1 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:10,479 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: Mind listener Mail. My name is Robert Lamb and I'm 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,600 Speaker 1: Joe McCormick, and we're bringing you the messages that you 5 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: have sent us. Uh So, this episode is going to 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,159 Speaker 1: feature some responses to our episodes about the Shannhaijing, the 7 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:26,240 Speaker 1: Classics of the Mountains and Seas or the I guess 8 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: that's singular the Classic or the Cannon of the Mountains 9 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: and Sees, our episode about the bonds eye Tree, our 10 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: episode about stolen heads and stolen brains. It's gonna be 11 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: a lot of fun. All right, Well, let's let's kick 12 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 1: right in to uh to full gear on this listener 13 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: mail episode. Here comes the robot, Here comes the listener mail. Okay, 14 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: should I do this one from? I can do this 15 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: one from Alexandra if you want to go for it, Okay. 16 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: Alexandra writes in about the Shannhaijing, says, Hi, guys, I 17 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: was listening to the episode about the Shanhaijing, and I 18 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: wanted to say I really empathized with the childhood I 19 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: believe dragons existed feeling you mentioned and wanted to share why. 20 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: I come from Krakow, Poland, which used to be Poland's 21 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: capital for many centuries, and our local mythical slash folklore 22 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: symbol is a dragon. We have a beautiful castle Vovl, 23 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: located on Jurassic limestone on the bank of the Visa 24 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: or the Vistula River, and there is a legend saying 25 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: a dragon used to live in a cave below the castle. 26 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 1: The basic version of the legend I always heard goes 27 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: like this, no night could slay the beast. When a 28 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 1: local cobbler, Draftevka, showed up, he said he had a 29 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:46,279 Speaker 1: trick in mind. He got a sheep carcass and filled 30 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: it with sulfur. The dragon, tricked by Drafteva's work, ate 31 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: the sheep and suddenly felt very, very thirsty because of 32 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: the sulfur. He started drinking from the Viswa river and 33 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: drank and drank and drank until he finally burst, and 34 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: thus Drutevka became a hero. Tadah, Yeah, good legend. I 35 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: think it operates on the assumption that a dragon is 36 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: much like a dog. Like it does not stop to 37 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: taste its food. It just wolve, sit down. The goal 38 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: is to get it down the gullet as fast as 39 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: possible so it wouldn't be thrown off by the scent 40 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: of sulfur. It's just going to swallow that sheep. Alexander 41 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: goes on, But it's just a legend. Why would I 42 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: believe it? Well, there's an actual limestone cave under the 43 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: castle now a tourist attraction, and it's called Dragon's Den, 44 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: which I believe in Polish is a smokee Sha Yama, 45 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: Alexander says. There's even a really cool metal dragon sculpture 46 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: that breathes fire next to the entrance. Now that sounds 47 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: like some burning man stuff. Uh. There is also an 48 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: ancient bone hanging on the cathedral located on the Vavel Hill, 49 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: said to be the Dragon's bone, So how could that 50 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: be just false? All the proof is there. Why would 51 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,359 Speaker 1: somebody just lie about dragon? Uh? And then there is 52 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: a little tongue sticking out emoticon. Thanks for reminding me 53 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:07,959 Speaker 1: of that feeling, and thanks for the amazing podcast. Love 54 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: listening to you. Stay safe and healthy, Alexandra. Well, I 55 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 1: looked at the photograph of the bone hanging there and uh, 56 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: yeah it looks legit. Yeah, what is that? Actually? It 57 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,079 Speaker 1: looks like a large kind of tongue shape. Maybe it's 58 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: a rib bone. Yeah, I mean well, one's mind instantly 59 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: goes to like whales, um something something of that nature 60 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: for sure. M yeah, I wonder what that is. All right, 61 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: here's another one for us. This one comes to us 62 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: from Erica. Erica writes high There. I was recently introduced 63 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: to your podcast and I'm loving it. Thank you for 64 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: reminding me what interesting conversation like sounds like in the 65 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: midst of a pandemic. I'm sure you get lots of mail, 66 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: so I forgive me while I learned out a bit 67 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: and share a few thoughts that were sparked by the 68 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: few episodes I've listened to so far. I'll keep it 69 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: as brief as possible. While I was listening to Monsters 70 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: of the shan Haiji, you talked about how the Italian 71 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: words for Dante's demons sound more interesting to English speakers 72 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: than the translations. Um like malacota sounds better than evil tale. 73 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: I think this is why many people find watching films 74 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: in their original language with subtitles so much better than 75 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: a dub bad lip reading. Aside, by using subtitles, you're 76 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: able to retain the original sounds of the dialogue while 77 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 1: understanding the meaning in your native language. I was a 78 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: latecomer to anime because growing up I'd never seen it 79 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: in the original Japanese, and I generally loathed the sound 80 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: of the American voice actors chosen to dub those shows. Now, though, 81 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:37,720 Speaker 1: I really enjoy watching Japanese anime and listening to the 82 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: cadence of the language, which for me is up there 83 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: with Italian in terms of phonetic beauty. One thing that 84 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: struck me when I started watching anime was that when 85 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 1: characters perform magic, they would often use English or German 86 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 1: for spell casting. I'm really fascinated by this. What does 87 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: magic sound like to people in different parts of the world. 88 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,039 Speaker 1: For English speakers, I think it's pretty fair to say 89 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: that Latin is the fual magic language. In addition to 90 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: the hocus pocus that evolved from listening to religious services 91 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: in Latin for many centuries, Latin is a language known 92 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: only to the elite learned. It has the lyricism of Italian, 93 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: and it's something from the distant past when wizards, dragons, ETCETERA. 94 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: Quote used to exist. As you mentioned, you believed as 95 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: a kid in the Monsters episode, But what is it 96 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: that makes mouth sounds sound magical to people from other 97 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,400 Speaker 1: parts of the world. Then I got to thinking about 98 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 1: how Token invented Elvish to sound beautiful, and contrasting with that, uh, 99 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: and contrasting that with Klingon, which is meant to sound warlike. 100 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: And I just had to email you to unload these 101 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,279 Speaker 1: thoughts on someone and hope that you know about some 102 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: kind of study that's been done on this. Unrelated to that. 103 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:49,719 Speaker 1: I'm listening to your podcast Brain and Head Theft Part 104 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: one while I was between chapters on Worms by this 105 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: w y R M s by Orson Scott Card. Uh. 106 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,279 Speaker 1: There's so much in that book that links up with 107 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: what you were talking about in that episode that it 108 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: was actually a little creepy. You made it this far 109 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:07,600 Speaker 1: through the email. Thanks for reading. I'm excited that there 110 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: are so many more of your podcasts I have yet 111 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: to hear. B Well, Erica, Oh thanks Erica. Well, yeah, 112 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,160 Speaker 1: a lot of interesting ideas here. I don't know if 113 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,679 Speaker 1: i'd ever put that together before about in the English 114 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: speaking world, Latin being a very common convention for for 115 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,279 Speaker 1: the language of magic, and yeah, I think that would 116 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:30,840 Speaker 1: probably have a lot to do with Latin being the 117 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: scholarly lingua franca of medieval Europe and and Renaissance Europe. 118 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: So at the time when alchemists would have been writing, 119 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: you know, they're there occult tomes. I think probably a 120 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:43,480 Speaker 1: lot of these tombs would have been written in Latin 121 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: because it was the language of elite learning and scholarship, 122 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: even though nobody actually liked spoke it. Yeah, yeah, I 123 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: mean you see some other languages thrown in the mix, 124 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: like especially post Exorcist, you see Aramaic thrown around a lot. 125 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:00,600 Speaker 1: Anytime you have a demon they're probably gonna be then 126 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: they may be speaking in Aramaic. Uh if you can, 127 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: you know, wing it um, But you know other I 128 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: guess other ancient languages can work as well. But it 129 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: does make me wonder. You know, we touched in recent 130 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: weird hol cinema on um Chinese black magic films, and 131 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: I wonder what languages, uh like Chinese films turned to, 132 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 1: or what languages Japanese films turned to, especially if they're 133 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 1: historic and scope you know, UM be interested to find out. 134 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: Of course, thinking back to our episode on the the 135 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: Oily Maniac, I guess in that movie. I don't recall 136 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: exactly how the magic worked in that movie, but that 137 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: was a movie about the the magic of outsiders of 138 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 1: other cultures. So it makes perfect sense that you would 139 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: potentially use um a language like a non Chinese language 140 