that's the scary bit. That's just good. I mean, what's the guy, the guy J.D. Vance this week? Oh, Trump's running partner. Trump's running, I mean, God again, like what? What do you go on about like comin' to Harris being a child, this cat lady? I mean, just grow up, you're running for vice president. I may not agree with your policies. I mean, but don't say fucking stupid things. I also like to try and remind anyone who ever mentions J.D. Vance that he wants. Sorry, it doesn't quite sound right me saying J.D. Vance 'cause I hear everyone else at all the Americans J.D. Vance. Vance. So yeah, whatever, what do I do? It's the whole Chandler Chandler thing from France. Doesn't quite sound right coming out of an English mouth. Anyway, whenever someone mentions Mr. Vance, I like to point out that he wants, on record, compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. Yes, yes. He is America's Hitler, I believe he said of Donald Trump, who he is now divorced all of his morals, abandoned that ship, and is now his running partner for the presidential race. There's also a brilliant thing this week 'cause the rumor is, certainly on the back of that comment, that Trump is now dissatisfied with J.D. Vance, right? Really? 'Cause I wouldn't be too satisfied with someone who compared me to Hitler either. So I probably wouldn't have appointed them or running mate. He was asked about some event this week. I don't know if it was the, I mean, it was brilliant, wasn't it? I mean, it wasn't brilliant, but it sort of was when Trump turned up at the, I was at the Association of Black Journalists. Oh, God, that was painful. Yeah, I mean, we won't go into it massively, but he said stupid things about coming to Harris, right? I'll argue on policy, but don't go down the road you went to, but he's going to 'cause the likes are fucking moron. Did you see, did you see Rod Stewart, by the way? Rod Stewart, who was a gig, a concert in America somewhere, and during the concert, put a meme up. Basically, the quote from Trump, but flipping it around about Trump and rather than putting the word black in, put the word orange. Oh, nice, why did he? I thought that was very clever. Anyway, I think he was asked about Vance, and basically he just said, well, I mean, the thing about it is that, I mean, he basically said that whoever's vice president, they don't do anything. They're not really, it's pointless, really, they're about to be in there. It's, really, anyway. - Oh, just, sorry, I can't let that go as well. While we were on the subject of when he was giving the speech to all of these black Americans, he, I don't want to defend it, but I'm not going to defend it 'cause it's indefensible, but I will say, I think I understand what he was trying to do. He was basically trying to talk, it was, again, scaremongering about immigrants, and he was sort of saying, have they're going to come over and they're going to take jobs, basically, that could go to you coming over and taking our jobs, that kind of thing, but he tried to personalize it because he knew he had a predominantly black audience. So what he ended up saying was, they're going to start coming over here, taking black jobs, which led people to sort of say, well, what are black jobs, Donald Trump? - Yeah, again, it just flies over his head, I think. - But what was wonderful was that the audience would just openly laugh at him. I was listening to a podcast the other day, the news agents, which, by the way, is a good podcast, if people don't know about that. And they'll just say, actually, like, in some ways, that's the Democrats' biggest tool now. He's genuinely becoming a laughingstock, and people are now just laughing at him when he's in front of them. And that's wonderful. I always have his core support and always other, and he may win the election. He may still win the election. Let's hope he doesn't, but he might. But, you know, people are just laughing at him. People know he's an idiot. The guy's an idiot, and people know it. - I was trying to think that he would have probably destroyed Biden, but I think since the injection of Kamala Harris, I think he might be in trouble now. - But fingers crossed. So anyway, I thought I've ran to do enough. I said I wasn't going to run much. Before we record, I said, "I won't run, I won't run much." And the thing is, what he did was, it was like a wind-up toy. He sort of wound me up and I let me go. - I know. Well, when I heard you were on the brink, and you were, you know, I don't want to complain too much this week, I've done a lot of complaining. I don't want to talk about racists. I don't want to talk about the right wing. I thought, right, Ben, send the Titanic video. Send it now. (laughing) (upbeat music) - Trev, now, I was tempted to try and lift the mood a little bit. - Yes, come on. - And put on a brave face. - Yeah. - But you didn't ask me how much weeks gone. And I said, "Oh yeah, okay, because I thought "you were about to explode," but in truth, I've had a bit of a