1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know, a production of I 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: and there's Chuck and Jerry's here. And this is the 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: leeches episode that we've all been waiting for for about 5 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: a million years. Yeah, this is I love this kind 6 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: of stuff though, because there's the general you know, stuff 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: you should know, classic bug slash animal kind of show. Okay, 8 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,960 Speaker 1: got it, but then you got your whole second half 9 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: of the episode, which is super interesting. Yep. I mean 10 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: the other stuff is interesting too, but you know what 11 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: I mean, it's a it's a I know, it's a 12 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:47,200 Speaker 1: basically a perfect stuff you should Know episode. Dave Ruce 13 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: called it a S Y s K softball as if too, 14 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: as if to say that he couldn't have gotten it wrong. 15 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: It was just too great of a stuff you should 16 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: know topic. Yeah, he did a great job, though, always does. 17 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: He did great Yep. So we're talking leeches, and I 18 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: think Chuck this actually this episode was inspired by our 19 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: dentistry episode where we talked about using medical leeches for 20 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: dentistry all the way up until like the nineteen teens. 21 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: I think leeches on the gums not a pleasant thought, no, 22 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: And it sounds bonkers and wacky um and repulsive, but 23 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: they have come back into fashion in some medical circles, 24 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: and not just like new ag circles, like actual medical circles. 25 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: So it's like you said, we're gonna make this kind 26 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 1: of a two parter in a one one episode, let's 27 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 1: do it. So we're talking leeches, and we should probably 28 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: start with leech biology. And if you want to know 29 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: what a leech is, uh is cousin to, you need 30 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: look no further than a few inches underground and some 31 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: fertile soil at our friend the earthworm, which was another 32 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: great stuff you should know episode. Yeah, that was a 33 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: really good one. But yeah, if you want to get 34 00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: up close and look at a leech, which you probably 35 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: are not prone to do, uh, they are ringed, just 36 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: like our little friends the earthworm. They have thirty two 37 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: segments in their little gross looking bodies and they inch 38 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: along like worms stew as well. They have you know, 39 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 1: a head sucker up at the front and a sucker 40 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: in the rear. No jokes necessary there, Yeah, oral an 41 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: anal is it really called the anal sucker. It's also 42 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: called the anterior imposterior sucker too, and or the party 43 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,799 Speaker 1: in the this is in the front, party in the rear. Sure, 44 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:36,960 Speaker 1: I couldn't tell the day was joking. I figured it 45 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: was called an anal sucker, but uh yeah, they just 46 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: inch along just like an inch worm or a worm 47 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 1: might by expanding and contracting and using those suckers. That's right. Um. 48 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: I saw that the the oral sucker, the the anterior sucker, 49 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: was the one that's typically used for feeding, and that 50 00:02:57,639 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: the sucker on the rear is the one that you 51 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: us to help propel the leech forward. Um. I didn't 52 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: see definitively that it can't feed on the rear anal sucker, 53 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: but um, it's possible it can't. I did see that 54 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: it's primarily used for locomotion, So whatever science writer wrote 55 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: that was hedging their bets. Yeah. The other thing I 56 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: thought was interesting was land leeches, which we're not going 57 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: to talk too much about because you know, most of 58 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: the leeches that we're acquainted with you will find in 59 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:30,239 Speaker 1: the water. But land leeches do a a tick like thing, 60 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: and they're both bloodsuckers. Like remember how ticks will attach 61 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: to a plant and then just like start snapping their 62 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: little lobster claws everywhere hoping something walks by. Yeah, they're like, hey, 63 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: come get me somebody. The land leach does a similar 64 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: thing and attaches the rear sucker to a branch or 65 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: a leaf or something and then just sort of does 66 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: a little shimmy shake with her head, hoping that something 67 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:55,839 Speaker 1: will walk by so it can just stick its little 68 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: face into it. It's just there in chimmys and it's like, 69 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: you'd like this, huh, you'd like that, Come get it. 70 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: And they're both bloodsuckers, and they both do very desperate 71 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: things to attach to a body. I know they also 72 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 1: un I know tis Yeah, I know. Ticks and leeches 73 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: both also share the trait of um being able to 74 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: um detect c O two as a way to detect prey, 75 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: at least the land leeches too. So yeah, that definitely 76 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: stuck out to me as well. UM. And I feel 77 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: like there's some really great myths out there on the 78 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,720 Speaker 1: Internet that we're gonna get to just um crush, crumble 79 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: myth crushers. Yeah, that's perfect myth. We're gonna crush those myths, um. 80 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: And one of them is that leeches have thirty two brains, 81 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: which is definitively false. No, they have thirty two body segments. 82 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: And you will see people on the internet that say 83 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 1: they have a brain in each segment, but they don't. 84 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: They have to brains, one up front and one in 85 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: the back, and like a lot of little critters that 86 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,719 Speaker 1: can be cut off and still function. You can cut 87 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 1: their brain off and they can survive and do quite well. Yeah. 88 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: The reason that people say thirty two brains, by the way, 89 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: that's what Google says. If you just type in leech brain, 90 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:15,039 Speaker 1: it serves you up leech has thirty two brains. There's ganglia, 91 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: which are basically relay stations between these two brains in 92 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 1: each of the segment, and those segments can those ganglia 93 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,719 Speaker 1: can make each segment function autonomously and be responsible for 94 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,039 Speaker 1: some other stuff. So that's why people are like, yeah, 95 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: each one's a brain, but it's it's really not. It's 96 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: not each a brain. It's just kind of like an extended, 97 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: stretched out segmented brain. Yeah, but they're notren't thirty two 98 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: ganglia either, right, The ones on each end are kind 99 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 1: of fused together, so there's twenty one total. Yeah, that's 100 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: that's what I saw. See that the computers are all wrong. Yeah, 101 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: Google's got it wrong again. It's the computer, right. Sure, 102 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 1: it sounds like, Wow, I'm really getting old. The computer 103 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: is wrong. Yeah, it's you sound like somebody who like 104 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:11,280 Speaker 1: types under the keyboard like this, right, computers wrong? Remember 105 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:13,359 Speaker 1: what I said to you, like fourteen years ago before 106 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,480 Speaker 1: we were even podcast hos, I remember what I say. 107 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: You pay me the high compliment of saying that when 108 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: I type, I type very loudly, especially when I'm into it, 109 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: that it sounds like the loneous monk away. I can't 110 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: believe you remember that. Oh yeah, it was a very 111 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: high compliment as far as I took it, like I 112 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: had a tattooed on my arm bit, my inner arm bit, 113 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: and I made you me get the same type. She's like, 114 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: it doesn't make sense, but I love you. Uh so. 115 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: Leech species are about six to seven hundred of them, 116 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: and they generally fall into three categories depending on what 117 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: they eat. Um because you know, we know they're blood suckers, 118 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: but not all of them are exclusively blood suckers. No, 119 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: And if they're blood suckers, they are called two of 120 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:08,360 Speaker 1: the greatest words. Take your pick, uh sanguivorous or hamado 121 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: fadgis either way, it means that they subsist on blood. 