WEBVTT - Listener Mail: Crab Faces, Anus Myths and More 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:06.119 Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuffworks 0:00:06.120 --> 0:00:14.680 dot com. Hey, you welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:16.960 My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick, and 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:20.159 we're back with listener mail. That's right, we received a 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:23.680 great deal of cool listener feedback, and in order to 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:27.160 harvest it all this time, our mail bot Carney has 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:31.760 essentially become an aquatic humanoid, right, an aquatic humanoid robot. Now, 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:34.520 Carney has been our mailbot for a long time now, 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:38.720 and uh, we noticed that he has apparently some webbed 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:42.280 feet now and uh, some gills, and we're not quite 0:00:42.280 --> 0:00:44.479 sure what that's all about, since he's a robot anyway, 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:46.800 but he seems to be trying. He's really trying to 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:49.800 get in there, become the aquatic ape that may never 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:52.040 have been. I assume that the gills are part of 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:55.160 a like a cooling system for for all of his hardware, 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:58.200 you know, Oh right, that's where he chills his CPU. Yeah. 0:00:58.200 --> 0:00:59.720 I think that's this probably what's going on, because he 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:01.520 doesn't really need to breathe. But I'll tell you what 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:04.160 does need to breathe. All of these cool listener mails 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:07.080 that we've received, well, without any further ado, I say, 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:10.920 we jump right in the waters warm all right. This 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:14.800 one comes to us from Maria. Maria says, hi, guys, 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.680 I am from Columbia and I was just listening to 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.840 the Aquatic Humanoids podcast and I just couldn't stop thinking 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:23.800 about one of the various native cultures in my country 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:27.319 that had a sort of aquatic humanoid in its mythology. 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:31.320 The Musica culture had the belief that they're shamans were 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:34.600 going to become a mix of sacred animals. They became 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.800 a humanoid with the tail of a fish. Uh. Some 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:40.840 theories say that the penis was the body part that 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.720 will become a fish tail, the head of a jaguar, 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:46.920 and some other changes in some sacred parts of the 0:01:46.920 --> 0:01:50.360 body making them gods when they pray and make and 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:53.520 made rituals. I don't know the complete story, but you 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.480 may want to take a look at the researchers of 0:01:56.520 --> 0:01:59.080 this culture and others with a similar myth And if 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:01.760 you ever go to Columbia, you can visit the Museo 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:05.200 del Oro or Golden Museum, where you can learn about 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:08.120 a lot of cultures and native objects. To sustain the 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:11.959 myths with humanoids that were believed to be not inferiors, 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:14.760 but superiors to ordinary humans. I mean, it's kind of 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:18.800 hard not to imagine an aquatic humanoid as superior to humans, right, 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:21.520 I guess they did it with Creature from the Black Lagoon. 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:24.000 But I don't know. When you think of the abyss, 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:28.000 somehow like being under under all the water seems to 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:31.680 breed a kind of serenity. Yeah. Well, I would say 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:34.200 again with with Creature from the Black Lagoon, there seems 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.320 to be a lot of a lot of effort goes 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.079 into making the creature look weak when we have at 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:43.400 least one or two scenes that depict just how effective 0:02:43.440 --> 0:02:46.800 the creature is in its natural habitat under the water. 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:48.960 I will say, in the Creature movies, the creature is 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:52.360 certainly morally superior to the humans come in and start 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:55.760 harassing it. But that's really interesting. I tried to look 0:02:55.840 --> 0:03:00.560 up some stuff about this, uh this moisca idea of 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:04.080 the humanoid with the penis or the fish tail coming 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:06.720 from the penis or something. I couldn't find anything about this, 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:09.040 but I'm going to keep looking. I want to know more. 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:12.359 This sounds very interesting. It looks like Carney has another 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:15.799 bit of of Aquatic Humanoid listener mail here that he's 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:17.840 brought up from the depth right. This is from our 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.600 listener Jared. Jared says, Hello, Robert and Joe. I just 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:23.200 listen to the second part of the Aquatic Humanoid episode, 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:25.680 which I enjoyed, but it did not address one of 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:29.120 my primary curiosities on the matter, which is why has 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:33.600 an aquatic creature not evolved that disappear in intelligence to humans. 