WEBVTT - Listener Mail: Fatberg City 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:04.960 Welcome Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of I 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:13.960 Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hey, you, welcome to Stuff 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:16.000 to Blow your Mind. My name is Robert Lamb and 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.439 I'm Joe McCormick, and we're coming at you with listener 0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:22.520 mail today. Now our loyal mail bought. Carney has been 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:26.120 through some changes. That's right. He's been uh, he's been 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:30.360 off in Fatburg City. He's been helping uh Officer Fatburg 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:35.559 battle the city's Fatburg problem. That's right. And in the 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:38.000 course of fighting a Fatburg, which of course turned out 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:41.920 to be sentient and alive. I guess that goes without 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:44.320 saying you can't be sentient without being alive, but not 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:47.839 for long um or maybe you can. Yeah, that's subject 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:51.400 for another day. Anyway, like the black Ooze in Prometheus, 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:53.960 part of that Fatburg just got right on into Carney. 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:56.760 It took over part of his processor. Now he's Fatberg 0:00:56.840 --> 0:01:01.160 inside Fatberg power, uh Fatburg logic, and he's part fat 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:03.560 Burg bought forever. Little flies come out of his nooks 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:06.039 and crannies. I think that's just temporary. I think this 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:08.800 is going to be an equilibrium that has reached and 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:13.040 to whatever extent Carney can be fueled by fat birds. Um, 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:16.240 you know, I think that's exciting. I think that's the future. Uh. 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:19.200 That's actually gonna be the topic of another episode we're 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.360 going to be recording. Have an episode of Invention coming up. 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:26.360 What happens when robots can eat fat birds? We'll find out. 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:29.600 But this episode is about listener mail, and we did 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:32.360 receive a lot of really cool listener mail regarding our 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:36.600 episode on fat birds. Now, just just to refresh, uh, 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:39.120 to remove some of the you know, the sci fi 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:41.880 fun here that we've been throwing out for a second. 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:46.840 A fat berg is this large mass that accumulates in 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:49.480 a modern sewer system or even kind of I guess 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:53.840 an archaic sewer system, but due to modern sewage problems 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:57.120 mostly caused by the flushing or the or the the 0:01:57.200 --> 0:02:01.800 dumping of of grease and the flush of sanitary wipes, 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:06.920 wet wipes primarily. Yeah, like the problem with the with 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:09.160 the wipe things or these things that are wet wipes. 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:11.160 And apparently we heard from a lot of listeners, even 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:14.440 people who worked in uh, you know, sewer maintenance, sewer workers, 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:17.040 who said that these things that are so called flushable 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:20.320 wet wipes are not flushable. Don't flush them even if 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:22.400 they say you can. Yeah. And you know, I I 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:25.440 have a kid. I've have used wet wipes plenty of times. 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:27.799 And after you use them, you want to be rid 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:30.800 of them, being able to throw them into a magical 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:33.600 um uh you know, vat of water and then pushing 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:36.640 a button and watching it disappear. That that's an attractive 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:40.040 idea when you have a poop smeared. Uh what why? 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:44.320 But but it doesn't really disappear, It goes somewhere and 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:47.959 then it it makes friends. It becomes the bones of 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:50.560 the soap dragon. That's right. Uh, So maybe we should 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:54.120 get right to our first email. This one comes from Ray. Robert, 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:56.839 you want to read this one? Hello Robert and Joe. 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:59.080 My name is Ray, and I could not believe how 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:02.600 close to home the episode of fat Bergs landed. I 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:06.720 am currently a sewer utility worker in Faydeville, North Carolina, 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:09.600 and prior to serving in the army for several years, 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:12.960 I was a sewer utility worker in Jersey City, New Jersey. 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:16.440 The issue of grease infiltrating our country sewers seems to 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:19.480 be almost a universal problem with no real end in sight. 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:23.400 Although there are significant differences in the capacity and complexity 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:26.200 between the two sewer systems. I have personal experience with 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:29.760 the effects of grease and non biodegradable solids such as 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:32.760 wet wipes and feminine hygiene products. Seems to be universal 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:35.560 in my experience. I have seen and worked on many 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:39.200 Greef related issues, and though I have seen some large blockages, 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:41.760 the issues I have come to find most common or 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:46.200 more are more like grease tubes. The initial blockage creates 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:48.920 a type of grease dam, which in turn leads to 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:52.760 the sewer pipe becoming completely impacted with grease. Picture this 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.600 is a tube of toothpaste. These issues can run for 0:03:56.760 --> 0:03:59.880 hundreds of feet underground and can require days of work. 