This hour: lawyers-turned-pinball wizards, two extraordinary minds meeting in a field of poetry and, forty years after the phrase was coined, the skinny on 420.

Geis & Geis: Pinball Machine Distributors

by Sarah Geis for Falling Tree Productions’ Short Cuts on BBC Radio 4 

When Sarah was 10-years-old, her lawyer parents decided to quit their jobs and and take a spin in the world of pinball.

420

by Phoebe Judge and Lauren Spohrer for Criminal

The Colorado Department of Transportation says the 420 mile markers on the state’s highways were stolen so often, they had to replace them with 419.99 mile markers. Many people know that “420” represents marijuana – hence the popularity of the mile markers – but very few know why. It’s not a police code, it’s not the number of chemical compounds in cannabis, and it’s certainly not Bob Marley’s birthday. This is the real story.

Two Poets

by Martin Johnson for Seriously on BBC Radio 4 

Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant for whom words are filled with colour and numbers have become friends. In Daniel’s world, four is shy, six a little sad. Numbers and words come easy to him. And he never forgets — once, he recited 22154 digits of Pi from memory. On another occasion, he learned Icelandic in a week. He has a hard time connecting with people, but the poetry of Australian Les Murray opened up a new world for Daniel.

This hour of Re:sound was produced by Dennis Funk.