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: in that scenario. So I wonder if there's a lot 141 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 1: of that stuff going on. But on the subject of 142 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: cling on, uh, we we'll have to come back to 143 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 1: that because I I've long been interested in doing an 144 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: invention style episode on invented language, oh straight up created languages, 145 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: the reasons for them, uh, you know, entertainment or otherwise, 146 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: and what some of the best examples are. So that's 147 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: that's still on the list of possible episodes to do 148 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: in the future. It's interesting that I think one of 149 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: the last episodes that we did of the dedicated Inventioned 150 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: podcast before we moved into this feed is um. It 151 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: was that we did invented words. But of course inventing 152 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: a word is very different than trying to invent an 153 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: entire language with its own rules and lexicon and grammar 154 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: and everything. And I wonder if could it be possible 155 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: that an invented language would ever really catch on or 156 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: is that pretty much just not ever going to happen. Yeah, 157 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 1: all right, are you ready for this next message about 158 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,959 Speaker 1: stolen heads and stolen brains? Let's have it. This is 159 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: from Sophie. Sophie says, dear stuff to blow your mind. 160 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 1: Obligatory but true sentence about being longtime listener, first time caller. 161 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: Uh in your head slash brain to parter. This week, 162 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:06,440 Speaker 1: the name Jeremy Bentham rang recognition bells in my mind. Hey, 163 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 1: isn't that? But I wasn't certain until you mentioned him 164 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: still being at University College London today. Upon reflection, this 165 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: would imply there being multiple men who decided they ought 166 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: to have their bodies preserved to hang around in perpetuity. 167 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: But honestly, humans do far stranger things all the time. 168 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 1: My first encounter with Jeremy Bentham was as a complete 169 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: surprise during our orientation tour several years back. I was 170 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: doing a semester abroad at u C l s Art School. 171 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: Our first day was the whole group before we scattered 172 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 1: to the many programs, So the tour guide made sure 173 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: to lead the pile of unsuspecting American college students to 174 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: the literal dead founder to tell us all about him 175 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 1: and U C. L our culture, being one of shunning 176 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: contact with death meeting, Mr Bentham was somewhat arresting. Despite 177 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 1: his genial demeanor in the pictures you see online. I 178 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: can assure you he's rather more unsettling in per and 179 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,839 Speaker 1: especially when he's been sprung on you. The tour guide 180 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: went on to explain that a requirement for accessing the 181 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 1: endowment under his name is that he be in attendance 182 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 1: at all requisite meetings. Thus we got to contemplate the 183 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: tableau of quiet, serious board meeting attendees patiently waiting as 184 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,559 Speaker 1: a very dead Jeremy Bentham in his glass case gets 185 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:25,840 Speaker 1: wheeled in ideally with amusingly squeaky wheel sound effects or 186 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,319 Speaker 1: something that at least amused me. I don't believe they 187 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 1: explained that his head was elsewhere and why, and was 188 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: unsure if you encountered this reason for his preservation or 189 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: evidence for it in your research. They are not mutually 190 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: exclusive pieces of lore necessarily. Although I do remember being 191 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,319 Speaker 1: told about the wax face, I genuinely don't remember if 192 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 1: they clarified that it was all wax, as what I 193 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: gleaned was wax over his skull and an increasing urge 194 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: to make for the exit, never to return. As an aside, 195 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: I would presume I have a relatively strong reaction and 196 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: that most visitors are far less unnerved. I imagine as 197 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: a regular student, I would either avoid his hallway whenever possible, 198 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: or become desensitized. As it sounds most are, given that 199 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: they've taken to stealing bits of him. I know, I 200 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: know being uh, I know being there for only six months, 201 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 1: I was somewhat inured, but barely. I have very strong 202 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:25,439 Speaker 1: hyper empathy, a terrifically active imagination, and probably am a 203 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 1: hyper visualizer. I have autism, contributing to my high empathy 204 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,199 Speaker 1: and my difficulty in turning it off, and my family 205 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:37,240 Speaker 1: slash friends, and I suspect I also have mirror synesthesia 206 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: added on for obvious reasons. It's easy to generate strong 207 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: visceral imagery and