1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 3 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:16,599 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb, and I'm Julie Douglas. Julie, 4 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: have you ever outrun an explosion every single morning? Yeah? Yeah? 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:25,119 Speaker 1: Ever been chased by a fireball? Yeah? Every afternoon? It 6 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: kind of seems like that way at times, right, I mean, 7 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: because we were just constantly hit over the head with 8 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: this image of people out running explosions, out running fires 9 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: and fireballs. It's I mean, as long as you are 10 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: consuming action films and action oriented TV shows, it's everywhere. Well, 11 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: even dramas have a bit of you know, fire spewing 12 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: forth from time to time, and well like, yeah, I 13 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: think you were mentioning even even Breaking Bad, right, which 14 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: is considered has been considered the pinnacle of television in 15 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: recent years. Yeah, Breaking Bad will dip into a couple 16 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: of the tropes that you see when it comes to fireballs. Um, 17 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: specifically I'm thinking about Walt and I hope this isn't 18 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: a spoiler. This is early on in the series. This 19 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: is when he kind of takes a turn down the road. Um, 20 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: this is right after he shaved his head and he 21 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: is dealing with a drug dealer named Tuco, and he 22 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: has brought to the drug dealer something called mercury fulminate 23 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: which is inexclusive. Now the drug dealer doesn't know this, 24 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: thinks is the back of meth. What does Walt do 25 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: when he feels threatened, He throws a little piece of 26 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: this ampleca boom like the you know, the windows are 27 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: blown out, there's a big fireball um and it's done 28 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: to great effect, right, because at that very moment you 29 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,320 Speaker 1: love Walt even more because of his science smarts and 30 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: his ability to create this um, this sort of chemical 31 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: combustion that gets him out of a jam. In reality, though, 32 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: with this work, yeah yeah, I mean, you'd have to 33 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:02,400 Speaker 1: have like a stick of dynamite along with the mercury 34 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: fulm in it, and it just wouldn't be nearly as interesting. 35 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: You have to sit there and wait for him to 36 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: like stick a dynamite, and yeah, it's not not very 37 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: cinematic um for me. One of the earliest examples comes 38 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: to mind. Uh. It's probably from Predator, where not only 39 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: does uh does Schwarzenegger out run the explosive device that 40 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: the defeated predator sets off on its risk. Uh, it's 41 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: like apparently a tactical nuke that goes off. Essentially, they're 42 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: in the jungle. In the jungle, which is also key 43 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: as well discussed, you know, roots and trees and everywhere, 44 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: he's able to outrun this this tremendous detonation. Uh. And 45 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: you know he's not in the sequel, but he's supposedly survived. 46 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: Now I'm taking this from TV trips dot Org. They 47 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: say a time bomb, super weapon, crash car, etcetera is 48 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: about to explode. The heroes run as fast as they 49 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: can and try to leap behind shelter just as it explodes. 50 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: Often features a cool shot of the heroes diving towards 51 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,919 Speaker 1: the camera. And when I read that initially, I kind 52 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:05,639 Speaker 1: of felt that sort of mirrorner on motion, Like, yes, 53 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: I know that I've seen that trope so many times 54 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: that I feel the motion of that sentence. Indeed, I 55 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: mean another one too, is, of course, the the badass 56 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: walking away from the explosion. Explosion sets off. Generally, you 57 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: know it's the the guy or gal in your action 58 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:27,119 Speaker 1: film is so in control of the situation. Uh, they 59 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: know there's about to be a tremendous explosion. They know 60 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: that they're safe, or they just don't care. They're that 61 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: they're that awesome, uh that they just walk They're just 62 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 1: walking and it's exploding behind them and they don't even care. 63 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: Maybe they're even lighting a cigarette. Breaking bad has another 64 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: example of that. Yes, in fact, it's the Salamanca Terror twins. 65 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: Oh yes, those guys definitely badasses. And I believe that 66 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: they one of them is smoking a cigarette and then 67 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: they ignite a truck and they walk away. And in fact, 68 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: there's a YouTube video that features this clip of them, 69 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: and it's the title of it is cool guys look 70 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: at explosions. Indeed they were. They were pretty cool and collected. 