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:02.800 A clear the comparison made in the articles you read 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:05.920 about it and concrete cannot be more accurate when trying 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:09.800 to relieve a fat Burg induced blockage quote. Chipping away 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:14.080 at the grease gestalt monstrosity with mason tools is surprisingly 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:18.240 effective and brings to mind archaeologists using picks and hammers 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:21.679 trying to reveal the hidden past and secrets the fat 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:26.800 Birds hold in its subterranean lipid vaults. One point that 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:30.160 I noticed was not mentioned that absolutely needs mentioning was 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:34.000 the surprisingly distinct smell that grease blockages have, which, if 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:38.400 one enjoys fried foods, could actually be appetite inducing. Each 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:40.960 of the several grease blockages I have dealt with had 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:44.080 a small had a smell scape that one could use 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:47.839 to easily identify the main contributor to its unholy birth, 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:51.320 whether it be Pizzeria's Chinese food takeout or even a 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:55.480 rather famous diner located in downtown Jersey City. Nothing makes 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:57.880 you look forward to lunch like the smell of comfort 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:01.240 food wafting up from the depths of the sup Oh God, 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.200 thank you again guys for never failing to surprise me 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:06.719 with your awesome topics. This one, in particular, fat Burgs, 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:10.400 made me realize that even something as mundane sounding as 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:13.400 sewer utility work, it can be interesting. As a final 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:15.760 side note, I would often try and tell people how 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:18.560 serious grease problems can be in sewers and how large 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.119 and lengthy they could be. It reminded me of another 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:24.560 episode of Yours Great Wave, in which stories would be 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:29.440 told by wayward sailors, often describing waves whose proportions seemed 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:33.960 a drastically exaggerated I feel a shared kindred with these sailors, 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:37.719 knowing that grease abominations lurk below the streets, and those 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:41.599 who I tell my tales to disregard them as exaggerated fantasy. 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:45.440 L O L. Thanks again, Right, Well, we don't disregard them, Ray, 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:49.800 We believe every word, except I am a little skeptical 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:53.760 about the the appetite inducing qualities of the sewer smell. Well, 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:56.120 I think I think we have some other listener mail 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:59.400 that that speaks to the odor, But I don't know 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:01.359 I can and that I mean, I trust Ray on 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:03.599 the matter. I mean, he he has experience that I 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:07.680 do not have regarding uh fat bergs in their unholy kin. 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.640 So if he says there's an appetizing odor, then I 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:14.720 I believe it. I guess what I mean is the 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:17.360 only thing I doubt is whether it would be appetizing 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:20.160 to lots of people or to everyone. That seems like 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:23.520 it would probably very person to person, especially depending on 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:26.960 how maybe you're disgust reflexes and how sensitive they are, 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:29.760 oh you need to fast food, or to just in general, No, 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:32.160 I mean to general, like the association. I mean, we 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:35.040 we know a lot about how smell is in some 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:37.320 ways cognitive. You know, we've talked on the show before 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:39.920 about how the exact same smell if you're told it's 0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:42.400 a cheese, it smells good. But if you're told you're 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:45.720 smelling socks and it's the exact same chemical stimulant, uh, 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:49.120 it's disgusting. It makes you you know, you find it revolting. 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:51.400 And I think the same thing would probably be true. 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:54.080 You know, they're different levels of sensitivity. But like, you 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:56.720 can smell a smell that would maybe smell good if 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:58.599 it's coming out of a restaurant kitchen, but if you 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:01.719 smell it in a sewer, might give you the gag reflex, right, 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:04.080 But then if you're working in a sewer, like I 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.159 don't know, it might turn things around, Like you're you're 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:09.760 in there so long exposed to this different smellscape, and 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:12.760 if there's a hint of something even that is uh, 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:16.120 you know, from beyond the sewer, then perhaps you know, 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:19.120 the human mind can latch onto that I don't know. Um, 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.520 there's also if I remember correctly, in our past episodes 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:26.200 about smell, we've discussed how you know how about good 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:29.120 smells and bad smells, and about how bad smells can 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:31.960 sort of fade into the background a bit, while good 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:35.440 smells remain in the forefront. I believe I have that right. 