Episode 24 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together, they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

Question is - can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads,

the show where a team of five quiz challengers pit their wits against

possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain - they are the Eggheads.

And challenging our resident quiz champions today are The Whigets.

This team are all members of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust,

a group which protects the historic parks,

gardens and landscapes of Wales.

Let's meet them.

I'm Jean. I'm 68 and I'm the chairman of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust.

Hi, I'm Tom. I'm 49 and I'm a renewable energy consultant.

Hi, I'm Advolly.

I'm 47 and I'm a garden and landscape historian.

Hi, I'm Alison. I'm 62 and I'm a retired teacher.

Hi, I'm Liz.

I'm 65 and I'm a garden historian.

Welcome to you, Whigets. Tell me about the trust and the work you do.

We were formed in 1989, so we're 25 years old,

so any voluntary organisation that makes 25 years

we reckon is a time for celebration.

We were set up at the time when gardens really

weren't as renowned as they are they are now.

We were worried about gardens that were being destroyed -

got a famous one in Wales called Aberglasney, which was falling

apart, so we've been involved in that sort of work for 25 years.

Congratulations to you.

I hope I'm congratulating you after we play the Eggheads here today.

Every day, there's £1,000 worth of cash

up for grabs for our challengers,

however, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

Whigets, the Eggheads have won just the last game,

so £2,000 says you can't beat them today.

Let's see about our first round. It's come up as Science.

Who'd like to play this?

I think that might be Advolly. Do you think that's Advolly?

Yes, Advolly.

OK, Advolly, yeah, getting geared up for it.

Which Egghead would you like to play?

Who you going to play, Advolly?

-I think Judith.

-You're going for Judith.

-Sounds like it's Judith.

-OK, well, let's have Advolly

and Judith into the Question Room to contest our opening round.

Advolly, somewhat reluctantly playing this Science round.

We do occasionally have some botany questions in there.

Would you like to go first or second?

Erm...

I think I'll go first, please, Dermot.

And the very best of luck to you. First question is this, Advolly.

What was accidentally invented in 1945

when a chocolate bar melted in the inventor's pocket,

whilst he was standing by a magnetron?

A magnetron? Erm...

I'm not sure what chocolate has to do with this.

Microwave oven.

Yeah, that's the significance of the chocolate bar - it melted!

Oh!

You were asking there...

Yes, microwave oven -

they then realised the potential there of those microwaves.

OK.

Judith, what is the usual habitat of the bird called the Arctic skua?

Well, I think they live at sea.

-Not urban gardens?

-I don't think so.

Not find them in The Whigets' territory?

The Arctic skua is of course found mainly at sea.

Well done.

Advolly, which of these names is given to a method of fitting

a line or curve to a set of data points?

Line or curve...

Fitting a line or curve to a set of data points?

Um...

I really don't know.

Um...

I'm going to have to guess, I'm afraid.

Um...

Lowest polygons.

-Barry?

-Least squares.

It's least squares, Advolly, least squares.

Nothing there, how will Judith do?

Judith, in 2002, Alfredo Moser from Brazil developed an idea to use

water bottles to provide which service for households?

Oh, God, I mean, how on earth are you going to know that?!

Um...

What's it got to do with TV reception?

I can't believe it could be to do with lighting.

I have absolutely no idea.

Magic right - heating.

Heating.

I'm the same as you, Judith, but I do have the luxury of having

the answer here and I will ask your Egghead colleagues,

see if they know anything more about it.

Alfredo Moser developed an idea to use

water bottles to provide...lighting for households.

It's lighting.

So, other Eggheads, do enlighten me and Judith.

I think he takes standard bottles,

and they're buried in the concrete or the mud or whatever you

choose to build your ceiling with,

and the light simply passes through them, like a skylight.

And you put bleach in the bottles to stop algae growing.

It's a sort of...

A cheap form of glass, really.

A cheap form of glass, yeah.

OK. Right.

There we have it - no damage done and it's all-square,

and see how you do with your third question.