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.320 This is more of a question of evolutionary intelligence, but 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:39.280 the simple question is, if humans are the dominant land animal, 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.760 why is there not a hyper smart crab that dominates 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:46.320 the oceans. Coming from the viewpoint of an intelligent land animal, 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:48.560 it would seem like intelligence is one of the most 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.360 valuable adaptations, so I find it surprising that the trait 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:56.080 is not more commonly. Especial is not more common, especially 0:03:56.080 --> 0:03:59.240 in animals like turtles that have existed for hundreds of 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:02.120 millions of years. It would also surmise that if an 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:05.200 animal was physically well adapted to its environment like a turtle, 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:08.880 then mental adaptations would be the next priority trait. If 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:10.560 you have any thoughts on the matter, I would be 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:13.760 curious to hear them. Long story, short, how did intelligence evolve? 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:18.640 And why are humans seemingly unique along? Yeah, that's that's 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:21.599 that's the simple question will tackle me. Uh well, I 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:23.479 think one of those obvious answers that comes to mind 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:26.400 is like, how much more perfect does say a sea 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:28.840 turtle need to be? Right? You know? Is it is 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.039 arguably as smart as it needs to be. Evolution is 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:38.240 a cheap skate, and brains, big powerful brains are incredibly expensive. 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:41.680 They are. They come with so many downsides. Your brain 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:46.000 is so energy hungry it's ridiculous. You need eat tons 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:49.120 of calories to sustain it. It also requires a lot 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:52.440 of development time through which you are You're very vulnerable 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:55.320 in your youth because you you require such a long 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:58.880 development period to have the powerful adult brain that you 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:03.880 have today. So developing a smart brain is a difficult 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:06.640 thing to do, and you've got to really justify it. 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:08.640 Another thing I would say is you bring up the 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:11.880 idea of physical adaptations. I would say, actually, the more 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:16.599 physically adapted a creature is, the less intelligent it needs 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:18.640 to be. Exactly. I mean that's what we see with 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:21.520 with humans. Do we have great clause? Now? Do we 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:24.200 have the natural body armor? No, we're not very strong 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:26.919 for our body size. The one thing we have is 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:31.040 that enormous brain. Yeah, everything else is done more efficiently 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:33.760 by some other species. I mean, we've talked before about 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:36.120 how if you see a hairless great ape like a 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:39.919 chimpanzee or gorilla, it is the muscles are hilarious. It 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.600 is jacked. These things are so much stronger than we are, 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:46.560 and that they need to be because they're not as 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:49.480 intelligent as we are. We can get around with less 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:53.520 physical strength because we've got these smart workarounds. But to 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:57.520 more directly address your question, obviously, neither of us knows 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:01.000 exactly what is the cause of advance human intelligence. But 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:03.520 I'd point to a couple of things I would suspect, 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:07.680 and those things are tool use and social dynamics. I 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:10.080 think those are probably two of the main things that 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:14.960 shape to the modern human brain. I'm totally welcomed. I 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:18.040 would love to hear opposing viewpoints, but I think those 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:21.279 are things that seem pretty practical to me. Now. I 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:24.120 think there's tons of evidence that the human brain, the 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:27.800 smart human brain, is a social brain that evolved primarily 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:32.800 to manage and maintain social relationships, to understand relationships with 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:37.599 other members of the group to understand facial expressions and 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:41.920 and nuanced social relationships and reciprocity and status and all 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:45.159 these kind of things that we think about in highly advanced, 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:50.200 very complicated social animals. Are there other animals underneath the 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:54.200 sea that are that have complicated social relationships in that way? 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:57.599 Maybe some marine mammals, right, maybe dolphins, Yes, certainly, the 0:06:57.640 --> 0:06:59.400 marine mammals are the ones that come to mind, and 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:02.680 uh memory, serious, there is an example of of of 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:06.200 a dolphin engaging in some form of tools. Yeah, yeah, 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:10.880 I've read about dolphins, like bottlenose dolphins using marine sponges 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:14.920 to assist them in foraging for food. But then again, 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:17.520 the dynamics of tool use. I think we pointed this 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:20.040 out actually in part two of the Aquati Humanoids episode. 