sad week. - Oh no, why? - Because Mrs. Ben came to me and she'd seen a video on the internet and she looked quite upset and she was a little bit teary and telling me about this video. - God. - And I thought, "Oh my God, what's this? "Should I be about it?" And to be honest, it's ruined by week. And it's nothing to do with any sort of terrible rioting or anything like that. And it's not even current news, but it's just something she discovered. And I don't know why people do this, and I know I've already done it to you today. I see something that I think will annoy you and I immediately share it with you. She saw something sad and immediately shared it with me. And now I'm sad. So now I'm gonna share with everybody and make the whole class sad. - We're already giving people much of a reason to listen to this book, I'll tell you what I want to know. (laughing) But I also thought I'd tell you because I know that you're quite into space. - Wow, yes, as you know. By the way, as we're talking about space, I'm sorry to interrupt. - Go ahead. - But I should just tell you, do you remember something that came up last week? - Remind me. - At Venus, rotating in the opposite direction to the rest of the planets. - Yes, the only one that does, I remember. - And you wanted an answer for this week. - Have you've got one? - I have done a little bit of digging, and I have found an answer. I hope it would appease your questioning mind because obviously they can't give a definitive answer as to why it's spinning in the opposite direction to the rest of the planets. But scientists think the reason Venus spins, they say backwards, I don't know whether, maybe the rest of us are going backwards. Who knows? - I'm sure Venus would argue we are. - But the cause of the wretch-gray rotation is most likely because years ago, there was a giant collision with another large body that hit Venus and sent its spinning in the opposite direction. So that's the best explanation I can find. - Does that mean eventually a ball will eventually stop rolling? Will it eventually sort of stop and then start spinning back the other way? - Well, now you're asking another question. I would guess not because once it's in a spin, unless something else hits it, it will continue spinning in that direction because again, I've got to guess this, this is where we started last week. So we're back to square one now. Thanks, mate. - Is I'm imagining that's to deal with the gravitational pull, we'll keep it spinning in whichever way it's spinning. - Oh, okay. Well, let's, let's. There is at least a satisfactory answer. Well done. Well done. Thank you for doing your homework. - Anyway, I'm sorry to have interrupted your flow. - No, that's absolutely fine. I was just the story of, I'm actually welling up thinking about it again. - Okay. - Right, are you aware they send little robots to Mars? - Yeah, well, I mean, when you're sending little robots, you make it sound like we're sending up like little toy transformers or something. Like they're quite big things, aren't they really? - They're about, I mean, yeah. But we're not in compared to Mars, mate, but no. - Well, yeah, all right. (both laughing) They're sort of, they're about the size of a car. - Yeah, about that sort of size, yeah. - And they've sent up two. And that, as far as I know, they may have been more, but the two I know about are the heartbreaking ones. We have, and I want you to try and remember these names because I think they should be remembered. Opportunity is the name of the first rover. - Yeah. - And then that was followed up by curiosity, the second. - Yeah. - And all this thing does, its entire life, its entire existence is to roam about Mars on its own, all alone, just sending back messages, looking for shit. - So you're so scientific, looking for shit. (both laughing) It's like having Professor Brian Cox with me. - But you know what the bastards, the absolute bastards at NASA did? - God. - Once a year, on the anniversary that they send it up there, they make it play this. (upbeat music) - They make the rover sing Happy Birthday to itself. - That's lovely though, isn't it? - That's horrible. - Oh no, it's a lovely, who else is gonna sing Happy Birthday to it? Nobody's own looking for shit. - How happy would you be if you were sitting in your house on your own, on your birthday, singing Happy Birthday to yourself? - Pretty much described as most of my birthdays. (both laughing) - No, I think it's a lovely thing. The thing is what they could do, they got those two up there. What did you say they were called curiosity? What was the other one called? - Opportunity, who are we going to talk about next? Because the story gets even worse. - But of course there's a newer one up there, isn't there? There's Perseverance, which went up in about 2020. So why couldn't they all meet up and have a little birthday party? That would be nice, wouldn't it? They could probably even have, 'cause I know Perseverance has certainly got robotic arms. It could