1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,920 Speaker 1: Oh, we're doing some uh, we're doing some cool stuff 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: with our classic episode this week, Noel, we're exploring mummies. 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,640 Speaker 2: Mmm, we are indeed that not mummies and Daddy's No. 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 2: Mummy's the embalman kind, the kind that potentially arise from 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 2: the dead and spook people out on Halloween. It's also 6 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 2: a fun lo fi costume. Just involve some toilet paper. 7 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: Yeah. This is the story of a city called Guanayato, 8 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: and back in the day they instituted a grave tax, 9 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: which just feels terrible, like that's so petty and penny pinching. 10 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: You're going to tax people on the way out as well. 11 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 1: If you couldn't pay the grave tax, you would run 12 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 1: into some harsh penalties. Three, if you fall three years 13 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: behind on your loved ones resting place, they will dig 14 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 1: the body up and they will take it out. 15 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 2: Of the grave. Yeah. And these bodies were not just 16 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 2: non into Egypt. They weren't like wrapped in linens and 17 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 2: mama in that classic fashion. They were somehow found to 18 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 2: have been naturally mummified, and words spread and it became 19 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 2: something of a sideshow attraction, which is pretty gross. Grave 20 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 2: diggers are trying to make a quick buck charging folks 21 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,759 Speaker 2: to take a peek at these naturally mummified remain So 22 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 2: why don't we jump into the story and hear all 23 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 2: about the mummies of Guanayato. 24 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio, Casey. Could we 25 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: get a little bit of spooky music just for a 26 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: second in the background. Here is in fact October perfect. 27 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to the show, Ridiculous Historians. We are men of 28 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,919 Speaker 1: our word. Earlier, we had floated the idea of finding 29 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: some more frightening, disturbing creepy tales as we get closer 30 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: to Halloween. 31 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 2: Ben, didn't we do a Pope based kind of spooky 32 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 2: creepy tale already? But that was pre October? 33 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: No, you're right, that was pre October, and we talked 34 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: about whether or not we should save that one. 35 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 2: But that was just such a cool and strange story. Oh, 36 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 2: we were compelled. The power of Christ compelled us to 37 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:33,959 Speaker 2: put that podcast out in the world. 38 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:39,239 Speaker 1: And the power of super producer Casey Pegram helped make 39 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: that reality. We're looking at a story today that is 40 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: equal parts ridiculous and I would say. 41 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:49,639 Speaker 2: Tragic, yeah, I'd say mainly tragic mm hmm. 42 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 1: And book yeah, and this is something that you had 43 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 1: you had a hip to me to Noel, which is 44 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: the story of mummies in Mexico. 45 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, pacifically, the Mexican town of Guanajuato, which was established 46 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 2: in the early sixteenth century and was something of a 47 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 2: boom town for silver mining. It became that in the 48 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 2: eighteenth century to the point where I believe it actually 49 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:18,919 Speaker 2: kind of messed with the economy of silver because there 50 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 2: was just so much damn silver coming out of there 51 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 2: that it like jacked with the price of silver in 52 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 2: a way that caused some real economic problems in the region. 53 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: Absolutely. Yeah, for a time it was the third largest 54 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: silver mine on the planet in terms of production. They 55 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: still have traces of this mining industry, right, especially what 56 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: is it Boca del in Ferno. 57 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 2: Boca del in Ferno. It's a mine shaft that boca 58 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 2: meaning mouth, so that's that's the mouth of Hell, and 59 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 2: this is an attraction you can see there are also 60 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 2: it's known for its beautiful architecture, these brightly colored Baroque 61 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 2: buildings and there are these like narrow kind of alleys 62 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 2: between the buildings and it's a very walkable, picturesque little city. 63 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 2: But it also was an important stronghold during the Mexican 64 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 2: Revolution when Mexico was able to break free of Spanish control. 