122 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: They're not. They don't want any of your skin or 123 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: your flesh, or your muscles or great steak. They just 124 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: want the blood. But yeah, like you said, not all 125 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: of them are are blood suckers. There's some called worm 126 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: leeches that eat an entire invertebrates, very very small invertebrates. 127 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: But they they don't they don't really care about the 128 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: blood or else they're they're not just interested in the blood. 129 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 1: But most leeches, as far as we as as we 130 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: think of leeches, are sanguivorous. Yeah, but the other two 131 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: categories are pretty horrifying. And how they get their blood 132 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: out It's like one sounds really bad and then the 133 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: next one doesn't sound much better. Kind of thing. Uh. 134 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: The jawed leeches the one that we're most uh commonly, 135 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: you know, when you're when you're watching stand by me 136 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: and poor little Will wheat and gets a leech on 137 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: his pp Which, now that we've seen that, and now 138 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: that I should say, now that we've researched this, they 139 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 1: got it so wrong. Those kids really did it wrong 140 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: when they remove the leeches, Oh for sure, and it's 141 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: probably unlikely that that leech would have made his way 142 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: to its pp that quickly. Yeah, you never know. I 143 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: heard they do like kind of a warm, secluded area 144 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: to do their work. Will Eaton used to listen to 145 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: the show. I wonder I doubt if he still does. 146 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 1: Oh shout out to two thousand ten. Will He's like, 147 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: quit talking about my BP. But that's the jawed leech, 148 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: the one that you know, the one that's kind of 149 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: the most common and most familiar with. And it's we're 150 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: gonna talk about medicinal leeches later. That's what they use there. 151 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: But these things will feed on almost anything that they 152 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 1: can latch onto that has blood. Um, mammals, frogs, birds, fish, 153 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 1: basically anything that can get a hold of that has 154 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:58,839 Speaker 1: blood it will latch onto. They strongly prefer mammals, though 155 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:01,720 Speaker 1: the rest of this stuff is just kind of junk 156 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: food basically formed from where I can tell. Can we 157 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: talk just for a second about how the jawed leeches, um, 158 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 1: how they do their thing. Yeah, with those little razor 159 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: sharp teeth, let's do it. It's scary. So they have 160 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 1: like if you look at a picture of a jawed 161 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: leech mouth, everybody says it looks like a Mercedes emblem, 162 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: and and it does. There's really no better way to 163 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: put it. But if you zoom in closer, there's a 164 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,160 Speaker 1: bunch of little teeth on there right called denticles, and 165 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: they act as like circular saws. So like the leech 166 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: itself starts making this kind of sucking motion or inhale 167 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: exhale really quickly and creates us like suction within its 168 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: body cavity. So when it's when it puts its lips 169 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: on you, it actually creates suction. And then when it 170 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,960 Speaker 1: uses those little denticles that act as like little circular saws, 171 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,319 Speaker 1: it just keeps sawing deeper and deeper into your skin, 172 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: finally reaching a blood vessel. When it strikes gold, red gold, 173 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,959 Speaker 1: which you and I would call blood, it just sucks 174 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 1: out into the leach because it's created a vacuum pump. Yeah, 175 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: and I love this. Where did you get this, uh 176 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 1: that that you sent? Do you remember? I think pure 177 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 1: side of the Day. I don't remember I wrote down 178 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 1: everything else, but this might be the paraside of the 179 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: day site because it sounds like like this one part 180 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 1: sounds like it was written by a Midwestern exterminator. When 181 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: they're talking about anything basically can attach to anything like sandpaper, glass, paper, velcrow, 182 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:31,400 Speaker 1: fine wire, plastic, wicker work, fabric. Yeah, just like lists 183 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 1: all these weird things out that I guess that they've 184 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 1: put a leech on and it's stuck to. That was 185 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 1: a great Midwestern impression. By the way, it says even 186 00:10:40,559 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: vertically positioned surfaces coated with vasoline are no major problem 187 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: for a leech to climb. Uh. The deal with these 188 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:53,559 Speaker 1: teetho is that they're so sharp that it's more scalpel 189 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: like in the I mean, a leech bike can hurt 190 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: mainly in land leeches, but it's not. When you hear 191 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,360 Speaker 1: like razor teeth, you think it would be super painful. 192 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: But they're so sharp that they really don't hurt that bad. Right. Yeah, 193 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: and let's crumble another myth here. You want to sure 194 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: leech saliva contains anesthetic myth or not? Uh? By the way, 195 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 1: I like that, we're myth crumblers now instead of crushers. Yeah, 196 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: that's right, I like crumbler better. Okay, cool, Um, that 197 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:31,440 Speaker 1: is a myth. Awesome, Yes, another myth crumbled boom. There's 198 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 1: a TV show in there, I think, I think so. 199 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 1: It's very graphics heavy, like whenever we do the myth, 200 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: it'll just crumble away. Look a cookie. Oh that's a great, 201 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,280 Speaker 1: that's great, but it will use it as a wipe 202 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 1: from one scene to the other. You and your wipes, 203 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: I can't wait. Go ahead and say it, Star White 204 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:52,240 Speaker 1: Star wipe, the king of all wipes. Yeah, but this 205 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: crumble wipe, we really might be onto something. Uh yeah, 206 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: there is no I mean you can find textbooks that 207 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: that say that too, right, Yeah, it's it's all over 208 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,080 Speaker 1: the place. There's a lot of misinformation about leeches, it 209 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 1: turns out, but that is one that and they do 210 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: have all sorts of cool stuff in their saliva um 211 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,200 Speaker 1: that are amazing. They do amazing things, and we'll talk 212 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,480 Speaker 1: more about those, but those are not Uh. Anesthetic is 213 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: not one of them. It's just that for the jawed leeches, 214 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: there there little semi circular denticals that they use as 215 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 1: circular saws are so sharp and there's they go so 216 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,680 Speaker 1: um such a what's the word was the opposite of deep? 217 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: Oh so shallow into your skin that you you might 218 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: not feel them being there. That's what it is, right, 219 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: opposite a deep. They just can't pick one, uh, there's 220 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 1: also the jaw less leech. Was the other kind, which 221 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,720 Speaker 1: includes the giant amazon leach, which can grow to what 222 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 1: like eighteen Yeah, look up a picture of these things. 