probably put a little party hat on. - Well, I'll tell you why they can't do that, Trev. It's because I want a moment of silence. Opportunity is no longer with us. - Oh no. - Communication cease on February the 13th, for a good few years ago. And I don't know, again, why the sadists at NASA decided to give it this capability. But after years of being up there, exploring, looking for shit, looking for shit. - You can find it in a shit when it was up there. - What, I probably found a bit of shit. Do you know what, again, I was heartbroken by the happy birthday song. Then I found out about this and this tipped me over the edge. Do you know what the final message was, sent back from opportunity, all the way from Mars, all on its own? Do you know what its dying message was to the scientists back at NASA HQ? - I don't know, I'd hope it'd be something like... - Please, don't leave me. - It's dying message, the last communication they ever received from this thing. My battery is low and it's getting dark. - Oh my gosh, I mean, you wonder whether the next line didn't get through and it's getting cold. So, so cold. So, fuck those people at NASA. I'm not going to call them people. Fuck NASA, why would you program robots to sing a happy birthday to themselves and send sort of the most heart-wrenching farewell deathrattles? Why would you do this? - I think what you've done there though, Ben, is you've given them human attributes. I don't think they're thinking, oh, it's my... Even when it's playing happy birthday to itself, the robot isn't thinking, oh, it's my birthday. It's not really aware on a conscious level of what I was going to... So, even when it's sending that last message, I mean, I would imagine it's programmed by the humans to send that message. It hasn't sent it itself. You're sort of thinking it's alive. - Right. - You think this is like a new version of the film's short circuit. - Or Warby, I think. - Or Warby, it's probably the more recent film again. You've got to remember I'm an old man. - However, you're saying I did that. Now, am I the guy who programmed it to sing a happy birthday? - I don't know how to do that. - Well, but that's the human side of it. I mean, I bet the people in NASA were very sad, even though they programmed it. That would be a sad moment for them to get it. When they crashed, it was a Cassini spacecraft, Cassini, which went out to Saturn, I think. And it went through the sort of the rings of Saturn and explored some of the moons as a moon where they feel there might be circumstances for life. And they were so concerned that the spacecraft was coming to the end of its life that it might crash land onto the moon and they don't want any chance of contamination. On the moon, in case there is some sort of life there. And so they crashed it into Saturn. And I watched the programmers, they'd end their all in tears. I mean, they've worked on these spacecraft for years and years and years. And I suppose in their minds, they do become alive. They do become a sort of family member, almost. - Well, I hope so. And I've, you know what? I've just been doing a bit of googling and in a stroke of amazing good fortune for our podcast, it is curiosity, and by the way, curiosity, whilst God rest his soul, opportunity is no longer with us, curiosity's birthday at the point of recording is tomorrow. - Oh, it's lovely. - So any listeners who hear this on the Wednesday, that'll be two days after curiosity's birthday, please raise a belated birthday glass and sing happy birthday for curiosity. And what was the last robot you said has gone up there? Reverence, what was it, resilience? - Perseverance. - Perseverance, yes. - I now, I'm such an anxiety riddled mess after seeing all this. I'm now worried that Perseverance might stumble across the corpse of opportunity and it might send back a little message to NASA, what's wrong with daddy? Or something like that? - It's got the, Perseverance had the, it was the first ever helicopter that it unleashed on Mars, that the helicopter sadly now that that's met its demise, but it did some wonderful things when it was up there looking for shit. (laughing) But it was never gonna have a long lifespan the helicopter, but that, again, that's another mechanical corpse lying on the surface of Mars. And Perseverance was probably had to leave it behind 'cause it's gone off on its other adventures. Could you imagine that? 