1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,840 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you welcome to Stuff you should know 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: from House Stuff Works dot Com. Hey, and welcome to 4 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W Chuck Bryant 5 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: and that makes his debut take two. Rarely do we 6 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: have a take two, very rarely, but we did today. 7 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: Yeah we did. We started just kind of talking and 8 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: shop and Jerry's like, what are you guys doing? Yea, um, 9 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: but anyway, here we are. We're back, We're happy, everything's 10 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: good and um we're we're gonna talk a little bit 11 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,919 Speaker 1: about earthworms, right, Yes? Are you feeling good about this one? 12 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 1: I am very interesting stuff. I wrote this article specifically 13 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: so we can podcast on it. So, chuck y, have 14 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: you heard of a man named Charles Darwin? You know 15 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: I love Chuckie d So chuck Chuck the Charles Darwin 16 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: um very famous for the On the Origin of the 17 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: Species um incredibly important work. Did you know though, that 18 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: The Origin of the Species was out sold in the 19 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: nineteenth century by another book of his called The Formation 20 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: of Vegetable Mold through the Action of Worms, with observations 21 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: on their habits that sold more copies for real. Yeah, 22 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: through throughout the rest of the nineteenth century. It was 23 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: published in one UM and I think like the Origin 24 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: of the species came a little after that. So, but 25 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 1: just during the nineteenth century for a while there, um, 26 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: the formation of vegetable mold was crazy out selling on 27 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: the origin of the species. I saw today where he 28 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: studied earthworms for thirty nine years. Yeah, it was. This 29 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: book was very near and dear to his heart, like 30 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: this topic was. He spent a lot of time really 31 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: looking at earthworm. I guess he died because why would 32 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: you give up at thirty nine? I would say, let's 33 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,279 Speaker 1: just make it an even forty. I think he wrote 34 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: the book and was like, Okay, don't you go. I'm done. 35 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 1: I'm onto some Let's go to Galapagos exactly you know, 36 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: um he uh. He came up with in this thirty 37 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: nine years and in this book some very um, very 38 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:23,079 Speaker 1: well understood observations that are still accepted today. Right. Um. 39 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, we have a quote from 40 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: him as read by him. All right, you want to hear. 41 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: It may be doubted whether there are many other animals 42 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: which have played so important apart in the history of 43 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: the world, as have these lowly organized creatures. So there 44 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: you have it. Wow, the earthworm is very, very important. 45 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: I didn't know he talked like that. I didn't either. 46 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:51,959 Speaker 1: It's kind of surprising, um, but he. Uh. This this idea, 47 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: this concept that the earthworm is extremely important to the 48 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: earth was kind of put forth by Darwins and accepted 49 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: as gospel since them and in the decades and centuries 50 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: since Darwin. He did such a good job that earthworm 51 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: research kind of fell by the wayside. Scientific community was classifying, 52 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: classifying as extinct, like worms they just hadn't seen in 53 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: a while that would just later pop back up, like 54 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: the giant pelouse earthworm in the Pacific northwest of the 55 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: United States. It was thought to be extinct, classified as 56 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 1: such in the eighties, and then in two thousen it 57 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: pops up and they're like, oh, it's not extinct. The 58 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: worm popped up. And that happens a lot with earthworms, 59 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: like people just classified him as extinct. So this kind 60 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: of like these appearances of kind of reinvigorated science and 61 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: it's inquiry into earthworms. I wonder how he got on it, Darwin. Yeah, 62 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: I mean out of all the different things he was studying. 63 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: I wonder how he honed in on the earthworm and 64 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: knew its value, just because if no one else had 65 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: studied its value, I would never look at an earthworm 66 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: and think it's very valid able at all. No, but 67 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: people before Darwin realized the value of earthworms like aristotles 68 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: of the soil. No, but he's the one who dedicated 69 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: thirty nine years to studying them. Um So just in 70 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: sheer size alone, um, I guess in sheer volume is 71 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:22,280 Speaker 1: a better way to put it. Earthworms are there. They 72 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: have a substantial impact on earth. I think, so three 73 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: thousand species. Notice it didn't say species species. You know 74 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: people say species. Sorry species Germans know a lot of 75 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: people say species as species, species, species, species. I don't 76 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: know which one I say. I think both acceptable. I 77 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 1: think not species. Yeah. Uh. They have reigned in size 78 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: from about a centimeter to nine feet, although they go 79 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:57,479 Speaker 1: away more than that. Yeah. I think the world record 80 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: I found was one in South Africa was twenty two 81 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,359 Speaker 1: ft long. Twenty two ft long earthworm. That's huge, and 82 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 1: there are plenty others. Japan has some giant ones, Australia 83 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: does too. Of course, I found one. We'll talk about that. 84 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,039 Speaker 1: Lots of giant freaks of nature. But here's here's the 85 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:15,479 Speaker 1: cool stat of the day for me. Uh Plus, we 86 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: get to say the word hectare just close to two 87 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 1: and a half acres. Yeah, it's like two point four 88 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,600 Speaker 1: seven single hecked air. You can find five hundred thousand 89 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: to two million worms, and their total biomass wet biomass 90 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 1: equals ten times a total weight of all the other 91 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: animals living above ground combined on that same size spot 92 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: of land, on that same heck there. Yeah, that's nutty. 93 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: That is nutty, especially considering that worms don't go that 94 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: deep into the soil. Let's say there's twelve deer on 95 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 1: that heck dare I mean, that's gonna be a lot 96 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 1: of weight right there. It's just from the deer. Say 97 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: say each deer weighs a hundred and fifty pounds, it's 98 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: like eight hundred pounds and a dozen deer some amount 99 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,679 Speaker 1: of kilograms. Yeah, that's probably like n So the point 100 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: is a lot of worms. Yeah, there are, there's a 101 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,359 Speaker 1: ton of worms. Um, they're spread all over the place. 