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:22.200 The dynamics of tool use underwater are gonna be a 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:24.720 little different than they are above water, right Like, if 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:27.800 you think about so many of the most primitive early 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:31.239 human tools, they appear to be things that were for 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:35.640 hitting and throwing, right like these hand axes. We don't 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:38.240 know exactly what they're for, but these sort of sharpened 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:40.720 stones that appear to be able to be held in 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:42.440 the hand look like you could use them to hit 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:46.440 something or cut it something, maybe for processing animal carcasses. 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:49.120 And then of course there are also like, uh, like 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:52.080 spear tips and things like that. I don't know, I mean, 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:55.720 is throwing as easy underwater maybe, I don't know. It 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:58.960 seems a little bit harder. But I wonder, I wonder 0:07:59.040 --> 0:08:03.880 if some of just the different physics of resistance and 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:08.600 buoyancy and things like that in underwater environments would not 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:12.600 allow the same types of tool developing regimes that you 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:15.640 could have above water. Yeah. Yeah, And of course I 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.560 think we reference this as well, uh in that episode 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:21.520 we have the past episodes about the about technology and fire, 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:24.640 in which we we wonder, like, to what extent could 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:28.360 an underwater intelligence, even if they got to the point 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:31.640 where they had tools, could they ever have any kind 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:35.400 of technology based on fire with being an aquatic organism. 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:37.600 That's a very good point. Now, I would say that 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:42.240 I think the evolutionary record indicates that, or the paleo 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:46.560 anthropology record would indicate that human tool use and pretty 0:08:46.720 --> 0:08:50.439 extreme levels of intelligence were already present before we mastered fire. 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:53.840 But but I don't know. I mean, you can definitely 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:58.920 say that fire was instrumental in creating human technological society, 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:01.360 and you couldn't create something like that underwater where there 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:04.000 is no fire. But I do think that's a really 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:06.160 interesting question, Jared and I would like to come back 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:09.120 to that in the future. Alright, Arnie is signaling us 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:10.839 now and letting us know that it is time to 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:15.040 cover some of the listener mail we received following our 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:18.080 evolution of the anus episode. We've got a lot of 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:21.840 anacy feedback, that's right. Uh, Yeah, that was I felt 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:24.200 like a really great episode. Uh, and a lot of 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:27.559 people really took it to heart. Uh. They were able 0:09:27.600 --> 0:09:29.840 to sort of re see the anus or see the 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:31.600 anus for the first time. I think it may have 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:34.600 been our most popular episode ever on social media, though. 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:36.240 I wonder if that just has to do with it 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:38.480 having a picture of an anus next to it. Yeah, 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:41.480 well it was. It was abstract picture, but that was 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:43.440 a tough one to pick out art for, I tell you, 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:46.439 and you started going on on Getty images and start 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:50.000 trying to find the perfect anus picture. Like, nobody's taking 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:53.160 a photograph of an anus without some sort of an agenda, Right, 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:56.199 you've got alterior motives. Yeah, A lot of like clinical 0:09:56.800 --> 0:09:59.800 photographs came up having to do the various uh uh, 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:02.800 sexually transmitted diseases or not, so it was not a 0:10:03.080 --> 0:10:05.240 it was or oh in birth effects too, so it 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:09.040 was not a pleasant image quest. Sometimes it's a lot 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:13.280 of fun, this one was more frustrating and occasionally revolting. Well, Robert, 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:16.360 I give you credit for finding the most pleasant stock 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:19.640 ardanus out there. Yeah, well, thank you. So we we 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:22.240 received a number of listener mails. This one comes to 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:27.160 us from Nis in Copenhagen. Hi, guys, just found your 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:29.800 podcast a few days ago, and it's really great. There 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:32.400 is one fun fact regarding the evolution of the anus 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:35.079 episode I would like to share and which is interesting 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:39.040 to both the humorous and the serious spectator's mind. There 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:42.000 is an old Chinese curse you'd wish on your most 0:10:42.040 --> 0:10:45.800 hated antagonists which goes quote, I curse your descendants to 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:50.959 be born without a toll for ten generation. Sounds funny, 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:53.120 but in the light of the facts so you laid 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:55.120 out in the episode, it seems to be a very 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.959 nasty thing to wish for. That is a deeply nasty thing. 