'Cause it almost gave birth to the helicopter. It came out of it. It was, you know, imagine that, like Perseverance, it's on Mars, it gives birth to this helicopter. And now it's happened to, you know, like when the terrible wildlife programs, when you see a mother having to leave, it's sadly deceased child. You know those sort of heart-redding David Attenborough, the elephant now must leave. It now understands there is no life left in. It's child and the elephant must move on. Are you talking for that, Perseverance? - Oh, is that killing me, killing me. So, on Wednesday, I mean, you could, you can do one of two things. You could either raise a glass for all four or you could have four drinks. Raise a glass to remember opportunity. Remember the helicopter. Celebrate Curiosity's birthday and toast the future of Perseverance. - Well, I tell you, here's another thing I read about space this week. This brings it all together, animals and space. - Who thought we could link this together? - No, but this is something I read this week. Scientists at the American Institute of Biological Sciences have come up with the idea of basically setting up a sort of Noah's Ark on the moon, not for humans. - Noah's Ark in space. (laughing) - So the idea would be a Noah's Ark of Frozen endangered animal. So basically skin samples of animals like the African savanna elephant that are culturally important animals and endangered could go there and be frozen so that should there be a nuclear apocalypse on Earth or a natural disaster of life-ending proportions, those that could escape and could get up to the moon and there'd be these samples so that they could then reanimate those animals. I'm not sure what use it would be having an African savanna elephant on the moon, I'm not quite sure why you'd... I suppose the idea is if you could then move on and find another habitable planet somewhere, you could then bring them back to life, but then you don't know what other animals are gonna be on. I'm just, I don't know whether this is good idea or not. - I fully respect the right of the African savanna elephant to exist and I feel if it's an endangered species, it should be protected. However, if I get news that the four-minute warning is in place where at the nuclear apocalypse, the bombs have been launched, I'm not gonna think shit, what did I do with my biological samples of the African savanna elephant? I've put them somewhere, I just wish I knew where, it's the good thing, I'm not gonna give a shit. - I'd like to think that if that was me, it'd be one of those heroic moments. I'd get to the craft, let's say this is at a time where there are crafts available for a quick exit where the four-minute warning goes. I get to the craft and they go, "Oh, you're just too late, Jim." But I tell you what, we can make space. There is something we can kick off and save you. And I go, "Whoa, it's all right, save the panda!" (laughing) (upbeat music) - Hey, Ben, we were talking about life-ending events on Earth. - Yeah. - I got reading this thing this week. Again, I don't know whether I'm being drawn to the apocalyptic at the moment. I sort of feel right, everything I read feels that way. But I came across-- - Well, if I wasn't ready for it before we started recording, I'm certainly ready for it now with all the carnage going on on this planet and all the despair and death on Mars, I'm ready for the apocalypse at this point. - Well, I came across these apocalyptic prophecies and doomsday predictions that obviously never came true. And we get them all the time, don't we? The world was gonna end on such and such a date and so I would have some reason for it. And it never happened. I mean, it wasn't the world supposed to end in, was it 2012? Was that the Mayans thing? Was that gonna be-- - Mayan calendar, yeah. - 2012, obviously, never happened. There was some, I think one of these sort of American evangelistic types who I think back in the 80s had several dates and it never happened and he'd move it. "Oh, well, no, obviously I have new information." - How do you know? - Of course you do. - None of it ever happened. But I sort of liked these and I came across some I thought you'd be interested in. - Okay. - So there was the clarion chord and this all started in 1953. So not that long ago, right? And there was a woman called Dorothy Martin who began to claim that she was receiving telepathic messages from planet clarion. Wherever that is, let's face it, there was a bird of it. (laughing) - I was gonna just pull you off of that. I, it's not in this galaxy, is it? - Well, I've certainly not heard of it in our solar system. - No. - It's not been mentioned. - There has been a bit of change, like, I don't Pluto got relegated to-- - Yeah, I got upgraded to a dwarf planet. - Yeah, dwarf planet. So we have, to be fair, we have had a change in our solar system in my lifetime. - Yeah. - I've never heard of planet clarion before. - I mean, there are exoplanets as well. But again, I've not, I mean, I'm not an expert on those things. So maybe there is one called clarion, but I've never, I don't remember Patrick Moore on Scott and that guy did that. (mumbling) I don't remember him. (laughing) He was doing that. But anyway, she was getting telepathic messages from planet clarion saying that there would be a flood. The world would, again, need for a Noah's Ark. There's a running theme, isn't there? - Is clarion the Echrypton? (laughing) - No, I don't know the geographical positioning. She's not giving me galactical coordinates of where clarion is, unfortunately. But she said that there'd be a flood that would destroy the world. On December the 21st, 1954, but the faithful would be carried to clarion on a flying saucer. The thing about a flying saucer, you don't want too many people on a flying saucer. We all know what happened to the Titanic. (laughing) No, there were people that founded religious movement around her claims called the Seekers. I thought they were an Australian folk band. (laughing) She urged them to show their faith by giving away all their possessions, relationships, and jobs in the face of doomsday. Then, of course, the date came around. