1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 2: Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind Listener mail. 3 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 2: My name is Robert Lamb. 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 3: And I am Joe McCormick. And it is Monday, the 5 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:19,920 Speaker 3: day of each week that we read back messages from 6 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 3: the Stuff to Blow your Mind mailbox. If you have 7 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:26,639 Speaker 3: never gotten in touch before, why not give it a shot. 8 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 3: You can email us at contact at stuff to Blow 9 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,480 Speaker 3: your Mind dot com. Whatever you want to send us fine. 10 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,879 Speaker 3: Of course, we always appreciate feedback to recent episodes. If 11 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 3: you have something interesting to add to a topic we've 12 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 3: talked about, or a correction you need to make, whatever, 13 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 3: just send it on our way that is contact at 14 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 3: stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. Let's see rob. 15 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 3: I think I'm going to kick things off today with 16 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 3: this message from Adam, which was a response to our 17 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 3: Vault episodes on throwing. 18 00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, let's have it. 19 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 3: Adam says, Hello, my favorite podcasters and producer, longtime listener, 20 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 3: first time quote Collar on your Humans and Animals Throwing series, 21 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 3: you discussed humans in their throws using a slingshot structure 22 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,680 Speaker 3: in the shoulder. I am a disc golf player and 23 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 3: longtime martial arts practitioner and have found a different mechanism 24 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 3: for the transfer of force momentum. When I go to 25 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 3: throw a disc during a game, the motion I use 26 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,320 Speaker 3: is more analogous to a whip motion, starting at my step, 27 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 3: moving through my hips, and being released by my arm. 28 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 3: During this action, I notice, when I've thrown properly that 29 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 3: the tips of my fingers feel the most force and 30 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 3: can even bruise. I believe that this whip like motion 31 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 3: is also present in the animal kingdom many places, and 32 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 3: your discussion, which I listened to during a game, made 33 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,560 Speaker 3: me think of my anatomical structure in a way I 34 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 3: hadn't before. Please keep doing what you're doing. You've gotten 35 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 3: me through many day long trips and have kept my 36 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 3: mind active with respect to Adam, well, thank you, Adam. 37 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 3: I'm a little perplexed though, about the idea that you're 38 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 3: listening during a game like you can. I guess maybe 39 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 3: in disc golf, can that be kind of a solitary 40 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:20,559 Speaker 3: game where you don't need to communicate. 41 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 2: I don't know, I'm assuming so or it. Certainly he's 42 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 2: not listening to us during competitive play, Yeah, because I 43 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 2: would not advise that, because you know, I think We 44 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 2: have a pretty chill vibe going on here, and you know, 45 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 2: we tend to be exactly what you expect out of everything. 46 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 2: But you know, I don't want to be held responsible 47 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:41,799 Speaker 2: should we throw your game off. 48 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 3: I think I was confusing disc golf with ultimate frisbee, right, 49 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 3: or that's a team sport where you need to like 50 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:49,919 Speaker 3: hear what's going on and communicate. 51 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 2: But I think so this would be penultimate frisbee. 52 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 3: I have actually played disc golf before, and in the 53 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 3: version I played, one thing I really liked about it 54 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 3: was simply the the design of the holes. So like Rob, 55 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 3: have you played this where there's sort of a pole, 56 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 3: like a metal pole, where you're trying to get your 57 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 3: disc to land in a cup at the bottom of 58 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 3: the pole. And when I played, there was like an 59 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 3: arrangement of hanging chains that function kind of like the 60 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 3: net in a basketball hoop, except I guess it was 61 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 3: different because what the chains would do is if you 62 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 3: hit the chains with your with your disc, the disc 63 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 3: would just kind of drop down into the hole, like 64 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 3: it would absorb the energy and the thing would fall down. 65 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 3: It was an elegant system. I liked that design. 66 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, I haven't I haven't played that. I've thrown a 67 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 2: frisbee around, and I've played discs of Tron. Those are 68 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 2: those are my main activities with the disc. 69 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 3: But anyway, thank you Adam. 70 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,119 Speaker 2: All Right, this next one is a response to our 71 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 2: series on Hermit Crabs. I believe this was a response 72 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 2: to the first episode kicking off our three part series. 