1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, welcome the Stuff to Blow your Mind. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb. I'm Julie Douglas. And you know, Julie, 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: if we we travel back in time here and go 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: back to early nineteen Las Vegas, Okay, totally different world, 6 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: of course. All right, I'm getting my martini stirred right now. Yeah, yeah, 7 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:35,560 Speaker 1: Martini's mobsters running the place. Uh. You know, it's the 8 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: the the age of you know, of black suits and 9 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: smoking everywhere and uh uh and and you know, everybody 10 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: was caught up in this this cold war feeling that 11 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: it's you know, arms arms race is post War War two. 12 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: US is a big dog and and it's uh and 13 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 1: it's up against some pretty stiff competition on the other 14 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: side of the globe and U and these you know 15 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: war of idea, the cheese. But also you know, lots 16 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: of good times and casinos, drinking martinis and smoking NonStop. 17 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,039 Speaker 1: And what would you add to that experience just to 18 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: make it even more fantastic, Well, basically, you throw the 19 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:15,039 Speaker 1: ultimate party. I mean, you've got the mafia here, so 20 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: we gotta go high, we gotta go big. Yeah, ultimate 21 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 1: party thrown by the mafia with all of your you know, um, 22 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: you know, whatever kind of music they had back in 23 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: the day. I don't know if there wasn't electronics, I 24 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: don't know. I just see like awkward, like um, shifting 25 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: to the right and left with the hips, you know. Yeah, 26 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: that that kind of dancing. I don't know. I'm sure 27 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: there's a name for that. Yeah, early early nineteen fifty stuff. 28 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: But you're staying up all night, staying up all night, partying, 29 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: doing that weird dance, drinking m d drinking those weird drinks. Yeah, 30 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:48,919 Speaker 1: smoking NonStop, and then right around dawn, an atomic weapon 31 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: goes off on the horizon for your pleasure, for your pleasure. Yeah, yeah, 32 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: a a nuclear explosion, and everybody you know cheers, you 33 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: know USA at drink a little more, smoke a little more, 34 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 1: party a little more, and then I guess you have 35 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: you have brunch and then go home and go to sleep. 36 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: This is not fiction. This this this was happening for 37 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: twelve years, for twelve years and something in the neighborhood 38 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:18,679 Speaker 1: of Oh. I mean these parties ended, you know after 39 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: a while, but um, you know, in between nine um, 40 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: one thousand and twenty one nuclear detonations took place at 41 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:33,519 Speaker 1: the Nevada test site. So a lot of these are again, 42 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: these are nuclear weapons. These are atomic bombs, the most 43 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 1: powerful and dreaded uh weapon that we've been able to 44 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 1: come up with yet. And you know, we'd previously dropped 45 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,919 Speaker 1: them to horrific results um in Japan on the Hiroshima 46 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: and Nagasaki that was a like a third team kill 47 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:52,920 Speaker 1: a ton and a twenty kill a ton bomb. But 48 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: then they're like the the like some of the first 49 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: ones we were dropping in a lot in just outside 50 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: of Las Vegas at the Nevada Proving Grounds were thirty 51 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: one kiloton bombs, right and and and you wonder if 52 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: anybody's such m hmm, I wonder if this is a 53 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 1: good idea. Well apparently you had some people that were like, 54 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: I don't know if we should should maybe maybe it's 55 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: just a good idea. I don't But then but then 56 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: the government was like, well, we're doing in two weeks, 57 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: so make up your mind, uh, and know that it's 58 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: an extremely patriotic thing for us to do. It's perfectly 59 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,639 Speaker 1: safe and uh, you know, so just you know, drinking 60 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: Marquis Martiniz and keep smoking. The cigarettes are not going 61 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: to kill you. And then I imagine them murmuring the 62 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: side effects like sun effects include vomiting, headics, you know, 63 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: and I want to stay forth so there. Yeah, so 64 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: people are, you know, having their martinis and going, well, okay, 65 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: maybe it's not such a bad idea. It will bring 66 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: a lot of money into the area and we really 67 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: need it. And the parties actually remind me. I've never 68 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: been to one of these because I'm not that cool. 69 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: But uh, like in places like Ibiza, they have like 70 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: these parties where people party all night somehow, um and uh, 71 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: perhaps through a natural means. And then when the sun 72 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: comes up, like the DJ does like a a special 73 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: mix so that his mix corresponds with the rising of 74 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: the sun. Of course, they didn't have DJs back then, 75 