WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: Birdo of Subcon

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>and monsters in time. When the Nintendo hero Mario travels

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<v Speaker 1>into the dream world of Subcan to battle the forces

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<v Speaker 1>of wart, he encounters many strange creatures, including the mysterious

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<v Speaker 1>bird Oh. While there seems to be some long running

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<v Speaker 1>debate regarding the creature's gender, there's no denying the reptilian's

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<v Speaker 1>ability to shoot eggs at their enemies. First of all,

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<v Speaker 1>it is interesting that bird Oh shoots eggs out of

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<v Speaker 1>their mouth. We don't normally think of this as the

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<v Speaker 1>place eggs might emerge from, but it's actually not without

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<v Speaker 1>precedence in the natural world. The now extinct gastric brooding

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<v Speaker 1>frog of Australia famously incubated young in the mother's stomach.

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<v Speaker 1>The female frog would swallow fertilized eggs or early stage

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<v Speaker 1>larvae and brood them in her stomach, while the young

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<v Speaker 1>would usually emerge from the mother's mouth gradually over the

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<v Speaker 1>course of days. As Michael J. Tyler and David B.

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<v Speaker 1>Carter reported in Animal Behavior back in one, restrained individuals

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<v Speaker 1>were also known to release young via quote propulsive vomiting. Similarly,

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<v Speaker 1>the Natural World Harbor's numerous examples of mouth brooding, in

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<v Speaker 1>which fertilized eggs are kept in one of the parents

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<v Speaker 1>mouths and sometimes swapped back and forth to allow both

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<v Speaker 1>parents to eat. Darwin's frog is noted for mouth brooding,

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<v Speaker 1>as are numerous fish species, including those in the chick

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<v Speaker 1>lit family. But to actually eject eggs from your mouth

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<v Speaker 1>as an offensive or defensive weapon, well, the notion of

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<v Speaker 1>an agitated, gastric brooding frog certainly seems reasonably close to

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<v Speaker 1>the idea, and while many creatures go to extreme links

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<v Speaker 1>to protect eggs and young, the mathematics of parenting and

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<v Speaker 1>survival don't always go in that direction. Consider the quaca

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<v Speaker 1>or short tailed scrub wallaby of Australia. As the Australian

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<v Speaker 1>Nature Conservatory points out, this cat sized macropod gives birth

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<v Speaker 1>just twenty seven days after mating, and it stores its

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<v Speaker 1>joey in a pouch. Here it continues to develop for

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<v Speaker 1>another six months. If threatened, however, she may expel the

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<v Speaker 1>joey onto the ground, where the thrashing, squealing youngster can

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<v Speaker 1>serve as a distraction for a pursuing predator. While this

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<v Speaker 1>may sound harsh, her survival is at stake, and she

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<v Speaker 1>also has backups additional young suspended in the womb, which

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<v Speaker 1>can be berthed shortly thereafter. It's not quite blasting egg

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<v Speaker 1>projectiles at Italian plumbers, but it comes amazingly close in

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<v Speaker 1>some respects. Perhaps Birdo employs a form of gastric brooding,

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<v Speaker 1>and you've threatened, such as by Italian plumber dream Warriors,

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<v Speaker 1>they simply projectile vomit some of their many many eggs

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<v Speaker 1>in their defense. Tune in for additional episodes of The

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<v Speaker 1>Monster Fact each week. As always, you can email us

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<v Speaker 1>at contact It's Stuff to Blow your Mind dot com.

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