Why overpay $1,000 for a phone?

[@ch48_]

I love how every time Emojli comes up Tom just says "NEVER BUILD AN APP" like an automated response. I mean, to be fair, it's a good automated response

[@sponge1234ify]

"Hello, this is your automated build-an-app response; 'NEVER BUILD AN APP'. Good day!"

[@hcblue]

The way Annie checked for the answer at the beginning ("does it have to do with an app?") was kind of perfect. It didn't give away the answer, but at the same time, it confirmed my suspicion that I, too, knew the answer.

[@romainsavioz5466]

And they didn't get it from that clue

[@PassiveDestroyer]

Yeah, me too. It brought back all of the memories of people getting swept up by it.

[@stevezpj]

I thought it was Flappy Bird straight away but also thought "there was no way that was 9 years ago!!" as I remember my panic to get it downloaded and backed up before it was taken down :D

[@emdivine]

@@stevezpj Ah so I take it you forgot to account for the time hole in between known as covid

[@stevezpj]

​@@emdivine I don't think I have the same time hole most people do since COVID hardly changed anything for me. I've had to come into the office every single day, regardless, due to working on a key network that can only be accessed from specific secured locations :(

[@cheeseninja1115]

Just to make Tom feel even older. People born in 2005 can now vote this year

[@hairyneil]

2007 in Scotland!

[@johnbee7729]

Heck, that ain't old - I am still trying to figure out what Flappy Bird is.

[@PouLS]

People born in 2007 can vote this year too.

[@route2070]

Or that in the US, they can tell you are of drinking age just by seeing your birth year starts with a 19.

[@singerofsongs468]

@@route2070You’re a few years off for that one! I was born in 2000, which gave me the extra gift of an entire years’ worth of alarmed cashiers handing me back my ID lol

[@JoeBleasdaleReal]

I can attest to Annie’s comment about this being a traumatic event. I was 16 at the time - it was like a disease, people turned into monsters, constantly trying to one-up each other at all cost. I fell out with so many friends over that stupid game, but we can laugh about it now 😂 Not too delighted that means Tom would consider me a “little ruddy whippersnapper” but there you go

[@IceMetalPunk]

@@kg4wwn I think you may have met my 17-year-old nephew, because you sound just like him when he talks to me 😒

[@foogriffy]

​@@IceMetalPunk i was 17 at the time. my high score was over 500

[@Winchestersammy11]

I literally yelled, “Flappy Bird!” at the kitchen table. Admittedly, it did take me a few seconds, but Annie’s mentioning of “apps” near the start of the video made my pupils dilate. XDXDXD

[@WillBinge]

Same, it was the same thing for me and the elevator one a few weeks ago

[@Bomsanchu]

exactly the same, I came down to the comments after 2 minutes of watching to check if someone else came to the same conclusion this fast

[@Megan4434]

Request for Tom and crew: Could you put what episode number each clip is from please? Some older episodes reference non-KZbin clips and there’s no easy way to find the exact episode

[@karolispigaga8219]

As soon as Annie said about the limited app, i knew what is the reason. great video as always Tom!

[@punor]

i thought this was about the i am rich app because that cost a thousand dollars too as i remember

[@packradtpackradt4581]

I'm listening to it in real time; I sit this out and remember like it was yesterday.

[@bjmand6236]

I knew what it was about when i read the title xD or at least was pretty sure

[@hebl47]

7:54 Tom wondering whether this is still Lateral or is he back on Technical Difficulties. Because he's used to getting this kind of shade thrown at him from Gary, but not here.

[@brssnkl]

I would have said "Were these phones used but not reset before being sold" to not give too much away but it's easy when you are not in a live show :D

[@mowkikowski]

really enjoyed how tom illustrated how old he felt with an allusion from the 80s

[@MrDannyDetail]

I also didn't know that Flappy Bird had been removed from sale at any point, but if it was quickly returned to sale again then it's understandable not to have known. I think I've only ever seen it on the large arcade machines on piers and in holiday park arcades, and not on anybody's phones tbh.