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: so weren't able to really get that that the same 76 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: effect with the to correspond with the detonation. I'm sure 77 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: Frank Sinatra probably did some little ditty DJ Frank Sinatra 78 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: pick the old days. Um. But but this is just 79 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: part of like like Vegas was crazy with it. Like 80 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: Vegas was ready to run with anything that would come 81 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: along that they could market. So they're like, uh, They're like, oh, 82 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: Atomic Bomble were the Atomic City. Wait, and you know 83 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 1: they the Atomic Cocktail became big, which, according to Esquire magazine, 84 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: is one and half ounces of vodka, one and half 85 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: ounces of brandy, a teaspoon and sherry, and one and 86 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,919 Speaker 1: a half ounces of dry champagne. My favorite UM was 87 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:47,159 Speaker 1: a still from that time of Miss Atomic Usa, I believe, 88 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:52,159 Speaker 1: and she's um, it just imagined an atomic plume. Yeah, 89 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: the mushroom cloud. The mushroom cloud that is the actual 90 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: like her her outfit, right, and it almost looks like 91 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: it's a sandwich board. Maybe. Yeah, it's hard to say 92 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: exactly what it is, um, but she she's made to 93 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: look naked behind this atomic plume and she's you know, 94 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:10,839 Speaker 1: this um belonde with this big bouffant out in the 95 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: desert with clouds behind her. It's pretty great. And I 96 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:15,039 Speaker 1: think the show girls would have head dresses. It looked 97 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:19,279 Speaker 1: like mushroom cloud. Um. The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce 98 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: issued a calendar for tourists with the scheduled detonation times 99 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,919 Speaker 1: and the best places to view them. Right for this 100 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: twelve years, right, Yeah, for twelve years. People would like 101 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 1: the desert end marketed at Skyroom. It's the perfect place 102 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: to you know, guzzle down some martinis and smoke and 103 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 1: watch a bomb light up the horizon. Um. Yeah, but 104 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: of course the good times had to end, and they 105 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: because you know, people in northeastern Nevada in southern Utah 106 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,799 Speaker 1: began complaining that their pets in their livestocks were suffering 107 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: from beta particle burns. This is from a PBS documentary 108 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 1: about the Strange Side of Las Vegas, and they suffered 109 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: other ailments. So by nine three, the limited test band 110 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: was in effect and effectively that just shut down all 111 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: above grown tests, which it was not a bad thing 112 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,359 Speaker 1: to do, as as exciting as these u little parties were. 113 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 1: It's sort of horrific now thinking back now knowing what 114 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,480 Speaker 1: we know. Yeah, it's kind of like if you if 115 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:23,360 Speaker 1: you are or if you know somebody who's ever had 116 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: like that crazy boyfriend or girlfriend and at the time 117 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: they're like, this person is awesome. I want to spend 118 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:30,479 Speaker 1: the rest of my life with this person. And then 119 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: and then later they looked back, and then they look 120 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: back and they're like, Wow, that person was crazy. What 121 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: was I thinking? That was? That was? That was dumb? 122 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: And you know, so the behindsight is sort of so 123 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: you know, it's easy to look back now and say, wow, 124 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: these people were stupid throwing parties and watching a nuclear 125 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: weapon light up the horizon. But but like I said, 126 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:54,840 Speaker 1: they were caught up in in patriotism. They didn't know 127 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: what the effects were, and I guess they didn't, you know, 128 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,480 Speaker 1: really heed the whole uh anal I have become death 129 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: at a story of world type thing. You know, they 130 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,919 Speaker 1: know it was this shiny atomic age, right, yeah, I 131 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 1: mean it was it was just all new and exciting, 132 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: new frontier. But you know there's there's the dark side 133 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: of course, so so yeah, there's where the music doesn't right, Yeah, 134 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: that's the record scratching another detail reference. N This is 135 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: we're of course talking about nuclear fallout, and I think 136 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: everyone is at least familiar with the idea of nuclear 137 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 1: fallout in the in the sense that it's it's just 138 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: become part of our our language. And you talk about 139 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: the fall out of something about the uncomfortable or terrible 140 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 1: um circumstances that can occur after an event has transpired, right, 141 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: and of course especially after Japan, which is it's been 142 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: a horrific event, um and it's been really heartbreaking, UM, 143 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: and it's sad, but it's it's interesting to look at 144 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: fallout and see how that's affected people, and also to 145 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: try to understand UM Japan in the context of Chernobyl 146 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 1: and see if we've learned anything. UM. So you know, 147 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: we should probably talk a little bit about thought exactly 148 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: what it is and what that mushroom cloud is doing. Yeah. 149 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: So yeah, this is what happens in a nuclear explosion. 