1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,080 Speaker 1: Guess what, Mango? What's up? Will? So, the coldest temperature 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: ever recorded in Canada was in a village called Snag. 3 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: Have you ever heard of Snag? I've never heard of 4 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: it before, but it's in the Yukon and it was 5 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: negative sixty three degrees celsius. And this is about negative 6 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: eight one degrees fahrenheit. It's crazy cold, but it's it's 7 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,120 Speaker 1: actually very close to the average temperature of the surface 8 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: on Mars. But you know what else, what's that? As 9 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: we'll explain in a minute, this is not what we're 10 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,159 Speaker 1: gonna be focused on in today's episode, on some of 11 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: the most fascinating places in Canada. So let's get started. Hey, 12 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: their podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will 13 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:53,520 Speaker 1: Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good friend 14 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: man gues Ticketer and the man on the other side 15 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: of the soundproof glass sporting a jersey which he claims 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: is signed by every single member of the nineteen Edmonton 17 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: Oilers championship team is our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. 18 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: That's pretty impressive if it's true. We have to fact 19 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: check that. Now this is a show we've been planning 20 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: to do for a little while now, because you know, 21 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: a couple of months back, we made a comment about 22 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: the average temperature in Canada and how cold it is there, 23 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: and we heard from several Canadians about how it's not 24 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: always cold and all of Canada, and you know, obviously 25 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: it's a very big place, and and frankly, we've missed 26 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: an opportunity to share some good facts about Canada. Now. 27 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:35,320 Speaker 1: We don't like the stereotype, at least I don't. I don't. 28 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: You don't like the stereotype for me either, But but 29 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: I have to say one thing about all these messages 30 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 1: from the Canadians. They were some of the most polite 31 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: letters of criticism I have ever read. It's true, and 32 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: and not one but two of the letters included invitations 33 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: to come visit Canada so we could experience it for ourselves. 34 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: But again, we're not gonna stereotype here. I'm sure there's 35 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: some real jerks in Canada. It's not any of them 36 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: who wrote to us, you know, so, so in our 37 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: replies we promised we would show Canada some love, and 38 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: so that's what we're doing in today's episode. And do 39 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: you want to tell them the exciting news yeah, I 40 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 1: guess we should so. So, so this is just the 41 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: first in a sixty five part series about Canada. Now 42 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: we're not quite sure when the next sixty four parts 43 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 1: will be but but we're pretty excited about it. So 44 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: for today we we obviously won't be able to cover 45 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 1: every fascinating thing about Canada, but we decided to each 46 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: pick a few categories. And I know there were a 47 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: few strange and fascinating places you wanted to talk about, 48 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: and I of course claimed the animal category. But before 49 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: we get to the various categories, I think we should 50 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: probably start by acknowledging just how big a country Canada 51 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: is and how diverse its landscape is. You want to 52 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: give us a quick overview, Yeah, happy too. So so 53 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,360 Speaker 1: there were definitely some surprises for me in our research. 54 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: But but just starting with the big facts, a couple 55 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: of them that people may know, but just to make sure. So, 56 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: Canada is the second largest country in the world in 57 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: terms of land area. The biggest, of course, is Russia. 58 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: It has the longest coastline of any country in the world, 59 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: and it's the largest country that borders only one other country. Now, 60 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: it has more freshwater than any country with get this, 61 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: millions of lakes. That's right, millions of lakes. I had 62 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: no idea. Yeah, so so, and actually, I'm not even 63 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,399 Speaker 1: done putting their freshwater dominance in perspective. Are you sure 64 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: they're not puddles? Uh? You know, maybe there's a little 65 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: language barrier here. We might have to check on that, 66 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: but but still, I mean, millions, even millions of puddles 67 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: is kind of impressive. But so but but this actually 68 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: does put it in perspective. Here. It says one fifth 69 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: of the world's freshwater is located in Canada. And and 70 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: those millions of lakes, now we're talking maybe two to 71 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: three million. That's more than all other countries lakes combined. 72 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: So how do we not know this? Again, we're not stereotyping, 73 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: but if we were, if we were going to just 74 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: like dabble a little bit of stereotyping, we might say 75 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: it's because they're too polite to brag about it. Yeah, 76 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: I mean, that's something I'd definitely be bragging about. But 77 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: I would have thought if they were bragging about anything, 78 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: it would be about trees. Yeah, and there's definitely a 79 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: ton of those. Two So Canada is home to nine 80 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: percent of the world's forest. And I'm not sure if 81 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: you knew this, but that's almost ten percent. Actually, wait here, 82 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: here is one source. This is from a Reader's Digest 83 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: Canadian addition that claims they do have ten percent of 84 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: the world's forest. And this is definitely the Canadian addition 85 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 1: because they spell favorite with a U in it, and 86 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: they might be a little bit bias, but I'm going 87 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: with it. Well, I support that, And didn't I read 88 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 1: that the huge percentage of that forest land is actually 89 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 1: publicly owned. Yeah, that's right, and in fact, almost all 90 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: of it. It's something like of the forest landed Canada 91 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 1: is owned by the government and and for that reason, 92 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: it's often referred to as crown land, and that is 93 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: belonging to the monarch. Now, at some point in our 94 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: sixty five part series, we'll talk about the relationship between 95 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: the monarch and Canada. It's all kind of strange and confusing, 96 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: but that's for another episode. But a decent number of 97 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: these forests are part of national parks. And I'm gonna 98 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: go back to this Reader's Digest Canada article because it's 99 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: the one place I've seen the Canadian do some serious bragging. 