Which material was patented in 1892 by the British chemists

and businessmen Charles Frederick Cross and Edward John Bevan?

Um...

I'm not too sure.

The only time I've heard shellac is when you have false nails.

Neoprene...

I'm going to go with viscose.

OK.

And you've got the right answer. Well done, Advolly.

Well, you have a lead here and will it prove to be a clinching lead?

Judith, the Stern-Gerlach experiment of 1922

provided evidence that which bodies have the property of spin?

Stern-Gerlach.

S-T-E-R-N...

Hyphen G-E-R-L-A-C-H.

G-E-R-L-A-C-H.

Well, "Search me," is all I can say!

Um...

Electrons.

Electrons...

is the right answer - you've both got them.

Well, Advolly, to explain to you

and those who may face a similar situation later,

this is Sudden Death we move to, after three questions each,

with multiple choices there.

We're offering you no more choices, just got to hear an answer from you.

Amalthea, discovered in 1892,

is the fifth largest moon, by overall size,

of which planet?

Amalthea - A-M-A-L-T-H-E-A.

OK. Um...

-Where are the plant questions here?!

-I'm sorry.

There don't seem to be any!

Oh, my goodness me - it is a nightmare.

Erm...

Jupiter.

Jupiter...

And chuckles from the Eggheads cos they know you've got it!

Jupiter. Well, you will go through if Judith doesn't get this.

Judith, which university administers the

observatory for radio astronomy known as Jodrell Bank?

It's either Birmingham or Manchester.

I read it two days ago and it's gone out of my head.

Uh...Birmingham.

-It's Manchester.

-Oh, no!

That's not fair!

I think we all feel for you there, Judith.

A lot of people wouldn't have had a clue about either two.

Oh, dear, Judith - bad luck.

What a great victory, though, Advolly.

You didn't want to play it, and you've won it,

which means you will be playing in the Final Round for The Whigets.

Would you both, please, come back and join your teams.

The Whigets off to a flying start after Advolly's victory,

it means the Eggheads have lost one brain from the Final Round -

Whigets are all there of course.

Our second head-to-head today is Film & Television.

Who's raring to go on this one?

ADVOLLY: That was one of mine!

You're safe, Advolly, you don't have to play.

-You?

-I guess so.

I think it's going to be Tom.

ADVOLLY: What about if Sport comes up?

What about it Sport comes up?

-Do you want me to go?

-I don't mind.

Shall I go in case Sport comes up?

Will I go in case Sport comes up?

OK, regretfully, it's me.

Stay with us and choose your Egghead.

Film & TV, so you can choose anyone apart from Judith.

Chris.

OK, it's going to be Jean and Chris playing this one -

into the Question Room.

Jean, it's Film & TV. I guess you watch the gardening shows,

what other viewing habits do you have?

Well, I watch Eggheads, of course.

That's my...

I enjoy the quiz shows.

This is not my favourite subject, I have to say.

Film & Television...

I think... Not at all good, but we'll have a go.

And we will find out in a moment or two.

Do you want to go first or second?

I think I'll go second.

First question for the Eggheads, then, and that's Chris.

Which Australian actress played the title role

in the 1998 feature film Elizabeth?

That was Cate Blanchett.

Yes, it was, Chris.

Assuredly off the mark. Your first question, then, Jean.

What type of supernatural characters do

Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan play in the 2012 film Byzantium?

Well, I have to confess, I haven't the faintest idea.

Byzantium.

Somehow, I don't think it would be zombies.

I think I'm going to do a Judith and go down the right-hand side

and say werewolves.

OK, werewolves for Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan in Byzantium...

It's not, Jean, no.

Very much in vogue in recent years, these kind of films - Chris?

-They're vampires.

-Vampires.

OK, another question for you then, Chris.

In 1986, William Boyd took on the role of a villain called

James Willmott-Brown in which TV soap?

It's the one I never watch - it's EastEnders.

It is EastEnders. Chris has got it, which means you need this, Jean.

Who wrote and presented the three-part television

documentary series King Alfred And The Anglo Saxons,

first shown in 2013?

Ah...

