1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, you're welcot the Stuff to Blow 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,240 Speaker 1: your Mind. Mym is Robert Lamb, and I'm Julie Douglas. Julie. 4 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 1: The more we discuss the world and the way it 5 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: works and the way we perceive it, the more labyrinthine 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,439 Speaker 1: it confused. Yeah. Yeah, the more layers that you feel away, 7 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: the more layers you find underneath. Right, right, you look 8 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: back on a time pretty much like the post War 9 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: War two era, Like that was the time when it 10 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: was all this optimism that we had things more or 11 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: less figured out, that we were venturing into this age 12 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: where everything's gonna make sense. Diseases, we're going to defeat space, 13 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: we're going to travel. Everything was within our grasp. And 14 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: then we started learning more and more and things become 15 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: just more and more complicated. I mean, that's kind of 16 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: a simplification, but but that's kind of the the story 17 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: shaped version of it. And yeah, it seemed like science 18 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,279 Speaker 1: was emerging to the degree where we could really get 19 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: a handle on things. And you know, psychologically we had 20 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: Freud and Young and we're really trying to be introspective 21 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: and say, ah, yes, this is what drives human beings, right, 22 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: and it seems that humans were the lords of the Earth, 23 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: that we this was our planet, we had it not, 24 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: and we were going to be the poster children of 25 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: this planet moving forward. But the topic we're going to 26 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: talk about today really sheds a light on just one 27 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: of the areas where humans are not the top dogs. 28 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: The topic that really illuminates how the organisms that operate 29 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: in the shadows, and at a much smaller level, it 30 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: may just be the rulers of the planet, right, the 31 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: organisms inside of us. And we've actually talked about this before, 32 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: whether or not we actually have free will, And we've 33 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: talked about this from a psychological perspective like, oh, did 34 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: you know that a lot of people who are named 35 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: Denise tend to be dentists or Dennists tend to be dentists. 36 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: And this was in David Eagleman's book, right recent book Incognito, 37 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: that talked about all these sort of subtle machination is 38 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: going on that really informed our worldview and the decisions 39 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: we make. But we've also talked about little critters and 40 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: how how we may actually just be you know, walking 41 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: transportation for these guys, so that we we can just 42 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: spread critters among the earth. And this has become even 43 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: more apparent recently with a recent article that's been in 44 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:25,359 Speaker 1: the news. I believe that the the name of it 45 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: is how your cat is Making You Crazy? And this 46 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: is by Kathleen Mcaliffe and this was in the March 47 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: edition of The Atlantic. Yeah, this of course deals with 48 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: good old taxo taxo plasma gandhi taxo plasmosis being the infestation. Okay, well, 49 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: and this comes out up every year or two. I 50 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,239 Speaker 1: wrote a bunch about it for Animal Planet a couple 51 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: of years back. Yeah, you you have actually talked about 52 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,640 Speaker 1: this before, but yeah, definitely, there's there's a driving force 53 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: now though around the topic, because there are so many 54 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: different studies that are beginning to support this idea that 55 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: this our side is doing some really crazy Shenanigan stuff 56 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: with not just animals but perhaps even humans. Right, there's 57 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: a simplistic way to think of parasites, and I think 58 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:10,840 Speaker 1: this is a new way we often think. We we 59 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: think in terms of oh, I have a leech on me, 60 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 1: Oh I have a mosquito on me, or a gear 61 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,519 Speaker 1: tick or something, and and these are external parasites. But 62 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: the model is simple. There's a weakness in my defense 63 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: is something is stealing energy from me and then moving on. 64 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: It's a blood sucker. Um And that's a that's a 65 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: pretty straightforward con. But something like ke Gandhi. Here T 66 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: Gandhi is playing the long con and and has and 67 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: it's so intricate. I mean, this is like what was 68 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: the Kaiser so say movie, Oh the Unsuspected really usual, 69 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: you know, it's it's like that level of complex plot 70 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: going on where when you begin to see the full 71 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: life cycle of this organism and see the full scheme 72 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: as much of it as we can understand, you really 73 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: odd because it's not just a matter of something, Oh 74 00:03:57,800 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: you've got a little room for me to live inside you. 75 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: I'm gonna inside you where it's warm. No, it's it's 76 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: it's far more. You're right. If T Gandhi was plain Vegas, 77 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: it would be like the ultimate grifter move what we're 78 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: about to describe. There would be a parasites. Oh yeah, 79 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: well here we go. Okay, So let's talk about T. 80 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: Gandhi Texi Plasmosa Gandhi, and let's talk about what it 81 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: actually is and why it is so fierce. Yes, so 82 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: Toxoplasmosa gandhi is a protozoan parasite and the only known 83 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: definitive hosts for T. Gandhi. That's what we're gonna call 84 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: it from here on out. Our domestic cats in their relatives, 85 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 1: and that's that's why our feline friends have been in 86 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: the news lately too, and a little bit demonized, which 87 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: we'll talk about later. The cats. Cats, Yeah, yeah, well 88 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: in general they're kind of demon They steal your breath, right, 89 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: that's what they say. But old T. Gandhi here makes 90 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: the cat, the feline. It's primary host. This is where 91 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:57,279 Speaker 1: it reproduces. This is the the mothership for T. Gandhi, 92 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 1: but it's life cycle takes it to other creek is 93 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: as well. So this fantastic journey begins inside spaceship cat 94 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: inside the mothership, all right, the new toxoplasma they multiply 95 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: in the lining of an infected cats and testing. Right, 96 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,480 Speaker 1: so the cat eats something, picks up the parasite, right, 97 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: get in the tummy. It reproduces in the cat. It's 98 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: the primary host again, So that's what goes on here. 99 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: And then the toxoplasma young, which are called ship out 100 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: on the feces, okay, um, right, and this is a 101 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: common practice among parasites. That's the outgoing highway from most organisms. 