Why people stared at a blank wall

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  • čas přidán 3. 12. 2022
  • Brady Haran, Mary Spender and Eric Johnson discuss a question about a famous blank wall.
    LATERAL is a weekly podcast about interesting questions and even more interesting answers, hosted by Tom Scott. For business enquiries, contestant appearances or question submissions, visit www.lateralcast.com
    GUESTS:
    Mary Spender: @MarySpender, / maryspender
    Brady Haran: @ObjectivityVideos, / bradyharan
    Eric Johnson: www.followfridaypodcast.com, / heyheyesj
    HOST: Tom Scott.
    QUESTION PRODUCER: David Bodycombe.
    RECORDED AT & EDITED BY: The Podcast Studios, Dublin.
    EDITOR: Julie Hassett.
    GRAPHICS SYSTEM & DESIGN: Chris Hanel at Support Class.
    GRAPHICS ASSISTANCE: Dillon Pentz.
    MUSIC: Karl-Ola Kjellholm ('Private Detective'/'Agrumes', courtesy of epidemicsound.com).
    ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS: Josh Halbur, Ben Justice, Lewis Tough, Arun Uttamchandani, Eglė Vaškevičiūtė.
    FORMAT: Pad 26 Limited/Labyrinth Games Ltd.
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: David Bodycombe and Tom Scott.
    © Pad 26 Limited (www.pad26.com) / Labyrinth Games Ltd. 2022.
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Komentáře • 92

  • @shaunhouse8469
    @shaunhouse8469 Před 10 měsíci +24

    As a Doctor Who fan I actually know what's on the back of the Mona Lisa it's "This is a fake" in sharpie written in Tom Baker's handwriting.

  • @sorrynotsorry8224
    @sorrynotsorry8224 Před rokem +66

    My immediate thought was "Polar bear in a snowstorm", but Tom clarified by saying it was literally a blank wall.

  • @charlesenfield2192
    @charlesenfield2192 Před rokem +178

    I got the art museum part right away, but not the specifics. I was at the Museum of Modern Art in New York last year, and there was spot on the wall with a title plate but no painting. I studied it for 10-15 seconds trying to decipher whether the artwork was some subtle treatment of the wall, the notion of putting a title plate on a blank wall, or if the work was missing, before concluding from the title and artist that it was almost certainly missing. Note to curators looking to save a few bucks - After chuckling at myself, I noticed that many patrons were spending a significant time examining this "exhibit."

    • @claymiller9707
      @claymiller9707 Před rokem +15

      Were you sure that it wasn’t meant to refer to a sculpture in the middle of the room? I often get confused by those.

    • @dcarillion
      @dcarillion Před rokem +3

      Do you remember which painting it was or which section it was in?

  • @literallyjustgrass
    @literallyjustgrass Před 3 měsíci +6

    Ok i haven't gotten to the answer yet, but an art piece that's just a blank wall called "think about what you've done" is actually amazing

  • @zachaboss
    @zachaboss Před rokem +221

    I love watching these clips, especially with the subtitles (I just like having them on a video in case I mishear something). Still hoping the full episodes will get released on here one day...

  • @willisverynice
    @willisverynice Před rokem +23

    His explanation that the Mona Lisa was amongst other paintings actually defends him not getting the answer, because the wall wasn’t blank, only a specific portion of it was.

  • @imstupid880
    @imstupid880 Před rokem +26

    Honestly, it'd be weirder if Kafka *didn't* show up to stare at a blank wall.

  • @felipeitoanuatti
    @felipeitoanuatti Před rokem +9

    Brady from Numberphile and Mary Spender in a Tom Scott video?! Cool

  • @gdp3rd
    @gdp3rd Před rokem +10

    The first time I was in Paris, in 1963, the Mona Lisa was on display at the Metropolitan Museum of New York. Then when we went to Vatican City in 1964, Michelangelo's Pietà was in New York. Then, many years later when I was in Dublin, an exhibit of a Viking hoard was temporarily in the United States.

    • @qwertyTRiG
      @qwertyTRiG Před 2 měsíci +1

      You seem very unlucky in your art appreciation.

