1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 2: Hello, and welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind Listener Mail. 3 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 2: My name is Joe McCormick. My regular co host Robert 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 2: Lamb is out on the day that I'm recording this, 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 2: so I'm going to be reading and responding to some 6 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 2: listener messages solo today, but Rob should be back with 7 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 2: me for tomorrow's episode. We read listener mail every Monday 8 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 2: on Stuff to Blow Your Mind. And if you would 9 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 2: like to get in touch but you've never done it before, 10 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,639 Speaker 2: why not give it a try. You can reach us 11 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 2: at contact at Stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. 12 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 2: That's contact at Stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. 13 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 2: Any and all types of messages are welcome. If you 14 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,519 Speaker 2: have feedback on a recent episode, want to provide a 15 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 2: correction or add your thoughts on something we discussed, if 16 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 2: you'd like to share something random that you think we 17 00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 2: would find interesting, or if you want to suggest a 18 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 2: topic for us to go in the future. Even if 19 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:03,279 Speaker 2: you just want to say hi, tell us about your 20 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 2: experience listening to the show, Send it on in. It's 21 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 2: contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. Okay, 22 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 2: I'm going to kick things off with some responses to 23 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 2: our episodes on the Moons of Uranus. Let's see so. 24 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 2: In that series on the Moons of Uranus, we talked 25 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 2: about how difficult it is to come up with a 26 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 2: visual representation of the Solar System that faithfully communicates the 27 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 2: size of objects and the true scale of the distances 28 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 2: between them while being comprehensible all at once. You can't 29 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 2: really do it in say, a single page illustration in 30 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,400 Speaker 2: a book, but a number of listeners got in touch 31 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 2: about various, often very clever ways people have tried to 32 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 2: demonstrate the scale of the Solar System using videos or 33 00:01:52,480 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 2: interactive media. So this message is from Shana. Shana says, Hello, 34 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 2: Robin Joe. I'm currently listening to the Moons of Earnest 35 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 2: part one. It felt the need to email this before 36 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 2: I forgot. While there are no pictures that can show 37 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 2: the true distance of planets in our Solar system, a 38 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 2: few years ago some folks created a giant scale model 39 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 2: in Nevada and created a short film about it. Here's 40 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 2: the description directly directly from them quote. On a dry 41 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 2: lake bed in Nevada, a group of friends built the 42 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 2: first scale model of the Solar system with complete planetary orbits, 43 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,800 Speaker 2: a true illustration of our place in the universe. And 44 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 2: if folks listening want to look this up. The video 45 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 2: is called two Scale the Solar System and it's currently 46 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 2: on YouTube, at least it was when I recorded this. 47 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:48,679 Speaker 2: Shana says, it's very cool and I think y'all would 48 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 2: enjoy the video. Well, yes, thank you for sending this, Shana. 49 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 2: I think this is totally a very excellent mini documentary. 50 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 2: It's by a couple of filmmakers named Wiley Overstreet and 51 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:03,839 Speaker 2: Alex Garage, and it's definitely worth a look. So they 52 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 2: stage this in a place called Black Rock Desert. Again, 53 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 2: this is in sort of the northwest corner of the 54 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 2: US state of Nevada, and in order to build a 55 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 2: scale model of the Solar System with the Earth pegged 56 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 2: to the size of a marble, they figure out that 57 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 2: they need about seven miles of flat ground to represent 58 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:24,959 Speaker 2: the orbital plane of the Sun and all of its 59 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 2: major planets. And they do this, as they say in 60 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 2: the description, in a dry lake bed, measuring out the 61 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 2: distances with what looks like surveying equipment and then marking 62 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 2: the orbital pathways with tire tracks. So they're out there 63 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 2: like driving a van around in these giant circles, around 64 