102 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 1: And that's so if you need to get out, that's 103 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: the way you gotta go. And this is shed for 104 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: like one to two weeks or so, you know, in 105 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: the feces of the cat. In any creature that encounters 106 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: this stowaway laden waist is susceptible to accidental infection. Okay. 107 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: So this means you know, everything from touching a litter box, 108 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 1: walking around on barefoot, on infected soil, infected water, infected 109 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: garden veggies, where there's poop, there's a way, right. And 110 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:02,600 Speaker 1: so if you think of a bird or a rodent 111 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: trapesing across a pile of fresh cat poo, then obviously 112 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,280 Speaker 1: that that's a great way for the parasite to hit 113 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,599 Speaker 1: a ride now on say a rat, right, because that's 114 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: what it needs to do. Ultimately, this parasite needs to 115 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: return to a cat, all right, And it really like 116 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:21,719 Speaker 1: that the rat is very important here. This parasite loves 117 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: the rat. Yes, so the rat also you know some 118 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: some birds things that cats eat. That is it's it's 119 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:31,360 Speaker 1: ticket back aboard a cat. Somewhere. So now it's aboard 120 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: the rat, the bird, whatever the intermediate host may be. 121 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: And eventually what happens your pet cat corners this intermediate 122 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: host um you know, in your cellar, in your backyard, 123 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: in the neighbor's yard, wherever it happens to do. It's hunting. 124 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: And if you've ever seen your cat with one of 125 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: these animals, you know what happens next. It gobbles it down, 126 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: or gobbles half of it down, and then leaves the 127 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: other half for you to find on your computer day. Yeah. Yeah, 128 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: puts its head on a steak. It says, like what 129 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: I did. But when the cat eats this intermediate host, 130 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: the cycle continues. Now the taxoplasma is in its system anew, 131 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: it is returned to a primary host. Yeah, and so 132 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: this is the coolest thing about this or frightening or 133 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: whatever your perspective is, is that it returns back to 134 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: the cat where those ussis transform into taki a z o. 135 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: It's after ingestion, and that's where it becomes the adult 136 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: version of the parasite. And it's really the only way 137 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: that it can fulfill this life cycle again through the 138 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: cat right just on its own. I mean, the cycle 139 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: is kind of cool, but it's not completely mind blowing 140 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: because obviously cats eat mice and birds, so the circle 141 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: is pretty simple. It's not completely crazy until you start 142 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: getting into the times subtle manipulations that are going on 143 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: inside the intermediate hosts. So when the cycle begins a 144 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: new it's important though, to stress that more than birds 145 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: and and mice are susceptible to this parasite will end 146 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: up in humans. Little does the parasite. There's probably a 147 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: little chance that once it ends up in a human 148 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: that a cat will eat that human. I mean, it 149 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,480 Speaker 1: happens sometimes, but for the most part, feral cat hordes 150 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: are not overwhelming humans on the train as far as 151 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: we know. I don't know this because this could be 152 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: a plot by the cats, you know, to infect a 153 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: subtle defends out through they are, I guess. But but 154 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: for the most part, this is kind of collateral damage. 155 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: The parasite needs to return to the cat. It needs 156 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: to get in a bird or a rat to do so, 157 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: but it'll try pretty much anything. Yeah, So think about 158 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: this parasite it's now taken up you know, home, and 159 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: say like an animal um and the and the tissues 160 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: of an animal usually in the muscle tissues, and these 161 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: little cysts are there, So how can it infect a human? 162 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 1: You will you could eat undercooked meat of an animal 163 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 1: that has those those cysts in it. Because I mentioned 164 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 1: the litter box thing is is an obvious but yeah, yeah, 165 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: there are more subtle ways to yet yet litter box 166 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:56,080 Speaker 1: even just say stepping on people contaminated soil and then 167 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 1: accionally like swiping your finger on it and then dipping 168 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:00,319 Speaker 1: it in your mouth. Right, so think about that. The 169 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:02,319 Speaker 1: next thing you see children running around barefoot in the 170 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 1: yard actually kind of creepy. Right. Blood transfusion or organ 171 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: transplantation and transplants centrally from mother to fetus. Now, I'm 172 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: sure that a lot of people have heard about toxoplasmosis 173 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: in terms of pregnant women because that really is a 174 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: concern in the medical community because if a to be 175 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: mother actually were to have toxoplasmosis, she could then transport 176 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: that via the placenta to the fetus, and that really 177 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: can cause a lot of problems, anything from blindness to 178 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: mental disabilities to brain damage. So it's that that's usually 179 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:37,240 Speaker 1: how people know of this. But okay, let's say that 180 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 1: it does occupy the brains of a human who is 181 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: not pregnant. And by the way, this is not as 182 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:46,439 Speaker 1: uncommon as you would think. And actually it is just 183 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 1: going to hang out there for the rest of your 184 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,440 Speaker 1: life in your body, all right, it's kind of dead 185 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 1: ended in spaceship human, but it's going to stick around 186 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: very chance that a cat may eat you one day 187 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 1: exactly that they they finally get the world dominancy that 188 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: they are looking for. Yeah, it is buried in your 189 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,320 Speaker 1: muscle and nerve tissue. And this is not We're not 190 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:08,640 Speaker 1: talking about like a rare circumstance where oh, they just 191 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: happen to have a cat parasite, because you do have 192 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:14,959 Speaker 1: some situations where a parasitic infestation in a human is 193 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: kind of a rare occurrence and causes all these problems. 194 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: But the U S inert for Disease Control Prevention estimates 195 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: that twenty two point five of the United States twelve 196 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,560 Speaker 1: and older population currently carries the TOXO parasite and estimates 197 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: run is high as nine in some parts of the world. 