1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:03,960 Speaker 1: Happy weekend, everybody. This is Chuck here bringing you my 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: selection for this Stuff you Should Know Select episode on 3 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: this fine Saturday. This one is from April eleven, Sherpas 4 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: colon Warm Friendly Living, and I know for a fact 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: Josh came up with that title because I thought it 6 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: was very fun and it really kind of embodied what 7 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: sherpas are all about. Um. You know, sherpas will lead 8 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: you up Everest or maybe some other mountain range in 9 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: the area. And the more we dug into Sherpas, the 10 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: more we realize just what um, warm, hospitable, amazing people 11 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: they are. And uh, it's really easy to overlook the 12 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 1: sherpa because you will often hear about the the wealthy 13 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: climber of Everest, uh, and not much about the sherpa 14 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 1: that really got them there. So this was our bid 15 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: to shine little light on the Sherpa. So here we 16 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: go with Sherpa's Warm Friendly Living. Welcome to Stuff you 17 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: Should Know from House Stuff Works dot com. Hey, and 18 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: welcome to the Sherpa. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles w 19 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: Did I just say Sherpa? No, he said welcome to 20 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: the podcast. What would you say, Welcome to the sharp 21 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:15,479 Speaker 1: because the Sherpa is a nation of people and also 22 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:20,759 Speaker 1: a last name and also an occupation. Yeah, that's pretty good. Well, 23 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: that's the podcast. I'm Josh Clark with me as always 24 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: as Charles W. Chuck Bryant didn't ignore Gay Bryant. Yeah, yeah, Chuck, 25 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: we're talking about sherp today. Yeah. Is it Sharpa or 26 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: sharp I have no idea because I see both in 27 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: this article. I do as well. All right, let's find out, 28 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: shall we? If everyone will just hold on a second, 29 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: are you actually looking this up? Chuck? Most people do 30 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: this before there hit podcast. Have you have you ever 31 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: seen Well, I'm sure this won't make it in. You 32 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: never know, it'll never make it in. Have you ever 33 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: seen in Um Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? 34 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: The first one? That was not the first one? Yes, 35 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: it was that Raiders the Lost Ark was first, That's 36 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: what I meant. I'm sorry, Temple of Doom was too. 37 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: What was I thinking? I don't know. You've seen Raters 38 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:15,640 Speaker 1: of the Lost Ark? Yeah, okay, scores of times. So 39 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: you know when he find he goes to meet Marian 40 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: for the first time after like ten years after jilting her. Yes, 41 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: the drinking scene. Yes, the guy, the huge guy that 42 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: Marian is drinking with or I guess in a drinking 43 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 1: contest with. It's like they kept hearing me say chuck 44 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: over and over again. Right, Um, that my friend was Shirpa, 45 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: was it? I'm pretty sure he looked Mongolian to me. No, 46 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 1: they were definitely in like Nepal. Okay, yeah, it's it, 47 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: even said Nepaul. Remember he flies in the plane a 48 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: poop and it's like redline takes him to Nepal. Yeah, 49 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,519 Speaker 1: all right, so let's call him a sharpa. So shir 50 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: Buzz is plural of Serpa. That's what I thought. I 51 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:05,399 Speaker 1: thought so too. Um. The Sherpa people are actually pretty fascinating. 52 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: They're pretty isolated, um. And they haven't been where they are, 53 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: which is the base of Mount Everest in the um 54 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: Solu Kumboo area region of Nepal, for more than actually 55 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: about five years, and when they arrived in the Solo 56 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: Cumboo region, they found it uninhabited. And the reason why 57 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: is because the Sherpas are pretty much the only people 58 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: on the planet besides maybe Ethiopian Highlanders or Peruvians in 59 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: the Andes who could conceivably live in this area because 60 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: again it's at the foot of Mount Everest. Yes, and 61 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: we recorded a podcast on Tibetans and altitude sickness, so 62 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: if you want to know all about that, refer to 63 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: that podcast. But Josh, you're right. They migrated from Tibet 64 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: from the province of Calm to the northeast corner of 65 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,080 Speaker 1: Nepal around the sixteenth century because of warfare. Yeah, and 66 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: as I understand, they're very peaceful people. Oh very so 67 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: they would have been fleeing warfare, I would say, so, yeah, 68 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: not running toward it right headlong. So, um, they migrated there. 