1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, the production of 2 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:15,240 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind. 3 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick, and 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: we're back with part two of our series on the 5 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: invention of the chainsaw. And now last time I think 6 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:25,440 Speaker 1: we left off after we've been talking about the reasoning 7 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: behind chains as a as a cutting surface rather than 8 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: just a solid blade or even as opposed to a 9 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: giant circular saws. But this time we wanted to come 10 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: back and talk a little bit more about the early 11 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 1: history of power saws leading up to the modern chainsaw, 12 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:47,199 Speaker 1: as well as some rather rather distressing medical digressions. Well, 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: before we get into the medical stuff, I want to 14 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: come back to something I mentioned in passing. In the 15 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: last episode, I mentioned how I had I was vaguely 16 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: familiar with stuff like the misery whip and other uh 17 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: you a lumberjacking techniques and technologies based on a cartoon 18 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: that I saw when I was a kid, or and 19 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,039 Speaker 1: probably saw more than once, you know, probably had on 20 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,400 Speaker 1: a VHS tape or something. Um I described it and 21 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: our producer Seth, who is well versed in the cartoon universe. 22 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: He told me, oh, well that I think the one 23 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: you're talking about is nineteen fifty five. Up a Tree. Uh. 24 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: This is a Disney short featuring Donald Duck as well 25 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: as Chip and Dale. And this is absolutely it. This 26 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: is the one with scenes of you know, Donald is 27 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: chasing the chip monks around trying to cut down trees. 28 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,960 Speaker 1: They're all sorts of weird mishaps with saws. Do you 29 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: remember this one at all, Joe, certainly, not in any detail, 30 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: not in any more than the sort of images you 31 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: described last time. Well, I'm going to cut right to 32 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: the end and see if this rings a bell. This 33 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: is the last two sentences from the Wikipedia summary for 34 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: Up a Tree, from quote all Donald can do is 35 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: watch with day's grief as his home is rocketed into 36 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: the hair and explodes three times. Chippendale pretend to comfort Donald, 37 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: then proceed to roll in the ground and laugh hysterically. 38 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: Chippendale the sociopaths. They are bad friends. Granted, you know, 39 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 1: Donald did a lot of bad things before that, so 40 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:17,919 Speaker 1: he was very much getting his come upance. But you've 41 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,519 Speaker 1: taken out of contacts. That sounds that sounds pretty rough. 42 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: No one should have to watch their home explode three 43 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: times and then be brutally mocked by chipmunks. Yeah. Now, wait, 44 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: is this before Chippendale wherever rescue rangers. I thought they 45 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: would need to be rescuing people whose house that was 46 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: decades later. That was like a nineties thing, right, Okay, 47 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: this was this was the back in the fifties when 48 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: it was just all about you know, in a way, 49 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: there was kind of a a very shallow environmental message here, 50 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: uh that Donald is bad for going after their habitat 51 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: and distressing their home, and Chippendale are good for wanting 52 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: to maintain the pristine nature of their natural environment. The 53 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: term is tree poaching. Donald was tree poaching also, he 54 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: was I think he was being rather unsafe with some 55 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: of the saws. M I made that up, by the way, there, 56 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: I've never heard of tree poaching. Well, I mean it is. 57 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: You could certainly get into trouble for cutting, for felling 58 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 1: trees on someone else's land. That would be a type 59 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: of poaching, right, especially if they're full of sentien chipmunks. Uh, okay, Okay. 60 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 1: So the next thing that I think we have to 61 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: talk about in the history of the chainsaw is uh 62 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 1: that we've been focused on the road leading to power 63 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: chainsaws for logging and construction. But you may well have 64 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 1: seen a sort of viral dig you know, article floating 65 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: around a couple of years ago, talking about how the 66 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 1: original invention of the chainsaw was as a medical device, 67 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: invented for use in childbirth. Now, one of one of 68 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: the really surprising things is that, in one sense this 69 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: is true. In the eighteenth century there was such a 70 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: thing as the obstetric chainsaw. However, as you might guess 71 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: from the period, one big difference is that this was 72 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: not a motorized device, which maybe makes this discovery even 73 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: more alarming. Yeah, because when you hear the words medical 74 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: chain saw, it sounds ridiculous and potentially grotesque, or it 75 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: sounds like the sort of futurist extrapolation you find in 76 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:21,920 Speaker 1: sci fi, where you know, sometimes it will be like 77 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: in the future, chainsaws will be so small they can 78 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: be used for surgical procedures. You know. Where it's where 79 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: you're like, actually that that technology was not headed that direction, 80 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: sci fi author, I'm not sure why you chose to 81 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: focus on that, um, but you you you encounter that 82 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: sort of thing in science fiction from time to Yeah, well, 83 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: sometimes in sci fi medicine, you just get little like wands, 84 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: little magic wands, Like one magic wand just opens the 85 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: body up for whatever kind of procedure, and then you 86 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 1: touch the body with another glowing wand and it instantly heals. Yeah, 87 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: like they basically had that technology and like Star Trek 88 00:04:55,279 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: next generation. Uh oh yeah, that's right, Ason X. Here's 89 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: a quick horror question for you, Joe. You're you're far 90 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:08,720 Speaker 1: better versed in the the Friday world here at the 91 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: film universe. Did Jason Voorhees ever picked up a chainsaw? 92 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: Or did he just know that that would be gimmick infringement, 93 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: that that that was let to face his thing and 94 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: he should back off. I believe this is a point 95 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: a lot of people are confused on. As far as 96 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: I know, Jason has never wielded a chainsaw. The closest 97 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:29,279 Speaker 1: he ever gets is, I believe in Friday thirteen, part seven, 98 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: which is the one when which he battles a girl 99 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: with psychic powers. Uh and uh so that one's uh 100 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: quite funny and a lot of fun. But in that 101 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: one he does use a power saw, but it is 102 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:46,040 Speaker 1: not a chainsaw. It is a motor driven hedge trimmer 103 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 1: with a circular saw at the end of a long pole. Uh. 104 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:54,159 Speaker 1: And he sticks it right into Terry Kaiser's abdomen. Okay, 105 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: so that that that sounds right. He knew better. He 106 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 1: knows better than to pick up the chainsaw that's not his. 107 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: He can have literally any other tool, but not the chainsaw. 