150 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: Just very briefly. You have a certain abount amount of 151 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: nuclear mass, and we transfer that nuclear mass into energy. Right, 152 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: So you have an explosion, an enormous fireball, and inside 153 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: that firebell everything is vaporized, and this fireball rises rapidly, uh, 154 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: and it it ends up pulling in soil and water 155 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 1: and then expands and cools and loses buoyancy and the 156 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: radioactive debris and soil and all this stuff UH that's 157 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:52,080 Speaker 1: initially swept upwards by the explosion then disperses with the wind. UM. 158 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: So you get this fallout, which is a fallout is 159 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: basically microscopic particles UM in the air. Uh. The end 160 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:01,960 Speaker 1: up being to posited on the ground or on buildings 161 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: or on you know, just everywhere, and uh, and they're radioactive. 162 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 1: So think of like a like you see footage of 163 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 1: like a volcanic eruption where everything is coated in ash, 164 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: and that's pretty destructive. But imagine if the ash in 165 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: this case is radioactive and when I mean radioactive, like 166 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,439 Speaker 1: it doesn't even need to touch you to be harmful. Um. 167 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:24,440 Speaker 1: But we'll get to that in just a second. Um. 168 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 1: So you have this mushroom cloud radioactive um particles rising up, 169 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: and that the as a cloud reaches its stabilization height, 170 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 1: it moves down wind and and you have the things. 171 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: You don't just have one wind speed or one you 172 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 1: know direction, It varies with altitude. So you'll see you'll 173 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,160 Speaker 1: look at that. There's some interesting charts out there that 174 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: that show, um um, how nuclear fallout has moved, say 175 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,960 Speaker 1: just from from some of these test detonations in Nevada, 176 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 1: and one in particular I was looking at looked at 177 00:09:56,400 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: the fallout from a ninette kiloton test um of a 178 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:04,560 Speaker 1: bomb by the name of Simon in Nevada, and depending 179 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:07,440 Speaker 1: on the altitude, like, the course was drastically different. Like um, 180 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 1: the particles that made it up to eighteen thousand feet 181 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,839 Speaker 1: they cut through New Mexico and Texas and then shot 182 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:17,000 Speaker 1: north through Arkansas as far north is Pennsylvania. At thirty 183 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,319 Speaker 1: thousand feet, it cut through through the top of New Mexico. 184 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: This is just this path of you know, radioactive materials 185 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 1: traveling across the country. And then then it went down 186 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: through Texas, Southern Louisiana, middle Florida. But then at forty 187 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,319 Speaker 1: thousand it goes more or less straight through Texas and 188 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: then shoots north on a tour of New England on 189 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: up into Canada. So and then if it gets high enough, 190 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:43,320 Speaker 1: you get into the into the stratosphere and you have 191 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 1: global fallout where it can these particles from can pretty 192 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 1: much go all over the globe. Yeah. Yeah, and that's 193 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 1: I think that's probably important to talk about. How you've 194 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: got localized fallout, right, which is you know, by far 195 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: that most dangerous. Yeah, we're talking this is a local 196 00:10:56,679 --> 00:11:00,960 Speaker 1: faud is within fifty to five hundred kilometers from ground zero, 197 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: that's between thirty one miles. That's where all the large 198 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 1: particles are gonna come down. And then you've got regional fallout, right, 199 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:12,319 Speaker 1: and that's five d three thousand kilometers, Okay, and then 200 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 1: you've got the global, which you were talking. Yeah, and 201 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: that's more than three thousand kilometers or more than one Yeah. 202 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 1: And the CBTV, that is the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Um Treaty. 203 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:29,439 Speaker 1: They have a global network of air samples to which 204 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:34,439 Speaker 1: detect traces of radiation. Uh. And they've actually detected traces 205 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 1: from the Fukushima radioactive fallout as far Afield as Sacramento. 