1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Hey, you welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh Clark, 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,040 Speaker 1: and there's Charles W. Chuck Bryan over there, and Jerry's 3 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: sitting in for our producer Dave C. Couston. And this 4 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: is short stuff. When you put all that info together, 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 1: you got a short stuff. Okay, that's right, let's go, Chuck. 6 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: It's about chameleons. Is that what we're doing? Yes, we 7 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: are doing one on chameleons, which I think was, um, 8 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:31,479 Speaker 1: surprisingly fascinating because everything I know about chameleons I learned 9 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: from watching paint commercials. I love chameleons. Um, we don't 10 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: call them chameleons. We call them lizards when they when 11 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:43,599 Speaker 1: we see them all over the place here in Georgia. 12 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: Wait a minute, they're chameleons up there. Yeah, I didn't 13 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 1: know that. What do you think all those lizards are? 14 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: I thought there were skinks? What's a skink? Is that 15 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: a blue tail? I don't know. Maybe there are skinks. 16 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: If a has a bluetail is a skink and they 17 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: are neural toxic. I've met somebody once who was like, 18 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: don't let your dog anywhere near those things. I knew 19 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:07,840 Speaker 1: a cat once that had cross eye because it had 20 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: eaten too many of those lizards. But yeah, apparently they 21 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: have a neurotoxin. Uh. Well, now I'm looking up a 22 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:21,400 Speaker 1: picture of a chameleon, and I think you are completely right. 23 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,119 Speaker 1: This is not chameleons that we see here in Georgia. 24 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: They're skinks. They're skinks, but we call them lizzards anyway, 25 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: So I was still right. Yeah, you're still right. How 26 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: do you spell skink? I think just like it sounds 27 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: like you think, Well, these aren't exactly skinks, although we 28 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: do have skinks. What about gecko? A leopard gecko? It 29 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: could be one of them. Maybe. So I saw a 30 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 1: skink one time at the lake that was with tail 31 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: about a foot long. Oh oh my god. Well, now 32 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: I don't know what we see all over the place 33 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: in the woods and on our deck. It's probably geck goes. Okay, 34 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: I think I think if it's not a skink, alright, 35 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: we're talking chameleons. Yeah, okay, I got leopard geckos, if 36 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: I'm not mistaken. Mo loves chasing those things. Oh my god, 37 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: she loves chasing lizards. Are these the ones that puff 38 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: up their neck in a balloon? Yeah, they're great they're great. 39 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: Little lizards are fun. They'll drop their tail if you 40 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: get too close to them and they need to escape. Right, No, chuck, 41 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: that's absolutely wrong. But the first fact about chameleons is 42 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: they can't regrow their tail. If their tails ever pulled off, 43 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: it hurt and it's not coming back. That's they don't. 44 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: They don't release their tail like well, plenty of lizards 45 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: do that though, right, yeah, like a gecko. Yeah. Um, 46 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:47,799 Speaker 1: but that's not what people think of when they think 47 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,079 Speaker 1: of chameleons, that they can't regrow their tail. That's that's 48 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: pretty arcane. That's a deep cut as far as chameleon 49 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: facts are concerned. What most people think of when they 50 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: think of chameleons is that they can change color. And 51 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: everybody knows they can change color because they lend in 52 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: with their surroundings. Right, wrong, men, we're both just batting 53 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: zero right now. Yeah, we're busting some chameleon myths, and 54 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: that that is a myth that chameleons will be green 55 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: if they're next to a leaf, or they will be 56 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 1: brown if they are on your deck or your mulch Uh. 57 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: That is not true. That that may accidentally happen to 58 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 1: be true if you look and say, oh, look though 59 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: the same color as my deck. But it's not because 60 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,239 Speaker 1: they're trying to blend in. They are trying to control 61 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: their body temperature and uh, but they do try to 62 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: blend into the green as their sort of natural state, right, Um, 63 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: But they're not doing anything in that point, Like you said, 64 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: it's their natural state, like they're just like it worked 65 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: out that way. Yeah, it just worked out perfectly, almost 66 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: like it was designed by the hand of God himself 67 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: or herself. If you watch dog, Um, but they're green. 