Nick creates Thumbly Stadium
Nick’s response to Alex’s greeting of “One, two, three, four” is to continue the count with “Five, six, seven, eight.” After reading the task brief, he realises what the actual rhyme should have been, and then adds “Who do you appreciate?” after Alex repeats his “Five, six, seven, eight” back at him.
Nick’s attempt begins with shots of “Thumbly Stadium”, an arena he has constructed using paper with doodles of crowds of spectators, some of which are holdings signs supporting Nick and Alex. The stadium has cut-out gateways at each end for them to insert their hands through, and there are fibreglass lights nested around it. In a dimly lit living room, Nick and Alex approach the table from opposite ends, shake hands in a sportsmanlike way, and assume their seated positions.
Next to the stadium on the table , there is a musical keyboard, upon which Nick activates a beat to help them get into the mood for the contest. Both he and Alex stick their hands through the stadium’s gateways, assuming the thumb war position. Nick then plays a descending synth line on the keyboard with his free hand, as both competitors start off the war and, with a glissando, the war commences.
Within seconds, Nick manages to pin down Alex’s thumb, but Alex quickly frees himself. Nick manages to play the keyboard throughout the contest, and again pins Alex down. This time, however, Alex is unable to free himself, and loses the thumb war. Nick fires a party popper in celebration of his win, although the contents don’t fly very far. Nick then leaves the room, and Alex congratulates him on the win.
In the studio, Greg compliments Nick on his attempt, and even admits to enjoying the name of the stadium, despite not being keen on puns. Alex observes that Nick is surprisingly good at thumb wars.
Greg states that he felt the same level of excitement and enthusiasm for both Nick’s and John’s attempts, so both men are awarded 3 points for their efforts.
(Written by M3 / Andres Sanchez and proofread by Karl Craven)
(Illustrations collected by Jenny R and adjusted by David Fuller)