73 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 2: This comes to us from Hannah, but I'm gonna take 74 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 2: a little creative license in reading this. 75 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 4: Across the barren landscape of January, tattered streamers and cracked 76 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 4: champagne flutes, rolling in the gutters in the bleak midwinter, 77 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 4: the coldest time for toes the season when your car 78 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 4: is somehow either freezing or way too hot. But never 79 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 4: just write. When we return blearily to our occupations, uncertain 80 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:36,839 Speaker 4: of our grasp on reality, the universe, or anything slightly bloated, 81 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 4: but already regretting our new workout regime, a hope came 82 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 4: to us. Crabs are back on stuff to blow your mind. 83 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 3: Thanks for that, Thank you, Verner Hertzog. 84 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 2: Indeed, Crabs are back on stuff to blow your mind. 85 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 2: Came back for a three part series, and like we said, 86 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 2: who knows what the future will bring. There's so much 87 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,119 Speaker 2: crab content out there, and we've discussed crabs a lot, 88 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 2: but there's so much more. 89 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 3: I wonder if Herzog ever has done anything on hermit 90 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 3: crabs that seems like it seems perfect for him, you know, 91 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,280 Speaker 3: like a like a documentary on the shell trading and 92 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 3: the battle for the shells. 93 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 2: I would not be surprised at all. I mean, the 94 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 2: man has a tremendous filmography, a lot of documentaries in there. 95 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 2: I haven't seen them all. The main ones I've seen 96 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 2: from him are the two that he did with volcanogist 97 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 2: Clive Oppenheimer, the one on Volcanoes and the other one Fireball. 98 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:33,840 Speaker 2: Those are both tremendous, but there are no crabs in 99 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 2: them that I remember. But you know, occasionally there's just 100 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 2: something that else that just wanders through the scene that 101 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:44,239 Speaker 2: bears rumination from Herzog, like like just a stray dog 102 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 2: in the street, that sort of thing. 103 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 3: Can you imagine how he would pronounce the phrase merciless 104 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:51,840 Speaker 3: eviction I'm talking about. 105 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 2: There, It would be go I would attempt it, But 106 00:05:54,920 --> 00:06:00,279 Speaker 2: my impersonation is it's just a shallow, shallow attempt to 107 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 2: to grasp the majesty of Werner Herzog's narration. 108 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,919 Speaker 3: All right, This next message comes to us from Matt. 109 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 3: Matt says, hey, Robert and Joe. I was just listening 110 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 3: to your episode about hermit crabs, and you kept bringing 111 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:23,279 Speaker 3: up the handedness of the shells and crabs several times 112 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:26,039 Speaker 3: throughout the episode, and it brought back some information I 113 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:29,359 Speaker 3: learned in biology. Though it sounded like the handed direction 114 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 3: in crabs might be species specific. At least in some snails, 115 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 3: the direction their shell rotates is the result of maternal effect. 116 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 3: This means that direction isn't decided by the individual, but 117 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 3: rather their mother. In the case we studied, the snail 118 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 3: shell direction was genetically decided, with right handed being recessive 119 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 3: and left handed being dominant, but it was the genetics 120 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 3: of the mother that started the spiral. This means that 121 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 3: you kind of a snail that is genetically left handed 122 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 3: have a right handed shell because their mother had right 123 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 3: handed genes, who potentially would have a left handed shell 124 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 3: themselves based on their mother's genetics. I think it's a 125 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 3: pretty interesting thing to think about and thought i'd share. Also, 126 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 3: I was thinking about possible topics for discussion, and I've 127 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:25,239 Speaker 3: got a couple. First, the witching hour aka the Devil's Hour. 128 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 3: This is something that was brought to my attention recently. 129 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 3: The thing is, I distinctly remember that hour starting at midnight, 130 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 3: but it seems right now it's more commonly assumed to 131 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 3: be three am. I have clear memories of old cartoons 132 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 3: featuring a clock striking twelve when supernatural events begin to happen, 133 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 3: as well as poems and the like. I had also 134 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 3: always associated this with the general belief that the veil 135 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 3: keeping ghosts, fairies and the like out of our world 136 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 3: is thinnest in the place between and midnight, marking the 137 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 3: time version of this being the point between one day 138 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 3: and the next. This could be a topic you might 139 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 3: look into, or perhaps even the idea of a place 140 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 3: between and its association with magical happenings. That being more cultural, 141 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 3: I have another more science you might look into, the 142 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 3: circadian rhythm, and in particular in things like plants. It 143 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 3: seems everything has something like that rhythm, and there has 144 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 3: been some research into plants related to the effectiveness of 145 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 3: using herbicides based on the time of day it is applied. 