223 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:01,600 Speaker 1: It's it's it's horrifying. How how long think about it? 224 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,320 Speaker 1: They say that your wrist to your elbow is the 225 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 1: same length as your foot. Have you ever heard that? 226 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: I haven't, but I'm looking and there's no way my 227 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: foot smaller than that. That's I think that's an optical illusion, 228 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: is it really? Let's just say it is. So I've got, like, 229 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: I wear size eleven, and I could see that being 230 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: that that would mean that a leech is actually almost 231 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: one and a half times the length. One of those 232 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: leeches is one and a half times the length of 233 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,959 Speaker 1: the distance from my wrist to my elbow. Can you 234 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 1: imagine having one of those on you? Not on me? 235 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:40,680 Speaker 1: But when you look up photos of the giant amazon leach, 236 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 1: all you see your pictures of people with them, like, hey, 237 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: I put it on my arm to show you how 238 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,679 Speaker 1: big it is. It's yeah, it's frightening. Those are the 239 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,840 Speaker 1: same people who seek out insects on the Schmidt stinging 240 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:55,679 Speaker 1: pain index cycle. Uh, but this one, you know, I 241 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:58,000 Speaker 1: said there were two different, equally horrifying ways in which 242 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 1: they can draw blood. This one doesn't have the circular 243 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: salt teeth. It has a hypodermic needle, basically a proboscis 244 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: that it sticks into your body and draws it out, 245 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:12,320 Speaker 1: just like you would drawing blood. Yep, which I don't 246 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 1: know which is worse, the denticles, the three dentical saws, 247 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: or proboscis coming out of a leech. Can we take 248 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 1: a break and think about it. Yeah, let's all right, 249 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: we'll be right back. M h. What's your result? Which 250 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 1: is worse? I've decided I don't have to choose. I 251 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:57,760 Speaker 1: think they're both terrible and awful, and I don't want 252 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:00,240 Speaker 1: either one of them happening to me or anyone love 253 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,480 Speaker 1: or care about. Oh thank you? Am I in that 254 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: group that includes you, Buddy, okay, Jerry, Jerry of course? Sure, Dave, yes, 255 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 1: Dave too? Who else you got? What about the other? Dave? Sure? 256 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: Dave Kustin, M I'm sorry, Dave Kuston, sure for sure. 257 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:27,520 Speaker 1: Olivia Julia Layton grab grab sir Frank chair. Oh yeah, sure, 258 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: of course. Remember when he used to have our regular 259 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: guest producers just float in and out. There's Matt Noel 260 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:38,080 Speaker 1: care about them too, don't want leeches on them either. 261 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: Who else guests produced us? I don't know. I'm sure 262 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 1: there are people out there that actually know this though. 263 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: My friend I forgot to say something at the top 264 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: of this episode, and I wonder if you can indulge 265 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: me on a tangent of epic proportions. Yes, my sweet 266 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: niece Mila, I think I've told you before. She's gotten 267 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 1: some parts of movies. The big one, her first big 268 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 1: one where she's like one of the main characters, is 269 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: coming out February on Hulu. It's huge. It's a big 270 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: twentieth Century Fox production called No Exit. It will be 271 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:21,640 Speaker 1: out on Hulu on February. She does. I saw the trailer. 272 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 1: She gave me chills. She plays a kidnapped young girl 273 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:29,000 Speaker 1: who is just terrified and has to be rescued by 274 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: a slightly older girl, Havannah Rose Lou. Wow, that's super exciting. 275 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: It is very exciting. We're all very proud, and I 276 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: wanted to make sure everybody knew about it in case 277 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:41,440 Speaker 1: you wanted to see it in a cash calumar right, 278 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: yeah's rolling in it. She couldn't even drive. She's got 279 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,080 Speaker 1: like a whole garage full of cars already. Wow, that 280 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: is super cool. That is awesome. Uh, my daughter is 281 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: funny and fun but like she can't act up. Tried 282 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:58,480 Speaker 1: to see if she could. She can't. It takes a 283 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: lot more than personnel city. Like, you've got to really 284 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 1: have talent. It's absolutely true. It's like really tough for 285 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:06,360 Speaker 1: an adult to watch a child actor most of the time. 286 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 1: If she does superbly well, I mean she's well, that's 287 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:11,359 Speaker 1: what I was saying. We're all really really proud of her. 288 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: She does like actual great work in this movie. So 289 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:16,720 Speaker 1: way to go, Mila, Way to go Milan. Uh, to 290 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 1: me a text when that's out so we can watch it. Okay, 291 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,119 Speaker 1: I will. I'll send you the trailer too, all right, 292 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: So back to leeches. Oh yeah, definitely sending the trailer. 293 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:28,679 Speaker 1: Um they are. I mean, we have fossils of leeches 294 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:32,840 Speaker 1: from four million years ago, and they do it seems 295 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: like they can see better when they're younger. They do 296 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: have what's called simple eyes where they can kind of 297 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:41,000 Speaker 1: see blurry, shadowy, fuzzy things. Uh, and the young uns 298 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:43,399 Speaker 1: kind of rely on that. But I think when they 299 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,239 Speaker 1: get older, I guess their eyesight either fails or they 300 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,000 Speaker 1: just get so good at sensing vibration that they don't 301 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,320 Speaker 1: really need those eyes. Yeah, I read that it's the latter. 302 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:56,199 Speaker 1: That they they're so good at sensing vibrations. They have 303 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: little hairs on their bodies that act as century organs 304 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,240 Speaker 1: so that they can they can detect like movement in 305 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 1: the water. And I'll tell you what, I can really 306 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: relate to leeches because after I saw my niece Mila 307 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: and the trailer for No Exit coming out February, the 308 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: hairs on my arm we're standing on and I could 309 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 1: have detected vibrations in water with those things. That is 310 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: a Hodgemen level plug. Thank you. It's good. Leeches. No, no no, no, 311 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,920 Speaker 1: we don't need Leeches are amazing swimmers. Uh. They can 312 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,719 Speaker 1: kind of inch along in the water very definitely. And 313 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:35,359 Speaker 1: then when they hit your skin, they're gonna probably not 314 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,159 Speaker 1: go towards your bits, but they will probably hit you 315 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: around the ankles or the shins or someplace and try 316 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 1: and do their thing down there. Because it's thin skin, 317 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:47,439 Speaker 1: they have less to deal with. Um. So one of 318 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 1: the things we said that there um there, they're saliva 319 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,080 Speaker 1: really does have some pretty neat compounds in it, and 320 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 1: like things that science is just now you know that 321 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 1: whole arrogance of science that science went through after it 322 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:02,760 Speaker 1: was like, oh, all this is just witchcraft and folk magic. 323 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,040 Speaker 1: We can't be associated with this, and they turn their 324 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:08,120 Speaker 1: backs on some like legitimately good stuff. Leeches was one 325 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:10,600 Speaker 1: of them, and they're just now as we'll talk about 326 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:13,280 Speaker 1: coming back around to like really looking into leeches, because 327 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,879 Speaker 1: they're kind of a medical marvel gift from nature itself. 