108 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: Right he he doesn't want to get into legal trouble. R. Plus, 109 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,280 Speaker 1: he's very much a stealth stalker type character, right right, 110 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: except I guess this thing does make noise. I mean, 111 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: Jason generally does not go for for power tools. He 112 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: prefers the classic, the manual implements, the machete, the big 113 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: old steak or spike. That's his territory, simple melee weapons. Yeah, alright, 114 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 1: Well getting back to medical chainsaws then, Um, the the 115 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: paper we were looking at for this came from uh 116 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: Skipping at all Uh and it was It's titled the 117 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 1: Chainsaw a Scottish Invention from the Scottish Medical Journal. Uh. 118 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: This is uh what forty nine number two. This is 119 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: from two thousand and four. So it's pointed out by 120 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: Skipping at all in in in this paper. Uh. The 121 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:53,479 Speaker 1: interesting thing is that we have two different Scottish inventors 122 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: in the eighteenth century who may have independently come up 123 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: with the concept of a medical chainsaw off sorts, and 124 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,359 Speaker 1: we do have to have that caveat of sorts, and 125 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: we're gonna get to something that more closely resembles what 126 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: we might or at least checks off more of the 127 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: boxes for what we think of as a chainsaw. Now 128 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:15,119 Speaker 1: again we're not talking about tiny gas powered chainsaws. In fact, 129 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: we're originally talking about a non mechanical invention. We're talking 130 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: about a quote chain hand saw, a fine serrated link 131 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:29,600 Speaker 1: chain which cut on the concave side. So this was handheld, 132 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: hand powered you pull it back and forth, very much 133 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: in common with some of those chain based cutting techniques 134 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: that we were talking about in the first episode when 135 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: you say, yeah, like one of the power saw design 136 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: and again this would not be powered. But one of 137 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: the power saw designs we talked about in the previous 138 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 1: episode was one where a tree would be cut down 139 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 1: with a cutting chain, but the chain did not revolve 140 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: around a fixed bar. Rather, the chain rotated freely around 141 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: the tree trunk to just saw right through it. Yeah. 142 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: So the first of these inventions was devised in the 143 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: early seventeen eighties by Scottish surgeon surgeon John Aitkin Uh. 144 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: It was intended for use in childbirth, specifically for a 145 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: syenthusiastomy in which the cartilage of the pubic synthesis is 146 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: divided to widen the pelvis, allowing childbirth. UM. Now, this 147 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: particular saw design UM was considered a promising method as 148 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: it avoided potential damage to surrounding tissues if a scalpel 149 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: was used. UM. But it was seventeen ninety before the 150 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: saw was produced and as this paper explains, it was 151 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,440 Speaker 1: never really widely picked up. Okay, so that's one of 152 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: the designs. The second was devised by Scottish surgeon James Jeffrey, 153 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: is a means of removing disease joints with having without 154 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: having to result to full limb removal. And one of 155 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: the notable things about this saw Jeffrey saw is that 156 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: it actually did see a fair amount of use. It 157 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: was a notable improvement over the stiff bone saw and 158 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:04,200 Speaker 1: a version was even used in neurosurgery and surgery. And 159 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 1: indeed we did get to a mechanized version of this. 160 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: So we went from something that again is like a 161 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: chain that you pull back and forth to cut, and 162 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:14,839 Speaker 1: then you end up with this thing that was called 163 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,320 Speaker 1: an osteo tom. This was a hand cranked version of 164 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:21,719 Speaker 1: this that essentially had an infinite chain loop on it. 165 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: You'd crank it and you would have it essentially would 166 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: function like a little chainsaw. I mean you look at 167 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: a picture of it and it looks like some sort 168 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: of like a weird handheld steampunk uh chainsaw dagger. One 169 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 1: of the interesting things discussed in this Scottish Medical Journal 170 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: paper is the idea that these chains for trying to 171 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: cut through bone with this little damage to the surrounding 172 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: tissue as possible were uh at least partially inspired by 173 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:53,120 Speaker 1: looking at watch chains from watches of the eighteenth century. 174 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: Obviously these would be bigger than those though. Yeah, and 175 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 1: and another big thing about this, uh, this innovation and 176 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: ultimately this whole like this whole area of innovation, is 177 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 1: that you want to move towards precision, but you you 178 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: also want speed. Uh you're still performing. Um, you know, 179 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:12,960 Speaker 1: so either either you're performing you know, in some cases 180 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,079 Speaker 1: you should be still would be talking about full limb removal, 181 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: but otherwise you're you're trying to get in there and 182 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: removed diseased and damaged pieces, and you want to get 183 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 1: in and get out as quickly as possible, but also 184 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: as precisely as possible. Yeah, And in the case of 185 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: this obstetric procedure that would cut through part of the 186 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,559 Speaker 1: pelvis in order in order to widen the passage for childbirth, 187 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: the symphysiotomy procedure from the eighteenth century. There was a 188 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: pressure leading to this, which is that, of course, you know, 189 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 1: there was a lot of mortality during childbirth at the time, 190 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 1: and uh, the process of Cesyrian section at the time 191 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:50,560 Speaker 1: also had a high mortality rate for myers, and so 192 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 1: this was an alternative that was seen as something that 193 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: could possibly lead to better outcomes in saving the life 194 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: of both the mother and the child during delivery. But 195 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 1: again that one didn't really pick up so much, but 196 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 1: the osteotome did. But as luck would have it, it 197 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 1: was superseded by the giggly twisted wire saw in the 198 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 1: late nineteenth century. So, uh, you know, even though the 199 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 1: osteotome was was pretty advanced there for a minute, um, 200 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: it was beat in the race by this other bit 201 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: of sawing technology, the giggly twisted wire saw. It was 202 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,439 Speaker 1: ultimately cheaper, and it avoided the two main issues with 203 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:27,679 Speaker 1: the chainsaw, and that is breakage and the chain getting 204 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: stuck in the bone. The giggly twisted wire a saw 205 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: was narrower and it provided a quicker cut and if 206 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: the wire was damaged, it was easy to pull out 207 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:37,680 Speaker 1: and then you could just use a fresh length of 208 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:40,760 Speaker 1: the wire. So there you go, early chainsaws in eighteenth 209 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 1: century medicine. Though again we must stress not not motorized chainsaws, 210 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 1: but yeah, using chains for cutting bone. It does, in 211 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: fact go back to multiple inventions from the eighteenth century. 212 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:54,600 Speaker 1: I have to say that the just the just getting 213 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:58,079 Speaker 1: back to like the frightening names of things. The giggly 214 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: twisted wire saw also sounds kind of terrifying um And 215 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 1: maybe it's because giggly also sounds a little bit like giggles. 216 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:07,439 Speaker 1: It sounds a little mab. It makes me think of 217 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: Dr giggles. Uh. I'm not sure how this guy would 218 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: have pronounced it. I think the guys that the wire 219 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 1: saw was named after was Leonardo Giggli or this could 220 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 1: be Gigli or because remember there was that movie with 221 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: like Ben Affleck and whoever in it it was, It 222 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: was spelled the same way, and that one was called Gelie. 