100 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: And the guy that wrote his name is Daniel Reid, 101 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: and he says Canada is so big that even our 102 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:08,040 Speaker 1: parks are bigger than countries. Well, I feel like they 103 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:10,840 Speaker 1: need a marketing campaign with Canada's so big jokes man, 104 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: this would be the best, need a whole book of so. 105 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: So read points out that Nahini National Park Reserve in 106 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: the Northwest Territories is not only incredible because if its waterfalls, 107 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: but it's actually so big. It's bigger than countries like 108 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:27,480 Speaker 1: Albania and Israel. And and this is a single national 109 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: park and it's not even the biggest. There's another one 110 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,280 Speaker 1: Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta and the Northwest Territories. 111 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 1: It's even bigger. In fact, it's bigger than Denmark and 112 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:40,479 Speaker 1: Switzerland's incredible. That is incredible. So do you have anything 113 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 1: else to show just how big Canada is? Yeah, I've 114 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: actually got one more. And so so, Canada's home to 115 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: about a quarter of the world's wetlands. And this is 116 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 1: another one that that surprised me. So we're talking over 117 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 1: a million square kilometers of wetlands. And according to Canadian 118 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: Geographic quote, these wetlands helped moderate river flows and cleans 119 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,600 Speaker 1: polluted water and support a complex web of species, from 120 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: microscopic zill plankton to migratory sea birds to large mammals 121 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 1: like moose and caribou. They also store massive amounts of 122 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: carbon now, particularly the boreal peatlands, and at a minimum, 123 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,480 Speaker 1: the peatland store a hundred and forty seven billion tons 124 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,359 Speaker 1: of carbons. This is the equivalent to seven hundred and 125 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 1: thirty six years worth of Canada's industrial greenhouse gas emissions. 126 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: So it's definitely in Canada's best interest to see those 127 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: areas protected. Yeah, so, once again something I did not know. 128 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,039 Speaker 1: But speaking of all the interesting species, can I actually 129 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: talk about one of the categories we mentioned earlier? Animals 130 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: because it just seems like the right time. Yeah, it 131 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: definitely does, all right, go for it. Well, it's definitely 132 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: no easy task to decide on which ones to talk about, 133 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: because there are obviously a ton of interesting animals in Canada. 134 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:49,840 Speaker 1: And I don't know if you've heard, but Canada is 135 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 1: a big place. I feel like I have heard that. 136 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:54,599 Speaker 1: But I decided to focus on three that I really 137 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:56,280 Speaker 1: want to go see at some point, and I'm going 138 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:58,719 Speaker 1: to start with another thing that Canada is the king of, 139 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 1: and that's pull slar bears. Well this, I hope this 140 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,360 Speaker 1: is impressive as my ten per cent of the world. Fact, actually, 141 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: it's even better because two thirds of the world's polar 142 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: bears are in Canada. No way, that's crazy. So we're 143 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: talking about roughly sixteen thousand polar bears and Churchill, Manitoba 144 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: is known as the polar bear capital of the world. 145 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 1: It's a it's a pretty big claim. So why why 146 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: is that? I mean, maybe that's a dumb question. I'm 147 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: guessing there are a bunch of polar bears there. Yeah, well, 148 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: at least for part of the year, and that's because 149 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: it's on the western shore of the Hudson Bay where 150 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: they gather each year to hunt seals once the bay freezes, 151 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: and you'll find thousands of tourists visiting Churchill each year 152 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: to see these massive bears in their natural habitat. This 153 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:40,720 Speaker 1: is in a really remote town with no real roads 154 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: going to it, and you can only get there by 155 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: plane or the Winnipeg Churchill rail line. Only about people 156 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: actually live in the town. But you're talking about this town, 157 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: so the polar bears actually come into the town itself. Yeah, 158 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: it's actually becoming a little bit of a problem because 159 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: of warming temperatures, which make it harder for polar bears 160 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: to hunt seals, you know, due to less ice cover. 161 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: More bears have been venturing in town in recent years, 162 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: and about five of the bears are pretty close to 163 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: the town. Wow, So is I mean, is there anything 164 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: they can do about this? So obviously global warming and 165 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: roaming bears in your town aren't that funny. But I 166 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: have to admit it's kind of funny to read about 167 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: one of their solutions, and that's the fact that they 168 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: have these polar bear jails there. Really. Yeah, so residents 169 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: can call a twenty four hour hotline when they see 170 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: a bear wandering around town, and any bear that they 171 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: can't successfully scare off is then captured and taken to 172 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: this polar bear holding facility. It's held there until it 173 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,079 Speaker 1: can be airlifted north and return to the wild. And 174 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 1: last year, fifty three bears spent some time in the Slammer. 175 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: It's crazy. So there's a twenty four hour hot line 176 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: about this that that that sounds almost as important as 177 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,319 Speaker 1: our twenty four hour hotline, I guess. Actually for the record, listeners, 178 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: if you want to call and tell us about your 179 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:53,439 Speaker 1: bear sightings. In addition to some great facts, you can 180 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:56,560 Speaker 1: also leave us a message on our seven fact hot 181 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: line one eight four four pt genius. So so so 182 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 1: that they built this jail for the bears originally, well 183 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:06,599 Speaker 1: it was originally this military aircraft hanger, but there was 184 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: converted into this polar bear holding facility in n and 185 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: since opening, it's actually held over two thousand polar bears. Wow, 186 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: that does seem like a really cool thing to see. 187 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:19,079 Speaker 1: And and even the travel by train there, like you 188 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 1: mentioned that that probably takes a while to get there, 189 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: but it seems like it makes the experience that much cooler. Alright, So, 190 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: so what