102 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: But here's an interesting fact. If um, if you've read fourteen, 103 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: you probably already know this Charles Man's brilliant follow up 104 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: to his triumphant I can't wait for fo Yeah, look 105 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 1: out for that one. He's just gonna pick some random 106 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: date like um. If the if you go into uh, 107 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: the average North American woods in the northern United States, 108 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: say um, and you find an earthworm, that earthworm. Had 109 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: you dug in the same spot five hundred years before, 110 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: you wouldn't have found any earthworms there. Like all earthworms 111 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,279 Speaker 1: in North America and Canada above about the forty degree 112 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: latitude UM are new. They're relatively recent immigrants from Asia 113 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: and Europe, and they hitched a ride thanks to the 114 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: coling to America in plants the soil. Yeah, root balls 115 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,720 Speaker 1: that were attached to plants um that were imported to 116 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: the United States and Canada. UM from Asia and Europe. Yes, Chuck, 117 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: I have a question. Yes, I have a few questions 118 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: for you, because you wrote this and it's always nice 119 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,400 Speaker 1: to speak to the author, and you're right in front 120 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: of me. So how's how's that I'm right here? Uh? 121 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: Do they know what was here before the ice age 122 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: that killed off all the original native species? Surely there 123 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: were worms. Then it's an excellent question. No, they don't know. 124 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: Now they know that, I guess not because it was 125 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: pretty ice age. It's not like they had records. There 126 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: were some there's there's fossil there's fossil records of earthworms 127 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: that go back like a hundred and sixty five million years, 128 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: like there was a huge giant earthworm that it was 129 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: armor plated. Right. But yeah, but the stuff in North America, 130 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: apparently the fossil record is fairly incomplete here. Um, they 131 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: do suspect that a lot of worms made their way 132 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: southward towards warmer ground when these glacial ice sheets started 133 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: bearing down from Canada. Everything, a lot of stuff died, 134 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:10,239 Speaker 1: some stuff high tail it south. So you can bet 135 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 1: that if you go to southern California or Mexico and 136 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: big and find a worm, that's probably the same species 137 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 1: that were higher up, species that were further north, you know, 138 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: prior to the last because you make a point later 139 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: that it's considered an invasive species because it's not native. 140 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: But I thought, well, surely they weren't that different before 141 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,440 Speaker 1: the ice age, right. Well, the species the species that 142 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: are here, especially um, the common European earthworm, which we 143 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: here in the United States called nightcrawlers. That's from Europe, 144 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: which is why it's the common European nightworm. Those are 145 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: recent immigrants. Those guys weren't here before, right. So the 146 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,199 Speaker 1: other reason they're invasive, Chuck, is since the end of 147 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:57,839 Speaker 1: the last ice Age, say ten to twenty thousand years ago, 148 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,600 Speaker 1: these woodlands in the north in the United States, uh developed, 149 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: they adapted, they changed to life without earthworms. Now they're 150 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,680 Speaker 1: having to adapt to life with earthworms. That makes sense, 151 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: which makes earthworms invasive. Now, yeah, I get that, that 152 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: makes perfect sense. All right. Well, hey, look at there. 153 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 1: We covered a bit at the end. Yeah, we're gonna 154 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 1: get out here early now thanks. Another cool point you 155 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: make is if you dig down into the earth in 156 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: your backyard, in the earth a couple of feet, you're 157 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: probably gonna find all three classifications of earthworm because they're 158 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,560 Speaker 1: they're classified by where they live in the soil. Because 159 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: they're also similar in appearance. I mean, yeah, except for 160 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: like maybe how thick around they are, how many segments 161 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:45,439 Speaker 1: they have, um, how long they are. That's pretty much 162 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: the differences in earthworms. They're all very similar like wherever 163 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,199 Speaker 1: you are. But there are three classes. And like you said, 164 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: they're based on where they live, Like there's the ones 165 00:09:54,280 --> 00:10:00,319 Speaker 1: above ground. Yeah, I've been pronouncing in my head eyak, 166 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: but GX sounds a lot I like gay do you like? Guy? 167 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: Let's go with that. Well, because it's a it's derivative 168 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:10,199 Speaker 1: of gaya earth and eppie is above. So this is this, 169 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 1: This is the classification of earthworms that live like in 170 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 1: the leaf litter, which is also called the litter horizon, 171 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: that pile of leaves and organic material that that covers 172 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: the soil that these red wigglers. Red worms have a 173 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: lot to do with the fact that it's you know, 174 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:31,680 Speaker 1: eventually gonna be black and slimy. Yeah, almost all of 175 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 1: the fact all they have almost everything to do with that. 176 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: I mean there's other like microbes and protozoa and other 177 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: stuff like that breaking it down, but the worms are 178 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 1: the ones that can get it done. So those red 179 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: wigglers are fun to play with if you're a kid. 180 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 1: Uh so are the next level down you get to 181 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: the indo gaeic as we'll say. Now they live in 182 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 1: the top soil that sort of you know how deep 183 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: like the first several inches, Yeah, you know, like the 184 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: dark top soil. Good stuff. As I like to call it. Yeah, 185 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: and they spend their whole lit beneath the soil, which 186 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: is why they're usually like very light in color, gray pinkish, 187 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:09,200 Speaker 1: they're white, kind of uglier. Yeah. Have you ever seen 188 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,200 Speaker 1: that movie The Layer of the White Worm. That's a 189 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: great horror. Yeah, I've heard of Hugh Grants first movies. 