223 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,199 Speaker 1: But I don't know, I didn't see that when I 224 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:33,760 Speaker 1: saw Dr Giggles instead. Well, you probably invested your time 225 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:37,679 Speaker 1: more wisely. I don't know, arguable, but I was looking 226 00:12:37,679 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 1: that up. And of course Larry Drake was was great 227 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: in that. Larry greg was Drake always made for a 228 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 1: nice villain. But I was I had in my mind 229 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:47,719 Speaker 1: that like the character's name was Giggles, Like he was 230 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:51,280 Speaker 1: Dr Giggles, but now he's Dr Evan Rindle, Like that's 231 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 1: not scary. Why why aren't they call him Dr Giggles 232 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:55,320 Speaker 1: that this year just said his name is Dr Giggles. 233 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:58,280 Speaker 1: We would have bought it. This is Steven Giggles. Yes, 234 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 1: Stephen Ill House Giggles. I mean it's a horror movie. 235 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:04,959 Speaker 1: It's like you can get lean into it. I mean, 236 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 1: just ask um, ask Cronenberg. You know you need to 237 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: actually make the names a little bit removed from reality. Yeah. 238 00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:16,440 Speaker 1: I think Dickens had the right philosophy for naming characters. 239 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 1: Just go full idiophones, Like the character's name should sound 240 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 1: like what they do. Mr Jaggers, Dr Giggles. It's it's 241 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 1: it's all right there it's just waiting for you. But 242 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: I guess we should come back to the topic of 243 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: of early power saws leading up to the chainsaw in 244 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: logging itself, in in logging and woodworking. So there was 245 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:39,840 Speaker 1: a source I mentioned in the previous episode that I 246 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:41,839 Speaker 1: just want to mention again because it's a good one 247 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:43,640 Speaker 1: and I've referred to it a number of times here. 248 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 1: This is a book called Chainsaws, a History by David 249 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: Lee with Mike Acres uh And as I mentioned in 250 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,720 Speaker 1: the last episode, this is a very photography focused book. 251 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:57,439 Speaker 1: It's just lots and lots of beautiful photographs of gorgeous, 252 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 1: you know, nasty looking chainsaw paws and in various poses, 253 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: sitting on a log, sitting in a workshop, kind of 254 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 1: rusty looking, maybe kind of threatening somehow, I don't know, 255 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,240 Speaker 1: even though nobody's wielding it. It's full of vibes. But 256 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:13,960 Speaker 1: of course, like the title would imply, this book does 257 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: trace a lot about the early history of chainsaws and 258 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: how we got to the first models that people today 259 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,040 Speaker 1: would recognize as a chainsaw. You look at them and say, yeah, 260 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:27,280 Speaker 1: that's what a chainsaw is. So I think in this uh, 261 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 1: in this story, we left off somewhere around the World 262 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: War One era. And uh, and I guess that's where 263 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: we'll pick up. Lee writes about this period, noting that 264 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: there was one thing during this era that was an 265 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:42,760 Speaker 1: attempt at mechanized solutions in logging that actually did not 266 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: involve a cutting chain, but rather a wire. So this 267 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: was something he calls the wire rope tree feller. Uh. 268 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: And again it might not count as a saw since 269 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 1: it doesn't have teeth. Instead, the idea was just to 270 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: use rapidly moving metal wires to cut own trees by 271 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 1: pure friction, as the wire was sort of dragged across 272 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,440 Speaker 1: the wood surface. Now, you can probably get some obvious 273 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: disadvantages there. It's not going to be nearly as as 274 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: good at cutting through the tree, But I mean, I 275 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,040 Speaker 1: don't know, maybe there's some trade off in that you 276 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: wouldn't have to bother with sharpening it. You just realize, Okay, 277 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: we're just gonna we're just gonna rub this wire all 278 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: the hell. Yeah, well that's what I'd be afraid of. 279 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: That wire gets all rubbed the hell and then what 280 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 1: if it snaps. I mean, you have a cable like 281 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 1: that snapping. Uh, It sounds like a very dangerous situation. Yeah, 282 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: you wouldn't want to be standing near it. And here's 283 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 1: another interesting idea that was apparently floated at some point. 284 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 1: How about a metal wire heated by electricity. Okay, you 285 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: use the new technology of electricity to get that wire 286 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:44,240 Speaker 1: red hot and then just let it burn right through 287 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 1: the wood as you're sliding it across the trunk. Well, 288 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 1: that does sound like typical um, like electrical age enthusiasm. 289 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 1: What can't electricity do for us? Um? But yeah, that 290 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: sounds awful because you're potentially just catching the trees on 291 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 1: fire at that point. And there are some other things 292 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: he mentioned there. There was something called a power feller, 293 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: which looks like it's sort of just a a saw 294 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: that swings in an arc and and gradually cuts its 295 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: way through a tree. So I think this would be 296 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: one with a fixed blade, and then another one that 297 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 1: had just a bunch of augers that were like drill 298 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: or bore holes down at the tree at the at 299 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: the ground level, so it would fall over and not 300 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 1: even really leave a stump. But Lee highlights a big 301 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,600 Speaker 1: problem with almost all of these existing designs, which is 302 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 1: that they were in reality no more efficient or not 303 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 1: much more efficient than a couple of experienced sawyers with 304 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: a misery whip. I mean, as grueling as the labor was. 305 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 1: You know, it's hard work out there in the forest 306 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: with the two main cross cut saw working on a redwood. 307 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: Uh this was a skill that people had developed and 308 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 1: they'd gotten really good and fast at it. And of course, 309 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:51,040 Speaker 1: human bodies and human muscles are very versatile and bulky 310 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: machines of this period are not very versatile. Uh So 311 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: it might, you know, you might have a machine that 312 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 1: can cut through a tree faster than a human or 313 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: maybe not even and maybe that might not even be true. 314 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: But even if it can, might require a lot of 315 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 1: set up. It might have a lot of bulky equipment. 316 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,199 Speaker 1: You gotta move around and all that. And a lot 317 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:10,719 Speaker 1: of loggers were ultimately like, yeah, we we we've got 318 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: our methods and they work just fine, so we'll stick 319 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:16,919 Speaker 1: with those. But nevertheless, there were some, uh some of 320 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: these powered saws in the early twentieth century. One thing 321 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,640 Speaker 1: that's kind of interesting is that it seems like even 322 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,359 Speaker 1: after the creation of the gas engine, and even after 323 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 1: some chainsaw prototypes had been proposed, a lot of logging 324 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 1: ventures still seem to prefer huge gas powered drag saws, 325 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: these ones with a solid blade that would just be 326 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:39,480 Speaker 1: working back and forth powered by a motor. And I 327 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,679 Speaker 1: think the idea is that the big drag saw is 328 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,840 Speaker 1: uh is just rugged, it's dependable, it's it's you know, 329 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: you know what you're getting there. It's like it has 330 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:50,880 Speaker 1: less moving parts and less to get broken up than 331 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:53,639 Speaker 1: than a chainsaw does. But at the same time, the 332 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 1: chainsaw has its own advantages. It's lighter, it's smaller, it's 333 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,159 Speaker 1: faster at cutting, especially once you have some revolutions that 334 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: would come later in changes to the cutting surface, so 335 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 1: changes to the teeth on the chain, and changes to 336 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,160 Speaker 1: the power source. But so, how do you get from 337 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,960 Speaker 1: this era where where largely the misery whip and then 338 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 1: big old drag saws are still very popular, say in 339 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 1: the twenties through the fifties, to the modern chainsaw era 340 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,119 Speaker 1: that we know and love today. Well. Lee writes that 341 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 1: one of the first chainsaws made for forestry was a 342 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:30,600 Speaker 1: device called the Sector, which was invented by A. V. 343 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:36,400 Speaker 1: Westfeldt in Sweden in nineteen nineteen. Now they're still some 344 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:38,119 Speaker 1: ways that this is not going to be much like 345 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,120 Speaker 1: a chainsaw, that you would recognize today. For one thing, 346 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:45,200 Speaker 1: this model still separated the saw component from its power source. 