1 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: Hey, you welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. My 2 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:09,160 Speaker 1: name is Robert. 3 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 2: Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick. And Rob and I are 4 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 2: out this week, so we are bringing you some episodes 5 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:19,120 Speaker 2: from the vault. This one originally published April twenty sixth, 6 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 2: twenty twenty two. This is part one of our series 7 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 2: called Fire from the Rocks. Welcome to Stuff to Blow 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 2: Your Mind, production of iHeartRadio. 9 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,239 Speaker 1: Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. My name 10 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick. When we think 11 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: about fire, and we do think about fire a lot 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: on this show, it's come out time and time again. 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 2: Are you confessing something that we love. 14 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: Fire, that we worship fire, that we delight in its 15 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: growth and its consumption. No, but it is be fed, 16 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: It must be fed. But it is an import an 17 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,839 Speaker 1: aspect of Earth. You know, as we've discussed on past episodes. 18 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: You know, Earth is the only planet known to have fire, 19 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: and there was a time when there was no fire 20 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: on Earth because it wasn't possible yet. You know, fire. 21 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: When we think about fire, we think about its fleeting nature, 22 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: but also its potential. It's tremendous power provided conditions are 23 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: just right. It's always interesting to think about how fire 24 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,399 Speaker 1: is in many ways more an event than a thing. 25 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,559 Speaker 1: For it to happen, you need heat, fuel, and oxygen, 26 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,839 Speaker 1: and the fuel and the oxygen were not always present 27 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: on our planet. Fire is more or less an aspect 28 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 1: of the New Earth, and the earliest evidence of charred 29 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 1: vegetation dates back a mere four hundred and forty million years. 30 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 2: Right, So today natural forest fires are just part of 31 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 2: the cycle of life on the surface of Earth. But 32 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 2: there was a time when Earth had its first forest fire. 33 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 2: Can you imagine that, like the first time that ever happened. 34 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's crazy to imagine. And so this is 35 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: this has been an aspect of life under the Earth 36 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: ever since. And yeah, with fire, it's interesting too because 37 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: there's this trifecta obviously that's necessary for it to exist, 38 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: but it is a delicate tripod. Remove one of the 39 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: legs of the fire tripod and the fire will perish. 40 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,839 Speaker 1: So yeah, our relationship with fire is sometimes like whoa, 41 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: this is out of control, and other times it is 42 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:28,839 Speaker 1: you know, I can't get this thing to light at all, 43 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:31,240 Speaker 1: you know, So I think we're all familiar with that 44 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: with the dual nature of fire. So for today's episode, 45 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: and this will spill into into the next episode as well, 46 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: I thought we might start with just what I thought 47 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: was just a really tantalizing question because I'd never really 48 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: thought about it before, not until you brought up this topic, 49 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: And that is what is the longest that a single 50 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: fire has raged? And I guess there are all sorts 51 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: of sort of artificial parameters we might throw in, you know, 52 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: what constitutes a single fire versus multiple fires spread out 53 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: over time. I guess we kind of have to take 54 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: the human scenario of like a hearth or a campfire 55 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: and imagine that is sort of our basic principle, like 56 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,639 Speaker 1: a single a single flame that keeps eating things, keeps consuming, 57 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:19,959 Speaker 1: maybe it moves. But what is the longest that such 58 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: a fire has raged without snuffing out completely and having 59 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: to be reset one way or another. 60 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 2: Great question. 61 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, so of course you know the answer that I 62 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: know the answer to now, But putting ourselves in the 63 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: mindset of someone who doesn't know the answer, you might 64 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: likely turn to a few different categories to start off, 65 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: And the first would be what we just talked about, 66 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: forest fires. So as long as we've had forests and fire. 67 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: This has been a possibility here on Earth. Many of 68 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: the worst forest fires in history, though, are measured in 69 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: terms of acres, destruction, and fatality rather than in time. 70 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 1: But if you dig down you can start seeing some 71 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: time stamps on things. Many of the worst are dated 72 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: to just a single day in human history. Others last longer, though. 73 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: Some of the consist of multiple blazes, so it becomes 74 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 1: perhaps a little more of a challenge to think of 75 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: a continuous fire in these cases, though in many of 76 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: the cases I think it does fit. Some wildfire seasons, 77 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: of course, span many months, and then you have particular 78 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,360 Speaker 1: fires that have raged for a period of time. There's 79 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: the Coyote Fire of nineteen sixty four in Santa Barbara, California, 80 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: which lasted from September first to October first. So it 81 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: seems we might think if we're thinking about modern forest fires, 82 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: we're going to probably look at something lasting days, months 83 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: somewhere in that range. Now, as for wildfires of yesteryear, 84 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: as well as blazes caused by prehistoric extinction events, I 85 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: couldn't find many stats on this, but I suppose it's 86 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 1: worth thinking about. But it's also worth thinking about the 87 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 1: fact that when you have a particularly large energetic fire, 88 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 1: it can ultimately become something entirely different. You've become this 89 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: fire storm which creates and sustains its own wind system. 90 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: So I mean, I guess that's one of the reasons 91 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 1: when we start looking at some of these big blazes, 92 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: they do tremendous damage, they can cover a pretty large area, 93 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: but they're still not lasting that long in time because 94 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,039 Speaker 1: they're just eating through all of that fuel in a 95 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: relatively short period of time. And of course, with when 96 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: we're talking about wildfires, we also have to think about 97 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: the fact that, you know, the human civilization has an 98 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: impact as well on just how wildfires will play out 99 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:46,040 Speaker 1: through a given forest scenario, you know, and to a 100 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: certain extent, you know, we've been able to jump in 101 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 1: with with orchestrated burns, control burns to try and simulate 102 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,279 Speaker 1: sort of the natural cycle of fires that would normally occur. 