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Archive for the ‘User-generated answers’ Category

Help Helen’s holidays

November 24, 2008

Attention, North American readers! And readers who have been to North America! Listener Helen has got in touch to ask our advice, but as we are insufficiently well travelled to provide a useful answer, we’re throwing it open to you lot, in the form of a poll. Helen says:

As part of my degree, I am spending next year somewhere in North America but am finding it hard to choose where to go.

We know how you all enjoy exercising your democratic rights, so get voting!

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Posted in extracurricular questions, User-generated answers | 2 Comments »

Olly lookalikes nos. 10005 & 10006

October 19, 2008

The legend that is Graham from Canada has supplied probably the cutest Olly-lookalike yet, noting that ‘at first it was just because of the name, but then I noticed the similarities…’:

Meanwhile, crossword-setting wunderkind David from York offers the following:

He just needs a moustache and Olly is…..

The Swedish Chef from the Muppets.

Now, that’s just silly.

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Posted in Answer Us Back! Your time to opine, extracurricular questions, Olly's face, User-generated answers | 1 Comment »

EPISODE 71 – skate pigs

October 9, 2008

This classic episode is available to BUY NOW for just 79p, through a secure PayPal server, without DRM restriction. CLICK HERE to find out more and support our podcast. (This helps keep our most recent episodes free)

Hello chums!

It’s been very interesting reading all about your first words in the comments section of Episode 70. Now, if you’d be so kind as to comment again, our old musical mucker Mark from Essex is back with another musical query which we need you to solve*, and you can hear it in Episode 71.

Aside from Mark’s croonings, the episode contains:

culinary tyranny
Sir Robert Peel
medical marshmallows
dolphin vaginas
nocturnal celery-eating
The Tamworth Two
crap nicknames
Lindt vs. lint
more! magazine
and
Julia Roberts’s sweaty bits.

Plus Olly alludes to an Elysian period when he did not talk at all, Helen emits even more swears than usual, and Martin the Sound Man reveals how to pick up girls. Watch out!

We are, as ever, eager to hear from you, particularly if you have QUESTIONS to ask us. If so, you can pose them by Skype-ing answermethis, phoning 0208 123 5877 or emailing answermethispodcast@googlemail.com; and, if you care to do so, you can also help wrap up the long-running debate about Olly’s face. Because, of course, a podcaster’s face is his fortune.

Seeya!

Helen and Olly

* EDIT: The super-speedy Samyooell from Cheltenham has already come up with the solution to Mark from Essex’s song inquiry: ‘The answer to the question set by Mark from Essex is ‘Everywhere’ by Michelle Branch and Yellowcard. Master Blaster has also got some weird remix of it. I’m not sure if it has been on a film, but has featured on One Tree Hill on at least one occasion.’ Thanks, Samyooell!

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Posted in extracurricular questions, PODCASTS, User-generated answers | Leave a Comment »

Our day-jobs: one of the great modern mysteries

October 8, 2008

The lovely Sarah from Gaytown has sent us a real poser, trying to annihilate that air of mystery we’ve so carefully cultivated:

What do y’all do during the day?
I imagine Martin being a jazz club music manager.
Olly being that lovely guy that goes around offices with a cart making people smile and giving them mail whilst whistling a happy tune.
Helen working in one of those spectacular, well lit – but slightly [but perfectly] dusty, hippy bakery and smiling all day.
I know that’s [probably] not true, but I am quite curious.

Indeed it isn’t true, but it’s a sight more interesting than the truth; and duly, we would also be interested to hear what the rest of you think we do all day, so please leave a comment with your thoughts on the matter.

Or, if you work as a careers adviser, perhaps you could suggest some pertinent avenues we could explore in the event that this talky stuff doesn’t work out.

Posted in Answer Us Back! Your time to opine, extracurricular questions, User-generated answers | 7 Comments »

Olly’s face: now appearing on a celebrity near you

October 8, 2008

It appears that Olly has yet another famous face-alike – Ian from Cumbria has discovered a new celebrity with whom Mr Mann shares a visage:

How similar does Olly Mann look to the ostentatious pushy editor Piers Morgan?¿. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the resemblance is uncanny, both share the same Jew-fro style curls and cheery cheekbones.

Thanks for providing illustrative materials, Ian – and an inverted question-mark! It’s always a thrill to have a new kind of punctuation on the website.

But there’s only one way of settling this matter, friends: a poll. Take it:

Which famous person does Olly resemble?

the fellow from Alphabeat
food-maker Ed Baines
media rapscallion Piers Morgan
Seth Rogen from out of the movies
none of the above
your mum

View Results

poll by twiigs.com

Posted in Answer Us Back! Your time to opine, extracurricular questions, frippery, Olly's face, User-generated answers | Leave a Comment »

Olly’s face is proving a popular choice amongst minor public figures

July 23, 2008

After last month’s Alphabeat shenanigans, here’s some more looky-likey fun courtesy of Sophie:

So I’m sat bored out of my brain watching Daily Cooks Challenge on ITV when the camera moves to Ed Baines, one of the chefs, and I can’t help but think that he looks a lot like Olly – good or bad thing I’m not quite sure! So answer me this. does anyone else see the resemblance? Or is it just my brain’s defence mechanism kicking in to give me something to focus my attention on to save me from the boredom?

Let’s look at the evidence!

Olly Mann's face

Ed Baines's face

Does Olly Mann look like Ed Baines?

yes
no
he looks more like 19th-century industrialist and universal male suffrage opponent Edward Baines

View Results

poll by twiigs.com

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Posted in extracurricular questions, frippery, Olly's face, User-generated answers | 1 Comment »

hiccups and sneezes

June 26, 2008

** Click here for EPISODE 59 **

Beth has more advice regarding sneeze/hiccup prevention tactics as raised in Episode 58:

I cure hiccups by drinking out of the wrong side of the glass like Helen’s family. It does actually work and if you are fully capable adult it is easy to do without spilling. It essentially means you are drinking upside down, whether that’s concentration or something to do with the diaphragm I have no idea.

As for sneezing, I tell everybody who has problems getting sneezes out (‘better out than in’, Helen, your tongue method may work but I believe that you should aim to sneeze, not hold it in) that they should look at something light/bright, then to something dark and repeat every few seconds. I think this is because by switching between the two your pupils contract and dilate, and as all things are connected this messes about with your sinuses (and other general sneezy bits), causing you to sneeze out that annoying tickle. I can’t remember if I read this somewhere or made it up, but it definitely works.

Ain’t sinuses crazy? Anyway, a whole NEW question has emerged from this hiccupping debate, thanks to Klaus:

What do you say to someone when they hiccup? With sneezes, it is customary to ‘bless’ the sneezee… when someone coughs, they might say ‘cough up’ or something similar. With a burp, one pardons oneself or is pardoned. But what of hiccups? Why are they are they just forced to linger awkwardly in the air until such a time as someone suggests a dubious hiccup remedy? Please advise!

Hmm, a fine point! In the event that one can refrain from saying ‘Try drinking a glass of water! Hold your breath! Throw yourself down the stairs! Have you tried holding your breath?’ then the usual thing to do is look at the hiccupper in a manner both sympathetic and condescending, if you can manage it; but any more gracious suggestions would be welcomed.

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Posted in Answer Us Back! Your time to opine, extracurricular questions, sneezing, User-generated answers | 5 Comments »

Episode 59 feedback

June 24, 2008

** Click here if you’re keen to listen to EPISODE 59 **

It’s feedback time! No, not when a horrid screeching sound comes out of the sound system at a gig, but when you delightful chappies shed light on issues raised in the podcast. Firstly, Graham from Canada has a tip in response to Adam’s plea for homework excuses in Episode 59:

My tip to avoid work is: eat about 10 multi-vitamins, then a sandwich, then phone your work once the sandwich is eaten and phone in to work sick (the multi vitamin sandwich thing is so barfing noises are real) this could be applied at lunch as well, if you want a half day. (Note, the zinc in the multi-vitamins in larger quantities is what causes the barfing.)

Before you merrily chow down on multivitamins in preparation for the upchuck of your life, please be aware that THIS IS NOT SOUND MEDICAL ADVICE. Also, why waste your fake sick day on actually being sick? But if you’re an emetophile or fervent self-hater, then go right ahead by all means.

Next to clean up one of our messes is Josh, commenting upon Luke from Birmingham‘s question about allergies in Episode 58:

Contrary to what Martin the soundman said, there is such a thing as an allergy to water and it doesn’t kill you before you’re born at all. Interesting!

The condition is called Aquagenic Urticaria. People who have it come up in really painful, itchy, itchy hives after coming in contact with water of any temperature, even their own sweat can trigger an allergic reaction. This means that they have to take really fast showers and have emergency umbrellas on them all the time. Let’s all think about that for a while.

Ouch! Yes, let’s. And then let’s cheer ourselves up by thinking about less severe allergies and weird reactions to foodstuffs, not only because it’s been AGES since we last did that, but also because Beth has been in touch to ask:

Am I the only one who breaks into a forehead sweat when I eat salt and vinegar crisps? Nothing else salty, vinagery or crispy, just them.

IS Beth the only one? Share, readers, share! And while you’re at it, please leave a comment here about your own bizarre food reactions, because we are horrible people who love to laugh at the digestive quirks of unfortunates.

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Posted in Answer Us Back! Your time to opine, User-generated answers | Leave a Comment »

Red semen at night…

June 18, 2008

Following the discussion on shades of sperm in Episode 57, Mik wrote in to share this worrying turn of biological and social events:

A while ago my sperm turned bright red. A little worried, I called at my doctor’s. She told me not to worry it was caused by over-active sex (lucky girlfriend) and would gradually disappear. To keep a check I was to wank into a condom every day and compare results. After about a week, and feeling pleased at my now healing sperm, we all had a good night on the town, returning to my place to carry the party on. The question is this: did i get my condoms filled with various shades of spunk out too early to show everyone, as the party atmosphere seemed to lose its direction after that?

Gosh. In an evening of festivities, how early is ‘too early’ to invite admiration of your bloody emissions? If you are one of Mik’s friends who happened to be present at this gory soirée, please leave a comment to say what time would have been the optimum point of proceedings for him to produce his display; then hopefully his future parties won’t peak prematurely.

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Posted in Answer Us Back! Your time to opine, extracurricular questions, User-generated answers | 2 Comments »

Help! Has anyone seen New Zealand?

May 9, 2008

** Answer Me This! returns on May 15th; meanwhile click HERE to listen to the back catalogue **

We’ve received a rather distressing missive from Paul from Paengaroa in New Zealand:

I made the mistake of looking at the CNN website (I am not sure that it is truly putting a world perspective spin on news) and I was distraught to find out that they do not currently acknowledge New Zealand as part of the world. In fact they appear to have missed all of Australasia/Oceania in their Geographically named user interfaces.

This troubles me as I believe that I may now be living on a different planet as my living place is not included in the world. Please can you answer me this….has New Zealand moved to another planet?

Yikes. Is it global warming? Continental drift? Another vanishing trick by David Copperfield? Unfortunately from my sofa in Crystal Palace I’m not well-positioned to check on the current whereabouts of New Zealand; but if any of you are larking about in or near the southern Pacific, please let us know if Australasia is all present and correct so that we can put Paul’s mind at rest. Wherever it is!

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Posted in extracurricular questions, User-generated answers | 1 Comment »

the Answer Me This! studios

April 30, 2008

** Answer Me This! returns on May 15th; meanwhile click HERE to listen to the back catalogue **

You listeners are endlessly wonderful. Not only do you send us all those questions we live to answer, but now pictures as well! Going straight onto the Answer Me This! fridge is this drawing by Alison from San Jose (click for a bigger image):

Alison writes:

As I listen to your podcast my mind makes up images of what the place you record in looks like. I decided to sketch out what I picture in my head. I have no idea if I’m right, though…what if your “recording studio” is really an old rec room or someone’s bedroom? What if you’re all just sitting around on a bed leaning over to share a computer microphone? I much prefer to picture you in a professional-type studio with fancy microphones, a laptop for quick research, and Martin in his own fancy sound booth. So Helen and Ollie, answer me this, what does your recording studio look like?

Alison, we hate to disappoint you, so let’s just say that our recording studio is even fancier than Mr Kipling’s French Fancies. It looks almost exactly like this, although you can’t quite see the 18-carat gold ceiling in this picture:

Oh, ok – our studio isn’t quite as snazzy as that one, but let’s keep Alison’s dream alive a little longer… Meanwhile, before we reveal the prosaic reality of Where The Magic Happens, if any of the rest of you feel like sending us a picture of what you think the studio looks like, we’d be quite delighted. Please email it to answermethispodcast@googlemail.com, and we’ll post it up here, just like Tony Hart might have done if he hadn’t retired.

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Posted in AMT Gallery, extracurricular questions, User-generated answers, visuals | Leave a Comment »

Nick fixes it (again)

June 13, 2007

* Click HERE to listen to Episode 18 *

Even after Helen gave him potentially deleterious health advice, regular questioneer Nick has been so kind as to haul us out of a hole on more than one occasion. After his fine work on the question of emoticons back in Episode 11, dauntless Nick has once again waded in where even alleged physics expert Martin the Sound Man fears to tread.

When Martin ‘I’ve got a PhD in physics – and I didn’t buy it off the internet’ Austwick utterly failed to supply a useful answer to Jonny’s question in Episode 18, “How can we prove that the world is round?”, who should save our bacon but Nick ‘I don’t have a PhD in Physics and frankly I suspect Martin the Sound Man’s is not worth the potato it was printed with’ Questioneer, who promptly emailed us the following succinct solution:

A two-word explanation for Johnny: lunar eclipses. Couldn’t happen like that if the earth were any other shape. I thank you.

Olly and Helen are now considering sacking themselves and appointing Nick their successor, but it would mean a lot of smashing jingles would go to waste.

What do you reckon, eh?

Should Helen and Olly sack themselves and appoint Nick their successor?