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 2: in the sand, and in line with our original point 65 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 2: in the episode, it is shocking to see suddenly how 66 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 2: far out they have to drive after Saturn. Of course, 67 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 2: the distances increase as you go out from Earth in 68 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 2: Mars to Jupiter and Saturn. After Saturn to mark the 69 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 2: orbit of Uranus and then of Neptune, the distances are gargantuan, 70 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 2: and in the end, the radius of the orbit of 71 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 2: the little ball representing the planet Neptune is five point 72 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 2: six kilometers or three point five miles, so the full 73 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 2: diameter of the model is about seven miles and absolutely 74 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:22,919 Speaker 2: no disrespect at all to what they did here, which 75 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 2: again is excellent, but I think it still sort of 76 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 2: fails to capture both the scale of the distance and 77 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 2: the scale of the objects all at once, because when 78 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 2: you zoom out enough to see the full orbit of Neptune, 79 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 2: the differences in size between the objects and the model 80 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 2: become impossible to detect. In fact, they're impossible to zoomed 81 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 2: much further in than that. They're all just points of 82 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 2: light traveling around in ellipses in the distance. So I 83 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 2: certainly don't think this is a failure on the part 84 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:56,919 Speaker 2: of the filmmakers. I suspect that there is just like 85 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 2: literally no way to do this given the resolution human vision. 86 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 2: Another message on this subject from Brian. Brian says, greetings, 87 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 2: I recently enjoyed your Moons of Urines podcasts, and my 88 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 2: memory was pricked by one of the comments you made 89 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 2: during the first episode. You were talking about how difficult 90 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 2: it is to accurately represent both size and distance for 91 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 2: depictions of the Solar System. I've seen several videos of 92 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 2: various attempts, and then I think he's referring to the 93 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 2: one I just described with a beach ball sized Sun 94 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 2: leading to a neptune multiple miles away. But there is 95 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 2: one easy to access source that blew my mind, and 96 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 2: for a brief description, Brian provides a link here. This 97 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 2: is a website by a designer named Josh Wirth, and 98 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 2: it's called If the Moon Were Only One Pixel, a 99 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:55,600 Speaker 2: tediously accurate map of the Solar System, and it begins 100 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 2: with a sort of palm of the hand sized representation 101 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 2: of the Sun and then to scroll a horizontal scroll 102 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 2: through space at accurate scale distances until you reach accurate 103 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 2: scale illustrations of the planets, and as the title indicates, 104 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 2: Earth's moon is one pixel. If you actually do this, 105 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:22,679 Speaker 2: the amount of scrolling required is ludicrous. You will go plaid. 106 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,800 Speaker 2: Brian continues, this site does a fantastic job at really 107 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 2: demonstrating the space between worlds. It's almost impossible to not 108 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 2: fast click the scroll bar, even though you skip over 109 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 2: some of the author's commentary, just because there is so 110 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 2: much empty space. After scrolling and scrolling through endless amounts 111 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 2: of space, you finally get to Jupiter and then look 112 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,600 Speaker 2: at the scroll bar and realize you've not even gone 113 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,039 Speaker 2: one quarter of the way through. This site goes out 114 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 2: to Pluto for your reference. There are lots of informative, 115 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 2: pithy and imaginative comments along the way, but I challenge 116 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,679 Speaker 2: anyone to just scroll using the aero button. You won't 117 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,920 Speaker 2: be able to do it. This site really slams home 118 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 2: how much of space is well space. Even in our neighborhood, 119 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 2: things are so far apart as to be unreachable, and 120 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 2: that's just our solar system. The end of the scroll 121 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 2: slaps you in the face with the fact that after 122 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 2: all that, to get to the next checkpoint, meaning the 123 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 2: next star, the closest star to our solar system, you'd 124 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 2: need to repeat the entire scroll six seven hundred and 125 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 2: seventy one more times. I'd