[@JasonZakrajsek]

It was never returned to sale. It’s been removed forever.

[@lordtraust]

The look on Annie's face when she hears the highest score is priceless

[@narfharder]

Over nine thousand!!!

[@Epinardscaramel]

“I’m sorry this is how you had to find out!” 🤣🤣🤣

[@CatherineKimport]

As soon as I saw the title my first thought was "oh my god that's gotta be that [SPOILER, CORRECT ANSWER] thing..."

[@danielchong5032]

There was a very, very recent case of deja vu similar to this one. When the Apple vs Epic Games spat over the Fortnite iOS app monetization first blew up, the game was pulled from the App Store. Those who still had the app installed in their phones could still play them, so some people took advantage of the situation and sold their phones with Fortnite still installed at a high markup.

[@lastnamefirstname8655]

i'm so glad i knew of this as well. it was so well known before, and when it disappeared, those that still had it became so valuable. even if nowadays there are so many similar/ripoff games, it's still played so much everywhere amongst the matching generations.

[@MyRegardsToTheDodo]

Good old Flappy Bird. I am 46 seconds into the video and basically knew the answer (I hope the rest of the video doesn't prove me wrong). He could have used PS4s for the question too (they exploded in value once Konami removed the PT demo from the store). But I am actually surprised this was in 2014, I hadn't expected it to be that long ago.

[@blindleader42]

As a late adopter (first mobile phone 2017), I've never heard of Flappy Bird. After hearing this edition of Lateral, I've _still_ never heard of Flappy Bird. edit: speaking of old age (I think). re: the opening question of the podcast: I've never been a musician, took some piano lessons before the first electronic piano was invented, So how is it that I looked down at my qwerty for about three seconds and said "F#".

[@beth12svist]

I've had mobile phones for a while, but got my first smartphone I think at the end of 2015, which means apps before that passed me by. And they still kind of do. Never heard of it, either, and much like you, I still don't know what it is. 😁

[@narfharder]

I waited for somebody to _pitch_ in "G flat".

[@MarylandFarmer.]

Tom isn't the only one who aged rapidly at the end. I felt it too

[@2tri749]

I've heard of this before, so I was familiar with it and got it once the question was read out. Excellent question Tom!

[@hadinossanosam4459]

Alternate title: "I regret being the host of this, Episode 2" xD

[@spelcheak]

I remember he pulled it because ONE “mother” emailed him saying her son had missed a week of school because he was so addicted, it had only been out long enough for that to just be technically possible but not realistically true. He needed to have downloaded it getting ready for school the moment it dropped and then become instantly crippling addicted, which might have happened but it’s not the app that was the problem if true.

[@kvarts314]

Flappy bird had only been on google play (android) for 12 days when it was removed, but had been on app store (iOS) for over 8 months. So it's definitely possible for him to have been addicted to the game for over a week

[@lforlight]

"Why overpay $1,000 for a phone?" is exactly what I ask myself every time I see someone with an iPhone

[@alphazero924]

Eh, nowadays it's actually not that crazy that modern phones cost as much as they do if, and only if, you're specifically wanting it for the camera. The way that the flagship iPhone and Galaxy phones keep pushing mobile cameras forward is absolutely worth the price of admission, but for the vast majority of people it's not necessary.

[@paulnieuwkamp8067]

Have you seen how much Samsung asks for their flagships?

[@MaxIronsThird]

@@alphazero924 Meanwhile Windows Phones in 2014 with their great cameras, seling for $250.

[@alphazero924]

@@MaxIronsThird In 2014, an 8MP camera was great for a phone, but the s23 and iPhone 14 cameras can compete with DSLRs at this point. They don't have quite the range of possibilities as a DSLR just because you're stuck with the lens you've got, but with multiple cameras in each phone now, you've got a lot of versatility that you didn't have in 2014 in any phone.