65 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 2: And that is when Father Miguel Hidalgo in eighteen ten, 66 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 2: who was the parish priest in Dolores, put out his 67 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 2: infamous Grito de la Dolores, which is the shout of Dolores, 68 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 2: and he assembled a mob of peasants brandishing machetes and clubs, 69 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 2: and they eventually made their way to Guandajuato because it 70 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 2: was the most prominent largest city in the area and 71 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 2: that became their stronghold and the site of the beginning 72 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 2: of the Mexican Revolution. So a lot of history in 73 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 2: this town. But today's episode it's not about any of 74 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 2: those things. Oh yes, yes, let me set this up. 75 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: We should say that the name Guanauato actually translates to 76 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:58,239 Speaker 1: mountainous place of frogs. Love that and it's had several 77 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: different names throughout it time because it's a very old city. 78 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 2: So maybe an Aztec era where the name was, Yeah, 79 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 2: what was it. It was the land of straw, I believe, 80 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 2: and the word is beautiful where this is translated from 81 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,480 Speaker 2: and it was an Aztec word paks Titlan you know, 82 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 2: that's that is a beautiful word. I personally, I also 83 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 2: liked Mooti the place of metals, Yeah, which is the older, 84 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,359 Speaker 2: older name. It makes perfect sense. It was also the 85 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 2: place of a weird government sanctioned grave robbing. 86 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: That's right. Today's story involves grave robbing, and it involves 87 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:38,919 Speaker 1: I'm just going to say it, a really terrible move 88 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 1: on the part of local government. So there's a big city, 89 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: a lot of people get buried. You know, life happens born, 90 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: you live, and you die. And there was a cholera 91 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:57,160 Speaker 1: outbreak around the area of Guanuatu in the eighteen thirties, 92 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: around eighteen thirty three or so, and these people when 93 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,920 Speaker 1: they expired, they were interned, they were buried. In some 94 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: cases they were embalmed. But a few years later the 95 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,159 Speaker 1: local government puts attacks on graves. Yeah. 96 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 2: So the thing is like, you would rent this place, 97 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 2: like you didn't own it. Yeah, yeah, you would rent it. 98 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,039 Speaker 2: And I think the initial rental period was about five years, 99 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 2: and then you had to re up your rental. Your 100 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,160 Speaker 2: family had to you know, assuming you had any family 101 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 2: to speak of, and if you didn't pay this. This 102 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 2: is something that was instituted between eighteen sixty five to 103 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 2: nineteen fifty eight, by the way, very recently done away with. 104 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 2: And if you did not pay for three years in 105 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 2: a row, that's right, then your peeps would be uprooted, 106 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 2: literally dug up, not really dug up because they were 107 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,359 Speaker 2: in these air tight mausoleum chambers. They would be removed 108 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 2: and evicted and they were either taken to a simple 109 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 2: pauper's grave outside of town. And this is the thing too, 110 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 2: is interesting about the story of this culture very much 111 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 2: reveres death. You know, you have like the Deos deos 112 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:08,719 Speaker 2: Martos and all of these kind of death related rituals 113 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 2: and just deep veneration for one's ancestors and paying respects, 114 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 2: and you know, this very religious culture. The idea of 115 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 2: digging up these loved ones and like putting them in 116 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 2: a less desirable burial space had to have been very 117 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 2: painful for some of these families. But that wasn't even 118 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 2: the worst thing that could have happened, was it. 119 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, there are stranger things that happened because they would 120 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 1: be put in a pauper's grave, or they might be 121 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: placed in an osuary which was actually under the cemetery 122 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: grounds itself, waiting in case the relatives would come back, 123 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: cough up the money and have their loved ones reinterred 124 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: or reburied, which did happen in a couple of cases. 125 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: These people were taken out of the grave and then 126 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: put back in. But when they were taken out of 127 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: the grave, often they weren't decayed in the way that 128 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: you would expect a body to rot over time. They 129 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 1: were preserved. They were mummies. They were mummies. They had 130 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 1: become mummies naturally. They were mummified by the environment in 131 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: which they were interred. I believe the first one that 132 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 1: was found mummified was a man named doctor Remiguio Leroy 133 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty five, the. 134 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 2: Frenchman, right, or the French doctor, I think is what 135 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 2: he was known as. So we're sort of bearing