you got next? Alright, so that this one 191 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: is very different. We're gonna go from the largest gathering 192 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: of polar bears to possibly the largest gathering of snakes 193 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,559 Speaker 1: in the world. I'm talking about the snake dens in Manitoba, 194 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: where tens of thousands of red gardeners snakes congregate to 195 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 1: do their mating thing after spending all winter in their dens. 196 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: This crazy ritual happens for a few weeks in late 197 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: April or early May, depending on the weather. The mails 198 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: come out first and just wait on the females. And 199 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 1: here's how it was described in an article by Joanna 200 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:56,679 Speaker 1: Klein in the New York Times last year. Quote, in 201 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 1: this sea of snakes, a female isn't easy to find, 202 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,440 Speaker 1: even though she three or four times bigger. At times, 203 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: the ratio of males to females is ten to one. Yeah, 204 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 1: So a female secretes pheromones from her skin, luring dozens 205 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,160 Speaker 1: to hundreds of males that try to quarter by rubbing 206 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: their chins along her back and flicking their tongues. She 207 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,439 Speaker 1: ultimately decides when she's ready to mate by a mysterious 208 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 1: mechanism called cryptic female choice, and the closest male wins 209 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 1: and leaves a stinky plug insider that tells others to 210 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:29,560 Speaker 1: back off. She can wait a couple of days for 211 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 1: the plug to dissolve and mate with another snake, or 212 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 1: she can slither off into the swamps to feed and 213 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: give live births to her babies. In August ten thousand 214 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: to one. I mean, that is crazy, That is pretty intense. 215 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: But but I can imagine it'd be tough for a 216 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: lot of people to watch this, even if people think 217 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,839 Speaker 1: they want to go watch this. But I don't know. 218 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:50,720 Speaker 1: I'm gonna act off and pretend that I'm not one 219 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 1: of those people. So I want to go see this place. Okay, 220 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: So I've got one more on the animal front, and 221 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,439 Speaker 1: this one's pretty simple. One of these days, I want 222 00:10:57,440 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 1: to get up to the Wood Buffalo National Park that 223 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:02,439 Speaker 1: you mentioned earlier. It's in Alberta, and it's home to 224 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: the world's largest beaver dam, which is so big. It 225 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 1: was first spotted by his satellite photos about a decade ago, 226 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,880 Speaker 1: and it's over eight hundred fifty meters long. That's huge. 227 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: I do have to admit all this metric system talk 228 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: is making me a little bit dizzy. But but I 229 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 1: want to see this thing too. And and these are 230 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: some awesome animals, Maga. So you've talked about polar bears, snakes, 231 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:26,440 Speaker 1: and the beaver dam. I want to see all of 232 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,319 Speaker 1: these things. Now I'm ready to jump with my own list. 233 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 1: But first let's take a quick break to Mango. Today, 234 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 1: we've got an incredibly special guest on the program, asked 235 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 1: for not Chris Hadfield. Now, now Chris has had so 236 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:51,679 Speaker 1: many incredible things on his resume that it's honestly kind 237 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:54,600 Speaker 1: of hard to know how to introduce him. He's taken 238 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: three trips into space. He's the first Canadian to walk 239 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:01,360 Speaker 1: in space, first Canadian commander of the International Space Station. 240 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 1: And if you somehow missed his incredible YouTube videos from space, 241 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: you definitely should pause this and go watch his ted 242 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: talk about going blind in space and then everything else 243 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,200 Speaker 1: from there, because it's all so wonderful. But Chris, welcome 244 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 1: to part time genius. It is my pleasure to be 245 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: joining YouTube. Gents, thanks very much. So we know you've 246 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 1: had a ton of incredible adventures, including things like escorting 247 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: Soviet bombers out of Canadian airspace and living in a 248 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 1: research vessel in the bottom of the ocean. But as 249 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 1: a kid growing up in Canada, knowing you wanted to 250 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 1: get to space, how do you figure out that career 251 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: roadmap to you know, get to space three times? Gosh? 252 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,559 Speaker 1: There there there was no roadmap at the time for 253 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: a Canadian um. We didn't have a space agency. We 254 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 1: had one satellite up called Elouette, which was looking at 255 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:52,840 Speaker 1: the ionosphere in northern lights, but there were no Canadian 256 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: I mean at the time, I chose the only astronauts 257 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:57,520 Speaker 1: in the world where the Soviets with Euryga garn and 258 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:00,640 Speaker 1: Alecta leon Us and then the Americans with John Glenn 259 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,680 Speaker 1: and Al Sheppard and company. So, you know, I said, 260 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: do I become a Soviet? Do I become an American? 261 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,720 Speaker 1: What you know, what do you do? And so I 262 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 1: it's like a roadmap with no map and no roads. 263 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,320 Speaker 1: But I just reminded myself, even as a nine year old, 264 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 1: that for Yuri Gagarin and and Neil Armstrong, astronauts didn't 265 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: even exist when those guys were born, and yet somehow 266 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 1: they had, they had turned themselves into somebody who could 267 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: be trusted to fly a spaceship. And I figured, that's 268 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:33,440 Speaker 1: the map I'm going to follow. I'm gonna try and 269 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 1: just change who I am into someone who someday may 270 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: hand me the keys to a spaceship. And and amazingly 271 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:42,319 Speaker 1: enough that happened, and as you say, I flew in 272 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: space three times and ended up commanding the International Space Station. 273 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:48,240 Speaker 1: You know, one of my favorite parts of your videos 274 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: was seeing you do these mundane things in space, like 275 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 1: you know, brushing your teeth and how it really isn't 276 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 1: that different, but but clipping your toenails is completely different. 277 00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:59,319 Speaker 1: I mean, what do you think is the hardest common 278 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: thing to a just two when you're in space. Yeah, 279 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:06,120 Speaker 1: some of the mundane stuff is so hard up there, 280 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:08,320 Speaker 1: and some things that are hard on Earth just become 281 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,240 Speaker 1: dead easy. Like of course you can fly around, not 282 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: even fly. You can move around the spaceship as if 283 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: you had a superpower, as if you were I don't know, 284 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 1: one of the X men. You can just magically move 285 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: with no effort, and and that's different than being on Earth. 