[@MaxIronsThird]

@@alphazero924 Dude, you've never had a Lumia phone for sure, their cameras were as good as modern midrange phone's, a decade later. Apple and Samsung needed half a decade to match them with their most overpriced models. Microsoft shouldn't have killed the brand, just like Mixer, they get cold feet way too fast.

[@singerofsongs468]

Oh man, I knew this one from the thumbnail question. I too was the perfect age to have experienced this event, and the other commenters describing the fallout pretty much nailed it. I remember in the wake of that app, the new obsession at my school became a game called Crossy Road(?) which was like infinite frogger. I also have been unable to get rid of the U2 album. I _hate_ that album. I don’t want to talk about it. Thinking about it actually ruins my whole mood.

[@bertt646]

This also happened with playstation 4 when PT was removed from the store.

[@timothymclean]

My first question would have been "Were the sellers lying about their product?" Because that seems like an obvious way to get people to overpay for stuff.

[@walker1054]

I know the answer too and Annie decided to give the biggest hint ever within the first few seconds to the others lol. Suprised to see theres still another 7 mins of the video after that. The same happened with Playstation 3s with a discontinued game demo called PT after it got pulled because of some shinanigans

[@dragonslayer050819]

I totally did not need this to tell me that I'm old and flappy bird was almost a decade ago

[@VonOzbourne]

Getting vibes of when Disney ended the licensing contract for the Tiny Death Star mobile game and forced the developer to remove it from any online store, effectively gutting NimbleBit's biggest revenue stream. [Waited until the end to submit just to make sure that this wasn't the answer]

[@lck0ut348]

I miss that game ...

[@IceMetalPunk]

When Flappy Bird became popular, I immediately made a clone called Flappy Bat. It was basically identical, but with a bat-in-the-forest theme to the assets. But since I didn't want to pay to put it on any app store (and I still don't want to for anything), you had to sideload it onto Android devices. It was the only app I've ever advertised with KZbin interstitials, despite me giving it away for free. I used to say I would update it with power-ups or something, but never did. I was 24 at the time. Young Annie can go... sit in time out, or whatever it is children do these days when they make people feel old 😂

[@wooper4000]

Knew 100% this was the Flappy Bird craze from the first reading of the question.

[@Devieus]

Well, I got this one right away before the question was finished. It's pretty nuts, and it's not just limited to phones either, playstation consoles with the P.T. demo installed on it go for just as much.

[@random832]

I have Flappy Bird in my google account and it follows me to each new phone, did the Apple side not get that, and it's just tied to physical devices from that era only?

[@TheDisplacerBeast]

Its like the ps4s they sold with PT

[@fredoverflow]

0:50 I can see the "Blue" logo on the front of the microphone 😥 She is speaking into the _back_ of the microphone. The "Blue" logo is supposed to face the _speaker_ for optimal audio quality (and you should select the heart-shaped "cardioid" pickup pattern).

[@samtherat6]

Thinking I remember this one, but was this right after Flappy Bird was removed from the App Store?

[@samguillen4529]

I used to do AQA - Any Question Answered - for a while. Where people would text in questions, and I’d type the answer. Easiest work ever!

[@edwardw92]

I believe Geoff was referring to Virtu, the luxury sub-brand that Nokia owned for a few years.