the 136 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 2: lead here and we were getting there. But yes, Ben, 137 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,239 Speaker 2: this is very important, the fact that they were naturally 138 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 2: mummified from lack of oxygen and just the very dry 139 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 2: climate that existed there as part of the world, and 140 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 2: so they would literally just dry out and their clothes 141 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 2: would rot quicker than their bodies would. And here's the thing, 142 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 2: these mummies when they found this Frenchman, the first guy 143 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 2: they found that had undergone this transformation. They were like, 144 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:51,599 Speaker 2: this is pretty cool. And by day I mean, I 145 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 2: guess the city people that ran the mausoleum, what do 146 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,599 Speaker 2: you think, like city officially this was a state run facility, 147 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 2: right right, Yeah, they were like, Okay, this is pretty cool. 148 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 2: We should hold onto this guy. And so they do that, 149 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:07,200 Speaker 2: and they continue doing that for several years before they realize, hey, 150 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 2: I think we might have a little moneymaker on our hands. 151 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:14,520 Speaker 2: So what happens then is the ones that the curators, 152 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:20,680 Speaker 2: let's call them deem I guess fascinating. Enough specimens are 153 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 2: kept and in the fifties a museum is opened. 154 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: Yes, it's true. This hearkens back to our earlier episode, 155 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 1: which seems so long ago. 156 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 2: Now. 157 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,440 Speaker 1: On corpses in a dior rama, do you remember that. 158 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 2: I very much do with the camel and the Arabic 159 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 2: gentleman with the human skull, I believe, right? 160 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: And when yes, and when we say thought to be fascinating, 161 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: what do we mean? This is pretty graphic stuff? Is 162 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:52,679 Speaker 1: mean things like mummy that was pregnant, or people who 163 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: appear to have been buried alive, such as Ignacia Aguilar, 164 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 1: the people who were buried alive were almost certainly buried 165 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: by accident due to the extreme nature of the color outbreak. 166 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 2: And yeah, that's right. And a lot of these specimens 167 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 2: were found to have cholera or have suffered from smoke inhalation. 168 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 2: There's a really great, really short podcast from a show 169 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 2: called Mexico Unexplained. I think that's what it's. Yeah, and 170 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:26,280 Speaker 2: it goes into some of these details, but really interesting 171 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 2: that they would have had smoke inhalation because it was 172 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 2: either from smoking cigarettes or any kind of tobacco, or 173 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 2: possibly from working in those minds under less than ideal conditions. 174 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 1: Oh yes, And before we get too far away from it, 175 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:43,600 Speaker 1: I want to clarify because I remember it. I did 176 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: find the explanation of how this museum thing came about, 177 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 1: and it's kind of disappointing in what it says about 178 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: the human condition. Because once word of the Guanauatu mummies 179 00:10:55,960 --> 00:11:00,959 Speaker 1: started spreading around town, other people in town were apparently 180 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: sneaking over and paying people who worked at the cemeteries 181 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 1: just a couple of pesos to sneak in and take 182 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 1: a quick peek. So it was a the workers were 183 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 1: motivated by profit, and then they were incentivized, you know, 184 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,679 Speaker 1: because this burial tax is still around to pull more 185 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:20,839 Speaker 1: and more bodies out of the crypt and then find 186 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 1: more and more mummies and charge more and more people 187 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: to see them. 188 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 2: So where were they keeping them before the museum situation 189 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:28,200 Speaker 2: took off? 190 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: Before the museum, they would eventually they would be kept 191 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:35,840 Speaker 1: in that ossuary under the graveyard, just like for a 192 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: rainy day. And Kate, well, the official reason again is 193 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 1: just in case the families come back and say, we 194 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 1: do have the money to pay the burial tax. 195 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,559 Speaker 2: But why would they keep them versus burying them outside 196 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 2: of town? Like my understanding whether they kept these because 197 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:50,720 Speaker 2: they were so crazy looking and they. 198 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:53,560 Speaker 1: Like I think, I think it's a situation again where 199 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 1: there was an official reason and then there was a 200 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: real reason, got it. 201 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 2: So let's talk about this museum. When that started happening. 