difficult to put it to one side. 208 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,319 Speaker 1: My brain is rather a live wire, and I can 209 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,440 Speaker 1: be tickled on the face from across the room. Much 210 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: to my dismay, my plan to respectfully never go near 211 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,320 Speaker 1: dear Jeremy again was foiled by his placement at a 212 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:59,200 Speaker 1: critical intersection of hallways. The only way to the school's 213 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:03,319 Speaker 1: supply store was a set of lovely stairs directly by him. 214 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 1: I cannot recall there being an alternate route while I 215 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: was there, and would always brace myself for the trip, 216 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,800 Speaker 1: desperately attempting not to make eye contact with his surreal 217 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 1: piercing gaze as I speed walked by him. With about 218 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:17,640 Speaker 1: the success we all have when trying not to think 219 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 1: about the purple polar bear, I e. None. I suppose 220 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,199 Speaker 1: I was lucky that their art supply selection was largely 221 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: insufficient for my mediums of choice, and I was tragically 222 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: forced to seek art stores off campus. Conveniently enough, they 223 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:35,240 Speaker 1: contain no dead people. According to a recent article by 224 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: the school, he's been relocated to a student center since 225 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:42,439 Speaker 1: I attended, which hopefully is a nicer location for all involved. 226 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: He's an important icon they no doubt wish to keep 227 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: accessible to visitors in the u c L community, but 228 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,240 Speaker 1: also need to maintain proper collections, protocols, slash environment, and 229 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 1: apparently significant security. So I imagine finding the ideal balance 230 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: is difficult. Maybe the new site will prevent more head 231 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: theft if the meat jerky head is kept with the 232 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:05,080 Speaker 1: body now, or maybe his head will be like the 233 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:08,840 Speaker 1: gavel goat statue of U c L Time will tell 234 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 1: no doubt. I'm not sure what the gavel goat is. 235 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,840 Speaker 1: It sounds fun. Thank you so much for your time 236 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:18,760 Speaker 1: and also your research. I appreciate a good citation so 237 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 1: you can add me to the unofficial petition of your fans. 238 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 1: Hoping your new home will return to us a mother 239 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: ship website with that good good robost tagging and source linking. Sincerely, Sophie, 240 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,040 Speaker 1: Well Sophie, I, I really appreciate that final note. I 241 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,040 Speaker 1: don't know how much hope you should hold out for that. 242 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: I believe the gavel goat, by the way, is a 243 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: traditional Christmas display erected uh in Gavel, Sweden. Some some 244 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:49,200 Speaker 1: some some very swift online research seem to provide that answer, 245 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 1: but who knows. There could be multiple gavel goats out there. 246 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 1: Oh that's a good look and goat. It's got big 247 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 1: old horns that make it look like a basket with 248 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: a big handle. Yeah all right, here's another bit of 249 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 1: listener mailison comes to us from Michelle. Oh and just 250 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,960 Speaker 1: to clarify something, this next message mentions in the subject 251 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: line that it is about Haydn and the head theft 252 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: of Franz Joseph Hayden that we talked about in part 253 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 1: one of braindon Head Theft, Hi, Robert and Joe. I 254 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: loved your episode on head and Brain Theft. It made 255 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: me reminisce about my favorite teacher. I played violin in 256 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,200 Speaker 1: elementary school, but wasn't great at it and didn't love it. 257 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 1: On my first day of middle school, the orchestra teacher 258 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:31,000 Speaker 1: asked for two people to switch to to to base, 259 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: so I jumped at the chance without telling my parents beforehand. Luckily, 260 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: they felt bad bass playing was vastly better than bad 261 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 1: violin playing, and we're okay with it. The teacher loved 262 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:42,960 Speaker 1: to tell us stories about the composers we were playing. 263 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 1: He told us about the Surprise Symphony being written because 264 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 1: his benefactor kept falling asleep during concerts, and about the 265 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 1: Farewell Symphony, which involves musicians leaving the stage as the 266 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,960 Speaker 1: last movement progresses until it's only two violinists because the 267 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 1: orchestra had been stuck there longer than they expect did, 268 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 1: and Hyden wanted to give his benefactor the message that 269 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 1: they wanted to go home. But now that I've learned 270 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: about Hyden's head theft, I think my teacher left out 271 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,120 Speaker 1: the best story of all. I can't think of a 272 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: better story to get middle schoolers into classical music than 273 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: something as gory as decapitation and missing heads. I'm still 274 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 1: playing the bass in local community orchestras back when we 275 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,960 Speaker 1: could still have those, and I'll never look at a 276 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: hide and piece the same way again. He's always been 277 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: one of my favorites, and I'll enjoy them all the 278 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 1: more now once we are all allowed to play in 279 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 1: groups again. Also in response to Robert's comments about cats 280 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: and food names, my cat growing up was called pancake 281 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,320 Speaker 1: because my parents got her when she ran under our 282 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: car and they almost smashed her flat as a pancake. 