aforementioned Qi transcript

Stephen
To the nearest thousand, how many brides walked down the aisle in Britain last year?

[Viewscreens: Ten pictures of a cake-topping bride and groom decoration.]

Jeremy
[presses buzzer, which drums]

Stephen
Yes, Jeremy.

Jeremy
[points to viewscreen] Is that a clue? 'Cause there's ten.

Stephen
Oh, no, it's not.

Rich
[presses buzzer, which gongs]

Stephen
Mr. Cheerful.

Rich
. . . When you say "turtle after turtle after turtle" . . . what is the last turtle standing on?

Stephen
That's kind-of the point of the anecdote. That was . . . that was what William James said. And the woman said, [affected American accent] "It's no use, Mr. James; it's turtles all the way down." She believed it was a universe of infinite turtles.

Bill
Infinite number.

Stephen
It is a sort-of trick question, inasmuch as "What is the aisle of a church?"

Jeremy
The middle bit.

Alan
The . . . down the middle. The path.

Stephen
No, you see, that's the odd thing.

Alan
From the door to the altar.

Stephen
It's the sides. The long part is simply called the . . . the "central passage way".

Alan
So nobody walks up the aisle.

Stephen
No. "I will take her down the central passage way!" Not . . . not, "I will take her down the aisle"!

Rich
I was . . . I was taken up the apse. Which is the area in-between, off to each side.

Stephen
No, the apse is . . . is the back; behind the altar is the apse. It's the rounded--

Rich
Riight.

Stephen
The only rounded--

Rich
Well, at the time, you know, it . . . it seemed like the apse.

Posted By: Tomblander, Sep 8, 16:22:34