202 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 1: El Museo de las Momias, which you know, the Museum 203 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:12,599 Speaker 1: of the Mummies. It was the same place where the 204 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 1: cemetery workers were just charging people several pesos to enter 205 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,240 Speaker 1: into the building and see the bones and the mummies, 206 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,359 Speaker 1: with again doctor Leroy being the first one on display. 207 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,320 Speaker 1: But when did it officially become a museum instead of 208 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 1: this underground display of death. 209 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. But like I said before, you know, 210 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 2: there was money to be made here and the government 211 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 2: wasn't getting those mausoleum lease rental fees, so they figured 212 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 2: they would capitalize in another way, and they opened this 213 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 2: to the public in the nineteen fifties and it was 214 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 2: actually voted Guanajuato's I believe number one tourist attraction. And 215 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,719 Speaker 2: so for a nominal fee of two pesos you can 216 00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 2: take a look at the more than one hundred, one 217 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 2: hundred and eight Yeah, one hundred and eight dried out 218 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 2: human mummies, natural mummies, and that this includes all different 219 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 2: types of situations in varying the stages of decay kind of. 220 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you can still see their facial expressions in 221 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:22,680 Speaker 1: a lot of cases, which you know, we mentioned the 222 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,680 Speaker 1: somewhat gruesome details that have allowed investigators to determine who 223 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: was buried alive and who was buried when they were 224 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:29,440 Speaker 1: actually dead. 225 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 2: Well, the one you mentioned that was buried alive actually 226 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,120 Speaker 2: still has her hands like trans like you know, like 227 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:38,319 Speaker 2: covering her eyes, biting her arm. Yeah. And the thing 228 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:43,560 Speaker 2: too is most of these these cadavers have these just 229 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 2: pained expressions, as though they're like shrieking in agony. And 230 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 2: it's because of what happens when the tongue dries out 231 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 2: during this rumification process and the jaw starts to slacken. 232 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:58,520 Speaker 2: You start it kind of looks like the scream. You 233 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 2: know that that painting and this is pretty crazy. Ray 234 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 2: Bradberry actually wrote a short story about based on his 235 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,559 Speaker 2: visit to this this museum when he was vacationing with 236 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 2: his wife in Guanajuato, and he wrote a story called 237 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,679 Speaker 2: The Next in Line where he very vividly describes this. 238 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 2: So I'm gonna read a little bit of that for Casey. 239 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 2: Can we get that spooky music back for this? This 240 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 2: is I think this deserves it. 241 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 3: They were screaming. They looked as if they had leaped 242 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 3: snapped upright in their graves, clutched hands over their shriveled 243 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 3: bosoms and screamed. 244 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:44,000 Speaker 2: Jaws wide, tongues out, nostrils flared and been frozen that way. 245 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 2: All of them had open mouths. There was a perpetual screaming. 246 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 2: They were dead and they knew it. In every raw 247 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 2: fiber and evaporated organ, they knew it. She stood listening 248 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:02,040 Speaker 2: to them scream. They say dogs here sounds. Humans never 249 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,880 Speaker 2: hear sounds so many decibels higher than normal hearing that 250 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 2: they seem non existent. The corridor swarmed with screams, screams 251 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:16,120 Speaker 2: poured from terror, yawned lips and dry tongues, screams you 252 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 2: couldn't hear because they were so Highho not cool, Ray Bradberry, 253 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 2: not cool? What do you think about that, Ben? 254 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, I've actually I've read this story. It's Ray Bradberry 255 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: is a fantastic writer and very appropriate for Halloween. The 256 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: Mummy Museum also inspired other works of fiction. In the 257 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 1: late nineteen seventies, Verner Herzog took a number of shots 258 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 1: of these various mummies for the title sequence of his 259 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 1: film Nosferatu the Vampire because he just wanted a morbid, eerie, 260 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: atmospheric opening sequence. 261 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 2: I remember that sequence, and I did not know that, Ben. 262 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 1: And one of the museum's other notable points of interest 263 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 1: is that it has the smallest mummy in the world. 