146 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:32,679 Speaker 3: Many of these could be a good topic for a 147 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 3: future episode, or at least lead due to something to 148 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 3: discuss anyway. Love the podcast. It makes my forty minute 149 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 3: commute to work so much more bearable. Thanks Matt oh, 150 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 3: this is fabulous. Yeah, there's some wonderful suggestions in here 151 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:48,200 Speaker 3: and now the whole mention of the cut off points 152 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 3: for various things like the Witching Hour reminds me of 153 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 3: something I just learned about that I was not aware of. 154 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 3: I'm not a huge April Fool's Day fan. I think 155 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 3: it can be, but it almost always isn't. And I 156 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 3: was watching the first episode of the latest season of 157 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 3: the BBC series Ghosts, and which is a fabulous series 158 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 3: if anyone out there hasn't seen it, but they have 159 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:16,199 Speaker 3: an episode that deals with April Fool's Day and they 160 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 3: mention that you don't want to carry out your April 161 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 3: Fool's Day gag after midday. This is apparently the tradition 162 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 3: in the UK that if you carry out an April 163 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,679 Speaker 3: Fool's Day prank after midday, you are the fool and 164 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 3: you have stepped out of line. And I have to 165 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 3: say I like that. I like the idea of taking 166 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 3: a holiday that it's not even a holiday, it's sort 167 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 3: of a holiday. Taking an April Fool's Day, a day 168 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 3: I already don't care for, and let's just go ahead 169 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 3: and cut it in half. Let's just go out in 170 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 3: a half fifty percent less of that. Maybe in time 171 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 3: we can work it down to like just twenty five 172 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:56,200 Speaker 3: percent of the day can be utilized. Now I would 173 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 3: have a question about that, which is, okay, let's assume 174 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 3: you work all of your April Fools into the witching hour, 175 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 3: Like you're only allowed to do April Fools pranks between 176 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 3: three and four am on the on the night of 177 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 3: April first. So part of what I hate about April 178 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,319 Speaker 3: Fool's Day these days is the asynchronous nature of how 179 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,439 Speaker 3: pranks are propagated in the age of the Internet. So, 180 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 3: like you post an article that's an April Fool's joke 181 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,080 Speaker 3: that a lot of these are not even funny to 182 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 3: begin with, but imagine it is funny and you get to, 183 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 3: you know, read it on the morning of April first. 184 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:35,400 Speaker 3: It's usually still on the internet after that. And so 185 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 3: I think most of these pranks, which are largely online 186 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,200 Speaker 3: in one way or another these days, there would be 187 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,640 Speaker 3: asynchronous reception of the prank, even if the prank is 188 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:49,079 Speaker 3: you know, sort of quote published during the allowed time. 189 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, it muddies the waters, and the waters remain to 190 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 2: some degree muddied until they clear out a bit. But 191 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:57,720 Speaker 2: you know, on top of that, there's so much disinformation 192 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 2: and misinformation on the internet. Do we really need one 193 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:03,680 Speaker 2: day of the year that's all about doing more of it, 194 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,280 Speaker 2: even if it's supposedly just for laughs, And again a 195 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,839 Speaker 2: lot of them are not calibrated well enough to really 196 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 2: be laugh intensive. There's some some establishments do it well. 197 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 2: I always like the the MPR April Fool's Day gags, 198 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:22,400 Speaker 2: But you know, it's it's a rare occurrence that I 199 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:25,400 Speaker 2: actually enjoy one of these things. But to your point, 200 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 2: if you cut it down to like three in between 201 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 2: three and four am, on one hand, great limiting it 202 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:32,680 Speaker 2: to just like that one hour or so, But then 203 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,720 Speaker 2: you're pushing it all into like the wee morning hours. 