190 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: Awesome was he the white Worm? No? He was the dude. Okay, 191 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: he played a man. Uh. You say because they live 192 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: under the soil full time, that the least amount of 193 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 1: information is known about them. But another question the next 194 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: level down that uh and and essek they hold the 195 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,920 Speaker 1: nightcrawlers the deepest dwelling ones. But it seems like we 196 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:47,319 Speaker 1: know more about them than the other guys, a little 197 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:49,280 Speaker 1: pink and gray guys. So why would that be? Well, 198 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:51,559 Speaker 1: the reason is is because the little pink and gray guys, 199 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:55,560 Speaker 1: the epigaic ones um, spend their whole lives underground, so 200 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,679 Speaker 1: they just stay there. Yes, okay, they also make horizontal burrows, right, 201 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:02,079 Speaker 1: so like they don't have to come up at all. 202 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: They don't. They have almost nothing to do with leaf decomposition. 203 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 1: So the nightcrawlers come up and then go back down 204 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,720 Speaker 1: exactly Not only do nightcrawlers come up, they come up 205 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: and travel as far as like sixty two ft in 206 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: a night looking for food. Like they hang out above ground. 207 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:20,319 Speaker 1: The epigaic ones you have to dig down for them. 208 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: They're not coming up to greet you. So the scientists 209 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: don't have spades. That's what I'm saying, man Like the 210 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: like science generally was like, Okay, Darwin wrote the book 211 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:32,199 Speaker 1: on earthworms. You don't have to any more investigation about that. Interesting. 212 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: Another cool fact about the nightcrawler is that they go 213 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:41,320 Speaker 1: upstairs to to grab some food and bring it back down. 214 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: They're like, hey, that leaf is really choice and moist, 215 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:47,199 Speaker 1: so I'm gonna grab it and take it back downstairs 216 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:52,080 Speaker 1: and just chow. So my little belly bursts. I love that. Yeah, 217 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 1: but it also kind of gives you an idea of 218 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 1: like just how powerful like a nightcrawler is it drags 219 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: its food back to its house. You know. I used 220 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 1: to hate fishing with worms. That's that and the potential. 221 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,440 Speaker 1: One time I went fishing and caught brim, and um, 222 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:12,959 Speaker 1: I didn't have a hook remover and this thing, this 223 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 1: brim swallowed this hook like crazy, and I was trying 224 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:18,760 Speaker 1: so hard to get it out, and it was just 225 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 1: like obvious that this weren't This fish was dying. And 226 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:25,880 Speaker 1: one of his buddies was just sitting there almost at 227 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: the bank, almost up on the ground, watching me, just 228 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: looking at me like why did you do that? So 229 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:36,000 Speaker 1: that and then the that she club that one, I 230 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:38,319 Speaker 1: was like stopped looking at me. Fishing just punched the water. 231 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: Um that the potential of a fish dying, and then 232 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 1: the guarantee of worms dying, uh made me quit fishing 233 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: forever sticks because fish is fun. Fishing is fun. I 234 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: love to fish, yeah, but I just don't do it anymore. 235 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 1: All right, Well that's sad for you. Oh club fish 236 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 1: like clubbing, but I won't actually use like a roden reel. 237 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 1: Earthworms are segmented Josh, which is also very interesting. Uh. 238 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: They are from the phylum Annelid, which means ringed worm. 239 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 1: And there's about a hundred to a hundred and fifty 240 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: of these rings and they're each controlled separately little muscles, 241 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 1: which is very important because they expand and contract to 242 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: move their little slimy bodies forward. And they have these 243 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: bristles at the front towards the head the anterior and 244 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 1: um that are retractable. They're called settee, and um, they 245 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 1: can just go big and dig into the dirt and 246 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 1: hold the head in place while the rest of the 247 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: body kind of contracts to get smaller to move forward 248 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: like that. So these sete you go in and out 249 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: depending on whether the heads moving or is it needs 250 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: to be anchored so the rest of the body can 251 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,040 Speaker 1: catch up. And that's how they scoot along at sixty 252 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: two per night for nightcrawlers. So um, pretty much, Chuck, 253 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: I don't know what we're naming this one yet, but 254 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: one of the one of them the suggestions you made 255 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,840 Speaker 1: was earthworms eating and pooping machines kind of like sharks, 256 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,720 Speaker 1: and I mean kind of um, but possibly even more 257 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 1: beneficial than sharks. Sharks are like an apex predator. Right 258 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 1: of course, earthworms are not an apex predator, but like 259 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 1: I said, Aristotle call him the intestine of the soil. 260 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,000 Speaker 1: And one of the reasons why is because they just 261 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 1: eat and eat and eat, and the stuff that they 262 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 1: do eat they poop out. And it's actually what's crazy, 263 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:38,280 Speaker 1: remember the digestion um episode, So like the stuff that 264 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: comes out of us, it's like nobody needs that. It's 265 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 1: total waste with the worm, it's actually better than it 266 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: was before. Warm poop is better than the food it eats. Yeah, 267 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: that's pretty cool. That is pretty cool. And the way 268 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,400 Speaker 1: it eats is even cooler. I think. Um, they obviously 269 00:15:57,440 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: eat and you're not gonna be able to tell a 270 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 1: huge difference between the mouth end and the anus end 271 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 1: unless you really dig your fingers in there. But at 272 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: the mouth end, they're gonna they're gonna pass dirt and 273 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 1: organic matter into their mouth and it's gonna go into 274 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: an area called the crop where they store it for 275 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 1: a little while, then into the gizzard. And this is 276 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: the coolest part to me. In the gizzard, they have 277 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,560 Speaker 1: these tiny pebbles that they've already eaten, and those pebbles 278 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 1: grind the food up even more like a little food 279 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: processor to make it easier to pass through. That is 280 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: so cool. And uh, in the intestinal walls, they they're 281 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: aligned with blood vessels and sort of like our own 282 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 1: blood vessels, they absorb and distribute nutrients. So it's not 283 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,680 Speaker 1: that much different than people. Yeah, no, it's not the 284 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 1: thing about earthworms though, is the nutrients, especially nitrogen um, 285 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 1: that they eat that they pass out is about of 286 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: what was say, locked into a leaf, so they only 287 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 1: keep like a order of the available nitrogen for themselves. 