103 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: But another area where you have to factor in human 104 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: civilization is of course, when you're dealing with urban fires, 105 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,359 Speaker 1: where the trees and various other aspects of the natural 106 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: world have been remade into an artificial environment a city, 107 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: and then what happens when that catches fire. Well, I 108 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: think a lot of the same practicalities are involved here 109 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: as well. Some of the great fires to ravaged cities 110 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 1: are often measured to a single date and time, though 111 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 1: there are some exceptions. There's the one forty six BCE 112 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: burning of Carthage, which reportedly took seventeen days, but this 113 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 1: was also said to be a systematic burning of the 114 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: city by the Romans, So I'm not sure that would 115 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: count so much because it was one of these situations obviously, 116 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: where the Romans are like, let's burn the city down, 117 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: let's make sure everything burns through. There are some other 118 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: fires that are worth mentioning. There's the Great Fire of 119 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: Utricht in the Netherlands that lasted nine days reportedly in 120 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: twelve fifty three. There's the eighteen eighty nine first Great 121 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:08,160 Speaker 1: Fire of Lynn, Massachusetts, reportedly last two weeks, destroying roughly 122 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: one hundred buildings. So it looks like if we were 123 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,119 Speaker 1: going to say, look to the world of like urban 124 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: fires for some sort of a candidate for longest fire, 125 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 1: you're going to be looking at something in the realm 126 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: of days to weeks. But figures beyond that seem kind 127 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: of doubtful. All right, The next area to think about, though, 128 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: would be, of course, human sustained fires. What about situations 129 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 1: in which a human cultivated flame, a flame that's kept 130 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: and fed more or less like a pet, either for 131 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: technological purposes, say like a forge or a pilot light, 132 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: or something that's more religious or secular, or a secular 133 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: symbol in nature, you know, something like a holy fire 134 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 1: that's kept going, or some sort of a monument that 135 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: has an eternal flame hooked up to it. 136 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 2: I was shocked to discover how many monuments there are 137 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 2: that have so called eternal flames on them because I 138 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 2: don't know, maybe it's just my morbid brain, but it 139 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 2: seems like calling a flame eternal is just tempting the fates, 140 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 2: Like you know, this is not this flame will not 141 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 2: burn forever. It's like settled down. You can't call it eternal. 142 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 2: I was trying to think what you should call it instead. 143 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 2: I can't come up with them. You think, I don't know, 144 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 2: maybe the long burning flame or something, or the attempted 145 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 2: eternal flame. It's just eternal is not going to happen. 146 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, I mean I guess to a certain extent, 147 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: I guess this is obvious, Like they're getting into the 148 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 1: idea of like the fire is something that is that 149 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:32,959 Speaker 1: it can go out and it has to be cultivated. 150 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: And you know a lot of these are tied to 151 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: to causes and memories with the with the idea of 152 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: saying like, hey, let's let's let's make a point of 153 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: remembering this individual or remembering this cause, and we'll use 154 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: the fire as a symbol. But that Yeah, there have 155 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:54,079 Speaker 1: been a number of these that that have sprung up 156 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: just at the end of the twentieth century and even 157 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: you know, in the twenty first century, and it's certainly 158 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: with the older ones it gets more difficult to really 159 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: figure out, Okay, has this been truly a perpetual eternal 160 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:11,319 Speaker 1: fire or has it gone out at least once, if 161 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: not multiple times over the span of time that is 162 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: attributed to it. 163 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 2: I'm sorry that Roger Korman is invading my brain right now, 164 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 2: but I'm thinking of a line and Attack of the 165 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,479 Speaker 2: Crab monsters where the giant psychic crab they are assaulting 166 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,160 Speaker 2: it with different types of weapons. The humans are trying 167 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:28,160 Speaker 2: to defeat it, and at some point they use a 168 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,680 Speaker 2: fire based weapon and the crab counters by telling them 169 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 2: he says something like that was quick thinking, Dale. But 170 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 2: the pity is that all fires must one day burn out. 171 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 1: True, it's true. But by the way, more fairly recently, 172 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,280 Speaker 1: someone was asking, I think in the discord for stuff 173 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: to blow your mind, what are all the episodes in 174 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,840 Speaker 1: which Joe has mentioned attack of the crab monsters. No 175 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: one had a clear answer, but a few episodes were 176 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,559 Speaker 1: brought up in which people remembered you mentioning it. We'll 177 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: add this the list. Okay, So, out of the various 178 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:05,240 Speaker 1: examples that come up, one that I thought was pretty 179 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: interesting is that of the Dasho in Temple complex in 180 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: Japan that has a flame that is said to have 181 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:16,359 Speaker 1: been burning for about twelve hundred years. Obviously, it's impossible 182 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: to say one hundred percent with something like this, and 183 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 1: ultimately I guess it's the idea of the continuous flame 184 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 1: that is most important here. But still, this is an 185 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: example of one that has supposedly been burning for over 186 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: a thousand years. Now, this is not quite a flame, 187 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:36,840 Speaker 1: but I ran across this as well, and I thought 188 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,319 Speaker 1: i'd mentioned it just because it's amusing, and maybe we 189 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: have some listeners who can report on this first hand. 190 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: But there is something known as the Centennial light bulb 191 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 1: in Livermore, California, specifically in the firehouse there. It's been 192 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:55,480 Speaker 1: burning there the bulb since nineteen oh one, though this 193 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: has not been continuous. There have been power outages and 194 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 1: electrical issues, etc. So I'm not sure exactly like what 195 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:06,840 Speaker 1: the ratio is between the time during that century plus 196 00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 1: that the light has been out versus on, but it's 197 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 1: certainly a very old light bulb that still lights up. 198 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,960 Speaker 1: And there is a webcam you can like check in 199 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 1: on its status at centennialbulb dot org. 200 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 2: So this is same filament, no replaced parts, it's the 201 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 2: same bulb and it still works. 