69 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: There was a lot more like forest and wood and 70 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,359 Speaker 1: fuel for fuel at the time, which is good. And 71 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,359 Speaker 1: they could grow wheat and buckwheat at the time, and 72 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: that's about all I could grow. But that was enough. 73 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 1: Right later on, potatoes really changed the way they do 74 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,719 Speaker 1: farming because they grow a lot of potatoes now. Yeah, 75 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 1: the I think the potato was introduced in the mid 76 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: nineteenth century and that kind of changed everything. Eighty I'm sorry, um, 77 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: but if you think about it this, these people, well, 78 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: when they first arrived in the area, they moved to 79 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: um Uh the Kumbo Valley, which is higher up actually 80 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:56,559 Speaker 1: than Um the Solu area, and it's about um between 81 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: eleven thousand and thirteen thousand feet and they're like, this 82 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 1: is a little too high. Everybody's a little sick. So 83 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: we're gonna move a little further down to the Soleu region. 84 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:10,279 Speaker 1: Between six it's still extremely high. Um, it's still extremely rocky. 85 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,279 Speaker 1: And they whip this part of the Himalayas into shape. 86 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 1: They created um terraced farm fields. Guatemala. Baby, remember that. Yeah, 87 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: down a slope you can create you can farm on 88 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 1: the side of a mountain. People do, but um, think 89 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: about this, I mean, like, how did they figure that out? 90 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: I'm very curious. Well, I mean it's you know, it's 91 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 1: not rocket science. You need flat land. And if you 92 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: have a steep side of a mountain and you cut 93 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,480 Speaker 1: into that, you can create a series of steps, essentially, 94 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: which is flat land. Cherris in their laughing, Yeah, I 95 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: would have been in trouble. Cherrys, like, I'd be in 96 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: the Guadamala three times. I know all about step irrigation, 97 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 1: and then I had to do all this. I would 98 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: have been like, man, I wish you were flat around here. 99 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,600 Speaker 1: I guess I'll just sit here until I die. Um, 100 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: so you'd oh, I'd be terrible at it. One of 101 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: the reasons why I be terrible at it is because 102 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: I will get in my car to drive fiet from say, 103 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: store to store. Do you do that? Take over there 104 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,359 Speaker 1: at the Edgewood, like you'll got a target and then 105 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:15,719 Speaker 1: you'll drive to Kroger. I haven't been there in a while, 106 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: but I have. I have. Yeah, yeah, totally. I mean, like, yeah, 107 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: I'll walk. I walk more now than I ever had before. 108 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:26,160 Speaker 1: My entire defending like the weather or what's going on, 109 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:28,720 Speaker 1: definitely depends on whether it depends on my schedule. Very 110 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:30,360 Speaker 1: often I get that if I'm in a hurry, I 111 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:32,559 Speaker 1: might do that, right. I would make a terrible strip 112 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: of though, because they don't have wheeled anything. They're a 113 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: terrible strippers. I would make both terrible. Okay, yeah, well 114 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: I know Aaron Cooper is going to make this exactly. Um, yes, 115 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: as I just said, I think I think it bears reiterating, Um, 116 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,760 Speaker 1: Mr joke guy, there are no wheeled anything's there. There's 117 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: no cars, there's no wheelbarrows. Yeah, they don't even use wheelbarrows, 118 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: which now we've reached another reason I would be a 119 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: terrible shirt but they have to carry everything. I can 120 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: barely carry a thing a dog food out of the 121 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: grocery store to my car. And that's like with a 122 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: car involved, which has wheels, which they don't have in 123 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 1: the Solukumboo region. That's right. They carry everything, Josh, and 124 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: they use uh we actually saw this in Guatemala to 125 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: the plumb line. Trumpline, trump line. Yeah, it's home line 126 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: is a little different. What they'll do is they'll, let's say, 127 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: get a big load of firewood and they'll they'll they'll 128 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: wrap it up in in in a spank it on 129 