The Clues I Saw:

When I watched Anderson talk about his 5th cousin once removed, as soon as they showed them, I looked to see who looked like Anderson. The woman in the middle clearly did, and even though that wasn’t anything concrete because the distance of their relationship, it was a consideration.  The middle woman had fair skin and a similarly shaped face to Anderson.  She also had his demeanor.

Anderson continued, “Each [woman is] wearing a t-shirt that says I’m Anderson’s cousin.” 

I immediately honed into the middle woman again because her behavior made sense.  She struggled to keep eye contact and while that is not the clue (lack of eye contact), it made sense and here is why:

Imagine that you are the cousin and Anderson has to guess who you are.  The last thing you want to do on national TV is blow your cover and make it easy on Andersen, right?  I mean if you did that, you’d feel like a totally fool!  So, with that, what are you going to do?  You are not going to be like “Pick me!  Pick me!  Like woman number one.  Heck no!  You are going to be more reserved and less obvious because the last thing you want to do is ruin the game on national TV.

I would also expect Anderson’s cousin to be nervous because of what I just stated above.  Number 2 certainly fits that as well.

When Anderson asks, “How long have your ancestors been in the U.S.?”  woman number one thinks first.  She says, “Hmmm….”  That was a red flag for me.  When she says 1884, she squints her eyes almost in a critical gesture of “Are you buying it?”. That doesn’t fit.

Number two says, “Early 1600s.”  She says it in a very controlled manner.  She also swings her leg that shows she’s nervous and nervous here makes sense.  Because if it is her, she has the most to lose if she blows her cover!

Number three is neutral to me.  She could go either way at this point, though I am leaning toward the middle one.

When Anderson asks, “Do any of your ancestors come from the south?” the first woman blows it big time on multiple fronts.  She says, “Yes, funny you should ask….uh, North Carolina.”  The “funny you should ask” stands out as odd to me, but when she hesitates with “uh” and then says North Carolina in the tone of a question–its a dead give away she’s lying.

Number two is playing it coy again.  She simply says, “Yes they do.”  That make sense and is another point for her. Number three is still into play as well, but my gut says no at this point.

Remember this is not a high-stake scenario so it is much more difficult to call, without question.  There is no pressure on the two liars in all reality.

Anderson called it correct when he said, “It makes me believe the open one is lying.”    For the reasons I stated above, this is true!

When Anderson talks about going prematurely gray, the first one is clearly thinking on her feet as she answers about big blue eyes.  When number two answers, she is calm as a cucumber this time.  She’s gained her footing!  Her answer flows and feels sincere to me.

As they keep talking about which one it is–look who is breathing the hardest–its number two!!  And who would be the most nervous–Anderson’s cousin.

The woman with the most points –whose behavior and words match who she is supposed to be — is number two!

I hope you enjoy this fun exercise 🙂  Thanks, Anderson!