347 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 1: And the other thing is its shape. This is not 348 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 1: like the chainsaws you're picturing that have a long bar 349 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: with a chain that rotates around them. This one has 350 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: a weird wishbone shape. So you've got to imagine a 351 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:00,400 Speaker 1: handle like on a shovel. But then that shove handle 352 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,240 Speaker 1: splits into a y fork like a you know, y 353 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: peeler that you peel a potato with. And then at 354 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: the two ends of the y fork are powered rollers 355 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: that quickly rotate a cutting chain. And the rollers are 356 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:17,719 Speaker 1: powered by an outboard motor that is connected via a 357 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,159 Speaker 1: drive shaft that looks like this short thick tube. So 358 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:23,840 Speaker 1: you've got an outboard motor and then that's got a 359 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:27,360 Speaker 1: drive shaft leading to this y shaped thing that's got 360 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:30,160 Speaker 1: a shovel handle on the end, and uh, and then 361 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:32,120 Speaker 1: you would use that to sort of I guess poke 362 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,720 Speaker 1: the peeler end, the y end at the tree where 363 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:37,879 Speaker 1: the chain would cut it. I'm looking at a picture 364 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:39,720 Speaker 1: of it now, and this is the most one of 365 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:43,399 Speaker 1: the most incomprehensible inventions I've ever looked at, Like it's 366 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:48,879 Speaker 1: just it almost makes no sense that it looks like 367 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:51,160 Speaker 1: the sort of thing where leather Face or Jason were 368 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:52,920 Speaker 1: to show up with it, you would just be like, no, 369 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,639 Speaker 1: go home, go home. Yeah yeah, laugh at leather Face. 370 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:58,879 Speaker 1: And then he gets all sad and the sad music 371 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,439 Speaker 1: plays and he walks off, hang in his head and 372 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:03,920 Speaker 1: he need a friend, he needs some family members with him. 373 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 1: Looks like to carry this thing. Yeah, apparently that was 374 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 1: one of the things that really interfered with pickup of 375 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: the sector because the separate outboard motor made this model 376 00:20:13,119 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 1: quite difficult to use. Like any you want to reposition it, 377 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: you might have to reposition the two parts, and so 378 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: it just looks like a real pain. But you can 379 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 1: see the beginning here. You can see how okay, once 380 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 1: you have this device. Uh, if you were to refine 381 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 1: this quite a bit, we could move towards something more 382 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,159 Speaker 1: like what we'd imagine a chainsaw being. Now. Like a 383 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 1: lot of the things we talk about on this show, Uh, 384 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:43,360 Speaker 1: it's one of those inventions that comes about by iteration 385 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: and combination, So it is hard to identify a single 386 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,680 Speaker 1: inventor or moment of invention for the chainsaw. Instead, it's 387 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: like a lot of things kind of changing over time 388 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,280 Speaker 1: to look more and more like what we consider a 389 00:20:55,359 --> 00:20:58,520 Speaker 1: chainsaw today. Uh And it's a process that goes roughly 390 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,400 Speaker 1: from the mid nineteenth cents until about nineteen twenty, by 391 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: which time we finally start to get stuff that looks 392 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 1: like a modern chainsaw. And one of the first commercially 393 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,320 Speaker 1: successful chainsaws of this form we would recognize today is 394 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 1: the Wolf. It's just serendipity that they have these great names, 395 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,719 Speaker 1: because this wasn't like a brand name somebody came up with. 396 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 1: It was actually a dude's name. This was Yeah, this 397 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: was a machine produced by a firm founded in nineteen 398 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:31,439 Speaker 1: twenty by an American engineer named Charles Wolf. Wolf was 399 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 1: born in eighteen seventy one. I've seen a claim a 400 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: couple of places that Wolf was involved in the creation 401 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:40,919 Speaker 1: of the first modern submarine for the U. S. Navy 402 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: under the direction of John Holland in the eighteen nineties. 403 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,840 Speaker 1: Uh So this was mentioned in Lee's book, and I 404 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,239 Speaker 1: saw it referenced in another article. But I was looking for, 405 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,080 Speaker 1: I don't know, more solid historical information on that, and 406 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:53,919 Speaker 1: I couldn't find it. So I don't know about that. 407 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 1: But I have at least seen that claimed, but whether 408 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: or not he had submarine experience. According to his son, 409 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,439 Speaker 1: your Rome, Charles Wolfe was an extremely experienced engineer who 410 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 1: had worked on a number of different types of projects. 411 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,919 Speaker 1: So he worked on electric railways, on transportation infrastructure like 412 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:16,120 Speaker 1: bridges and tunnels. He worked on dams and and water systems. 413 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: And he had some experience in the nineteen aots and 414 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 1: in the nineteen tens with sawmills and lumber. And at 415 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: some point while he was working in the lumber world, 416 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:29,880 Speaker 1: he came across a prototype chainsaw that was never put 417 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 1: into commercial production, but then the the idea apparently stuck 418 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: with him, and then eventually, along with an electrical engineer 419 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:40,679 Speaker 1: named Frank Redman, wolf came up with a design for 420 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,879 Speaker 1: an electrically powered chainsaw of basically the form we see today. 421 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,440 Speaker 1: So it's a cutting chain that moves along the outside 422 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:51,719 Speaker 1: of a flat bar. It's driven by an electrically powered 423 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:55,080 Speaker 1: sprocket with teeth based on the classic design of the 424 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 1: cross cut saw blade. The teeth of the cutting chain, 425 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,160 Speaker 1: not the teeth of the sprocket. Sorry, and this would 426 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: be the Wolf rob I've attached a picture of the 427 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,440 Speaker 1: wolf for you to look at. Um. The company would 428 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:09,520 Speaker 1: go on to develop many subsequent variations. They eventually had 429 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,800 Speaker 1: a compressed air driven model, and I think eventually, many 430 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:16,720 Speaker 1: years later even in an internal combustion model. But this 431 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:20,000 Speaker 1: electric chainsaw really seems like the granddaddy. Yeah. I mean, 432 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: you look at this and you're told that this is 433 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:25,440 Speaker 1: the wolf, and you you agree this is the wolf. 434 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: This looked this This is a brutal looking tool right here. 435 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,200 Speaker 1: It looks like the kind of thing that's some sort 436 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: of like a futuristic UM cave troll would wield in 437 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 1: some sort of you know, a combat scenario. It's a 438 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,359 Speaker 1: and and and and also it weirdly looks like it 439 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:48,080 Speaker 1: has a screaming face on the I guess what we 440 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:50,720 Speaker 1: might infer to be the pommel or the or part 441 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,440 Speaker 1: of the hilt of the chainsaw. Where's the screaming face. 442 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 1: I'm not seeing it. Look at the turn your head sideways. 