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: the bottom, spanking on the bottom. They'll wrap it up 130 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: and so they can wear it on their back and 131 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: a big bundle and then attached to the top of 132 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: of you know, let's say they lay it in like 133 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: a hammock and fold that over a hammock like thing, 134 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: and then that is attached to a band that you know, 135 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 1: it's like a headband, and so it goes around their 136 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: head and it takes a lot of the weight off 137 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: their back. And we saw these at them, all the 138 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: dudes walking up the road, and I thought, man, look 139 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: at that. That's like ancient engineering still in practice and 140 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: you're like, man, I want to I gotta do more 141 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: of that, And you got back here and you're like, 142 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 1: we're cheeseburger and my Jan Sport backpack. Anybody who's ever 143 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: seen the front cover of um led Zeppelin four is 144 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: familiar with this concept as well. Was he wearing one 145 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: of those? He should have been if he wasn't, because 146 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:29,600 Speaker 1: that's a big old bundle of sticks that guys carrying. 147 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: There was a bustle in his head. Draw honeyway. So 148 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: um Sherpas can whip a mountain into farmland. They can 149 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: live on buck wheat and then several hundred years without 150 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:47,319 Speaker 1: the potato, and then the potato and yak yack milk 151 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: and yack meat. Right. Yea. They walk everywhere, but they 152 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: carry things everywhere. Um with the as they and they 153 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: they are basically a mountain, their mountain folk. They have. 154 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: They speak a Tibetan dialect that's virtually their own. They 155 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,719 Speaker 1: don't have a written language, no written language. Until the 156 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties, there is no formalized education. Um. They just lived. 157 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: They carved a very meager existence out for themselves, and 158 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: thanks to a dude named Sir Edmund Hillary, they now 159 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: have the foundation that he set up. And we'll get 160 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: to Edmund Hillary in a second, but everyone, come on, 161 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: you know who he is. He's the first man to 162 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,439 Speaker 1: us and everest with Tin signor gay Serpa to summit 163 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,199 Speaker 1: to summit. What I say, I send? Yeah, I mean, 164 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: what's this? You gotta get to the top, right or else? What? 165 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: He just blew sixty five grand that's about how much 166 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: it cost. So through his foundation in later years, he 167 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: he became to love the uh peaceful Buddhist of of 168 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: the Sherpa people there, and so he's like, you know, 169 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:55,320 Speaker 1: and a set of foundation, we're gonna do things like 170 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 1: bring some schools, bring some hospitals, give these kids access 171 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: to healthcare, things like that. So he did that and 172 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: that helped a lot, although nowadays, you know, the schools 173 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:10,079 Speaker 1: aren't in great shape evidently. Uh it's kind of hard 174 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 1: to get there. So um, they're they're doing what they can. Right. 175 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: You can take the folk out of the mountain, but 176 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 1: you can't take the mountain out of the folk, you 177 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: know what I mean? That's right. Uh. They are very friendly, 178 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:26,680 Speaker 1: very peaceful, um, very compact, very strong, great attitudes apparently, 179 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 1: and that's not just Chuck saying that, Um, chuck, you're 180 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:34,079 Speaker 1: basing that on the guy who basically took these very isolated, happy, 181 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:40,199 Speaker 1: UM self sustaining, self sufficient UM people, mountain people UM 182 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:44,439 Speaker 1: and introduced them to the world, or no, introduced them 183 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: to the people who would introduce them to the world, 184 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 1: right right, What is the Englishman who's credited with saying, Hey, 185 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: if you want to get up Everest, do you need yourself? 186 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:57,640 Speaker 1: As that was Alexander Kellis not tens ignore gay, not 187 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 1: Sir Edmund Hillary right, well, tends of noor gave was 188 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: a SRP. He's far too modest. I'm under the impression 189 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: to have been like, you want to get up Everest, 190 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 1: you get yourself a Serpa Sherpas store. They're not big 191 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: self promoters. The English have been the biggest promoters of 192 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: um sherpas and UM. Alexander kellis what was his name? 193 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 1: He tried to make it up Everest and failed. But um, 194 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: there was a there was a point in time where well, 195 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: if you look at a mountain, it's not like a cone. 196 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: You know, those um styrofoam cones that you can get 197 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 1: at like the craft store that have like actual volume. 