WEBVTT - Listener Mail: Cats, Dogs and Stoneground 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:06.080 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:12.120 Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Listener mail. 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:13.720 This is Robert Lamb. 0:00:13.560 --> 0:00:16.279 And this is Joe McCormick. And it is Monday, the 0:00:16.360 --> 0:00:18.640 day of each week that we read back messages from 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:21.319 the Stuff to Blow Your Mind email address. If you 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:23.479 have never gotten in touch before, why not send us 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:26.920 an email. You can reach us at contact at stuff 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:29.640 to Blow your Mind dot com. Whatever you want to 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:31.760 send us fair game. But of course we always appreciate 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:34.240 if you have something interesting to add to a topic 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:36.960 we've talked about on the show, and Rob if you 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:39.239 don't mind, I am going to kick things off by 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:42.600 reading this message from Elena, which does just that. It 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:47.680 adds to our series on the monstrous cats of Japanese legend. 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:49.400 Go for it, let's hear it. 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:53.480 So I think this is probably connecting to our digression 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:55.960 in that series where we were talking about why it 0:00:56.040 --> 0:01:00.800 is that sometimes cats seem like a powerful beings in 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:08.959 a way that other domestic animals do not. Elena says, Hi, 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:11.640 Robert and Joe, given the recent episodes about cats, I 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:16.240 wanted to share the cat entry in the first edition 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:21.919 of the Encyclopedia Britannica seventeen sixty eight to seventeen seventy one. 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:25.560 I read about this recently, and then she includes just 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:29.080 a paragraph here. I shall now read from the eighteenth 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:33.920 century Book of Wisdom. It says, of all domestic animals, 0:01:33.959 --> 0:01:37.399 the character of the cat is the most equivocal and suspicious. 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:41.000 He has kept not for any amiable qualities, but purely 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:44.360 with a view to banish rats, mice, and other noxious 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:48.400 animals from our houses, granaries, et cetera. Actually it doesn't 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:51.640 say et cetera. It says ampersan c. I don't know 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:56.040 how you pronounce that. Although cats, when young are playful 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:59.040 and gay, they possess at the same time an innate 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:03.520 malice and perverse disposition, which increases as they grow up, 0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:08.040 in which education learns them to conceal but never to subdue. 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:12.160 Constantly bent upon theft and rapid though in a domestic 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:15.880 state they are full of cunning and dissimulation, they conceal 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:20.040 all their designs, seese every opportunity of doing mischief, and 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:23.360 then fly from punishment. They easily take on the habits 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:26.840 of society, but never its manners, for they have only 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:31.440 the appearance of friendship and attachment. This disingenuity of character 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:35.120 is betrayed by the obliquity of their movements and the 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:38.400 ambiguity of their looks. In a word, the cat is 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:45.280 totally destitute of friendship. He thinks and acts for himself alone. Man, 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:49.480 they did encyclopedias different back then. That is so good. 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:52.000 I had to look it up and see for myself. 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:56.359 So Elena was telling the truth. This is indeed what 0:02:56.440 --> 0:03:00.280 the original Encyclopedia Britannica said about the cat. But the 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.440 entry does not stop there. That's just like the second 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.720 paragraph of a longer thing. And there is so much 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:08.520 other good stuff there. So rob, do you mind if 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:09.880 I share a few more titbits. 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:14.120 Let's have some more blatant anti cat propaganda from a 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:14.960 bunch of dead men. 0:03:15.080 --> 0:03:19.000 Yes, okay, okay. It also says the cat is incapable 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:23.640 of restraint and consequently of being educated to any extent. However, 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:26.240 we are told that the Greeks in the island of 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:30.320 Cyprus trained this animal to catch and devour serpents with 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:34.280 which that island was greatly infested. This, however, was not 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:38.040 the effect of obedience, but of a general taste for slaughter, 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:42.360 for he delights in watching, attacking, and destroying all kinds 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:46.440 of weak animals indifferently. He has no delicacy of scent. 