68 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: Well we'll get to why they're green, because I thought 69 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: that was a pretty interesting thing. But when they're when 70 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: they're agitated, when they're excited, when they're happy to see you, um, 71 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: when they are scared, when they're trying to like scare 72 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: off somebody else, they're feeling emotional. And just like with humans, 73 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: when you feel emotional, there's all sorts of hormones churning, right. Well, 74 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: that's what happens with the chameleon too. When those hormones 75 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: get to churning, they start to change color. Um, and 76 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: they do it in in the same way that just 77 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: about every other thing that changes color in the world 78 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: every other animal changes color changes color. Um, but it's 79 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: slightly different in that the kind of structures that a 80 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: chameleon uses is much different than what we understood it 81 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: to be before. Yeah, I believe if I'm remembering correctly. 82 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: With our good old friend the octopus, they have chromatophores, 83 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:55,839 Speaker 1: and with the chameleon they are ritophores. Yeah, so I 84 00:04:55,880 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: saw that. I also saw somewhere that a metaphors is 85 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: like the umbrella term for all the different kinds of 86 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: color changing cells, and that eritophores, like chameleons have, are 87 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: a specific kind. But that the big difference between like 88 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 1: an octopus and a chameleon as far as color changing goes, well, 89 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: there's two. One is that, um, the octopus is using 90 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: pigment filled sacks and then they're they're changing they're opening 91 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,919 Speaker 1: or closing the muscles surrounding each sack to like show 92 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,799 Speaker 1: or not show that color, and they have different colors 93 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: in their sacks. With a chameleon, they're actually using like 94 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:43,919 Speaker 1: crystals that that they're called aritaphors because they're iridescent. Right. Yeah, 95 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: And you know what, that's a great cliffhanger, and we're 96 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: right in the middle. We are in the middle of 97 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: a cliffhanger, like I'm about to vomit. I've never been 98 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,280 Speaker 1: in the middle of a cliffhanger before, and it's it's 99 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: a very uncomfortable place to be. It's kind of like, 100 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: hold on, I'm not done. When I was in maybe 101 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: second grade, I was on the bus and the bus 102 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: came to a red light and it came to a stop. 103 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: But have you ever been in a vehicle that never 104 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: fully came to a stop. It it wasn't moving forward 105 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: any longer. And there's like this incomplete feeling like something 106 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: is terribly wrong. Like that Twilight Zone episode where Darren 107 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: from which like flips a coin and it lands on 108 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: its side, and after that you can hear everybody thoughts. 109 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: The same thing happens when a bus doesn't fully stop 110 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: at a red light. That's what I feel like right 111 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: this moment, in the middle of the cliffhanger. I can 112 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:35,839 Speaker 1: hear your thoughts and I want to throw up. We'll 113 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 1: be right back. Game that you should know that you 114 00:06:44,839 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: should know it knows. But Josh Clark, all right, everyone, 115 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,480 Speaker 1: Josh just vomited. I had to turn off my my 116 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 1: computer camera. Thank you for the towel. So now I'm 117 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 1: only listening, but we left it the cliffhanger where you 118 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: were talking about the crystal like cells called a ritofors. 119 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: That what they do instead of um, squeezing pigment is 120 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 1: they work with actual light and color and light across 121 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: the entire color spectrum, even if human beings can't see it. Yes, 122 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: that's the huge that's the huge thing. Like if you 123 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: have a pigment stack, you can you can reflect the 124 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: color that that pigment reflects it, and so it's showing 125 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: blue or red or yellow or orange or something like that, 126 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: and a ritofor can reflect whatever color needs to be 127 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 1: reflected at that moment. And like you said, even once 128 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: that humans can't see impossible colors is what they're called amazing. 129 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: It really makes you wonder, like what dazzling displays chameleons 130 00:07:57,520 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: are putting on. We just can't even see it because 131 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: our eyes aren't it's not possible for our eyes to 132 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: pick up light on that that that part of the 133 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: visible spectrum or the non visible spectrum. Right. And there 134 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: are a lot of species of chameleon and depending on 135 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: the species, they have different kind of color changing capabilities. UM, 136 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,559 Speaker 1: some are way more vibrant and bright. Some aren't quite 137 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 1: as vibrant and bright um. Some of them have a 138 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: lot of variants and the kind of colors, but it's 139 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:30,239 Speaker 1: a general thing where they can basically use any color 140 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: on the spectrum, like it's all open. All those those 141 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 1: wavelengths are open for business for these chameleons. And it 142 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:41,559 Speaker 1: has to do with again, whether the chameleon the rotifors 143 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: um or the muscle surrounding each rotors relaxed or agitated, 144 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: And that has to do with hormones. So when it's relaxed, 145 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,040 Speaker 1: the muscles are contracted around it and it's just Reford 146 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:59,319 Speaker 1: reflecting short wavelength light like blue right right. And then 147 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,240 Speaker 1: when they're excited, I did, those cells go farther apart, 148 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 1: and they can get more red and orange, yes, which 149 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 1: is how they change color. But because they're excited and 150 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:12,959 Speaker 1: those hormones are churning, that's what triggers those erotophores to 151 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: expand or contract um, which is a difference between chameleons 152 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 1: and octopi. That um octopied control. They're uh their chramatophor 153 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 1: sacks with neurons, so it's like instantaneous opening or closing. 