198 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 1: It's a it's a cone. The mountain is not like that. 199 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 1: It has all sorts of craggy peaks and different faces. 200 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:44,319 Speaker 1: And if you go up one side and make it 201 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:46,840 Speaker 1: up easy, just that doesn't mean that you can go 202 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: up any other side and make it up easy. Right. 203 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: So the place where the um the Sherpa live is 204 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,920 Speaker 1: actually a pretty good way to get up Everest, but 205 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:01,199 Speaker 1: it was closed off. Nepaul as a country was closed 206 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 1: off to the rest of the world until I think 207 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: nineteen forty nine. Yeah, Everest was confirmed as a high 208 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 1: speak in eighteen sixty five, but it wasn't like all 209 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:12,080 Speaker 1: of a sudden the floodgates were open and every brit 210 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 1: in the world said, I must conquer that mountain that 211 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,319 Speaker 1: they said that, but they were like, but how to 212 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 1: get to it? And they happened right, But in between 213 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,319 Speaker 1: they're like, well, let's just colonize that place and then 214 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:59,200 Speaker 1: figure out how to get up exactly true. And when 215 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: India be in uh colonizing, I'm sorry when England began 216 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:06,920 Speaker 1: colonizing India, Darjeeling, across the eastern border of Nepal was 217 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 1: a big popular tour spot for British military political officials. 218 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 1: That's where the big wigs that's where they met, uh, 219 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 1: the Sherpa, And that's sort of where the mountaineering profession 220 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 1: for the Sherpa kicked off, because all of a sudden 221 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: they were Englishmen saying, I can now get in here 222 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: to ascend in summit this mountain, but I need some 223 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:28,560 Speaker 1: help because I'm not carrying all that junk. Yeah, and 224 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:31,559 Speaker 1: it's not like Sherpas are the only ethnic group around 225 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: Mount Everest. But as people soon found, like you said, 226 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 1: they were sturdy, they are a compact, they can carry 227 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: tons of weight, and they have a cheerful attitude. So 228 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:47,520 Speaker 1: Alexander Kellis introduced the the climbing community, the Western climbing community, 229 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: to the Sherpa, and in short order, Um Sherpas became 230 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:56,079 Speaker 1: extremely famous after like you said, Sir Edmund Hillary uh 231 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:01,440 Speaker 1: summited um Mount Everest. Yeah, and he was one of 232 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: four people on that expedition. I never knew that. I 233 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: just thought it was Sir Edmund Hillary got in his 234 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: car in England and drove to Nepal and said, hey, 235 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,439 Speaker 1: ten Zig, take me to the top. But it was 236 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:16,959 Speaker 1: a big group of people and they were the only 237 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 1: two that made it right. They were the last ones, 238 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 1: and they just kept on going. But yes, it was 239 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: ten signor gay Sherpa. That's his last name. Yeah, because 240 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: as you said at the beginning of this, it's it's 241 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:31,360 Speaker 1: a it's a group of people, it's a profession, and 242 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: it's a last name. That's right. Um, So at that 243 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 1: from that moment on, everybody knew what Sherpas were, right. 244 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, they were no longer confused with al pacas. No. 245 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,480 Speaker 1: By in popular culture, people were like, oh, there are 246 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 1: a group of people. Yeah, literally the people from the East, 247 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 1: that's right. And they, like you said, don't they're not 248 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: grand standards. They don't get a lot of attention. And 249 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: I made a joke, Um, I believe it was either 250 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: dead bodies on everest or the Tibetan altitude sickness about 251 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: Sherpas being unsung at the time, about how you always 252 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: hear about, you know, the Indian or the brit standing 253 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,480 Speaker 1: on top of the mountain and you don't see the 254 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 1: Sherpa behind him carrying all their junk. And that's really 255 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 1: true because when uh, well you know what I mean, Uh, 