283 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,560 Speaker 1: Thanks again, you guys have been keeping me going through 284 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: these weird times. Thanks Michelle, rob How does pancake stack 285 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: up in your in your cat food names? I think 286 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 1: pancake is a perfect name for a cat, because Smith 287 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: there was a there was an ignoble prize winning paper, 288 00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: wasn't there about how cats are neither solid nor look 289 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:04,080 Speaker 1: quid there Um, let's say you forget the details of that. 290 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: But but as they their shape is in flux, sometimes 291 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: they are flat like a pancake. Yes, that ignoble paper 292 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: was about the rayology of cats. Reology being the field 293 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: of physics that studies how how fluids and liquids flow. 294 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: Uh so, and and cats, I mean, I think one 295 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,600 Speaker 1: would be hard pressed to argue that they do not flow. 296 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 1: Let the Let the cats flow. Okay. This next message 297 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: comes from Zolt. Zolt said, Oh, and it's about our 298 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: episodes on sinkholes. Results says, Hi, Robert and Joe, I'm 299 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 1: writing regarding your recent episodes on sinkholes. You mentioned that 300 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 1: various sources of waters, such as wells or rivers, often 301 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: serve as sacred or spiritual sites for locals. I thought 302 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 1: i'd mentioned an example. Sacred or holy wells are quite 303 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: common in Hungary. One can often come across them while 304 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 1: while hiking in the countryside. These natural wells supposedly possess 305 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:10,959 Speaker 1: healing power, with stories of magical recoveries from various illnesses 306 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: and disabilities, with the healing power often attributed to patron saints. 307 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:18,399 Speaker 1: The sacred nature of these wells is often discovered or 308 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:21,879 Speaker 1: confirmed by the appearance of a saint or very often 309 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:25,480 Speaker 1: the Virgin Mary in the vicinity. There are more wild 310 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:28,879 Speaker 1: stories too, such as a healing well being created by 311 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,440 Speaker 1: a lightning strike. Interestingly, I noticed that these wells are 312 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:36,359 Speaker 1: often nearby other religious sites, such as small chapels or 313 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: calvary hills. Maybe people attributed certain religious significance to areas, 314 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:43,679 Speaker 1: or it was just easier to make a pilgrimage to 315 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: the same general place to fulfill all their religious needs 316 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:50,920 Speaker 1: instead of going all over the forest one stop shop. Uh. 317 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 1: Calvary hills, otherwise known as crosswalks if you're not familiar, 318 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:57,920 Speaker 1: are also pretty interesting. UH. They are usually a hill 319 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:01,440 Speaker 1: with at least thirteen stations of crosses along a path 320 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,399 Speaker 1: that people hike up on around Easter time as a 321 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 1: form of pilgrimage. Each cross along the path represents one 322 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: stage that Christ goes through during his crucifixion, with three 323 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 1: crosses on the top of the hill. Usually, these hills 324 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 1: are barely a few hundred meters above sea level, but 325 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: they still tie back to the idea of sacred mountains 326 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: as well. Anyway, thanks for all your good work, zolt PS. 327 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: I'm loving the Weird House Cinema episodes. I found a 328 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:28,600 Speaker 1: few movies that I enjoyed quite a lot that I 329 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,199 Speaker 1: didn't even know existed before. Well, if you find a 330 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:33,400 Speaker 1: few movies that you enjoy quite a lot in that mix, 331 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: that you you're doing pretty pretty well. I mean, I 332 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:40,560 Speaker 1: don't think to think we we love all of them. Well, 333 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:42,880 Speaker 1: maybe the spirit of Weird House Cinema is that we're 334 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:45,800 Speaker 1: exploring movies that are always fun to talk about whether 335 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,760 Speaker 1: or not they're fun to watch. True, Yeah, and finding 336 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 1: finding the things to love even in films that are 337 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:55,080 Speaker 1: sometimes very uneven. I would say that's that's also a 338 00:18:55,080 --> 00:19:02,080 Speaker 1: court of the spirit of the thing. All right. This 339 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,679 