202 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:29,080 Speaker 1: Still works, yeah, and you can go visit it like 203 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:31,679 Speaker 1: on the website. It has information about how you can 204 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 1: see this bulb for yourself. 205 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:36,679 Speaker 2: That is very impressive because obviously this is not an 206 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 2: LED bulb or something. This is Lord knows how they 207 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 2: were making light bulbs in nineteen oh one, but this 208 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:46,000 Speaker 2: was in some form an incandescent filament based light bulb. 209 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,280 Speaker 1: Yes. Now, now getting back to the idea of fire 210 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: and technology, I will say that I don't have an 211 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,840 Speaker 1: answer regarding things like pilot lights or you know, forge fires, 212 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: industrial flames so there might be a really good example 213 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: out there that I just couldn't find a of a 214 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:07,600 Speaker 1: verified long burning pilot light or long burning forge fire, 215 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:09,839 Speaker 1: that sort of thing. But if listeners out there have 216 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:20,320 Speaker 1: something to submit on that count, let us have it. Yeah. So, 217 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: based on everything I've mentioned here and then this very 218 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: much reflects my mindset going into this. I was thinking, 219 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:28,079 Speaker 1: you know, before we did any research, before we brought 220 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 1: up the idea of the episode, I would have guessed, well, 221 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 1: the longest raging fire. You know, maybe maybe it's gone, 222 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: you know, a few weeks, a few months, and you know, 223 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 1: if the conditions are just right. But beyond that, I mean, 224 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: how how long can a fire rage? Joe, would you 225 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: like to get into one of the answers that we're 226 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 1: going to discuss in these episodes. 227 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 2: Well, for the rest of the series, we wanted to 228 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 2: talk about naturally fueled flames, Flames that can burn for 229 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 2: a long long time because humans weren't e been necessary 230 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 2: to create them that there, they can arise in various ways. 231 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 2: We're going to talk about some major categories, I think 232 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,319 Speaker 2: more in the next part of this series, but there 233 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 2: are various kinds of burning and ignition processes that it 234 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 2: turns out have been going on on the surface of 235 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 2: the Earth for hundreds or even thousands of years. 236 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: Which of course absolutely just dwarfs everything that I've mentioned 237 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 1: so far. It really puts things on an entirely different timescale. 238 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 2: Right, So I wanted to talk in this episode about 239 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:38,600 Speaker 2: one example that really struck me when I was reading 240 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:40,959 Speaker 2: up for this that's sort of an odd man out. 241 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 2: It's not exactly fitting into the other categories that we're 242 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 2: going to be talking about in part two, so I 243 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:48,440 Speaker 2: figured it'd be good to start with this one. So 244 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 2: in the Northwest Territories of Canada, there is a stretch 245 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:59,319 Speaker 2: of seaside, cliff faces and hills along the eastern coast 246 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,760 Speaker 2: of a place called Cape Bathurst, where the earth and 247 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:09,439 Speaker 2: the rocks themselves seem to be perpetually burning, and they 248 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 2: have been that way, probably for thousands of years. In English, 249 00:14:14,559 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 2: this place is known as the Smoking Hills, or sometimes 250 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 2: the Smoky Mountains, not to be confused with the ones 251 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:26,120 Speaker 2: along the Tennessee North Carolina border. Different smoking mountains literally 252 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 2: smoking in this case, but in the language of the Inuvialuit, 253 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 2: and these are the people native to the western Canadian 254 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 2: Arctic region. It is known as ingnir Yuat, which means 255 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 2: big fire, and I was poking around for good historical 256 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 2: resources on this place. A lot of the articles I 257 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 2: dug up actually seemed rather confused, offering contradictory details about 258 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 2: early observations. So the best thing I found was a 259 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 2: piece in a magazine called tusai Osat, which is a 260 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 2: publication devoted to the language, culture in history of the 261 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 2: inuvialu It. This article is by Charles Arnold and it's 262 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 2: called ing near yat the Smoking Hills of Franklin Bay. 263 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 2: So Arnold identifies the earliest written account of the Smoking 264 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 2: Hills as one tracing back to a Scottish naturalist, explorer 265 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,880 Speaker 2: and naval surgeon named Sir John Richardson, who wrote about 266 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 2: the hills in the eighteen twenties while documenting an expedition 267 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 2: that he made to chart the coastlines of northern Canada. 268 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,360 Speaker 2: And as a side note, this mission was actually organized 269 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 2: in cooperation with another Arctic explorer, Sir John Franklin, who 270 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,960 Speaker 2: many years later, in eighteen forty five, would head up 271 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 2: the infamous Lost Franklin Expedition, the goal of which was 272 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 2: to fully chart a Northwest Sea passage through Canada. They 273 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 2: were hoping to find a way to get around the 274 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 2: northern part of the continent by water. Obviously, this is 275 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 2: even though you know, if you look at a map 276 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 2: you'll see a lot of gaps between the islands of 277 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 2: northern Canada. This is more difficult than it might sound 278 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 2: because often these waterways are choked with ice. So when 279 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 2: Franklin got lost in the eighteen forties, he was trying 280 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 2: to find this Northwest passage. And if you want to 281 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 2: know more, you can look up what's known and unknown 282 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 2: about the voyage of the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus. 283 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 2: If you want some good hair raising mystery with hints 284 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 2: of cannibalism. 