443 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 1: Oh no body, And then the at the top is 444 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: this head that's kind of going it's not no, no, no, 445 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,880 Speaker 1: it's not screaming. It's singing an angelic chorus of joy 446 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: for the power that is now in your hands. But yeah, 447 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:16,240 Speaker 1: you're you're absolutely right. This does look like something that 448 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: would be like fused onto the wrist of a super 449 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 1: mutant in in whatever kind of waste land or um 450 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,200 Speaker 1: or Actually, this looks like this should be what leather 451 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,399 Speaker 1: Face was carrying instead of that green chainsaw that nobody 452 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:31,720 Speaker 1: remembers the color of. But he would have he would 453 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,640 Speaker 1: have needed electricity for it, right, Well, yeah, I guess 454 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:36,679 Speaker 1: at least this first model. Yeah, that that would make 455 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:39,480 Speaker 1: it probably difficult to run around in the That would 456 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:41,479 Speaker 1: be a great scene, like he's about to get you, 457 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:43,639 Speaker 1: but then he runs a little bit too far and 458 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:54,200 Speaker 1: it unplugs chainsaw. The one thing that's interesting to note, 459 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,600 Speaker 1: so we think of the chainsaw as being primarily for logging, 460 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:00,200 Speaker 1: for you know, taking down trees and bucking them out 461 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:02,959 Speaker 1: in the forest. Uh, though several sources I've looked at 462 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: note that the wolf did not actually take over the 463 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: logging business. That you might call this the first commercially viable, 464 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,760 Speaker 1: commercially mass produced chainsaw, but it was really more popular 465 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:17,880 Speaker 1: for work with prepared lumber, for example, in construction. It's 466 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:22,880 Speaker 1: real advantage was that it could quickly make fine, accurate cuts, 467 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,560 Speaker 1: and in the decades Following this, other mass producers would 468 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,840 Speaker 1: enter the games, such as German companies like Steele and 469 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: Dolmar and more and more. So the chainsaw is on 470 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 1: its way now, but we need actually one more major 471 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:40,440 Speaker 1: innovation before it really takes over the logging world. And 472 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 1: this is what brings us to Joe Cox and the 473 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: so called bug chain. Uh. So I I loved when 474 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,280 Speaker 1: I came across this story because who would have thought it. 475 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:54,199 Speaker 1: Even the history of the chainsaw has important episodes of 476 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:58,479 Speaker 1: bio mimetic engineering in it. Um. So yes, let us 477 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: speak of the bug chain. So in the nineteen forties, uh, 478 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:05,119 Speaker 1: the misery whip was still in wide use in the 479 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,679 Speaker 1: United States, even though plenty of power saws had been 480 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:10,919 Speaker 1: brought to market by this time. Uh. And for a while, 481 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 1: I think you could blame this on power saws being 482 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:17,160 Speaker 1: too big, too bulky, too delicate, dependent on external power 483 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,320 Speaker 1: sources and so forth. But by the forties you had 484 00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:23,879 Speaker 1: better designs, you had more compact internal combustion designs, and 485 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,959 Speaker 1: yet there were still problems. And so here I want 486 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 1: to start referring to a paper that I was reading 487 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:33,440 Speaker 1: called A Lesson from Nature. Joe Cox and his revolutionary 488 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,000 Speaker 1: saw chain by Ellis Lucia. Now, Lucia says that one 489 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 1: big problem with with widespread take up of the chainsaw 490 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:44,960 Speaker 1: was problems with the cutting chain. Uh. These chains of 491 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:49,320 Speaker 1: the nineteen forties were modeled on the blades of traditional 492 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,520 Speaker 1: cross cut saws. So if you picture a misery whip 493 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:54,800 Speaker 1: or one of these cross cut saws, you can probably 494 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:57,399 Speaker 1: see it in your mind that it has these these 495 00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 1: sharp sort of razor sharpened teeth that would be dragged 496 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: through the curve. Remember that's the cut part of the 497 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: tree trunk. To cut to knock away would essentially by 498 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,400 Speaker 1: scratching at it with a sharp surface. So Lucia compares 499 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,520 Speaker 1: this to rapidly dragging the tip of a knife for 500 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:17,400 Speaker 1: a sharp nail over the wood. And so, of course 501 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,439 Speaker 1: this does work for sawing things if you apply enough force. 502 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,040 Speaker 1: But Lucy says, actually there was a lot of waste 503 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 1: and the cutting teeth on the chains would tend to 504 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,639 Speaker 1: get dull very fast. So this again led to a 505 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: lot of wasted time having to re sharpen dull chains, 506 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,159 Speaker 1: and so in many cases, loggers thought that the old 507 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,040 Speaker 1: cross cut saws were still more efficient even as late 508 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: as the nineteen forties, but Lucia writes that this was 509 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 1: up ended by changes in the saw chain design that 510 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:50,520 Speaker 1: can be traced back to this American logger and engineer 511 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,679 Speaker 1: named Joe Cox. So short bio on Joe Cox. It 512 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,119 Speaker 1: seems like he had about a million jobs. He was 513 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,760 Speaker 1: born in Oklahoma in nineteen o five. He left home 514 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,399 Speaker 1: at sixteen to work in railroad shops in Colorado, and 515 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,919 Speaker 1: then from here he uh he went on through apprenticeships 516 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 1: and self teaching to become a qualified machinist. He worked 517 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:14,120 Speaker 1: at an auto agency and did a bus line where 518 00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:17,119 Speaker 1: he learned a lot about mechanics and engine repair. And 519 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: then he worked building a gas line in San Francisco. 520 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:23,960 Speaker 1: And then he helped to build, according to this article, 521 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: some powdered milk processing plants, which I assume we're somewhere 522 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:32,520 Speaker 1: in northern California or near San Francisco, which makes me wonder, 523 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,720 Speaker 1: could Joe Cox have been involved in building the Northern 524 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:39,960 Speaker 1: California dairy Works plant that is featured in Halloween three, Oh, 525 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,400 Speaker 1: the one that's supposed to be the silver shamrock factory. 526 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 1: No answer on that, but I am mighty intrigued. But 527 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 1: he operated a welding shop in Arizona. He did auto repair. 528 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 1: He was an electrician. I did some wiring in homes. Uh, 529 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 1: he designed a home water heater or product. And he 530 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 1: did some welding for some oil dren concerns in Texas. 531 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:04,880 Speaker 1: But then he eventually moved along with his brother to Oregon, 532 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 1: where they got involved in the logging industry. And it 533 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:11,160 Speaker 1: was here, working as a logger and a logging engineer, 534 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: that he noticed there was plenty of room to improve, 535 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:17,360 Speaker 1: to improve on the chains being used in these less 536 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,320 Speaker 1: than impressive power saws of the day. And this article 537 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,320 Speaker 1: actually has an interview with Joe Cox. It was written 538 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: at a time when when he was still alive. So 539 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 1: I want to include some of his quotes because they're great. 540 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 1: I like the way he talks. Uh. He's describing working 541 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 1: with his brother in the Oregon logging industry, and he says, 542 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 1: we fell limbed and bucked small frozen, naughty pine timber 543 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 1: and three ft of snow our first winter here. We 544 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: were paid fifty cents a thousand. We earned about four 545 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:47,560 Speaker 1: dollars in ten hours of hard work. And it was hard. 546 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 1: And so the way Cox tells the story, one morning 547 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 1: he and his brother were working out somewhere east to 548 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:57,600 Speaker 1: the Cascades and they were asked to try out a 549 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 1: new power saw, which was a stump saw mounted on 550 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:05,080 Speaker 1: wheels with the chain allegedly driven by a motorcycle engine. 