Don't know who Michael Wood is - sorry, Michael Wood.

I associate Mary Beard with the Romans.

I'm going to try Neil Oliver.

OK, Neil Oliver. King Alfred And The Anglo Saxons was written

and presented by...

-Michael Wood, Jean. Michael Wood!

-Sorry!

Bad luck. So we close the round down right away, Chris has already

got those two on the board, which is

unassailable from your point of view.

Means you won't be in the Final Round, Jean.

Would you both, please, come back and join your teams.

It's an even-handed game so far - both teams have lost one

brain from the Final Round - The Whigets and the Eggheads.

Our next subject, our third subject, it's Politics.

Who wants to play this from The Whigets?

JEAN: That was mine...!

THEY LAUGH

-Alison?

-I'll go.

Alison, choose an Egghead.

Judith and Chris have played, so you can play Pat, Barry or CJ.

I'll go for CJ, please.

All right. Let's have Alison and CJ into the Question Room now, please.

Alison, we're awaiting your choice of tactics with interest -

do you want to go first, like Advolly, or second, like Jean?

I'd like to go first, please.

Try and establish a lead before the Egghead.

First question, Alison.

Which foodstuff did Dean Porter

throw at Ed Miliband in a South London market in August 2013?

Well, all three of them are popular for throwing at politicians

or people you disapprove of.

I remember the incident, I don't remember the missile.

I'm going to go with egg.

OK, egg. It is the right answer. Well done.

You got that, well done, Alison.

CJ, which country established an organisation called

the Peace Corps in 1961?

Well, it was set up by John F Kennedy,

which rather leads me to the USA.

OK, once you'd said that...

Yes, USA is correct.

Both started well. Alison's second question.

In which decade did Hillary Rodham marry Bill Clinton?

I'm going to rule out the '50s.

And I think, because I don't know the answer,

I'll go down the middle with the 1970s.

OK, 1970s.

Yes, it is.

That's the correct answer.

OK. CJ, your second question.

In the House of Commons, who holds the casting vote

if the vote is equal?

Well, the Prime Minister

and the Father of the House just have standard votes, don't they?

Although the Speaker does have a party affiliation,

he's supposed to be neutral in the House.

I'll go with the Speaker.

The Speaker having the casting vote if it ends up even...

yep, the Speaker has the casting vote.

It's all-square - going well, both of you.

Alison, third question.

In Parliament, royal assent is given to legislation by an official

speaking words in which language?

I'm going to rule out Anglo-Saxon.

Erm...

Latin is the language of the law.

So I think I'll go for Latin.

OK. Latin.

It's Norman French.

You just said it, Alison - it is Norman French.

Didn't really consider or turn your thoughts to that.

CJ, chance to get into the Final Round if you get this.

Who was known as the Earl of Avon

after serving as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?

I can never remember which ones take which titles.

I think Eden did take...

I think it was an earldom for Eden.

I don't think it was MacDonald, but that could come back to bite me.

I do know what title Eden took and I can't remember.

I think I'm going for Anthony Eden.

OK.

You do you what title he took but you can't remember.

Well, you have now - it is the Earl of Avon.

Eased his way into the Final Round there, CJ.

Bad luck, Alison,

just jumped in a little bit on your last one -

means you won't be in the Final Round.

Would you both, please, come back and join your teams.

As it stands, The Whigets have lost two brains from the Final Round,

the Eggheads have lost one, so edging into the lead, the Eggheads.

Can The Whigets pull them back?

Last chance to do so on the head-to-head - it's Sport.

Who'd like to play this? I think we know.

THEY LAUGH

Tom or Liz - is it going to be you, Tom?

It's definitely Tom.

Definitely Tom.

Chris, Judith and CJ have played, so you can have Pat or Barry, Tom.

-Eh...I'll have Barry, please.

-OK, Barry.

Let's have Tom and Barry into the Question Room now, please.

Tom, you've been on TV before, a little while ago, it must be said.

Tell us about the Blue Peter appearance.

It was a long time ago.