288 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 1: But through digestion, what was once just locked into this 289 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,000 Speaker 1: leaf and was totally unusable to like a tree root, 290 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:15,400 Speaker 1: is now digested and broken up and available. It's called 291 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 1: nitrogen fixing. And that's what worms do. They're casting their 292 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:23,760 Speaker 1: feces is broken down nitrogen, which is why people use 293 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:28,400 Speaker 1: worms for composting. That's exactly right there, the secret ingredient. 294 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 1: While they're not secret but key ingredient to compost. But 295 00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:36,960 Speaker 1: that's the that's the epigayic right. The ones that live 296 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: above ground, the compost ones, the earthworms, like the annesic ones, 297 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:45,359 Speaker 1: they're big into composting two but they do it below ground. 298 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:51,120 Speaker 1: Um earthworm has five hearts. Kind of a neat fact 299 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:55,399 Speaker 1: right there. I would say aortic arches and uh I 300 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:57,919 Speaker 1: saw I think I saw in another photo like they 301 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 1: have one of the main ones is that and then 302 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,280 Speaker 1: four other ones? Are they all equal? I think that 303 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 1: they are. There's a main one, I believe, so you 304 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 1: think I know you and chuck. The breathing through their 305 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: skin is another cool trait. They don't have lungs, but 306 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,439 Speaker 1: they still need to breathe, so they just pass it 307 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: passively through the skin inhaling and exhaling. There's no inhaler 308 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 1: exhale because it just happens. But I call that an inhale. 309 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,919 Speaker 1: Even though when I was writing this, I had to 310 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,360 Speaker 1: go back. I was like, no, they're not inhaler. Yeah. Um, 311 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 1: as long as their skin is coated in this mucus 312 00:18:35,119 --> 00:18:38,119 Speaker 1: that they produced, that's how air exchanges is allowed to 313 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: take place. Um. And if there's enough broken down available 314 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: oxygen in a body of water, a worm can live 315 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,639 Speaker 1: in water. It can survive in water for a while 316 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: because the air exchange is still taking place. They're just 317 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 1: grabing oxygen. Yeah. Um. The problem is is when they 318 00:18:57,119 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: encounter like really dry hot air like above ground. Yeah. 319 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:02,880 Speaker 1: I think we've all seen that sad, sad site. Right. 320 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:05,879 Speaker 1: So if you if you've ever seen like a worm 321 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,399 Speaker 1: that's curled up and is dry on the sidewalk that 322 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:12,200 Speaker 1: were suffocated to death because it wasn't able to breathe. 323 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: That's mucus dried out. I couldn't breathe, you know, and 324 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: all it needed to do is reach those leaves, but 325 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:21,600 Speaker 1: it failed on the sidewalk and that happens a lot 326 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:23,199 Speaker 1: in Georgia. Obviously you see a lot of those in 327 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:27,680 Speaker 1: the summertime. Uh. And to to make sure that they survive. 328 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,360 Speaker 1: They don't have eyes, so it's not like they can say, oh, 329 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: the sun's out, but they're able to sense light through 330 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:38,120 Speaker 1: these photo sensitive cells on their skin that convert light 331 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:42,160 Speaker 1: into electrical impulses. So they feel this and say, hey, 332 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 1: it's sunny out, I need to burrow down a little 333 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,360 Speaker 1: bit more. Yeah, pretty cool, yep. And this is why 334 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: these buggers have survived for so long. It is. And um, 335 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: that's also the role for their brain that their brain 336 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:58,880 Speaker 1: plays is to say, I'm sensing some light, so let's 337 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,080 Speaker 1: move down a little for there where there's not light. 338 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,760 Speaker 1: That's pretty much the extent of the worm brain. Yeah, 339 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 1: that's what I saw. They said, if you remove the brain, 340 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: then you're hardly going to notice any change in behavior, 341 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:16,120 Speaker 1: except I guess they would dry up in the sun. Yeah. Right, 342 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:20,040 Speaker 1: So maybe that's what we've seen is brainless worms on sidewalks. Yeah, 343 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 1: or maybe they lost part of it. Someone remove their brains. 344 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: We can go ahead and talk about that the regeneration. Okay, 345 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:28,880 Speaker 1: go ahead, because I need some explanation on that part. 346 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: I get it a worm if if it's part of 347 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: it is chopped off somehow, Um, they can regenerate uh 348 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,640 Speaker 1: more more towards the tail than the head. Is that right? 349 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 1: So like that if you cut a worm in half, 350 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:46,600 Speaker 1: only one half is going to regenerate. Most likely it's 351 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:50,280 Speaker 1: the head end that they have an easier time regenerating 352 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,600 Speaker 1: their tail than they have their head. That makes sense. Um. 353 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: The thing is is one of the joys of this 354 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,080 Speaker 1: is like anytime there's a question or something's vague, can 355 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:02,640 Speaker 1: be like, yeah, science really dropped the ball on earthworm 356 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:07,160 Speaker 1: research for a century. They there there's evidence that like 357 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:11,400 Speaker 1: and both sides can regenerate into two new worms. People 358 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:17,359 Speaker 1: have documented this supposedly, Um, there's like different, um, contrary 359 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: evidence about how much could regenerate or how little, like 360 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,480 Speaker 1: how little of a segment you need to regenerate into 361 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: a new worm. So there's a bunch of apparently there's 362 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,639 Speaker 1: a bunch of evidence out there that says like worms 363 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,720 Speaker 1: are spectacular regenerating and others are saying they're a little 364 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: more limited than we think. Well, any kind of regeneration 365 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,439 Speaker 1: is pretty amazing if you ask me, Yeah, I agree. 