256 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 1: when Hillary ascended and summited, he got a knighthood and 257 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,960 Speaker 1: Norgay got an honorary medal and you think, well, of course, 258 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,240 Speaker 1: I mean, they're going to give the British guy the 259 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: knighthood and they're going to give the foreigner a medal. Untrue, 260 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 1: because sirmon Hillary is from New Zealand's right, he wasn't British, 261 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 1: so technically he wasn't a a citizen of Great Britain, 262 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: and neither was ten signor gay and they still didn't 263 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 1: get the same thing. Yeah, it was. It was called 264 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: the British Everest Expedition was the four People. So that's 265 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 1: why I think a lot of people probably thought Hillary 266 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 1: was a brit but he was not. But again, um 267 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: our Western culture is a little different from Sherpa culture. 268 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: They like you said, they're not grand standards, they're not 269 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: publicity hounds. They are um they do. The ones who 270 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 1: are involved in climbing and trekking do make a pretty 271 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 1: substantial amount of money, especially in comparison to what the 272 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: average person makes in Nepal. They make about two grand 273 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 1: for a trip, right, and that the gross domestic product 274 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: per capita of Nepal in two dozen sevens like three dollars. 275 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: That really puts into perspective. They're rich by other standards, 276 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: I guess extremely rich, very wealthy. Um. But they they 277 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: the I guess in addition to making money, they they 278 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: help other people ascend Everest to attain their personal glory, 279 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 1: right too, for the other people to attain their personal 280 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: story um, which is kind of there's a lot of 281 00:16:54,120 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 1: uh dichotomy between how the SRPA view Mount Everest and 282 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: how they interact with it. That the Western influence kind 283 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 1: of puts them in this weird position because they are 284 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 1: they follow a form of Tibetan buddhism um which says 285 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:15,120 Speaker 1: that you should perform selfless acts and help others, right, Yeah, 286 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,480 Speaker 1: And and being at the top of Everest to them 287 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:20,360 Speaker 1: means you're closer to enlightenment. Right. If the people are 288 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 1: going to climb up anyway, you might as well go 289 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 1: with them for too grand sure, but you might as 290 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:27,320 Speaker 1: well go with them to make sure that they don't 291 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,399 Speaker 1: kill themselves. Right, very selfless people, it is. But at 292 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:34,080 Speaker 1: the same time they're helping the West kind of exploit Everest. 293 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: That some people worry that the Everest experience is being 294 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:42,399 Speaker 1: cheapened since since Hillary Um summited Everest, I think like 295 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: more than twenty other people have, right kind of loses 296 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: its um closeness to the Buddhas when you know all 297 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:54,960 Speaker 1: these other footprints are everywhere and there's a couple hundred 298 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,240 Speaker 1: dead bodies on the on the mountain. Yeah, I think 299 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 1: uh Nor Gay kind of summed up there how they 300 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: feel about Everest when he called it. When they asked 301 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 1: him how he felt about being up there, and he 302 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 1: he likened it to a mother hint and said what else? 303 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 1: He said that this was quote warm and friendly living. 304 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:15,600 Speaker 1: How about that? Yeah? And then Hillary shoved him back down. 305 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,440 Speaker 1: He's like, quiet to get out of my picture frame. Noah, Gay, 306 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,560 Speaker 1: here's your metal. Uh So, like you said, the um 307 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 1: the region now, Josh, because of the massive amounts of tourism, 308 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:31,399 Speaker 1: and not massive like Grand Canyon massive obviously, but still 309 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: for Mount Everests it's a lot of people going there 310 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: trying to climb it. Um. We did talk about pollution 311 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: there now, and so the very thing that brings the 312 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:45,639 Speaker 1: Tibetan Buddhist Serpa's enlightenment is also kind of denigrated the 313 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 1: area somewhat. Yeah. Well, it's about twenty people passed through 314 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 1: that area per year. And now you can go play pool, 315 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: you have internet access, you have the trappings of modern living, 316 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: do you also have the drawbacks of modern living deforestation, yeah, pollution, yeah, exploitation, 317 