286 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 1: But we have to exercise to keep her body strong 287 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,400 Speaker 1: up there, and in order to use some of the 288 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: exercise equipment, it's best to wear running shoes, like if 289 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,600 Speaker 1: you're if you're using the resistive exercise equipment, you want 290 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: the foot support. Trying to put on a pair of 291 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: running shoes is really hard without gravity. It doesn't seem 292 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 1: like it would be, but if you think about it, 293 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 1: none of you put your shoes on while balancing on 294 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: one foot. You always sort of plumped down, and then 295 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,400 Speaker 1: you have the stability of gravity holding your butt still. 296 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,680 Speaker 1: And then you have because you have two hands and 297 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: one foot busy, well, if you're waitless, as soon as 298 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 1: you tie up both hands and one foot, basically there's 299 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:05,880 Speaker 1: nothing to hold you in place anymore. You can't still 300 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: with the toes of one foot, And every every single 301 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,000 Speaker 1: time I would, I would float one shoe next to 302 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: me in weightlessness, and then I would get busy, sort 303 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: of gently tumbling around doing up the one shoe. But 304 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,200 Speaker 1: every single time, by the time I turned around, I 305 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 1: had rotated to some whole new orientation and the other 306 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: shoe was gone every time. So so so, yeah, it's 307 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: the simple stuff becomes suddenly hard and some of the 308 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: real hard things become easy. That's amazing. Um. So, one 309 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 1: of the things I feel like I heard you say 310 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 1: was that when you were traveling in the space, that 311 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,680 Speaker 1: there were sunsets of sunrises every minutes. But I was curious, 312 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: what's the most spectacular parts of Earth that you remember 313 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: seeing from space? Yeah, you go around the world in 314 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 1: ninety two minutes, so depending on the angle between you 315 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:56,080 Speaker 1: the Earth and the sun, um, it might be crisply 316 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: every forty six minutes you get a sunrise, or or 317 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 1: you may be on sort of the oblique and then 318 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: you get along a longer, slower diagonal version of it. 319 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: But um, you know, one of the most beautiful things 320 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: I ever saw was something that you can hardly ever 321 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: see from Earth. And even hardly ever see from the spaceship, 322 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: and that is these ethereal super high altitude clouds that 323 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 1: are way up in the thermosphere where it's just very 324 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,800 Speaker 1: very few ice crystals, way way up above the Earth, 325 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: almost up to the altitude of the spaceship. And if 326 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: you get your angle just right where the sun is 327 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: still on the other side of the world, but the 328 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: sunrise rays are just touching the upper part of the atmosphere, 329 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: suddenly it looks like the Earth is encased in like 330 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 1: like a ghost surf. There's this this blue rolling curves 331 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 1: of waves way up around the world, and and it's 332 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: unbelievable to look at. We call them not to loosen clouds, 333 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 1: not to loosen like glowing in the dark clouds. But 334 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 1: I only saw them for a couple of minutes total 335 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: in in my three space flights. And I grabbed the 336 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:03,680 Speaker 1: camera and I was thinking, no way, any of these 337 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: pictures are going to turn out, but this is too 338 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:08,159 Speaker 1: rare to miss. And I took a whole bunch of 339 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,360 Speaker 1: pictures of them and just just staggered by the by 340 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:17,199 Speaker 1: the transient, um delicate beauty of it. But um, the 341 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,960 Speaker 1: pictures did turn out and In fact, they're pretty scientifically 342 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 1: interesting because it teaches us about the upper reaches of 343 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:26,120 Speaker 1: the atmosphere and also about the status of the climate 344 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:30,640 Speaker 1: itself because it's one more way to measure changes in 345 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:34,679 Speaker 1: in gaseous and water content and the atmosphere. So a 346 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:38,680 Speaker 1: beautiful thing but also kind of a technically interesting thing 347 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: and something the only moment I've seen it in my 348 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:46,160 Speaker 1: whole life. Wow. Now, now, now speaking of sight or 349 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: or lack of you know, I know you talk about 350 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: in your Ted talk going blind in space, but but 351 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 1: could you just touch on that experience here. Sure, I've 352 00:17:55,359 --> 00:17:58,760 Speaker 1: done two spacewalks where you put on the big white 353 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: suits and go outside the spaceship and we call it 354 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: a suit, like a space walking suit or an outfit. 355 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 1: But but in truth, um, that space suit is really 356 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 1: just a one person spaceship, is what it is. It's 357 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:17,080 Speaker 1: a completely self contained little spaceship. It even has a 358 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: jet pack on it. It's got its own thrust or 359 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:22,359 Speaker 1: system on it. And since it's uh, you know, the 360 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 1: only thing you're attached to the space station with is 361 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,520 Speaker 1: like a little metal clothesline just to teach from floating away. 362 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,680 Speaker 1: So um, that system it has to purify its own 363 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: air has to have an oxygen supply, power, cooling, radio, everything, 364 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,639 Speaker 1: and mine had some contamination in it that we weren't expecting. 365 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:45,520 Speaker 1: And on the way the contamination, let let itself be known, 366 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 1: was it got in my left eye. And you can't 367 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:51,439 Speaker 1: touch your face, of course, you're inside a big helmet. 