71 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: And you know that you mentioned them mere neurons. And 72 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: I think that's you know, when we watch somebody that's 73 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: so bad and in control of this situation that they 74 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: can just walk away from the explosion. I mean, that's 75 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: who doesn't want that in their life, to have that 76 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,359 Speaker 1: kind of control, that kind of detachment from from the 77 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: stresses and explosions, uh, literal and metaphorical in their life, 78 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: which is why you may want to break out a 79 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: little board game called Fireball Island. Ah. Yes, I fondly 80 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: remember this uh board game published by Milton Bradley, which 81 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: I had. I received it for Christmas, I think one 82 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: year and uh, you'll you'll have to check out the 83 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: commercial for this on include a link on the landing 84 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 1: page in this episode because it was this brilliant like 85 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: three D board. It's it's essentially an island, like a 86 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: volcanic island, and impossibly, even as a kid, I knew 87 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: this was just made no sense. Uh, but some ancient 88 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 1: civilization has built this like demon shaped temple thing on 89 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: top of the volcano, like you do. And then this 90 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: thing would turn and it would spit fireballs red marbles, 91 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:11,119 Speaker 1: uh down these different pathways, and of course the people 92 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: playing the game are trying to move their little dudes 93 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 1: along the pathway and I think they were collecting treasure 94 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: and if the marble came down and hit you, it 95 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: would knock you all the way back down towards the beginning. 96 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 1: But but yeah, even then, I had a lot of questions, 97 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: like what is this fireball? We're out running? Is this 98 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: just is this lava? Is this is this flame? Is 99 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: it is it an explosion? What's going on here? What 100 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,599 Speaker 1: am I trying to out run? Why in the commercial 101 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: is their actual flame coming from the ball and mine 102 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: is just a big marble no flames. Um. I was 103 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 1: looking at this on eBay. They are fetching up to 104 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: three hundred bucks ones that are intact with all the pieces. Wow, 105 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: that's that's pretty impressive. I wish I knew where mine was, 106 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 1: right all right, So we're going to discuss this and 107 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 1: today's episode. Now, we're not going to get into the 108 00:05:57,279 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 1: fancy magical fireball idea, but we're going to get into 109 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 1: sort of are equally magical and fanciful almost subconscious ideas 110 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: about explosions and fire. Most of us do not encounter 111 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: wildfires or explosions in our daily life. We encounter on TV. 112 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: We kind of get this idea about how they work, 113 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: and we take for granted the uh, the the reactions 114 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: that are taking place. So first we're gonna talk about wildfires, 115 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: then we're going to talk about explosions, and we're going 116 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,600 Speaker 1: to talk about our ability or inability rather to outrun 117 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: either of these forces. Before we launch in, I want 118 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: to ask you, Robert, because this is a kid sort 119 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: of dinner party question. Uh, what is your relationship to fire? 120 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: My relationship to fire? Uh? Currently? Um, the lighting of 121 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,480 Speaker 1: stoves with a little click click thing, um, the lighting 122 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,800 Speaker 1: of candles when necessary. Uh, And that's pretty much pretty 123 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 1: much it, because I have these memories as a kid 124 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:57,600 Speaker 1: and my my babysitter, who is um giant hippie, loved her, 125 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: but she would have us um put our hands through 126 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: the candle to see if we could exert some sort 127 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: of magic force on it and not burn ourselves. So 128 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:07,919 Speaker 1: that's sort of my first memories of that and trying 129 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: to capture and harness fire. And I think it's one 130 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: of the reasons why when we see these tropes we 131 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 1: get sort of excited, not just because of the mirror neurons, 132 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: but because it calls back to something primal, like, yes, 133 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: here's this this element