285 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, it's a fabulous story, you know what we've 286 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 1: been able to piece together over the years through the 287 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 1: original history and then the finding of the wreckage and 288 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:36,040 Speaker 1: so forth. Dan Simons wrote a fictional take on the 289 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:40,000 Speaker 1: Terror and the Arabis titled The Terror, which was a 290 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: brick of a book that was then made to an 291 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: excellent AMC mini series a few years back. In this 292 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: Franklin is played by the actor Kieran Hines. But I 293 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 1: highly recommend this series. It's a wonderful mix of detailed 294 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 1: historic depiction as well as fantasy and horror. Jared Harris 295 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 1: and Tobias Menzies also star in that. 296 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 2: It's really good, Rob, can you do a short version 297 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,840 Speaker 2: of what we actually do know about the Lost Franklin Expedition. 298 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,919 Speaker 1: Well, there's a killer monster that shows up. No, No, 299 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 1: that's the that's the that's the miniseries I'm thinking of. 300 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 1: I mean, it's really really sorry. We could get into 301 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: the full episodes really, but but basically, you have these 302 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:24,640 Speaker 1: two vessels that were that were seeking the Northwest Passage 303 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:28,679 Speaker 1: and they went missing, and you get into like what 304 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: happened to the crew? Like how long were they marooned 305 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: out there in the ice and there's ships locked in 306 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: frozen in Where where did they get to? Did anybody actually, 307 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: you know, make it out. It's presumed, I think still 308 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:43,640 Speaker 1: that they all died, but you know, there's a lot 309 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: of there's been a lot of analysis over the years about, 310 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:50,439 Speaker 1: you know, what happened to them and then and then 311 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:52,440 Speaker 1: later on we actually found the wreckages. 312 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,240 Speaker 2: There's a famous painting I think that has to do 313 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 2: with this, with this lost voyage called It's Got a 314 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:03,640 Speaker 2: real Metal album name is called something like Man proposes, 315 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:08,159 Speaker 2: God disposes or something, and it's the painting is just 316 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,160 Speaker 2: of polar bears fighting over scraps of the wreckage. 317 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,159 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, for the longest the wreckage was was just 318 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:18,520 Speaker 1: lost entirely, but it was yeah. Twenty fourteen. In September 319 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:23,160 Speaker 1: of twenty fourteen, an expedition by Parks Canada discovered first 320 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 1: the Arabis and then two years later they found the 321 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 1: terror as well. 322 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 2: Well. Anyway, coming back to the story, sorry, so, doctor 323 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 2: John Richardson, the author of the account on about to site, 324 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 2: was not involved in the lost expedition. He just was 325 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,400 Speaker 2: an early collaborator with Franklin. So turning back to his 326 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:44,000 Speaker 2: survey several decades earlier, in traveling along the shore of 327 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:46,760 Speaker 2: the place that would come to be known as Franklin Bay, 328 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:53,720 Speaker 2: Richardson made some observations of something marvelous cliffs that themselves 329 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 2: appeared to be quote on fire giving out smoke, and 330 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:02,160 Speaker 2: where the ground appeared to consists of quote, burnt clays 331 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 2: variously colored yellow, white, and deep red. I found another 332 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 2: source quoting one of Richardson's accounts, where he says, quote 333 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 2: at Cape Bathurst, the northern end of Franklin Bay, bituminous 334 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 2: shale is exposed in many places, and in my visit 335 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 2: there in eighteen twenty six was in a state of ignition, 336 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 2: and the clays which had been thus exposed to the 337 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 2: heat were baked and vitrified, so that the spot resembled 338 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,960 Speaker 2: an old brickfield. And I will say I understand what 339 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 2: Richard is getting at here. Of course, brickfields are places 340 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 2: where bricks are manufactured. You can look these up on 341 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:41,159 Speaker 2: the Internet and you can see the resemblance with the 342 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:45,640 Speaker 2: unnatural look of the baked earth. But when I look 343 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 2: at pictures of the smoking Hills, my computer ruined brain 344 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 2: sees these landscapes, and unfortunately, the first place it goes 345 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 2: is that it looks like a level in doom. 346 00:19:55,359 --> 00:19:59,639 Speaker 1: Yeah, it does. It. Also, I have to say it 347 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,680 Speaker 1: kind of delicious, like I'm also reminded of I don't 348 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,560 Speaker 1: like red velvet cake. It's like red velvet cake emerging 349 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:06,160 Speaker 1: from the earth. 350 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:06,800 Speaker 2: Yeah. 351 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:07,200 Speaker 1: Yeah. 352 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:11,159 Speaker 2: And it's very interesting the way they produce these protruding 353 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:15,920 Speaker 2: rock formations. They're very jagged, and they seem to be 354 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 2: rather resistant to weathering compared to the unbaked rock all 355 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:22,359 Speaker 2: around them, which is more smoothed over. 356 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:26,479 Speaker 1: Yeah, very jagged, very and very bloody looking in some cases. 357 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:28,880 Speaker 1: So yeah, it looks like some sort of rock formation 358 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:32,600 Speaker 1: that has just gouged into the flash of a titan totally. 359 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,639 Speaker 2: So that's what Richardson saw in the eighteen twenties. He says, Hey, 360 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:37,919 Speaker 2: you know, we went past these cliffs. They appeared to 361 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 2: be on fire. They're giving off smoke. We see a 362 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 2: lot of burnt clay. It's yellow, white and deep red, 363 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:46,040 Speaker 2: very weird. Looks like an old brickfield. But then the 364 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 2: written history of the Smoking Hills continues after the disappearance 365 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,920 Speaker 2: of the Franklin expedition in the eighteen forties. So Franklin, 366 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 2: the two ships Franklin, and the crews go missing, and 367 00:20:55,920 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 2: in the year eighteen fifty, a ship called the HMS Investigator, 368 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:04,400 Speaker 2: under the command of Captain Robert McClure, was searching for 369 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 2: survivors of the Franklin party in the area around Franklin 370 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,400 Speaker 2: Bay once again, when the crew of this ship came 371 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 2: across the same weird site cliffs by the sea that 372 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,600 Speaker 2: were strangely covered and were giving off plumes of smoke. 