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, 1954 was 70 years ago. - Yeah. - We're still here. (laughing) So the date rolled around, nothing happened. But up to a third of the Seeker membership, this is the brilliant bit, actually consisted of reporters and psychologists who just wanted to disprove it. - Oh, wow. - So this whole religious movement was basically in front of debunkers, which I think that's an amazing thing. - That is pretty brilliant. So what a waste of time. - But if you were Dorothy Martin, when December the 21st, 1954 came around, what I don't know is what happened to her after that. Would she sort of go, oh, do you know what? It was just tinnitus. (laughing) Do you know what I mean? What explanation is that you never get that, do you? Apart from the guy that vanishes, I mean, she always changes when the world's gonna end in as a reason for it. God's changed the date. He's told me. I've got a direct line of God that he's told me he's changed the date. By the way, I don't know with Dorothy Martin. You don't know what happened to her. Did she sort of go, oh, yeah, sorry. It wasn't telepathic messages. It was an episode of the arches. I think that the day before the event that she claimed, she cleared all of her bank accounts and moved to Mexico and changed her name. (laughing) She's now Dorothy Martinez. (laughing) Living a life of luxury, a big megal. But I had his comment, of course. That's another thing, comes around every sort of, is it 76 years-ish that comes around? I remember it in '86, I think, and I'm sure we saw it in the distance. If I make it to the next time round, I think I work this out once. I mean, I think it's borderline whether I'm gonna reach it 'cause I think I'll be 86 or something when it next comes around. And, you know, that's a long way off. But I think I, whatever happens to me Ben, I think I can go to my grave then I did see it. - So I don't remember having seen it. So in fact-- - When it was before you were born. - So that's probably why I don't remember. - Probably why he didn't see it. - Yes. - No, it's not the way to remember, not seeing it. It's why he didn't see it. - So I've got a fighting chance. - Yes. - But it's not guaranteed for me either, really, is it? - Well, you'd be about 74, I think. So you've got to reach 74, mate, come on. - Well, I hope so. But you've not guaranteed anything in this life. I could be a-- - Well, that's very true. - There could be a whole generation of comment misses. - I tried to see a comment a while back. There was one in the sky. I forget what it was called. And again, this was like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I went out every day to try and see it. It was cloud in the sky. I think I may have seen a splodge one night, but I can't say for any certainty, I saw it. And then you just think, well, that's it. I mean, I'm never going to have a chance to see that comment again. That's gone. (laughing) - I can't remember. I apologize if we were repeating stories we've already told on the podcast before. We probably are. But I remember a few months ago, I panicked because I saw something out of the window from where I recall this podcast. - Oh, that's right. Yeah, yeah. - And I called you, and I even took video and sent it to you. And one of my suggestions, and I'm happy to laugh at myself for this. I don't care. My shame was lost a long time ago. I suggested to you, could it be the International Space Station? Because I thought I'd be really smart because occasionally you can see that with the naked eye. And you, bless your heart, you very gently reminded me that if that was that visible, from outside your burrito, it would be in full and out of a hobby. (laughing) - Yeah. Yeah. So I'm not sure you would see Halley's Coffee or Halley's Coffee. I'm never quite sure how you say it, whether it's Halley's or Halley's. I think it's Halley's, isn't it? I think it's Halley's. - I think so. - So I may not be around to back it up, but you go, Mrs. Ben, look, it's, and she'll come back, it's a carrier bag, Ben. (laughing) - Got it in the breeze. So anyway, that comes round. - But you were so nice. You didn't like take the piss or rip me too hard. You just very gently explained how science works. (laughing) - So anyway, back in 1910, right, there was a French astronomer called Camille Flammarion. - Is that Flammarion from Claryon? (laughing) - I don't know, I'm assuming it's an