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.680 Like the dog, he hunts only by the eye. Neither 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:53.120 does he properly pursue. He only lies in wait and 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:56.560 attacks animals by surprise, And after he has caught them, 0:03:56.840 --> 0:03:59.760 he sports with and torments them for a long time, 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:03.520 when at last kills them parentheses, when his belly is full, 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:08.640 purely to gratify his sanguinary appetite. Okay, okay, not enough, right, 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:12.280 you want to hear more cats. Lander author here says, 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:15.400 although cats live in our houses, they can hardly be 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:18.880 called domestic animals. They may rather be said to enjoy 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:21.760 full liberty, for they never act but according to their 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:25.599 own inclination. Besides, the greatest part of them are half wild. 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.680 They do not know their masters, and frequently only the 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:34.000 barns outhouses amper san sea, unless when pressed with hunger. 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:38.680 Cats have a natural antipathy at water, cold and bad smells. 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:41.080 They love to bask in the sun and lie in 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:45.400 warm places. They likewise have an affection for certain aromatic smells. 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:48.840 They are transported with the root of the valerian. 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:52.120 I have read that the valerian root has a similar 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:55.920 effect on them to catnip, but I can't remember if 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:57.159 I've tried it. I may have tried it. 0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:00.000 What actually is catnip? What is the plant? 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:06.520 The plant joe is a Nepetacatarium, also known as cat'swort 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:11.479 and cat miant. So yeah, it's a particular variety of 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:16.400 plant that they like. It has a psychotropic effect on them. 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:19.159 Okay, I'm gonna wrap this up with two more short selections. 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:24.000 The editors of Encyclopedia Britannica say cats eat slowly and 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:28.360 are particularly fond of fishes. They drink frequently. Their sleep 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:31.600 is light, and they often assume the appearance of sleeping 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:35.960 when in reality they are meditating mischief. They walk slowly 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:38.960 without making any noise. As their hair is always dry, 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:43.000 it easily gives out an electrical fire, which becomes visible 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:47.000 when rubbed across in the dark. Their eyes likewise sparkle 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:51.440 in the dark like diamonds. The wild or savage cat 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:55.720 couples with the domestic one, and is consequently the same species. 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:59.520 It is not unusual for domestic cats, both male and female, 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:03.320 when stimulated by love, to repair to the woods in 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:05.279 quest of these savage cats. 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:10.880 Wow, I think I have I have heard descriptions of 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:20.520 purely fantastic animals that contained fewer lies than this particular 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:22.760 rite up. I mean it sounds. I mean, some of 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:26.880 it is sort of like like exaggeration of cat character 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:28.920 as it is often observed, but a lot it's just like, 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:31.679 where'd they even get this had this person been around 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:32.480 a cat at all? 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:37.200 Well, I'm struck by how much of this is is 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:41.640 like not even in the realm of descriptive fact true 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:45.239 or false. It's just sort of like a personal evaluation 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:50.039 and speculation about the inner life of a cat. The 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:53.120 stuff that like would not, whether it was true or false, 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:55.320 be in an encyclopedia. 0:06:55.360 --> 0:06:55.640 Today. 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:59.960 This is way more just like qualitative and almost appreciate 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:03.080 and lyrical than than I'm used to. 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:05.680 It's Yeah, it makes me want to hear that the 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:08.680 dog entry. I wonder if it's like really glowing and 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:11.520 they're like the dog is an animal of wonder and 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:16.280 kindness that never smells of excrement and so forth. I mean, 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:19.120 one can only imagine. 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:22.720 It is, though, like so expressive and like relentless in 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:26.080 the way it develops its picture of cats. It's almost 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:28.760 like one of those ancient Mesopotamian hymns about a god. 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:32.840 You know, there's just like these repetitive forms of statements 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:35.480 that are just like dwelling on the same idea but 0:07:35.560 --> 0:07:37.800 expressing it in different words over and over. 