206 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:40,960 Speaker 1: And of course that's that's no reason for everybody to 207 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: get up in arms and you know, start taking iodine 208 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 1: because really these are just minute traces. But yeah, they 209 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:50,320 Speaker 1: basically played like these sensors are used to say, find 210 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: out if somebody is doing a nuclear test somewhere in 211 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:55,360 Speaker 1: the world, because that's the thing. You can't really have 212 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,599 Speaker 1: a secret nuclear test because the world is going to 213 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: notice because it's that kind of activity is going to 214 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: affect global radioactive levels, which again just nit drives home 215 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:10,439 Speaker 1: how destructive and irresponsible. Uh, these weapons are. Well, I mean, 216 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: you can get into issues of of nuclear power, is 217 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 1: it clean, is it dangers, um, et cetera. But but 218 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: when it comes down to nuclear weapons, it's pretty I 219 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: think it's pretty cut and dry. Well, especially if you 220 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,719 Speaker 1: think about this storehouses of enriched uranium chickuling this of 221 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:27,960 Speaker 1: it union UM and the amount of thefts that we 222 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:31,160 Speaker 1: know have gone on also with plutonium. I mean, this 223 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,200 Speaker 1: is there are many other issues that spiral out from 224 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: this UM. But yeah, I mean it's it's dangerous stuff 225 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: at any level and hard to keep keep tabs on. 226 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: But we should probably talk about some of the more 227 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 1: specific dangers of fallout UM and actually, like what is 228 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: an acceptable amount of radigation? Which which I feel like 229 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,840 Speaker 1: I cannot get a firm answer on. Yeah, well, let's 230 00:12:54,960 --> 00:13:02,320 Speaker 1: let's get into this right ature a quick break. This 231 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:05,720 Speaker 1: presentation is brought to you by Intel Sponsors of Tomorrow 232 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 1: and we're back. Hello, So what is an acceptable amount 233 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: of radiation? Well, I mean it's kind of a moving target. 234 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:21,720 Speaker 1: Jury's definitely still out UM. There's a mathematical model known 235 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,959 Speaker 1: as the linear non threshold dose response model LNT model 236 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,480 Speaker 1: for short, that helps agencies set levels of acceptable radiation 237 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: level UM. So, for example, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission 238 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:39,439 Speaker 1: sets an acceptable level at one milli ram a year. 239 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 1: And just to put that into context, there are actual 240 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 1: cities where the background radiation level is really high, like Denver, 241 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 1: and those citizens are exposed to fifty milli rams a year. 242 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:52,960 Speaker 1: And as a side note though that the rate of 243 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 1: cancer is pretty low there, so that's something to consider. Um. 244 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,959 Speaker 1: But um, you know, the average level of natural background 245 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: radiation in the United States is about three hundred fifty 246 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: milli ram a year. So that's that's everything in concert. 247 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 1: So that's if you take a transatlantic flight, you're going 248 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:12,720 Speaker 1: to be exposed to thirty five miller ram. If you 249 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:15,760 Speaker 1: get a full body scan, you're gonna have one or 250 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:19,160 Speaker 1: two Miller rams, so that you know, accumulatively, they're looking 251 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: at more like three hundred and fifty milli ramps. So 252 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:25,040 Speaker 1: in theory, we're all getting zapped way too much with radiation. 253 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 1: But you say that and that's just one agency's um 254 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:33,280 Speaker 1: thoughts on it, or you know, that's that's what they 255 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: think is acceptable. You can go to a multitude of 256 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,120 Speaker 1: agencies in a multitude of countries and everybody has a 257 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: different goal or even moving the goalposts right now because 258 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 1: they're not really sure, um, if radiation is that bad 259 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 1: at low dostitches. So that's why I get a little 260 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 1: bit frustrated because I don't feel like there's us that 261 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 1: I still don't feel like people have a good grasp 262 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: of of what radiation means and Chernobyl. Obviously, there were 263 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:05,360 Speaker 1: a lot of horrible things that went on in Chernobyl. 264 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: One of the biggest problems we've had long term is 265 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: that there was no one foundation that got together and said, 266 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 1: let's study this in earnest The results are Chernobyl. So 267 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,800 Speaker 1: while we know that there were six thousand cases of 268 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: thyroid cancer as a result of fallout from there and 269 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: exposure to to irradiated um iodine, we don't really know 270 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: fully you know, the six thousand inhabitants around there, how 271 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 1: that actually affected their lives because nobody really followed up 272 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: on it. Yeah, just to touch base on how this 273 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: radiation ends up affecting the body, how the particles in 274 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: nuclear fallout end up harming people. There are two ways 275 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: that it enters the body through external and internal means. External. 