328 00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: And the reason why is because in its saliva it 329 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 1: contains a bunch of chemicals, not the least of which 330 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,159 Speaker 1: is called I believe here you didn't you think I'm 331 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: pronouncing that correctly. That sounds right, I'm thinking here, you didn't. 332 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 1: Uh yeah, it's a and we'll talk about it more 333 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,680 Speaker 1: in depth in a minute. But it is pretty amazing 334 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 1: that this thing that allows them just to feed better 335 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 1: because it thins the blood and it doesn't coagulate and 336 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,399 Speaker 1: it just gives them dinner. It's pretty amazing that it 337 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 1: actually has like legitimate medical properties. Yeah, because it's so 338 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,640 Speaker 1: powerful when that leech and injects some of its saliva 339 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: containing here you didn't in it um, like your blood 340 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:01,919 Speaker 1: starts flowing. And one of the things you'll find is 341 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,760 Speaker 1: that if you get a leech bite, once that leech 342 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,199 Speaker 1: is gone, whether you get it off of yourself or 343 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 1: it fills up and wanders off, you're gonna still keep 344 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: bleeding for up to ten hours afterward because that here 345 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: it in is so so powerful as as far as 346 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:21,600 Speaker 1: anticoagulants go. Also, so there's another compound in there. I 347 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,120 Speaker 1: can't remember which one it is, but it's a vasodilator, 348 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: which means it opens up your blood vessel so that 349 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:29,520 Speaker 1: more blood pumps out more freely. Yeah, I mean this 350 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: is a little evolutionary miracle of a of a well 351 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:40,400 Speaker 1: it's not a bug, but slug. Yeah. Uh. They will 352 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: drink blood like crazy. They will drink as much as 353 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 1: ten times their body weight sometimes because they're a bit 354 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:52,479 Speaker 1: like the camel of the of the lake in that 355 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: they go a year or so, sometimes many months at 356 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 1: least between meals and they can store this stuff up 357 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,840 Speaker 1: and a little power where they have these enzymes because 358 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 1: you know, blood will eventually go bad, but they have 359 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,119 Speaker 1: enzymes that protect it and keep it fresh. Yeah. And 360 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: there's another thing that they're studying with leeches these days 361 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: is it's um, it's a microbiota and its stomach and 362 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:17,800 Speaker 1: it's gut, just like they're studying our microbiota, which I 363 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 1: think is the most fascinating thing of all time. They're 364 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: also setting leeches to figure out what's going on in 365 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: there to keep the blood from spoiling, because you know, 366 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:28,200 Speaker 1: they might go six months or a year between meals. 367 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:30,399 Speaker 1: It doesn't take them that long to digest it, but 368 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:32,960 Speaker 1: it still takes weeks and weeks for a leech to 369 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,400 Speaker 1: digest its its meal. And it takes long enough that, 370 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:39,160 Speaker 1: I mean a leach probably only feeds a few times 371 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,800 Speaker 1: in its life, I believe, yeah, because they don't live 372 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:44,600 Speaker 1: that long. I mean, but I think no more than 373 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,160 Speaker 1: a few years probably max. That would be my guess. 374 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,200 Speaker 1: As well, we should talk about the tyrant king leech, 375 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: the Taranta della rex and this is a one jawed 376 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,439 Speaker 1: sucker that uh is also in the Amazon River. And 377 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,160 Speaker 1: these are the stuff of nightmares because this is one 378 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 1: of those leeches that's like, forget the ankle, forget the shin. 379 00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: What I really like is to get inside of you 380 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,480 Speaker 1: and up in that mucus membrane so it will get 381 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,199 Speaker 1: into your nasal cavity. You can be a kid, and 382 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: there are many reports of kids and teenagers who were 383 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: bathing in the Amazon or playing in the Amazon and 384 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:26,920 Speaker 1: ended up with a leech up their nose or somewhere 385 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 1: like deep within their nasal cavity, which is the stuff 386 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:31,920 Speaker 1: of nightmares to me. It gets even worse than that 387 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 1: because they found these kinds of leeches in eyeballs, like 388 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 1: attached to the mucus membrane around your eyeball, your urethra 389 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:46,040 Speaker 1: so so much they will block the your ability to pee, 390 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:50,320 Speaker 1: your anus or your vagina, have one there than the 391 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 1: other two places, or your vagina. They found leeches in vaginas, 392 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 1: these kind of leeches. And the other worst part about them, Chuck, 393 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,959 Speaker 1: is that you know a leech that's feeding on you externally, 394 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: like a typical jawed leech. It'll feed for maybe twenty 395 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,439 Speaker 1: to thirty minutes something like that. These guys stick around 396 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:11,720 Speaker 1: for weeks, maybe months, And sometimes people detect that they 397 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:15,840 Speaker 1: have one of these internal leeches because they they they 398 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 1: feel what's called foreign body movement, like there's something moving 399 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,399 Speaker 1: around inside of them and their bodies like m I 400 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,720 Speaker 1: might want to get this checked out, because I'm about 401 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,520 Speaker 1: to puke everything up right now. Oh man, I just 402 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:31,399 Speaker 1: can't help but think of when I pulled that spider 403 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,760 Speaker 1: out of Emily's ear cavity and she was like, it's 404 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:40,360 Speaker 1: something like buzzing, Like that's not a good sign. Oh man, 405 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 1: that was so funny. I mean, it was funny for me, 406 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:44,920 Speaker 1: and she handled it pretty well. I gotta say, can 407 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,320 Speaker 1: we read that thing from eight thirty five since we're 408 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: just at the maybe the grossest part of this whole episode. 409 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 1: Uh yeah, go ahead, hit it. Do you know the 410 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,159 Speaker 1: one I'm talking about? I think so? Yeah. Okay, So 411 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 1: there was a there was a case study that mentioned 412 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,640 Speaker 1: on a site, a historian site called Jerry Walton dot 413 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,480 Speaker 1: com g E. R. I Walton dot com, who is 414 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:08,639 Speaker 1: a historian, and she wrote about a girl who was 415 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:13,200 Speaker 1: gathering watercress in and there was a leech that went 416 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 1: around her ankle and then for some reason, the leech 417 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: made its way all the way into the girl's leg 418 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,320 Speaker 1: and just climbed up to her thigh where finally her 419 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:27,479 Speaker 1: thigh was about twice it's natural size, tents red and 420 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:31,920 Speaker 1: shining and very painful. And finally the doctor like cut 421 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 1: out this blood clot of blood and puss, he says, 422 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: which you say, which he drained and emptied into a bowl. 423 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:43,560 Speaker 1: On emptying the matter from the bowl on a clean 424 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,440 Speaker 1: flag outside the door, the girl's mother was surprised to 425 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 1: find among it a leech, coiled up, quite alive and 426 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 1: moving actively. Yeah, I mean, this isn't something leeches are 427 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: known to do, like burrow and move around inside your body, 428 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,920 Speaker 1: like from the skin, like they'll crawl up your nose 429 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:05,119 Speaker 1: or if you swallow one. This um limnatis uh niloticta 430 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 1: is one of the ones that doesn't have the power 431 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:10,760 Speaker 1: to break the skin with its little teeth or jaw, 432 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,440 Speaker 1: so it it hangs around and waits for you to 433 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: drink it, or a cow to drink it, so like 434 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: they'll get in that way. But they are not known 435 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,919 Speaker 1: to generally do what happened in this girl right now, 436 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 1: which is why a hundred and eighty five years later, 437 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 1: eighty seven years later, we're talking about it on stuff. 438 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,119 Speaker 1: You should know because it is so messed up that 439 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,280 Speaker 1: almost fainted when I first read it, And it takes 440 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 1: a lot to make me feel like I could faint 441 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:39,360 Speaker 1: if I if I don't stop imagining like putting myself 442 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,680 Speaker 1: here in this situation. Yeah, I mean that's horrifying. Um 443 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: hasn't happened a ton since then, because that was right, right, No, 444 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:49,119 Speaker 1: it is extremely rare. And even like you said, that 445 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 1: one that will um that will like when you you'll 446 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 1: drink it up and it attaches um. That's actually killed. 