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:40.040 You know, I went ahead and looked it up. You 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.880 can pull all this up on the Britannica dot com website, 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:45.600 pull up the old entries from the first edition, and yeah, 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:48.560 the dog entry is full of just blatant pro dog 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:52.800 propaganda about how, Yes, in his savage state, he is fierce, 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:57.080 cruel and voracious, but when civilized and accustomed to live 0:07:57.120 --> 0:08:00.600 with men, he is possessed of every amiable quality. He 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:03.000 seems to have no other desire than to please and 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:07.560 protect his master. He has gentle obedience, submissive and faithful, 0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:09.320 and so forth he goes. 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:13.480 It says, it says, he will this, This seems on brand. 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:16.080 He will not eat the bones of a goose, crow 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:19.600 or hawk, but he devours even the putrid flesh of 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:25.360 most other animals. What that can't be true? 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:28.440 The dog runs around when about to lie down, in 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:31.840 order to discover the most proper situation. That seems like 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:35.800 a just a flowery way of saying. He like just 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:36.680 turns around before. 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:38.120 Oh, so the dog walks in circles. 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:40.840 Yeah, yes, but runs around. That makes it sound like 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:45.000 I mean, I mean, all these descriptions just take actual, 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.040 realistic observations and like twirl them into some sort of 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:53.280 poetic maelstrom. Now this this has some some has some 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:55.920 fact to it, I think, for the excrements of a 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:59.959 dog destroy almost every vegetable or animal substance. They are 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:03.120 such a putrid nature that if a man's shoe touches 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:07.680 them when recently expelled, that particular part will rot in 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:10.199 a few days. I guess part of the shoe will rot. 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:10.800 What. 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.760 Yeah, I mean, I've stepped in some dog crap before, 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:17.280 but I've never noticed that it made my shoe rot. 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:19.719 That's they were feeding them differently back then. 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:23.199 Oh, here's some more science facts. When oppressed with sickness, 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:26.000 to which he is very subject, especially in the beginning 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:29.240 of summer, in order to procure a puke, he eats 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:32.280 the leaves of the quickened grass, the bearded wheat grass, 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:36.439 or the rough cock's foot grass, which gives him immediate relief. 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:39.200 Oh. 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:43.360 Also, when he steals a piece of flesh. As conscious 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:46.120 of the immorality of the action, he runs off with 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:51.120 his tail hanging and bent betwixt his feet. I think 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:55.440 the editors of Encyclopedia Britannica first edition did not have 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:58.760 large enough sample sizes of dogs and cats to observe 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:02.000 when drafting these entries. They just got like one guy 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:05.280 who hated cats and had seen two or three cats, ever, 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:07.800 and he did the whole thing. And this guy doing 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:10.400 the dog entry is just talking about his dog, who's 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:11.240 the sweety. 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:14.560 Pie And that one dog Poopy stepped in that rotted 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:18.199 his boot, Yeah, rotted his boot. Still, this is remarkable. 0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:21.120 I did not know that the ill Britannica entries that 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:22.800 had this much wonder in them. 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:26.640 Yeah, despite their dubious quality as a source of true information, 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:27.760 they're wonderfully written. 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:30.640 All right. It's not all cats and dogs. Though. We 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:34.800 also heard from listeners about our episodes on shadows. This 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:43.480 one comes to us from Matthew Good Evening Team. First off, 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:46.800 a great series on shadows and the cultural attachments to them. 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:49.160 I've always thought that shadows were also a way of 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:52.840 showing one's vitality, the shadows shrinking when one ages because 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:55.680 of the human body stooping and shrinking. But that's just me. 