276 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 1: This mainly means, like like I said, um, the particles 277 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 1: come down, they're laying everywhere, and they're emitting radiation, so 278 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: they you end up absorbing it because it's emitted from 279 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: the particles. And this is why um like shielding of 280 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: buildings becomes important. The idea of remaining indoors in the 281 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: event of a nuclear detonation. Yeah, because because the particles 282 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,800 Speaker 1: are emitting this radiation and if you get if something 283 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: is between you and the particle, then well that's gonna help. 284 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 1: But then there's internal and this is when you're inhaling 285 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: the particles or you're absorbing it through intact or injured 286 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:30,880 Speaker 1: skin or and this this is a big one, you're 287 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:34,440 Speaker 1: consuming it um through contaminated foods. And this can be 288 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,200 Speaker 1: as simple as all right, I eat a carrot and 289 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 1: the carrot has particles of radioactive particles on it from 290 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: the fallout, or I eat um, I don't know, I 291 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: eat the rabbit that ate the carrot. See, it ends 292 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,880 Speaker 1: up impacting the entire food chain of which we are 293 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: apart um. It ends up and it gets involved in 294 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: like dairy too. I mean, there's just you know, because 295 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:57,960 Speaker 1: if you drink the milk that came from the cow 296 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: that ate the grass that the fallout fell on, right, 297 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:05,160 Speaker 1: then you're you're going to have some possible health problems there. Yeah. 298 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: And um, you should also again talk about Chernobyl when 299 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 1: that happened, uh, when the fallout from that happened, that 300 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: the government actually didn't say to its citizens quit eating 301 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:20,160 Speaker 1: UH contaminated food or telling them it's contaminated, or telling 302 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:23,360 Speaker 1: them not to drink the water. Um. So again this 303 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: is another reason why people were exposed to it so readily, 304 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,760 Speaker 1: and all that we know in Japan that they warn 305 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: the citizens to quit eating and drinking UH water sources there. 306 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,960 Speaker 1: But I wanted to talk a little bit about two 307 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:41,200 Speaker 1: volatile elements cassium one thirty seven and iodine one thirty one. 308 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,359 Speaker 1: Those we know bubbled off the damaged fuel in Japan, 309 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,760 Speaker 1: and iodine is rapidly absorbed by the thyroid and it 310 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:52,919 Speaker 1: leaves only as it decays radioactively with half life of 311 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: eight days, while cassium is absorbed by muscles, where it's 312 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 1: half life of thirty years means that it remains until 313 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,680 Speaker 1: it's excreted by the body. So it takes between ten 314 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 1: and one days to excrete half of what has been consumed. 315 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:11,879 Speaker 1: So that's why these these two things are problematic because 316 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: they're they're absorbed very easily by the body. Um. Now 317 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: we know that Japan's followed near chernobyls levels. But again 318 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: we know that that there's a big difference here because 319 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 1: Japan took you know, some precautions and warning their citizens 320 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,520 Speaker 1: and also giving them iodine. And the whole reason that 321 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 1: you would give someone an iodine is that if you 322 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: were to take all the iodine, your body would absorb 323 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,719 Speaker 1: that and then in theory, absorbed less of that your 324 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: radiated iodine, and then you know, your thyroid wouldn't be 325 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,879 Speaker 1: stuck there with a bunch of irradiated It would be 326 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: like adding like eating eating a healthy dinner before going 327 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,399 Speaker 1: to the tow or the Twinkie factory. It's like fold up. 328 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,120 Speaker 1: You know, I couldn't possibly eat eight free twinkies. I'd 329 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 1: probably just eat one. I'll just have one, Yeah, the 330 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,639 Speaker 1: twinkie analogy. So that's that's what we know about some 331 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: of the fallout and how it affects you. And of 332 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:05,399 Speaker 1: course we know that thyroid cancer is is a big 333 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:09,679 Speaker 1: one that develops as a result of exposure. And we 334 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,359 Speaker 1: should probably talk just a little bit about environmental fluid dynamics. 335 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 1: Don't turn off the podcast. It's not really scary thing. 336 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 1: We're going to call it e d F just to 337 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: make a little bit more edgy. It sounds like it 338 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:24,040 Speaker 1: doesn't sound edgy to me as much as it sounds 339 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: like some sort of like digestion disorder like he's got to. Also, 340 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: it wouldn't be e d F. It would be e 341 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:36,920 Speaker 1: f d oh e f d oh. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 342 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: that's all right. Well, I like, well e F D 343 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 1: acronyms are not my strong point. Let's talk about the 344 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 1: fluid dynamics a fallout, all right. So fluid dynamics is 345 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:50,239 Speaker 1: basically about how fluids moves, how the air moves, how 346 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: the water moves, and these are complex systems. Uh. If 347 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,920 Speaker 1: you if you've ever looked at how the weather work works. Um, 348 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,120 Speaker 1: and we have a really cool article on the side. 349 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:01,280 Speaker 1: How we write that, right, I wrote that, which I 350 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: mean it's cool because you know I wrote it, so 351 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: it's cool, but it's also I feel like it's good. Yeah, 352 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:10,080 Speaker 1: it's it's a good article, I feel like. But yeah, 353 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,399 Speaker 1: the weather is a complex system, a very chaotic system. Uh. 354 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:16,160 Speaker 1: The whole idea of like the butterfly effect comes out 355 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: and uh and uh and chaos theory comes out of 356 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:23,199 Speaker 1: studying the weather and realizing that how difficult it is 357 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: to to predict what it's gonna do, even with complicated 358 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: mathematical models. Um. I mean, and that's why you the 359 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,400 Speaker 1: farther off a a weather forecast, the less you can 360 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 1: rely on it because it's just such a chaotic system. 361 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,119 Speaker 1: So you have, you know, different movements that are like 362 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:45,120 Speaker 1: I said, one UH nuclear detonation, you'll see fallout move 363 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,359 Speaker 1: in like four different patterns UH, and it and and 364 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 1: it just it gets so the distribution of fallout becomes 365 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:54,200 Speaker 1: very complicated when you're looking at how it affects UH 366 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:57,960 Speaker 1: a regional or you know, global scenario. Yeah, and our 367 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: understanding of fallout and the earlier years UM was modeled 368 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,359 Speaker 1: after flat terrain right where all the tests were taking place, 369 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,399 Speaker 1: so we thought the fallout would you act in a 370 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 1: certain way, And then it was only until we started say, oh, 371 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: but then there's this whole weather thing, and there's geography 372 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 1: and there's urban environment. Yeah. Yeah, because like the city 373 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 1: example is pretty cool. UM. In fact, there was a 374 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:27,760 Speaker 1: study in two thousand nine UM from the Los Almos 375 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:31,439 Speaker 1: National Laboratory where they use computer models of cities and 376 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,399 Speaker 1: and use flood dynamic models to see how a large 377 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 1: metropolitan area UH would tamper with local wind patterns and 378 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 1: effect the way fallout is distributed. And you have things 379 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,040 Speaker 1: like UM, I mean just the cities really messed with 380 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 1: with climate anyway you know you have like like a 381 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 1: sun heated parking lot creates a localized updraft, drawing in 382 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:56,400 Speaker 1: air from surrounding areas, and skyscrapers work like artificial mountains. 383 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,040 Speaker 1: So of a plume of radiated debris were to blow 384 00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: against a tall building, physicists predict that that the flow 385 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:06,359 Speaker 1: would launch skyword in what they call a fountain effect, 386 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:09,600 Speaker 1: resulting in a wider distribution of radiated particles. Yeah. I 387 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:11,440 Speaker 1: just keep when whenever I think about the fountain fact, 388 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:13,879 Speaker 1: I think of it just like spraying off of the building. 389 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,119 Speaker 1: To Wright, like you can sort of think of it 390 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 1: like a motorcycle hitting like a launch ramp, where it 391 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 1: just launches it straight up into the air. Yeah, isn't 392 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: the idea to take these mathematical models and then try 393 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,680 Speaker 1: to use them to to predict real time to people 394 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: so that if you were in this sort of situation 395 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,720 Speaker 1: that you might be able to communicate with people I 396 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 1: don't like via their smartphones and say, you know, it's 397 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: moving in this direction, take cover and move east, and 398 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:46,119 Speaker 1: just generally be able to plan better for one of 399 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:50,199 Speaker 1: these scenarios. Because you know, this is especially relevant, is 400 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:55,120 Speaker 1: especially relevant, not just in the use of actual nuclear detonations, 401 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: but also in the use of you know, so called 402 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:59,760 Speaker 1: dirty bombs, where you would have a you know, a 403 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: standard detonation like a stick of dye to minor C 404 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: four spreading radioactive material. So yeah, I mean, and it 405 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: does make it not only can you just warn someone, 406 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:13,080 Speaker 1: but you can also yourself probably use some of information 407 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:15,800 Speaker 1: and say, Okay, so I know that radiation is um 408 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: shielded by tall building, so I'm gonna get behind this building, 409 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:20,000 Speaker 1: and I know the wind is coming this way, and 410 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: so on and so forth. Um. So do you think 411 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:26,400 Speaker 1: it's it's obviously you're really helpful. Um. And I did 412 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:28,160 Speaker 1: want to mention too that if you ever just want 413 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 1: to scare the pants off of yourself, that you should 414 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:34,320 Speaker 1: check out a guy named Bruce Shiner s h and 415 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:36,959 Speaker 1: E I E er and he has a talk on 416 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:41,600 Speaker 1: ted dot com about how to survive a nuclear attack. 417 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,120 Speaker 1: And it's really helpful, but it's also just so frightening. 