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:00.760 Best and thanks for the good work. Yeah. Indeed, uh 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:05.280 to to to have the fate of say, certain species 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:08.840 of scorpions that we mentioned that loses its anus if 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:12.400 it ends up jettison and its tail because the anus 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:15.800 is on one of the the outer tail segments, it 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:20.319 ends up just swelling with the poop until it eventually dies. However, 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:24.240 I did do some additional research on that scenario, and 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:26.959 it turns out that it kind of it's not as 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:31.320 terrible as it sounds, because, on one hand, without its stinger, 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:34.920 the scorpion is not able to get larger prey, so 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:37.240 it's having to depend on smaller prey anyway, it's not 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:40.800 eating as much, and it can still breed. So so 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:43.520 the idea is, once you lose your tail, you can't poop, 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:46.400 you can't eat as much, so you're really just kind 0:11:46.400 --> 0:11:48.960 of a breeding missile, like you're trying to spread some 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:51.760 genetic material before you die. Yeah, but that's what it 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:56.160 was anyway, basically, So it doesn't it ultimately doesn't interfere 0:11:56.200 --> 0:12:01.000 with the pure functionality of the adult a scorpion. Aren't 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:04.840 we all just an unpooping breeding missile sometimes? Yeah, when 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:06.440 you when you get right down to the heart of 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:09.280 the matter, that's all we are. Okay. This one is 0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:12.640 also about the anus episode from our listener, Jason Jason writes, Hi, 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:15.360 as I was listening to this episode, I was reminded 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:17.920 of a poster I remember from the late nineteen sixties, 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:20.679 to the best of my memory. It reads the parts 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:23.360 of the body were arguing about who should be in charge. 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:25.839 The legs said they should be in charge because they 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:28.640 moved the body. The eyes said they should be in 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:31.200 charge because they see where the body is going. The 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:33.920 brain said it thinks that it thinks for the body, 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:37.120 and it should be in charge. The anus said it 0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:39.320 should be in charge. The rest of the body parts 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:42.840 just laughed. Then the anus stopped working, The legs grew wobbly, 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.200 the eyes grew dam and the brain got foggy, and 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:47.600 they all agreed to let the anus be in charge. 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:49.760 The moral of the story is if you want to 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:53.920 be in charge just to be an goal. Well, it 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:56.839 certainly drives home. The fact that we touched on quite 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.200 a bit in that episode is that, uh, for the 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:02.320 most part, if the anus is working, fine, we don't 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.480 really think about it. But if it's if it's not 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.200 working fine, it's hard to think about anything else. That, 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:10.280 of course, isn't you know, counting any kind of fetishization 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:14.000 or or or sexual context, which we we basically just 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:17.600 didn't have room to discuss. We We did get one 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.480 mail we're not going to read here asking us why 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.920 we didn't mention sexual pleasure. Uh, not for any particular reason. 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.719 It just that was in the purview of that episode, right. 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:29.800 It was challenging enough just to fit all of the 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:32.720 or or as much of the evolution and functionality of 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:36.440 the anus as possible into the episode without getting into 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:40.200 additional um dimensions on the topic. But I mean, but 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:44.440 certainly the dimension of pleasure and uh in the human anus. 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:46.880 There is a lot of content out there. I've run 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:49.840 across the research before, so I would not be opposed 0:13:49.880 --> 0:13:52.880 to exploring that or other dimensions of the anus in 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:57.320 the future. But but this, this bit of listener mail continues. 