Room Escape Artist

“ What’s a little friendly artillery fire between friends?”

David takes us on a journey to Bannerman Castle, a crumbling Scottish-style fortress built on an island in New York’s Hudson River. Frank Bannerman is the eccentric founder of America’s first Army-Navy surplus store, which he ran out of his Brooklyn apartment. The city chased him out, citing reasonable concerns about storing such large quantities of ordnance within city limits. Bannerman then set his sights on a small island in the middle of Hudson River and decided to build himself a fortress. This enormous castle once housed an unbelievable collection of military equipment, including cannons, rifles, and explosives. What could possibly go wrong? (Spoiler: Quite a lot.)

We’re joined by our most requested guest yet: Tom Scott, a popular British educational presenter and host of the podcast Lateral. Lateral is a delightfully nerdy podcast where the panel of guests must use lateral thinking to solve unexpected questions. Tom even gives us a Lateral style question on today’s show.

Today’s game is called Concealed Weapons, where every answer is a word that also contains the word for a type of military supply.

Time Stamps

• 01:19 Game: Concealed Weapons
• 11:40 About Tom Scott & Lateral
• 13:13 Game: Lateral-Style Question
• 20:49 Topic: Bannerman Castle and The First Army Navy Surplus Store

Guest: Tom Scott

Tom Scott Website

Lateral Podcast

Tom Scott YouTube Channel

Tom Scott is a British presenter and creator known for making the weird, wonderful, and surprisingly fascinating corners of the world accessible to millions. After a decade of weekly educational videos exploring everything from science and technology to language and history, he now hosts Lateral, a comedy panel podcast where guests tackle unusual questions that require creative thinking and clever deductions.

In 2026, he returned to his YouTube channel with Tom Scott: England, a new series documenting his travels through every historic county in England, uncovering fascinating people, places, and stories along the way.

More Podcasts from Peih-Gee & David

If you enjoy PG’s Playhouse, check out Reality Escape Pod (REPOD), where your hosts David Spira & Peih-Gee Law explore immersive gaming from all angles, alongside guests with incredible experience in this realm.

And by supporting Room Escape Artist on Patreon, you’ll get access to the REPOD Bonus After Show ($5 per month and up) and the Spoilers Club ($15 per month and up) where we chat in depth with creators about iconic escape rooms… spoilers and all!

Production Credits

• Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira
• Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law
• Produced by Theresa Piazza
• Supported by Lisa Spira
• Edited by Peih-Gee Law
• Music by Matt Farthing
• Logo by Theresa Wagner