198 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: So between thirty and sixty percent of the global population 199 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: is infested. That is an incredible amount of humans infested 200 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: with us, right and you know, just for comparisons sake, 201 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,440 Speaker 1: let me look at France and that's upward to like 202 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 1: fifty five percent. And again it's a thought because in 203 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:53,880 Speaker 1: France it's much more common to have uncooked meat or 204 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 1: you know, still uncooked the uncooked. But that makes it 205 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:01,079 Speaker 1: sound like they're the frenchmen are running through the fields 206 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: like pulling down cows and horses and deer. Yeah, with 207 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: with big fancy curly mustaches. But no, I mean, you know, 208 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,199 Speaker 1: state tartar are some of the ways that the meat 209 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: is prepared wherever there's a tradition of rare to raw 210 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:16,599 Speaker 1: meat consumption. So of stick tatar is big in a 211 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: region and domestic cats are around, there's a chance that 212 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: that's going to be higher, right, Or if you live 213 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: in conditions where you're the soil is contaminated quite a 214 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:27,560 Speaker 1: bit and you don't have say the means to have 215 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:31,160 Speaker 1: access to clean water, of course, and infanstation rates would 216 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 1: be much higher. Um. But okay, so there's all this 217 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 1: data swirling around. Now you know the life cycle of 218 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: texoplasmas gandhi, and do you understand that us humans are 219 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:46,200 Speaker 1: far more infected than we probably ever knew, Right, So 220 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:49,200 Speaker 1: what's the big deal. Well, the big deal is that, again, 221 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: the cycle itself, the ideal cycle of cat to rat, 222 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,880 Speaker 1: the cat is pretty straightforward. But these guys trying to 223 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:01,200 Speaker 1: gain the process because they really once they're in spaceship rat, 224 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: they really want to dock with the mothership again. So 225 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:06,839 Speaker 1: they essentially pilot this mothership a little and they don't 226 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: completely take the controls. It's not the sort of a 227 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 1: zombie thing, though, You'll definitely see that situation play out 228 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: in some parasitic infestations, but in this one, it's more 229 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: of a subtle tweaking of the design functions in the rat. Well, 230 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:23,319 Speaker 1: it actually changes the behavior of the rat. And we're 231 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 1: talking about here's the rats fear response specifically to cats. Yeah, 232 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 1: so the rat needs to return to the cats. So 233 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:33,880 Speaker 1: what can I do as a parasite to to set 234 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:38,120 Speaker 1: up this encounter to encourage my rat host to wind 235 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: up in the belly of a cat. And indeed, the 236 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,199 Speaker 1: easiest thing is too, well, let's make this prey animal 237 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:47,199 Speaker 1: less afraid of its number one predator. Yeah, and actually 238 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:51,280 Speaker 1: let's take up residents and the rats and magdala where 239 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 1: we know that you know, motions like fear are hanging 240 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,440 Speaker 1: out and let's do a little neural rewiring. Right, So 241 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:02,440 Speaker 1: this is like oceans eleven um parasites eleven. The they're 242 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 1: sneaking into the into the control mainframe to try and 243 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 1: mess with the security system. Okay, And so if you 244 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: think that, we're completely nuts, so we just made all 245 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: this up again that the article in the Atlantic is 246 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: great in talking about this more specifically. And there are 247 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: a ton of studies, one of which was conducted by 248 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 1: Joanne Webster. She's a parasitologist at Imperial College, London, and 249 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,240 Speaker 1: she took it an enclosure with rats, and she treated 250 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 1: one corner of each enclosure with the animal's own order 251 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:33,800 Speaker 1: odor excuse me, a second with water, a third with 252 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 1: cat urine, in the last corner with the urine of 253 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:38,679 Speaker 1: a rabbit. Okay, so this is not a creature that 254 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 1: prays on rodents, right. She said, we thought the parasite 255 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,720 Speaker 1: might reduce the rats aversion to cat odor. Not only 256 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: did do that, but it actually increased their attraction. They 257 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:50,560 Speaker 1: spent more time in the cat treated areas, the cat 258 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:53,840 Speaker 1: urine areas, okay, And naturally they would have gotten one 259 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: whiff of that and been out of there, right, so 260 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,199 Speaker 1: she and other scientists have repeated this experiment with the 261 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 1: urin of dog and minks, which also prey on rodents, 262 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:05,439 Speaker 1: and the effect was so specific to cat her and 263 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 1: she says that they call it the fatal feline attraction. 264 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:12,959 Speaker 1: In a sense, the parasite makes the rats sexually attracted 265 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: to death by cat. Yes, they're creating suicide rats really, 266 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: and again this is all pointing back to this disconnection 267 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:26,000 Speaker 1: of fear circuits, and neuroscientists Robert Sapulski and his colleagues 268 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 1: found that T GANDHI disconnects these fear circuits in the brain. 269 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: And again that's this isn't somewhat of an explanation for 270 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,960 Speaker 1: these rats losing their aversion to cat odor. Okay, now, 271 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,360 Speaker 1: if I if I might return to the parasites eleven 272 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 1: analogy here, let's say we want to gain the process 273 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 1: even further. Al Right, Okay, so we've sort of shut 274 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:48,560 Speaker 1: down security. But the rat is and or a bird. 275 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 1: These are creatures that have evolved over millions and millions 276 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 1: of years to effectively evade the predators that want to 277 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: eat them. All right, so we tweet things so that 278 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,040 Speaker 1: they're attracted to the urine of their predator. But I 279 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: wonder if we could do more. What have we made 280 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: them clumsy? What if we messed with their motor skills? 281 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:07,680 Speaker 1: Their studies that suggested that this is exactly what happens. 282 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,960 Speaker 1: A little parasitic reprogramming of the brain, and they're able 283 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,960 Speaker 1: to impair the host motor controls. So the parasite cuts 284 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: the host chances of avoiding the cat's jaws and claws 285 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 1: and winding up in the belly, just gains it a 286 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: little more. And only that, let's add to the mix 287 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 1: that not only do you lose your fear response and 288 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 1: your motor control slows down, but let's let's say that 289 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 1: when you do get a whiff of that good time 290 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: cat you're in, that your dopamine center in your brain 291 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: starts to go nuts. It's like you've released something into 292 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:41,000 Speaker 1: the air events to sort of pacify the security patrol 293 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: at this hypothetical casino. There you go and you're attracted 294 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 1: to it, and what do you do? You walk right 295 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 1: up to a cat and say, I just I just 296 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,280 Speaker 1: had a whiff of your cat. Peek, I like what 297 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: you've got going on there? Why don't we hang out? 298 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: And then the cat, of course, eats it because because 299 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: the cat. In a little bit we'll discuss some possible 300 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:01,920 Speaker 1: sort of side effects for the cat of the taxo 301 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: infesting it, but for the most part of the cat 302 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: is unaffected. The cat knows what it's doing when it 303 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: comes to killing things and then pooping things. So there's 304 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 1: not really any need to tinker with that model because 305 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: because if you have a cat, you know that it 306 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:16,880 Speaker 1: eats and poops very well. So we're too about cats, 307 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: but they've got those two things down. It's like the 308 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: four things they dig, but it's the prey animals, uh, 309 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: in the cycle that they tweak. Yeah, that's right. And 310 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: so as soon as that rat, who has lost all 311 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: sense of fear, presents him or herself to the cat, 312 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: then you know, the t gandhi inside are going. You know, Booya, 313 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: is exactly what we wanted you to do. But what's 314 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: fascinating about that is that that that parasite is in 315 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: the rat's brain really tinkering with it so specifically you know, 316 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: to cat urine and another animal urine that it's attracted to, 317 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: or you know, losing the motor coordination. I mean that 318 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 1: all of that is fascinating to me. Yeah, and it 319 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: turns our previous understandings of how the world works on 320 00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 1: its head, like the idea that at this small level, 321 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: the creatures that we don't even think of as having 322 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 1: intelligence are manipulating the whole show. You know. They're like 323 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:10,919 Speaker 1: they're like tiny gods, right, And now the situation is unfolding, 324 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,440 Speaker 1: and there's there's just one researcher, this one scientist who 325 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:16,720 Speaker 1: looks at this. It looks all these different cases of 326 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:20,560 Speaker 1: parasites changing behavior in insects and animals and says, m hm, 327 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:23,679 Speaker 1: you know, but I've been acting kind of strange lately. 