551 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:09,320 Speaker 1: Which that that's cool, that that's hacking, and Cox says 552 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 1: that they could immediately see that this power saw was 553 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,240 Speaker 1: just not very good, like they could actually fall a 554 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:17,640 Speaker 1: tree quicker with the hand saw. And then I want 555 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,600 Speaker 1: to again read his direct quote. This seems strange to 556 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:24,280 Speaker 1: me because the power saw had plenty of stuff. Uh 557 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 1: So I think he's saying by that that he recognizes 558 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: that the motor that's driving it is powerful and should 559 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:34,320 Speaker 1: outperform human muscles if the cutting edge were better, if 560 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: that were more efficient, And he goes on, I was 561 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:39,720 Speaker 1: a pretty fair filer at the time and figured that 562 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:41,960 Speaker 1: if I could make a power saw cut as efficiently 563 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:45,120 Speaker 1: as a cross cut, it should practically fall through the wood. 564 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:47,880 Speaker 1: It just made sense. And with such a cutting tool, 565 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:50,680 Speaker 1: sawing timber would be a lot easier. And so, according 566 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,320 Speaker 1: to this story, Cox tells he had a breakthrough one 567 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,040 Speaker 1: day when he was out in the woods and he 568 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:01,000 Speaker 1: whacked a rotten stump with an axe, accidentally revealing a 569 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:04,560 Speaker 1: cavity in the wood that had been made by the 570 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: larvae of a well known and much reviled insect of 571 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:12,320 Speaker 1: the area, the timber beetle or er Gotti's spicy ladas. 572 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 1: I looked this insect up, but apparently it's also known 573 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 1: as the pine sawyer beetle. It has a very large, 574 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:25,560 Speaker 1: very beautiful, disgustingly beautiful, almost a raucous belonging, uh larval 575 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:29,120 Speaker 1: form that I don't know, Rob, how would you describe 576 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: this creature? Um? Yeah, I think that all matches up, 577 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,800 Speaker 1: but also just screams protein. Like if you're a bird, 578 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:38,760 Speaker 1: you're excited looking at these photos, you just PLoP one 579 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,240 Speaker 1: of these in a hot dog bun and your set. Yeah, 580 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, it looks in a way, it 581 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:47,600 Speaker 1: looks like a big old shrimp, shrimp of the woods. Yeah, 582 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 1: that's freshman catch of the day. Uh So. One of 583 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:53,880 Speaker 1: the photos I found of this thing is of somebody 584 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: holding one in their hand and it's like it's as 585 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,600 Speaker 1: big as the palm of their hand. Almost. Yeah, it's 586 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 1: this is a big, big boy for I didn't have 587 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,040 Speaker 1: time to research this, but I am curious now if 588 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:07,840 Speaker 1: this particular um larva is edible by humans, so I 589 00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:09,880 Speaker 1: don't know if there any foragers out there that can 590 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:13,000 Speaker 1: let us know. Email us Okay, now here, I want 591 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,760 Speaker 1: to read directly a section from Lucia's article, because this 592 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 1: is wonderful. So Lucia writes, the larvae of this beetle, 593 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:23,000 Speaker 1: cursed in the kind of verbiage formerly applied to oxen 594 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:26,200 Speaker 1: by the old bull whackers, have an amazing ability for 595 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:30,120 Speaker 1: cutting and destroying huge quantities of timber. Although the busy 596 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,800 Speaker 1: grub is hardly the size of a stout man's finger, 597 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,200 Speaker 1: I don't know that that seems sizeable to me. Continuing, 598 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,680 Speaker 1: the hated grub turns good timber into sawdust, and it 599 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,200 Speaker 1: doesn't matter whether the trees are alive or sound snags 600 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 1: and windfalls that might be salvaged. The winged adult beetle 601 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 1: deposits its eggs beneath the bark of a dead tree, or, 602 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:54,040 Speaker 1: when faced with an overpopulation problem, under the bark of 603 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:58,080 Speaker 1: living trees. The vast Tillamook Burn and the other regional 604 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:01,480 Speaker 1: forest disasters promised feasts that would last the timber beetle 605 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:05,400 Speaker 1: and his offspring many generations. Although the way they worked 606 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:09,080 Speaker 1: wholesale destruction of salvageable timber might be accomplished in a 607 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 1: few brief years. So this larva is a workhorse. And 608 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,400 Speaker 1: Cox claims he was looking at this little larva and 609 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:18,560 Speaker 1: and marveling at it and wondering how it was so 610 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:21,600 Speaker 1: good at tunneling through the stiff fibers of tree trunks. 611 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,120 Speaker 1: And so he tells that he armed himself with a 612 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:28,360 Speaker 1: magnifying glass and began to study closely the cutting and 613 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:32,640 Speaker 1: boring behavior of this grub. And what he discovered was 614 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:36,440 Speaker 1: that rather than scraping or scratching at the wood straight ahead, 615 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:41,200 Speaker 1: instead the larva would move side to side, sort of 616 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:44,800 Speaker 1: shaving out parts of the wood with C shaped jaws. 617 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 1: And so, inspired by the jaws of this larva, Cox 618 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,560 Speaker 1: went on to design a cutting chain for saws based 619 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,720 Speaker 1: on exactly this type of action. So I was trying 620 00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 1: to understand exactly what the difference was here, and I 621 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:01,400 Speaker 1: think I finally got it. So chains that came before 622 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:05,200 Speaker 1: tended to have these cutting teeth, sharp teeth which would 623 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,920 Speaker 1: scrape at the wood like a knife, and they would 624 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:11,120 Speaker 1: alternate with what we're called raker teeth, which were these 625 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:16,440 Speaker 1: hook shaped bumps designed to scoop away debris after it 626 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:19,160 Speaker 1: had been cut away from the wood by the sharp teeth, 627 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:22,960 Speaker 1: and that would clear out the curve. Ok, So that 628 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,520 Speaker 1: that's the old design. But I found the new design 629 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:29,840 Speaker 1: described in an article written for Offbeat Oregon, which is 630 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:33,360 Speaker 1: like an Oregon based through a weird local history column. 631 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:35,719 Speaker 1: And this was written by Finn J. D. John in 632 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:39,239 Speaker 1: September called watching Bugs in a Stump led to the 633 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:43,880 Speaker 1: modern chainsaw, and John describes the the new design Cox's 634 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:48,440 Speaker 1: design like this. The cutting teeth were hook shaped chisels 635 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,840 Speaker 1: that would bite into the wood and essentially carve away chips. 636 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:54,759 Speaker 1: And those chips were big enough and clean enough that 637 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:57,760 Speaker 1: rakers weren't necessary to clear them out of the curve. 638 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:01,960 Speaker 1: Finding the chisels to tended to grab too much wood, 639 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:04,600 Speaker 1: Joe added a bump in the metal just in front 640 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:07,719 Speaker 1: of the chisel on each link of the chain. By 641 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:11,080 Speaker 1: filing down the bump or gauge, he could control how 642 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,319 Speaker 1: big a bite each chisel took. And then I found 643 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:16,320 Speaker 1: a picture also for us to look at rob So 644 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,760 Speaker 1: it looks like with with Joe Cox's design, the cutting 645 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:22,200 Speaker 1: side is on the top of this diagram. You're looking 646 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,600 Speaker 1: at now, so what it looks like is the cutting 647 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:28,560 Speaker 1: side has these little sort of curved chisels, the cutting 648 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:32,520 Speaker 1: teeth or tube shaped blades, alternating from one side of 649 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:35,000 Speaker 1: the chain to the other, so shaving out a little 650 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,520 Speaker 1: tube shaped chip on the left and then doing one 651 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:39,799 Speaker 1: on the right, back and forth forever. So I think 652 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:42,680 Speaker 1: the difference is that instead of cutting like a sharp 653 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,640 Speaker 1: bladed saw, just like a knife point. This would shave 654 