highly encourage you to play 126 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 2: around for a bit on this site. It's very instructive 127 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 2: and fun. Brian, Thank you Brian once again. Yeah, I 128 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 2: think this is an excellent model, but of course it 129 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 2: still does not allow you to take it in all 130 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 2: at once, which just might not be a thing humans 131 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 2: can do. All right, Getting a little bit away from 132 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 2: the scale question. Just to other topics raised in our 133 00:07:51,480 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 2: Moons of Urinus series. This is from Jim. Jim says, Hi, guys, 134 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 2: guy love the new series. Early in the episode, Joe 135 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 2: was talking about planetary distances. I was curious if you've 136 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 2: ever discussed the Titious Bode law. That spelled titi Us 137 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 2: and then Bode is bode. I don't know if that's 138 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 2: a bode or boda. I'm just gonna say bode, And 139 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 2: Jim says, which is a mathematical formula that predicts planetary 140 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 2: distances from the Sun. Jim, yes, we actually have discussed 141 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 2: the Titius Bode law before. I think it came up 142 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:34,079 Speaker 2: in our series on hypothetical Solar System objects that either 143 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 2: don't exist because they never existed, or maybe once existed 144 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 2: but no longer exist. That series was called The Lost 145 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,320 Speaker 2: Daughters of aten at e n. If you want a 146 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 2: deeper treatment, you can go check out those episodes. But 147 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,439 Speaker 2: the short version is that the titious Bode is a 148 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 2: peculiar observation that you can predict the approximate mean orbital 149 00:08:56,520 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 2: distance of all the planets out to Uranus with a 150 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 2: simple mathematical formula. It's got a few variables based on 151 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:08,679 Speaker 2: planet order and the distance of an astronomical unit. And 152 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:12,199 Speaker 2: this was written about in the eighteenth century by two 153 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 2: German astronomers named Johan Daniel Tischius and Johann elert Bode. 154 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 2: The two Johans and this formula. Yeah, it is a 155 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 2: really interesting observation. So it gets very close to predicting 156 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 2: the orbital distances of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. 157 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 2: There are some cases where it's a little bit off, 158 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 2: but it's very close. And at the time of its 159 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 2: original publication there was an interesting complication, which was that 160 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 2: the prediction seemed to break down because it predicted a 161 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 2: planet orbiting at two point eight astronomical unit, so two 162 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 2: point eight times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, 163 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 2: and that would be between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, 164 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 2: where no planet was known at the time. However, this 165 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 2: failure was reversed with the discovery of the dwarf Planet 166 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,440 Speaker 2: Series in eighteen oh one, which we now know to 167 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 2: be the largest object in the asteroid belt. So series 168 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 2: and the asteroid belt roughly correspond to the gap in 169 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:22,320 Speaker 2: the predicted sequence between Jupiter and Mars. Tisitius Bode then 170 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:26,680 Speaker 2: also racked up a victory when Uranus was discovered. This 171 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 2: was actually earlier, this was in the late eighteenth century, 172 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 2: but Tisiu's boat had a victory with the discovery of 173 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 2: Uranus because what do you know, it was very close 174 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 2: again to what the formula predicted for the next planet 175 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 2: after Saturn. But despite this really impressive record, and despite 176 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 2: the unfortunate use of the word law sometimes in its 177 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 2: name people say the Titius Bode law. Other people just say, 178 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 2: like the Titius Bode rule or Titius Bode or something. 