373 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 2: And at first they thought these might be campfires or 374 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 2: signals from the Franklin survivors, so they sent out a 375 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 2: small boat to check it out, see what's going on. 376 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:32,679 Speaker 2: But no, it was not survivors of the Franklin mission. 377 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:37,760 Speaker 2: Arnold in his article identifies testimony left by a Moravian 378 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 2: missionary named Johann Mirtsching, who was a member of the 379 00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 2: shore party. And this is one where I really wanted 380 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 2: to find the original text, but I don't. I can't 381 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 2: if this has been digitized anywhere, I could not find it. 382 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 2: It appears to be from what's called the Arctic Diary 383 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:58,000 Speaker 2: of Johan Mirching eighteen fifty to eighteen fifty four, that 384 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:01,920 Speaker 2: those published in print form in Toronto in nineteen sixty seven, 385 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 2: but I couldn't find the digital version, So I'm relying 386 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 2: on Arnold's summaries of what Merching says. But he says 387 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:12,520 Speaker 2: that when they got to the source of the smoke, 388 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,119 Speaker 2: they found no human life alive or dead. Only quote 389 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 2: a thick smoke emerging from various vents in the ground, 390 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,480 Speaker 2: and a smell of sulfur so strong that we could 391 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:25,400 Speaker 2: not approach the smoke pillar nearer than ten or fifteen 392 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 2: feet flame there was none, but the ground was so 393 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 2: hot that it scorched the soles of our feet. Arnold 394 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 2: says that Mirching compared the landscape to a huge chemical factory. 395 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,680 Speaker 2: He says that water from nearby ponds had been fouled 396 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,639 Speaker 2: by something from the earth, and that the water tasted sour, 397 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,160 Speaker 2: and they brought back samples of rocks from the smoking hills, 398 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,840 Speaker 2: brought them back to the ship where Merching apparently claims 399 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,639 Speaker 2: that they ended up burning a hole in the mahogany 400 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,679 Speaker 2: table where Captain McClure kept them. So they took some 401 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 2: rocks back to the captain and they're burning up his furnish. 402 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: You know, this reminds me again of the mini series 403 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:06,239 Speaker 1: of The Terror, because one of the things that they 404 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 1: stress in that show, and they have some of the 405 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,439 Speaker 1: people involved in the production that they'd mentioned this as well. 406 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,359 Speaker 1: They mentioned that when they were researching the ships to 407 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 1: portray them on the show, there was this this realization that, 408 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:26,119 Speaker 1: you know, these were some of the most advanced vessels 409 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,199 Speaker 1: of any kind of that time period, and if we 410 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:33,440 Speaker 1: were to compare them to our modern world, we might 411 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,879 Speaker 1: well compare them to spaceships. We might well think of 412 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 1: them in terms of something that is meant to venture 413 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 1: beyond our atmosphere, and here we have one of the specifically, 414 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 1: this was referring to the terror and the Arabis. I'm 415 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,280 Speaker 1: not quite sure about the investigator, but I'm assuming that 416 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,119 Speaker 1: it may have been a similar in a similar fashion, 417 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,760 Speaker 1: may have been a very advanced ship. But here they are, 418 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: with this ship essentially arriving at an alien landscape. You know, 419 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,880 Speaker 1: it must have just been such a strange site to behold. 420 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:10,200 Speaker 1: Here you are this far flung an ultimately very very hostile, 421 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:14,520 Speaker 1: very dangerous environment, and here here are shores where things 422 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 1: are bloody and burning, and it's like a chemical vat. 423 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:21,359 Speaker 1: You bring a piece of it inside the ship and 424 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 1: it begins to burn a hole through the table in 425 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:25,480 Speaker 1: front of you. It's amazing. 426 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, So here I guess we come to the 427 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:37,920 Speaker 2: question of what is actually causing these hills to smoke. 428 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 2: You might assume, based on background knowledge, that well, okay, 429 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:44,719 Speaker 2: if there's heat and sulfurous gas coming out of the ground, 430 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:48,600 Speaker 2: the source is volcanic, right, that would be the obvious assumption. 431 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:50,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's where your mind it simply goes. 432 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:54,879 Speaker 2: But in this case, no, I found one source on 433 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,879 Speaker 2: this that was pretty helpful. It was a paper called 434 00:24:58,000 --> 00:24:59,760 Speaker 2: why do the Smoking Hills Smoke? 435 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 1: Why? 436 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 2: It was published in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 437 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:11,400 Speaker 2: in nineteen eighty four by W. H. Matthews and R. M. Buston. 438 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,120 Speaker 2: And this paper invokes a term that I'd never heard before. 439 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:20,439 Speaker 2: It refers to areas of fire baked rock. As I 440 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:22,520 Speaker 2: think this word is French, so I think it would 441 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,960 Speaker 2: be pronounced bocan, but its boc a n n ees 442 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,120 Speaker 2: and the authors write that you find these these fire 443 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 2: baked rocks in quote cretaceous mudstones along sea cliffs and 444 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,800 Speaker 2: in areas of recent slumping. So the fire baking of 445 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 2: the rocks and the earth lead to these weird patterns 446 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 2: of coloration that can easily be seen with the naked eye, 447 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 2: and that we heard described in the literary sources we 448 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 2: just mentioned. So these color changes include bleaching and reddening 449 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,879 Speaker 2: of the mudstone, which is otherwise dark in color. And 450 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:57,480 Speaker 2: these colors can remain even after one of the bocans 451 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:02,239 Speaker 2: has stopped burning. And in places where these rocks are 452 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:05,199 Speaker 2: still burning and baking, you get smoke pouring out, you 453 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,439 Speaker 2: get sulfurous fumes as well as high ground temperatures. So 454 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:12,920 Speaker 2: the earth you walk on gets hot, So what's the cause. Well, 455 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 2: the authors of this paper, they performed a number of 456 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:22,119 Speaker 2: different analyzes including petrographic, mineralogical, chemical, and calorific analyzes, and 457 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 2: they determined that quote the bocan are fumed by oxidation 458 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:31,640 Speaker 2: of pyrite and organic matter. With heating of the strata 459 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 2: by oxidation, combustible gases are