0:13:57.400 --> 0:13:59.679 Oh right, So yeah, Jason says, I hope that made 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:03.520 it us your content filters. It did. On a side note, 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.000 I have a book recommendation. It is Lord of Light 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:09.080 by Rogers A. Lasnie. I've heard of this one. I um, 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:13.080 it's actually on my sort of short list because of it. Yeah, 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:16.800 because it's it it has sort of Eastern elements. Oh okay, 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:19.880 I had not heard of it, but Jason says it 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:22.840 won the nineteen six Hugo Award. It contains subjects you've 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:25.600 touched on in the podcast, from palamp cys to various 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:29.360 ways of obtaining immortality said in a Hindu esque world, 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:32.560 plus there are a few truly grown worthy puns. And 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:35.560 then he gives a quote from the book Jacket. Earth 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:38.600 is long since dead on a colony planet. A band 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:42.360 of men has gained control of technology, made themselves immortal, 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:44.760 and now rules the world as the gods of the 0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:48.680 Hindu pantheon. Only one dares oppose them, he who was 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:53.480 once said Artha and is now Mahassa Matman, binder of demons, 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:56.920 Lord of Light. That sounds great. I'm I'm all in, 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:00.800 where how's my future in doing movie trail? It's pretty 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:03.960 I think it's pretty good. Joe, that's pretty good. Um yeah, 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:06.320 well this is this is this book made its way 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:11.280 into my lengthy to read list because he does end 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:15.440 up invoking the Hindu pantheon here and and there's just 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:19.560 so much in our in our science fiction and our 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:22.560 our fantasy that is that is so based on Western 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:26.360 motifs and uh and Western myth cycles that it's it's 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:30.120 pleasant to find even uh like, even if it's not 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:34.479 perfectly executed, to find an example that that actually utilizes 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:39.480 other mythologies. I've mentioned an author on here before, m A. R. 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:42.840 Baker Baker. I'm not sure how this particular author pronounces 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:46.760 it that these are interesting books because he creates this 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:51.920 kind of far future fantasy scenario that has sci fi elements, 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:56.120 but it's but it's based more on on on Eastern 0:15:56.200 --> 0:16:00.080 models of of of government and mythology. It's really the 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:02.960 interesting world. He's well worth looking up if if if 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:05.840 this at all interests you. His first book is The 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:08.280 Man of Gold, and you can find it. I think 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:10.280 it's some of it may be available that that one 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:13.040 I think is available on kindall now. But also it 0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:16.000 has a fabulous paper bit of paperback art that I 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:19.280 think was Michael Wheeling if I'm not mistaken. Oh, I 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:21.560 just looked it up. It's fantastic. It's got a guy 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:23.320 in the foreground who looks like he's wearing sort of 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:26.720 a yellow bathrobe holding your crystal ball, and then there's 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:29.320 a guy in the background who looks exactly like the 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:33.080 suit the main character wears in Dead Space. Yeah, it's 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:35.360 and if you look closely enough, I think you'll find 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:37.760 that the protagonist on the cover looks like Jermin and 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:42.160 Clement if you like. Far. This is decades before the 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:45.360 Fly of the Concords. But and yet there he is. Oh, 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:48.560 you know, I'm on another literary note, and entirely the 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:52.400 story about the the anus vying for control of the body. 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:55.000 That of course reminds me of a segment in Williams 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:57.640 Burrows Naked Lunch, and if anyone remembers that, I think 0:16:57.680 --> 0:16:59.840 it made its way into the Cronenberg film as well. 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:02.280 It's been a long time since I've seen that where 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:07.560 similar scenario the anus is vying for control of the body. 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:10.639 You know, I should mention briefly that one other listener 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:14.040 got in touch with us about a ho Chunk legend 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:18.359 that is about why the anus is wrinkly, and it 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:21.480 goes back to this story involving the trickster figure in 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:25.080 the in the ho Chunk legends, uh, and he basically 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:28.840 he gets a burned anus and somehow this leads him 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:34.040 to create the wrinkles that are now in everybody's anus. Well, 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:36.680 every every great great work of literature has to have 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:39.480 a burned anus in it at some point. Uh, like 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:42.840 the Miller's tale. Ye, yeah, in the Cannabury Tales. Yeah, 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.840 that that store spoiler for the tales, but that ends 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:49.879 in a burned anus as well. Okay, one more we 0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:53.480 should look at real quick about about anuses and especially 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.560 machines that poop. I guess we don't have to read 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:58.040 this whole one, but we got an email from our 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:02.240 listener Steve who mentioned an art slash science exhibit at 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:05.199 the Mona or Museum of Old and New Art. I 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:09.919 was assuming that meant Museum of Nasty Art in Tasmania, Australia. 