179 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,720 Speaker 2: It is not a law of nature. It totally fails 180 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 2: to predict the orbit of Neptune. And as best I 181 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 2: can tell, last time I looked into this. Experts in 182 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 2: astrophysics are not aware of any reason this formula had 183 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 2: to be true or had to hold true, meaning it 184 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:15,680 Speaker 2: is not derived from any fundamental facts about how solar 185 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 2: systems generally form, or any laws of physics that would 186 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,199 Speaker 2: apply to all planets and stars in the galaxy. It's 187 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 2: probably just a really strange, fascinating coincidence that you can 188 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 2: put together a mathematical formula that happens to tell you 189 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,280 Speaker 2: where most, but not all, of the big things in 190 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 2: our solar system are. So maybe the two Johanns were 191 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 2: kind of doing the number twenty three, but in space, 192 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 2: all right. This next message about moons of Uranus is 193 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:51,960 Speaker 2: from Eric. Eric says, Hi, Robin Joe, thanks for the 194 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,320 Speaker 2: episodes about Uranus and its moons. I've been meaning to 195 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:58,800 Speaker 2: read A Midsummer Night's Dream but haven't gotten around to 196 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:00,599 Speaker 2: it yet, So I didn't know any thing about the 197 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,680 Speaker 2: characters for whom many of the moons are named, but 198 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 2: it shed some light on an urban fantasy book series 199 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 2: that I love, called The Dresden Files. The author borrows 200 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 2: mythology from nearly everywhere on the internal principle that all 201 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:18,640 Speaker 2: mythology is actually true. Some of the Midsommer characters, including 202 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 2: Mab and Titania, feature prominently. Then Eric says, you mentioned 203 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,400 Speaker 2: Messier and his comet addiction in the first episode, and 204 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:31,720 Speaker 2: to refresh, Yeah, this is referring to the French astronomer 205 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 2: Charles Messier, one of the people William Herschel wrote to 206 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 2: in seventeen eighty one about his discovery of Uranus. At first, 207 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 2: William Herschel thought that it wasn't a planet but a 208 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 2: comet or something. And Messier was so famous for finding 209 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 2: comets that he was nicknamed the Ferret of comets by 210 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:55,840 Speaker 2: the French King Louis the fifteenth But back to Eric's message, 211 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:58,880 Speaker 2: Eric writes, comics were kind of a big deal in 212 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 2: the eighteenth and nineteen century, in that weird period in 213 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:06,560 Speaker 2: which people understood that heavenly bodies obeyed natural laws, but 214 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:11,079 Speaker 2: they still kind of liked astrology. After Halley, people realized 215 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 2: that more of the fuzzy blobs they spotted were comets, 216 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:16,960 Speaker 2: so there was kind of a rush to be the 217 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 2: first to spot the next comet. Charles Messier was one 218 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:24,120 Speaker 2: of those, and he created the Messia catalog, which includes 219 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 2: Andromeda M thirty one, the crab Nebula M one, and 220 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 2: over one hundred other objects. Interestingly, he cataloged these objects 221 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:37,839 Speaker 2: not because he thought them interesting, but because they weren't comets. 222 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 2: It was basically his oops list, so he wouldn't waste 223 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 2: time looking at fuzzy blob number thirty one night after 224 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 2: night in the hope that it would turn out to 225 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,959 Speaker 2: be a comet. It's ironic that today amateur astronomers typically 226 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 2: spend far more time looking at the things on his 227 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 2: list than searching for comets. In fact, there are certain 228 00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 2: times of year when some amateur astronomers will try to 229 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:04,440 Speaker 2: complete a Messia marathon, in which they tried to spot 230 00:14:04,559 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 2: each of the one hundred and ten Messia objects in 231 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 2: a single night. I've never done it because I'm a very, 232 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 2: very lazy amateur astronomer. Thanks for the great episodes. While 233 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 2: I would be perfectly happy to have you put out 234 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:18,720 Speaker 2: episodes on space objects every week, I think it's better 235 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 2: for all of your other listeners to space out pun 236 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:25,800 Speaker 2: unintended these types of episodes. Hope you were all well, Eric, 237 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 2: Thank you Eric. Okay, this next message comes from Constantine 238 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 2: and it concerns our episodes. On the beaver, and also 239 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 2: a little bit on the moons of Uranus. Constantine says, gents, 240 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 2: thank you for reading my email last week. I have 241 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 2: gained tremendous cool points in my household after that. Mind you, 242 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 2: those points are self assigned, but they are valued just 243 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 2: the same. Yeah. As a reminder, Constantine wrote us a 244 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 2: really excellent, highly detailed message about Greek pronunciation in English, 245 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 2: especially as it applies to the names of planets. Constantine says, 246 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 2: I didn't think I would be writing in so soon again, 247 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 2: but I have a small complaint to register with the authorities. 