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:39.920 Um In any right, there's there's a lot going on 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:43.200 when we perceive odors, like even very strong odors. You know, 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:48.040 some maybe destressed and others remain stressed. Uh in at 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:50.160 least as you know, as far as our perceptions go, 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:53.559 because there might be different adaptive reasons for the brain 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:56.840 to remain aware of certain kinds of odors but not 0:07:56.920 --> 0:07:59.360 of others once you've initially smelled them, right, So maybe 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.360 that would allow room for like the pleasing odor that 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:05.960 is mixed in amongst the foul older odors to sort 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:09.320 of resonate more after a while. This is just me guessing. 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:12.440 Does the Yankee Candle Company make a fat burg candle? 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:15.720 I don't know, but uh that we did discuss in 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:18.720 that episode some of the possibilities of of using fatburgs 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.280 for fuel. Yeah. Well, we actually have a great piece 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:25.320 of listener mail about this, do it. Let's see here 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:27.560 this one. This is a short one. This comes from Damian. 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:31.679 Damian subject line, fat bergs are real. Hello from Little 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:35.520 Rock fat Burgs. Sweet Jesus. Those things can ruin your life. 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:39.319 My wife's grandparents had no qualms with pouring bacon grease 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:41.720 down the sink. They had apparently been doing so for 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:45.440 the last seventy years. A Router company worker that we 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:48.160 hired told us that our pipes were worse off than 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:51.280 a waffle house. I dug up ancient clay pipes and 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:54.680 they were packed with the same stuff that's clocking sewers worldwide. 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:57.480 It's a soap like material that is fairly stinky and 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.760 very light weight. Actually lit it on fire while it 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:03.600 was still wet. I'll include the fire video and offer 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.080 to send you a sample of the burg itself. If 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:08.120 you want some, let me know. I love your shows. 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:11.320 Keep it up, Damien. Okay, Damien, I don't think we 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:13.280 need a sample of the burg, but I did watch 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:16.320 the video and dude, yeah, it's like it's like a 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:20.000 tiny grease fire in puck form. Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. I 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:22.120 I glanced at this video as well, and it is. 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:24.720 It's it's really flaming up there. It's kind of it's 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:26.880 kind of making spitting sounds that might have to do 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:30.120 with water content or the fact that it's wet. I mean, 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:32.440 I'm not gonna say don't send us a piece of fatburg. 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.640 Let's leave that up to the stochastic gods of fat 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:42.800 berg face. I think I'm gonna do this next one 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:48.160 here from our listener Joe. In fact, hi Robert and Joe. 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:50.640 My name is also Joe, and I'm a plumber that 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:54.120 listens to your podcast. No, not that plumber. I live 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:56.520 in the state of Alabama. I routinely listen to your 0:09:56.520 --> 0:09:59.400 podcast on my way to job sites, having been a 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:01.760 service lumber in the past. I have to tell you 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:04.719 that Donnie Don't made me twitch a little. I think 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:07.040 we started off the Fatberg episode with some don't do 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:10.319 what Donnie Don't does, pouring pouring duck fat down the 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:14.679 bathtub and stuff. Joe continues, Donna Don't, who also flushes 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:18.360 sanitary products and plants shrubs over the residential sewer line, 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:21.040 would have made me twitch a lot more. I don't 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:24.600 care if the packaging says flushable or not. Anything small 0:10:24.679 --> 0:10:27.199 enough to fit down a toilet is flushable. That doesn't 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:29.800 mean you should flush it. I could flush one Leader 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.640 water bottles down some toilets, or even a bucket full 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:35.480 of golf balls. There are even some that I wholly 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:37.959 believe could flush small children, but that does not mean 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:40.839 it's a good idea. That being said, my city doesn't 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:43.000 have a sewer system that you can walk around in 