  • @luisfranco8424
    @luisfranco8424 Před rokem +23

    1998 the first time i saw La Mona she was on a wall with a dozen other paintings. The only thing between me and her was a three pole velvet rope. That was before the da Vinci Code, the last time i went to see her there were about 300 people between us jammed into a room were she was on a wall by herself

  • @kjth2003
    @kjth2003 Před rokem +370

    "Why people started at a blank wall?" Because they were still waiting for full episodes to be released on CZcams...

    • @Kummahndough
      @Kummahndough Před rokem +25

      Tom has a statement as to why he doesn't have full episodes on CZcams. The TL;DR is that there's no audience retention when episodes are posted on CZcams.

    • @americanadianguy
      @americanadianguy Před rokem +30

      @@Kummahndough No audience retention?? Tom Scott has never failed to retain me as a viewer of his shows!

    • @Kummahndough
      @Kummahndough Před rokem +9

      @@americanadianguy I'm very much the same, but unfortunately we're not the majority, it seems.

    • @fltfathin
      @fltfathin Před rokem +3

      @@americanadianguy think again, the post is timely every week but did you get all the notif and recommendation?

    • @TheAbyssalStorm
      @TheAbyssalStorm Před rokem +5

      @@Kummahndough There is also the analytics, if the longer videos aren’t that viewed, the shorter clips won’t be recommended as often.

  • @user-py3tg9mg2q
    @user-py3tg9mg2q Před měsícem +1

    Whenever I visited a modern art exhibition, I would spend some time perusing a litter bin to see if anybody else would do the same, usually with limited success. One year I was doing this at the Royal Academy summer exhibition when I noticed it had a catalogue number.

  • @ThatCake
    @ThatCake Před rokem +76

    I would quite like the full episodes, please and thank you

  • @darvindo18
    @darvindo18 Před rokem +4

    I could see Tom reaching for the Mystery Biscuits so many times in this video. Bring back Mystery biscuits!!

  • @richmanricho
    @richmanricho Před rokem +5

    Thanks Brady .. now im looking at the x-rays and backside images of Mona.. There goes my morning!

    • @p1rkarlsson
      @p1rkarlsson Před rokem

      Well what can i say, sir Richard Rollington got me again. The "Mona Lisa's back" google went a whole other direction.

  • @henrikericsson
    @henrikericsson Před rokem +47

    I’m still curious about Mary’s sinister guess

    • @smearfo5612
      @smearfo5612 Před rokem +64

      Firing line.

    • @richmanricho
      @richmanricho Před rokem +2

      "Mona, Dear, Pull a funny face, it will send people crazy for hundreds of years"
      or
      "Leo, Hurry the hell up! My butt has gone numb"

  • @GnrMilligan
    @GnrMilligan Před rokem +7

    Wow, Mary Spender! A huge talent! A crossover video I could never have predicted. Not suggesting a huge talent wouldn't want to work with Tom, I'm a subscriber after all. It's just the mix genres kinda threw me! A like and a sub. Look forward to seeing what else this channel offers.

  • @flutechannel
    @flutechannel Před rokem +28

    Mary is so awesome and so is the crew. All of you are so natural and entertaining thanks so much for making my day and cant wait to binge during the holidays!

  • @kimnylandmathisen
    @kimnylandmathisen Před rokem +61

    Still waiting for full episodes. Kinda miss the visual when I try the podcast form.

  • @fromdarknesscomeslight6894

    6:04 For anyone wondering what's on the back of the Mona Lisa, it's the letter H and the number 29. ........ Huh.

  • @jkkmane
    @jkkmane Před rokem +2

    The colored subtitles are so cool.

  • @therealEmpyre
    @therealEmpyre Před 10 měsíci +2

    If they X-Ray the Mona Lisa, they will find "This is a fake" written in ball point pen, in the 4th Doctor's handwriting.

  • @LincolnChamberlin
    @LincolnChamberlin Před rokem +31

    Please do the full episodes

  • @joelhageman1903
    @joelhageman1903 Před rokem

    Ok, officially WTF. Subscribed now... to this one too. I saw the 'I'm taking a break' video. I forget how many channels there are now.

  • @elliottmcollins
    @elliottmcollins Před rokem +4

    Once again, if they just keep talking, eventually Tom can't help but just give them hints and eventually tell them.