264 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: It is a fetus from the pregnant woman that we 265 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: had mentioned earlier. It's a heartbreaking thing, and it's strange 266 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: to feel the turns of history so immediate and tactile, 267 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: you know, because so often we think of these horrific 268 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: or tragic events as an abstract thing from a history book, 269 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,400 Speaker 1: but going and seeing these real people is a tremendously 270 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: profound and moving experience. One other work of fiction that 271 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: we absolutely have to mention is the film that incorporates 272 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: the mummies of Guanahata in a not accurate way, is 273 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 1: called Santo Versus the Mummies of Guanawato. 274 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 2: Santo being a very popular luchador. Luchador. These are these 275 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 2: wrestlers that wear this cool masks, and this guy was 276 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 2: like a real celebrity and it was almost sort of 277 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 2: like Abbot and Costello, you know, meets Frankenstein or whatever. 278 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 2: It was like a very well known national figure fighting 279 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 2: a very well known national monster. 280 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:08,919 Speaker 1: Yeah, Rodolfo Guzman Herta, famous wrestler at the time. And 281 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: we found we found some various clips of this film, 282 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: you know again, made in nineteen seventy two, and I'm 283 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:19,160 Speaker 1: all in, I want to check it out. I want 284 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 1: to watch the whole thing. I'll come back with a review. 285 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: If I'll come back with a review, if there's some interest. 286 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: What makes it relevant for our interest today is that 287 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 1: this film spread word of the mummies outside of Mexico 288 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:35,879 Speaker 1: and people began to learn about this on an international level. 289 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it started kind of became much more 290 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:42,919 Speaker 2: of a fixture of popular culture at the time, and 291 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:48,399 Speaker 2: it wasn't really replicated for many years, but it certainly 292 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:53,120 Speaker 2: spread awareness and likely upped the value to the government 293 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:54,400 Speaker 2: of this place, right. 294 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:58,919 Speaker 1: Right, And this leads us to the ethical question that 295 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 1: we've run into before, you know, and that question is 296 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:08,120 Speaker 1: is it right to display the bodies of these people? Certainly, 297 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 1: I mean it's certainly not with their consent, and we 298 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,879 Speaker 1: don't know if their family members were asked or if 299 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: they're family members consented. 300 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 2: Yeah. There's actually a quote in this piece from the 301 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 2: Guardian that just talks about how there were no laws 302 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,679 Speaker 2: broken in doing this, that the Mexican people have a 303 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 2: different attitude towards death that they don't I don't know, 304 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 2: and it's kind of counter to what I said at 305 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 2: the beginning of the show. I would assume that it 306 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,879 Speaker 2: would be this would be very disrespectful, This would be 307 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 2: considered like heresy, kind of you know, to disinter the 308 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,639 Speaker 2: people's loved ones. But you know, the guy that's in 309 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 2: charge of this place seems to think differently. Yeah, this guy, 310 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 2: Arturo Taberas, who is the head spokesman for the Guanajuato government, 311 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,720 Speaker 2: said in this daily mail piece, I think I misattributed 312 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 2: to The Guardian earlier that quote the museum is an 313 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:01,440 Speaker 2: important part of Guanajuato's tourist appeal. Okay, that's your first point. 314 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,760 Speaker 2: The museum breaks no laws and displaying its exhibit to 315 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,439 Speaker 2: visitors who are given fair warning of his graphic content. 316 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,960 Speaker 2: Here's the important part. We have a different cultural approach 317 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 2: to death in Mexico. Here we celebrate the cycle of 318 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,359 Speaker 2: life and accept death as inevitable. Ninety nine percent of 319 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:20,560 Speaker 2: the visitors leave the experience pleased with what they saw. 320 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:24,200 Speaker 2: But here's the thing. So many of these infants in 321 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,760 Speaker 2: the museum, of which there are several, are often dressed 322 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:31,400 Speaker 2: as saints. So there's one that goes by that they 323 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:35,520 Speaker 2: call colloquially Little Saint Martin, who is it's basically a 324 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:40,760 Speaker 2: skeleton of a tiny baby wearing the traditional garb of 325 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 2: Saint Martin, something called a cassock, and holding a broom 326 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:50,159 Speaker 2: and holding rosary beads. And it is macabre, my friend, 327 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:51,480 Speaker 2: So I'm. 328 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:53,959 Speaker 1: Glad that you mentioned the Guardian, because there's a Guardian 329 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,240 Speaker 1: piece I remembered I wanted to bring up. It's called 330 00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: Why Mexican Celebrate the Day of the Dead by Antonio 331 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:04,480 Speaker 1: Wa and in there it has this just stunning octoviopause 332 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:09,639 Speaker 1: quote about what he sees as the Mexican attitude with death. 