and could we in fact walk 134 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: away from it if it were to try to consume us. Yeah, yeah, 135 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 1: I mean I definitely. I remember being into like matches 136 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 1: and fireworks at some point when I was a kid, 137 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: and I mean like the fire. The flamethrower is another 138 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: example of something that like from a kid level, like 139 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: sci fi action movie level, like flamethrowers are awesome, but 140 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: then if you look at the reality of flamethrowers that 141 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 1: they are hillacious, awful devices, awful weapons. Um, So there's 142 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: always a divide between that. But we can't help. But 143 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: but but find something magical in the flickering flame. So 144 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: let's kick up with wildfire. Um and let's we're just 145 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: gonna throw it out there. Humans versus fire speed? How 146 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: does it? How does it pan out? Well? First, let's 147 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: look at a human. According to the National Council on 148 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: Strength and Fitness, the average human can run at a 149 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: speed of fifteen miles per hour kilometers per hour for 150 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: a short period of time. Okay, and as far as 151 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: records go, the world's fastest runner, Hussain Bolt, has clocked 152 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: nearly twenty eight miles per hour or forty kilometers per 153 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: hour in the hundred meters sprint. Okay. Meanwhile, our friend, 154 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,840 Speaker 1: the wildfire travels its speeds up to fourteen miles an 155 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: hour or twenty three kilometers an hour, and it does 156 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,479 Speaker 1: so by consuming everything in its path, for naturally occurring vegetation, 157 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: to homes or even human beings. So in a short 158 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 1: term race without any complicating factors, the average human probably 159 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: has a slight leg up, and more gifted runners can 160 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 1: probably smoke the fire completely. But it's those complications, uh 161 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: that are that are definitely worth taking into account when 162 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 1: trying to outrun a wildfire, right because these don't occur 163 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: in a vacuum as we know. So complicating factors would 164 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:10,959 Speaker 1: include the fact that you're probably running through unfamiliar terrain, 165 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: right if you're out in the forest, you probably don't 166 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: know it like the back of your hand. Um, So 167 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: that can add to the confusion when you're trying to navigate. 168 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: In addition, a thick fog of smoke could be rolling 169 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 1: through the area, making it hard to determine the best 170 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 1: path forward, particularly when the wind shifts direction right and 171 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: there's the heat from the fire because it turns out 172 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 1: that many more people die from smoke inhalation and dehydration 173 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: than from actual burns. So all of these things are 174 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: making this this uh, this mays through a natural disaster 175 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,439 Speaker 1: that much more difficult. Yeah, and there's just so many variables. 176 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: Like I can't help but think if you were if 177 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 1: you were trying to to map and program the movement 178 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: of a wildfire, and say a board game or computer game, 179 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: there there would just be so many barreals, so many 180 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: dice rolls would have to take place because because just 181 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: the slightest change in the wind, for instance, can alter 182 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: the course of the fire. Suddenly it's it's moving. Uh, 183 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 1: it's moving to your left, etter to your right, etcetera. 184 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,079 Speaker 1: And then you have to take into account the fuel 185 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,320 Speaker 1: that it's consuming. You have grasses that are that are 186 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:24,720 Speaker 1: burning easily on dry, hot windy days, branches, twigs and 187 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,400 Speaker 1: leaves that are serving as as as as a tremendous fuel, 188 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 1: creating more heat. And then you have dry tree bark 189 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: that can carry the flames up to the tree tops, 190 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: burning more material and causing the fire to break and spread. 191 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:43,440 Speaker 1: So it's, uh, there's there's so much chaos in the system. 