  • @Dave062YT
    @Dave062YT Před rokem

    I got it 15 seconds before Mary.Great question

  • @walker1054
    @walker1054 Před 11 měsíci +1

    This question would work well with that video Tom done seemingly years ago where theres a metal structure that had some sort of explosion(forgot how) at random veryyy irregular times, like a month apart even, so when passing it people would stop for a bit hoping that they'd get to witness it. So "Why do people stop at look at this metal inanimate structure?"

  • @cankoklu
    @cankoklu Před rokem +3

    I thought this was going to be about the time someone made an 18hr movie to spite the censorship organization.

  • @joecornfield6329
    @joecornfield6329 Před měsícem +1

    I found a picture of the back of the mona lisa. It was underwhelming.

  • @charliegnu
    @charliegnu Před rokem +1

    If you want another wall people go to look at, search for the 12 angle stone in Cuzco, Peru.

  • @dryued6874
    @dryued6874 Před 10 měsíci +1

    I googled the back of Mona Lisa, and it's a lot more unremarkable than I expected. Honestly, I'm not sure I understand what the deal with it is.

  • @lachlan1980
    @lachlan1980 Před rokem +1

    Some say the Mona Lisa is so popular today because of the theft, combined with something called the mere-exposure effect. Some people also say that the mere-exposure effect is also to blame for the kardashian's "popularity."

  • @BlakieTT
    @BlakieTT Před rokem +2

    _Interpol has entered the chat._

  • @panda4247
    @panda4247 Před 10 měsíci

    Offtopic, but:
    Brady looks a bit like Ricky Gervais (bar the hair colour)
    Eric johnson is not the guitarist I know; who is he?
    What did Mary mean at 2:03?

  • @FilthyFreePublishing
    @FilthyFreePublishing Před rokem

    CHARL!

  • @MrMartinSchou
    @MrMartinSchou Před rokem

    I thought it was the wall just above Duchamp's "Fountain".

  • @MLeoDaalder
    @MLeoDaalder Před rokem +11

    The title reminds me of an art piece (well 3 pieces side by side) in the Van Abbe museum in Eindhoven, maybe 18 years ago. 3 primer-grey canvases, named "unknown title", by "unknown artist". I'm definitely not one of the arts, but I couldn't see anything other than someone prepared 3 canvasses and didn't bother painting anything...

  • @b3z3jm3nny
    @b3z3jm3nny Před 11 měsíci

    Which episode was this from??
    Feel it should be standard to say which episode each highlight is from.

    • @lateralcast
      @lateralcast  Před 11 měsíci +3

      It's from show 8. We'll give your suggestion some thought.

    • @b3z3jm3nny
      @b3z3jm3nny Před 11 měsíci +1

      @@lateralcastthanks!

  • @Adipose69
    @Adipose69 Před rokem +1

    OCEANS TOM, when!? Heist all the things!

  • @overduminc
    @overduminc Před rokem +13

    Curious of what sinister thought Mary was thinking at 1:55

    • @AlexisCheynas
      @AlexisCheynas Před rokem +36

      My mind went to standing in line, facing a wall, with the smell of gunpowder in the air... a bit of pain and then nothing...

    • @Carbon2861996
      @Carbon2861996 Před rokem +4

      Not knowing the timespan Kafka was alive my mind went straight to Auschwitz

    • @rasmis
      @rasmis Před rokem +6

      @@AlexisCheynas I thought of them being spectators at an execution.That used to be quite an attraction.

    • @ungratefulmango
      @ungratefulmango Před rokem

      @@rasmis They wouldn't exactly have been staring at the wall. They'd have queued to see the execution.

  • @ac.creations
    @ac.creations Před rokem

    If someone prepped a perfectly smooth wall with vantablack I'd look at it.

  • @kenmahoney5255
    @kenmahoney5255 Před 11 měsíci

    Hell yes,
    I got it before she did😂😅

  • @tekvax01
    @tekvax01 Před rokem +3

    Brady! irradiating something [with x-rays] does not make it Radioactive..........................................

  • @LilOak
    @LilOak Před rokem +17

    Is the full podcast not on youtube??

  • @TheDarrellimpey
    @TheDarrellimpey Před rokem +10

    Every Doctor Who fan knows what's on the back of the Mona Lisa.

  • @olivier2553
    @olivier2553 Před rokem

    I think that the frame was still there, so it would not actually be a blank wall.