418 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 1: I mean, just bring some popcorn and a blanket because 419 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,360 Speaker 1: you're gonna, you know, you're gonna want to hide under 420 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:53,399 Speaker 1: it off to I have to I haven't seen that 421 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:55,120 Speaker 1: one off to look at it. UM, I have an 422 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 1: old mutual of Omaha poster somewhere around here that you 423 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: know from back in the fifties. It tells you how 424 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 1: to survive a nuclear detonation. Is this the turtle? No, 425 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: there's something like yeah, there's some like um, there's some 426 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,800 Speaker 1: old film footage that they used to run, particularly like 427 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,199 Speaker 1: in the in the forties, right, that would show like 428 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,560 Speaker 1: the turtle duck and cover, and it's the The idea 429 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:19,560 Speaker 1: is that you would create a shell for yourself and 430 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,720 Speaker 1: get as small in in tiny and um as possible 431 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: in order to survive a nuclear attack. But that was 432 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,679 Speaker 1: like the extent of the instruction that was who is 433 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,920 Speaker 1: this turtle named duck and cover? I remember hearing to 434 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,199 Speaker 1: the idea of like covering yourself in wet newspapers. I'm 435 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 1: not sure where I picked that one up, possibly from 436 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,239 Speaker 1: the nineteens fifties sci fi films, So that might not 437 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,760 Speaker 1: be yeah yeah that yet, that may not be uh 438 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:48,360 Speaker 1: full proof there. But the brooch liner is it's really 439 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:50,520 Speaker 1: interesting because it does. He talks a lot about this too, 440 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:54,040 Speaker 1: um in terms of mathematical models and where the wind 441 00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 1: is blowing and buildings and how all this factors into 442 00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:01,680 Speaker 1: someone's ability to perhaps survive a nuclear attack. It's good 443 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 1: times watching. Well, yeah, there you go. It's uh, this 444 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 1: is a good podcast because we start with the party 445 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 1: and then we end with the downer, you know. So 446 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 1: I hope that you know, if you're listening to this, 447 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,520 Speaker 1: congratulations because you stayed well past the point where the 448 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 1: party ended and helped clean up a little. So hey, 449 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 1: it's part of the cleanup, and it's part of the reward, 450 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:26,720 Speaker 1: I guess for making it through the dispressing stuff. We 451 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:33,000 Speaker 1: do have some listener mail here. Um, let's see, we 452 00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:36,160 Speaker 1: have a listener by the name of Eric. I think 453 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 1: it's a different Erics, and I don't know someone who 454 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: had an Eric and want to that. Oh yeah, yeah, 455 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,199 Speaker 1: the the knocking boots kicking boots area. Maybe it's the 456 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,960 Speaker 1: same Eric. Maybe it's a different Erica. Don't let me see. 457 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,080 Speaker 1: Oh it might be the same moment, it might be. 458 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,919 Speaker 1: Oh well, now I feel weird like we're giving preferential 459 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,880 Speaker 1: treatment to our Erics. But at any rate, Eric writes 460 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:59,160 Speaker 1: in with some interesting comments on our pulsebo podcast, and 461 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,480 Speaker 1: let's see, I'm gonna be a little a nice, long, 462 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: thoughtful email, but I'm going to skip in part which 463 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,680 Speaker 1: is a real cool nugget of thought provoking material. Uh, 464 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,399 Speaker 1: he says. Julie said that placebos can't shrink a tumor, 465 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:15,680 Speaker 1: but there are cases of this happening. Along with spontaneous remission. 466 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:19,120 Speaker 1: A lot of the traditional medicine seems to work because 467 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: in the vast majority of cases, a sick person will 468 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 1: get better no matter what you do, assuming you don't 469 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,480 Speaker 1: hurt them. Further, I heard a story that said many 470 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 1: Chinese people will bang pots during a solar eclipse to 471 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:31,720 Speaker 1: scare away the dragon that is eating the sun. It 472 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: works perfectly every time, even when the dragon completely swallows 473 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,360 Speaker 1: the sun, as long as everybody bangs their pots loudly enough, 474 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 1: the dragon will always fit it out again. So it's uh, 475 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:45,639 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, a very simplified example, but you know, 476 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:47,679 Speaker 1: that is something to keep in mind. I think it's 477 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:51,280 Speaker 1: an incredible example of how we fictionalize our reality, right. 