192 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: It's it's difficult to map, certainly difficult to map on 193 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: the ground dealing with all of these complications. And yeah, 194 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,679 Speaker 1: you can try to be strategic about it. So if 195 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:56,120 Speaker 1: you could figure out which way the fire is moving, 196 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 1: and you situated yourself parallel to it, this is called 197 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: the flank of the fire, then that puts you in 198 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 1: a much better position as opposed to say, in front 199 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,719 Speaker 1: of the fire, which is kind of like a dot um. 200 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,040 Speaker 1: Another thing you could do is you could look for 201 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 1: a path with little or no vegetation. So a rock, 202 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 1: gravel or dirt path would ensure that you're not surrounding 203 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:23,439 Speaker 1: yourself with tinder. All of those dry branches and twigs leaves, 204 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:26,320 Speaker 1: that would create a little bit more forced um tinder 205 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:29,320 Speaker 1: there for you, and then you would want to move 206 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,320 Speaker 1: downhill if you could. That's because the fire will burn 207 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 1: faster uphill, you know. That's because the flames can easily 208 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: reach more unburnt fuel in front of the fire, and 209 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: then radiant heat preheats the fuel in front of the fire, 210 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: making the fuel even more flammable. And that's not to 211 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: say that any of these strategies are a guarantee of safety. 212 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,200 Speaker 1: In the house Stuff Works article Can You out Run 213 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:56,280 Speaker 1: a Fire? By Alston Cooper, she points out that the 214 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: Yarnell Hill airs on a wildfire in June two thousand 215 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: killed nineteen members of the Granite Mountain hot Shots. And 216 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 1: the hot Shots, of course, are they have advanced strategies 217 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,679 Speaker 1: and they are experts in maintaining um the fires and 218 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: extinguishing them. So what happened during this particular wildfire is 219 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 1: that the wildfire was aided by fifty mile per hour 220 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 1: or eighty kilometers per hour down drafting winds of an 221 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: approaching thunderstorm. We're talking about covering one d yards in 222 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: nineteen seconds. And the firefighters who were in a box 223 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:35,840 Speaker 1: hand and were trapped when the fire essentially rushed into it. 224 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: They we're talking about a dangerous and at times unpredictable 225 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,680 Speaker 1: force here. It's not not the fire in your heart, 226 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: it's not the fire on your barbecue. This is a 227 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: This is fire that is quite literally wild, consuming materials, 228 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:53,839 Speaker 1: shifting around, and it's easy to get caught in the 229 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 1: wrong place at the wrong time. Indeed, all right, we're 230 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 1: going to take a quick break. When we get back, 231 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:00,080 Speaker 1: we're going to look at what it would take to 232 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:14,559 Speaker 1: outrun an explosion. All right, we're back out running an explosion. Possible, impossible. 233 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 1: I think you will find it is the latter of 234 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: those two options, despite again how often we see it 235 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 1: done in our TVs and movies. Let's start with just, uh, 236 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: just getting down to brass tacks here. What is an explosion? 237 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: What is an explosive? Even um, All explosives are little 238 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: more than elements that burn or decompose at an incredible speed. 239 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 1: Um and explosions occur when a large amount of energy 240 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 1: is released into a small volume of area in a 241 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: very short time. So it might be hydrothermal, uh, you know, 242 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: naturally occurring in the earth. It might be chemical arising 243 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 1: from say a man made explosion, or it might even 244 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 1: be nuclear. Now, the reaction produces a massive amount of 245 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: heat and gas in a very short period of time. 246 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 1: An explosive chemical action breaks down compounds into highly compressed 247 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 1: gases as well as heat resulting from compound molecules being 248 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 1: blasted apart. Then the gas expands rapidly and the heat 249 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:15,720 Speaker 1: speeds up individual gas particles to increase expansion speed even more. 250 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 1: And this rapidly expanding gas is called a pressure wave, 251 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:23,120 Speaker 1: and it's key to any explosives destructive power as the 252 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:25,480 Speaker 1: pressure If the pressure wave is fast enough to break 253 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 1: the sound barrier, it also generates a powerful shock wave. 254 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: So anytime you have a land explosion, a real life 255 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: land explosion from hand garnades took a dynamite exploding car, 256 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 1: you name it, Uh, you're gonna have a situation where 257 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 1: the blast can just almost instantaneously burned skin, tear apart, limbs, 258 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 1: propel objects and shrapnel through the air. Um, it's a 259 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: it's it's a dangerous situation and and uh again, we 260 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: often sort of fall into a magical way of thinking 261 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 1: about the explosion as just this sort of blast, this 262 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: this big fiery thing that happens, and not this this 263 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:05,600 Speaker 1: this really fast chemical reaction that just sends out this 264 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: pressure wave. Yeah. To illustrate that, let's look at a 265 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: C four explosive. Now, this is typical typically used by 266 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:15,960 Speaker 1: the United States Armed Forces, and when it is detonated, 267 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: gases are released from the explosive at the rate of 268 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 1: twenty six thousand, four hundred ft per second or eight 269 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: thousand fifty per second. Yeah, which means that if you 270 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: are within twenty four thousand feet of it, your toast 271 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: within just one second. So that really I think that 272 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,760 Speaker 1: shatters the illusion pretty quickly, unless you're watching the Flash 273 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 1: or Superman or something. It's it's putting it outside the 274 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: normal range. Now, some other explosives like a pipe bomb, well, 275 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 1: the U. S Department of Homeland Security says the minimal 276 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: safe distance from a five pound or two point two 277 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 1: kilogram bomb pipe bomb is twelve hundred feet or three 278 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: hundred sixty And then you'll see as the size of 279 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 1: the bomb goes up, so to just the since that 280 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 1: you should be away from it. So a fifty pound 281 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:07,520 Speaker 1: briefcase bomb you should be about eighteen hundred and fifty 282 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: feet away or five hundred sixty four a tractor trailer 283 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:16,880 Speaker 1: bomb that would be about nine thousand, three hundred feet 284 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: or two thousand, eight hundred that you would want to 285 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,840 Speaker 1: be away from it. So again the question arises, could 286 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 1: you get from point A to point B this safe 287 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:30,400 Speaker 1: zone in any of those scenarios, And it's just not likely. 288 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: Even if you are Usain Bolt, who could cover two 289 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: hundred meters in nineteen seconds um, which is about thirty 290 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:43,880 Speaker 1: four ft per second, that's still not gonna get you 291 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 1: to where you need to be. Indeed, I mean pretty 292 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: much the only scenario that even works from any kind 293 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: of film or actions situation would be if there's a 294 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: timer and you're you're not out running the explosion itself, 295 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,600 Speaker 1: but your your character is attempting to it to that 296 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:05,239 Speaker 1: uh that that manium that minimum evacuation distance before it 297 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:09,199 Speaker 1: goes off. But even then, the minimum evacuation distance is 298 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: just the range at which life threatening injury from the 299 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: blast or fragmentation hazards are unlikely. Uh So, a person 300 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:21,479 Speaker 1: within the safe zone of uh surrounding this explosion. They 301 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,959 Speaker 1: can still suffer injuries, they're not life threatening. You can 302 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 1: still get hit by shrapnel, you can still be knocked 303 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: down by the shock wave. Um, all of that is 304 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:35,879 Speaker 1: still in play, which could significantly uh impact your badass 305 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,160 Speaker 1: walk away from the explosion, right because the badass walk away. 306 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: You don't tend to see the hero or the anti 307 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:46,360 Speaker 1: hero with pock marks of you know, damage done by 308 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 1: the shrack knowledge, hearing loss or anything. No, they're completely intact. Um. 309 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 1: So yeah, again, abbous, but this is not very realistic. 310 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:59,160 Speaker 1: Even the countdowns and we see them depicted in TV 311 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:03,119 Speaker 1: and film aren't being true to the actual time that's passing. Yeah. 312 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,360 Speaker 1: And and it goes without saying a lot of times 313 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,639 Speaker 1: when you have a really cool explosion in a film, 314 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:09,719 Speaker 1: you end up kind of seeing it in slow motion anyway, 315 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 1: so you get this kind of false idea about what's happening. 316 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:15,439 Speaker 1: You do see like this fireball expanding, and uh and 317 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: you know, we just we just don't. Most of us 318 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 1: do not have explosions occurring in our daily life and 319 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 1: have any kind of real, uh you know, real down 320 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 1: to earth understanding about what's happenings as far as the 321 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:29,919 Speaker 1: chemical reaction goes well, and if you did, you probably 322 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: would have a pretty strong case of PTSD. Right. Um, 323 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:37,440 Speaker 1: So this, this unfortunately is the reality for some people. 