328 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,920 Speaker 1: I wonder if I could be infested with something that's 329 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 1: changing my behavior. And we're gonna take a quick break, 330 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:33,600 Speaker 1: but when we get back, we're going to talk about 331 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:38,120 Speaker 1: whether or not we are also controlled by unseen forces 332 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 1: aka parasites. We're back, and like we mentioned before that 333 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,439 Speaker 1: the parasite he guaranty, wants to get inside a cat again, 334 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:51,159 Speaker 1: and it wants to do that by getting inside a 335 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,680 Speaker 1: rat or a bird. That's the cycle cat, the rat, 336 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:57,520 Speaker 1: the cat. But this journey will often lead it into humans, 337 00:17:57,680 --> 00:17:59,920 Speaker 1: which generally is a dead end journey. But it is 338 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:02,680 Speaker 1: still going to use all of its skills to try 339 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 1: and get that right and into the belly of a cat. 340 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: It's still programmed to change the host and to manipulate 341 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:13,200 Speaker 1: the host towards its ultimate goal again the digestive system 342 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: of a feline. So human infestation by T. Gandhi also 343 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: appears to result in some mind puppeting. It appears, you know, 344 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,199 Speaker 1: the jury is still somewhat out, and there's quite a 345 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: kerfuffle about it, but it seems to be some some 346 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:31,320 Speaker 1: pretty serious evidence that there's tinkering going on in the 347 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,960 Speaker 1: human mind. In fact, biologist Yaroslav Flagger in the n 348 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:38,159 Speaker 1: as I said before he had begun to suspect that 349 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 1: a parasite was subtly manipulating his personality. For instance, he 350 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: would cross the road in the middle of trafficked weapon 351 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:48,800 Speaker 1: without any fear, and in moments of panic he observed 352 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: others freaking out while he remained oddly calm. He realized 353 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:55,919 Speaker 1: that he also didn't have much of an investment in 354 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 1: his appearance. He seemed sort of unkempt, introverted, and and uh. 355 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:05,320 Speaker 1: He remembered learning about reckless ants whose nervous systems had 356 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 1: been reprogrammed by flatworms, so he remembered this this instance 357 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: in which instead of heading underground, which ants should do 358 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 1: when the temperature drops, these ants would actually scale a 359 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:19,399 Speaker 1: blade of grass and chomp down on the top and 360 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: just hang there in the wind until it was gulped 361 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:24,040 Speaker 1: down by a predator. And this was of course the 362 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,919 Speaker 1: tapeworm um the tapeworms doing so. He'd heard of a 363 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: similar con job in the parasite world, and suddenly he realized, 364 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,640 Speaker 1: what if I'm being con What if the parasites are 365 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: working through me uh in their their master plan? Yep, 366 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 1: and so on a whim. In at Charles University, where 367 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:45,160 Speaker 1: his colleagues were searching for infected individuals to test out 368 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: some new kits to see how fancy they were, they 369 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:51,639 Speaker 1: found that Flagger tested positive for the parasite. So his 370 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,880 Speaker 1: hunch was right. What that led to is this guy 371 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: like doggedly trying to understand this parasite and how it 372 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 1: behaves in humans, and a bunch of other people of 373 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:04,120 Speaker 1: late have you know, jumped on the ship to try 374 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: to figure out what's going on as well. So he 375 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:08,919 Speaker 1: was a man with no fear, he was, Yeah, he 376 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 1: was a man with no fear. And so again, and 377 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:12,760 Speaker 1: you know looking at rats, and he he looked at 378 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: rats too, and was looking at the same thing. This, 379 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: this disconnecting of the fear center and wondering if his 380 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:21,520 Speaker 1: own crazy behavior and walking out in the middle of 381 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:26,159 Speaker 1: traffic was related. And he found in one of his 382 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:29,639 Speaker 1: studies that this had a direct correlation to people in 383 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,880 Speaker 1: traffic accidents. Yes, according to a two thousand and nine 384 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: study from Charles University in Prague, toxoplasmosis infection could make 385 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 1: one two point five times more likely to wind up 386 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:43,440 Speaker 1: in an automobile accident, specifically if you happen to have 387 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: Reese's negative blood, which means you're missing a protein on 388 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:48,960 Speaker 1: the surface of your blood cells. And this comes around 389 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 1: to the tinkering we were talking about earlier, that motor 390 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: skills have been adjusted, the fear of death has been adjusted, 391 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 1: and combine those two out on the road and you 392 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:02,400 Speaker 1: can make I feel like you can make a definite 393 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:07,400 Speaker 1: case that you're more susceptible to an automobile wreck. Yeah, 394 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 1: that's right. And the two Turkish studies have replicated his studies. Again, 395 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 1: these are people who have been involved in traffic accidents 396 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: and the accident victims blood was taken and again, it 397 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:20,639 Speaker 1: was found two and a half times more likely to 398 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,119 Speaker 1: be in traffic accident if you are infested with this parasite. Yeah, 399 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:27,479 Speaker 1: amazingly enough, the prog studies suggests that between four hundred 400 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,160 Speaker 1: thousand and a million of the world's annual road deaths 401 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: might be due to toxoplasma. Okay, so that's where, of course, 402 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:36,640 Speaker 1: where people start to put up the red flag and said, Okay, 403 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 1: don't worry, you can still drive a car. Let's try 404 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 1: to get more data on this and truly understand whether 405 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 1: or not it's a cat to that degree correlation, right, right. 406 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: Then Flagger also sorted to say, well, you know, I 407 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,440 Speaker 1: wonder if humans, like rats also have a delay in 408 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:58,240 Speaker 1: response time, and he studied that. He found in one 409 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,679 Speaker 1: of his studies that there was a slight delay in 410 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:04,199 Speaker 1: response time for a group infected with two gandhi in 411 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:08,760 Speaker 1: comparison to their study counterparts. Both groups were asked to 412 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 1: press a button when they saw a white square appear 413 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: against a dark background. So yeah, the actually delay time 414 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,280 Speaker 1: is pretty subtle, but is very distinct that there was 415 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 1: a delay in people with T gandhi. Fliger also noted 416 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:24,880 Speaker 1: that T gandhi men and women developed subtle personality changes. 