366 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:40,280 Speaker 1: But if you want to make a bet with your friend, 367 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,240 Speaker 1: a very cruel friend who had just cut a worm 368 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,959 Speaker 1: directly in half, which end was going to regenerate, always 369 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:48,120 Speaker 1: put your money on the tail end. I could never 370 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,000 Speaker 1: I mean, it's just a little worm. I could never 371 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:53,480 Speaker 1: do that because they just squirmed so much like they're 372 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 1: in horrible pain. You know. Yeah, have you read considered 373 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:01,800 Speaker 1: the lobster David Foster Wallace, like his his article for 374 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:06,360 Speaker 1: Gourmet magazine. Well, they sent him to like the Lobster Festival, 375 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:09,000 Speaker 1: and we were just expecting like a kind of a 376 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:13,239 Speaker 1: travel foodie article, and instead he went and did a 377 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 1: bunch of research on whether or not lobsters feel pain 378 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:18,440 Speaker 1: because they're boiled to death. Yea, and definitely make noises 379 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:21,119 Speaker 1: to when that happened. They do. They scratch like the 380 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,120 Speaker 1: pot trying to get out. They do. But the key 381 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: is is like, yes, surely they feel pain. Of course 382 00:22:28,119 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 1: they feel pain. Um, they it's been shown that they 383 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: have nerve receptors that you know, since pain, do they 384 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 1: experience suffering? So that weren't squirming in in pain and 385 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 1: suffering or just pain and really doesn't matter, I mean, 386 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,639 Speaker 1: and think inflicting pain on anything is cruel, but inflicting 387 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: suffering is evil. Yeah. Yeah, I don't need a much lobster. 388 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:52,680 Speaker 1: Yeah you me um read that and was like, I'm 389 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,439 Speaker 1: never eating lobster again. I was like, I like a 390 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:59,480 Speaker 1: good lobster disk though I love lobster man. But there's 391 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:01,920 Speaker 1: another cool thing from this article. Did you know that 392 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:07,439 Speaker 1: until probably about the twentieth century, people considered lobster like 393 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:13,520 Speaker 1: sea insects. It was for like the the the poor, 394 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:17,760 Speaker 1: and the basically the lower classes. And there were actually 395 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,439 Speaker 1: laws apparently in New England about how many times a 396 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,360 Speaker 1: week you could feed patients in an insane asylum lobster 397 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 1: because it was considered cruel. I believe that because from 398 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,119 Speaker 1: the research I've done, it's amazing that lobsters are considered 399 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 1: some great thing now because they're kind of bottom feeding. 400 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 1: I think they're liking to spiders as close to anything, 401 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 1: and they'll like cannibalize one another. They're just like really crazy, boy, 402 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,560 Speaker 1: you dip it in that drawn butter. I know it's tough. 403 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,600 Speaker 1: I can kiss lobsters goodbye too. All right, so let's 404 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 1: talk about reproduction. I can handle this first part, but 405 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:57,960 Speaker 1: I did get confused when it comes to the clitellum fertilization. 406 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 1: So so you know, like the band on an earthworm. Well, 407 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: let's talk about the first part first. Okay, earthworm reproduction 408 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,920 Speaker 1: you wanted. This is the fact for me. They're simultaneous 409 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: from aphrodites, all of them. Yeah. I remember that grouper 410 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 1: that was in the tank when we swam with the 411 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,440 Speaker 1: whale sharks. Do I that's called a sequential hermaphrodite, where 412 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,040 Speaker 1: like at some point during that grouper's life it changes 413 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 1: sex right um, with simultaneous from aphrodites, they have both 414 00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:27,400 Speaker 1: reproductive organs of male and female for their whole lives, 415 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,720 Speaker 1: which is pretty cool and another great reason why they 416 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: have hung around in such vast numbers forever. So what 417 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,520 Speaker 1: they do if they want to make love is, uh, 418 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,600 Speaker 1: they do a little New Hampshire Vermont action and line 419 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:47,679 Speaker 1: up opposite head to tail. They excrete all that mucus 420 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,280 Speaker 1: that we were talking about. They excrete so much of 421 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,800 Speaker 1: that that they form a little mucous tube that they 422 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:57,479 Speaker 1: both get in or they're in. I guess that they 423 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,680 Speaker 1: used to like rub against one another. Well, the trick 424 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 1: is though there encased in this too bright So when 425 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: they release their semen. It's just rubs around until it 426 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 1: finds the semen receptacle right of the other worm. Well obviously, right, yeah, 427 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:15,159 Speaker 1: but yeah, that's exactly right. They rub on one another 428 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:17,439 Speaker 1: with their slime tubes and their semens all over their 429 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:20,120 Speaker 1: slime tubes and then yeah that they that's how they 430 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:23,119 Speaker 1: exchange seminal fluid. So I get all that, but this 431 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,880 Speaker 1: next part confuses me a little, and I might suggest 432 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,679 Speaker 1: you rewrite it to make it a little easier really 433 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,880 Speaker 1: before you publish. Well, I this is this is unedited, 434 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:34,359 Speaker 1: so I need to go through it. But um, okay, 435 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,239 Speaker 1: I'll see if I can explain it. And this has 436 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:40,440 Speaker 1: taken um largely from a guy named I think his 437 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: name is Jim Conrad. He wrote some pretty good, interesting 438 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:49,240 Speaker 1: and very well written books on earthworms, so it's probably 439 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:53,440 Speaker 1: trying not to paraphrase or plagiarized him, which is why 440 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,919 Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, I'll just make it more confusing than he. Um. Basically, 441 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,280 Speaker 1: you know the band on the earthworm like saying like Cowler, 442 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: that thick the thickest band, that's the cli tellum. Yeah, um, 443 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 1: and uh but in like three or four segments, why 444 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 1: but it's just one segment. So the cli tellum is 445 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 1: responsible for creating another band of mucus as slime tube, right, 446 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 1: and what that does That carries the eggs. It moves 447 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:27,879 Speaker 1: over the earthworm, It moves over the place where the 448 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: eggs are stored, attaches the eggs to the slime tube um. 449 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:38,720 Speaker 1: The slime tube then keeps moving forward across the seminal 450 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: receptacle where the other worm sperm is now deposited. So 451 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: as the slime tube with the eggs attach move over 452 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 1: the seminar receptacle, the eggs become fertilized by the other 453 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:54,399 Speaker 1: worm sperm. That slime tube from the cli tellum keeps 454 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:56,480 Speaker 1: going over the head. And as the worm as it 455 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 1: passes all the way over the worm's head, it closes 456 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:03,240 Speaker 1: off because it's mucus and forms a cocoon. And now 457 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:07,679 Speaker 1: inside that cocoon are fertilized war egs fo to roughly 458 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,040 Speaker 1: for like a nightcrawler. It's about four twenty, could be 459 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 1: as little as one twenties the highest I've seen um. 460 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 1: And then there's little baby wear mags in there that 461 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 1: are now fertilized that we'll sit there for like um. 462 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,199 Speaker 1: I can't remember how many weeks two to three weeks, okay, 463 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 1: and then you get a little newborn babies and they 464 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: can do this every seven to ten days. Yeah, which 465 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: is yet another reason why they're abundant and surviving well. 466 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:34,720 Speaker 1: Then the other the other point is both worms that 467 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:39,840 Speaker 1: are in this mating process can become pregnant or can 468 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,240 Speaker 1: lay a fertilized cocoon. So there is no such thing 469 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: as just a male worm or a female orthorm. They're both. 470 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:51,600 Speaker 1: They're hermaphroditic. That's pretty awesome. Um, really, that's not the 471 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:56,040 Speaker 1: thing come across in this paragraph. Uh, I was slightly confused. 