324 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 1: And we were talking about this earlier. Probably one of 325 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: the more realistic depictions of explosions is something like the 326 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,119 Speaker 1: hurt Locker, where they do quite a bit of really 327 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: good camera work to try to bring some sort of 328 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:55,080 Speaker 1: very similitude to what is happening on screen. Yeah, they 329 00:18:55,119 --> 00:18:58,119 Speaker 1: did a great job at also making you feel that 330 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:02,080 Speaker 1: bombs and particular really the explosive devices that they were diffusing, 331 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:06,400 Speaker 1: our nasty weapons, these are not these are not fun explosions. 332 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,359 Speaker 1: And it gets into that flamethrower are discussing earlier. You know, 333 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:13,000 Speaker 1: there's just there's this huge disconnect between the cool explosions, 334 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,640 Speaker 1: the cool weapons that we encounter in our our our 335 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 1: fictional media, versus the generally hillacious reality of their use. 336 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: All Right, we are going to take a break. When 337 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 1: we get back, We're going to attend to some listener mail. 338 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,199 Speaker 1: All right, we're back. Indeed, let us call over the 339 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,200 Speaker 1: robot here and uh and catch up on a little 340 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: bit of listener mail we received so many great comments 341 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: from you guys and gals, and you know, sadly we 342 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: we don't always have time to h to read them 343 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,720 Speaker 1: here on the podcast, but today we have changes. Indeed, 344 00:19:55,359 --> 00:19:57,160 Speaker 1: all right, we have an email and I'm not gonna 345 00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 1: share her name because she did not say whether or 346 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,360 Speaker 1: not we could share it, but she's said, hey, guys, 347 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,480 Speaker 1: have you ever researched how second hand embarrassment works? Because 348 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: I suffer from it pretty bad and I can't find 349 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: a lot about it scientifically. And I thought that was 350 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:14,520 Speaker 1: that's really interesting. We have an upcoming episode on our 351 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:17,159 Speaker 1: to do list about shame. And it it also made me 352 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: think about empathy. And I know I've mentioned this before, 353 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: but there's a book called The Empathy Exams. It's really great. 354 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,240 Speaker 1: It's a bunch of essays that deal with empathy and 355 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:32,320 Speaker 1: how it frames our world and even how it affects 356 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: our bodies, our health. So guys check it out if 357 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:38,119 Speaker 1: you'd like. All Right, I have another bit of listener 358 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,119 Speaker 1: mail here. This one comes from an anonymous listener or 359 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: listener that wishes to remain anonymous. Says, Hi, Robert and 360 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:45,880 Speaker 1: Julie stumbled upon your podcast by accident, and I'm glad 361 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,719 Speaker 1: that I did. It's quite interesting, to say the least. Recently, 362 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 1: I've been catching up on some episodes and I just 363 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:52,720 Speaker 1: finished listening to the one you did about the zen 364 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,720 Speaker 1: of pain, and one thing came to mind. I have chronic, 365 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:59,000 Speaker 1: almost constant pain right next to my right shoulder blade 366 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 1: as well as in my right at hand. It's not 367 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: something I enjoy by any means, far from it. However, 368 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:05,960 Speaker 1: the things that seemed to help me with it are 369 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,560 Speaker 1: certain exercises uh there. They were prescribed by a professional, 370 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,960 Speaker 1: which also caused pain, quite a bit of pain, putting 371 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: a lot of pressure on my shoulder blade to the 372 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:18,440 Speaker 1: point of almost crying out with pain. But this helps too. 373 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:20,960 Speaker 1: For some strange reason, I also know a few other 374 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 1: people who feel the same way about some of the 375 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,680 Speaker 1: pains they are having. From extremely unscientific observations, it would 376 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: seem as if physical pain not only helps us reach 377 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,000 Speaker 1: a liberation for from our guilt and other bad feelings, 378 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:35,639 Speaker 1: but also from physical pain. I just thought it was 379 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:37,919 Speaker 1: interesting observation and wanted to share. Maybe you could do 380 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,400 Speaker 1: an episode on that too in the future. Keepon podcasting 381 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 1: and have a wonderful day. An anonymous listener from Canada. 