368 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: So I suddenly had some nasty, really aggravating UM stuff 369 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:01,400 Speaker 1: in my eye. And eye does what and E does 370 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:03,880 Speaker 1: you know? It's slam shut. It hurt and it started 371 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 1: tearing up, and I couldn't do anything about it. But 372 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,719 Speaker 1: because there's no gravity, the tears don't go anywhere, they 373 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,120 Speaker 1: don't fall, they don't drain down your face like they're 374 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 1: supposed to. They just sit there as a ball of 375 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: contaminated liquid getting slightly ever bigger on your eye. And 376 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,680 Speaker 1: the unfortunate consequence of that is, as soon as that 377 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:28,119 Speaker 1: ball of contaminated tear it's big enough, it crosses the 378 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,320 Speaker 1: bridge of your nose into your other eye, sort of 379 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:34,119 Speaker 1: against my my will and out of my control, And 380 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: so then I was blinded in both eyes. And then 381 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:39,639 Speaker 1: it's a matter of how do you react? You know, 382 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: you're outside the spaceship holding on um whereas sight is 383 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,439 Speaker 1: really important for safety, and now suddenly you're struck blind, 384 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:51,919 Speaker 1: uh or at least as blind. Imagine if you were 385 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,159 Speaker 1: lying in your back and someone just kept dripping a 386 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,679 Speaker 1: really harsh shampoo into your eyes so that every you know, 387 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:00,679 Speaker 1: you just couldn't hold your eyes o, but everything was 388 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 1: all blurred and your eyeballs hurt when you opened them. 389 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: That's what I felt like. So I talked to Houston 390 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 1: and and I was outside with one other astronaut, a 391 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:16,200 Speaker 1: guy named Scott Parazynski, and we talked about it. Of course, 392 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: we've practiced one of us being incapacitated. You know, it's 393 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,840 Speaker 1: not like something that could never happen. We even had 394 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:27,040 Speaker 1: procedures for incapacitated crew rescues. So we don't want to 395 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 1: do that because that means the whole spacewalk is stopped, 396 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,119 Speaker 1: and you're not going to get to all the work done, 397 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: and there's going to be all sorts of people are 398 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:38,160 Speaker 1: going to be all excited about it. But m Fortunately, 399 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: I had worked in mission control for twenty five Shuttle flights. 400 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: I knew everybody there. They trusted me. We talked about it, 401 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 1: and I just opened the valve on the side of 402 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: my suit, a little purge valve up by my left 403 00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 1: ear that that allowed the contaminated atmosphere inside my suit 404 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: to squirt out into space. And there's enough spare oxygen 405 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:03,639 Speaker 1: in a in a high pressure tank down by my 406 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,920 Speaker 1: kidneys that it it could feed the leak for a while. 407 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:10,719 Speaker 1: And by doing that, and by continuing to tear up 408 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:14,440 Speaker 1: and cry and and have my tears evaporate, it diluted 409 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:18,600 Speaker 1: the contaminant enough so that eventually, sort of like when 410 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: you rinse your eyes after they've been irritated by something, 411 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: I could start to see again, and then I could 412 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: get back to work and finish the whole spacewalk. But 413 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:30,200 Speaker 1: it was a pretty unusual half hour of my life 414 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 1: to be blind during. Yeah, I can imagine more more 415 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 1: than a little terrifying. Wow, that's interesting. Did you have 416 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 1: any profound realizations that you came away with from your 417 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: travel to space or any changes in your perspective? Well, 418 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,439 Speaker 1: profound is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. Uh. 419 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,719 Speaker 1: I think the twenty one years that I served as 420 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:56,280 Speaker 1: an astronaut and and worked and studied and supported other 421 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: astronauts and took care of their families and took care 422 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:03,679 Speaker 1: of their families after the Columbia accidents and UH, and 423 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,680 Speaker 1: then my own years and years of preparation, and as 424 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,679 Speaker 1: you mentioned in the intro, doing survival training in the 425 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,160 Speaker 1: deserts and Arctic and mountains of the world, and then 426 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:17,359 Speaker 1: living and taking command of a crew of people living 427 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:20,320 Speaker 1: at the bottom of the ocean. All of those things 428 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:24,879 Speaker 1: changed who I was to some degree and increased my 429 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: ability to be successful as an astronaut. But I think 430 00:22:28,119 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: also maybe changed my perspective on the world a little. 431 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: When you combine that with the reality of going around 432 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: the world sixteen times a day and seeing everywhere, so 433 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:42,080 Speaker 1: that you become intimately familiar with every place on the planet, 434 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:46,159 Speaker 1: and the and the immense age of the planet, and 435 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 1: the transient shared nature of what it is to be 436 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:52,200 Speaker 1: a human being alive on this planet. I think it 437 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: just gave me a clearer and less filtered perspective on 438 00:22:56,359 --> 00:23:00,080 Speaker 1: the world, allowed me to draw my own conclusions. And 439 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:02,919 Speaker 1: and whether that's profound or not, it's a perception that 440 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,600 Speaker 1: I've tried to share, you know, through writing books and 441 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 1: playing music and um and speaking all around the world, 442 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 1: and threw all of those things to try and let 443 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:16,160 Speaker 1: people see a little bit of that new perspective that 444 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,920 Speaker 1: our technology and in mentiveness has given us. M H. Now, Chris, 445 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 1: I can't remember if we told you before the interview 446 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:25,719 Speaker 1: that the name of the studio we actually record in 447 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:28,800 Speaker 1: is Bowie and it, uh, you know, made me think 448 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 1: that the Space Oddity video you did was just amazing. 449 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:34,200 Speaker 1: And I'm curious if you know if Bowie ever got 450 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:37,320 Speaker 1: to see your cover. Bowie described that cover as the 451 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 1: most poignant version of the song ever done. Oh wow. Yeah, 452 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:45,439 Speaker 1: he had to give us permission in order to do it. 453 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:48,000 Speaker 1: You can't just cover somebody else's song and release it, 454 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:52,680 Speaker 1: of course. And um, and he wrote that song when 455 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 1: he was nineteen, you know, just turning twenty and and 456 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:58,440 Speaker 1: he he always dreamed of flying in space. It was 457 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: a constant undercurrent, so many of the personas that he adopted, 458 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,399 Speaker 1: and so much of his artistic creation with Starman and 459 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 1: Mars and all the rest of it. And so uh 460 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 1: for him to see that creation of his when he 461 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 1: was just a late adolescent performed in a place he 462 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,840 Speaker 1: always dreamed of going, was to some degree like a 463 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,439 Speaker 1: dream come true for him. He loved it. And I 464 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:23,720 Speaker 1: play with his bands sometimes now that we do the 465 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 1: celebrating Bowie tour. I played with him in New York 466 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 1: earlier this year, and I'll probably play their touring again 467 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,119 Speaker 1: this year. The guys that loved him and toured with 468 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,440 Speaker 1: him over the decades. Um. So, yeah, I have huge 469 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,680 Speaker 1: respect for Bowie and and I'm delighted that that's something 470 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:42,919 Speaker 1: that I did on Orbit. Um, you know, put a 471 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:44,800 Speaker 1: smile on his face in the last couple of years 472 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: of his life. That's incredible. And since the episode we're 473 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:51,960 Speaker 1: doing is on Canada, could you just tell us one 474 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,400 Speaker 1: place in Canada that's maybe secret or a little less known, 475 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:57,960 Speaker 1: that you think is beautiful and you think everyone should 476 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:00,720 Speaker 1: know about. Yeah, just a little over year ago, I 477 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 1: was on an icebreaker um way up in Canada's north 478 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,199 Speaker 1: and of course most of Canada is north, and a 479 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:11,200 Speaker 1: large part of it is just so sparsely inhabited by people. 