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:45.959 as it's more modern. However, I do have some grease 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:49.360 stories that may interest you. Oh and old Greece is 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:52.760 the single worst thing to smell in plumbing, narrowly beating 0:10:52.760 --> 0:10:55.520 out old urine. You would think that it's the pooh, 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:58.400 but it's not. Of course, I haven't had the displeasure 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:01.240 of cleaning the lines at a more refuneral home. I 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:03.440 know some who have, and I will not regale you 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.720 with those stories. I'm sure you can imagine. To preface 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:10.720 these stories, restaurants are required to have a grease interceptor 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.560 in their line going out, and they do just what 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:17.079 the name implies. They intercept and hold the grease. However, 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:20.000 in one case that was overlooked by the city when 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:22.320 I was an apprentice, we received a service call to 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:25.679 a dentist's office that was backing up with raw sewage. 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:28.840 The building was roughly ten feet above the city sewer, 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:31.800 and it was also the lowest of the surrounding buildings. 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:34.960 After confirming that the lines to the city sewer were clear, 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:38.439 we decided to pop a manhole cover the roads dirt 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:42.000 and grime had sealed it down. This heavy cast iron 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:46.160 manhole cover then proceeded to float, albeit briefly, on the 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:49.520 flood of water among other things that rose from the manhole, 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:53.160 and then had to direct traffic away from this open 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:55.760 manhole as we waited for the city's jet truck to 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:57.880 come clear the line. I think the jet truck is 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:00.520 like a high pressure water. This was a very busy 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:03.120 four lane road in the downtown of my city. I 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:06.040 almost got run over several times as people swerved into 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:09.000 the other lane within feet of me. I digress. When 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:12.040 the truck arrived, the twelve inch City Maine was blocked 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:15.440 for two hundred feet by you guessed it, fat and 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:18.880 grease where this restaurant's line joined the cities. They had 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:22.600 been pouring all of their oil down the drains. On 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:26.000 another note, as an apprentice, again, I have personally stood 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:28.679 on one foot on top of hardened grease and an 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:31.560 intercept or at another restaurant. The grease was about a 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:34.520 foot thick and weighed about two hundred pounds at the time, 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:37.120 and it did not give. We had to take a 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:39.400 steel bar to it to break it up so that 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:41.920 it could be pumped out. I wouldn't say that it's 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:44.800 as hard as concrete, but still rock like. I'm looking 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:48.079 forward to more awesome episodes from you guys. Joe all right, 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:51.880 another field report from the war against the fat Bergs. 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.920 That is an epic tale of a heroic struggle. I 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.439 wish I only had the you know, the mind of 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:01.960 a Homer to translated into poetry. But hey, you know 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:04.400 one thing we did in that Fatburg episode is we 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:09.040 proposed a movie crossover, which should be Fatburg copy and 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:13.080 Officer Fatberg. So we asked if anybody out there is, 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:16.720 you know, developer in Hollywood or anything, get Fatburg cop going. 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:19.599 We did hear back from a couple of people, a 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:22.480 couple of creative types who engage with fat Bergs one 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:25.400 way or another. Weird from one listener named Tom, who 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:28.000 shared with us a story he had written about a 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:31.200 fat Burg that becomes sentient. This was independent of our episode. 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:33.320 He had already written it in the past. But we 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:36.080 also heard from our listener L Robert do you want 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:39.840 to read this one? Yes? L Rights quote. I recently 0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:42.480 listened to your episode on Fatberg's. You had mentioned how 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:45.040 it would be cool to create an artist rendition of 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:49.000 an anthropomorphic, murderous and justice seeking Fatburg. Well, being an 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:51.640 artist myself, I could think of nothing more than to 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:54.559 do just this. I wanted to make the creature humanoid, 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:57.120 but also not too human. I ended up with some 0:13:57.240 --> 0:13:59.960 sort of a lizard man cotton made of congealed grease, 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:03.440 and it turned out more saying than I would have liked. 