Speaker 1: one comes to us from Toronto. Hi, Robert and Joe. 340 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: I'm a big fan of the show and have been 341 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: for ages. I have to say I am joined the 342 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,719 Speaker 1: new format of the show with more content and variety. Okay, 343 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: maybe except Weird Al Cinema. I think I'm not ready 344 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:17,760 Speaker 1: for that yet. I was listening to your episode on 345 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: Bonds Eyes, and when you mentioned the story of the 346 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: stolen Bonds Eyes and the plea for them to be returned, 347 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:26,119 Speaker 1: I thought that I had heard that before. Furthermore, I 348 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:28,880 Speaker 1: thought I remembered a happy ending to it. Sure Enough, 349 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: a quick search of in my podcast library brought me 350 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 1: to an episode from Stuff You Missed in History Class six. 351 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:39,920 Speaker 1: By the way, not sure if I found them through 352 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 1: you or vice versa, but also a great podcast. I'll 353 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:45,480 Speaker 1: quote from from there, and this is the thirty two 354 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:49,439 Speaker 1: minute scond mark. The museum put out a call on 355 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:52,720 Speaker 1: social media for the returning, promising that they would not 356 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 1: ask any questions. They were just afraid that these irreplaceable 357 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: trees would die without proper care. Three days after the theft, 358 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 1: that trees reappeared in the museum's driveway and uh. Then 359 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 1: they also included a link to a Smithsonian mag dot 360 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:12,880 Speaker 1: com article to stolen Bonsai trees mysteriously returned Washington Museum. Um. Anyway, 361 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,080 Speaker 1: they continue, I thought I would give you the good 362 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:18,680 Speaker 1: news best regards train no ps the explanation of one 363 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:21,880 Speaker 1: of you regarding why cutting onions from pole to pole 364 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,440 Speaker 1: to cry less was pure stuff to blow your mind. 365 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: Can't wait to test it? Is it gonna be your 366 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,159 Speaker 1: first time cutting an onion that way? Me or the listener? 367 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: No to the listener to uh, to train o or 368 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,119 Speaker 1: to toronto. I apologize that I don't know how to 369 00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:40,200 Speaker 1: pronounce your name t r A n O. Uh. Well 370 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,399 Speaker 1: that's funny. I I hope you enjoyed the poll to 371 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:44,400 Speaker 1: poll cutting I mean pulled a pole. Cutting of onions 372 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:46,919 Speaker 1: is something I recommend in all kinds of scenarios. I 373 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,240 Speaker 1: mean they're there are different reasons that you cut onions 374 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:51,199 Speaker 1: in different directions, but one of the main ones that 375 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,440 Speaker 1: I would say is that if you want the onions 376 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,760 Speaker 1: to kind of fall apart over cooking, cut them cross 377 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: wise into the ring shapes, because and you're you're sharing 378 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:02,840 Speaker 1: more of the cells and they're just going to fall 379 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: apart more, especially if you're like braising them or cooking 380 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,119 Speaker 1: them in liquid. If you want them to retain their shape, 381 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,639 Speaker 1: more cut and pull to pull, because then you're cutting 382 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,200 Speaker 1: along with the direction of the long cells, you're sharing 383 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:15,879 Speaker 1: less of them. There's just gonna be less falling apart 384 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,919 Speaker 1: as the cooking goes on. All right, tip tips we 385 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: can all use right there. Sorry, this is this has 386 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:25,320 Speaker 1: been onion news. You can use. But anyway, regarding the 387 00:21:25,359 --> 00:21:27,959 Speaker 1: subject of your message, I really do appreciate hearing that 388 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: the bonsai trees were returned. That's that's that's heartwarming. Alright, 389 00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: looks like we have some more bonds eye listener mail. Yeah, 390 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 1: this one comes from Matt. I think Matt has written 391 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:47,119 Speaker 1: to the show several times before about agricultural scientific topics 392 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:49,440 Speaker 1: and Matts emails are always good. Matt says, Good day, 393 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:52,919 Speaker 1: Fellas love the episode on bonsai trees, particularly since you 394 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: delved briefly into several biotechnology topics. I just wanted to 395 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,159 Speaker 1: add a couple of bits to the conversation as you 396 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 1: described the green revolution and the dwarf ization of major 397 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,879 Speaker 1: crops was indeed a tremendous agricultural leap. You were also 398 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:10,159 Speaker 1: right on the topic of lodging. Remember this is the 399 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: issue where lodging is where crops end up falling over 400 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,680 Speaker 1: like the stalk bends near the ground, and this causes 401 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: a lot of crop loss in farms around the world. 