The Incomparable

40 The Candy Man Can’t

We’re sweet on sugar, but many of our panelists don’t cotton to American candy—including the American participants. We discuss our favorite chocolate bars and confections, Glenn forgets the word for licorice briefly, seaside rock crops up, and we drop into dipping Tim Tams. The Surgeon General warns that this episode might exceed your sugar allocation for the year.

This is our membership drive episode—become an Incomparable member! Sign up, support our show, and get access to exclusive podcasts! We’ve scheduled a special members-only live and then archived video session of Pants in the Boot in which we eat candies and sweets of various countries and describe our reactions. We’ll take questions and comments from members during the recording on May 14 at 10 am PDT! Become a member for all the details!

39 Brew Who?

Soda, pop, soda pop, soft drink, tonic, seltzer, and other fizzy drinks form the sweet backbone of our discussion as panelists talk about their childhood drinks, fountains and soda jerks, and a special beverage from Malta.

38 Secret New Zealander

People who speak English with one accent trying to ape another region or country’s often sound ridiculous to the people of that other place—but convincing to those from their native land’s impression of what people in that other place sound like. Benedict Cumberbatch, just for instance. Confused? It’ll all make sense when we go to Glasgow.

37 Accents Acute

There’s something about the way people in different countries makes those from others swoon. But there’s often a disdain for regional accents, particularly ones that have class markers. In a language with few accent marks above letters, we talk about the dulcet tones we like from around the world.

36 All Language Is Made Up

Hokey crokey, Batman! We start by talking about nonsense words—words that are filler and mean nothing in the language or dialect in which they’re used—but then transition to more meaningful matters, like the way in which aboriginal and native languages in various countries have made inroads into English. The movie Brave is mentioned and, of course, Johnny Vegas of St Helens.

35 The Detector Van Is a Lie

The television license is mythical to those of us in the United States, but it’s prosaic part of having high-quality programming in the UK. We talk about the kinds of over-the-air, satellite, streaming, and cable TV available to us, our feelings on Rupert Murdoch, and did you know Glenn’s dad sold cable door to door in 1979?

34 Money Money Money Money Money Money Money Money

Money is the root of all evil and the topic of this podcast. What in heaven’s name is spondulix? A pound is not a guinea. A five might be a finif, if you’re a gangster or read hard-boiled detective novels. Learn a little history and our favorite terms for money, as well as why those terms feel like they’re going extinct. Stay tuned after the episode for tooth-fairy inflation.

33 Marmaladoo, Are You Jelly?

We’re in a jam about jelly. What Americans think of as jelly is rarely eaten outside North America, while other folks worried we were putting a gelatin-brand product on our peanut-butter sandwiches. It’s all about the pectin! We compute the compote and cut our way through the fruit thicket, including having our way with curd. Stay tuned to the exciting post-show discussion about tiny hotel spreads.

32 Sing Your Favorite Postal Code

Everyone else’s postal codes seem bizarre until you start decoding them.

31 We All Live at 123 Fake Street

North American house numbering makes no sense to people with more rational systems, like that of Glasgow, which James reads out during this episode. Why do U.S. and Canadian homes have extremely long numbers and how can you use this to find cross streets?