1 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh and 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,840 Speaker 1: there's Chuck and this is short stuff and we're talking 3 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: about firewalking, which is interesting because you can explain how 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: it works and I love those I was convinced we 5 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: had done this, but we have not. No, we haven't. 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: I just felt I don't know, I thought it fell 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,479 Speaker 1: into our circus arts or it does seem like a 8 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: two thousand and ten, two thousand eleven circus stuff you 9 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:32,159 Speaker 1: should know episode, like a full episode, doesn't it. Yeah, 10 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: but it's not a circus arts thing at all. No, 11 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:37,959 Speaker 1: you know, I don't. I don't think it. I mean 12 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 1: maybe like a gem Rose circus might do something like this, 13 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: but it is generally sort of a religious thing in 14 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:47,879 Speaker 1: most cultures, right. Yeah. And they think that, Um, it 15 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: dates back at least thirty two wish hundred years. The 16 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: first mention of it is in an ancient Indian text 17 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: from around that time. Um. And either it's spread out 18 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: of there, there's I've seen some theories that it was 19 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: actually it actually predated, that it was one of the 20 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: things that the Mesopotamians and Neo Babylonians did, and then 21 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: it just kind of spread from there. Um. Or people 22 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: invented it independently, because it has spread all over the 23 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: world over the last couple of thousand years. Yes, these days, India, Greece, China, Spain, Japan, Bulgaria, Thailand, Tibet, Fiji. 24 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: It's all over the place, and it's almost always a 25 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: religious thing, like you're paying tribute to somebody who was passed, 26 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: or uh, you were commemorating your what you see as 27 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: a miracle in your area. Uh, some sort of celebration 28 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: or or parade. There might be a firewalker, but it's 29 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: usually got some sort of religious spiritual connotation. A firewalker 30 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: in a parade would be hilarious because that poor guy 31 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: would just have to keep running to the back of 32 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: the float and walking over it again and then running back. 33 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: That would be That'd be a long parade for that guy. Oh, 34 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: I was thinking more along the lines of there is 35 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: a the entire parade has to walk. There's one portion 36 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: that's on fire. Yeah, all the spectators have to go 37 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: down this way, come over here, and we set on fire. 38 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: Spoiler alert, there's never flames, it's coals, right, And we 39 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: can thank our friends at the University of London Council 40 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: for psychical research back in the nineteen thirties for figuring 41 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 1: that out. Um. And they did that, Chuck, by conducting 42 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: two different experiments on firewalking, in which they also participated 43 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: to Yeah, these are they're not mean. But what they 44 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: did was in both of these experiments in thirty five 45 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: and thirty seven, they got a couple of British scientists 46 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: and then you know, someone from a native culture like 47 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,239 Speaker 1: an India or someplace, and they basically the whole point 48 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: of the study was like, see white British man did 49 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 1: it too. It's not religious or special, right, but they 50 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: were skeptical societies, I think is what they were doing. Yeah, 51 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: and I'm sure they didn't rub it in like that, 52 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: but decree fire pit uh. And then those two separate 53 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: years they basically I think they use oak and they 54 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: the whole point of it was to kind of just 55 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: debunk the like you have to be I don't know 56 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: about possessed. Maybe that's too strong of a word, but 57 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,519 Speaker 1: guided by spirit to do so, guided by voices, that's right. 58 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,639 Speaker 1: So Um. That was yeah, that and that at the 59 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: very least in the West, those two studies put that 60 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 1: to rest permanently. Um. And they did it so thoroughly 61 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: chuck that. For about I don't know, forty fifty years, 62 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: people in the West, I should say, in the United 63 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: States and Great Britain, UM, didn't think much about this 64 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: whole thing. They just were like, firewalking has been explained whatever. 