Earthling, but maybe not. - Okay. - But he said that science had detected that in the comet's tail, there was cyanogen gas. I'm assuming that's to do with cyanide. - Okay. - It sort of got the same derivation, I don't know, but I'm assuming it's a very dangerous gas, and he predicted that the gas would impregnate the atmosphere and potentially wipe out all life on Earth. So word got out, and panic spread, people started buying up everything they needed to survive the upcoming gaseous doom gas masks, bottled clean air. This is where people like Donald Trump would come in, wouldn't they? You know, we could sell bottled clean air, that would be a thing, wouldn't it? If there was an incoming comet with poisonous gas emitting from it. - Yeah, someone will be making money out of it somewhere. - Yeah, it gets better than just bottled clean air. Anti-comit pills were being solved. - What does that mean? - I mean, you know they were just smarties or mints. - Absolutely. - And the best thing was people buying umbrellas, like that's going to stop. - To deflect a comet. - Yes, on the gas that's coming off of it. I don't think they'd deflect the comet. - I say, again, I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not an expert on these things, but I'm sure in sort of war times, it's like in the first world war when there was a mustard gas attack in the trenches, they didn't blow a whistle and say, "Umborellas up!" It was gas massung, wasn't it? That was the core, not umborellas up. Anyway, had his comet cable went, no cyanide gas or whatever it's called, cyanogen gas, giving off, nobody died. - Good news. - This is my favorite one, though. This was from 1806, I just love this, 'cause this is the length some people were going to, to sort of make a quick buck, really. This was called the egg prophecy. This was in Leeds in the UK, and there was a lady called Mary Bateman, who owned some chickens, and she let it be known that she had a chicken that had laid three eggs, bearing the inscription, Christ is coming. Did anyone fact check this at the time? - Well, people found it all very unsettling. I mean, bear mind this 1806, slightly less enlightened times. I mean, not the dark ages, by any stretch of the imagination, but less enlightened times where maybe sort of that fear of God and all that nonsense was more prevalent, and people found it unsettling, and people were convinced the world was ending because these three eggs had crises coming on them from the chicken's very being. - It's very fortunate as well that the chicken laid those eggs in the correct order. Otherwise, it could have been a question. It could have, is Christ coming? - Oh, no, no, it was the three words on each egg. - What? - It wasn't like one egg I've Christ on. I think it was Christ, she's coming on all the eggs. - Oh, okay, I thought there was one egg with Christ on it. One egg with is, another one is coming. - Well, yeah, no, 'cause you're out of the way, you put that in the order. - Yeah, I mean, it's Christ. - You can read it at the Yoda version of it, yeah. - I mean, it's Christ. - So people found it very unsettling. So they went to visit Miss Bateman and her chicken to see the eggs, and they paid her. Bear in mind, this was in 1806. I guess this was a fair amount of money, a penny per visitor to see the eggs. But this is where the cynical mind might kick in and say, well, is this just a money-making, plucking by Miss Bateman? - Yeah, almost certainly, and why does she need three of them? Why wouldn't one of them, the miracle egg? (laughs) - Why does she three? - Maybe the father, son, the Holy Ghost, there's the three there, isn't ever religious-based thing. Denying me three times before the cock crows, there's a chicken and number three link there. I don't know why he'd want three. - Very strange. - Anyway, the prophet's hen of leads as the chicken came to me known, was then moved elsewhere. And you'll never believe this, Ben, you'll never believe this. It stopped laying the prophetic eggs. - No. - Nothing more eggs set up, and it turned out that Mary Bateman had used a corrosive ink to write the messages herself. Neither, okay, so she's written the message on the eggs herself, and then she said, "Oh, look, the eggs have been laid by my chicken." But she wanted to be more authentic than that, and I don't see that she would have needed to do this, because people, like, well, I'll tell you what she did, she shoved the eggs back into the chicken. - What? - So it's not like that works. - So did the bird, did lay them. I think that was an unnecessary step, because not all the visitors that, I mean, unless she's shoving it back up for every time a visitor comes to see it lay another one. (laughs) I don't know how that works. But that's, I would say, again, I'm not a vet. I'm not a farmer. I don't even have the most rude and mental idea of how you look after chickens, but I would just suggest staying eggs back up and making a good idea. - No, in fact, that's the thing I'm most offended