417 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,639 Speaker 1: The men were more prone to be introverted, suspicious, and 418 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,360 Speaker 1: rule break, rule breakers as well as sort of unkempt, 419 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:36,160 Speaker 1: while women were more outgoing, trusting, rule abiding, and paid 420 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,719 Speaker 1: much more attention to their appearance. And he determined this 421 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,480 Speaker 1: by first giving them personality tests. Then he began to 422 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 1: test the emerging data that came out of those personality tests. So, 423 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 1: for instance, um he would test trust levels by saying, hey, here, 424 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:55,480 Speaker 1: drink this unidentified liquid, and again, the Ti Gandhi men 425 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: were more likely to be very suspicious of this, where 426 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 1: the whereas the Ti Gan women were like, hey, okay, sure, 427 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: I'll have a sip of it. He also gauged the 428 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: amount of time subjects spent with friends and how subjects 429 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:11,960 Speaker 1: valued their appearance. Another potential byproduct of infestation by T 430 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: Gandhi is depression. There's some research into this from the 431 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 1: Stanley Research Medical Institute of Maryland, and they found that 432 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: people infected with toxoplasma are at greater risk of developing depression. 433 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: There was even one case, and this was a study 434 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 1: published in BMC Psychiatry that studied a depressed thirty two 435 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 1: year old male who only responded to added pressence after 436 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: being treated for toxoplasmosis. It's one of these cases where 437 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 1: we're not sure this is actually part of the grand 438 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: design of the parasite, because they've also there's some studies 439 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: that they think that there might be some mild depression 440 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 1: in cats when they have an acute infestation of T 441 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,359 Speaker 1: gandhi in their systems. But it's another reason to be 442 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:54,040 Speaker 1: I guess a little well. In the article also points 443 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:58,439 Speaker 1: out the behavioral differences among genders, and they wonder like, 444 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:02,439 Speaker 1: why could that be so very different? And one of 445 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: the because it seems to make women more fun, right, 446 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:09,919 Speaker 1: I mean more spend more yeah, uh, and having a 447 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:13,879 Speaker 1: good time. They're they're more promiscuous living up, whereas the 448 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:18,720 Speaker 1: men become sullen, shut in men with bad attitudes and 449 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 1: worse hygiene. Yeah, pretty much just sort of like a 450 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,680 Speaker 1: little bit retreating to their caves, I guess you could say. 451 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:28,399 Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean that the idea is that the 452 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:34,800 Speaker 1: T GANDHI relating to depression does increase anxiety in people, 453 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:37,120 Speaker 1: and that these are just sort of the coping mechanisms 454 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 1: that come up when you're experiencing anxiety. I don't know 455 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 1: that I've ever been really anxious and decided that I 456 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,440 Speaker 1: would just drop five bucks and then go out and 457 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:47,639 Speaker 1: be super social. But I don't know, I mean, you know, 458 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:49,560 Speaker 1: this is again this is a bit of the mystery 459 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,600 Speaker 1: behind T. Gandhi and how it's working in humans. And 460 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:54,159 Speaker 1: one of the things that was brought up in this 461 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:59,280 Speaker 1: article that's that's also pretty intriguing m is schizophrenia and 462 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:04,400 Speaker 1: hat fancying and how they all relate to T. Gandhi 463 00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:08,080 Speaker 1: referencing the stereotype of the old cat lady, the crazy 464 00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 1: old cat lady, right, well, well lots of cats and 465 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,480 Speaker 1: is a little adult. It has been pointed out that 466 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,680 Speaker 1: schizophrenia didn't really come onto the scene until the eighteenth century, 467 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 1: about the same time that people began keeping cats as pets, 468 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:25,159 Speaker 1: and this became like a something that just spread throughout 469 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: the world, became like really cool to keep cut to 470 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,399 Speaker 1: domesticated in that way, and your keep it with you 471 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: in your house where you have obviously much more interaction 472 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:36,720 Speaker 1: with it. A ka feces on your hands sort of, 473 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:38,959 Speaker 1: I mean not directly all the time, but there are 474 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:43,399 Speaker 1: more opportunities for infection. Right. So, there's a psychiatrist by 475 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,880 Speaker 1: the name of E. Fuller Tori and he, along with 476 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: Robert Yulkin, a neuro virologist at Johns Hopkins University, surveyed 477 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: a subset of seventy epidemiology studies from the nineteen fifties. 478 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,320 Speaker 1: And these weren't just random papers. The study these they 479 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:03,639 Speaker 1: were pretty rigorous in terms of their scientific standards. And 480 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:07,399 Speaker 1: they found that schizophrenic patients with taxo are missing gray 481 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: matter in their brains. Okay, and that sounds like what, um, 482 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,160 Speaker 1: you know, It's just it's a little bit more complicated 483 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:15,280 Speaker 1: than that, and subtle Torre and Yo can found that 484 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:18,680 Speaker 1: the mental illness is two to three times as common 485 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,199 Speaker 1: in people who have the parasite as in controls from 486 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 1: the same region. Okay, so this is giving us some 487 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 1: interesting evidence that t GANDHI could perhaps affect your brain 488 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,479 Speaker 1: and the reasons for depression or schizophrenia or anxiety. The 489 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 1: thing is is that a lot of schizophrenia patients show 490 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:39,119 Speaker 1: shrinkage in parts of their cerebral cortex. Twelve of forty 491 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:42,439 Speaker 1: four schizophrenia patients who underwent m r I scans the 492 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 1: team found had reduced gray matter in their brain. Okay, 493 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:49,400 Speaker 1: and the decrease occurred almost exclusively in those who tested 494 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 1: positive for T gandhi. So what Flagler and a lot 495 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,679 Speaker 1: of people are starting to interpret those results as is 496 00:26:55,720 --> 00:27:00,680 Speaker 1: that the parasite may trigger schizophrenia and genetically so uptible people. 