478 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: And that's what it was so interesting about finding out 479 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:55,919 Speaker 1: about the plus, because again, it came down to that 480 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,760 Speaker 1: whole thing like, do we have to tell ourselves a 481 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,680 Speaker 1: story in order to survive life? Um? Where can we 482 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,879 Speaker 1: just sort of peel away the layers and and um 483 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,639 Speaker 1: and not have to trick ourselves into healing. Is it 484 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:14,440 Speaker 1: possible on a sort of like evolutionary level that we've 485 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:19,240 Speaker 1: been hardwired to do this? Tell ourselves stories and um oh, 486 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:23,119 Speaker 1: and then the second part is not actually a a 487 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,160 Speaker 1: letter from anybody, But I just wanted to follow up 488 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,679 Speaker 1: on our Bone Wars podcast because I forgot to mention 489 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:31,920 Speaker 1: on like one particularly cool example that I came across, 490 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:36,919 Speaker 1: which is another weird example of um, like life imitating 491 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,679 Speaker 1: Mortal Kombat or something, because you had this guy by 492 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,200 Speaker 1: the name of paleontologers by the name of Gideon Mantell 493 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:48,119 Speaker 1: who named the Iguanadon. That's his big, uh, you know, 494 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: contribution contribution to paleontology. But in eighty eight, uh he, 495 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:55,240 Speaker 1: like some of these other guys, he fell into poverty. 496 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: It sells fossil collection to the British Museum, and he 497 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 1: had a long illness and sadly ended up communic suicide 498 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:05,600 Speaker 1: in two um. But weirdly enough, one of his rivals, 499 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: like I'm in the name of Richard Owen, managed to 500 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:12,080 Speaker 1: get ahold of Mantell's spine, his pickled spine after his death. 501 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:15,119 Speaker 1: Now that I don't have the details on that, but 502 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:16,959 Speaker 1: how how does that happen? How do you just like, 503 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:19,439 Speaker 1: how did your spine end up pickled? And then in 504 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: the public market. I don't know. I think that while 505 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,240 Speaker 1: you're picking up a body, perhaps to do some experiments on, 506 00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:27,840 Speaker 1: you just slip that other person twenty box and say, hey, 507 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:32,000 Speaker 1: can I have that spleen? So Owen has Mantel's pickled 508 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: spine and and then displays it in his own museum 509 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:39,720 Speaker 1: next to his various fossil exhibits, which is pretty brazen 510 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: and kind of insane. I would love to see the 511 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:45,440 Speaker 1: label on it. I mean, does it say like my 512 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: nemesis is spine? Yeah? I mean how does he explain that? 513 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 1: Or maybe he doesn't and it's just always his little secret, 514 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 1: like that's spine was my nemesis? Would have you incorporated 515 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:02,160 Speaker 1: into a dinosaur? In speaking of you saw a Fiji mermaid? Yeah? 516 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,719 Speaker 1: I did. I was. I was out of town went 517 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 1: to this uh little museum in Louisiana and they had 518 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,480 Speaker 1: all these weird freak show things and they had a 519 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: Fiji mermaid, not asid Fiji mermaid. I don't know. This 520 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:18,000 Speaker 1: may have been a very recent creation, but it was 521 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 1: still interesting to see one and I also ran I 522 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: went to a wedding there and I ran into somebody 523 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:24,600 Speaker 1: who's a fan of the show. So just let everybody 524 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,560 Speaker 1: know that if you encounter me at a wedding, uh, 525 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 1: you can approach me and talk to me and uh 526 00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:33,200 Speaker 1: and then we'll discuss the show and then we can 527 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: run into each other awkwardly throughout the rest of the 528 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:38,440 Speaker 1: at the wedding. So um, but anyway, but it was 529 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:40,880 Speaker 1: great to run into somebody who to run into a listener. 530 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:43,240 Speaker 1: So yeah, and see the Fiji Mermaid and see the 531 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,560 Speaker 1: Fiji Mermaid. Yes, a good weekend if you ask me. Yeah. 532 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: So hey, if you see the Fiji Mermaid in reality 533 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 1: or in your dreams or or wherever, you can let 534 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 1: us know. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter. 535 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,000 Speaker 1: We're blow the mind on both of those. And and 536 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,680 Speaker 1: I'm very interested to hear uh, you know, if anybody 537 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:05,800 Speaker 1: has any uh like family history from from Las Vegas, 538 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,200 Speaker 1: uh in the Broada area, like any like personal accounts 539 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: of what or maybe not personal account but at least 540 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 1: you know, family family tales of what it was like 541 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:17,840 Speaker 1: to live in the Vada in the fifties. I mean, 542 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:19,760 Speaker 1: we'd be very interested to hear about that, you know, 543 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:21,959 Speaker 1: read your account on the air and all unless you're 544 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 1: in a witness relocation program. Yeah, you know the hold 545 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:27,720 Speaker 1: the Mafia times. We don't want you to, but I 546 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,280 Speaker 1: guess you could go understood in. And you could also 547 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 1: send us an email. Yes, yeah, and hey, you can 548 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:36,360 Speaker 1: send that email to blow the mind at how stuff 549 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:42,560 Speaker 1: works dot com. For more on this and thousands of 550 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: other topics, visit how stuff works dot com. To learn 551 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,200 Speaker 1: more about the podcast, click on the podcast icon in 552 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,240 Speaker 1: the upper right corner of our homepage. The how stuff 553 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:54,760 Speaker 1: Works iPhone app has a ride. Download it today on iTunes.