447 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 1: Some people famously killed some of napoleon soldiers in Egypt 448 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:03,320 Speaker 1: and seventeen. They drank from a water source that a leech, 449 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:07,520 Speaker 1: some leeches attached to like their esophagus, and as they 450 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,040 Speaker 1: became engorged from feeding, it blocked the soldiers airways and 451 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,160 Speaker 1: some of them died from suffocation. Yeah, I mean, what's 452 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,800 Speaker 1: probably not gonna happen almost certainly, as you're not gonna 453 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,320 Speaker 1: be bled out by leeches. But there have been cases 454 00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 1: where people have gone to the emergency room with like 455 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:25,960 Speaker 1: more than a hundred leeches on them and they were 456 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:30,840 Speaker 1: anemic or lightheaded or both, and so that can happen. 457 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,639 Speaker 1: But you're generally not going to die from a leech, I'll, 458 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:37,399 Speaker 1: you know, unless you're in Napoleon's army, right right. The 459 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,240 Speaker 1: need deserved it. So you want to talk about how 460 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:47,200 Speaker 1: leeches reproduced because that's pretty interesting as well. Sure they're hermaphroditic. Yep, 461 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:51,120 Speaker 1: they have male and female sex organs. Uh, they are 462 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:54,920 Speaker 1: internal sex organs, and they do make you know. They 463 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 1: have uh, they have sperm, they have eggs, they have ovaries, 464 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,679 Speaker 1: and in order to mate, they get together. And I 465 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,240 Speaker 1: thought we had talked about this before. It was some 466 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:10,000 Speaker 1: insect that did something similar, probably ticks maybe, where they 467 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:12,160 Speaker 1: attached to each other and kind of just line up 468 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 1: where their parts should be and the sort of fit. 469 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 1: The male produces a container like a syringe light container 470 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:26,160 Speaker 1: of sperm called a spermataphor, and it pierces the skin 471 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 1: near that sex organ, and I guess they say it's 472 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 1: close enough for rock and roll. And they somehow find 473 00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:36,120 Speaker 1: a way to the ovaries, and then they produce these 474 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:39,359 Speaker 1: little cocoons that are very hardy. Yeah, out of a 475 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 1: little part of their body called the clitellum. It produces 476 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:46,760 Speaker 1: a thick fluid that the the fertilized eggs are are 477 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,679 Speaker 1: enshrouded in in that cocoon. And then they attached the 478 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,360 Speaker 1: cocoons to like plants or put them in the mud 479 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,280 Speaker 1: or something like that. In a few weeks or months later, 480 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:58,960 Speaker 1: um baby leeches hatch and and they just they hatch 481 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:02,160 Speaker 1: like fully formed and just grow over time as they 482 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:07,639 Speaker 1: feed um. But they they do this reciprocally. Yeah, that 483 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:12,760 Speaker 1: was right. Where each leech fertilizes one another's eggs. So 484 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:18,520 Speaker 1: as the leeches um mate, they are um fertilizing one 485 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 1: another's eggs. They're both receiving amp and sending um sperm. 486 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 1: And it's pretty neat. It's it's kind of a real 487 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,720 Speaker 1: tip for ted arrangement. It is. And those cocoons are 488 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:33,240 Speaker 1: really hardy. Dave talks about it, says that they're tough 489 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:36,479 Speaker 1: enough to be swallowed by waterfowl and just go right 490 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,560 Speaker 1: through them and come out the other end and be okay, 491 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: which gave rise to the famous saying that went through 492 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: me like a leech cocoon through a waterfowl, which is 493 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 1: what I always say. Sure, no, it was good. What 494 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: about the kangaroo leach? I think that one bears mentioning 495 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:01,000 Speaker 1: as well too, as as far as reproduct. Yeah, they kangrew. 496 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,240 Speaker 1: I mean, these things come out kind of ready to 497 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:05,680 Speaker 1: take on the world. They don't need a lot of care, 498 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: but they are doting parents in some cases, which is 499 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:13,000 Speaker 1: pretty interesting, especially the kangaroo leach, which has a little 500 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 1: a little pouch like a marsupial does, and they carry 501 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 1: around their little leech in the pouch until they're ready 502 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 1: to think for themselves, which is sort of adorable and 503 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,320 Speaker 1: so and this definitely was from the Daily Parasite dot com, 504 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,400 Speaker 1: but they said that the leech um basically shoots them 505 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 1: the pouch of baby leeches explosively onto a passing frog 506 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:36,800 Speaker 1: when it's ready, when it says like, fly away, a 507 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:39,520 Speaker 1: little Berris's time for you to to live on your own, 508 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:41,920 Speaker 1: to make sure that they get a good first meal. 509 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,560 Speaker 1: So some poor frog gets splattered with baby leeches because 510 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 1: because it happened to be in the wrong place at 511 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 1: the wrong time. I mean, I wonder if I know 512 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:54,280 Speaker 1: what they can't kill a human? Can leech just kill 513 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,320 Speaker 1: a sure fish or a frog? I think they can 514 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:00,080 Speaker 1: kill livestock if if you don't get them off. I 515 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,120 Speaker 1: think one of the reasons they have trouble killing humans 516 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: is because we have opposable thumbs, and we can get 517 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:07,520 Speaker 1: them off. We can get them off a lot easily easier. 518 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:10,479 Speaker 1: I read that poor elephants will will be driven like 519 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 1: almost crazy when a leech gets up inside of its 520 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:16,280 Speaker 1: trunk like, and I thought, yeah, there's a lot of 521 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 1: like animals are just s o l in a lot 522 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,680 Speaker 1: of cases. So yeah, I think they can think they 523 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:24,200 Speaker 1: can kill animals because they can't get them off as easy. 524 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:27,720 Speaker 1: Poor elephants. I know, I feel sucking that water up 525 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:32,800 Speaker 1: have been fun mhmm, very sad. So I say we talk. 526 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:35,720 Speaker 1: We we give everybody, the good people, some advice about 527 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:37,680 Speaker 1: how to get rid of a leech if you find 528 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:39,600 Speaker 1: one on you, and then let's take a break hop 529 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,400 Speaker 1: about that. Yeah, like I said, you don't need to 530 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:45,120 Speaker 1: be too freaked out, even though it's pretty scary looking. 531 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 1: They're not poisonous, you're not. They don't carry or they 532 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 1: haven't at least been known to carry um human blood 533 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 1: born diseases. Yeah, anytime there's like a blood sucker, you 534 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 1: kind of might want to worry about that, but not 535 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,480 Speaker 1: in this case. But what you want to do is 536 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:02,720 Speaker 1: don't panic and just tear it off of you because 537 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:05,720 Speaker 1: it might detaching, part of it might get left kind 538 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:07,120 Speaker 1: of like a tick. Again, you don't want any of 539 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 1: it left in your skin, right right, because that that 540 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:15,560 Speaker 1: remnant usually the jaw can get infected um. And another 541 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:16,880 Speaker 1: one that you want to do is you don't want 542 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:18,640 Speaker 1: to treat it too rough, like you might want to 543 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:21,680 Speaker 1: beat it up and and um and really show it 544 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:23,520 Speaker 1: who's boss, but you don't. You want to treat it 545 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 1: very gently because if you like squeeze a leech or 546 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:30,800 Speaker 1: a lot of people recommend putting a little table salt 547 