WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: Of Knots and Monsters

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

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<v Speaker 2>Hi, my name is Robert Lamb And this is the

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<v Speaker 2>Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 2>Your Mind, focusing in non mythical creatures, ideas, and monsters

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<v Speaker 2>in time. Yesterday's core episode of Stuff to Blow Your

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<v Speaker 2>Mind concerned the fabled rat King, in which it is

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<v Speaker 2>said the tales of rats become intertwined and knotted, a

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<v Speaker 2>dire omen of impending doom. But what about elsewhere in

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<v Speaker 2>the natural and unnatural worlds? To begin with, folklore is

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<v Speaker 2>rife with magical knots, is Cyrus l Day pointed out

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<v Speaker 2>in Knots and Not Lore back in nineteen fifty. Just

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<v Speaker 2>as the use of knots extends back through prehistoric human times,

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<v Speaker 2>so too does the idea that we might work magic

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<v Speaker 2>with the various intricate knots that we tie. They observe

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<v Speaker 2>that ancient peoples attempted to control the weather, biology, reproduction, death,

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<v Speaker 2>and various supernatural entities via the working of knots. Not

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<v Speaker 2>Magic was sometimes maleficent and other times beneficial. It could

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<v Speaker 2>be an intentional magical effect or something invoked by accident.

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<v Speaker 2>It might be said to work at close range, across

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<v Speaker 2>vast distances, and across various stretches of time. After all,

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<v Speaker 2>what is the knot but the joining and the binding

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<v Speaker 2>of things, the creation of something, the creation of a

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<v Speaker 2>new complexity in the process, And of course the topic

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<v Speaker 2>is closely aligned with all manner of fabric arts and

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<v Speaker 2>even hair breeds. As not so easily become the subject

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<v Speaker 2>of magical thinking, they inevitably touched the world of monsters.

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<v Speaker 2>Among the many anti vampire traditions, we find the notion

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<v Speaker 2>that one may leave a complex array of knots out

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<v Speaker 2>for the creature, which will then occupy its time trying

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<v Speaker 2>to unravel them and figure them out till the sun

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<v Speaker 2>rises once again. They are also other related tactics that

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<v Speaker 2>don't involve knots at all, such as leaving out poppy

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<v Speaker 2>seeds that the vampire will feel compelled to count. Unnatural

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<v Speaker 2>complexity overpowers the undead senses, it would seem, But as

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<v Speaker 2>with the fabled rat King, there are also some myths

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<v Speaker 2>and legends of knotted creatures. The account of Heracles and

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<v Speaker 2>Coccus is notable. While in some depictions Coccus is merely

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<v Speaker 2>presented as a fire breathing giant, or even just a

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<v Speaker 2>large muscular man that Heracles wrestles. Other times, he is

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<v Speaker 2>described as a sort of giant spider, except with three

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<v Speaker 2>fire breathing human heads atop a long neck. In order

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<v Speaker 2>to slay the monster, Heracles ties its neck in a knot.

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<v Speaker 2>Dragon iconography often involves knots, as does serpentine iconography, and

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<v Speaker 2>the knotting of tail or neck may be presented as

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<v Speaker 2>a means of defeating the creature or as a self

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<v Speaker 2>coiling behavior. In the natural world, climbing snakes have been

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<v Speaker 2>observed to use lasso locomotion to scale trees and poles

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<v Speaker 2>in search of prey, a configuration that indeed appears to

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<v Speaker 2>be a simple knot. Elsewhere, hagfish, when agitated, will twist

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<v Speaker 2>themselves into a traveling overhand knot to squeeze off excess slide.

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<v Speaker 2>Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster Fact each week.

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<v Speaker 2>As always, you can email us at contact at stuff

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<v Speaker 2>to Blow your Mind dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of iHeartRadio.

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