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: that kind of stuff, right, that's right. And this is 318 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: what we should point out in uh Sagara Matha National 319 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: Park where about thirty spas live and sagar Matha is 320 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: the word for Everest, right. The the SRPA themselves call 321 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 1: um Everest Chomo Lungma, Chomo Lungma Chumbawamba. It's close, no, 322 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: but that's not it. Okay, Chomo Lugma, which means roughly 323 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 1: goddess mother of the world or mother hen Uh. You 324 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: want to talk about a couple of famous serpis. Yeah, 325 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:41,119 Speaker 1: we can talk about Edmund Hillary all day long, but 326 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:44,560 Speaker 1: you never hear about Appa Sharpa. Yes, and all he's 327 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:48,439 Speaker 1: done is ascend in summit ever seventeen times more than 328 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:52,000 Speaker 1: anybody else in the world. Not bad. What about Babu 329 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 1: uh cheery chehery Sharpa, Yeah, camped on the summit of 330 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:02,439 Speaker 1: Mount Everest fore hours without oxygen. Usually what happens when 331 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 1: you climb Everest as you get your picture made and 332 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:07,760 Speaker 1: you say, wow, this is really unbelievable. This is amazing. 333 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: All right, let's go back down right, and you have 334 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:14,880 Speaker 1: five million canisters of oxygen is disposing. I'm really high. 335 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:20,160 Speaker 1: Who else there's a lock Lockpa Galu Sherpa, who holds 336 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:23,240 Speaker 1: the world record for the fastest amount everest um a 337 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:26,840 Speaker 1: cent ten hours fifty six minutes in forty seconds. That's 338 00:20:26,840 --> 00:21:04,480 Speaker 1: a lot that man. Wow, you have Ming keep a 339 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:08,240 Speaker 1: sharpa who Oh, what's the big deal with Ming? Ming 340 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:11,919 Speaker 1: just climbed everest at the age of fifteen years old, 341 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:16,399 Speaker 1: not on his xbox in real life. Yes. And then 342 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:20,800 Speaker 1: there's Pessang Lambu Sherpa, who was chuck the first woman 343 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: which apparently, Um, when women started climbing everest or serving 344 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:30,719 Speaker 1: as sherpas to climbing expeditions, um in the seventies, there 345 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:35,719 Speaker 1: was uh, this is probably the biggest problem internally for 346 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:40,919 Speaker 1: the Sherpa's that um, you know, Western tourism was was 347 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:46,440 Speaker 1: having on their culture. You know, a woman's place traditionally 348 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:50,400 Speaker 1: is at the farm in Sherpa culture, on the side 349 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:52,080 Speaker 1: of the mountain. And I guess there was some static 350 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:54,439 Speaker 1: for a while, and then finally, you know, more and 351 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 1: more women started doing it and we're doing it successfully, 352 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:01,000 Speaker 1: and um that was that. Yeah. And and evidently, um, 353 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 1: when the husband, if the husband is the the sarpa worker, 354 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:07,640 Speaker 1: um goes on one of these trips. Then the female 355 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:09,919 Speaker 1: becomes ahead of the household at home if she's not 356 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:12,800 Speaker 1: a sharper herself, and we'll take care of things just 357 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:16,680 Speaker 1: like the husband would. It's nice, Yeah, Yet what else 358 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,960 Speaker 1: is here? I love these people. I think we would 359 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,120 Speaker 1: be you have a fun place in your heart. Means 360 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:24,919 Speaker 1: that that they remind me the people of Guatemala, you know, 361 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:29,080 Speaker 1: kind of short and friendly and warm, friendly living stocky. Yeah, 362 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 1: it makes me kind of wonder there's so many similarities 363 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:37,480 Speaker 1: Chuck that huh huh uh yeah, because think about it. 364 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,680 Speaker 1: Everybody calls the people of Sharpa, right, there are people 365 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,679 Speaker 1: from the east, but that's in reference to where you 366 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:49,280 Speaker 1: are in Solu Kumba Kumbo. Right. What were they called 367 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:56,479 Speaker 1: before they moved west? The people Mayan? Maybe? Uh? Finally, 368 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 1: Josh for my part of this podcast. If you think 369 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:01,639 Speaker 1: someone is all the rail, do you think the sharp 370 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: I have a bad with not getting any recognition. There's 371 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: also something called a porter. Yeah, and a lot of 372 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:11,760 Speaker 1: sharps grow up serving as porters. As porters, that's basically 373 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 1: the job below the sherpa, who does even more of 374 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,560 Speaker 1: the heavy lifting and gets even less money and less 375 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: oxygen less clothing, yeah, and other outerwear. Yeah. And there's 376 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:28,159 Speaker 1: an actual