65 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: And then as our friends in the New age community 66 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: kind of came along in the seventies and eighties, UM, 67 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: they adopted firewalking and apparently had never read the two 68 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: studies by the University of London Council for Psychical Research, 69 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: because they started attributing it to a more metaphysical explanation, 70 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: and that's when interest in debunking it kind of came 71 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,919 Speaker 1: around again. That's right. Uh, And I think this is 72 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: a good time for a cliffhanger because we have danced 73 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 1: around the fire and not revealed the secret to why. 74 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 1: It has nothing to do with religion or spirituality. It's 75 00:04:35,800 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: pure physics and we'll explain it right after this. Welcome 76 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: back to pure physics. Yeah. And since we're talking about 77 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:13,599 Speaker 1: pure physics, I want to give a shout out to 78 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: Professor David Willie, who's a physics professor. I believe it's 79 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 1: Willie could be wily w I L. L. E. Y Yeah, 80 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 1: I think it's wildly he um. Oh, I'm thinking of 81 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: Willie Ames from Charles and Charge. Uh. But Professor Wiley 82 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 1: is a physics of firewalking guy. He has dedicated a 83 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:40,119 Speaker 1: certain portion of his career to explaining how it works 84 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 1: and doing firewalking himself. So thanks a lot to Dr 85 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 1: Willie because basically everything we're talking about is based on 86 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: his research. Dr Wiley, Yeah, that's right, So let's explain 87 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: how this works. There are quite a few components to 88 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: go into a successful firewalk, which is to say, one 89 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: or you don't end up with burns on your feet. Uh. 90 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: The first thing that you've got to start with is 91 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: charcoal that has lit well before you walk over it. 92 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: I sort of spoil it earlier when I said there 93 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: are no flames, but when you see a firewalker, they're 94 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: walking over hot coals, not a real flaming fire. And 95 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: these are embers that they're walking over, So right out 96 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: of the gate, you've got a bit of an advantage. 97 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: And that there's not in direct contact with a flame 98 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: well a huge advantage too, but also the embers themselves, 99 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: so you've got no flame. It's a big one. Just 100 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,160 Speaker 1: put that in your hat. Uh, here's the second one 101 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: for your hat. Those embers themselves are actually really good insulators. 102 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: The type of wood that's typically used for firewalking, and 103 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:47,239 Speaker 1: you want to use specific kinds of wood. They glow 104 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: really bright, but they actually don't conduct heat very well. Right, 105 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,359 Speaker 1: And I think the top two woods or cherry or 106 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: maple for good looking coals that will get the crowd 107 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: whipped up into a friend's right exactly, but not super 108 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: hot no. Um. And because there's also a layer of 109 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: ash that coats them. Here's the third part for your hat. Right. 110 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:15,679 Speaker 1: I think the uh, the investigator would say, you neverice. 111 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: You notice they don't do this during the day because 112 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: you would see that ash all over the place. But 113 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: at night that ash sort of goes away to the 114 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: to the eyeball and it makes for a better show. 115 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: But that ash is going to also provide a buffer 116 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: and cut down on that heat transfer. Yeah, yes, exactly. 117 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: And then the last one, and this one's pretty important too. 118 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 1: There's an actually really limited amount of time that your 119 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: feet is making contact with the hot embers because they 120 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: are hot like these fires that you're walking over. If 121 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: you hold the thermometer, um, it's gonna register something like 122 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: nine thousand degrees fahrenheit four degrees celsius. So it is hot, 123 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: but again it's not conducting that heat very well to 124 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: your eat, and then your feet aren't touching them very 125 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 1: long to begin with. Yeah, there's a reason it's not 126 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 1: called fire sitting. Yeah, fire standing around there may be 127 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: a thing. Who knows. Watch someone right in and say, 128 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 1: oh no, bro, fire sitting is totally a thing. I 129 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: work for the gym row Side show and I fire sitting. 130 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: It's firewalking. You want to walk across it at a 131 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: brisk pace. Uh, they do, say don't run. And by 132 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: the way, we're let's just go ahead and p s 133 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 1: A here and say or c o a and say 134 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: please don't try this. Thank you for doing that. Kids, 135 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: don't try and firewalk. Just don't do it. But if 136 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 1: you are a firewalker or you see someone doing it, 137 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 1: they are walking at a brisk pace. But you don't 138 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:42,199 Speaker 1: want to run because they make the good point that 139 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: you know, you could actually dig in when you're running 140 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: more than if you're just sort of hot foot in it, 141 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 1: because it's where the word comes from exactly, and