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: or even like alcohol or lemon juice on a leech, 548 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: if you disturb it biologically like they're physiologically like that, 549 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 1: you might make it vomit. And that's bad because it's 550 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,000 Speaker 1: vomiting up some of its stomach contents into your body 551 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 1: and you can get an infection from that as well. 552 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,080 Speaker 1: So the key here is to treat the leech very 553 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:55,760 Speaker 1: gently and go against every fiber of your screaming nerves 554 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 1: in your entire body. Will just be like, oh fiddle 555 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,400 Speaker 1: d d there's a leech on me. I better carefully 556 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,440 Speaker 1: remove it. He dial up the stuff you should know 557 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: episode and listen all the way through the thirty two 558 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,280 Speaker 1: minutes until I get to the point where they tell 559 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:15,480 Speaker 1: us to be gentle and just use a little Dave said, 560 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,600 Speaker 1: like a credit card or your fingernail or something, and 561 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 1: gently kind of press on the side of its head, 562 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:25,920 Speaker 1: hopefully it will detach that sucker. And then Dave said 563 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,120 Speaker 1: to flick it off before it reattaches. And that is 564 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,600 Speaker 1: an understatement. Yeah, I mean, you're just trying to break 565 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,000 Speaker 1: that seal that the leech creates with its mouth and 566 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:37,400 Speaker 1: your skin, and then enough for it to be like, 567 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 1: hey man, what the heck, so that it pulls its 568 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,440 Speaker 1: jaws out too as well. Um, and again, that wound's 569 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 1: gonna bleed for maybe ten hours. I saw in a 570 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:50,400 Speaker 1: Popular Science article. So just you gotta clean the wound, 571 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:52,800 Speaker 1: you gotta dress it, and you're gonna have to redress it, 572 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,840 Speaker 1: probably more than once because it's kind of just keep bleeding. Yeah. 573 00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:57,360 Speaker 1: I feel like I had a leech on me at 574 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:00,720 Speaker 1: one point or another when I was a kid, but 575 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:05,280 Speaker 1: nothing stands out story wise, but I'm pretty sure I 576 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,440 Speaker 1: remember it happening. You. I don't think I've ever had 577 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:10,880 Speaker 1: a leach on me. I've had plenty of ticks, but 578 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:15,640 Speaker 1: never elach. Keep that street going. I'm trying what I say. 579 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:20,320 Speaker 1: I'm trying. I steer clear of fresh water, salt water. 580 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:23,560 Speaker 1: You don't get in the water. I don't go to 581 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:28,280 Speaker 1: Japan or Indonesia. I'm pretty I'm steering clear of the leeches. 582 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:31,000 Speaker 1: I see. That's my problem is I am one to 583 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:34,200 Speaker 1: jump in any body of water that I can jump in. 584 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:38,120 Speaker 1: I remember once when I was a kid and we 585 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:39,960 Speaker 1: had this creek that we used to swim in, and 586 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:43,080 Speaker 1: we were hanging out with some kid who didn't normally 587 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:44,840 Speaker 1: hang out with us, and he saw the first of 588 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:48,280 Speaker 1: us go into this creek and start swimming and he 589 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:51,440 Speaker 1: goes that kid wants dysent terry or something like that, 590 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 1: and I mean, we're like ten. I don't know how 591 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,560 Speaker 1: this kid even knew about dysent terry, but I knew 592 00:33:57,600 --> 00:33:59,120 Speaker 1: what he was talking about enough to be like, Oh, 593 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:01,040 Speaker 1: you don't want that. You can get that from creeks. 594 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:02,920 Speaker 1: I better steer clear of creeks. That has made a 595 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,960 Speaker 1: huge impression on me. Yeah, with the creeks behind my house. 596 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:09,400 Speaker 1: So I just I don't know. I'll always try and 597 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:12,560 Speaker 1: get water if I can. Oh. The other thing that 598 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:14,760 Speaker 1: scared me too in that same creek, with somebody saying 599 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: like what about water moccasins? Like there they always everybody 600 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,520 Speaker 1: always has a story about how somebody jumped into a 601 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:24,200 Speaker 1: pit of water moccasins, and that was that. So that 602 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:26,520 Speaker 1: kind of steered me clear of creeks too, So you 603 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:29,719 Speaker 1: get it, I get it, don't really regret it. All right, Well, 604 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:33,000 Speaker 1: let's have a little pause for the cause, and we will. 605 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:35,880 Speaker 1: Jesus just turned into Johnny fever r I P. By 606 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:40,480 Speaker 1: the way, Howard Heman? What he just passed away? What 607 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:45,319 Speaker 1: a b s year already for celebriting man. I'll tell 608 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,120 Speaker 1: you who turned out to be a great person in retrospect? 609 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:51,640 Speaker 1: Was Bob Saget. My goodness read any of the tributes 610 00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:54,600 Speaker 1: to him, pretty heartwarming. You should read. Have you read 611 00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:59,880 Speaker 1: John stamus as eulogy? Amazing dude, I think very highly 612 00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:02,920 Speaker 1: a Bob sagging out, but also John Steams and weirdly 613 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,239 Speaker 1: John Mayer. Uh, I don't know if you were any 614 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:06,800 Speaker 1: of that stuff. I didn't know. They were good buddies. 615 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:09,560 Speaker 1: He wrote some John Mary a lot. She didn't like 616 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:12,680 Speaker 1: his music, but she thinks he's pretty cool and uh yeah, 617 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:14,440 Speaker 1: So that's how we kind of got sucked into the 618 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:18,040 Speaker 1: whole Bob sag It death thing. Alright. And Jeffrey Ross, 619 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:20,120 Speaker 1: who he was a really good friend of Bob. My 620 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,439 Speaker 1: brother worked with Saga and he remember years ago saying 621 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:26,279 Speaker 1: that he was like the nicest dude. Yeah, he's he 622 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:28,920 Speaker 1: seems to have been the real deal for sure. Alright, 623 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:31,279 Speaker 1: pe everybody who we've lost this year, how about that? 624 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:33,880 Speaker 1: And that let's take a break and we're going to 625 00:35:33,960 --> 00:36:02,959 Speaker 1: talk about blood letting right after this. M okay, chuck. 626 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,480 Speaker 1: So we're finally at part two thirty five minutes in. 627 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:09,799 Speaker 1: What we're talking about the history of blood letting um 628 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:13,480 Speaker 1: and using medicinal leeches and just a brief overview of 629 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:17,960 Speaker 1: blood letting. It's based on the humoral theory of health 630 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:21,560 Speaker 1: and disease, which says that we have four humors, right, 631 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:27,000 Speaker 1: We've got um, blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. 632 00:36:27,719 --> 00:36:30,799 Speaker 1: And over time people said, I think bloods like the 633 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:34,959 Speaker 1: real like money, money, humor. We need to keep things 634 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:36,640 Speaker 1: in balance. So if you want to keep everything in 635 00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:39,000 Speaker 1: balance to be healthy, you need to get rid of 636 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,880 Speaker 1: some excess blood. That's the real problem. And so for 637 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:44,839 Speaker 1: a long time people use like knives or whatever and 638 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:48,439 Speaker 1: cut your into your veins to to bleed you out 639 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:51,040 Speaker 1: to remove some of that blood. And somewhere along the 640 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:53,719 Speaker 1: way people said, I think leeches are a better a 641 00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:56,080 Speaker 1: better treatment for this because it's a lot gentler and 642 00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:59,760 Speaker 1: kindler than cutting into somebody's arms. Uh, and you probably 643 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:04,160 Speaker 1: don't is nearly the amount of blood We covered this 644 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:06,880 Speaker 1: years ago. It had to have been in one of 645 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:11,120 Speaker 1: our weird medical top tens. And I know we talked 646 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:15,840 Speaker 1: about medical leeches at some point, but here we go again, 647 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:21,520 Speaker 1: because they used them a lot back then. Um. I 648 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:25,920 Speaker 1: think the early nineteenth century is when in Europe they 649 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:28,520 Speaker 1: were like, this is really the best kind of treatment 650 00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:31,240 Speaker 1: we've ever heard of. We would call that the Golden 651 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:37,280 Speaker 1: Age at least so far of leeching or leech mania, yeah, 652 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:39,680 Speaker 1: of losing blood via leach And there was a man, 653 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:44,200 Speaker 1: specifically a doctor in Paris, Dr Francois would that be 654 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:49,560 Speaker 1: Brusa m hm okay, And he was. He was a 655 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:52,759 Speaker 1: physician in Paris who he basically was like, you know what, 656 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: everything that's wrong with anyone is inflammation of your intestines. 