204 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,319 Speaker 2: Maybe that's going to inspire like even worse practical jokes 205 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:40,760 Speaker 2: you're gonna get It's gonna be, you know, trying to 206 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 2: wake people up and so forth. I don't know, they 207 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 2: just need to get rid of. 208 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:54,840 Speaker 3: It all right now. One message we got this week 209 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 3: was a follow up to an email we talked about 210 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 3: last week. Last week we got an email from Jim, 211 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 3: a listener who works as an environmental and domestic pest 212 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:10,560 Speaker 3: controller in Australia, who expressed some skepticism about the subject 213 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 3: of rat kings. Now, we did an episode on ratkings 214 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 3: back in December, and one of the big questions about 215 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 3: ratkings is do they occur naturally or are they all 216 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:24,679 Speaker 3: hoaxes perpetrated by humans. We looked at some scientific sources 217 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 3: that investigated the issue and concluded that more likely than not, 218 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,040 Speaker 3: they probably do occur naturally, and at least I was 219 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 3: somewhat persuaded by that. But Jim expressed a few reasons 220 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 3: for skepticism about whether rat kings do occur in nature. 221 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:41,960 Speaker 3: First of all, he just mentioned that in his many 222 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 3: years of work, has you know, looked, he has found 223 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 3: the lots and lots of rat nests, but has never 224 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 3: come across anything like a ratking. But he also mentioned 225 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 3: that and here's a slightly grizzly detail coming. Here's a 226 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 3: warning that when a rat is caught by the tail 227 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 3: in a trap, it will often sever its own tail 228 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 3: to escape, in Jim's experience, presumably gnawing the tail off. 229 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:08,680 Speaker 3: So you know you could extrapolate from that that if 230 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 3: rat kings were to occur in nature with live rats, 231 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 3: you would wonder why they don't gnaw their tails off 232 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 3: and escape. Now, I thought that was interesting information. I 233 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 3: don't know if that's decisive one way or another, especially 234 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 3: about the rat biting its own tail off. But I 235 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 3: asked in the episode whether Jim was talking about the 236 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 3: same species that has been observed in alleged natural rat kings, 237 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:34,720 Speaker 3: because if you recall from that episode, basically the supposedly 238 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,440 Speaker 3: natural rat kings all feature Rattus ratus, commonly known as 239 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 3: the black rat, rather than any other species like Ratus norvegicus. 240 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 3: So Jim writes, I wrote to you about ratkings and 241 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,560 Speaker 3: forgot to mention the species we were controlling. My apologies, 242 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 3: and yes it is Ratus ratus. And he goes on 243 00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 3: to say that Ratus ratus is a serious pest in Australia, 244 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 3: that Ratus norvegicus is also in all Australia but is 245 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:04,560 Speaker 3: mainly found in coastal areas, and that Australia also has 246 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,000 Speaker 3: several native species of rats, but those are threatened due 247 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 3: to introduced species such as foxes and cats. And the 248 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 3: introduced rats. So thank you for the update, Jim. And yeah, 249 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 3: I would still say that the severing of the tail 250 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 3: when trapped does seem to be relevant information to plug 251 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 3: into the likelihood calculation there though. Another thing I would 252 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,600 Speaker 3: comment on is, you know, Jim, you were saying that 253 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 3: you've never come across a ratking, and it may just 254 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 3: be that, even if they do occur in nature, maybe 255 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 3: they're just very rare, so you can see lots of 256 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 3: rats nest and never see one. But another thing I 257 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 3: would comment on is that almost all alleged ratkings come 258 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 3: from places with very cold winter weather. The sources we 259 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 3: were reading about them and mentioned this, So usually there 260 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 3: are places on the north end of continental Europe like Germany, Poland, 261 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 3: Estonia and places like that. And Jim, I wonder if 262 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 3: where you are in Australia, I think you said you 263 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 3: were in the area of Canberra. I wonder whether that 264 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 3: would have cold enough winters to create rat kings if 265 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:11,680 Speaker 3: rat kings are indeed created in nature. 266 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 4: So I don't know. 267 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 3: Interesting question still open in my mind. 268 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 2: All right, This one comes to us from Jessper. Jessper 269 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:21,960 Speaker 2: writes in and says, hey, Joe and Rob thanks for 270 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 2: another great episode. This is responding to the rat king 271 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 2: episode from last month. There is indeed at least one 272 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 2: metal band that uses rat king iconography, the doom metal 273 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 2: outfit Throne List from my hometown Milmo, Sweden. You can 274 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 2: listen to them here and they include a link for 275 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 2: us to follow and check out some artwork below and 276 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 2: into the email. Jasper has pasted the logo here for 277 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 2: this band that does indeed contain a grotesque rat king. 278 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 3: Right, and it does seem like perfect metal band iconography. 