472 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:00,200 Speaker 1: I'll rewrite it then, just slightly. Uh, you have to 473 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:04,960 Speaker 1: do it now. I need to make a note to Okay, Uh, 474 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,760 Speaker 1: their life expectancy, it's pretty impressive to a nightcrawler can 475 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,080 Speaker 1: live up to twenty years but generally live about six 476 00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:15,040 Speaker 1: to nine, which is man, that is a long time 477 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:19,680 Speaker 1: when you're talking about little tiny things that live underfoot. Yeah, 478 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:21,959 Speaker 1: you know, compared to like an insect. I mean, that's 479 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 1: pretty amazing. Red wigglers two to five years, gray worms 480 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 1: between one point to five and two point six years. 481 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: Very specific, Well done. That's a mitaki who who came 482 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:37,400 Speaker 1: up with that one. So that's a long time even 483 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,480 Speaker 1: for the lowly ugly gray worm. Two and two and 484 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:42,280 Speaker 1: a half years is pretty pretty good. Yeah. And they 485 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 1: actually they have this thing called estivation, which is a 486 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:48,480 Speaker 1: form of hibernation. Yeah. I thought that was really cool too. Um, 487 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 1: it's actually more efficient than hibernation, and hibernation like you 488 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,880 Speaker 1: like a bear that's sleeping, they have to gorge themselves 489 00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:58,600 Speaker 1: before they hibernate because they're going to be their their 490 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: metabolic processes are still operating, so they're still using up 491 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 1: fat stores and food stores. With estivation, it's pretty much 492 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 1: as close to death as you can come, Like almost 493 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,320 Speaker 1: all of your body processes just stop, and he's curl 494 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: up in a little wormy ball, right, Yeah, to keep 495 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:18,840 Speaker 1: their mucus supply abundant. So that's the only thing they're doing, 496 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,440 Speaker 1: is creating mucus moist Yeah. And the reason they're doing 497 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:26,200 Speaker 1: this is because worms definitely have like preferences for like 498 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:31,480 Speaker 1: the temperature um and the conditions on the ground the moisture, 499 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:35,280 Speaker 1: and when things just don't meet their liking, they estivate. 500 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:37,560 Speaker 1: So you can imagine that during the ice age, a 501 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:41,840 Speaker 1: lot of worms estivated and died because it didn't get 502 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: any better for ten thou years. Well, when they they're 503 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,480 Speaker 1: cold blooded, but when they freeze, they die. Um, you're 504 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:52,960 Speaker 1: talking about their preferences between fifty and humidity, which is 505 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,320 Speaker 1: why Georgia has lots of worms. Between fifty nine and 506 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:00,640 Speaker 1: eighty six degree fahrenheit is about what they like. They 507 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,760 Speaker 1: can survive, but they're not gonna be as active and 508 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:06,600 Speaker 1: thrive and outside this conditions, right, that's like when their 509 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:09,640 Speaker 1: most active is between those and Um, they will eat 510 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 1: any kind of organic matter. This decaying. But this is 511 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:16,680 Speaker 1: kind of cool. They found out they actually like certain 512 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:20,120 Speaker 1: stuff more than others, which is neto. And the way 513 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,560 Speaker 1: I read it was because they like the taste, or 514 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 1: at least that's how I anthropomorpial anthropomorphs species. Uh. In 515 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:35,360 Speaker 1: Washington State they prefer maple over oak, and right here 516 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: in Georgia they prefer clover over grass. That's pretty neat. 517 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: I got lots of clover in my yard too. They'll 518 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 1: eat the tar out of that stuff, especially if you 519 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,880 Speaker 1: tons of worms. If you pulled it and buried it, 520 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:51,040 Speaker 1: it would be gone like that. I wonder how they 521 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: do in the clay here. They do very well as 522 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,480 Speaker 1: a matter of fact, that they are the reason why, 523 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,200 Speaker 1: well there one reason why any water can perk late 524 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: through the clay. But man I had clay in my 525 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:07,680 Speaker 1: backyard that like was impenetrable. It seemed like worms can. 526 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 1: Worms can penetrate it really to a certain extent. Yeah. Um, 527 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:17,440 Speaker 1: the one of the so pretty much what Darwin came 528 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:22,080 Speaker 1: up with is that earthworms are extraordinarily helpful. Um, And 529 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,280 Speaker 1: we'll talk about in a minute, like scientists have come 530 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,960 Speaker 1: to realize like okay, well there's still an invasive species 531 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 1: and as a result, like they it's not all beneficial. 532 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,080 Speaker 1: But let's talk about the helpfulness first. One of them 533 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: is basically burrowing down through dense clay, dense soils and 534 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 1: creating places called biopores macro pores basically holes in the 535 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 1: ground underneath the ground that let water percolate down to 536 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,240 Speaker 1: prevent flooding above ground, which also filters that water it 537 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:53,680 Speaker 1: does as it goes down to the like the water table. 538 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:57,520 Speaker 1: I guess. Yeah, Um, it allows roots to grow more easily, 539 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:01,320 Speaker 1: aration plants aerates. Yeah, it brings oxygen down. It basically 540 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:05,000 Speaker 1: makes soil more usable for the stuff above ground. Well, 541 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:09,320 Speaker 1: they're just basically little tilling machines. They're moving the earth 542 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: under there, so you don't have to write. We talked 543 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:18,760 Speaker 1: about nitrogen fixing with their castings, where they take about 544 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:21,320 Speaker 1: casting poop. Is that right, that's that's a nice word 545 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:27,400 Speaker 1: for their poop. Worm castings. Um, And apparently Darwin calculated 546 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:31,040 Speaker 1: it in ten years, ten years worth of worm castings 547 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 1: would cover an acre of of land about two inches thick. 