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:13.080 And uh. He says that there is this exhibit called 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:18.920 Cloaca by a Belgian artist named whim or Vim Delvoy. 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:21.240 And he says quote it was originally unveiled at a 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:25.120 museum in Antwerp, but it was later commissioned for specific 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:28.920 installation at Mona. The machine is fed twice a day 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:30.960 and over the course of a number of hours you 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:33.639 can witness the food progressing through a series of seven 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:37.639 glass containers that contain the appropriate enzymes and chemicals to 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:41.080 simulate the human digestive process. And if you time your 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:43.120 visit to the room at about two PM, you can 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:46.639 witness the smelly climax as the machine defecates through an 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:50.560 artificial anus. He sent a video. It's gross. Yes, So 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:53.280 you know, Cloaca is actually an old favorite of the 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:54.800 show if you go back and listen to some of 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:59.600 the older episodes. Uh, we definitely, uh, we definitely referenced it, 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:04.000 and it is if memory serves uh. He created several 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:07.720 different versions of the cloaca, So there was I don't 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:09.919 know if he had a numbered or lettered or what 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:12.159 have you, but I do seem to remember there were 0:19:12.160 --> 0:19:16.320 different incarnations of this this art installation and uh. And 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:19.000 you know he wasn't the first to tackle this this 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:22.640 type of scenario, because there was the the fabulous case 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:26.479 of the digesting duck, created in the eighteenth century by 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:30.000 Jaques Deva Kansin. Uh. There was labeled at the time 0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:33.359 as a philosophical toy. It was it was a duck, 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:35.840 mechanical duck that you fed and then it would poop. 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:41.560 But in this case, however, it didn't actually process the food. Essentially, 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:43.520 you put grain in one end and then the other 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:47.920 end would push out excrement that he had been pre placed. 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:52.040 But still there was the dream of Cloaco was present 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:56.200 even back then. If it eats like a duck, if 0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:58.439 it defecates like a duck, it's got to be a 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:01.640 philosophical toy. Yeah. I also seem to recall there's a 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:05.199 theory that the creator to get back to where nobody 0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:08.520 thinks about the anus unless a you're you know, um 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:11.960 obsessed with it or be if it's if it's failing 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:14.679 you in some way. There is a theory that the 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:19.880 artist here or the the the machine maker here, uh, 0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:24.080 that he experienced some sort of digestive discomfort and that 0:20:24.160 --> 0:20:26.880 might have made him fixate on the creation of this device, 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:29.560 the digesting duck. Look it up. In the meantime, we're 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:31.320 gonna take a quick break and when we come back, 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:38.000 more listener mail. Alright, we're back. So it looks like 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:41.959 our mail body is bringing us another listener mail. This 0:20:42.000 --> 0:20:45.400 one is seems to be drenched in honey and surrounded 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:48.919 by swarming bees. Oh boy, this is from our listener Amy. 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:52.080 Amy says, Dear Robert and Joe, I usually skip the 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:54.080 Vault episodes because I tend to keep up with the 0:20:54.119 --> 0:20:56.280 podcast as it comes out. But I'm so glad I 0:20:56.280 --> 0:20:59.280 didn't skip this one, so obviously it's about the Tears 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:02.879 of Ray episode. I'm an active Ray worshiper, with my 0:21:03.000 --> 0:21:06.639 major annual holiday being the Egyptian New Year or web Rumpet, 0:21:06.920 --> 0:21:09.160 the first day of the new year when the sun 0:21:09.359 --> 0:21:13.480 rises before the star serious usually somewhere between July and August, 0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:17.040 depending on your location. There is a whole beautiful mythology 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:20.000 surrounding web Rumpet, which I encourage you both to look 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:22.720 into because it's a wild ride. But I like to 0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:25.080 take the day and throw a pot luck and share 0:21:25.080 --> 0:21:27.280 the story of the new year with my friends. As 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:29.480 you can imagine, one of the foods we keep on 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:33.240 the table is honey, honey, lemon cakes, sliced apples with 0:21:33.320 --> 0:21:36.760 honey and cinnamon, fresh bread with butter, and honey, spiced 0:21:36.800 --> 0:21:40.040 tea with honey, anything we can think of, along with 0:21:40.080 --> 0:21:42.760 everything you mentioned in the podcast. Part of the importance 0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:46.439 is in the color kmetics. Modern day practitioners of the 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:49.840 ancient Egyptian religion focus a lot on the symbolism surrounding 0:21:49.880 --> 0:21:52.680