279 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 3: An interesting connection. So the band is called Throneless and 280 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 3: they use a rat king on at least one of 281 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 3: their album covers or something, so some imagery associated with 282 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,440 Speaker 3: the band. I thought that was interesting. This is probably 283 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 3: just a coincidence. But remember in the episode we talked 284 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 3: about the history of the term rat king and how 285 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 3: the book chapter that we talked about documented that the 286 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 3: earliest uses of rat king all apparently referred to this 287 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 3: old and venerable rat who was like loyally served by 288 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:30,480 Speaker 3: the other rats in his nest, you know, perhaps even 289 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 3: sometimes perching on a throne made of twisted tails. But 290 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:37,560 Speaker 3: then somehow, over time the concept of a rat King 291 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 3: became kingless and became throneless. There was no longer a 292 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 3: king being served by the other rats. It was just 293 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 3: the rats with the twisted tails. Though again, I would 294 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:52,040 Speaker 3: be surprised if that connection is what the band had 295 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 3: in mind. It seems more likely, I don't know, you know, 296 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 3: it's metal, it's probably just more like whoa, that's a 297 00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 3: gruesome image. 298 00:16:58,000 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I think that's most likely here. 299 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 3: And by the way, Jasper, I will say I didn't 300 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 3: know this band beforehand, but I checked out the band 301 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 3: camp page you linked and listened to a couple of tracks, 302 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 3: and yeah, I kind of liked it. It was my 303 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 3: sort of thing. I'm less into like the death metal 304 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 3: and metal core type stuff and more into the stoner 305 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 3: doom kind of metal, and this was in that genre, 306 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 3: and I it was a pretty pretty heavy example of it. 307 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, I listened to just part of one of 308 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 2: the tracks, and it did seem like it was hidden 309 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:30,679 Speaker 2: on that doom metal, stoner metal kind of vibe. I 310 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 2: have another musical response here. This one comes to us 311 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:36,840 Speaker 2: via discord. And if you're like, WHOA, what's you have 312 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:38,560 Speaker 2: a discord? Well, yeah, there is a stuff to blow 313 00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 2: your mind. Discord and if you would like to join it, 314 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 2: you just need to email us and we'll send you 315 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:50,200 Speaker 2: the link anyway, Taylor says, it is a quick comment 316 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:53,399 Speaker 2: here per the synth Wave Conversation on the recent Listener 317 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 2: Mail episode. I'm not old enough to have particular nostalgic 318 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 2: ties to this kind of music, but I really dig it. Nonetheless, 319 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 2: that said, I am old enough to have grown up 320 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 2: with a lot of eight to sixteen bit video game 321 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:07,879 Speaker 2: tracks that gave me an early appreciation for synth music 322 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,800 Speaker 2: in general. And that's a great point. I mean, yeah, 323 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 2: video game music has also influenced and created whole genres 324 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:16,480 Speaker 2: of electronic music. 325 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 3: Yeah. I don't know what the name for this genre is, 326 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:23,320 Speaker 3: but there is a thing I've heard where people will 327 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 3: go through and like painstakingly recreate a piece of original 328 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 3: popular music fully in the like sound textures of one 329 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 3: of these video game consoles. So it's like the song 330 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,880 Speaker 3: is made all out of the sounds that you had 331 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 3: available as a music programmer of like a game Boy 332 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 3: game or an AS game. 333 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, this is what this is considered chiptune. 334 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:48,680 Speaker 3: Oh that sounds a failure. 335 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I don't know that. I've listened to any 336 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:58,399 Speaker 2: like dedicated chiptune artists recently, you know, but it seems 337 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 2: like there have been a number of bands that have 338 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 2: at least been inspired by it to some degree, you know. 339 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,880 Speaker 2: So you'll hear a little bit of it sprinkled in 340 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 2: here and there. 341 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 3: Man, those Anys game soundtracks were really good at pumping 342 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 3: you up. There are some that I know I'll never forget. 343 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:19,119 Speaker 3: You remember the original nes Batman side scroller game and 344 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 3: the music in that, the music. 