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:59.160 On the aspect of gaming itself, there is a great 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:02.800 twist on the show from Dark Sun. Dark Sun being 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:07.679 a a world in the Dungeons and Dragons universe. I 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:09.480 don't think it. I don't think it has been has 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:14.079 yet been reintroduced into fifth edition, but it had a 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:17.120 lot of great art back in the day. Gerald Brahm 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:20.040 was involved in much of it. Is like a world 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:24.200 that's been destroyed by sorcery and wizardry and now just 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:27.880 like a barren, post apocalyptic world for the most part. 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:31.200 So sort of like Dungeons and Dragons meets Mad Max. 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:35.960 Yeah yeah, kind of, Okay, so the author continues here. 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:39.079 They are known as the Shadow Giants, and they are 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:42.800 not actually giants compressed lore. The previous inhabitants of the 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:45.960 Dark Sun's setting disappeared into the shadow plane and they 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:49.440 were taken over by the shadows themselves. Shadow Giants are 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:52.600 actually hobbit halfling size when there is one hundred percent 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:55.520 light all around them. The changes come when the lighting 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:58.920 is reduced. If someone were to hold only a torch, 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:01.520 these creatures would grow to giant size and have the 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:04.800 same strength and temperament as a giant would. It is 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:07.680 a delightful twist on shadows and the trope of carrying 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:11.120 a light source. If you have one light source on you, 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:14.000 you doom yourself and your party to the destruction at 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:16.800 the hands of these giant beasts. You would be better 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:19.720 off submitting to the darkness completely and letting the shadows 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:22.720 consume you, especially if you can't get the light of 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:26.040 the sun to bathe the area for every step you take. 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:28.840 Just imagine how chilling it would be to have your 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:32.120 trusty night light betray you because you wanted to keep 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:35.280 the shadows at bay. Great shows is always much appreciated, 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:36.800 and I am looking forward to more so I can 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:40.079 start jotting down some ideas. All the best, take care, 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:41.920 and you are more than welcome to use this email 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:46.280 in any broadcast or podcast or shadow cast as you wish. 0:12:46.679 --> 0:12:49.880 Matthew, I knew about none of this, but I'm a 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.360 little confused on So why is it worse to have 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:55.040 a one single light source than to have none at all? 0:12:56.760 --> 0:13:01.320 Well, I'm assuming if you're encountering this creature, I guess 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:03.720 it would depend on where you were encountering it. Right, 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:05.720 If you were, So let's let's put it together. Let's 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:08.160 let's imagine the encounter. I guess. Let's say we're in 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:11.959 a in a room with sort of like mild ambient 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:16.600 lighting from outside. Right, what kind of shadow does this 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:20.760 is cast by this hobbit being hobbit size being, and 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:24.520 then by having a light source in the room, are 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:27.880 you creating an elongated shadow? And I'm guessing that's kind 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:28.800 of the idea here. 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:33.640 Okay, yeah, directional light source will Okay. 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:37.160 But this does make me interested to look up the 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:40.000 old monster entries for Dark Sun. I never had any 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:42.960 of the Dark Sun material when I was younger, and 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:44.760 like I said, they haven't reintroduced it, so I haven't 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:47.760 picked up anything new for it. So I am curious, 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:49.840 though I might have to dive into it. 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:01.679 All right, I'm going to do another message about shadows. 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:05.920 This one is from well. I don't think this person 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.280 meant to be anonymous, but they did not provide a name, 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:11.360 so we'll say anonymous for now. If you want to 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:13.600 add a name next time you write in, go for it. 