driven off that may burn 460 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:41,560 Speaker 2: in restricted areas, resulting in localized melting of the strata. So, 461 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:43,720 Speaker 2: in reading this and a few other sources and putting 462 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:47,200 Speaker 2: things together, I think I understand this now and trying 463 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 2: to put my understanding into other words, A lot of 464 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:54,359 Speaker 2: the rock in this area is mudstone or type of 465 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:59,040 Speaker 2: shale rock. Mudstone is a sedimentary rock that can contain 466 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:03,919 Speaker 2: hydrocarbon or organic content. So some amount of fossil fuel 467 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,520 Speaker 2: is naturally present in this rock, even if in low concentrations, 468 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:10,800 Speaker 2: And in this case, one of the main carbon constituents 469 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 2: seems to be a form of lignite, which is a 470 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:17,600 Speaker 2: soft brown type of coal that is generally formed by 471 00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:22,440 Speaker 2: the underground compression of peat. But this rock also contains 472 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:26,720 Speaker 2: a significant amount of iron pyrite, a mineral form of 473 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:31,879 Speaker 2: iron sulfide. Which is also known as fools gold. 474 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, I think it's always a shame 475 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 1: we call it fools gold because it implies that it's 476 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,400 Speaker 1: in to a certain extent, that it's ugly and it's 477 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 1: without value. But pyrite can look quite impressive, you know. 478 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,919 Speaker 1: I've seen examples of it in in mineral museums before, 479 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: and of course in the fact that it can be 480 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:54,760 Speaker 1: used to ignite something. I believe it was used in 481 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:57,879 Speaker 1: firearms in the past. 482 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:01,359 Speaker 2: I did not know that, but that would make sense 483 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 2: now reading about this, because so what's going on here 484 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:09,359 Speaker 2: is that when the cliff faces erode here at the 485 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 2: smoking Hills and new faces of the mudstone strata are 486 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 2: exposed to oxygen in the atmosphere, the carbon based fuel 487 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:23,520 Speaker 2: and the natural iron pyrite together undergo oxidation, a chemical 488 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 2: reaction which leads to heating. The oxidation of the iron 489 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 2: pyrite here is an exothermic reaction. It heats up the 490 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:35,199 Speaker 2: surrounding rock and this oxidation based heating leads to the 491 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,800 Speaker 2: release of flammable gases that are embedded in the rock. 492 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:41,920 Speaker 2: And so the authors think when these gases are released, 493 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:46,040 Speaker 2: they become a form of fuel evaporating in an environment 494 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:49,080 Speaker 2: of extreme heat with exposured oxygen. So here you have 495 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 2: the three magic ingredients, right, you have fuel escaping, it's 496 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 2: very hot, and you have oxygen nearby. So they burn, 497 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,400 Speaker 2: and these fires further heat and melt the st of 498 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:04,000 Speaker 2: the rock. And I believe the implication is that this melting, 499 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 2: this melting and baking helps continue to reveal new faces 500 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:12,360 Speaker 2: of strata to the atmosphere so that more oxidation can 501 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,720 Speaker 2: happen and the process can just continue. It's auto ignition. 502 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,720 Speaker 2: It ignites automatically by being exposed to the oxygen, and 503 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 2: the process is self sustaining. The author's right that you 504 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:27,240 Speaker 2: tend to find these bocan only in places where the 505 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 2: strata of sedimentary rock has been suddenly exposed to the atmosphere, 506 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 2: maybe by a landslide or some of their form of 507 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:40,040 Speaker 2: erosion or erosion that's left behind after the retreat of glaciers. Now, 508 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 2: coming back to these historical accounts, While the stories from 509 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 2: Richardson and the McClure expedition are the earliest written accounts 510 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 2: of the Smoking Hills in New Vialuet, oral traditions about 511 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,720 Speaker 2: the mountains have been in circulation for much longer. As 512 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,880 Speaker 2: I mentioned, the traditional name for this place is ing 513 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 2: near Youuat, which means big fire. And this article by 514 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 2: Charles Arnold. Then after it recounts the literary section, it 515 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,760 Speaker 2: goes into a section on the oral tradition, including one 516 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 2: excellent story that was told to the Danish anthropologist Canued 517 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:19,000 Speaker 2: Rasmussen in nineteen twenty four by a person living in 518 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:23,240 Speaker 2: the Cape Bathhurst, Aia named Alnaaritsayik. So this is the 519 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 2: story told by alnaarit Sayik, recounted to Rasmusen and quoted 520 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:32,280 Speaker 2: in Arnold. Here in the early infancy of man, people 521 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:35,280 Speaker 2: were never alone, whether they lived in a settlement or 522 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:38,680 Speaker 2: were traveling on long journeys. They were surrounded by a 523 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:42,560 Speaker 2: spirit people who lived as human beings, and were in 524 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 2: fact human beings, except that they were invisible. Their bodies 525 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,600 Speaker 2: were not for our eyes, or their voices for our ears. 526 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,800 Speaker 2: And when people traveled and pitched camp and began to 527 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:56,920 Speaker 2: build their snow huts, one might see round about the 528 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,280 Speaker 2: snow drifts that the snow blocks began to move, being 529 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 2: lifted out of the drifts and piled together into a 530 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:07,360 Speaker 2: snow house, which seemed to grow of itself. Occasionally one 531 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,080 Speaker 2: might see the glitter of a copper knife, and that 532 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,480 Speaker 2: was all. They did not mind people coming into their houses, 533 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 2: which were arranged just like those of human beings. All 534 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,000 Speaker 2: their belongings were visible, and people could trade with them 535 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,680 Speaker 2: very profitably. If one wished to buy something, all that 536 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,240 Speaker 2: was necessary was to point to it and at the 537 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:29,479 Speaker 2: same time show what one was prepared to give for it. 538 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 2: If the spirit people agreed the object required, lifted itself 539 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:36,920 Speaker 2: up and moved towards the man who wanted it. But 540 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,200 Speaker 2: if they declined the bargain, the object remained where it was. 541 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,600 Speaker 2: So people were never alone. They always had small, silent 542 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:48,240 Speaker 2: and invisible spirits around them. But one day it happened 543 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:51,719 Speaker 2: that during a halt, a man seized his knife and cried, 544 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,440 Speaker 2: what do we want with these people who were always 545 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:58,160 Speaker 2: right on our heels. Saying this, he flourished his knife 546 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:00,320 Speaker 2: in the air and thrust it in the direction of 547 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 2: the snow huts that had made themselves. Not a sound 548 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:07,360 Speaker 2: was heard, but the knife was covered in blood. From 549 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:10,920 Speaker 2: that moment the spirits went away. Never again did anyone 550 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,160 Speaker 2: see the wondrous sight of snow drifts forming themselves into 551 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 2: snow huts when one made camp and forever the people 552 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:21,680 Speaker 2: lost their silent, invisible guardian spirits. It was said that 553 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 2: they had gone to live inside the mountains in order 554 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:28,760 Speaker 2: to hide from man who had mocked and wounded their feelings. 