[@jpe1]

So many of the Lateral questions seem to me to be trivial, things that _everybody_ should know, this is the first one where I had absolutely no idea, and yet, based on the comments, lots of people knew this one. 🤔

[@UnknowinglyDerpy]

Dont be too hung up about pieces of trivia like this, not everyone has to know everything about everything

[@milkycowboy]

HI OMG AUGUST SAPPHO HERE I ASKED THIS QUESTION IM SO HYPED MY HEART JOLTED WHEN U HEARD MY NAME CALLED OUT WHILE LISTENING ON SPOTIFY

[@sterben_1647]

I thought of Flappy Bird's cause of removal was for copyright issues. Damn, Dong Nguyen do be responsible. 😮😮😮

[@jblen]

My answer was that the ebay phones were sim free while the regular phones were "free" but with a set sim deal that pays back the phone price over time like you often see for modern phones. Which I guess isnt technically identical but I think it counts as a solution because the sim is not the phone

[@SakamotoIbuki]

It’s funny how quickly I got this just from the question alone, but to discover that it was 2014… I’m starting to feel my age

[@Lilly-Gorney]

i knew this as soon as i saw february 2014. i was also in the perfect age range to know this

[@pyrobryan]

I think this was the first question I knew immediately with zero doubt.

[@IguanoTwix6942]

The moment he said "It became unavailable after 2014" I knew what it was

[@cheetahman79]

Fun fact, blooket has flappy bird on it as the pre game distraction

[@thardin1719]

I know someone who still has flappy bird on their phone. It doesn’t work (since they’ve gotten a new phone since 2014) but the icon is still on their phone and they refuse to delete it

[@zacm.2342]

..Oh I got it as soon as she said "an app".

[@VinnieBartilucci]

Wow, I realized the answer like a PTSD flashback.

[@davidmillen7584]

Paused at 44 seconds... thinking its Flappy Bird preinstalled before it was taken off the store by it's creator.

[@Joeseanag24]

Flappy Bird was a monumental event in our lives, and it was sadly cut short all too soon

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

I think its kinda sad i knew immediately what the answer was once Tom read it off. Actually because of the flappy bord incident anytime some weird free app starts blowing up. I download it on my main phone and back up just in case its a repeat scenario and I want some money.

[@KingKool2099]

Knew this one right from the question, no doubt in my mind. I just can't believe it was actually that long ago.

[@Kumimono]

I read the title without the question in the episode, and thought, oh, Flappy Bird.

[@Archgeek0]

Jenny must be _terrifyingly_ strong to just huck an iron lung out the window like that. XD

[@dcltdw]

Okay, the outtakes compilation of "guests yanking Tom's chain": when does that come out? :D

[@rollingtroll]

*yells flappy bird immediately while taking a shower* :D. This was an instant 'oh I know this one' for me. They were more common in the beginning, this stuff is getting harder!

[@Quasihamster]

"It's something you either remember the news story about, or you don't." Yeah that's the two options, I guess! :D

[@Pikachu0071000CS]

How do you remove that U2 album and where is that link?

[@oevers]

It's so funny that some people actually pay that much for it if you can just jailbreak your iPhone to install it. On Android its even easier because Sideloading is a native feature.

[@kanedaku]

Flappy Bird. I never got if they would work properly on iOS, as when you sign out of your Apple ID apps wont work. Did the buyers continue to use the sellers ID?

[@vetleallum2965]

I figured out the answer as soon as Tom mentioned that it wasnt originally limited edition..😊

[@mina86]

I thought it was to do with Fortnight which was removed from the Apple App Store but I guess that happened later.

[@Fairyslash]

my first thought was flappy bird. now time to watch it... yup, was right

[@Orthus100]

Instantly got it, that stupid game was huge.

[@anishbhadra4441]

the first one that i’ve gotten right from the beginning. knew it

[@vaclav_fejt]

Was Flappy Bird like Paper Plane? A "one thumb" mobile game I had on my Sony Ericsson, where a paper plane would fly through a jagged corridor that gradually narrowed and you could only give it an upward boost by pressing any button?

[@AlexisCheynas]

That definitely sounds like a Flappy Bird clone, yes. Or might predate it, just not gotten the spread that Flappy Bird did...

[@Yamzstoned]

initial guess from the title is flappy bird, perfect question for the older generation I think it’s a very topical one

[@milkycowboy]

i find this very funny considering i myself am gen z (i submitted the question) and sorta play tested it with my classmates (alongside many others) to determine which were good enough to send off lol.