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:17.440 Anonymous says, greetings, Robert and Joe. I just listened to 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:19.960 the two parts of your episodes on shadows. You shared 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:22.320 a lot of interesting aspects of the topic, many I 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:25.200 was not aware of, such as the halo effect of 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:29.120 do or highligenshine. At the end, you mentioned that three 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:33.520 D objects are often considered quote shadows of some higher 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:37.640 dimensional entity or force, like a temple being a shadow 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:41.320 of a god. The fact that shadows are always a 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:46.120 dimension lower than the object casting them actually allows them 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:49.240 to be used in the reverse. Shadows are one of 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:51.960 the few phenomena that can be actively used in an 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:56.680 attempt to peer into or understand higher dimensional things. This 0:14:56.840 --> 0:15:00.720 is probably why they are associated with metaphysical things ghosts 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:05.720 and gods. Mathematicians and physicists also use this property of shadow, though, 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:10.040 to explore higher dimensional phenomena. The curvature of spacetime is 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:14.160 higher dimensional than we can perceive, but the shadows of 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:17.080 its effects can be tracked in three dimensions just as 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:21.480 easily as our two dimensional shadow on the ground. In 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:25.400 that case, three dimensional shadows maybe the most a three 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:31.000 dimensional being like humans can perceive of any higher dimensional entity, force, 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:35.200 or phenomenon. The second connection I wanted to point out 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:38.920 involves eclipses, with two major eclipses this month, and this 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:42.240 would have been October of twenty twenty three, the solar 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:45.280 Ring of Fire eclipse on October fourteenth, and the lunar 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:48.720 eclipse that the other side of the Earth saw this week. 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:52.640 Eclipse shadows have been more in my consciousness. One of 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:56.880 the fascinating shadow effects is seeing multiple partial eclipse crescents 0:15:57.240 --> 0:16:01.680 in the shadows under trees. During assault eclipse, the leaves 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:06.320 are acting as camera obscura or pinhole cameras, reversing the 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:10.600 image of the eclipse itself. Yeah, I remember seeing this. 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:14.480 I didn't get into the path of totality for the 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:18.200 twenty twenty three eclipse, but the last one that came 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:19.960 through around this region it was years ago. 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:20.240 Now. 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:24.080 I went out to a university campus in Tennessee to 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:29.080 watch with my family, and yeah, it was really great. 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:31.040 I was standing near a tree, and I remember exactly 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:36.240 this thing, like all the little bits of light filtering 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:40.600 through gaps in the foliage on the trees became little 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:44.920 like pinhole camera representations of the crescent of the sun 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:47.280 as it was being blocked out. It was really cool. 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.240 But the listener goes on the reason we do not 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:53.560 normally notice this odd camera effect within shadows is because 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:57.840 our light source is usually round, reversing a round object 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:00.840 still gives you a round object. There is no difference 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:04.200 or contrast. To see that this is happening all the time. 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:07.760 You can intentionally use the same effect in photography with 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:11.720 lens flares. If you photograph the sun rising or setting 0:17:11.760 --> 0:17:15.760 at the horizon or against an object halfway there, the 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:19.840 light source will be a half circle, the lens flare 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:24.360 created will be a reversed half circle. So shadows are 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:26.639 as much a function of the shape and nature of 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:29.439 the light source as the object that just happens to 0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:32.520 be between the light and surface. I think this has 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:36.800 some interesting metaphysical extensions and may further explain the association 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:40.680 with quote godly light and the condition of whatever physical 0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:45.720 manifestations are connected with that God. Lunar eclipses demonstrate another 0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:50.240 aspect of shadows, the permeability of the object casting the shadow. 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:53.760 Earth's atmosphere casts a different shadow on the Moon than 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:58.400 the Earth itself. The same difference happens through water or glass, 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:02.119 or any substance that lets life through. Selectively, this effect 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:04.840 of permeability can be used to explore the properties of 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:09.000 the object casting the shadow. Again with higher dimensional phenomenon. 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:11.879 This may be the most that can be directly perceived. 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:15.520 I think it's interesting that Shadow Puppetry does this intentionally. 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.600 Thank you for all you do. Smiley face. I guess 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:20.800 that's sort of the smiley face is the signature. 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:25.080 Well, that's yes, some of my excellent thoughts in there. 