555 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:31,720 Speaker 2: That is why to this day one can see the 556 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 2: mountains smoking from the enormous cooking fires flaming inside them. 557 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:38,120 Speaker 1: Oh wow, that's wonderful. 558 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:40,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought this was beautiful. It also made me 559 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 2: so sad that like the humans betrayed their invisible companions. 560 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, But it also of course reminds me of 561 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:53,440 Speaker 1: various other accounts that you see, particularly like Irish traditions, 562 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:57,720 Speaker 1: where you have these traditions of the former people or 563 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:02,000 Speaker 1: other intelligent being be they some sort of spirit folk 564 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,720 Speaker 1: or what have you, or something very humanoid in form 565 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,280 Speaker 1: and they've been driven into the earth by the newer people. 566 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 1: And we see a similar trend here. Yeah. Yeah. 567 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:16,000 Speaker 2: Arnold Site's story is remembered by other Inuvialuate people of 568 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:20,160 Speaker 2: the present describing their memories of the stories about these people, 569 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:23,200 Speaker 2: describing the smoke from the hills as the cooking fires 570 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:26,440 Speaker 2: of the little people who live inside the mountains. And 571 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:29,880 Speaker 2: there was one story he recorded that really struck me. 572 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 2: This was wonderful. This was quoting a source named Fred 573 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:37,200 Speaker 2: Wolke who said, quote, they are as big as a 574 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:40,640 Speaker 2: fork that you eat with. They use a caribou's ear 575 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:43,720 Speaker 2: for a parka. They turn it inside out and they 576 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:46,480 Speaker 2: just have to put it on, just take the inside 577 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,640 Speaker 2: off skin it already made parka. 578 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:49,600 Speaker 1: Oh wow. 579 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:52,680 Speaker 2: One thing that strikes me as interesting is how there's 580 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:57,800 Speaker 2: a convergence on everyone identifying in some way the smoking 581 00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 2: hills or in near you at as as artificial in nature. 582 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:06,240 Speaker 2: So in these oral traditions, the smoke coming off of 583 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,800 Speaker 2: the hills or the cooking fires of the little people 584 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,919 Speaker 2: or the invisible people living inside the mountain, but also 585 00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:17,840 Speaker 2: some of the earliest written records, like Mirching's compared the 586 00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:21,319 Speaker 2: area to a huge chemical factory. Richard compared it to 587 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,440 Speaker 2: a brick field. Both of these are products of human industry. 588 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:28,480 Speaker 2: It's interesting that everybody seems to look at these things 589 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:30,960 Speaker 2: and think artificial, made by people. 590 00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean we just as Earth as the fire planet, 591 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:36,759 Speaker 1: like we are the people of fire. We are the 592 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:41,920 Speaker 1: only organism that has come to master it and created 593 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:46,600 Speaker 1: works with it. So yeah, it makes sense that the 594 00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 1: various cultures would look to this and their mind would 595 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:52,360 Speaker 1: at least temporarily go in the same direction. 596 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:54,840 Speaker 2: In any case, coming back to the question about some 597 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:57,920 Speaker 2: of the longest burning fires, I guess part of this 598 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,040 Speaker 2: would be dependent on what you're what you're counting as 599 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:02,839 Speaker 2: a fire when you look at some thing, So, like 600 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 2: I think the Smoking Hills, you will often not maybe 601 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:09,560 Speaker 2: sometimes you will, but you will often not be seeing 602 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:12,879 Speaker 2: big gouts of flames like you would see at a campfire. 603 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:16,680 Speaker 2: You'll just see this continuous smoking and baking of the rock. 604 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,239 Speaker 2: And so the burning there I think would be more 605 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:23,920 Speaker 2: akin to what you'd see probably with like a burning coal, 606 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:26,000 Speaker 2: you know, a piece of coal that has been ignited. 607 00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:31,919 Speaker 2: But considering that, we can know for pretty sure that 608 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 2: the Smoking Hills have probably been burning for hundreds or 609 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:38,640 Speaker 2: thousands of years. And there are multiple ways you know this. 610 00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:41,040 Speaker 2: I think there are some geological methods. But actually came 611 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:45,360 Speaker 2: across one study offering one interesting piece of evidence for 612 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:48,280 Speaker 2: how long these hills had been burning that I wouldn't 613 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:51,080 Speaker 2: have thought of, which is archaeology. So there was a 614 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:55,840 Speaker 2: paper by Raymond J. LeBlanc in American Antiquity in nineteen 615 00:35:55,920 --> 00:36:01,120 Speaker 2: ninety one called prehistoric clinkery use on the Cape Bathurst Peninsula, 616 00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:05,799 Speaker 2: Northwest Territories, Canada, the dynamics of formation and procurement, and 617 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:09,279 Speaker 2: talking about the background going into this study, LeBlanc says, 618 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,920 Speaker 2: quote fieldwork conducted on the Cape Bathurst Peninsula and that's 619 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,840 Speaker 2: where the Smoking Hills are has resulted in the discovery 620 00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:20,560 Speaker 2: of seventy five sites representing occupation spanning more than three 621 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:24,359 Speaker 2: thousand years. Nearly all of these sites are characterized by 622 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:28,279 Speaker 2: the predominant use of a distinctive rock called a clinker, 623 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:33,200 Speaker 2: resembling a basalt to obsidian like material. It is formed 624 00:36:33,239 --> 00:36:37,680 Speaker 2: by the spontaneous combustion of local organic rich shales. So 625 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:41,839 Speaker 2: some of the weird baked rocks left over at these 626 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:47,319 Speaker 2: auto ignition Sitesking Neruat these rocks have been used to 627 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,280 Speaker 2: make tools by the people living in the area, spanning 628 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:54,200 Speaker 2: back thousands of years. And I found that so interesting too, 629 00:36:54,239 --> 00:36:57,400 Speaker 2: that you would take these these strange clinker rocks and 630 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:02,600 Speaker 2: turn them into technology. 631 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:06,600 Speaker 1: From this site that we interpret through the lens of fiotechnology. Interesting. 