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,279 Speaker 1: out a kind of thin tunnel. And apparently the chain 655 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:51,600 Speaker 1: that Joe Cox designed cut faster and more cleanly than 656 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:55,200 Speaker 1: the chains that came before and needed less resharpening, so 657 00:35:55,239 --> 00:35:59,000 Speaker 1: this was a clear improvement. He patented his design and 658 00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:01,719 Speaker 1: eventually nineteen forty seven he founded a firm called the 659 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:05,280 Speaker 1: Oregon Saw Chain Corporation, which was later known as Ohmark, 660 00:36:05,719 --> 00:36:09,120 Speaker 1: which would become a multimillion dollar company and would revolutionize 661 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:11,840 Speaker 1: the power saw business. And at this point, by the 662 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:14,360 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties, I think this is when we hit the 663 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:16,719 Speaker 1: turning point, and there's really no going back from the 664 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:19,160 Speaker 1: chainsaw to the misery whip. I guess unless you were 665 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:21,440 Speaker 1: just trying to make a point or something, there there 666 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:32,160 Speaker 1: would be no Texas misery whip massacre than well, I 667 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:34,279 Speaker 1: think this is a great place to come come back 668 00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:37,520 Speaker 1: to the Texas chainsaw massacre, and and also just to discuss, 669 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:42,000 Speaker 1: like what is the cultural trajectory of the chainsaw from 670 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:44,880 Speaker 1: here on out. I was reading a bit about this 671 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:49,239 Speaker 1: in the The Icon City of Chainsaws From the Backyard 672 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:53,160 Speaker 1: to the Barbecue by Christopher Curry, and he writes the 673 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:57,799 Speaker 1: following quote, two years nineteen fifty and nineteen seventy four 674 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:01,440 Speaker 1: are vital and understanding the icon city of the petrol 675 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:06,759 Speaker 1: powered handheld, single operator chainsaw. Nineteen fifty was the year 676 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:09,240 Speaker 1: in which the tool was introduced to the American market. 677 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:12,960 Speaker 1: It was a backyard revolution. Men were empowered with a 678 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:19,520 Speaker 1: remarkable new technology for clearing undergrowth, trimming branches, and felling trees. Okay, 679 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:21,880 Speaker 1: so you no longer need to be an experienced logger 680 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:24,920 Speaker 1: or have a buddy to work the misery whip with you. 681 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:28,160 Speaker 1: Just one person with one power tool can go out 682 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:32,279 Speaker 1: there and master the landscape exactly now seventy four that 683 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:34,640 Speaker 1: he mentions that, of course, is when Texas chainsaw massacre 684 00:37:34,719 --> 00:37:37,600 Speaker 1: comes out. And that's that's a that's kind of where 685 00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:39,239 Speaker 1: he keeps, you know, ping pong it back and forth, 686 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:42,359 Speaker 1: between like the cultural role of the chainsaw and how 687 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:46,239 Speaker 1: it is reflected in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Uh. And 688 00:37:46,239 --> 00:37:49,280 Speaker 1: and I think it's it's worth driving home here that. Uh. 689 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:51,680 Speaker 1: If you don't know much about the Texas Chainsaw Masacre, 690 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:54,200 Speaker 1: maybe you've seen it. You've seen it once, you know, 691 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:57,000 Speaker 1: you saw years ago. It's easy to dismiss it and 692 00:37:57,040 --> 00:37:59,719 Speaker 1: think it's just this, it's just this shocking work that's 693 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:05,839 Speaker 1: about titilation. But Toby Hooper had he had political ambitions 694 00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:08,319 Speaker 1: in creating the film, like he wanted to make a 695 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:12,200 Speaker 1: political film that wasn't about politics. He wanted so it's 696 00:38:12,239 --> 00:38:16,480 Speaker 1: not a film that is just about chainsaws roaring, you know, 697 00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:19,160 Speaker 1: in in the rural setting and chasing people and blood 698 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:22,360 Speaker 1: and screams. Um. It is trying to say something and 699 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,959 Speaker 1: I think, you know, arguably it does a fantastic job 700 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:30,160 Speaker 1: doing so tell me more, Okay, so, uh, Curry writes 701 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:33,400 Speaker 1: the chainsaw though during this period, it was imbued with 702 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:36,960 Speaker 1: the power of both a status symbol and a phallic 703 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:41,759 Speaker 1: symbol for it's predominantly male users of this time. Additionally, 704 00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:45,360 Speaker 1: it became a thoroughly American symbol of status and power, 705 00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:49,400 Speaker 1: as quote, cutting down trees. It is an especially significant 706 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:52,480 Speaker 1: part of American history, which which is true. I mean 707 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:57,000 Speaker 1: that is part of the the story of the colonization 708 00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:02,239 Speaker 1: of North America by Westerners, by Europeans. Um. And then 709 00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,560 Speaker 1: you know, what do you have? You have these expansive forests. 710 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:06,600 Speaker 1: What do you do with those expansive forests, Well, you 711 00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:10,680 Speaker 1: start cutting them down? Um and uh and and of 712 00:39:10,719 --> 00:39:12,600 Speaker 1: course to a certain extent that makes sense, because what 713 00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:15,720 Speaker 1: does would give you wood gives you homes, it gives 714 00:39:15,719 --> 00:39:18,160 Speaker 1: you it gives you ships, it gives you um, you know, 715 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:20,040 Speaker 1: all these things you can create out of it, all 716 00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:24,440 Speaker 1: your tools. But also would meant fuel as well. And 717 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:27,799 Speaker 1: so here comes the chainsaw uh and it allows you 718 00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:32,799 Speaker 1: to harvest uh material and and uh and fuel for 719 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:37,680 Speaker 1: energy production. Quote. Such a radical technological transformation of the 720 00:39:37,719 --> 00:39:41,799 Speaker 1: basic means to cut down trees sidles up alongside such 721 00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:47,960 Speaker 1: intrinsically American notions as self determination, manifest destiny, the logging industry, 722 00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:51,479 Speaker 1: and the myth of frontier. And so from here, Curry 723 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:54,560 Speaker 1: goes on to argue that the Texas chainsaw massacre massacre 724 00:39:54,719 --> 00:39:57,840 Speaker 1: very much builds on all of this. The saw, your family, 725 00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:02,120 Speaker 1: the chainsall family. If you will in the Texas Chainsaw massacre, 726 00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:06,400 Speaker 1: cannibalism and murder aside, they are a rural version of 727 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:09,560 Speaker 1: the American dream. They are entrepreneurs doing what they have 728 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:13,120 Speaker 1: to do to survive in the face of economic and 729 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:17,680 Speaker 1: social change. Yes, they're they're rather self sufficient, aren't they. Yeah. Yeah, 730 00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:19,759 Speaker 1: And and this again, this is very much intentional on 731 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:23,919 Speaker 1: on on Toby Hooper's part commenting on consumer culture and 732 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:28,560 Speaker 1: the chainsaw is all about consumption again, either in its 733 00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:31,719 Speaker 1: intended role is that of a tool for the consumption 734 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:34,520 Speaker 1: of trees for the for the material uses and for 735 00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:39,080 Speaker 1: fuel uses, or in this extrapolated fantastic role as a 736 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:42,600 Speaker 1: weapon of murder and dismemberment. So you know, it ultimately 737 00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:45,360 Speaker 1: becomes a situation. It's easy to lose this because we're 738 00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:48,360 Speaker 1: so fascinated with the idea of the chainsaw as weapon. 739 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:53,360 Speaker 1: But it's like leather face is is is felling humans. 740 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:57,280 Speaker 1: It's humans as trees cut down to sustain others. Because 741 00:40:57,440 --> 00:40:59,880 Speaker 1: I remember, they weren't just It wasn't just about cutting 742 00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:03,080 Speaker 1: up um teenagers from the city. It was about making 743 00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:06,359 Speaker 1: barbecue out of them. A supply and demand. Now, one 744 00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:09,480 Speaker 1: thing I've never noticed before we did this episode is 745 00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:12,600 Speaker 1: that the family in the Texas Chainsaw Masker are named 746 00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:16,239 Speaker 1: the Sawyers, which the Sawyers are the people who work 747 00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:19,719 Speaker 1: the saws in the log mystry. I never put that 748 00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:24,000 Speaker 1: together either until Manning Manning the misery whip their Sawyers. 