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.000 Make of that what you will. Maybe Fatburg really is 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:09.880 the hero. Nevertheless, I enjoyed making this a ight style 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:13.200 poster art. Robert had mentioned never visiting Philly, Well, come 0:14:13.200 --> 0:14:15.920 on by, I can't recommend it enough. Also, I recently 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:19.200 visited the Mooder Museum uh the week before the episode. This, 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:21.080 of course, the museum with all sorts of cool um 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:26.840 medical oddities. I guess you'd say, men in medical uh um, 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:31.760 anomalous medical history, graham artifacts of medical history, etcetera. I've 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:34.040 long wanted to visit there and just never have had 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:35.800 the chance. It came up in the episode because we 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.840 were talking about the process of supponification, where like lipid 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:41.760 and fatty acids can turn into soap like substances, and 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.680 one example is a thing that's within the Mooder Museum's collection, 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:49.120 the soap Lady, and I think also a male uh corpse, 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:52.520 the soapman, which are covered in this soap like material 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:54.880 called adapas or that's formed out of the lipids and 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:58.360 flesh as it decays in certain types of environments I 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:02.000 think like alkaline environments. All right, l continues, I was 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:04.560 looking for something to do with friends while nearby, though 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.440 sadly not knowing what I was getting myself into. Listening 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:10.000 to your description of the soap Lady instantly brought a 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:12.880 haunting image to my head of the corps that visited 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:16.240 visitors are greeted with as they entered the main room. Uh. 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:19.640 This the main room of the Commuter Museum, at least 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:21.800 I think it was it. I wasn't going to stick 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:24.280 around to read the description. As soon as I realized 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.120 what I got myself into, I tried to leave as 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:28.320 soon as I could. Although I can see it's importance 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:32.560 as medical history and uh and it's importance for research, 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.720 the idea of dead body and fetuses on display just 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:38.120 didn't settle well with me. Not to say others would. 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:41.400 It would have a different experience at the very least 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:43.840 it was a unique experience I attached to the work 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:46.840 of Officer Fatburgh below. I loved listening to your episode 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:49.040 as I always do, and I loved listening to your 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:51.400 show every time I drive or commute. Keep it up 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:55.560 L from Philly. Okay, So for starters, this art that 0:15:55.800 --> 0:16:00.320 L gave us is tremendous and as of this record thing, 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:03.160 I've requested that we be allowed to share this with 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:05.960 the world. On the landing page for this episode is 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:08.440 stuff to Blow your Mind dot com, So hopefully that 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:10.680 will be the case and you all can go check 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:13.000 it out for yourself. It's pretty fun. It's reminiscent of 0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:16.680 things like Maniac Cop and so forth. And then secondly, 0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:19.240 uh yeah, I have to admit that I can as 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:22.239 interested as I am, and in visiting the Neuter Museum, 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:24.600 I can imagine it's not everybody's cup of tea, and 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:28.600 not necessarily everybody's cup of tea every day. Like I, 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:32.240 you know, some of my interests run uh or have 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:34.880 run darker or more morbid at times. But in the 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:36.600 air days where I don't do not want to see 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:40.640 a soap person or or some sort of pickled remains. 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:44.520 I mean, for instance, I just watched this is completely 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:47.600 off topic, but I just watched The Deathly Hallows Part one, 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:51.040 uh last night Harry Potter and How Its Part one 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.840 last night with my family, and the film was a 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:56.960 lot darker than I remember it being, uh to the 0:16:57.000 --> 0:16:59.560 point where it really I felt kind of bummed out 0:16:59.600 --> 0:17:02.800 into after finishing it. Yeah. I don't know if my 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:06.360 my tastes have just changed a lot recently, but it's 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:08.239 like like that was just it was that was too 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:11.320 dark of a film for me. Yesterday is definitely how 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:14.000 is the Last One? It's well, it's the first part 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:16.000 of the last one, it's the so it's the penultimate 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:19.760 movie and the Harry Potter sequence of films, so it is. 