248 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 2: How can you have not one, but two beaver episodes 249 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:18,800 Speaker 2: and not mention that this mighty, mighty rodent is the 250 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 2: national animal of Canada. The beaver even appears on our 251 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 2: nickel see attached. All right, so I am looking at 252 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 2: a picture of the beaver side the beaver face I 253 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 2: guess of the Canadian nickel. This one is minted nineteen 254 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 2: sixty five, and I'm going to put on my art 255 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 2: critic hat for the Canadian nickel. I have to say 256 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 2: I sense a lot of pathos in this beaver. This 257 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 2: beaver looks far less whimsical and substantially more aggressive than most. 258 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 2: So it is head down, ears, back muscles tensed, four 259 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 2: paws in advance, with claws digging into the wet log below. 260 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,440 Speaker 2: The beaver, I would say, on the nickel looks not 261 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 2: like a herbivorous rodent, but like a predator preparing to strike. 262 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 2: But it's a beaver, so what is it going to strike? 263 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,800 Speaker 2: Like a willow stump? And then there's another layer of 264 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 2: emotion underneath the predatory pose. There is a thwarted, frustrated 265 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,360 Speaker 2: sadness in its posture. It even made me think of 266 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 2: the Rilka poem The Panther, which is about a panther 267 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 2: kept in a zoo in Paris, and in the translation 268 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 2: by Stephen Mitchell, the poem begins his vision from the 269 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:35,560 Speaker 2: constantly passing bars has grown so weary that it cannot 270 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 2: hold anything else. It seems to him there are a 271 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 2: thousand bars, and behind the bars no world. So I 272 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,560 Speaker 2: was thinking about this, and finally it hit me. I 273 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 2: think the beaver inside the nickel wants to break out 274 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,280 Speaker 2: everywhere it goes. Maybe it hears the sound of water running, 275 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 2: the trickling sound that that drives the beaver mad, and 276 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 2: it knows it must find and plug the leak. But 277 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:02,080 Speaker 2: to do that it has to escape the confines of 278 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 2: the coin, and maybe one day it will. So back 279 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:10,000 Speaker 2: to Constantine's message, sure, America has its eagle and the 280 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 2: UK has its lion, but we knooks wear the best smile, 281 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 2: with debucktoothed beaver as our national animal of choice, so 282 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 2: beware lest you upset us, and we wave our sticks 283 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 2: at you. Ah. Very nice. Despite this regal creature being 284 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 2: part of everyday Canadian life, I was shocked to learn 285 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:31,200 Speaker 2: that the beaver has a cloaca. Even my wife, the veterinarian, 286 00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:33,960 Speaker 2: was surprised that that detail did not make it into 287 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,639 Speaker 2: her curriculum at VET school. And now I work this 288 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 2: fact into every conversation I have with folks back in 289 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:42,720 Speaker 2: our maple leaf land. By the way, I forgot to 290 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 2: mention in my email on Uranus that in Greek we 291 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 2: call the eight planets of the Solar system by the 292 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 2: Greek god names. So it is Hermes that would be Mercury, Aphrodite, 293 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,760 Speaker 2: that would be Venus, Gaya that would be Earth. Though 294 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 2: Constantine us last time that in Greek Gaya is pronounced 295 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 2: ye Ares, which is Mars, Zeus, which is Jupiter Chronos 296 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:13,400 Speaker 2: which is Saturn Uranus and Poseidon, which is Neptune. Take 297 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 2: that Romans. As for the planet Pluto planet in quotation marks, 298 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,560 Speaker 2: I guess because of Pluto no longer being considered a 299 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,840 Speaker 2: major planet for whatever reason, it went rogue and goes 300 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:29,439 Speaker 2: by both Hades and Pluto in Greek, and that is 301 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 2: the real reason that the Greek illuminati had Pluto acted 302 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,040 Speaker 2: from the pantheon of planets. I'm just saying, don't cross us. 303 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:42,800 Speaker 2: Things happen, stay groovy. Cheers regards Constantine. All right, thank you, Constantine. 