497 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:04,760 Speaker 1: So the genetic part comes into play because what they 498 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 1: think is that that this connection with schizophrenia running and 499 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 1: people's families is connected to genes that may have been 500 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 1: passed down with a deficient immune response to invaders like 501 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,119 Speaker 1: T gandhi. So it's not a situation where cats are 502 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 1: just pooping out schizophrenia. Jesy, right, right, right, then this 503 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:26,479 Speaker 1: is a subtle distinction. I'm glad you brought that up. 504 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 1: It's not just like, hey, humans infected. Now I'm going 505 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:30,960 Speaker 1: to have a kid, and I'm going to have a 506 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,719 Speaker 1: kid with T gandhi and schizophrenia. Now, it's more like, 507 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 1: to use the parasites of leven analogy, the burglars are 508 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,640 Speaker 1: crawling through the duck work into the main frame. They're 509 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,639 Speaker 1: tweaking the security on the host, and then oh, you 510 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,679 Speaker 1: happen to have a switch over here for schizophrenia, and 511 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: they hit it with their elbow. Yes, Because they know 512 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,359 Speaker 1: that genes that are most commonly associated with schizophrenia relate 513 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,080 Speaker 1: to the immune system. Okay, So all it means is 514 00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:58,080 Speaker 1: that you could have had these genes passed down, which 515 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,200 Speaker 1: would give you a weekend immune respon to the parasite 516 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:04,040 Speaker 1: if you happen to be infected with it, which may 517 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:07,080 Speaker 1: relate to triggering schizophrenia. This is one of those things 518 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:09,760 Speaker 1: like you could not make this up if you tried, right, 519 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: So this is what is rattling a lot of people's 520 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,600 Speaker 1: cages because we don't really quite have a complete understanding 521 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 1: of how this works. Yeah, that we're beginning to understand 522 00:28:18,119 --> 00:28:21,399 Speaker 1: the scheme that is playing out at the parasitic levels, 523 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: and it can be intimidating and a little scary. Like 524 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 1: when I first researched the topic a couple of years back, 525 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:29,440 Speaker 1: it kind of messed with my relationship with my cat 526 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 1: for for like a couple of weeks, because I'm like, 527 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,000 Speaker 1: I'm suddenly looking at the cat like you. I thought 528 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: you were my friend. I thought we were cool, but 529 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:41,120 Speaker 1: you may have a parasite that might be changing me 530 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 1: into a frumpy, grumpy shut in. Uh, you know, destroying 531 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: my relationship with my spouse, trying to get me in 532 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:53,880 Speaker 1: a car wreck, and ultimately in a cat's belly while 533 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:58,400 Speaker 1: while making my already suspect motor skills even sloppier. I 534 00:28:58,440 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 1: felt kind of weird about it, and I was kind 535 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:01,720 Speaker 1: of I don't really know if I want you sleeping 536 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,280 Speaker 1: on the bed sleeping on the bed. But but we 537 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 1: repaired things after that, and right there still needs to 538 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:12,720 Speaker 1: be a lot of research on these different aspects of 539 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 1: t GANDHI and how it works in humans right to 540 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 1: to nobody needs to really go off the deepend and 541 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,640 Speaker 1: get tested right now and be afraid of their cats, 542 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 1: because it's easy to to self diagnose with any anything really, 543 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:26,920 Speaker 1: because it's something like this. You think, well, I don't know, 544 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:30,520 Speaker 1: I haven't gone out and been social lately. Maybe I 545 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:32,360 Speaker 1: have a parasite. I'm not that good of a driver, 546 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,600 Speaker 1: maybe I have a parasite. It's right, it's easy to 547 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,920 Speaker 1: self diagnosed like that. But what I ended up telling 548 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 1: myself I ended up looking at that figure, like, you know, 549 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 1: thirty and six, between thirty and six in the global population. 550 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:46,720 Speaker 1: I started looking at the amount of time I had 551 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 1: already lived around my cat or other cats, and and 552 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,520 Speaker 1: I ultimately had to decide, well, yeah, if I got it, 553 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:55,760 Speaker 1: I got it. If I don't. I don't. It's well, 554 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:57,600 Speaker 1: and I don't know if this is going to be comforting. 555 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: But this sort of infestation and behavioral changes, uh, it's 556 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:07,560 Speaker 1: not really that uncommon. It's not just this parasite, right, 557 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:09,920 Speaker 1: It's not a case where oh, I am completely in 558 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:11,800 Speaker 1: charge of my own destiny and then it moves the 559 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 1: parasite and changes things around. I think we've we've done 560 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 1: enough podcasts on similar topics that I think long time 561 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,800 Speaker 1: listeners already have a good idea that there are a 562 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:24,800 Speaker 1: lot of There are a lot of burglars in the 563 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 1: ductwork already, right right, there are other microscopic puppeteers, I 564 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,280 Speaker 1: guess you could say, because nothing of the own complexity 565 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,960 Speaker 1: of our own cognitive process, and how free will and 566 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:40,640 Speaker 1: subsurface cognition are already altering, well not altering, but dictating 567 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,000 Speaker 1: the way we perceive the world and perceive ourselves. Right, 568 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:45,480 Speaker 1: we already know that, you know, our bacterial cells out 569 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,280 Speaker 1: number are our cells, you know, tend to one. So 570 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:51,680 Speaker 1: we really are just the hosts hanging our own To 571 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:55,280 Speaker 1: that point too, let's look at the flu. Right, there 572 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:58,720 Speaker 1: are studies that say that perhaps the flu changes our behavior. 573 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 1: There's one study at Colorado State University that showed that 574 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 1: when subjects were given a flu vaccination, essentially stoking the 575 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 1: subject's immune response, they doubled the amount of people they 576 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:12,080 Speaker 1: came into contact with during the time that they were 577 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 1: maximally contagious. So these were introverted people in the first place, 578 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:20,720 Speaker 1: who you know. They started to keep tabs on um 579 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:23,600 Speaker 1: the behavior of these people who have been infected. I'm 580 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:27,480 Speaker 1: doing some air quotes uninfected um and and they did 581 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: find that they were seeking out more and more people 582 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,560 Speaker 1: to commune with, which sort of leads us down this 583 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:39,320 Speaker 1: path of is the flu encouraging us to be more 584 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:46,120 Speaker 1: social so that it can spread itself. Yeah. And then 585 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:49,240 Speaker 1: there is a woman named Janice Moore who is one 586 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,320 Speaker 1: of the Flu studies researchers, and she also looked at 587 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:56,560 Speaker 1: other human pathogens like AIDS, syphilis, and her peace. Uh. 588 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 1: And the reason she did that is because at the 589 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,240 Speaker 1: end of stages of AIDS and the outbreak stages of 590 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:05,960 Speaker 1: syphilis and herpes, people report in intense craving for sex. Again, 591 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,640 Speaker 1: the idea is that the pathogen is rewiring the host 592 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,720 Speaker 1: to spread itself. It's not enough that the the life 593 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:15,240 Speaker 1: cycle is in place, but let's tweak the host organism 594 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:19,680 Speaker 1: in a manner to optimize it's spread to other host organisms. Again, 595 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:21,800 Speaker 1: I find a little bit of comfort and and just 596 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 1: knowing that it's not just T. Gandhi that is, because 597 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 1: that was a very comforting statement you made that all right, Well, no, no, 598 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,280 Speaker 1: I mean that's that's all. That's a bit depressing. But 599 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: what I guess my point is is in your point 600 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:34,520 Speaker 1: to is that there are a lot of other burglars 601 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 1: bungling the duct work, as you say, and in their 602 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: already yes, exactly. Yeah. And here's another thing too again, 603 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:44,960 Speaker 1: don't look at your cats suspiciously quite yet, um, Indoor 604 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:47,600 Speaker 1: cats pose no threat because they don't carry the parasite. 