548 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:38,720 Speaker 1: So if you took all the worm castings produced by 549 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 1: a group of worms in an acre in ten years, 550 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:44,800 Speaker 1: you have two inches of worm casting. And they and 551 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 1: like you said earlier, I think they only take about 552 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:52,400 Speaker 1: of the nitrogen for themselves. They're like world, you can 553 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 1: have the other seventy and again it's it's any usable 554 00:32:56,760 --> 00:33:01,480 Speaker 1: form now as a nutrient. Pretty awesome, yeah, um, but 555 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:04,120 Speaker 1: it's not all good. No, it's not all good because 556 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:08,760 Speaker 1: they eat too well and they are an invasive species. 557 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:13,000 Speaker 1: So because they consume, uh, what do you have here, 558 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:19,520 Speaker 1: nine thousand, two hundred and forty pounds or of organic 559 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:24,080 Speaker 1: litter for every hectare in eleven weeks. That's too much. 560 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:28,960 Speaker 1: Because spiders and lizards and arthropods and snails and frogs 561 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:32,080 Speaker 1: and slugs and everything else living down there needs that 562 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:34,920 Speaker 1: stuff as well. That's their home, but the worms are 563 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:38,880 Speaker 1: taking it for themselves and they give back they well, 564 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 1: they definitely do like nitrogen, right, but they're taken too much. 565 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:46,640 Speaker 1: So um. There also that there's that litter horizon, that 566 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 1: layer of layer of leaves right above the soil um. 567 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:55,040 Speaker 1: There's this the layer that's closest to the soil surface. 568 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:58,440 Speaker 1: Um that's at the bottom of this leaf layer is 569 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:02,920 Speaker 1: called duff. It's like the sponge, dark organic material that 570 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:06,120 Speaker 1: is actually a nice little place for a seed to 571 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:10,719 Speaker 1: safely just state. So without that duff, without it being 572 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,760 Speaker 1: there long enough for a seed to start to germanate 573 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:18,320 Speaker 1: sorry not just eight but german ate um understory plants 574 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:21,080 Speaker 1: like smaller plants, saplings, plants that aren't gonna grow as 575 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:24,680 Speaker 1: big as trees in a woodland um are they have 576 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:28,040 Speaker 1: trouble taking hold. And actually you can see photos side 577 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:32,480 Speaker 1: by side on the Internet of like without worms with worms, 578 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,120 Speaker 1: and like the difference is like just this waste land. 579 00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:39,200 Speaker 1: Like with worms, it's missing all sorts of little plants 580 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:41,560 Speaker 1: that you see should be there but aren't because the 581 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:46,080 Speaker 1: worms are eating their habitat. Actually, like it can reduce 582 00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:50,800 Speaker 1: the understory canopy between like twenty five and the presence 583 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:53,920 Speaker 1: of earthworms can because they eat so much so fast 584 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:58,760 Speaker 1: that not enough leaf litters falling to keep the worms 585 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:02,760 Speaker 1: happy and a seedlings to grow or keep a place 586 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:05,120 Speaker 1: for spiders to live, that kind of thing. Well, and 587 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:07,160 Speaker 1: not just spiders, But that works this way all the 588 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:10,840 Speaker 1: way up to chain, because you're gonna have mammals, larger 589 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,320 Speaker 1: mammals that are gonna want to eat vegetables and leaves, 590 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:15,920 Speaker 1: and if they're not there, then they're gonna be in trouble, 591 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:19,160 Speaker 1: and then we're in trouble. Yeah, what about the deer? 592 00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:23,239 Speaker 1: Where are we gonna go without deer? I go to 593 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:28,359 Speaker 1: the chicken the section of my grocery store. Everything works out. 594 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:32,040 Speaker 1: You eat chicken instead of deer. I don't need I 595 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:34,279 Speaker 1: don't needt deer. I don't I mean against it. I 596 00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:36,719 Speaker 1: just don't come upon it that much. Yeah, you have 597 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:39,200 Speaker 1: to go to like one of those um processing places 598 00:35:39,239 --> 00:35:41,960 Speaker 1: out in the country. They always have like deer for sale. 599 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,879 Speaker 1: They are also contributing to global warming in a way 600 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:51,640 Speaker 1: because they are admitting a lots of carbon as they 601 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 1: they go through all this organic matter that's gonna some 602 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:56,759 Speaker 1: of some of the carbon is gonna be released there 603 00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:58,760 Speaker 1: or some of us going to be released as carbon. 604 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:03,400 Speaker 1: And they have a stat here from Colgate University twenty 605 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:11,880 Speaker 1: what are they New York toothbrushis um They contribute as 606 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:17,840 Speaker 1: much as an additional of carbon released from the soil, 607 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:23,320 Speaker 1: So that's substantial. But there are other studies that show 608 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:27,200 Speaker 1: that actually depending on where you are, Like, uh, that 609 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:30,279 Speaker 1: Colgate was a North American study, they found that like 610 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 1: in Malaysia or Vietnam, like, they're actually better. They actually 611 00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:38,880 Speaker 1: locked carbon into the soil. So it really depends on 612 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:41,239 Speaker 1: where they are. But they're not an invasive species in 613 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:43,960 Speaker 1: that study in Vietnam they were native. But at the 614 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:46,160 Speaker 1: end of the day, they do a lot more good 615 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:49,799 Speaker 1: here in North America than bad. Right, probably depending on 616 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:53,399 Speaker 1: whether you're a spider or a small shrub that lives 617 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:56,520 Speaker 1: in the woodland. What if you're human? If you're a human, yeah, 618 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,000 Speaker 1: you love the worm. Yeah. I have a couple of 619 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:02,160 Speaker 1: additional little fat X. The biggest worm. I know you've 620 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:06,680 Speaker 1: found some in Japan, but the Australian Jipsland earthworm I 621 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:11,239 Speaker 1: saw twelve feet long, two pounds. Wow, it's a lot 622 00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:14,040 Speaker 1: of worm. And what was the japan one? Was that 623 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:16,719 Speaker 1: just another giant earthworm? There's just a bunch of like 624 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:19,000 Speaker 1: I think, because Japan has been a culture for so long, 625 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:21,839 Speaker 1: there's just been a lot of reports on record of 626 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,799 Speaker 1: giant earthworms found by farmers, so they had a lot 627 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:29,520 Speaker 1: of stories. It's worth googling giant earthworms because people have 628 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:31,919 Speaker 1: these things wrapped around their neck and stuff, and it's 629 00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:35,600 Speaker 1: just this big, mindless worm. Like, No, they're not aggressive 630 00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:40,600 Speaker 1: like they're depicted in tremors, but they're still like, uh, 631 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:43,360 Speaker 1: they can eat their weight every day. I saw that. 632 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,600 Speaker 1: That's a good one. They are able to move forwards 633 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:50,200 Speaker 1: and backwards, but they like moving forwards. Yeah, okay, and 634 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:53,160 Speaker 1: I didn't know this. If the soil dries up, some 635 00:37:53,239 --> 00:37:57,759 Speaker 1: of them can actually lose their cletellum, but once they 636 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:01,680 Speaker 1: get moist again, it can come back. So that's another 637 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 1: survival adaptation. I guess. It's very cool. Pretty cool. So 638 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:09,480 Speaker 1: you got anything else? Do you ever eat them? How 639 00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:12,960 Speaker 1: to eat fried worms? I never did. I don't think 640 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:14,840 Speaker 1: if I did, I've blocked it out of my memory 641 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:17,400 Speaker 1: because I don't recall eating. Or if I haven't, it 642 00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:19,399 Speaker 1: wasn't they weren't it wouldn't have been fried. It would 643 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:23,240 Speaker 1: have been like somebody who was like, youre eat this right, yeah? 644 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,160 Speaker 1: Worm sushi? Yeah, but no I haven't. That was a 645 00:38:26,200 --> 00:38:29,640 Speaker 1: great book, though, Did you read that? Sure? Oh? Sure? Classic? 