We were... Myself and my fiancee at the time,

we were travelling across Africa on motorbikes

and the BBC team were heading to Zimbabwe for their summer break,

so I think they brought us on to fit in with that as much as anything.

We basically drove into the studios on the bikes,

desperately hoping we weren't going to fall over,

and be on the repeat show for the next 20 years,

but fortunately, it all went OK.

Fantastic. I hope this goes OK then. Do you want to go first or second?

I will go second, please.

Barry goes first then. First set of questions then, Barry.

Which British athlete won the women's 400 metres

at the 2013 World Championships in a photo-finish?

I remember watching this,

it was one of the most exciting races I've ever watched.

I think the final result was

something like one-hundredth of a second,

and I do believe it was Christine Ohuruogu.

It was Christine Ohuruogu.

OK, one to you. Tom, your first question.

In Olympic handball, it is

illegal to pass the ball using which of these parts of the body?

Erm...

I'd imagine the elbow's probably OK.

Handball - I would say foot.

That's fair, really - it's the opposite of football.

Yeah, right answer. Well done.

Barry, IK Start is a football team from which country?

Never heard of them.

IK Start.

Of the three, I've probably heard of Norwegian football teams more

then the other two,

and that has not rung a bell with Norway,

so I'll discount Norway.

I'll go for the one I know least about - Latvia.

Latvia for IK Start.

No!

It's incorrect, Barry.

Other Eggheads, anyone know?

-CJ:

-Go for Iceland with the I.

I - Iceland.

Good thought, but, no. It is Norway for IK Start.

I knew the moment I said that!

Yes, you were on a hiding to nothing once you'd said that. OK.

Well, that's great news, potentially, for you, Tom.

Can you capitalise?

Your second question.

In which event did Liselotte Neumann

captain Europe to an 18-10 victory over

the United States in 2013?

Sounds like golf then, but I'm not a golfer.

Um...

I haven't heard of the Uber Cup.

I've heard of the Solheim Cup, so it's that or the Fed,

and I think I'll go for the Solheim Cup.

Just looking at Barry's face.

He knows you've got it - yes!

You have the lead.

Solheim Cup.

You need this, as you know, Barry.

In which year did the Sri Lanka cricket team

play it's first official Test match?

I know India and Pakistan were playing well before Sri Lanka -

they joined the International Cricket Confederation much later,

so I shall discount 1962.

I don't think it was as late as '82,

so I'll go down the middle at '72.

And you're going down the plughole - that's wrong too!

It's 1982.

Ah, later still.

Tom, you can relax.

That wasn't too hard, was it?

No, but got to do it again now, don't I?

Yes, but you will have company, and quite a lot of company.

You've beaten Barry, which means you are in the Final Round.

Would you both, please, come back and join your teams.

And this is what we've been playing towards -

it's the Final Round, which,

as always, is General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid that those of you who

lost your head-to-heads won't be allowed to take part in this round,

so Jean and Alison from The Whigets,

and Barry and Judith from the Eggheads,

would you leave the studio now, please.

Tom, Advolly and Liz, you're playing to win The Whigets £2,000.

CJ, Chris and Pat,

you're playing for something that money can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

As usual, I'm going to ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are all General Knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

Whigets, are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

Whigets, how are you going to play this?

You played it both ways in the head-to-head -

do you want to go first or second?

We'd like to go first, please.

OK, kicking us off, The Whigets, and your first question is this.

What name is given to the grotesquely-carved rainwater

spouts often found on the walls of cathedrals?

Gargoyles.

No discussion required - it's the right answer, yes.

Get that one on the board - gargoyles.

Eggheads, How I Found Livingstone is a work by which explorer?

At a guess, I'd say Stanley.

Henry Morton Stanley.

Henry Morton Stanley, I presume.

Lovely stuff there, Pat.

Henry Morton Stanley is correct.

Both off the mark with some degree of ease.

Whigets, your second question.

Which of these is the name of the accent or mark which is

normally placed over the first E in the word "fete"?

-It's the hat - what's it called?

-It's not the cedilla.

The circumflex. It's the circumflex.

-Is that the hat?