657 00:37:56,680 --> 00:37:59,240 Speaker 1: It all goes back to that. So anybody that comes 658 00:37:59,239 --> 00:38:02,319 Speaker 1: by my clim my military hospital, the first thing that 659 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:04,440 Speaker 1: we're gonna do, I don't care what you say is 660 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:07,080 Speaker 1: wrong with you, is we're going to throw fifty leeches 661 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:10,439 Speaker 1: on your body right out of the gate. To see 662 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:14,279 Speaker 1: what happens. Yeah, he earned the nickname le Vampierre de 663 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:19,600 Speaker 1: la medicine, which seems appropriate. But he was hugely popular, 664 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,640 Speaker 1: so much so that um and leeches were hugely popular too. 665 00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:27,640 Speaker 1: But the ideas of Brussay were so popular that, um, 666 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:30,879 Speaker 1: he even reached into the fashion world where people would 667 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:34,880 Speaker 1: wear like dresses with leeches embroidered all over him. Like 668 00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:37,400 Speaker 1: leech mania seems to be a really good descriptor of 669 00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:40,360 Speaker 1: this period of time. And I saw and I could 670 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:46,359 Speaker 1: not find what happened. But Britannica said that his his 671 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:51,040 Speaker 1: theories about blood letting and leeches were hugely influential until 672 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:54,640 Speaker 1: a cholera epidemic in eighteen thirty two and his methods 673 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:57,879 Speaker 1: proved disastrous and he fell out of favor. Interesting. I 674 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:00,480 Speaker 1: couldn't see what happened, but you can probably guess that 675 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:03,600 Speaker 1: a lot of people die because he mistreated them by 676 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:07,520 Speaker 1: blood by you know, massive blood lighting or whatever. But 677 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:11,040 Speaker 1: it seems to have ended that that leech mania thing. 678 00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:14,279 Speaker 1: And then, like we said before, um, the leeches is 679 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:18,160 Speaker 1: kind of fell to the wayside because modern medicine was like, no, 680 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:21,560 Speaker 1: that's that's claptrap, that's quackery. We need to separate ourselves 681 00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:24,839 Speaker 1: from that, even if there was really something to it. Yeah, 682 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:26,319 Speaker 1: and if you're wondering, you know that it takes a 683 00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:28,080 Speaker 1: lot of leeches. It's not like a doctor would have 684 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:31,480 Speaker 1: like six or eight of these laying around. Um, you know, 685 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:35,279 Speaker 1: thirty five million medical leeches were being imported every year 686 00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:38,799 Speaker 1: into France alone in the eighteen thirties. And if you're 687 00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:42,200 Speaker 1: asking yourself, how do you get this many leeches? You 688 00:39:42,239 --> 00:39:45,040 Speaker 1: get him the old fashioned way. There were people like 689 00:39:45,239 --> 00:39:48,320 Speaker 1: leech I mean, Dave calls him leech gatherers or leech hunters. 690 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:51,680 Speaker 1: They would wade into waters with their pants rolled up 691 00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:56,560 Speaker 1: or maybe no pants at all, and they would get 692 00:39:56,640 --> 00:39:59,120 Speaker 1: leeches to attach to themselves and then pull them off 693 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:04,319 Speaker 1: and sell them. And yeah, and Jerry Walton's website I 694 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:07,839 Speaker 1: saw she wrote that they would, in this manner gather 695 00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:10,480 Speaker 1: about five leeches a day. It's crazy. We're doing a 696 00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:13,719 Speaker 1: good job. It is crazy. It's very because she wrote 697 00:40:13,719 --> 00:40:16,719 Speaker 1: a whole post on leech gathering as a weird profession 698 00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,960 Speaker 1: that that finally kind of fellow the wayside, and it 699 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:24,279 Speaker 1: did indeed fell the wayside until I think the seventies, 700 00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:31,680 Speaker 1: when some daring adventurous UH physiologists started studying what's called 701 00:40:31,719 --> 00:40:36,799 Speaker 1: herudo therapy UM, and it was it became kind of 702 00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:41,520 Speaker 1: important first in reconstructive surgery. And it just makes uttering 703 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:44,319 Speaker 1: complete sense that you would use it for this. So 704 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:46,840 Speaker 1: I guess they were starting to study it in the seventies, 705 00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:51,040 Speaker 1: but it wasn't until when a plastic surgeon name named 706 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:53,440 Speaker 1: Joseph Upton like really put it to the test. I 707 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:56,880 Speaker 1: get the impression it was mostly clinical or lab studies 708 00:40:56,920 --> 00:41:01,120 Speaker 1: and maybe UM just kind of posture elation. And Upton said, 709 00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:04,000 Speaker 1: I'm trying. I'm at the end of my rope. I'm 710 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,200 Speaker 1: gonna get it is pretty amazing. There was a boy, 711 00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:09,640 Speaker 1: a five year old boy in Boston who went in 712 00:41:09,719 --> 00:41:12,239 Speaker 1: and said, my right, HEEA was bitten off in the pock. 713 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:19,319 Speaker 1: It was dog and very sad. I'm just kind of 714 00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:22,359 Speaker 1: getting around UM. But that all ends well, don't worry. 715 00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:25,200 Speaker 1: That's the reason I'm telling that joke. UH. He reattached 716 00:41:25,239 --> 00:41:29,120 Speaker 1: the ear, but the tissue was suffering from necrosis. It 717 00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:31,960 Speaker 1: was starting to turn black and die because it was 718 00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:34,560 Speaker 1: swelling up with blood that couldn't go anywhere. It was 719 00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:38,400 Speaker 1: pulling up and becoming stagnant and This is a you know, 720 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:40,960 Speaker 1: this was an ongoing and still is an ongoing issue 721 00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:44,000 Speaker 1: when you're trying to reattach a body part to get 722 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:46,919 Speaker 1: that blood flow not just going one way but going 723 00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:49,760 Speaker 1: the other way. Like they can attach a major artery 724 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:52,320 Speaker 1: to send blood to a thing, but they don't attach 725 00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:55,160 Speaker 1: all the little tiny veins that send blood back away 726 00:41:55,239 --> 00:41:57,920 Speaker 1: from it, so that chance than that risk of pooling 727 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:02,000 Speaker 1: is always there. So this doctor Upton said, you know what, 728 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:05,279 Speaker 1: I remember reading this, just stay with me, kid, this 729 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:10,839 Speaker 1: crazy article about leech therapy. And he said, let's give 730 00:42:10,880 --> 00:42:13,520 Speaker 1: it a shot, and he ordered thirty leeches, had him 731 00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:17,880 Speaker 1: shipped overnight from Britain from a leech farm. They attached 732 00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:21,120 Speaker 1: two of them to this kid's ear and the leeches 733 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:24,319 Speaker 1: did the work. And we're sucking that blood up enough 734 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:27,080 Speaker 1: to where it regained its color and he made a 735 00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:32,239 Speaker 1: complete recovery. Yeah, And it did that by um that vasodilation, 736 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:35,320 Speaker 1: so it improved blood flow. It kept that that blood 737 00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:38,560 Speaker 1: from um coagulating so it wasn't clotting, so it was 738 00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:43,359 Speaker 1: flowing even more smoothly um. And the leeches themselves were 739 00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:46,160 Speaker 1: pumped steadily pumping the blood out, so there wasn't any 740 00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:49,919 Speaker 1: blood to pool and turn ransom and become stagnant. So 741 00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:53,040 Speaker 1: and the veins can do amazing thing. Your blood vessels 742 00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:57,279 Speaker 1: do spectacular things. Whenever they they face an obstacle, they 743 00:42:57,360 --> 00:42:59,040 Speaker 1: will figure out a way to go around and grow 744 00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:02,799 Speaker 1: around and make new actions. So by using leeches, you 745 00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:05,840 Speaker 1: are giving those veins enough breathing room to kind of 746 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:09,400 Speaker 1: figure it out themselves and reconnect and and you know, 747 00:43:09,480 --> 00:43:13,200 Speaker 1: reinstitute that kind of blood flow out of that area. 748 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:17,400 Speaker 1: It's pretty spectacular. And that was like everybody just found 749 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:20,080 Speaker 1: the closest leech and put it on their shoulder and 750 00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:22,239 Speaker 1: the leech like shook its hands on either side of 751 00:43:22,280 --> 00:43:25,160 Speaker 1: its head and triumph. So leeches kind of came back 752 00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:28,080 Speaker 1: like in a big way starting in the nineteen eighties 753 00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:30,800 Speaker 1: and science has really been taking them seriously ever since. 