333 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:14,520 Speaker 1: He says, the Mexican is familiar with death, jokes about it, 334 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:18,639 Speaker 1: caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it. True, there is 335 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: as much fear in his attitude as in that of others, 336 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: but at least death is not hidden away. He looks 337 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:30,120 Speaker 1: at it face to face, within patience, disdain, or irony. 338 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: And I think that's you know, maybe that's it. Maybe 339 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 1: that's what makes it okay. Maybe this is an important 340 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: thing rather than an exploitative thing, you know what I mean, 341 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:43,399 Speaker 1: Because they can't be making that much money, right, profit 342 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: can't be the sole motivation at this points. 343 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 2: As four thousand visitors a week, I mean, that's a 344 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 2: decent amount of cash. 345 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess it does add up. 346 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, sure, it's been open since the fifties. I mean, 347 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,159 Speaker 2: you know, yeah, you're right, kind of a bit of 348 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:57,440 Speaker 2: a cash cow when you say so myself. But I 349 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 2: guess what I'm getting out I'm struggling with is there 350 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 2: even so this this tax was relinquished right and at 351 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 2: the end of the fifties, but nineteen fifty eight, in 352 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:11,680 Speaker 2: nineteen fifty eight, but there actually was a recent addition 353 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:15,159 Speaker 2: to this collection was a baby that died in nineteen 354 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:16,920 Speaker 2: ninety nine at six months old. So I want to 355 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:18,639 Speaker 2: clear something up real quick. And we actually had a 356 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:22,639 Speaker 2: little discussion off my The law that required the tax, 357 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 2: there was a grave tax went away in nineteen fifty eight, 358 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 2: but there was also like you still had to rent 359 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,960 Speaker 2: these spaces. You still had the land, and like you 360 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:34,439 Speaker 2: would up re up it for like twenty years or 361 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 2: something like that, Like it started like a five year 362 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 2: and then if you didn't come back, then they could 363 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:42,439 Speaker 2: still remove your loved ones corpse. And that happened with 364 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:46,359 Speaker 2: this baby. And the really heartbreaking thing is apparently the 365 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:49,560 Speaker 2: baby is in the collection museum and the mother who's 366 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 2: still living pretty regularly comes in visits in child. 367 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, and there's some the description of how this happens 368 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:03,399 Speaker 1: sounds remarkably cold. So if the if the family, the 369 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: surviving relatives choose not to pay or re sign on 370 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,200 Speaker 1: that lease. Then the body is removed and it goes 371 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:15,960 Speaker 1: to the museum's curator, and the curator inspects the corpse 372 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 1: to see whether it's good enough to be added to 373 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,080 Speaker 1: the collection. And I had earlier said the number was 374 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:24,439 Speaker 1: one hundred and eight corpses in the display, but I 375 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: believe it's one hundred and eleven now because they have 376 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 1: added some. 377 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:34,960 Speaker 2: I thought that wasn't too confusing with the difference between 378 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,879 Speaker 2: the grave tax and the lease, because they were two 379 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 2: different things, and it threw me for a little bit. 380 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:41,400 Speaker 1: But no, we got there. 381 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,160 Speaker 2: I think we did. I think we did. So what's 382 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:46,159 Speaker 2: what's next? Yeah, this sounds like a place that I 383 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,159 Speaker 2: would be intrigued. I mean, I'm I'm into kind of 384 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 2: like this sort of dark type stuff. I went to 385 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,840 Speaker 2: the Museum of Death in la and quite enjoyed that, 386 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 2: even though some of it was even a little little 387 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:58,040 Speaker 2: much for me. A lot of like embalming videos and 388 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 2: you know, murder crimes, seen photographs and things like that. 389 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:04,879 Speaker 2: But do you think this is right, Ben, Do you 390 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 2: think this is a value to society to be able 391 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,440 Speaker 2: to experience death in such a raw, you know, kind 392 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 2: of detached way. It's interesting to me. I mean, that's 393 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:18,040 Speaker 2: the question I asked earlier in the show. You know, ethically, 394 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 2: is this more useful to humanity as a memorial, as 395 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:30,159 Speaker 2: a way of educating people, or is it exploitative. It 396 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:33,560 Speaker 2: seems like the museum itself has a lot of support 397 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:37,879 Speaker 2: from the local community, and it is of benefit to 398 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 2: science because we're able to research the process of natural mummification. 