304 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:45,719 Speaker 2: All right, I'm going to do a little bit of 305 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:50,439 Speaker 2: weird house cinema response. This is about our episode on 306 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,920 Speaker 2: The Super Mario Brothers nineteen ninety three. It is from 307 00:18:54,040 --> 00:19:02,520 Speaker 2: Andrew says, Hi, Robert and Joe love the show. Thank 308 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 2: you for all your hard work and making it happen. 309 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 2: But after the most recent weird house I had to 310 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 2: leap to the defense of a film that, if not 311 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,919 Speaker 2: great or even really good, was one of my favorites 312 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:17,160 Speaker 2: of all time. I loved the Super Mario Brothers movie 313 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 2: when I was a kid. It's hard to overstate just 314 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:21,920 Speaker 2: how cool and grown up it felt to my seven 315 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 2: year old brain. I saw it in the theater with 316 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:26,920 Speaker 2: my best friend at the time, and it became regular 317 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:30,200 Speaker 2: viewing for me after my father rented it on VHS 318 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:33,640 Speaker 2: and copied it to our Beta Max. A few years ago, 319 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,119 Speaker 2: it was available to stream and I watched it again 320 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:40,160 Speaker 2: with my kids, and yeah, it's not good. There's still 321 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,199 Speaker 2: a lot to love, the chemistry between John Leguizamo and 322 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 2: Bob Hoskins, despite both allegedly being drunk for much of 323 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:50,359 Speaker 2: the production, all the stoogely antics of Iggy and Spike, 324 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:54,120 Speaker 2: the big dopey grin, all the goombas have, But yeah, 325 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 2: it's a mess. You talked in the podcast about what 326 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,200 Speaker 2: a challenge it would have been to develop a plot 327 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,360 Speaker 2: around something as narratively thin as a Mario game. However, 328 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,959 Speaker 2: to place the film in context, there were already at 329 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:12,439 Speaker 2: least three separate Super Mario cartoons available for Saturday morning 330 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 2: viewing on cable at the time of its release. Those 331 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:18,400 Speaker 2: of us who watched them were already accustomed to these 332 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:22,360 Speaker 2: characterizations and stories in Mario's world. The film just gave 333 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 2: us an edgier take on everything, which fit perfectly with 334 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,200 Speaker 2: the zeitgeist of the early nineties. You know, off, Mike 335 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:34,119 Speaker 2: Rob and I were discussing other adaptations of Super Mario 336 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:37,080 Speaker 2: Brothers to different media, and he shared with me something 337 00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:39,359 Speaker 2: that I think somebody sent him on the discord. So 338 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,679 Speaker 2: I don't actually remember at this point what the media was, 339 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 2: but it was a Super Mario Brothers cartoon that may 340 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:48,680 Speaker 2: have been from Japan that I think predates the live 341 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 2: action movie, and I just watched a clip from part 342 00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:55,160 Speaker 2: of it. It is the Super Mario Brothers hiking through 343 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,240 Speaker 2: the desert with some kind of blue pet, like a 344 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:01,680 Speaker 2: blue dog like creature at their side, and there's a 345 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:07,480 Speaker 2: musical number and the lyrics in translation include lines like 346 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,400 Speaker 2: don't cry any more, baby, I'm right here for you. 347 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 2: We are super, but I don't know. We're super, but 348 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 2: what to do with my love? 349 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:16,919 Speaker 1: Now? 350 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 2: If only the live action movie had had more of 351 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,800 Speaker 2: that painful, yearning emotional core to it. You know, I 352 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,919 Speaker 2: can almost hear Bob Hoskins saying it, We're super, but 353 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:30,440 Speaker 2: I don't know what to do with my love Anyway. 354 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:34,360 Speaker 2: Back to Andrew's message, Andrews says the film also gave 355 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 2: me one of my first cultural Easter egg hunts. There 356 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,439 Speaker 2: were the big obvious references to the game franchise, like 357 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 2: pipe travel, the red and green coveralls, the mushrooms, jump boots, etc. 358 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 2: But there were also a number of more subtle nods 359 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,679 Speaker 2: as well. The cartridges they load into their boots have 360 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 2: faces painted on them like bullet bills. The brutalist architecture 361 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,800 Speaker 2: inside Koopa's tower invokes blocks that make up the fortress 362 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,879 Speaker 2: levels in Super Mario Brothers three, and the lady in 363 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,000 Speaker 2: red in the movie is