Good To Know
●
Salt and vinegar crisps traditionally arrived in a blue packet, for those old enough to remember. Meanwhile, cheese and onion were housed in a green packet.
Those were the colours, they worked, and we could enjoy whatever flavour of crisp we wanted simply by glancing at the hue of the bag.
But then, in the ’90s, snack giants Walkers broke with tradition and announced they were switching.
Salt and vinegar crisps? They would be served up in green packets. Cheese and onion? Blue.
What on earth were they thinking? Walkers went from strength to strength so it obviously worked, didn’t it?
Except... none of this happened. Walkers never switched the colour of their packets at any point.
No evidence seems to exist, and the company themselves deny it happened.
This has baffled some people on social media, who firmly believe this happened. In fact, two thirds of people, according to an internet poll, remember the switch.
This strange set of circumstances is the premise of an unexpectedly fascinating new podcast.
It’s called The Walkers Switch, and begins with an investigation into a quirky conspiracy theory but explores things like how our brains work.
The series explores a phenomenon called The Mandela Effect, where swathes of the population believe something has happened, despite reality saying otherwise.
Supposedly, lots of people have memories of Nelson Mandela dying in the 1980s – and many were surprised at his eventual demise in 2013.
The podcast tries to find out what’s going on.
They even track down what could be the mastermind behind the conspiracy.
Is it... Gary Lineker...?
Her fourth album since 2004 breakout pop song, Leave (Get Out), shows a step into an adult direction in comparison with her earlier work.
This is R&B with style and thought, showing depth and reflective mood.
The latest record from the former singer with late ’80s pop-rock band, Transvision Vamp, is a double album.
There are a number of influences here – rockabilly, indie, Motown – but the resulting sound is a little all over the place, and not in a good way.
It would have been better to pick the strongest songs and pare back the tracks, rather than put it out as a double album.
The actor’s debut album is as dark and inscrutable as the films and TV shows he’s appeared in, like Twin Peaks, Get Out and Breaking Bad.
Surprising and captivating, it’s a schizophrenic ride through Americana. The opening tracks set the tone, jumping from ragtime to marching music to Beatles psychedelia.
It’s like Nick Cave decamped to New Orleans in search of inspiration.