632 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:09,120 Speaker 2: Now, one more paper I wanted to mention before I'm 633 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:12,520 Speaker 2: done with the Smoking Hills is by Magda Havas and 634 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:16,439 Speaker 2: Thomas C. Hutchinson, published in Nature in nineteen eighty three 635 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:21,400 Speaker 2: called the Smoking Hills natural acidification of an aquatic ecosystem. 636 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:25,200 Speaker 2: So you remember how those early reports of the area 637 00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:29,120 Speaker 2: they said that the water of nearby ponds was foul 638 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:33,200 Speaker 2: and sour. Well, we know why that happens now. This 639 00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:35,640 Speaker 2: is due to the acidification of the water by the 640 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:40,640 Speaker 2: sulfur dioxide produced by these mineral burning sites. So the 641 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:44,000 Speaker 2: water is very acidic, and this has actually changed the 642 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:48,120 Speaker 2: composition of the local microbial life and insect life and 643 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,160 Speaker 2: stuff the life that inhabits the area. So the author 644 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:54,279 Speaker 2: is here right quote. In an area of typically alkaline 645 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:57,680 Speaker 2: ponds with pH above eight point zero, ponds within the 646 00:37:57,719 --> 00:38:01,640 Speaker 2: fumigation zone have been acidified below a pH of two 647 00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:08,799 Speaker 2: point zero. Elevated concentrations of metals including aluminium, iron, zinc, nickel, manganase, 648 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:13,520 Speaker 2: and cadmium occur in these acidic ponds. Soils and sediments 649 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:16,640 Speaker 2: have also been chemically altered. The biota in these acidic 650 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:21,160 Speaker 2: ponds are characteristic of acidic environments worldwide, in contrast to 651 00:38:21,239 --> 00:38:25,920 Speaker 2: the typically arctic biota in adjacent alkaline ponds. So the 652 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:30,200 Speaker 2: burning of the earth alters the chemical characteristics of the landscape, 653 00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:35,280 Speaker 2: which in turn changed the bioecology. The chain reaction started 654 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:38,320 Speaker 2: thousands of years ago when these cliff faces and rocks 655 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:43,919 Speaker 2: were eroded and exposed the minerals to oxygen. The oxidation 656 00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:46,960 Speaker 2: of the pyride and the organic contents of the mudstone 657 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:50,040 Speaker 2: and the burning began. And this led to, over the 658 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:53,520 Speaker 2: thousands of years, a complete transformation of the surrounding ecosystem 659 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:58,440 Speaker 2: into one of these strange extremophile, acid rich biosystems. 660 00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:03,360 Speaker 1: Wow, that's import pressive, you know. And in thinking about 661 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:06,840 Speaker 1: this and thinking about you know, extreme environments and and 662 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:09,400 Speaker 1: so forth, and then also kind of going back to 663 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:13,000 Speaker 1: the idea of these these these these ships being sort 664 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:18,280 Speaker 1: of like space ships sailing upon these these strange, alien 665 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:23,560 Speaker 1: seeming environment. I ran across a twenty twenty two paper 666 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:27,920 Speaker 1: in Chemical Geology the Journal Chemical Geology by Graspy at 667 00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:31,440 Speaker 1: All that looked at the Smoking Hills as a possible 668 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:35,960 Speaker 1: analog for some geological conditions that have been observed on Mars. 669 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:42,120 Speaker 1: Just to read a quick quote, oxidative weathering of this 670 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:48,200 Speaker 1: unit creates extensive gerocite rich deposits and banded gerocite and 671 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:53,440 Speaker 1: pilos silicate rich mudstones similar to those observed on Mars. 672 00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:57,319 Speaker 1: So I read through this paper here and it's it's 673 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:01,239 Speaker 1: it's pretty pretty deeply. It's the Chemical Geology Journals. 674 00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:01,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a. 675 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:05,400 Speaker 1: Bit dense for my taste anyway, but the author is, 676 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:08,840 Speaker 1: if I'm understanding this correctly, they're suggesting that such signs 677 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:13,200 Speaker 1: on Mars, some similar looking details that we've observed on 678 00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:17,200 Speaker 1: Mars via the probes we've sent there, if we interpret 679 00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:20,560 Speaker 1: them through the lens of the smoking hills, it could 680 00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:26,000 Speaker 1: possibly suggest a more habitable period in mars ancient past. 681 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:29,640 Speaker 1: So that's fascinating to think about that as well. 682 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:33,160 Speaker 2: Absolutely so, I think maybe this is where we need 683 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:35,799 Speaker 2: to cap it for part one here, But there's so 684 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:38,280 Speaker 2: much more to talk about because the world is full 685 00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:43,319 Speaker 2: of surprising and fascinating naturally fueled flames, and I think 686 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:46,920 Speaker 2: it will make for a carnival of geological wonders to 687 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:49,240 Speaker 2: explore in the next part of this series. 688 00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:52,000 Speaker 1: That's right, So tune in on Thursday as we continue 689 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:55,200 Speaker 1: with more Fire from the Rocks. In the meantime, if 690 00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:57,360 Speaker 1: you'd like to check out other episodes of Stuff to 691 00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:00,400 Speaker 1: Blow your mind, you can find them on Tuesdays and 692 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:03,000 Speaker 1: Thursdays in the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast feed. 693 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:06,640 Speaker 1: I think most of the invention episodes that we recorded, 694 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:09,600 Speaker 1: several of which had dealt with fire technology and fire 695 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:13,320 Speaker 1: related technology. I think most of those have been republished, 696 00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:15,360 Speaker 1: if not all of them have been republished in this feed, 697 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:18,839 Speaker 1: but if not, you can also find the podcast feed 698 00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:22,479 Speaker 1: for Invention out there. That was a fun though short 699 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:24,680 Speaker 1: lived show that we did on the side dealing with 700 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:28,319 Speaker 1: inventions in the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast feed, 701 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:31,399 Speaker 1: though we also do listener mail. On Mondays, we do 702 00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:35,040 Speaker 1: a short form artifact or monster fact on Wednesdays, and 703 00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:37,440 Speaker 1: on Friday we do something called Weird House Cinema. That's 704 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:40,120 Speaker 1: our time to set aside most serious concerns and just 705 00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:42,080 Speaker 1: talk about a strange film. 706 00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:45,000 Speaker 2: Huge things. As always to our excellent audio producer Seth 707 00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:47,680 Speaker 2: Nicholas Johnson. If you would like to get in touch 708 00:41:47,719 --> 00:41:50,120 Speaker 2: with us with feedback on this episode or any other, 709 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:52,200 Speaker 2: to suggest a topic for the future, or just to 710 00:41:52,239 --> 00:41:55,240 Speaker 2: say hello, you can email us at contact at stuff 711 00:41:55,280 --> 00:42:05,000 Speaker 2: to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your 712 00:42:05,040 --> 00:42:08,120 Speaker 2: Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from my 713 00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:11,560 Speaker 2: Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever 714 00:42:11,560 --> 00:42:26,080 Speaker 2: you're listening to your favorite shows.