called big Bertha, like the 364 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:12,600 Speaker 2: large angry fish that tries to swallow you whole in 365 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 2: some of the water levels. Some of these references seem 366 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:18,520 Speaker 2: a little lazy in retrospect, but I can still remember 367 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 2: how exciting it seemed for me as a child to 368 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:25,439 Speaker 2: keep noticing these details. So yeah, it's definitely not a 369 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:28,640 Speaker 2: great film, But contrary to your assessment, I think there 370 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:30,920 Speaker 2: was a lot there for children of the decade to 371 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 2: latch onto, particularly at a time when there was a 372 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,919 Speaker 2: very different standard for what was appropriate for kids to see. 373 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 2: In spite of all its shortcomings, Super Mario Brothers nineteen 374 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 2: ninety three is easily one of my favorite films just 375 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 2: in terms of how much enjoyment I got out of 376 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 2: it when I was young and remember, this was considered 377 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,639 Speaker 2: to be the first ever game to film adaptation, and 378 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,679 Speaker 2: none of us had any idea what that was supposed 379 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 2: to look like. There was no formula for a feature 380 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 2: like this, so the filmmakers chucked us into a bizarre, 381 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:07,879 Speaker 2: violent world with sticky reptilian sexuality and alternately gross and 382 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,600 Speaker 2: imposing locales. That's a huge swing, and even if it 383 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:15,399 Speaker 2: didn't totally connect, it's still infinitely more interesting than almost 384 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 2: any video game movie that came after. Finally, I'm convinced 385 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 2: there is a deep bonus joke hidden behind the layers 386 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 2: of membranous fungus and garbage. You remarked on how all 387 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,280 Speaker 2: the cars have mad Max spikes and shoot sparks and 388 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 2: have old skeletons hanging off of their grills. You probably 389 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,800 Speaker 2: also notice that they all have electrical leads that contact 390 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 2: metal cages above the streets like bumper cars, and that 391 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 2: the police car that Mario and Luigi Steele loses power 392 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 2: once they exit the city. It would seem that the 393 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:54,880 Speaker 2: people of dino Hattan are pioneering the electric car, presumably 394 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,440 Speaker 2: because the descendants of dinosaurs would be reluctant to develop 395 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:02,879 Speaker 2: fossil fuel sources parentheses. You and I know that oil 396 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:06,280 Speaker 2: is the remains of oceanic plants, animals, and bacteria. But 397 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:10,000 Speaker 2: I'll bet the filmmakers didn't. Thank you again for all 398 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 2: you do to make my work days more bearable and 399 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 2: educate me on subjects I had never even heard of. Andrew, Well, 400 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,439 Speaker 2: thank you so much, Andrew, I point taken. You know, 401 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 2: whatever the film's shortcomings, I think I hope it came 402 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:25,440 Speaker 2: through at least that it was worthy of a deep, 403 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:27,919 Speaker 2: deep look. And I still stand by my comment that 404 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 2: I would read a book length work going into the 405 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,199 Speaker 2: making and significance of Super Mario Brothers. The movie. It is, 406 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:43,680 Speaker 2: if nothing else, and absolutely fascinating. How did this happen? Artifact? Okay, 407 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:45,640 Speaker 2: I think we're going to call it there for today. 408 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 2: We will have more listener mail to feature next Monday. 409 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,480 Speaker 2: On Tuesdays and Thursdays of each week we do our 410 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,440 Speaker 2: core stuff to blow your mind episodes, which are most 411 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:58,119 Speaker 2: often about science and culture in some way. On Wednesdays 412 00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:00,560 Speaker 2: we do a short feature called The Art Fact or 413 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,080 Speaker 2: the Monster Fact, and on Fridays we do our series 414 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:08,640 Speaker 2: called Weird House Cinema that's a more relaxed atmosphere where 415 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,399 Speaker 2: each week we just watch and discuss a strange film, 416 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 2: good or bad, well known or obscure, as long as 417 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:18,160 Speaker 2: it's weird. And on Saturdays we run an episode from 418 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 2: the vault. If you are not subscribed to the show, 419 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,880 Speaker 2: do it, do it now. We're called Stuff to Blow 420 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:26,920 Speaker 2: Your Mind and you can find us wherever you get 421 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:30,199 Speaker 2: your podcasts. 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