    • @afivey
      @afivey Před rokem +2

      You might be confusing what happened with how any number of directors of any number of heist and crime films chose to depict the scene where authorities realises a painting was stolen. That'd maybe make for good cinematography and storytelling but considering fingerprints had already been used in a criminal investigation and prosecution since 1892, and how it's not mentioned the frame was left behind I'm not convinced.
      Criminals are generally practical and not generally theatrical. Even the ones that commit a crime "to send a message" don't want to get caught so quickly the message that message risks being buried by a story of how quickly police captured them.

  • @annaczgli2983
    @annaczgli2983 Před rokem +1

    Agree completely - The Mona Lisa is overrated!

  • @ericpeterson6520
    @ericpeterson6520 Před rokem +10

    Didn't know that people were so eager to see a wall that doesn't have the Mona Lisa on it. All of the walls in my house don't have the Mona Lisa on them, maybe I should start charging admission to see them

  • @daerdevvyl4314
    @daerdevvyl4314 Před 5 měsíci +1

    I thought it was the Western Wall of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

  • @shadowsanddust2
    @shadowsanddust2 Před rokem +1

    Dang.. I must love mary.. I have seen her once. But instantly recognized her.. and Mary doesn't mind.. if she doesn't make the scene

    • @DavidCowie2022
      @DavidCowie2022 Před 21 dnem

      She's got a daytime job, she's doing alright.

  • @daveallen63
    @daveallen63 Před rokem +6

    Here's a question, is there such a thing as a literal "blank wall"?

    • @jendorei
      @jendorei Před rokem +1

      a solid color wall, preferably white, with nothing on it

    • @daveallen63
      @daveallen63 Před rokem

      @@jendorei but it still has color, and it's on it. I know what the phrase means, but it does still leave the definition of blank open to the observer.

    • @chi643
      @chi643 Před rokem +1

      @@daveallen63 blank just means it doesnt have any decoration on it

  • @erictaylor5462
    @erictaylor5462 Před 12 dny

    Were they all guys? Maybe they were using the bathroom. Was it the pee que?

  • @qwertyTRiG
    @qwertyTRiG Před rokem +3

    I learned that the Mona Lisa was painted on wood from the original Lateral quiz show.

  • @richardharrold9736
    @richardharrold9736 Před rokem +3

    Wait, a Mary Spender/Tom Scott crossover? The same week we also get a Max Fosh/Geoff Marshall crossover? My head can only take so much of this.

    • @Ck87JF
      @Ck87JF Před rokem +1

      All these people begging for full episodes, and I'm like "why didn't I know that Tom and Mary talk to each other?"

  • @DekonR
    @DekonR Před 3 měsíci

    The all murdered their abusive fathers with a hammer when they were 12 years old?

  • @anonnymowse
    @anonnymowse Před 8 měsíci

    Very disappointing to see it in person. It is not worth the hype.

  • @stephaniewachter1048
    @stephaniewachter1048 Před rokem +1

    Picasso was accused of stealing the painting

  • @dcltdw
    @dcltdw Před rokem +1

    Ahhhh, two of my favorite YTers (Tom Scott and Mary Spender)!!! I love seeing these collabs!

  • @vasiliipopov416
    @vasiliipopov416 Před rokem +4

    If you think about it, you stare at a blank wall every time you go to a cinema.
    There's physically nothing on the wall, it only reflects the light.

    • @korganrocks3995
      @korganrocks3995 Před rokem +2

      I can think of a few movies that were more boring than staring at a blank wall...

    • @vasiliipopov416
      @vasiliipopov416 Před rokem +1

      @@korganrocks3995 and more predictable ones as well

    • @Ck87JF
      @Ck87JF Před rokem +3

      During this video, one of them asked if there was something "screened" on the wall - I think they were intending to ask if anything was projected, but the answer was no.
      Still, if you were to come up with a trivia question about people staring at a blank wall, the answer could be a movie/projector screen and it would be a good question.

  • @deepthought9267
    @deepthought9267 Před rokem +1

    These are way too easy

  • @user-ck9vi1wg9e
    @user-ck9vi1wg9e Před 8 měsíci

    BERLINVWAL; I JUST PRESSED &I NOWWCX ITHGA