345 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,359 Speaker 2: But I think I remember the game, Yeah. 346 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:25,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, where you could like cling to the walls and 347 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:26,879 Speaker 3: it was cool. 348 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:30,200 Speaker 2: All right, Joe, I think we have time for one 349 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:33,439 Speaker 2: weird house cinema listener mail. What do you have for us? 350 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,919 Speaker 3: Oh? We got this one from Fernando. This is in 351 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 3: response to I Come in Peace starring Dolph Londergren. Fernando says, Hello, 352 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:49,080 Speaker 3: Robert and Joe. Longtime listener, and I might have written 353 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:51,640 Speaker 3: to you before. I just finished listening to your episode 354 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 3: on I Come in Peace. I am old enough that 355 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:59,400 Speaker 3: I actually saw that movie in theaters with my buddies. Congratulations, Fernando. 356 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,000 Speaker 3: Fernando says, anyway, since at the end of the episode, 357 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 3: you were talking about notable alien buddy cops. I thought 358 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:07,360 Speaker 3: I would bring to your attention one of my favorite 359 00:20:07,359 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 3: movies of the genre, The Hidden It is gory, suspenseful, 360 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 3: and I believe would fit right in weird house cinema. Also, 361 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 3: I wanted to say hello, see you later, keep up 362 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:22,640 Speaker 3: the good work. Cheers Fernando, well Fernando, thank you, hello back, 363 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 3: and thank you for getting in touch. I looked up 364 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,120 Speaker 3: the trailer to this and this does look quite quite 365 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 3: amusing there. So it looks like a cop movie, sort 366 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:35,879 Speaker 3: of a cop movie variation on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. 367 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 3: So an Earthling gets possessed. Everybody's like, I've known him 368 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 3: for years, you know, he's he's my neighbor. He's a 369 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,120 Speaker 3: nice guy. So why is it that he is now 370 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 3: robbing banks and looting pawn shops like the replicant. The 371 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 3: alien replicants are just doing crimes, and it seems that 372 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:55,359 Speaker 3: only an odd couple of mismatched cops can stop them, 373 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:59,080 Speaker 3: and one of those cops is Kyle McLaughlin. The other 374 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,040 Speaker 3: weird thing is that it appears to have at least two, 375 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:07,120 Speaker 3: maybe more cast members from Twin Peaks. M Yeah, yeah, 376 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,919 Speaker 3: so of course there's coll MacLaughlin, agent Cooper. He plays 377 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 3: one of the cops here, but one of the bad 378 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 3: guys from Twin Peaks seems to be one of the 379 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:16,720 Speaker 3: alien crime doers. 380 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 2: And then you also got a klue Galligher in there. 381 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 2: So it's a it's a great cast. Have you seen 382 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 2: this one, Rotten, I haven't seen this one. This is 383 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 2: this is not one I'm really familiar with. I don't 384 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:31,120 Speaker 2: even recognize the poster art in the VHS art that's 385 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:33,000 Speaker 2: popping up here, So I don't know this one. This 386 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 2: one's off my radar. 387 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 3: We'll give it a look. Well, we'll see, we'll see 388 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:36,880 Speaker 3: if it is right. 389 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,120 Speaker 2: All right, Well, we're gonna go ahead and close out 390 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:42,880 Speaker 2: this episode of Listener Mail, but hey, keep them coming, 391 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 2: keep writing in about past, current and future possible episodes 392 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 2: of Stuff to bliwl Your Mind, Weird House Cinema, anything 393 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:51,120 Speaker 2: else we're doing in the Stuff to Blil Your Mind 394 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 2: podcast feed. And hey, speaking of that feed, if you 395 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:56,600 Speaker 2: haven't reviewed it, rated it, given it a bunch of 396 00:21:56,720 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 2: nice stars. That's something you can do that helps out 397 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,399 Speaker 2: the show. Go go where they allow you to do 398 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 2: that and do that for us, we would greatly appreciate it, 399 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:07,480 Speaker 2: and if you have critiques of the show, you know, hey, 400 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:09,159 Speaker 2: write in about it. That's the best way to get 401 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:11,959 Speaker 2: in touch with us to air your grievances or whatnot. 402 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,199 Speaker 2: And finally, if you listen to the show on an 403 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,439 Speaker 2: Apple device, if you use Apple Podcasts and so forth, 404 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 2: why don't you go on in there and check and 405 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:23,119 Speaker 2: make sure you're still subscribed and that you are receiving downloads. 406 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:27,200 Speaker 3: Huge thanks as always to our excellent audio producer JJ Posway. 407 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:29,000 Speaker 3: If you would like to get in touch with us 408 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:32,040 Speaker 3: with feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest 409 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:34,119 Speaker 3: a topic for the future, or just to say hello, 410 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 3: you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow 411 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 3: your Mind dot com. 412 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,720 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 413 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 414 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,479 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.