-It's a circumflex.

Yeah, a little hat, as you described.

Circumflex is correct.

Well done.

Eggheads, your second question.

The Rif Mountains are in which of these African countries?

They're part of the Atlas.

The piece that extends up along the Mediterranean.

They're a sub-section of the Atlas Mountains,

so they're in Morocco.

Morocco's your answer.

It's the correct answer. You've got two correct,

so it's all-square as we go into the third pair of questions.

Whigets, who wrote the comedy The Admirable Crichton,

that was first performed on the London stage in 1902?

Who wrote the comedy The Admirable Crichton,

that was first performed on the London stage in 1902?

-You agreed for that?

-I'm pretty sure it's JM Barrie.

We think it's JM Barrie.

JM Barrie for The Admirable Crichton.

You're right!

Three. OK, Eggheads, are you going to lose again?

A combined English and Dutch force captured

and sacked which foreign port in 1596?

Could this be the sinking of the King of Spain's boat?

It's not Venice - not in 1596.

He was Elizabethan times, so Drake is a candidate.

Would they have been doing any mischief in Alexandra?

I don't think so.

English fits for the time for Cadiz, doesn't it?

I thought it was just a lightning raid.

Did they actually go ashore and wreck the place?

-Sounds like they did.

-Apparently.

They bombed a lot of ships in the harbour.

-Go with that?

-Yep.

-Yeah.

We're assuming it's Francis Drake singeing the King of Spain's beard,

and we think it's Cadiz.

OK.

That is the right answer, Eggheads, you've got it,

so we go into Sudden Death.

Here we go - it gets a lot harder.

It gets a lot harder.

As you know, exactly.

OK, in the abbreviation L.S.D. for pounds, shillings and pence,

which Latin word was represented by S?

In the abbreviation L.S.D. for pounds, shillings and pence,

which Latin word was represented by S?

-Isn't it gold? Sold... Sold...

-Sorry?

Soldera? Sol-something? Soldera?

I was going to say sesterti, that was a Latin...

That begins with a C.

Oh, right...

I can't think, cos there were 20 shillings in a pound, weren't there?

We'll try...

Will we try it?

What was it made out of?

-Silver, I think.

-Silver, is it?

Well, the little shilling pieces...

We'll try sesterti.

We're not very sure about this.

Sesterti.

S for sesterti.

It's not the right answer, it's not sesterti.

Do you know, Eggheads?

-Solidi.

-Solidi.

-ADVOLLY:

-That's what I said!

-CHRIS:

-Librae - pound.

Solidi - shillings.

Denarii is pennies.

Solidi was what we wanted, not sisterci.

Eggheads, you've got a chance to win the game.

In a word often ascribed to George Bernard Shaw,

the letters G, H, O, T and I are pronounced in the same

way as a which common word with a very different spelling?

In a word often ascribed to George Bernard Shaw,

the letters G, H, O, T and I are pronounced in the same

way as a which common word with a very different spelling?

Do you know it?

He was fascinated by linguistics

and the peculiarities of English pronunciation annoyed him,

and he produced examples of each of the letters.

So it would be pronounced as "fish".

G, H, O, T, I, pronounced as "fish", you're saying?

-That's your answer?

-That's our answer - "fish".

How did he get to that then from G-H-O-T-I?

Off the top of my head, it's hard work...

The G and the H are "ff" at the end of some words,

erm...

O can presumably be pronounced as "I" in some circumstances.

Women?

Yeah, absolutely.

T-I as in "tion".

Nation. And you have "fish",

and you have the right answer and you have won the game.

Well done, Eggheads.

Yes, they knew their fish there.

Well done, Eggheads.

Thank you very much for playing them, Whigets,

very good performance - all-square through the head-to-heads,

some notable victories

in the Sudden Death with moons of Jupiter and all that.

Great stuff seeing you. Thank you very much indeed

and best of luck with all the work in the future.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

they still reign supreme over quiz-land.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with our £2,000,

that means the money rolls over to our next show.

Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers have the

brains to defeat the Eggheads -

£3,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.