you 142 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 1: can end up with coals on top of your foot 143 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:54,320 Speaker 1: or just digging down too deep. So they say you 144 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: walk less than a half a second of contact um 145 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: on a like a tend to fifteen foot firewalk. Yeah, 146 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 1: so it's only a few seconds. Yeah. So those four 147 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:10,079 Speaker 1: things together basically the physics of firewalking. But even if 148 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: you you know, if you're if you're not well versed 149 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: in the physics of firewalking, and you hold a firewalking event, 150 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,719 Speaker 1: it can go wrong. And that actually has happened from 151 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: time to time. Most recently from what I can tell, 152 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: was in two thousand twelve, We're twenty one people were 153 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: treated for burns at a Tony Robbins event. Right, he's 154 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:33,960 Speaker 1: doing this at least in two thousand twelve. Are you 155 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 1: surprised by that? Have you seen shallow? How well? I 156 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:43,040 Speaker 1: haven't seen shallow? How you're not missing? But um, I 157 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: don't know. I knew he's a motivational speaker. I did 158 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 1: not know he did stuff like this, Yes, dude, Yes, 159 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: his his whole jam is stuff I thought he's got 160 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: on the stage and just you know, made people feel good. 161 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: Random stuff like this is no. No, no, he's very 162 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 1: hands on. He had a TV show once that we 163 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: had to like cover for some reason back in the day. 164 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: Do you remember that? It came in my mind today 165 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:10,200 Speaker 1: and all I could think of is what did we 166 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: do with Tony Robbins. Did we interview him? We we 167 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: interviewed him. I think you did. I don't think I did. Yeah, 168 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,680 Speaker 1: but I don't remember whatever happened with the interview. But 169 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 1: in the TV show, in the first episode, the pilot 170 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,959 Speaker 1: of this, there was a man who became paralyzed when 171 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 1: he jumped into his pool after his his wedding UM 172 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: the ceremony. He was so excited he jumped into pool 173 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,839 Speaker 1: and landed head first and became paralyzed. Tony Robbins talks 174 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: this guy into um into skydiving, and if I remember correctly, 175 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: essentially like pushed him out of the plane. Tony Robbins 176 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: very hands on, motivational guy. So anyway, one of his 177 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:56,760 Speaker 1: uh the people that a saying walked on fire. I 178 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,719 Speaker 1: guess I had to get treated for burns. This made 179 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: me one to try it, and you know why I won't. 180 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,840 Speaker 1: Why is because it's the bottom of my feet, Like 181 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: if something did go wrong, then I'm not walking for 182 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:12,600 Speaker 1: a little while, or I'm walking in a lot of pain. 183 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: It's not like a pain on my forearm or something. 184 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: You know, is it actually worth it? No? No, no no, 185 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: That's why I said, I'm not going to do this 186 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 1: because I'm going camping tonight. And I was like, you know, no, 187 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: should I pull out all the stop? You understand the 188 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 1: physics of firewalking. Who are you trying to impress at 189 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,719 Speaker 1: this point, Emily, No, she won't be there. All my 190 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,559 Speaker 1: dumb friends from years ago, they oh, well, then yes 191 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: you should definitely fireworks. No, I'm never gonna do it, impress, dude, 192 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: you have to stop. Just remember to use some cherry 193 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 1: or what was the other one. I think you got 194 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 1: maple up there. No, it's a bunch of hardwoods. Yeah, 195 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 1: you don't want those. They'll burn off too quick or 196 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 1: else too too hot. You want to use cherry or maple, 197 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,199 Speaker 1: like you said, And if you don't have it, don't firewalk. 198 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: My old friend Jason Jenkins jump through the fire one 199 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,199 Speaker 1: time and a drunken fit late night and a camping trip. 200 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,839 Speaker 1: Did he melt like Snea? No, he was fine. He 201 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 1: jumped right through it. But I remember thinking, like, dude, 202 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 1: if he would have tripped and landed in that fire 203 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:15,240 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, this this trip has ruined, which 204 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 1: is another another problem with firewalking. If you do trip, 205 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:23,439 Speaker 1: you're you're in trouble. Yeah, yeah, so don't don't firewalk. 206 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: I was really just joking when I was encouraging YouTube. No, 207 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 1: I know. Well, I think that's it for short stuff, 208 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 1: don't you. It sounds like it's out to me. Stuff 209 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 1: you should Know is a production of iHeart Radio. For 210 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 211 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.