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:27.760 Thanks for writing in smiley. 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:29.040 Yes, thank you smiley. 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:32.040 All right, real quick, we heard from Brett. Brett Roode 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:34.480 wrote in about our Ignobel episodes. It says, hey, guys, 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:37.160 just getting around of the Ignobel awards, and upon hearing 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:39.520 the rock tasting story, I was very surprised that Robert 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:43.679 did not bring up Professor Farnsworth's smelloscope in Futurama. It 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:47.520 was the first thing I thought of. Indeed, my apologies 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:51.920 Professor Farnsworth. It is one of his most famous inventions 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:55.760 that allowed him to smell distant planets. All right, now 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:58.240 I'm going to move on to some weird house cinema 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:08.000 listener mail. This one comes to us from Jimmy. Jimmy says, hey, guys, 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:09.919 I've been a big fan of your podcast for a 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:11.919 long time. Thanks for all the great episodes. I just 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:14.359 wanted to let you know that I am one of 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:17.680 the few people out there that loves that Stone Ground 0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:21.199 is in Dracula Ad. I am a musician that was 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:25.000 born and raised in Concord, California, and stone Ground was 0:19:25.040 --> 0:19:28.560 from Concord, probably the most famous band from my hometown. 0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:32.320 So when I was a kid in the nineteen seventies, 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:36.360 a couple of my older siblings were definitely stone Ground fans, 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:39.040 So I have always had a soft spot for them, 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:41.439 even if they weren't the most exciting band. 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:45.520 Jimmy, Oh, Jimmy, don't apologize for loving stone Ground. We 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:48.040 wholeheartedly endorse your love of stone Ground. 0:19:48.680 --> 0:19:50.679 Yeah. Yeah. And plus, I mean, as we discussed in 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:53.719 the episode, it's not like stone Ground, We're awful and 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:58.399 they seem to have, you know, real musical pedigree. It 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:01.800 just felt like a random inclusion. 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:04.080 Yeah, I feel random, But. 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:07.320 Like like the Hammer executives were like, all right, the producers, 0:20:07.359 --> 0:20:10.440 who can we get who can we get to show 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:13.879 up and be the cool band playing in the in 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:16.119 the early part of this film to bring in the youth. 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:20.879 They're like the Korman movie using pre footage from pre 0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:23.800 existing films that they had the rights to. As stone 0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:24.880 Ground is in there. 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:28.480 Like that. Yeah, and hey, kudos to Stone Ground forgetting 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:30.400 to appear in a hammer horror film. I mean, that's 0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:31.360 that's pretty cool. 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:34.000 Even for an alligator man. That is a rare accomplishment. 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:37.199 All right, well, we're gonna go and close up the 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:39.320 mail bag here, but we would love to hear from 0:20:39.359 --> 0:20:41.560 you right in, because every Monday we do a listener 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:46.960 mail episode right in about past episodes, future episodes, current episodes, 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:50.119 stuff to blow your mind, Weird House, Cinema, anything we do, 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:53.479 it's all fair game. Just a reminder that our core 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:56.199 episodes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays and on Fridays. We 0:20:56.240 --> 0:20:58.560 set aside most serious concerns to just talk about a 0:20:58.560 --> 0:21:02.000 weird film on Weird House. You can find our podcast 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:05.000 wherever you get your podcasts. Check out our social media 0:21:05.000 --> 0:21:08.600 feeds that are active again if you're on social media already, 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:13.600 and bear in mind that on Instagram we are stbym podcast. 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:17.800 That's the newer account there. The old one got all 0:21:17.840 --> 0:21:20.440 locked up. So if you think you follow us on Instagram, 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:22.600 you might not. You might be following a dead account. 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:24.560 You don't want to do that. Following a dead account. 0:21:24.560 --> 0:21:28.800 That's a gateway to hauntings and so forth. You never 0:21:28.880 --> 0:21:30.240 know what's going to crawl out of there. 0:21:30.800 --> 0:21:34.440 Huge thanks as always to our excellent audio producer JJ Posway. 0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:36.240 If you would like to get in touch with us 0:21:36.280 --> 0:21:38.880 with feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:41.000 a topic for the future, or just to say hello, 0:21:41.119 --> 0:21:43.760 you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow 0:21:43.760 --> 0:21:52.280 your Mind dot com. 0:21:52.400 --> 0:21:55.359 Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 0:21:55.440 --> 0:21:58.240 more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 0:21:58.400 --> 0:22:01.119 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.