605 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:51,880 Speaker 1: They're not outside being infected by the parasite. In theory, yes, 606 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,120 Speaker 1: in theory. I've also seen some studies that are really 607 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:57,720 Speaker 1: making the case. Though. You would have to have had 608 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:01,440 Speaker 1: this cat in an impregnable fortress its entire life for 609 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:04,440 Speaker 1: it not to have the potential to be exposed. Okay, okay, 610 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:06,959 Speaker 1: so don't so don't suddenly free all my goodness, if 611 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:09,320 Speaker 1: my cat darts out the door, he's you know, he 612 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:13,040 Speaker 1: or she's going to be in toxo. No, no, no. Yeah. 613 00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:16,200 Speaker 1: You know, as for outdoor cats, they shew the parasite 614 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,280 Speaker 1: just for a couple of weeks of their life, typically 615 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,520 Speaker 1: when they're young and they've just begun hunting, okay, and 616 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:25,120 Speaker 1: so that's just a pretty brief period. And so one 617 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:26,479 Speaker 1: of the things you could do is just make sure 618 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:29,000 Speaker 1: that you keep everything super clean during that time period 619 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:30,880 Speaker 1: if you do have a new cat, a new kitten 620 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:34,400 Speaker 1: that is out and about hunting around, and of course, 621 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 1: you know, washing her hands, you know, handling catlet or 622 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:39,400 Speaker 1: all of that stuff is just common sense. Don't let 623 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:43,120 Speaker 1: them on the dinner table, scrub your vegetables, eat cooked meat, 624 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:48,840 Speaker 1: pretty well cooked. You know. I think it's the cat bowl. 625 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 1: Don't have a picnic in the sandbox that all the 626 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:54,640 Speaker 1: neighborhood cats poo in, that kind of thing. Yeah, I 627 00:33:54,680 --> 00:34:00,400 Speaker 1: mean common sense stuff. Yeah, don't make cat pooh popsicles, um, 628 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:02,560 Speaker 1: all kinds of stuff like that. But here's the thing 629 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:06,000 Speaker 1: I think it's kind of interesting is that Martina Nava Latova, 630 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:10,359 Speaker 1: oh tennis player, famous tennis player. She's playing against Pam 631 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,160 Speaker 1: s Driver in the U S Open. She loses miserably 632 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:15,719 Speaker 1: and she turns around and says, you know what, this 633 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:19,680 Speaker 1: is the reason why I lost taxoplasmosis because she had it. 634 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:24,360 Speaker 1: She says that she ate cocktail nuts that were contaminated 635 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:26,760 Speaker 1: by a cat. Don't ask me how why that happened. 636 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 1: I remember reading that too. I'm like, how did by 637 00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:33,920 Speaker 1: a cat? Did you see the cat like peeing in 638 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,879 Speaker 1: the nuts? And then you like absent mindedly ate something 639 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,799 Speaker 1: like all crap, Maybe these are like coffee beans like 640 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,080 Speaker 1: and goats, the same sort of idea that you could 641 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,920 Speaker 1: get these super gore may nuts that they passed through cats, right, 642 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,919 Speaker 1: num first, I mean it sounds like a situation where 643 00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:51,000 Speaker 1: I mean, if I screwed up or did something that 644 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:54,360 Speaker 1: I didn't think was in keeping with my normal behavior 645 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: or performance, I could probably make a case. Oh I 646 00:34:57,120 --> 00:34:59,480 Speaker 1: bet I have talks so and just based on the 647 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:02,360 Speaker 1: numbers we looking at early, there's what you know, thirty 648 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:05,160 Speaker 1: to six percent chance I'm right, and then I'll play 649 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:07,200 Speaker 1: and then I can have the medical reports say here, 650 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:09,960 Speaker 1: there you go, Taxa. That's the reason I was dogging 651 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,560 Speaker 1: it last week. I wonder if Martina Navratlova looks at 652 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:14,960 Speaker 1: this and says, yeah, I've been saying this for years 653 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:19,000 Speaker 1: now changed my behavior. I feel vindicated. It wasn't just 654 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,719 Speaker 1: that I had sour grapes from losing. There's a real 655 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:24,000 Speaker 1: problem here. And I totally remember that time period because 656 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,400 Speaker 1: I spent like ten thousand dollars going out all the time, 657 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:31,080 Speaker 1: trusting everybody whooping it up. Yeah, well, she just needs 658 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:34,399 Speaker 1: to be careful about about mixed nuts, is all, don't 659 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:36,520 Speaker 1: we all? All right, Well, let's let's call the robe 660 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:39,960 Speaker 1: it over here and collect a little listener mill. Here's 661 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,959 Speaker 1: one I received from Heidi. Heidi writes and it says, 662 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,400 Speaker 1: hello there. I love the podcast. It is one of 663 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 1: my absolute favorites. I had to share a few incidents 664 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:51,640 Speaker 1: I've experienced that are related to your recent podcast on art. 665 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,600 Speaker 1: I am a classical musician, and I have had many 666 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:58,560 Speaker 1: opportunities to be overwhelmed by music, art, poetry, etcetera. When 667 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:00,920 Speaker 1: I was about twenty two, I visited the Buffalo Museum 668 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:04,280 Speaker 1: of Art and went to see the Picassos on exhibit. 669 00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:07,160 Speaker 1: To my surprise, when I viewed the Cubist pieces, I 670 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:09,880 Speaker 1: was almost ill. I had such a visceral reaction to 671 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:12,920 Speaker 1: the work that I couldn't explain, and I still vividly 672 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:15,400 Speaker 1: remember it. Over twenty years later, I thought there was 673 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:17,880 Speaker 1: something wrong with me, or that I was just lacking culture. 674 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:21,400 Speaker 1: The second incident occurred when I visited the Sistine Chapel 675 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,560 Speaker 1: in Rome about ten years later. We decided to take 676 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:28,800 Speaker 1: the Long Museum tour. Big mistake. The artwork is mixed 677 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:32,399 Speaker 1: together and cramped in in there like a Victorian living room. 678 00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:35,319 Speaker 1: By the time we hit the Raphaels near the end 679 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:37,400 Speaker 1: of the tour, I had my hands cupped on the 680 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:39,759 Speaker 1: side of my face to block out everything but the 681 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:42,480 Speaker 1: path ahead of me. I ran out of out of 682 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:45,160 Speaker 1: there because I couldn't stand another minute. Again, I thought 683 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:48,239 Speaker 1: I was insane. I'm so fascinated by this topic and 684 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:50,320 Speaker 1: it actually makes me feel better knowing that other people 685 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:53,480 Speaker 1: experienced similar strong reactions to art work. Anyway, I thought 686 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:56,839 Speaker 1: i'd share. You and Julie are great height think so, yeah, 687 00:36:56,880 --> 00:37:00,520 Speaker 1: that's that's Stenhill syndrome is people feeling over welmed by 688 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:03,200 Speaker 1: the artwork in front of them. And I couldn't help 689 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:06,680 Speaker 1: but think about that secret room, the purported the secret Room, 690 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:10,360 Speaker 1: and the Sustaine Chapel with all of the naughty artwork. 691 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:12,040 Speaker 1: I don't think it's culture. I'm not up on this 692 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:14,040 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, so it's supposedly that's all like the 693 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:16,759 Speaker 1: nefarious stuff. And you know, during the years, I think 694 00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:19,120 Speaker 1: they've rotated things in and out depending on what the 695 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:22,240 Speaker 1: idea was of that particular sculpture, whether it was pagan 696 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:24,160 Speaker 1: or whether or not it just had naughty parts and 697 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:27,719 Speaker 1: lots of them. Um. But can you imagine if all 698 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:30,360 Speaker 1: that stuff was was rolled out, yeah, just and crammed 699 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:32,359 Speaker 1: next to each other on the wall. Yeah. I mean, 700 00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:34,240 Speaker 1: I'd like to think that the priest go in therey 701 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:36,400 Speaker 1: once while and just get a little Stenthall syndrome just 702 00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:41,520 Speaker 1: looking at all of that amazing nefarious artworks. Here's another 703 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:43,960 Speaker 1: one that we received on the topic of Stindall syndrome. 