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:22.320 It does have kind of ultimately an Empire strikes Back 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:24.800 kind of ending, because it's like all these terrible things 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:27.440 that are happening and all these trials of the characters 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:29.240 have put through. And it's a great movie, Don't get 0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:32.159 me wrong. I think it's a tremendously impressive what they 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:35.320 did with it. And I love Harry Potter uh and 0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:38.600 as much as anybody, but who that one, I felt 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:41.520 like it really put me through the ringers, so their 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:43.399 days when I am not in the mood for the 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:45.520 darkness of a Harry Potter film Their days when I'm 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:48.680 I'm definitely not in the mood to see a human 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:52.760 cadaver that has been partially turned into soap. Fair enough, Robert, 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:54.840 I will never try to force you to go look 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:56.679 at the soap lady if you're not feeling it right. 0:17:56.760 --> 0:17:59.199 And if somebody sends us a fat bird chunk, you know, 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:01.560 maybe it'll be a day day when I'm totally up 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:03.560 for looking at it. Maybe It'll be a day when 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:05.359 I just need a um, you know, ask you to 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:09.080 keep the bag closed. Okay, I think we need to 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:10.960 take a quick break, but we will be right back. 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:16.399 Thank Alright, we're back. So Carney has given us the 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:18.879 sign that we need to move on from fat Burgska 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:22.919 is full of fat birds. He's currently processing and digesting it, 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.199 turning it into energy. So we're gonna move on to 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:29.160 some other episodes that we did some listener feedback on them, 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:34.400 particularly our episode concerning the fundamental attribution error. Right now. 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:37.360 This was a while back, so we did some messages 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:39.480 about this on the last listener mail episode, but I 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:42.040 think this one came in since then. This is from 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:45.680 our listener, Matthew. Matthew says, greetings, So I am eagerly 0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:49.639 awaiting tonight's finale episode of Game of Thrones. It is 0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:51.800 one of the few shows or movies that I value 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:54.800 experiencing along with the rest of the world. This last 0:18:54.840 --> 0:18:58.000 season has been taking a lot of flak from online critics, 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:01.399 and I myself have felt the declining quality. While thinking 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:03.760 through the seasons and talking to my wife, I came 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:07.040 to the conclusion that it was mainly because of characters 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:10.600 acting out of their expected behaviors as established over the 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:14.399 past seven seasons. Having listened to your recent cast on 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:18.200 fundamental attribution error, I began to think about the stories 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:21.920 players on a grander scale, about the society and why 0:19:22.000 --> 0:19:24.840 the characters within that society are acting the way they are, 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:29.040 as opposed to out of solely personal motivations. It made 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:31.800 me feel so intelligent when I came across this article 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:35.199 by an actual smart person discussing this very subject with 0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:40.399 direct references to fundamental attribution error. Basically, the show's focus 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:44.679 switched from a broad society based story where something like 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:47.280 the death of a main character progressed the narrative for 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:50.000 everyone else and he says that that's more in line 0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:53.720 with George R. Martin's novels, and it switched to an 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:58.960 individual focus narrative where each character's own psychology is being explored, 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:02.560 which is the Hollywood's green writers more common approach. Thank 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:05.000 you for equipping me to think about even mundane things 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:08.680 like TV shows about dragons on a deep, almost academic level. 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:11.399 Keep up the good work. Invention is awesome. You guys 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:13.040 have long been the first thing I look for in 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:16.680 my new releases list each week Matthew, and Matthew links 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:18.280 to this article he's talking about, and this is what 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:20.679 I had seen shared around a while, but I actually 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:23.200 didn't read it until just today. It's an article in 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:26.520 Scientific American by zep two fact she is, who's a 0:20:26.560 --> 0:20:29.520 really good writer. I'd seen it going around, but I'm 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:31.440 glad I read it because I think I pretty much 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:34.240 agree with it about a hundred percent. It's very spot 0:20:34.280 --> 0:20:38.840 on in analyzing how the show's storytelling mode changed over time, 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:42.639 especially after the show ran out of book material to 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:46.680 work with. Um And And the essential idea is that 0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:51.040 in the in the books, characters are hugely driven by 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:55.320 circumstances by you know, the sort of like social pressures 0:20:55.320 --> 0:20:58.240 on them and the norms they face and by you know, 0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:02.400 events outside their control, and we we we constantly see 0:21:02.480 --> 0:21:05.560 characters having to deal with all of these circumstantial pressures, 0:21:05.600 --> 0:21:09.840