399 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:48,640 Speaker 2: Texas State University had some great research on how this 400 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 2: stuff occurs and how the environment interacts with the corpse. 401 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:57,479 Speaker 1: But I would say it's similar to did you ever 402 00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:58,640 Speaker 1: see a body's exhibit? 403 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:02,119 Speaker 2: I never did, but I've seen photographs of it and 404 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:05,720 Speaker 2: the perfectly preserved codaverage whether you see the muscles and 405 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:06,440 Speaker 2: all that stuff. 406 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,680 Speaker 1: And it's fascinating. Yeah, where you see organs or the 407 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:13,959 Speaker 1: circulatory system or nervous system taken out and kind of 408 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,160 Speaker 1: plasticize to give you a better look at human anatomy. 409 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 1: But those people, when they were alive, didn't consent to that, right, 410 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 1: Surely not in every case, And we have to ask 411 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 1: ourselves at what point does the benefit to science or 412 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 1: the benefit to history outweigh the ethical pitfalls of displaying 413 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:39,919 Speaker 1: someone's corpse after they die. I will say that if 414 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,119 Speaker 1: I'm in that town, I will go visit just because 415 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:46,000 Speaker 1: I think it's in a way it would feel more 416 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:50,560 Speaker 1: like memorial or commemorating the deaths of those people. And 417 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: these were not These were not for the most part, 418 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:56,040 Speaker 1: these were not well off folks. These were the point, right, 419 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:57,399 Speaker 1: These were common people. 420 00:24:57,480 --> 00:24:58,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean the idea they had to you know, 421 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:00,639 Speaker 2: because I mean rich people would have been able to 422 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 2: buy a plot, right, and you certainly didn't have to lease. 423 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:05,439 Speaker 2: That's not the law. It's just they couldn't afford to 424 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:07,880 Speaker 2: buy a grave plot, so they were able to lease 425 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,480 Speaker 2: it in one of these municipal cemeteries, mausoleums or whatever. 426 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,199 Speaker 1: Right, absolutely, and I would air on the side of 427 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:21,800 Speaker 1: scientific benefit and historical commemoration. Guanawato's mayor, doctor Eduardo Hicks 428 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,399 Speaker 1: at the back, in two thousand and seven, initiated the 429 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:30,359 Speaker 1: Guanawatu Mummy Research Project and invited several scientists to go 430 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,000 Speaker 1: down and spend more than a year exploring the origin 431 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 1: and the development of the mummies. And it's also been 432 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:42,919 Speaker 1: a subject of national geographic documentary series which I'm going 433 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:44,720 Speaker 1: to tell you the name of it. I haven't seen 434 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,480 Speaker 1: the series, but the name throws me off. You're ready, 435 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,880 Speaker 1: I am the Mummy road Show. Nice, So it's sort 436 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 1: of like the Antiques Roadshow, but with mummies. 437 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 2: Mummies. 438 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:57,679 Speaker 1: Yeah, I feel like, yeah, that's a little glib. But 439 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:02,119 Speaker 1: in these recent years they've learned a lot about the people, 440 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:05,400 Speaker 1: the individuals who were interred here and then later displayed 441 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: in this museum. It's an incredibly interesting article and if 442 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: you would like to read it, let me know on 443 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,480 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Historians and we could just post it up there. 444 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 1: And if you are a person who does not want 445 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:20,040 Speaker 1: to see any of the visuals of this stuff, we 446 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 1: completely understand. This particular article has no photographs. 447 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:26,560 Speaker 2: Oh, I think that's a pretty good place to leave it. 448 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,040 Speaker 2: There's certainly if you're into photographs, there's plenty of them 449 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 2: out there, and these are really pretty upsetting images, to 450 00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 2: be honest, but it's also they're strangely beautiful, I want 451 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 2: to say, haunting, very haunting, as you may have gotten 452 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,679 Speaker 2: from that Ray Bradbury passage, and it really apparently severely 453 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 2: affected him and that he felt the need to write 454 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:47,720 Speaker 2: this piece to kind of exercise some of those demons 455 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 2: from himself. And I could see that. I wonder what 456 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:52,679 Speaker 2: it smells like in there. Ben probably is kind of musty, 457 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,360 Speaker 2: like an old library or something, because these corpses would 458 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 2: not have had a smell of putrification because everything was 459 00:26:58,920 --> 00:26:59,600 Speaker 2: just dried up. 460 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:05,400 Speaker 1: The mummification happens so rapidly, like a lot of museums. 