382 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,399 Speaker 1: I don't know that we had talked about pain in 383 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,639 Speaker 1: terms of transformation in a more positive way before, but 384 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 1: that's an interesting angle. Yeah. I mean I have noticed, 385 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,679 Speaker 1: like in just doing stretches and stuff, and if I have, 386 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 1: you know, ultimately you know, minor sores going on with 387 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:04,400 Speaker 1: my with my muscles. Like sometimes you end up going 388 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: into a position or a stretch that you're you are 389 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:10,919 Speaker 1: causing a bit of tension there, but your the tension 390 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,640 Speaker 1: is kind of combating another lingering pain. It's indeed, there's 391 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: a there's there's a there's a lot of complexity in 392 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:21,160 Speaker 1: uh in in the the the pain pleasure system. That's 393 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:23,719 Speaker 1: what I think is interesting about yoga. Um not so 394 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 1: much that sometimes you feel pain, and in fact, if 395 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:27,440 Speaker 1: you feel too much pain, you should definitely back off. 396 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,720 Speaker 1: But when you're in a pose and you're pushing yourself, 397 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,720 Speaker 1: there's a level of discomfort that they yoga teacher will 398 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:39,600 Speaker 1: often say, is your opportunity to dwell with that discomfort 399 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:43,479 Speaker 1: and not keep pushing it away, but sort of meeting it. 400 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,720 Speaker 1: And a lot of the discomfort in your in your 401 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:49,520 Speaker 1: body can translate to the discomfort that you feel in 402 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:53,119 Speaker 1: your mind and We've talked about how emotional pain and 403 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 1: physical pain overlap each other quite a bit, so it's 404 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 1: an interesting exercise in and of itself. A one and 405 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: to read this next email. This is from Emmily and 406 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:06,680 Speaker 1: she says, Hello, Julian Robert. I wanted to say good 407 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:09,400 Speaker 1: job on the Blue podcast. I listened to it while 408 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: I was coloring pages for a comic book. Part of 409 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: being a colorist means a lot of color theories, so 410 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:16,600 Speaker 1: I thought you guys touched on the subject very well. 411 00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: I thought I might add a couple of ideas if 412 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:21,960 Speaker 1: you do a few other color related podcasts. There have 413 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: been studies I've seen saying how certain stores or fast 414 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: food restaurants will use color to make people hungry but 415 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 1: not wish to stay too long in the restaurant. Also, 416 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:33,600 Speaker 1: don't remember if there's been a podcast on the Man 417 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,880 Speaker 1: to Shrimp, But these guys are extraordinary little creatures of color. 418 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,120 Speaker 1: Here's a comic I love, and she's talking about oat. 419 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: Mail says, and uh, I'd love to point people to 420 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 1: for a little bit of information on them. Also, it's 421 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: a fun read. And this is so great. A couple 422 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: of things about this one is we are planning a 423 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,119 Speaker 1: podcast episode that has to do with sensory manipulation, and 424 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:01,720 Speaker 1: restaurants certainly are within that. It's a really big, uh 425 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,199 Speaker 1: tangled topic, so when we unravel a little bit, we 426 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 1: will definitely cart it out for you guys. I want 427 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:09,600 Speaker 1: to let Emily know that we're working on that. The 428 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:12,960 Speaker 1: second thing is the Manda shrimp is great. That the 429 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: Oatmeal comic takes this on and talks about how the 430 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:22,240 Speaker 1: manta shrip has sixteen color sensitive receptor cones, which is amazing. 431 00:24:22,359 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 1: They're they're an entirely different sensory world into themselves. Yeah. 432 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 1: That that oat Mill comic in particular is great. And 433 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,159 Speaker 1: if I remember correctly, I think that one followed on 434 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: the heels of a really really solid Radio Lab episode 435 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:37,159 Speaker 1: where they talk about the Man of Shrimp. So that 436 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,119 Speaker 1: was kind of like the those two elements came together 437 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:44,400 Speaker 1: to really propel the Mantis shrip into its current Internet 438 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,920 Speaker 1: celebrity status. Yeah, the Matthew and Mean, the creator of Oatmeal. 439 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 1: He also has this great bit about how the manta 440 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,119 Speaker 1: shrimp is one of the most creatively violent creatures on 441 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: Earth and I won't give it away. Need to go 442 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 1: check out the comic to see that. All right, here's 443 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: a little bit of listener mail from listener Sophia. Sophia says, 444 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,040 Speaker 1: I recently found your excellent podcast and was immediately hooked, 445 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:05,399 Speaker 1: starting with the episode about rats. I am in fact 446 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 1: listening to your podcast right now. I was catching up 447 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 1: and I came across the Mad Gasser and mass Hysteria episode, which, 448 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: in passing, talked about a phenomenon among school girls at 449 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,960 Speaker 1: a boarding school. This phenomenon appeared after Christmas break and 450 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,520 Speaker 1: manifested itself in cold like symptoms, fever, trouble walking, etcetera. 