646 00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:33,799 Speaker 1: Wasn't it like Judy Bloom? No? It was. I think 647 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:35,880 Speaker 1: it was written by a man and they made a 648 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:38,560 Speaker 1: movie about it. I never saw them. I didn't either. 649 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:41,400 Speaker 1: There's no way I was gonna spoil that childhood memory. 650 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:44,880 Speaker 1: It's a good thing and check. All right, Well, if 651 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:47,880 Speaker 1: you want to learn more about earthworms, probably wait a 652 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:52,240 Speaker 1: couple of weeks and then go see the edited published version, 653 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:55,279 Speaker 1: the better version that includes the fact that they can 654 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:59,960 Speaker 1: move forward and backwards about earthworms. Just type in earth 655 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,719 Speaker 1: forms in a couple of weeks at the search bar 656 00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:05,839 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com. And I said search bar, 657 00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:12,120 Speaker 1: which means it's time for listener mail. That's right, Josh. 658 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:14,400 Speaker 1: This is an email before we do the email that 659 00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:18,879 Speaker 1: we have a a quick announcement. We get messages from 660 00:39:18,880 --> 00:39:21,279 Speaker 1: our fans from time to time around the holidays that 661 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:25,360 Speaker 1: are suffering in some form or another. Because although the 662 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:27,400 Speaker 1: holidays are a great time of the year for for 663 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:29,879 Speaker 1: most folks, sometimes it's a very sad time of year 664 00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:34,520 Speaker 1: for others, and uh, we just want to say generally 665 00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:36,680 Speaker 1: that we're thinking about you guys. Every time we get 666 00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:39,560 Speaker 1: one of these emails, we reply and it's it's you know, 667 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:41,319 Speaker 1: it's very sad and we wish it was more we 668 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:44,360 Speaker 1: could do. But we were thinking about either in the holidays, 669 00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:46,440 Speaker 1: and we hope everyone out there and this stuff you 670 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:50,680 Speaker 1: should know Army is uh is hanging in there. Check. 671 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:53,120 Speaker 1: That was very nice of you know. So onto the email, 672 00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 1: I'm gonna call this sharpa overdue sharp at email from 673 00:39:56,040 --> 00:40:00,480 Speaker 1: graces Hey, guys and Jerry using it as a collective, 674 00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,200 Speaker 1: she points out. I know this is a while back, 675 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:05,719 Speaker 1: but I actually met a sherpa. He's a kid who 676 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:07,759 Speaker 1: went to my school for a little while, and he 677 00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:10,160 Speaker 1: was totally cool with me asking him a thousand and 678 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:12,919 Speaker 1: one questions. He thought it was cool that I knew 679 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:16,200 Speaker 1: some information, and when I told him about your podcast episode, 680 00:40:16,239 --> 00:40:18,680 Speaker 1: he wanted to listen to some of it. But before 681 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,520 Speaker 1: I give you his feedback, here's his story. Until he 682 00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:23,800 Speaker 1: was five, he lived in a village near Mount Everest, 683 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:25,960 Speaker 1: but not so close that he ever got a good 684 00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:28,960 Speaker 1: look at it. I couldn't imagine he was that near, 685 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:31,000 Speaker 1: And then I would think you have to be really 686 00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:33,040 Speaker 1: really near it to not get a good look at Oh, 687 00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:36,640 Speaker 1: maybe that was the case. He was so close it 688 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:41,160 Speaker 1: was just like a wall, a wall of rock. Uh. 689 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:42,719 Speaker 1: And she says, even if he did get a good 690 00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:45,000 Speaker 1: look at it, he was only five, so he may 691 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:47,399 Speaker 1: not remember it. He had to leave his village though, 692 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:50,520 Speaker 1: because they were threatened by the maoists, so he moved 693 00:40:50,560 --> 00:40:53,200 Speaker 1: to a city as a refugee. Uh. And he lived 694 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:56,359 Speaker 1: there until last year. From what I understand, they were 695 00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:58,279 Speaker 1: still under the threat from malice, so they came to 696 00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:02,360 Speaker 1: America as a refugee. Ill Um. Here's his little additional 697 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:05,759 Speaker 1: effects as the plural of Sherpa is Sherpa's So we 698 00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:10,840 Speaker 1: were right cool. You pronounced the region Solu Kumbo correctly, 699 00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:14,600 Speaker 1: and he was very excited about that. And he said, 700 00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:18,279 Speaker 1: there are a lot of potatoes. Now, remember we they 701 00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:21,120 Speaker 1: started growing potatoes at a certain point and that's the 702 00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:24,520 Speaker 1: bumper crop. I guess. So that's all he heard of 703 00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:27,440 Speaker 1: the podcast, only about five minutes of it. He didn't uh. 704 00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:29,239 Speaker 1: Grace didn't want to make him listen to the whole 705 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:32,360 Speaker 1: thing because she felt like he already knew most of 706 00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:35,520 Speaker 1: the stuff and she didn't want him for him, so uh, 707 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:38,239 Speaker 1: he was excited about it. She was excited about it, 708 00:41:38,719 --> 00:41:41,319 Speaker 1: and she just wants to say thanks for reading this 709 00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:44,400 Speaker 1: on the year, and that is from Grace. Thanks a lot, Greig. 710 00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:48,040 Speaker 1: Thank you to your Sherpa friend too for supporting us. 711 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:52,879 Speaker 1: And welcome to America, Sherpa boy, and good luck here. 712 00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:57,480 Speaker 1: Um wow, Chuck here just spreading glad tidings all over 713 00:41:57,520 --> 00:42:00,759 Speaker 1: the place. Aren't you a great joy? Um? If you 714 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:04,680 Speaker 1: wanna spread glad tidings to us or to anybody else 715 00:42:04,719 --> 00:42:07,480 Speaker 1: through us, you can send us an email at stuff 716 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:14,880 Speaker 1: podcast at how stuff works dot com. For moral this 717 00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:17,480 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff works 718 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:20,160 Speaker 1: dot com. To learn more about the podcast, click on 719 00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:23,120 Speaker 1: the podcast icon in the upper right corner of our homepage. 720 00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:26,600 Speaker 1: The how Stuff Works iPhone app has arrived. Download it 721 00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:32,400 Speaker 1: today on iTunes, brought to you by the reinvented two 722 00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:34,960 Speaker 1: thousand twelve camera. It's ready. Are you