154 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: With chameleons, it takes I mean it's fast, but it 155 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: takes a little longer because the hormones have to go 156 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: signal the cells to open or clothes, depending on whether 157 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: the animals excited or relaxed. Yeah, and here to me 158 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: is one of the coolest facts is the actual natural 159 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 1: sort of color of a chameleon is more of a yellow, 160 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 1: but when you see them, they're usually green when they're 161 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: just chilling out. And that's because and it's very simple everybody, 162 00:09:56,679 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: when they're relaxed, they're reflecting blue light in blue and 163 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 1: yellow make green and the neat that's all there is 164 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:06,679 Speaker 1: to do it. Yeah, very cool. I love that one too. 165 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,760 Speaker 1: Um So, those those erota force chuck are actually beneath 166 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: their skin, you can see them, and they're able to 167 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 1: reflectract light well because their skin, the outer layers of 168 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: skin are actually transparent. And apparently chameleons have a little 169 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: um quick change act where if they're really trying to 170 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:28,079 Speaker 1: get vibrant in a hurry, they'll just like shed those 171 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: clothes like um Otho in Beetle Juice when he enters 172 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 1: the spotlight. You remember, his leisure suit just gets pulled 173 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: or No, his suit gets pulled off and he's wearing 174 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: a leisure suit underneath. That might be my favorite movie 175 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 1: all of all time. I think, I think doing a sequel. 176 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: They're developing a sequel, same cast, I think, so. I mean, 177 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:55,480 Speaker 1: I think everyone's there. I can't wait. I'm behind it. Okay, 178 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:58,200 Speaker 1: same here man. One of my favorite parts ever that 179 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: movie is when uh, he's in the waiting room mhm 180 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,600 Speaker 1: with a guy with a little head, and he just 181 00:11:06,679 --> 00:11:08,679 Speaker 1: leans over and goes, let me ask you something. How 182 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: do you get him down so small? It's good stuff? 183 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:15,560 Speaker 1: How do you get him down so small? One of 184 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: my favorite lines? And then the song of course, I'll 185 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: eat anything you want me to eat. I'll swallow anything 186 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: you want me to swallow. Remember that? No, what are 187 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: we talking about? Beetle juice? Yes, he has the song 188 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:28,760 Speaker 1: I'll eat anything you want me to eat. I'll swallow 189 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: anything you want me to swallows. Come on down? Is 190 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: that in his ad? I think, yeah, I'll just classic. 191 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: It is classic. I was watching Michael Keaton's early stand 192 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:48,439 Speaker 1: up earlier, No, Yesterday, how did that go? It was? Okay? 193 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: He wasn't great, um, but you could see the seed. Okay, 194 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 1: I can imagine it. Can see him being like real 195 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 1: judgy and like come on, will be a bone head 196 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: kind of facial expression and smoking cigarette and no, it 197 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: wasn't that. You should check it out. It's interesting, Okay, 198 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 1: I'll I will, because I definitely have no idea what 199 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 1: it's going to be like then. And I met him 200 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:13,439 Speaker 1: one day, I know, right, Yeah, he lived across the 201 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,440 Speaker 1: street from where you're shooting and just sort of entertained 202 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 1: that the pas and the driveway for ten minutes one day. 203 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:22,760 Speaker 1: Very nice, very nice guy. Oh yeah, yeah, he was 204 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,319 Speaker 1: super nice. I'm really glad to hear that he's not. 205 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: He's a chameleon. You can blend into wherever he is. 206 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 1: A group of pas in the driveway, no problem, or 207 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: um a rock in the desert, rock in the pain 208 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: and desert. Are we done with chameleons? I think so, man, 209 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:41,320 Speaker 1: I think we're done. I think there's no one listening anymore. 210 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 1: It's just you and me now, agreed. All right, Well, goodbye, Chuck. 211 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 1: This is the end of short stuff. Stuff you Should 212 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:53,120 Speaker 1: Know is a production of I Heart Radio. For more 213 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:55,960 Speaker 1: podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 214 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,079 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,