by. I don't really even care about misleading a load of religious idiots or spreading fake news about the apocalypse. I'm more upset about the animal abuse in this story. - The worst thing about it was, obviously, the world didn't end. Christ didn't come. No, we're back when we started. And it's the worst thing about it. It doesn't even help answer the question, what came first, the chicken or the egg? We still don't know! (laughs) (upbeat music) Where we are, that's it for another Trevor Ben podcast. Before we go, as always, I've got a couple of recommendations for you. - Good stuff. I'm hoping it's going to be something to calm us all down. - Well, I don't know when this first one will calm you down, 'cause it's sort of edgier seat stuff. - Okay, what is it? - It's a documentary series that's on channel five at the moment called "Terror at 30,000 Feet." - What? - It's terrifying tales of true life airline disasters. - So even the skies now, I still aren't safe anymore. - But the thing is, told by the people who were there, so you know they all survived. That's the thing, right? - Well, that's something positive. - But I've watched a couple of them, and I mean, obviously, these people go through incredibly fearful moments, but the story that always comes through to me is the calmness, calmness, and just the expertise that the pilots, co-pilots and the cabin crew all have. And it must be because they're trained within the inch of their life. I watched one, it was about a Qantas airline that had a massive engine failure. And he said, you know, he was really calm throughout the documentary. Just saying it as it is, he said, you know, I was on my computer, on the laptop, doing all the maths to see whether we could land, all very calm. He said, oh, then the computer crashed. He said, oh, cause you're fucking dead, it's a laptop. But he crashed, but really calm. But then right at the end of the documentary, when he started to get choked up, was when another crew member from another plane, I think, came to see him. And said, basically, my family were on that. You, the crew, you're saying my family. And he got really choked up. And he's like, I was just doing my job, but that's what we sit in simulators for hours and hours and hours for, to work out what to do when things happen, just doing my job. And these are incredible people. My god daughter, she wants to be a pilot. And you just think she's going to spend, if she can fulfill a dream or I hope to God she can, she will spend hours and hours and simulators training. And you hope to God that nothing like that, whatever encounters her in a career, if she can do that. But you know that they'll be fully equipped as best they can to deal with a problem. - How old is she? What lovely ambition to have. - She's 17 now. And yeah, she's, I think she's had a couple of flying lessons. So she's on the very early stages. But yeah, that's her ambition. So I hope she can. - A good one to her. - Yeah. So that's on channel five, you can catch up on that on my five. My five. - My five. - Yours, my five. (laughing) - And the other thing I'm going to recommend is a film on-- - Again, even that's fucking hostile, isn't it? - Couldn't it be our five, not my five. - And you know it's been a change of, but on the UK TV channels like Dave and Drama, they've suddenly changed that to you and Dave and you and Drama, but they're letting you. So I don't know, that's weird. But yeah, you're right. We could be, everyone's five. - Everyone's five. - It's my five, fuck off. For yours, these five alone. - Is it still all four? Because surely it should be all for one and one for all. - I think that's just called channel four now. I think it's just channel four. - That's had so many rebrands on the fucking channel. - I still don't know why they ever called it four play. That should have been the best name there. And the other thing I'm going to recommend is on Netflix, it's a brilliant film called Wicked Little Letters. A will warn people that it's full of very filthy language. - Excellent. - But if you listen to this podcast, that's not going to worry you. But it's based on a true story that shocked 1920s Britain. An outspoken Irish woman is accused of circulating expletive laden letters in Little Hampton. It's got Olivia Coleman in it. It's got Jessie Buckley. It's got Timothy Sport, a brilliant cast. It's very, very funny. I've been wanting to see this film since I saw it was kind of come out. And it's on Netflix at the moment. But just the language is very, very fruity. Love it. - There we are. That's it. Thank you very much for listening. Don't forget you can get in touch with us any tyre ratcheven products. We'll catch you again next week. - God willing. - Yes, if an on fire. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. If Hallie's Comet hasn't descended early, or if my chicken hasn't laid some prophetic egg, until then stay safe, stay well, take it easy. - Bye. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)