international porters group, right, yeah, protection group that 377 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: are advocates for their safety and fair wages. Because obviously, 378 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: if you've got a very poor person doing a lot 379 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,600 Speaker 1: of hard work, they're probably being taken advantage of in 380 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: some way. So, Chuck, we would be remissed to do 381 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 1: a podcast on the Shirpa and everest in Hillary Um 382 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,200 Speaker 1: and not mention the Yetti. I don't know much about 383 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 1: the Eddie. I didn't look at that. So the Himalayas 384 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 1: are the home of the yeti, the abominable Snowman. It's 385 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: another way to put it, which is basically like the cold, 386 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,560 Speaker 1: extreme cold, high altitude version of Bigfoot. Is that right? Yeah? Okay, 387 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,080 Speaker 1: I just always thought that's what we thought of it. 388 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,080 Speaker 1: I didn't look into it. No, it is pretty much okay, Um, 389 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 1: It's a biped, very furry, heavy, large biped that's mysterious 390 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,880 Speaker 1: and and lives out and out by itself. It's big Foot, 391 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 1: but in the him Alayas, it's like in the Empire, 392 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:19,560 Speaker 1: like cometh, and it's more like the Abominable Snowman in 393 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,240 Speaker 1: the Rudolph Christmas Specials. It looked kind of like the 394 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: thing in Empire, kind of who looks like wow? Um. Anyway, 395 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,760 Speaker 1: Hillary himself was actually a believer in the Yeti. He 396 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,440 Speaker 1: went back after summiting Everest. He went back again in 397 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty to look for the Yettie because he'd seen 398 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: YETI footprints what he took to be YETI footprints. Oh really, 399 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,600 Speaker 1: huh interesting? He found nothing though he didn't and a 400 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,520 Speaker 1: lot of people think that these were just some other 401 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,880 Speaker 1: animals footprints that melted in the snow and expanded as 402 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:58,680 Speaker 1: the snow melted. Who knows YETI. Again, you have taught 403 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 1: me something, my friend. Thank you for that, because I 404 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,679 Speaker 1: couldn't figre out how to wrap this one up. I 405 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:05,959 Speaker 1: feel like we should apologize for the light nature of this, 406 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 1: but we just recorded right before this on the nuclear 407 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 1: disaster in Japan, so I think we were rife for 408 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:16,679 Speaker 1: a little. Plus. Also, we should point out, in true 409 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:19,880 Speaker 1: Sherpa style, Chuck, they want it this way? Well, think 410 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:22,919 Speaker 1: about this. They there there there are all sorts of 411 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:27,560 Speaker 1: trappings of Western influence and degradation of culture. Um, there 412 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 1: is a dwindling of population. I think at its peak. 413 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: This area was home to thousand people. Now it's down 414 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:38,159 Speaker 1: to thirty fire like you said in them in the 415 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:43,640 Speaker 1: park right. Uh the the There was a National Geographic 416 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:49,560 Speaker 1: survey of Sherpas saying are you concerned about Western influences 417 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:53,680 Speaker 1: on your culture? And they were like, not overly. Can 418 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,479 Speaker 1: you hand me the tepot remote you're sitting on it 419 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: if you have any mountain do or bolt. So that's it, 420 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 1: a Serpas. If you want to read more, Um, there's 421 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,400 Speaker 1: actually some more in there, especially um, more on the 422 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:12,880 Speaker 1: Buddhist religion. I believe we didn't cover that fully. Um. Yeah, 423 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 1: there's more goodness in there for sure. Yes, you can 424 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:19,119 Speaker 1: type in serpa's or sharpa if you want to be 425 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,119 Speaker 1: safe in the handy search bar at how stuff works 426 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: dot com, written by Kristen Kagner of stuff Mom never 427 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,720 Speaker 1: told you. That's right, that's true. Excellent podcast. Yes, it 428 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 1: is a great podcast. And they did a great job 429 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:33,159 Speaker 1: at south By Southwest they did. Um And since I 430 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:36,720 Speaker 1: said handy search bar and south By Southwest, that means 431 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:42,199 Speaker 1: it's time for listener mail. That's right, Josh. This is 432 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:45,119 Speaker 1: a little more Disney dirt, and most of the Disney 433 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:47,200 Speaker 1: dirt we got wasn't very good. We got a bunch 434 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 1: of um. Yeah, there's really nothing going on there. There's 435 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:53,920 Speaker 1: underground tunnels, but that's no big deal, and it's really 436 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:55,880 Speaker 1: not like you guys think. We finally got a pretty 437 00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:59,080 Speaker 1: good one. This is from m and m Um seems 438 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 1: like she would have been one of the employees that 439 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:04,200 Speaker 1: I might have been hanging around with that know about 440 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: the dirt. Some people apparently don't even know about this stuff. 