704 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:47,000 Speaker 1: This one's from Kyle. Kyle writes in I wanted to 705 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,959 Speaker 1: write in about your Stendall Syndrome podcast. I can't say 706 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:52,200 Speaker 1: that I had an instance of losing it or going 707 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:54,480 Speaker 1: weak in the knees while looking at a piece of art, 708 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:56,959 Speaker 1: but I remember the first time I had that kind 709 00:37:56,960 --> 00:38:00,719 Speaker 1: of experience. It was my first time in Europe. I 710 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,239 Speaker 1: was doing a study abroad program in Italy. Within a 711 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:05,319 Speaker 1: day of our arrival, we went to the Vatican and 712 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:10,120 Speaker 1: I saw La Patita de Michelangelo. Gotta do it right? 713 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:13,840 Speaker 1: So does that Italian? Enough? If if I tried to 714 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:16,239 Speaker 1: do the Italian, it would just sound Australian. Uh, and 715 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:19,680 Speaker 1: then it would it might lapse into a bad Russian accent. 716 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:22,960 Speaker 1: I remember vividly that I was just so taken with 717 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,000 Speaker 1: the piece when I saw it. I couldn't believe how 718 00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:28,480 Speaker 1: realistic it was. Your podcast made me think about this moment. 719 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:30,520 Speaker 1: Because I had only been in Europe for less than 720 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:33,200 Speaker 1: twenty four hours and they had been walking through the Vatican. 721 00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:35,360 Speaker 1: I'm sure that I was already under the influence of 722 00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 1: culture shock and overwhelmed by the size and grandeur of St. 723 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:42,520 Speaker 1: Peter's Basilica. I didn't have any real formal knowledge of 724 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,200 Speaker 1: the piece, and I do come from the Christian upbringing, 725 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:46,919 Speaker 1: and like everyone else on the planet, I had heard 726 00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:50,560 Speaker 1: about the talent of Michelangelo for years as being a 727 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:52,919 Speaker 1: great artist, even if some of that knowledge was gained 728 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:55,120 Speaker 1: by a spark of interest drawing from the teenage mutant 729 00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:59,360 Speaker 1: Ninja Turtles. Anyway, I immediately bought the postcard of the 730 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:01,520 Speaker 1: statue at the gift shop, and I continue to have 731 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:04,959 Speaker 1: great appreciation for this and all of Michaelangela's work. Thanks 732 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:09,080 Speaker 1: for the great podcast. He's truly one of my favorites. Cool. Thanks, Kyle. 733 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:11,840 Speaker 1: Having been to Rome a couple of times, I do 734 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:14,200 Speaker 1: have to say like I am completely overwhelmed by that 735 00:39:14,239 --> 00:39:20,440 Speaker 1: city from Georgia. Yes, no, rom Italy and uh. I 736 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:22,840 Speaker 1: often wonder like if you are a Roman born and 737 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:25,600 Speaker 1: bred there, would you completely freak out if you went 738 00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:28,960 Speaker 1: to America and if you went to Rome, Georgia, Georgia. 739 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:32,520 Speaker 1: But on the flip side of the coin, like if 740 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:34,360 Speaker 1: you saw the void or if you saw like the 741 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:36,600 Speaker 1: amount of strip malls or something. I mean, these things 742 00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:40,080 Speaker 1: just obviously don't exist to to a Roman, right, like 743 00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:42,359 Speaker 1: a strip mall? What is that? Um? I mean because 744 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:45,040 Speaker 1: you know that I've got bits of crazy like eight 745 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:49,080 Speaker 1: hundred BC architecture in my backyard. Do they have something 746 00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:52,080 Speaker 1: they're called like strip mall Syndrome? Uh? You know, I 747 00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:54,040 Speaker 1: wonder if they do. I remember when I was first 748 00:39:54,719 --> 00:39:57,800 Speaker 1: driving down to Atlanta on a SIMI regular basis, and 749 00:39:57,880 --> 00:40:02,960 Speaker 1: I was driving from rural Middletonnessee. Yeah, yeah, rural middle 750 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:07,080 Speaker 1: Middletonnessee and uh and and I've been to some major 751 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,120 Speaker 1: cities a lot, but that then you know, it's necessarily 752 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:10,960 Speaker 1: looking out the window and really taking it in. But 753 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:14,600 Speaker 1: I remember just really looking at the sprawl, and I 754 00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:16,479 Speaker 1: still get this, Like, I'll look at the sprawl around 755 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:19,840 Speaker 1: Atlanta and I'll think, who are all these people? Yeah? 756 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,600 Speaker 1: Are they? And what do they do? And how Even 757 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:24,799 Speaker 1: if I'm downtown and the Midtown, I A, I'm looking 758 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:26,960 Speaker 1: at these buildings and I'm like, who lives here? Who 759 00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:29,160 Speaker 1: are these people? And I get a sense of that 760 00:40:29,239 --> 00:40:32,600 Speaker 1: everywhere I go. It's just kind of overwhelming at times 761 00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:34,440 Speaker 1: to just just sort of stand back and try and 762 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:38,200 Speaker 1: understand these places that are folding out all around you. Yeah, 763 00:40:38,239 --> 00:40:40,640 Speaker 1: and and you know, Atlanta has a really a very 764 00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:43,880 Speaker 1: particular character too. It's a very wealthy city. So sometimes 765 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:45,400 Speaker 1: I don't know if you are struck with this all. 766 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:47,520 Speaker 1: Sometimes we like, who are all these captains of the 767 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:49,640 Speaker 1: industry and where are they getting all their money? What 768 00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:53,040 Speaker 1: is daily life like for these people. Here's another bit 769 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:55,600 Speaker 1: of listener mail, this one calling back to our episode 770 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:58,799 Speaker 1: on spontaneous human combustion. This is from a listener by 771 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:00,759 Speaker 1: the name of Duty. Judy says, love the show. You 772 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:05,320 Speaker 1: make l a traffic enjoyable. Uh, that's that's the statement, 773 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,600 Speaker 1: that's the statement I had an experience with spontaneous combustion. 774 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:11,640 Speaker 1: We had painted the kitchen and awoke the next morning 775 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:14,560 Speaker 1: to find the floor and counters covered in a fine soit. 776 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,920 Speaker 1: A pack of matches had ignited and burned the counter 777 00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:21,320 Speaker 1: as well. My father, an electrical engineer, fiorized that the 778 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:23,920 Speaker 1: paint fumes in the still room were ignited from a 779 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:28,759 Speaker 1: small spark generated by the refrigerator cycling on. Interestingly, the 780 00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:33,200 Speaker 1: fire alarm had not been activated either. All right, So 781 00:41:33,239 --> 00:41:34,920 Speaker 1: there you have it. If you would like to share 782 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,239 Speaker 1: something with us, you can find us on Facebook, and 783 00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:40,000 Speaker 1: you can find us on Twitter. Facebook. We're stuff to 784 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,040 Speaker 1: Blow your Mind. On Twitter, our handle is blow the Mind. 785 00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:45,440 Speaker 1: Do let us know what you think about toxic plus moses, 786 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:50,560 Speaker 1: about your cap, about the parasitic infestations that maybe puppeteering 787 00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:52,680 Speaker 1: our brain even as we speak. We'd love to hear 788 00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:54,640 Speaker 1: from you. Yeah, and if you want to know the 789 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:56,640 Speaker 1: name of that article again, it is how Your Cat 790 00:41:56,719 --> 00:41:59,480 Speaker 1: Is Making You Crazy by Kathleen mcculiffe. And that's the 791 00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:01,600 Speaker 1: march to a twelve edition at the Atlantic. You can 792 00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:04,120 Speaker 1: also go onto the CDC's website and check out more 793 00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:08,480 Speaker 1: information about toxoplasmosa, and you can always send us your 794 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:17,080 Speaker 1: thoughts via email at Blow the Mind at Discovery dot com. 795 00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:19,760 Speaker 1: Be sure to check out our new video podcast, Stuff 796 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:22,440 Speaker 1: from the Future. Join how Stup Work staff as we 797 00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:26,040 Speaker 1: explore the most promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow.