Episode 7: Afternoon Tea with Arnold Brown

In this episode I chat to legendary stand up comedian Arnold Brown

Arnold first performed on the opening night of London’s Comedy Store in 1979, went on to achieve cult status on the British stand-up circuit, and has even supported the likes of Frank Sinatra and Steven Wright.

Interrupted only by the occasional chink of china, the two of us chatted about the psychology of comedy, Arnold’s favourite joke, and his love of Woody Allen’s moose routine.

Download here.

Here is Arnold in action….

And here is the Woody Allen moose routine…

It’s the Friday puzzle!

Looks like it is going to be close on the Battle of the Clever Stuff (below), so do remember to vote.  Anyway, here is another classic puzzle …..

Two boys are playing table tennis.  Their only ball falls off the table and down into a narrow metal pipe in the floor.  The pipe is one foot deep and only just wider than the ball.  Their hands won’t fit into the pipe, and the only tools available are their  tennis paddles and shoe-laces.  How can they get the ball out of the pipe?

The answer to this puzzle, and 100 others,  can be found in a new kindle ebook called PUZZLED, and is available in the UK here and USA here.

Episode 6: Afternoon Tea with Andy and Preston Nyman

In this episode I chat to actor, magician and mind reader Andy Nyman, and his son Preston, who was performing stand-up comedy at the Edinburgh Festival.

As well as having a successful acting career, including leading roles in films such as ‘Severance and ‘Shut up and shoot me’, Andy has also spent over a decade working closely with Derren Brown.

Over tea and biscuits we all chatted about Andy’s love of acting, his work with Derren, and his latest projects. Andy also showed me a couple of card tricks, the like of which I had never seen before.

Download here.

Battle of the clever stuff

Last week I staged another battle of the clever stuff, and put a nice illusion TV poster against an optical illusion. The optical illusion won so it stays on. This week it is up against a wonderful photograph by artist Bernard Pras. Have a look at them both….here is the illusion again (the squares make complete circles)….

And here is the photograph. From one angle it appears to be a normal looking cabin…

But from another perspective it looks just like the profile of a person….

Vote now and feel free to add a note saying why you like what you like.

Emotional IQ Answer

Yesterday I posted a fun test of the emotional IQ and compared men with women.  I showed everyone the pair of eyes below and asked them to say whether the person was sad, happy, angry, surprised or fearful.  Can you identify the emotion from just the eyes? Answer after the break.

Test your emotional IQ

OK, time for a quick and fun test to help compare the emotional IQ of men and women. Below is a pair of eyes cut from a photograph. In the full photograph the women has an obvious emotion on her face, but can you identify the emotion from just the eyes?

I am asking men and women to vote in two different polls, so we can compare. I know it is only one trial etc, but let’s see what happens. Feel free to justify your vote in the comments section….

Episode 5: Afternoon Tea with Barry and Stuart

In this episode I chat with dark magical duo Barry and Stuart, who are at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with their show, Powered By Demons.

We chatted about magic and religion, what happens when dangerous stunts go wrong, and how they might incorporate a garden gnome into their act.

Oh, and their wonderful online ESP test is here.

Download here.

New and exclusive illusion pic!

Writer and skeptic Michael Shermer created this lovely illusion pic on the road to Mt. Wilson in Southern California….

Can you work out how it was produced? Answer after the break…

Episode 4: Afternoon Tea With Sue Blackmore

In this episode I chat with psychologist, skeptic and author Sue Blackmore, who was at the Edinbrugh Book Festival to talk about her new book Ten Zen Questions.

The two of us chatted about parapsychology, her new theory about the evolution of technology and how to meditate in 20 seconds.

Download here.

New video

I don’t normally post at the weekend, but just made this to promote the podcast, and thought you might enjoy…

It’s the Friday Puzzle!

Time for another classic.  Here we go…

There’s a standard filament-type light bulb in a closed room upstairs. It is controlled by one of three standard on-off switches downstairs. You are downstairs. How can you discover for certain which switch controls the light by operating one or more switches and then taking only one trip upstairs into the closed room?

The answer to this puzzle, and 100 others,  can be found in a new kindle ebook called PUZZLED, and is available in the UK here and USA here.

Episode 3: Afternoon Tea with Piff the Magic Dragon

Welcome to Episode 3 of the podcast.

This time I am chatting to magician and actor Jon van der Put. Jon is currently performing at the Edinburgh Festival with his show ‘Piff-Tacular’, and is also co-created ‘Stand Not Amazed’, a theatre company that presents magic within a more theatrical context. Listen to the interview after the break.

Episode 2: Afternoon Tea with Philip Escoffey

Welcome to the second episode of Afternoon Tea with Richard Wiseman, where I chat with expert mind-reader Philip Escoffey about belief in the paranormal, skepticism and why Charlie and the Chocolate Factory makes him feel anxious. Hope that you enjoy it.

Michael Jackson in 140 characters

Yesterday on Twitter I asked everyone to try to summarize Michael Jackson’s life in 140 characters or less.  Here are my top five favourites….

Child fullfiller, adult thriller, midlife downhiller, depressive painkiller, accused peadophiler, suicidal tranquiller? – @PJohnPilkington

Things went good, then weird, then good, then bad, then weird. – @JudyBecker

ABC to DEA by way of BAD.@nacnudrium

Born poor black man, becomes rich white woman. …something with a monkey? dies. @garethdivitini

born ->famous -> more famous -> really famous -> got bit creepy -> even more creepy ->comeback? -> died…@cbonnett

What do you think?  Any better suggestions?

Join in with the battle of clever stuff!

Last week I staged another battle of the clever stuff, and put a nice illusion photograph against an optical illusion. The optical illusion won by a narrow margin. So, it stays on, and this week it is up against a wonderful poster. Have a look at them both….here is the illusion again (the squares make complete circles)….

And here is a wonderful poster for HBO’s vampire show, True Blood (look at it and the hidden image will suddenly appear – after which you will not be able to see it any other way)

This, of course, is a modern version of the ‘what can you see in the image below’ illusion….

So, which wins?Illusion or poster?  Vote now and feel free to justify your choice below….