480 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,000 Speaker 1: And on board this icebreaker, we were If you take 481 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 1: a globe of the world and you look at that 482 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,560 Speaker 1: long archipelago of Canada that goes almost right to the 483 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 1: very north pole, the northern part of that is elsbre Island, 484 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:27,360 Speaker 1: and it's full of life, just not people, full of 485 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: of uh. Rabbits and fox and wolves and musk ox 486 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:35,919 Speaker 1: and a bunch of different types of birds and polar 487 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: bears and seals, and it's it's thriving and teeming with 488 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:44,879 Speaker 1: life and ancients and patient and silent and beautiful, and 489 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: it defines a large part of Canada, and it's something 490 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,919 Speaker 1: that even most Canadians never get a chance to see. 491 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: So I brought a team of of social media people 492 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,440 Speaker 1: with me, about ten or eleven that that could share 493 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 1: the experience, and I think we should there with the 494 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,359 Speaker 1: talies like twenty million people that got to have a 495 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 1: good look at that part of the world but otherwise 496 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:09,680 Speaker 1: might never even realize just how it exists and what 497 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,679 Speaker 1: it looks like. And to me, that huge part of 498 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:18,200 Speaker 1: our planet, so much of which is within Canada, which 499 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:20,959 Speaker 1: is so important to the health and and uh an 500 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,120 Speaker 1: ecology of the planet. To me, that's maybe the most 501 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 1: secret but important part of the country. Wow, we'll definitely 502 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,399 Speaker 1: have to add that to the tour we're putting together 503 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:33,320 Speaker 1: here now. For all of our listeners, I hope you'll 504 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:35,840 Speaker 1: pick up a copy of Chris's best selling book, An 505 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 1: Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth and check out his 506 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:43,040 Speaker 1: incredible YouTube channel. You definitely won't be disappointed. But Chris Hatfield, 507 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,080 Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining us on Part Time Genius. 508 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:48,720 Speaker 1: Thanks very much. It's a pleasure pleasure to h to 509 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 1: talk with you both. It's an amazing planet and I'm 510 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,040 Speaker 1: constantly looking for ways to understand it better and then 511 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:57,840 Speaker 1: share my version of understanding with as many people as possible. 512 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,040 Speaker 1: Welcome back to Part Time Genius. Now, before the break, 513 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:16,480 Speaker 1: Mango is telling us about his plans to see polar 514 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:19,879 Speaker 1: bears and snakes and beavers all on his next trip 515 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,359 Speaker 1: to Canada. That's right, I can't wait. But now that 516 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 1: you're trying to talk about a few places, I think 517 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:26,200 Speaker 1: you're gonna tell us about some of the unusual spots 518 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 1: you'd like to check out. Yeah, So from my first spot, 519 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,040 Speaker 1: I'm going to head way up north, and in fact, 520 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:34,640 Speaker 1: it's the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world. It's 521 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: a place called Alert and it's a Canadian Forces station 522 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 1: that opened a little more than sixty years ago and 523 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,439 Speaker 1: only about eighty people live there now, though you know 524 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: as many as three hundred or so lived there during 525 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,120 Speaker 1: the Cold War. So what exactly is it? Well, it's 526 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:51,840 Speaker 1: it's a place that serves several purposes. It's it's been 527 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:55,120 Speaker 1: a signals intelligence listening post, that's been a weather station, 528 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 1: a place to monitor climate change, and a base for 529 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,840 Speaker 1: other polar research. But it's a pretty strange place. And 530 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 1: it's actually so close to the North Pole that it's 531 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 1: unable to connect with communications satellites. And the motto of 532 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:12,480 Speaker 1: Alert is beyond the Inuit land. But I'm guessing that 533 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,440 Speaker 1: makes for some pretty dark winners. Yeah, and some well 534 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,679 Speaker 1: lit summers, But in fact, about four months out of 535 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: the year, Alert is in complete darkness. There was a 536 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:23,920 Speaker 1: story in the National Post that put it this way. 537 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:27,480 Speaker 1: The seventy nine Canadians who inhabit the northernmost community on 538 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:32,200 Speaker 1: Earth last saw daylight on October fourteenth at twelve thirty pm. 539 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,640 Speaker 1: The sun will next crest the horizon here at ten 540 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:39,000 Speaker 1: forty one am on February. So I think I might 541 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:42,360 Speaker 1: hold off visiting since they've just entered that period of darkness. Yeah, 542 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:44,200 Speaker 1: And like I said, wait wait until the summer months 543 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: and you'll get about four months of twenty four seven daylight. 544 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:50,640 Speaker 1: But there's actually a pretty funny story about Canadian Prime 545 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: Minister Trudeau when he made his first visit to Alert 546 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,800 Speaker 1: as a kid. This was when his father, Pierre was 547 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 1: Prime Minister, and Trudeau shared this story at the memorial 548 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,280 Speaker 1: service for his dad, and here's what he said. I 549 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:04,120 Speaker 1: was about six years old when I went on my 550 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: first official trip. I was going with my father to 551 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 1: the North Pole. One day, we were in Alert, Canada's 552 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:12,720 Speaker 1: northernmost point. I figured I was finally going to be 553 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: let into the reason for the existence of this high 554 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:19,760 Speaker 1: security Arctic base. I was exactly right. We drove slowly 555 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,880 Speaker 1: through and passed the buildings, all of them very gray 556 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:25,960 Speaker 1: and windy, and we rounded a corner and came upon 557 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: a red one. So we stopped. I got out of 558 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,000 Speaker 1: the jeep and started to crunch across the snow bank, 559 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 1: boosted up to the window, rubbed my sleeve across the 560 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 1: frosty glass to see inside, and as my eyes adjusted 561 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: to the gloom, I saw a figure hunched over one 562 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:43,240 Speaker 1: of the many work tables that seemed very cluttered. He 563 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:46,040 Speaker 1: was wearing a red suit with a furry white trump 564 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,880 Speaker 1: And that's when I understood just how powerful and wonderful 565 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,320 Speaker 1: my father was. By the way, that that was Santa 566 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 1: he was talking about. In case you didn't understand that. So, 567 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:58,040 Speaker 1: you know, so while Alert has primarily been this spot 568 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:00,160 Speaker 1: for the Canadian military to try and keep a US 569 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:02,600 Speaker 1: in on what Putin and his government are up to, 570 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,280 Speaker 1: it's also apparently a place where Santa may hang out sometime. 