749 00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:28,399 Speaker 1: It does follow the Dickens convention. It does, it does? 750 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:33,160 Speaker 1: What do they do? They saw? Um? I was also 751 00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:36,080 Speaker 1: thinking a bit about the line the Saws family. Um. 752 00:41:36,239 --> 00:41:39,759 Speaker 1: I think that's predominantly from Sexas Chainsaw Maskar too, right, 753 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:43,200 Speaker 1: part of a fun little bit of a grizzly dialogue 754 00:41:43,239 --> 00:41:46,040 Speaker 1: in there. But the idea that the saw is family 755 00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:49,040 Speaker 1: and what is the saw? Uh? As Curry points out 756 00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:51,520 Speaker 1: in this article, the saw is consumption. Look, the saw 757 00:41:51,640 --> 00:41:54,760 Speaker 1: is this way of life through consumption. So of course 758 00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:58,200 Speaker 1: the Saws family, and I think this is ultimately a 759 00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:02,080 Speaker 1: rather biting commentary on the American way of life. You know, 760 00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:07,000 Speaker 1: our lives are consumption. You cannot separate consumption from all 761 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,919 Speaker 1: of these other ideals of what we are and what 762 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:12,359 Speaker 1: we want out of the world, out of the out 763 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:15,239 Speaker 1: of life, and out of like just the raw substance 764 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:18,040 Speaker 1: of the country. Yeah, okay, And so if this is 765 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:20,480 Speaker 1: the intended point, it makes sense that you would use 766 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:23,279 Speaker 1: the chainsaw, because I think we were talking about this 767 00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:25,880 Speaker 1: at the very beginning of the first episode, something about 768 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:29,200 Speaker 1: the the aesthetic impression made by the chainsaw is kind 769 00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:32,319 Speaker 1: of alarming at the rate at which it like goes 770 00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:35,719 Speaker 1: through things. Yeah, absolutely, uh you know. I also I 771 00:42:35,719 --> 00:42:38,319 Speaker 1: had to look up the exact quote from TCM two 772 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:41,480 Speaker 1: because it's it's actually pretty good. This is Drayton, uh, 773 00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:44,000 Speaker 1: the old one of the older member of the family, 774 00:42:44,040 --> 00:42:46,520 Speaker 1: not the old old man who can you know, barely move, 775 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:49,279 Speaker 1: but the uh, the the the the younger old man 776 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:51,759 Speaker 1: in the family. And he's telling leather Face. He's saying, 777 00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:55,160 Speaker 1: you have one choice, boy sex or the saw sex 778 00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:58,920 Speaker 1: as well, nobody knows, but the saw, the saw is family. 779 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:02,120 Speaker 1: So that that kind of gets into sort of these 780 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:05,239 Speaker 1: these phallic ideas too, and the masculine aspects that are 781 00:43:05,239 --> 00:43:07,640 Speaker 1: tied up in the chainsaw and its role in the 782 00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:11,759 Speaker 1: American culture, the idea that on one level, you have 783 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:15,279 Speaker 1: you have potential creation, um, but but who knows what 784 00:43:15,320 --> 00:43:18,920 Speaker 1: comes with creation? Creation is a risk. But consumption we 785 00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:21,680 Speaker 1: know exactly where consumption goes. We know where where the 786 00:43:21,719 --> 00:43:24,480 Speaker 1: saw leads to. That is the safe way that is 787 00:43:24,560 --> 00:43:27,680 Speaker 1: the traditional way, and of course that is the way 788 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:30,439 Speaker 1: that the saw your family sticks to the saws yet 789 00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:35,160 Speaker 1: another Texas Chili cook Off competition trophy. You know, coming 790 00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:37,600 Speaker 1: back to the to the technological side, one of the 791 00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:39,840 Speaker 1: things that really interests me in reading that the story 792 00:43:39,840 --> 00:43:42,640 Speaker 1: of Joe Cox and the redesign of the chainsaw blade 793 00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:46,680 Speaker 1: is that we managed to have all these decades of 794 00:43:46,719 --> 00:43:51,520 Speaker 1: people having the idea to apply new types of power 795 00:43:51,719 --> 00:43:55,440 Speaker 1: motors and engines to drive saws, to like make sawing 796 00:43:55,520 --> 00:43:58,760 Speaker 1: more powerful, to outstrip what could be done by human muscles, 797 00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:01,719 Speaker 1: but going so long in this process without making the 798 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:06,040 Speaker 1: significant improvements to the cutting chain like Joe coxwould um 799 00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:10,400 Speaker 1: that would eventually revolutionize the power saw business. It I 800 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:14,320 Speaker 1: don't know it, uh, something seems metaphorically significant there as well. Yeah, 801 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:17,279 Speaker 1: and and it also perfect that they turned to to 802 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:20,839 Speaker 1: larvae to to get this answer, because you know, what 803 00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:24,440 Speaker 1: are what do larvae do? They consume? That's all they do. Like, 804 00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:26,880 Speaker 1: that's the job of a larva is to consume and 805 00:44:26,880 --> 00:44:28,680 Speaker 1: grow bigger so that it can take on the next 806 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:31,319 Speaker 1: stage of its of its life. So in a way, 807 00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:33,640 Speaker 1: it's like the perfect spirit animal for the chain saw 808 00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:36,720 Speaker 1: as well. So I feel like these episodes have forced 809 00:44:36,719 --> 00:44:39,480 Speaker 1: me to think long and hard about to to rethink 810 00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:42,360 Speaker 1: the role of the chainsaw in Texas Chainsaw Maska. But 811 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:44,479 Speaker 1: there's plenty of other room to to, you know, to 812 00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:48,360 Speaker 1: consider as well, Like what how do we interpret the 813 00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:52,319 Speaker 1: chainsaw in the Evil Dead movies? What does that mean? Why? 814 00:44:52,480 --> 00:44:55,319 Speaker 1: Why is it groovy? And is it truly groovy? I 815 00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:58,680 Speaker 1: don't know. Oh, that seems very different somehow. When Ash 816 00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:01,160 Speaker 1: picks up the chainsaw the wheel against the demons or 817 00:45:01,200 --> 00:45:03,680 Speaker 1: the Dead Eyes, that almost seems like it is somehow 818 00:45:03,719 --> 00:45:08,520 Speaker 1: an emblem of human civilization and human technology, the good 819 00:45:08,560 --> 00:45:11,319 Speaker 1: and ordered part of the world, which you know is 820 00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:13,200 Speaker 1: is the one thing you can hold to, sort of 821 00:45:13,239 --> 00:45:16,560 Speaker 1: like man the Gates of Thermopoli against uh, I don't know, 822 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:19,640 Speaker 1: against the Advancing Magical Team, uh, you know, whatever you 823 00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:21,400 Speaker 1: call it. Where do the Dead Eyes come from? I 824 00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:25,560 Speaker 1: don't even remember um from the Dead world. I don't 825 00:45:25,560 --> 00:45:30,239 Speaker 1: know that the hell. Maybe they're bad. They're not here. 826 00:45:30,280 --> 00:45:34,319 Speaker 1: They're bad. They're not bad, I mean, they're not human. Yeah, 827 00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:36,120 Speaker 1: it's also worth thinking about the fact that we've tried. 828 00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:39,560 Speaker 1: We're talking about like in the Leather Face UM area, 829 00:45:39,600 --> 00:45:42,120 Speaker 1: and also in this sort of again coming back to this, uh, 830 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:44,800 Speaker 1: this sort of masculine interpretation of the chainsaw on American 831 00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:47,839 Speaker 1: culture very much, this idea that like the chainsaw as 832 00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:51,960 Speaker 1: extension of of of human identity and the human body, 833 00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:55,920 Speaker 1: Ash actually makes the chainsaw a part of his body, right, 834 00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:59,719 Speaker 1: replacing his hand with a chainsaw um, which is of 835 00:45:59,719 --> 00:46:02,799 Speaker 1: course wonderfully you know, on brand and over the top, 836 00:46:02,920 --> 00:46:05,400 Speaker 1: especially for the third movie. Oh yeah, what does it 837 00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:07,600 Speaker 1: say that your hand can be possessed by a demon 838 00:46:07,640 --> 00:46:11,719 Speaker 1: but your chainsaw can't. Yeah, like the the hand is corruptible, 839 00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:15,320 Speaker 1: the chainsaws beyond corruption. Don't trust the flesh, turn trust 840 00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:19,360 Speaker 1: the saw. All right, Well, there you have it, the chainsaw, 841 00:46:19,440 --> 00:46:22,160 Speaker 1: the invention of the chainsaw, and and hopefully more than 842 00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:27,319 Speaker 1: enough seasonal horror consideration thrown in there as well to 843 00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:30,799 Speaker 1: keep things uh nice and HALLOWEENI. In the meantime, if 844 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:32,440 Speaker 1: you would like to check out other episodes of Stuff 845 00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:33,960 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, you know where to find them. 846 00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:36,960 Speaker 1: Check the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast feed. We 847 00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:41,040 Speaker 1: have core episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Artifact on Wednesday, 848 00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:44,000 Speaker 1: listener mail on Monday, and then on Friday we do 849 00:46:44,080 --> 00:46:47,879 Speaker 1: weird how cinema. That's our chance to to just really uh, 850 00:46:48,320 --> 00:46:51,040 Speaker 1: you know, bear down and talk about a weird movie 851 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:54,200 Speaker 1: uh for an extended period of time. And then over 852 00:46:54,239 --> 00:46:57,080 Speaker 1: the weekend we usually run a vault episode, which is 853 00:46:57,160 --> 00:46:59,600 Speaker 1: here we run huge things. As always to our excellent 854 00:46:59,640 --> 00:47:02,360 Speaker 1: audio producer Seth Nicholas Johnson. If you would like to 855 00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:04,600 Speaker 1: get in touch with us with feedback on this episode 856 00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:06,840 Speaker 1: or any other, to suggest a topic for the future, 857 00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:09,759 Speaker 1: just to say hello, you can email us at contact 858 00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:20,000 Speaker 1: at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to 859 00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:22,520 Speaker 1: Blow Your Mind is production of I Heart Radio. For 860 00:47:22,640 --> 00:47:25,399 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 861 00:47:25,560 --> 00:47:36,840 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listening to your favorite shows.