451 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 1: You explained how this was caused by the stress of 452 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,160 Speaker 1: leaving their families after seeing them for only a short 453 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,080 Speaker 1: period of time. I have in fact experienced this myself 454 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:32,639 Speaker 1: last January, right after I had moved back to school 455 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:34,960 Speaker 1: after spending time with my family at Christmas break, I 456 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: began experiencing a myriad of unsettling symptoms. I had a 457 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 1: loss of balance, a sensitivity to even weak sunlight to 458 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:43,919 Speaker 1: the point that my pupils would virtually disappear when I 459 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 1: was outside, migrains, chills, and even feigning spells. This lasted 460 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,040 Speaker 1: for about a month and a half and in interestingly 461 00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:52,439 Speaker 1: only abated when I found out that my mom was 462 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 1: going to visit for my graduation in May. Thank you 463 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,680 Speaker 1: for clearing up any a paranoia about my symptoms, as 464 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:01,439 Speaker 1: I was very con concerned about them for a while 465 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:04,320 Speaker 1: and thought it might be some fearful or netherious disease 466 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,760 Speaker 1: manifesting itself. Your show is amazing and very informative, and 467 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:09,560 Speaker 1: I will be a listener for a very long time 468 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: to come listening faithfully, Sophia. Thanks Sophia, Um, we really 469 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:17,439 Speaker 1: appreciate you sharing with us your own experience, which I 470 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:22,480 Speaker 1: think really underscores that whole um body mind connection here 471 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: when it comes to empathy and to emotional contagion. Indeed, 472 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,679 Speaker 1: I mean this is definitely one of those subjects that 473 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:32,879 Speaker 1: we we are ultimately approaching as outsider. So anytime we 474 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,680 Speaker 1: can get that insider perspective on a topic, we love 475 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,600 Speaker 1: it all right. The next one is from Katie. She says, 476 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:40,639 Speaker 1: I don't have a specific request. I just want to 477 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:42,520 Speaker 1: say thanks for the great show. I love how often 478 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:44,919 Speaker 1: gender and sex comes up. I could listen to you 479 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:48,240 Speaker 1: to talk for hours about the amazing biodiversity of sex, 480 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: organ sexual reproduction, and sexual behavior and you always connected 481 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,920 Speaker 1: so well with the human bias and baggage that comes 482 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 1: along with sex, sexuality and gender. On second thought, maybe 483 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,640 Speaker 1: I do have a topic suggestion. Have you've done an 484 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:04,240 Speaker 1: episode on sex changes, not specifically in humans, but in 485 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: animals in general. I feel like the subject comes up 486 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:10,600 Speaker 1: but only tangentially in other subjects. It seems like you'd 487 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,359 Speaker 1: have fun with the subject. Um. I agree, Yeah, that 488 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:17,760 Speaker 1: sounds like a like an excellent topic to to jump into. Yeah, thanks, Hattie. 489 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: We actually have on the house stuff works dot com website, 490 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: we have an article called how gender reassignment works. And 491 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 1: we have an article called why some species change sex? So, um, 492 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: I certainly think we should put the latter on our 493 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:36,199 Speaker 1: to do list. Indeed, indeed, all right, So there you 494 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 1: have it. If you listener mails to uh satisfy the 495 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 1: robot and uh and hopefully listeners as well, and uh Hey, 496 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:45,880 Speaker 1: if you want to check out more of our podcast 497 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 1: episodes past and hey maybe even future. You want to 498 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:50,920 Speaker 1: check out our videos or blog post links out to 499 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 1: our social media accounts, head on over to stuff to 500 00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:56,040 Speaker 1: Blow your Mind dot com. That is our central homepage 501 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 1: and that is where you will find all of our 502 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,320 Speaker 1: things in the meantime, unders your thoughts, and you can 503 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:04,040 Speaker 1: do that by emailing us at stuff to blow your mind. 504 00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:09,560 Speaker 1: At how stuff works dot com for more on this 505 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,280 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff works 506 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:18,640 Speaker 1: dot com.