WEBVTT - The Artifact: Krueger's Claw

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind, focusing on particular objects, ideas, and

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<v Speaker 1>moments in time. The Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise

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<v Speaker 1>gave us an iconic but at times perplexing horror icon

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<v Speaker 1>in the form of Freddy Krueger. He's a disfigured phantom

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<v Speaker 1>of the opera esque character with a taste for Fedora's

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<v Speaker 1>and red and green striped sweaters. He does not wear

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<v Speaker 1>a mask, and he attacks his victims in their dreams,

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<v Speaker 1>making frequent use of his signature weapon, a clawed leather

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<v Speaker 1>right hand glove. Freddy's glove. While iconic, has only a

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<v Speaker 1>few real world analogs. Throughout in history, weapons like the

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<v Speaker 1>sword have proven to be more than effective as a

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<v Speaker 1>means of slashing adversaries with a forged blade. When we

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<v Speaker 1>do find weapons more in line with Freddy's claw, they

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<v Speaker 1>tend to either still require the use of a handle

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<v Speaker 1>or hilt, such as with various punch daggers, or they

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<v Speaker 1>function in a way comparable to, say, brass knuckles in

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<v Speaker 1>Japanese martial arts, the tiko kagi claw weapon perhaps serves

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<v Speaker 1>as one of the best parallels to Freddy's claw. I

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<v Speaker 1>was reading about this weapon in Classical Weaponry of Japan,

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<v Speaker 1>Special Weapons and Tactics of the Martial Arts from two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand and three by Sergei Mole. Mole draws special attention

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<v Speaker 1>to the Shuko and ashiko weapons hand and foothooks, respectively,

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<v Speaker 1>which are thought to have been used as quote unquote

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<v Speaker 1>ninja weapons for scaling walls, trees, or other obstacles. Their

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<v Speaker 1>main function was climbing, not combat, but Mole points out

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<v Speaker 1>that they could still have proven fierce in close corners combat,

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<v Speaker 1>and it certainly would have given the user a certain

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<v Speaker 1>psychological advantage. The tiko kagi, however, which means iron backhand claw,

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<v Speaker 1>was unlikely to have been used for climbing, he writes,

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<v Speaker 1>and its elongated blades were seemingly designed to slash and

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<v Speaker 1>rip up skin. Still, it should be noted that the

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<v Speaker 1>tiko kagi was not a glove. The human hand, after all,

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<v Speaker 1>has evolved for fine manipulation, it can also be used

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<v Speaker 1>for bare handed violence, and it has even been hypothesized

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<v Speaker 1>that the hand evolved to form an effective fist for punching,

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<v Speaker 1>but it certainly didn't evolve to slash. Oh, certainly, human

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<v Speaker 1>fingernails can dig in tear, but your fingers simply are

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<v Speaker 1>not suited for the broad slashes and of course occasional

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<v Speaker 1>torpedo style stabbing through the torso that a Krueger glove

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<v Speaker 1>seems designed to administer. Freddie's creator Wes Craven cited the

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<v Speaker 1>housecat as inspiration for Freddie's claw, and certainly cats are

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<v Speaker 1>pretty skilled slashers, but even their amazing retractable clause are

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<v Speaker 1>multi purpose, and as Douglas j Emlin points out in

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<v Speaker 1>the excellent book Animal Weapons, the primary purpose of the

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<v Speaker 1>clause during a kill are to catch and hold the

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<v Speaker 1>prey in place in order for the cat to deliver

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<v Speaker 1>a powerful killing bite. Not only does this latching on

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<v Speaker 1>with the claws enable the teeth to sink home in

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<v Speaker 1>the prey animal, they also hold the prey animal in

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<v Speaker 1>place through the death throws, and this prevents these movements

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<v Speaker 1>from snapping the cat's long canines off in the body.

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<v Speaker 1>Freddy Krueger, of course, is a fictional monster. He can

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<v Speaker 1>do whatever he pleases, while an actual human might well

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<v Speaker 1>break their own fingers. Using such a glove as a weapon,

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<v Speaker 1>all Freddy has to do his dream. Tune in for

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<v Speaker 1>additional editions of The Artifact or the Monster Fact each week.

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<v Speaker 1>As always, you can email us at contact at stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your

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