402 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: And so one of the advantages of dwarf crops like wheat, 403 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,600 Speaker 1: for example, is that by not getting as tall, they're 404 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,119 Speaker 1: less likely to fall over and bend at the bottom 405 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 1: of the stalk and and waste or make harder to 406 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:34,360 Speaker 1: harvest the weight at the top of the stalk. Anyway, 407 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: going on, Matt says, lodging is still a major issue 408 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 1: for farmers in many crops and can be caused by 409 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,800 Speaker 1: both extra weight on cropheads due to excess moisture as 410 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 1: well as blowdown from wind. It hurts yields quality and 411 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,679 Speaker 1: certainly makes for harvest trouble. If I could recommend a 412 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 1: cool example to illustrate some height differences, you might want 413 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 1: to check out some indigenous land race maze varieties. Sierra 414 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 1: mix a comes to mind. We bread away from these 415 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: varieties over the eons, but researchers are now actually looking 416 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:09,680 Speaker 1: to incorporate some of the genetics from these varieties back 417 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 1: into modern high production hybrids. In the case of Sierra 418 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,800 Speaker 1: mix a, the traits allowing it to fix nitrogen from 419 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: the air are of particular interest. Plus, Sierra mix a 420 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 1: can make for some pretty weird pictures see attached. Rob 421 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 1: I did include the picture down here for us to 422 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: look at. I guess that is supposed to be a 423 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 1: maze plant, but though it looks like, I don't know, 424 00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 1: it looks like using red goblin fingers with yellow nails. Yeah, 425 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: it's very um it's very alien looking. Yeah, Matt goes on. 426 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,040 Speaker 1: You might have said this already. Apologies if you did, 427 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: but it's worth remembering. Dwarf varieties also produce more food 428 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:50,320 Speaker 1: per plant, less energy spent growing up, more spent growing out. 429 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:53,479 Speaker 1: It's producing more with less, which continues to be a 430 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:57,480 Speaker 1: major factor in bettering food security. I know I've pestered 431 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:00,640 Speaker 1: you guys with agriculture related subjects several times in the past, 432 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: so thank you once again for begging my indulgence here. 433 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: Keep getting that science out there. We all need it. Matt, Well, 434 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 1: thank you, Matt. Yeah, this is interesting. I think we 435 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: did talk about how the dwarf crops also do tend 436 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 1: to have a higher yield or a higher percentage of 437 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:17,240 Speaker 1: I can't remember exactly what the term is. That's something 438 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:21,159 Speaker 1: like the the harvest index or something. It's like the 439 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 1: percentage of the above ground way to the plant that's 440 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:31,199 Speaker 1: the harvest able part of it. All. Right, here, we 441 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,160 Speaker 1: have one more listener mail. This one comes to us 442 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:37,240 Speaker 1: from z Z rights In and says, Hey, Joe and Robert, 443 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 1: I hope you're both well. I've been listening to your 444 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,440 Speaker 1: show for years and years, and suffice to say, I'm 445 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,200 Speaker 1: really glad the show is still going strong. It happened 446 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:47,879 Speaker 1: that I put the Bondsai episode on as I was 447 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,440 Speaker 1: starting a walk through the Tory Pine State Natural Reserve 448 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,719 Speaker 1: at the northern end of Coastal San Diego. It's one 449 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:56,680 Speaker 1: of my favorite places in the world, and it's full 450 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 1: of what i'd call natural bondsai inform, if not always 451 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: in size, the kinds of unique shapes you find in 452 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:07,639 Speaker 1: swamps like the cypress you mentioned, or as crumb holes 453 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:11,320 Speaker 1: formations near mountain Arctic tree lines, or in this case, 454 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,879 Speaker 1: on wind swept coasts. It's really too dry in this 455 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 1: area for trees to grow naturally other than down by 456 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,159 Speaker 1: rivers and creeks. The one exception is the tory pine, 457 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: which only grows wild on the headlands on either side 458 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 1: of a particular estuary, where the valley topography channels the 459 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 1: summer fog so that the trees get just enough moisture 460 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 1: to survive the rainless summer and fall. Supposedly, these trees 461 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 1: are a relic of a formerly more widespread pine forest 462 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:43,239 Speaker 1: throughout coastal southern California. I sa age relics might be 463 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: a cool topic on its own. In any case, I 464 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: think these lovely contorted trees are a great example of 465 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:52,359 Speaker 1: the kinds of environmental constraints that lead to bonsiesque growth, 466 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,960 Speaker 1: growing as they do on the windy slopes of eroding 467 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,040 Speaker 1: sandstone cliffs without much in the way of soiler rain. 468 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: The infos of the conditions you guys talked about is 469 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:07,160 Speaker 1: also underscored by the ornamental tory pines planted all throughout 470 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:11,679 Speaker 1: this area, which instead grow quickly into tall, rounded canopies 471 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:16,120 Speaker 1: when they're liberally watered, and the same effect is visible 472 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: just on the two sides of the ridge here, with 473 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,680 Speaker 1: small bent over bonds eye on slopes facing the sea, 474 00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: taller open canopies in the canyon bottoms and on the ridge, 475 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:31,199 Speaker 1: and much fuller, rounder trees on the sheltered leeward slopes. 