571 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,360 Speaker 1: And in fact, Trudeau and others have pointed out, you 572 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,360 Speaker 1: can tell Santa is Canadian because he wears red and white, 573 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: or he could be Japanese. But where's your next Alright, 574 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: So so we're gonna come way south of Alert to 575 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,520 Speaker 1: a farm near Whitby, Ontario, and we're gonna go back 576 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:22,240 Speaker 1: in time a little bit for this visit. But we're 577 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 1: talking about World War two in that time frame. There 578 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 1: was a special training school for intelligence agents that was 579 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 1: developed there. It was officially called STS one oh three, 580 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,120 Speaker 1: and the STS stands for Special Training School, but it 581 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,320 Speaker 1: was usually just referred to as Camp X. Now, this 582 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 1: was not just the school for Canadian intelligence agents from 583 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:44,240 Speaker 1: the Office of Strategic Services in the US who would 584 00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:47,320 Speaker 1: go on to found the CIA trained their spies from 585 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:51,000 Speaker 1: the British Intelligence Service learned there. Several others were training 586 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,160 Speaker 1: in this spot, and so that this all happened on 587 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 1: a farm, it was just the strange piece of farmland 588 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:58,760 Speaker 1: and in a pretty sparsely populated area near the Lake 589 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:02,920 Speaker 1: Ontario shore, and a report from Radio Canada International explained, 590 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,760 Speaker 1: quote it was a good place to practice a variety 591 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:10,240 Speaker 1: of skills such as blowing up railway lines, firearms, parachute drops, 592 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:13,360 Speaker 1: hand to hand combat and so on, all away from 593 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,240 Speaker 1: prying eyes and ears. And it goes on to explain 594 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 1: during the war it trained about five hundred agents, approximately 595 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 1: half of which were sent behind enemy lines in Europe 596 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:26,080 Speaker 1: and Asia to cause damage and disruption and or spread 597 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:30,240 Speaker 1: disinformation while gathering information useful to the Allied war effort. 598 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 1: That's pretty fascinating. So how long did this last? Well, 599 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:36,080 Speaker 1: it only lasted a few years, despite the fact that 600 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,080 Speaker 1: so many were trained there, and after fewer Americans were 601 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,320 Speaker 1: sent to train, their CAMPEX started getting recruits from Central 602 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:45,040 Speaker 1: and South America. And these people were going there because 603 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,600 Speaker 1: they worked for British owned companies and they were there 604 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 1: to learn counter sabotage techniques to protect against Nazi subversion. 605 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:54,600 Speaker 1: Then there were other European immigrants who went there to train, 606 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:57,040 Speaker 1: but eventually the school was closed. I think it was 607 00:31:57,080 --> 00:32:00,239 Speaker 1: in the nineteen so I know you have one more 608 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:02,040 Speaker 1: place on your strange list, what you got for us? 609 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 1: All right? So this one is very different. It's actually 610 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:09,120 Speaker 1: a haunted prison hotel. Yeah, that definitely sounds different. It is. 611 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,960 Speaker 1: And and so this prison, originally called the Carlton County Jail, 612 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,240 Speaker 1: was open in the eighteen sixties and it was a 613 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:19,400 Speaker 1: really brutal prison. So several of Ottawa's most notorious criminals 614 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,840 Speaker 1: ended up there, and the conditions were pretty terrible. There 615 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:26,040 Speaker 1: were multiple executions carried out there, and and the jail 616 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:28,880 Speaker 1: was closed in the early seventies really because of just 617 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,240 Speaker 1: how bad the conditions were there. But eventually it was 618 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 1: purchased by Hostling International because what else to do with 619 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:39,440 Speaker 1: this old rundown and horrible jail then turn it into 620 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:42,840 Speaker 1: a hostel, and it was reopened as the Ottawa Jail 621 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:47,840 Speaker 1: Hostile Wait says, you just stay inside the old prison. Yeah, actually, 622 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,440 Speaker 1: I'm I'm pulling this off right now. And and it's 623 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,440 Speaker 1: it's fine to go to the website and see Welcome 624 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 1: to the Ottawa Jail Hostile Book Your stay. Yeah, it 625 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:58,320 Speaker 1: doesn't make you want to stay there, and the pictures 626 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 1: look really creepy, but know, for a one night experience 627 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:04,280 Speaker 1: it would definitely be memorable at the very least, and 628 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,520 Speaker 1: you can take a ghost tour, go to the top 629 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:08,760 Speaker 1: floor where you can see where death Row was and 630 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,840 Speaker 1: all of this before you retire to yourself for the night. 631 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,720 Speaker 1: I mean, that is so morbid, and I think it 632 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,120 Speaker 1: would be interesting to visit, but I'm not quite sure 633 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:21,080 Speaker 1: i'd want to spend the night. Yeah. In fact, I 634 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:22,800 Speaker 1: think this is a good time for me to transition 635 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: back to the world of nature and finish our tour 636 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:28,000 Speaker 1: with three more natural locations. I think that's a pretty 637 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,480 Speaker 1: good idea, all right, So so what do you got first? Well, 638 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:32,280 Speaker 1: you know how we talked about the millions of lakes 639 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 1: in Canada. One of them happens to be Canada's own 640 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:38,120 Speaker 1: Dead Sea. You mean, like the dead sea, dead sea, 641 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 1: like the one where you can float so easily in exactly. So, 642 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:43,680 Speaker 1: if you're in North America, why travel so many thousands 643 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:45,440 Speaker 1: of miles to get to the Dead Sea when you 644 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:48,520 Speaker 1: could just head up to Saskatchewan. Actually that's my philosophy. 