754 00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:33,840 Speaker 1: It's amazing. It's almost like they are meant to do this. 755 00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:37,480 Speaker 1: This is their one little function that can benefit humankind. 756 00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:40,560 Speaker 1: Uh so much though that in two thousand four the 757 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:45,880 Speaker 1: FDA said medical leeches approved. Uh, it's actually approved. And 758 00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:48,000 Speaker 1: this is where I definitely remember us talking about it. 759 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:51,239 Speaker 1: It's it's approved as a medical device. I know what 760 00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:55,040 Speaker 1: you're thinking of what we did an entire episode on maggots, 761 00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:59,680 Speaker 1: and they're also approved as a medical device for similar 762 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:04,000 Speaker 1: off but really removing like dead and infected tissue. And 763 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,560 Speaker 1: I wonder if that's what you're thinking about. I don't know. 764 00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:10,640 Speaker 1: Pretty amazing for both of them, though, so they are 765 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:14,840 Speaker 1: legit medical devices. I think the actual quote from the 766 00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:18,359 Speaker 1: FDA was for the purpose of overcoming the problem of 767 00:44:18,760 --> 00:44:24,440 Speaker 1: venus venus congestion by creating prolonged localized bleeding. It sounds 768 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:27,480 Speaker 1: like something Galen would have written. Uh, and they are 769 00:44:27,920 --> 00:44:30,319 Speaker 1: this is this sort of sad part is their single use. 770 00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:35,279 Speaker 1: So they use these leeches and then they euthanize them 771 00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:38,680 Speaker 1: an alcohol instead of I don't know, take him outside, 772 00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:42,600 Speaker 1: throw them in the shrubbery. Well, I mean, there's got 773 00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:45,040 Speaker 1: to be something you can do, especially if you leave 774 00:44:45,120 --> 00:44:48,919 Speaker 1: them on until they are done. It seems like, yeah, 775 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:51,200 Speaker 1: we could kind of retire them or let them go 776 00:44:51,280 --> 00:44:54,840 Speaker 1: off and digest their meal in like a used leeches 777 00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:58,160 Speaker 1: jar or something like that. I just I think it's 778 00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:03,960 Speaker 1: sad an old folks on for leeches. Sure, at least 779 00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:06,560 Speaker 1: let him stay alive for the next few weeks so 780 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:09,279 Speaker 1: that they can digest that meal and enjoy it like 781 00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:12,759 Speaker 1: this is just the worst kind of using somebody. You know. Well, 782 00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:16,880 Speaker 1: there was that one attorney, that lawyer years ago who 783 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:20,120 Speaker 1: had a couple of leeches that that he said, uh 784 00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:23,200 Speaker 1: saved his life and he kept them in a jar 785 00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:25,960 Speaker 1: like a good guy, but he was a little wacky. 786 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:31,760 Speaker 1: He actually named them and would supposedly asked their opinion 787 00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:35,440 Speaker 1: on on cases that he was handling as as a 788 00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:38,960 Speaker 1: lawyer and looking at like how they swim as some 789 00:45:39,040 --> 00:45:44,680 Speaker 1: sort of divining uh indicator of how he should uh 790 00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:48,040 Speaker 1: which direction is case should go crazy? Kind of like 791 00:45:48,120 --> 00:45:51,640 Speaker 1: that octopus in the World Cup. I don't know, Oh yeah, yeah, 792 00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:55,319 Speaker 1: I remember that, yeah, exactly like um and there's that 793 00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:58,759 Speaker 1: was Thomas Erskine and he there he's part of this 794 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:02,800 Speaker 1: really interesting article from j Store Daily by Amelia Soft 795 00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:06,160 Speaker 1: that I think rus found. That's it's really good if 796 00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:07,880 Speaker 1: you're into that, if you want to read about that 797 00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:11,160 Speaker 1: whole leech mania, because it was way more than just 798 00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:13,759 Speaker 1: the medical profession. It was like the whole society just 799 00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:17,160 Speaker 1: kind of revered Leach for kind of like what you said, 800 00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:19,880 Speaker 1: almost like they were intended to do this, that's how 801 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:22,080 Speaker 1: they kind of saw it, and they really kind of 802 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:24,200 Speaker 1: respected lee just for a while, because Yeah, but while 803 00:46:24,239 --> 00:46:28,640 Speaker 1: the medical community is legitimately using them, the wellness community 804 00:46:28,880 --> 00:46:34,040 Speaker 1: is probably over using them. Uh. There are clinics in Arizona, 805 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:36,080 Speaker 1: there's some in England and other parts of the world 806 00:46:36,520 --> 00:46:40,560 Speaker 1: where their leech therapy is really far reaching and basically 807 00:46:40,560 --> 00:46:44,080 Speaker 1: saying it can help with everything from arthritis to cancer, 808 00:46:44,120 --> 00:46:48,480 Speaker 1: to carpel t Herp's to hemrhoids. Uh. I'm not sure 809 00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:51,719 Speaker 1: exactly where that treatment, how that goes, but I have 810 00:46:51,760 --> 00:46:56,279 Speaker 1: a pretty good idea. Yeah, but um, there are other 811 00:46:56,600 --> 00:47:00,440 Speaker 1: uses therapeutically that doctors are looking into, but they are 812 00:47:00,520 --> 00:47:03,239 Speaker 1: round me saying like, places like this you need to 813 00:47:03,280 --> 00:47:06,040 Speaker 1: be really wary of because the jury is still out 814 00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:08,160 Speaker 1: on a lot of this stuff. And I don't know 815 00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:10,920 Speaker 1: if we should go back to the you know, the 816 00:47:11,239 --> 00:47:15,879 Speaker 1: seventeenth century Europe or wherever that was, right, right, But yeah, 817 00:47:15,880 --> 00:47:20,919 Speaker 1: they do think that they're anti inflammatory properties, anti tumor properties, 818 00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:23,799 Speaker 1: like in those leeches saliva. It's pretty neat, so you 819 00:47:23,840 --> 00:47:27,279 Speaker 1: never know. Keep keep an ear out for for a 820 00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:32,960 Speaker 1: leech update in ten years from US. Okay, maybe ellech 821 00:47:32,960 --> 00:47:35,960 Speaker 1: will be in the Senate by then. There's already a 822 00:47:35,960 --> 00:47:39,759 Speaker 1: few in there. I would say, hey, yo, uh, you 823 00:47:39,880 --> 00:47:43,640 Speaker 1: got anything else? Chuck? I got nothing else. Chuck's got 824 00:47:43,680 --> 00:47:46,959 Speaker 1: nothing else everybody, which means it's time for listener mail. 825 00:47:50,840 --> 00:47:53,279 Speaker 1: Hey guys, I no, you don't always worry about pronunciation, 826 00:47:54,719 --> 00:47:59,040 Speaker 1: but us it's different on an oft repeated phrase, and 827 00:47:59,080 --> 00:48:02,000 Speaker 1: I just can't help my self, so we're gonna allow this, Robin. 828 00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:07,480 Speaker 1: We usually don't take pronunciation emails very seriously because we 829 00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:14,560 Speaker 1: famously mispronounced things almost on purpose, right almost. Uh. The 830 00:48:14,640 --> 00:48:17,040 Speaker 1: Arctic Fox episode is the latest. And Josh said the 831 00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:23,319 Speaker 1: phrase gras, where he correctly left the PA silent but 832 00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:27,759 Speaker 1: incorrectly said fat graw and French is fat with a 833 00:48:27,800 --> 00:48:33,719 Speaker 1: silent last letter like foi gras instead of gross silent e. 834 00:48:33,880 --> 00:48:39,040 Speaker 1: But a soft C loosely sounds like grass. Doubtless you 835 00:48:39,080 --> 00:48:41,800 Speaker 1: were doing your best, but foi gras is a decidedly 836 00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:47,879 Speaker 1: different thing from a kuda grass. Okay, to teach French 837 00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:50,160 Speaker 1: too little people, What I generally say is that the 838 00:48:50,239 --> 00:48:52,799 Speaker 1: last letter of silence. So if there's an E that 839 00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:55,479 Speaker 1: means a consonant in front of it, isn't the last 840 00:48:55,560 --> 00:48:58,960 Speaker 1: letter and is not silent. That's the difference between PETI 841 00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:03,600 Speaker 1: and tait mm hmm with an E on the end 842 00:49:03,680 --> 00:49:06,480 Speaker 1: or not. You don't have to read my message on 843 00:49:06,480 --> 00:49:09,880 Speaker 1: the show. Please take it, dare you not to, but 844 00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:12,719 Speaker 1: please take the message to heart. And now back to 845 00:49:12,760 --> 00:49:18,080 Speaker 1: the adorable Arctic Fox. And that is Robin. Who is 846 00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:25,120 Speaker 1: she her? In Victoria b C. Great town, that Victoria BC. Robin, 847 00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:27,800 Speaker 1: thank you very much for that a little French lesson. 848 00:49:27,920 --> 00:49:30,480 Speaker 1: It's been many, many years since I had one. I 849 00:49:30,520 --> 00:49:34,160 Speaker 1: will try to remember from now on everyone says kuda 850 00:49:34,160 --> 00:49:37,760 Speaker 1: gra though everyone says it, yeah, but everybody's got it wrong, 851 00:49:38,280 --> 00:49:41,080 Speaker 1: you say, I mean, it's Americans saying you say kuda 852 00:49:41,120 --> 00:49:44,239 Speaker 1: grass at the next dinner party and prepared to be 853 00:49:44,360 --> 00:49:47,879 Speaker 1: laughed out of their yokol. I'm gonna I'm gonna try 854 00:49:47,880 --> 00:49:52,120 Speaker 1: a different one. I'm gonna say kuda Okay. That's good, okay, see, 855 00:49:52,200 --> 00:49:57,640 Speaker 1: and just just make everyone if you want to get 856 00:49:57,680 --> 00:49:59,359 Speaker 1: in touch with us, like Robin did with a little 857 00:49:59,360 --> 00:50:02,520 Speaker 1: French lesson, the little Italian lesson, who knows some other 858 00:50:02,600 --> 00:50:04,319 Speaker 1: kind of lesson, We don't care. We want to hear it. 859 00:50:04,719 --> 00:50:07,040 Speaker 1: You can send it to us via email at Stuff 860 00:50:07,080 --> 00:50:12,960 Speaker 1: podcast at iHeart radio dot com. Stuff you should Know 861 00:50:13,040 --> 00:50:15,840 Speaker 1: is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts 862 00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:19,319 Speaker 1: My heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 863 00:50:19,400 --> 00:50:24,160 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H