476 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:35,440 Speaker 1: The California coast actually has a bunch of endemic conifers, 477 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:39,080 Speaker 1: mostly pines and cypresses, that only grow in really restricted, 478 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:43,280 Speaker 1: often disjoint, uh distributions near the ocean, and many of 479 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 1: them grow in these strange bonds I shapes. I'm a 480 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: big fan of the idea of bioregionalism, and I find 481 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,920 Speaker 1: these strange, rare trees to be a really lovely symbol 482 00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:56,160 Speaker 1: of the particularity of this stretch of coast, which helps 483 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,879 Speaker 1: me feel like I'm more connected with the placiness of 484 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,280 Speaker 1: the land, especially in southern California, where there are hundreds 485 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:04,679 Speaker 1: of kinds of ornamental plants from all around the world 486 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 1: just in one suburb. In any case, I'm looking forward 487 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,159 Speaker 1: to what you do next and am holy in support 488 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:14,439 Speaker 1: of more plant tree themed episodes. Sincerely, Z Rob. I've 489 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:16,840 Speaker 1: attached some of the photographs that Z sent us to 490 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,879 Speaker 1: look at. These are mostly what they were referring to 491 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 1: as like Bonsai trees, but growing wild, not not necessarily 492 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 1: in size, but in shape. And these are a lot 493 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: of really beautiful trees. I like them. Yeah, the trees 494 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:34,159 Speaker 1: finding their way in a um in a unique landscape 495 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,760 Speaker 1: sometimes you know, with some some some some some definite 496 00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 1: restraints in place. I think in in the Bonsai episode, 497 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,959 Speaker 1: we did make the comparison to poetry, right, the idea 498 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: that in some cases, UH poets often feel that creativity 499 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:55,119 Speaker 1: is driven by the constraints imposed by a certain rhyme 500 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,520 Speaker 1: or meter scheme. Because you can't just say anything. It 501 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,880 Speaker 1: leads you to say things that you wouldn't have said otherwise, 502 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:03,639 Speaker 1: you know, because you've got to fit it into the 503 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:07,280 Speaker 1: meter or something. And UH, I think that that looks 504 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:10,879 Speaker 1: true of many trees, even if they're not having constraints 505 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,840 Speaker 1: imposed by humans, but maybe having constraints imposed by the 506 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:18,680 Speaker 1: harshness or weird conditions of the natural environment where they're growing. 507 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,440 Speaker 1: They kind of form a poem because of how hard 508 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 1: their life is. All right, well, that is it for 509 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: this particular listener mail mail bag. But there's stuff we 510 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:31,160 Speaker 1: didn't get to this week. There's stuff that will come 511 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,359 Speaker 1: in between now and next week, and we will read 512 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,360 Speaker 1: even more listener mail, So feel free to to chime in. 513 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:41,880 Speaker 1: You have responses to old episodes, new episodes, uh, you know, 514 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:46,120 Speaker 1: ideas about what future episodes could consist of. Everything's on 515 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:48,480 Speaker 1: the table. You've got corrections, let us know. You've got 516 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 1: responses to other people's listener mail. Uh, let us have it. 517 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 1: Do you want to correct other listener mails? Do so 518 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:58,479 Speaker 1: you want to correct corrections? Yeah? Well whatever you like 519 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:00,560 Speaker 1: this is this is kind of your show at this point, 520 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: so uh yeah, let us know. In the meantime, you 521 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,000 Speaker 1: want to check out other episodes of Stuff to Blow 522 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:08,000 Speaker 1: Your Mind or the Friday episodes of Weird House Cinema. 523 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 1: You know where to find it. Go to the Stuff 524 00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:12,920 Speaker 1: to Blow your Mind podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts. 525 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 1: Huge thanks as always to our excellent audio producer Seth 526 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:19,040 Speaker 1: Nicholas Johnson. If you would like to get in touch 527 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:21,320 Speaker 1: with us with feedback on this episode or any other, 528 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,560 Speaker 1: to suggest a topic for the future, or just to 529 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,560 Speaker 1: say hello. You can email us at contact at stuff 530 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 1: to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your 531 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: Mind is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts 532 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 533 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.