461 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:09,679 Speaker 1: It probably just smells old in some inexplicable way. But 462 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:14,640 Speaker 1: our senses are so vulnerable to our pre existing mental states, right, 463 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,719 Speaker 1: so maybe we are mentally capturing the smell. You know what. 464 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:23,120 Speaker 1: It Probably it probably smells like cleaning cleaning supplies because 465 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,119 Speaker 1: there's a lot of glass, so I'm sure they have 466 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:28,639 Speaker 1: to use a ton of windex. It probably smells faintly clean. 467 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:30,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, may be a little bit of a chemical smell. 468 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,480 Speaker 1: And I have a question too. So so far we 469 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,840 Speaker 1: have we have covered a very interesting specific type of 470 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:43,439 Speaker 1: vampire native to the Philippines. We've looked at mummies, although 471 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:46,479 Speaker 1: they were not monster mummies from an old universal horror 472 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:51,879 Speaker 1: film or something. What particular monsters are historical cases of monstrosity? 473 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: Should we should we look at next? Should we look 474 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 1: at the trials of were wolves? That's always an interesting 475 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:00,040 Speaker 1: strange path to go on. 476 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:01,399 Speaker 2: One of the things we did the other night when 477 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:02,680 Speaker 2: we had a game night at the obviously played a 478 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:08,000 Speaker 2: game called Werewolf, where I ended up falsely accusing several 479 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,760 Speaker 2: of my closest friends and coworkers of being were wolves 480 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:14,040 Speaker 2: and had them lynched. And they didn't deserve that, Ben. 481 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 2: They were village, they were townspeople the whole time, and 482 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:18,399 Speaker 2: they were be able to forgive myself for that. 483 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: They probably won't be able to forgive you either. 484 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:22,800 Speaker 2: That's okay, So I deserve it the end of it. 485 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 2: I deserve it. But in their memory, we should, in 486 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:29,560 Speaker 2: fact research something about were wolves. I think that's smart. 487 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, let us know if there's a werewolf's story that 488 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,320 Speaker 1: particularly stands out to you. I'd love to. Ben. You 489 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:39,640 Speaker 1: might be saying, but how on earth do I contact you? Guys, Well, 490 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,120 Speaker 1: it's quite simple. We've got good news. If you are 491 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,320 Speaker 1: on the internet, you can find us on Instagram, you 492 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: can find us on Twitter, you can find us on Facebook, 493 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: in particular, check us out on Ridiculous Historians our Facebook 494 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 1: community page, where you can talk with your fellow listeners, 495 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:59,360 Speaker 1: all of whom I assure you are brilliant, wonderful people 496 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 1: with great taste and podcast. 497 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:05,040 Speaker 2: Right, that's pretty good. Yeah, I support that. Let's thank 498 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 2: our super producer Casey Pegram for you know, being super 499 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 2: as always. Thanks to our friend and colleague Alex Williams, 500 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 2: who composed our theme. 501 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:18,959 Speaker 1: Thanks to Christopher Hasiotis and Eve's Jeff Coate, our research associates. 502 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: Thank you to Jonathan Strickland, aka the Quizzer, who's been 503 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 1: quiet lately. 504 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:25,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, thank god. 505 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:30,480 Speaker 1: Oh folks, I suspect Noel really no you like him? 506 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 2: Your friends? Sure? Whatever you say? 507 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: Man, oh man, Noory, Well, I will try to keep 508 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:37,000 Speaker 1: the quiztor heat off of you. 509 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 2: Mike, I'm kidding. I welcome man. I need a little 510 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:41,240 Speaker 2: little kick in the pants every now and then. Who 511 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 2: better to do it than that guy? 512 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:46,040 Speaker 1: And most importantly, we're to thank you for bringing this 513 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:47,040 Speaker 1: great story. 514 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:48,400 Speaker 2: To the show. Oh Man, no problem. It was a 515 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 2: lot of fun. That's That's not the right thing at all. 516 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:52,440 Speaker 2: It wasn't really fun at all. It was kind of 517 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 2: disturbing and upsetting. But I'd rather there's no one I'd 518 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 2: rather be disturbed and upset with in this world, ben 519 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 2: than you, and you, folks, We'll see you next time. 520 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:12,480 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, 521 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:14,720 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.