441 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 1: I hope we don't get in trouble for this hang out. Hey, guys, 442 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:14,720 Speaker 1: I just finished listening to the Tickling podcast, excited that 443 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,520 Speaker 1: you asked for Disney dirt. As a cast member at 444 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:20,359 Speaker 1: the Happiest place on Earth for almost four years, I 445 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 1: gleaned some interesting tidbits of information for starters. In a 446 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: work room behind Pirates of the Caribbean, there exists an 447 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 1: infamous Milar table, which has a long standing reputation for 448 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,160 Speaker 1: being a favorite place for cast members to be amorous 449 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:39,480 Speaker 1: with one another after hours. I can't imagine how clean 450 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,199 Speaker 1: such a table might be, but many cast members have 451 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:44,960 Speaker 1: been known to participate in the tradition simply for the 452 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,520 Speaker 1: sake of being part of the legend. It's for like 453 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:51,159 Speaker 1: the Mile High Club. I guess on my attraction, the 454 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:55,480 Speaker 1: Jungle Cruise. Uh it said that one can't be a 455 00:27:55,520 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: real skipper until they have urinated into the river. No, so, 456 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,239 Speaker 1: she says, I suspect it is much about you know, 457 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 1: you can you can create the uh what what is 458 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,160 Speaker 1: it the most? What happens to play? Happiest place on Earth? 459 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 1: But if you staff it with board and nihilistic twenty 460 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,560 Speaker 1: year old, it's going to end up like this. Yeah, 461 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:20,760 Speaker 1: someone's going to be in the river. Most of the time. 462 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: This is done before after park operating hours, when a 463 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:26,640 Speaker 1: skipper can take out a boat alone and relieve him 464 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,679 Speaker 1: or herself, often into the hippo pool. So you can 465 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 1: imagine it's harder for girls to participate in this rite 466 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:35,320 Speaker 1: of passage either. Sheer logistics, but I do know some 467 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:37,560 Speaker 1: women who have managed to become real skips. I think 468 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:40,480 Speaker 1: it'd be more physics than logistics, she says. The mechanics 469 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 1: boggles my mind. Now for the gnarly stuff under Space Mountain, 470 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,840 Speaker 1: there are stored sixty tho body bags. Supposedly they're there 471 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 1: in case of a natural disaster or some other emergency 472 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:53,880 Speaker 1: where people may be trapped inside the park for an 473 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: extended period of time. I don't believe that. I don't 474 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: believe it either. The food freezers in the storeroom down 475 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 1: the hall are also over six ft tall for storage, 476 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:03,880 Speaker 1: if you know what I mean. It's quite morbid and 477 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:06,640 Speaker 1: a popular site for telling ghost stories. I've got plenty 478 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: more if you want some off the record ghost stories. 479 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:13,360 Speaker 1: This was on the record geez or personal anecdotes from 480 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,320 Speaker 1: my time as a jungle Crui skipper. I'd be happy 481 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 1: to share. Keep up the great work from m Well. 482 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:20,760 Speaker 1: I would love to hear the off the record once. 483 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:23,320 Speaker 1: What is her name? Am? I'd like to take her 484 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,280 Speaker 1: to lunch? Yeah? Well, please at least send us an email. Okay, 485 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 1: I don't think we'd be allowed to go out to 486 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:34,320 Speaker 1: lunch with that girl. Our significant others are good. Um, Chuck, Josh, 487 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: you got anything else? I'm done? All right? Um? What 488 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 1: should we call for here? How about if you've a 489 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:48,480 Speaker 1: sended everest it's boring? Okay? Um? If you are interested 490 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: in your state seceding from it's current geographical boundaries, we 491 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 1: want to hear why that's right? Uh? Send it in 492 00:29:55,920 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 1: an email to Stuff Podcast at how stuff works dot 493 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:07,520 Speaker 1: com for more on this and thousands of other topics, 494 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:11,400 Speaker 1: visit how stuff works dot com. Want more how stuff works, 495 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:13,880 Speaker 1: check out our blogs on the how stuff works dot 496 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:16,960 Speaker 1: com home page. M