[@PianoKwanMan]

I thought it was the game where you jump up as far as you can. Doodleboog or something Also, the ending is like Technical Difficulties winding Tom up

[@woodfur00]

Doodle Jump

[@tonypang83]

Damn... nearly ten years ago. Similar to that PS4 and PT situation

[@edgarleft]

My first guess was a phone that used to be from a celebrity. My guess at 1:33 Is a phone with Flappy Bird on it after it was banned.

[@FrostyButter]

If only the inventor of TikTok felt the same way about an addictive product causing harm 😩

[@klassmagicker]

I don't think it's even possible at this point. Flappy Bird was made by one person (Nguyễn Hà Đông) so he has all the executive power to just take it down whenever he pleases. And good for him for having a conscience and not letting greed get in the way. But Tiktok is massive. It's an entire corporation. Even if every single employee of Tiktok became guilty, I don't think they'd take it down.

[@jfb-]

that's the goal

[@kunaljt]

Knew the answer immediately haha, Flappy Bird was a phenomenon!

[@ItzRetz]

14 seconds in. Flappy birds was installed on the phones, which had been removed from the app store by its creator and could no longer be installed.

[@nate_storm]

as soon as she said it’s about an app, i got it

[@ALFIE19]

i contemplated selling my ipod touch when this happened

[@OblivionWonderlust]

It took me 2 seconds to realise its flappybird

[@Ghiaman1334]

Oh I thought it was that stupid app that cost an ungodly amount just to say 'I Am Rich' or whatever, but then why would you buy the app to sell the phone at a higher price, lol

[@munjee2]

Of course, _this_ is the only one I know just from the title ...

[@sandrosaxel]

At first I thought this was about nokia 1100, which hackers used to intercept banking transactions

[@CwMGameplays]

Knew it as soon as I saw the thumbnail and title lol I remember this being the big thing in middle school

[@the-pink-hacker]

My first thought is it had something to do with the drop of 32bit support on iOS.

[@jamietherelentless2670]

I said flappy bird to myself immediately after hearinf it was about an app, glad I was right lmao

[@nfcopier1]

Wait, the Beetles split up?! Why did nobody tell me this?!

[@beth12svist]

In their case, it's spelled Beatles, which was a pun.

[@luxgracetail4599]

Got it after the discussion at 3:28-ish

[@ymmc]

I had flappy bird on my ipod and my classmates deleted it when I wasn't looking :)))))

[@Perfectkid197]

so glad tom get get rid of his iron lung now

[@sio2y]

Got it the second that Annie said it was an app.

[@misslovedog8177]

I remember this so well, i think i was like 10yo when it happened. My cousin had the original flappy bird app on her phone, but i had one of the knockoffs on my tablet (i didn't have a phone yet) because i liked that other app better. Regretted it so much when i heard that devices with flappy bird were now worth a lot (not that i would have ever sold that tablet, it had my first ever minecraft world lmao, but it would have been good for bragging rights)

[@deebea6364]

My first instinct was… Flappy birds?

[@SimonJM]

Just me thinking, "flappy bird ... what???"?

[@doc8186]

knew this IMMEDIATELY

[@10thdoctor15]

Never heard of flappy bird, and I was 17 in 2014.

[@HuntersOA]

I looked at ebay and they are EXORBITANTLY expensive now :D

[@johnprocrastinator]

It's gotta be.. they have flappy bird installed

[@GCAbleism158]

I agree.

[@CollinCountyRailfan]

This made me laugh so hard lol, i was screaming flappy bird the whole time

[@Z_MIB]

Flappy Bird is literally just the Helicopter Game with different graphics.

[@maruftim]

WHAT?? it was 9 years ago??? and the original Flappy Bird were gone????

[@DanielDugovic]

"What is this E Bay?" 😀

[@hummingmostbird]

The moment he said 2014 I knew it