645 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:50,600 Speaker 1: I say that about every day. Why go to New 646 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,240 Speaker 1: York when you could just go to Saskatchewan. I think 647 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:55,960 Speaker 1: that's right. But what's amazing about it is the crazy 648 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:59,240 Speaker 1: high salinity of this lake, which is called Little Manitou Lake. 649 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:01,480 Speaker 1: The water of the lake is three to four times 650 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:04,160 Speaker 1: saltier than the ocean. I mean, the idea of kicking 651 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,880 Speaker 1: back and relaxing and floating and reading a book in 652 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,920 Speaker 1: the water, it all sounds pretty great to me, especially 653 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,680 Speaker 1: after thinking about spending a night in that old prison. Yeah. So, 654 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:15,520 Speaker 1: so Saskatchewan is the province that this is the one 655 00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:19,080 Speaker 1: just above Montana and North Dakota. Right, Yeah, that's it. 656 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:22,080 Speaker 1: So it's interesting how even many Canadians are unaware of 657 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:24,440 Speaker 1: this dead sea equivalent. I mean, it does seem like 658 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,400 Speaker 1: a really interesting place to visit. Yeah, and it's a 659 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:29,920 Speaker 1: beautiful area and there are also a lot of hot 660 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:33,480 Speaker 1: springs there, so that's a bonus definitely. All right, So, um, 661 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:35,960 Speaker 1: I think you have another spot. So what's next? Well, 662 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:37,680 Speaker 1: sticking with the water theme, I I know you're a 663 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:40,279 Speaker 1: big fan of waterfalls, so it's probably worth a visit 664 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:43,680 Speaker 1: to what some call the City of Waterfalls in Hamilton, Ontario, 665 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:46,560 Speaker 1: where they're over a hundred thirty falls in the area 666 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:49,520 Speaker 1: and they're all part of the Niagara Escarpment. Hundred and 667 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:51,400 Speaker 1: thirty falls. But wait a minute, first, of all, what 668 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:54,440 Speaker 1: the heck is an escarpment? And second, so you said 669 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 1: niagaras and Niagara Falls. Yeah, so, and escarpment is pretty 670 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:02,120 Speaker 1: much a geological ridge that's separates two areas of different elevations. 671 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,160 Speaker 1: And the Niagara Escarpment, which is in fact named for 672 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:08,839 Speaker 1: Niagara Falls, is near the eastern end it. It runs 673 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:12,240 Speaker 1: a little over six hundred miles from I believe, like Rochester, 674 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:14,960 Speaker 1: through the Great Lakes and then into Illinois. I thought 675 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,439 Speaker 1: we're talking about Canada here, man, you're naming place to us, 676 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:20,440 Speaker 1: and we are because along the way it travels through 677 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 1: part of Ontario, and specifically Hamilton, Ontario, where where those 678 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:28,000 Speaker 1: hundred thirty falls are located. There's so many beautiful falls. 679 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:31,600 Speaker 1: They're like ones with heavy rushing waters, ones with big drops, 680 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:33,760 Speaker 1: and ones that just kind of roll across a series 681 00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:36,560 Speaker 1: of falls. That sounds awesome. I really want to visit 682 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,439 Speaker 1: this place as much as any place we've talked about today. Yeah, 683 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:41,800 Speaker 1: And of course none of the individual falls in Hamiltons 684 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:44,600 Speaker 1: are nearly as big as Niagara, but just seeing that 685 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:47,520 Speaker 1: many falls in such a small area is pretty incredible. 686 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:50,200 Speaker 1: And there's several more falls and towns around the area. 687 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,000 Speaker 1: It's definitely worth a visit. Yeah, I'm pretty serious about 688 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:54,560 Speaker 1: getting there at some point. All right, So you've got 689 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,880 Speaker 1: I think one more natural area, is that right? So 690 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:00,520 Speaker 1: I'm going to finish with going to this region of 691 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:05,719 Speaker 1: Canada where there's less gravity, less gray What does that mean? Yeah, 692 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:08,719 Speaker 1: So for several decades, scientists have been trying to find 693 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:11,120 Speaker 1: out why gravity seems to be missing in the Hudson 694 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:14,719 Speaker 1: Bay region and actually in several areas of Canada, but 695 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:17,480 Speaker 1: it's more significant in the Hudson Bay area. What does 696 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,320 Speaker 1: that mean? It's missing gravity? And how did they figure 697 00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:23,760 Speaker 1: this out? Well, then they gotta figured it out because 698 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:27,040 Speaker 1: there are a couple of contributing factors. But before explaining that, 699 00:36:27,239 --> 00:36:29,280 Speaker 1: I should know a couple of things. So the first 700 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,200 Speaker 1: is just a refresher on what creates gravity. As you 701 00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:35,959 Speaker 1: may remember from science class, gravity is directly proportional to mass, 702 00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:38,800 Speaker 1: So the greater the mass, the greater the gravity, and 703 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:41,520 Speaker 1: vice versa. And the second thing is that gravity is 704 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:44,200 Speaker 1: not equal everywhere on Earth. I have to admit I 705 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:46,360 Speaker 1: did not know that. It's because we think of the 706 00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:48,600 Speaker 1: Earth as being this ball, and the mass of the 707 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:51,640 Speaker 1: Earth is not equally distributed like the Earth bulges near 708 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:54,120 Speaker 1: the quitter and then flattens out, you know, as you 709 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:56,600 Speaker 1: move towards the polls. All right, that makes sense, got it? 710 00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:59,120 Speaker 1: So let me go to the theories. The first has 711 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:01,840 Speaker 1: to do with the process of convection in the Earth's mantle, 712 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:05,560 Speaker 1: which is that layer of magma and is extremely hot. Well, 713 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,880 Speaker 1: magma's in constant motion, and it actually pulls the continental 714 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:12,279 Speaker 1: plates down and in doing so, it decreases the mass 715 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:14,520 Speaker 1: in that area. And then the second theory has to 716 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:16,920 Speaker 1: do with this massive ice sheet that used to cover 717 00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:19,960 Speaker 1: much of present day Canada, but one of its thickest 718 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:23,640 Speaker 1: areas was over Hudson Bay. This was a really heavy 719 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:27,319 Speaker 1: ice sheet and in these thicker areas, basically it left 720 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:30,360 Speaker 1: this big indentation in the Earth and the result was 721 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:32,640 Speaker 1: similar to the first theory, and that it decreased the 722 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:35,520 Speaker 1: mass in that area. And so do do scientists think 723 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,400 Speaker 1: one of these is accurate? Now? Well, they actually believe 724 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,200 Speaker 1: that both are accurate and both contributed to the missing gravity. 725 00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 1: All right, So if you were to go visit this, 726 00:37:43,239 --> 00:37:45,680 Speaker 1: would you would you feel this difference in gravity? No? 727 00:37:46,239 --> 00:37:48,719 Speaker 1: Not unless you're capable of noticing. What do we feel 728 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:51,200 Speaker 1: like to like lose a tenth of an ounce off 729 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:54,239 Speaker 1: a hundred fifty pound frame. I don't know. I'm a 730 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:57,160 Speaker 1: pretty sensitive person, Magna, but maybe you're right on this 731 00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:59,840 Speaker 1: and it would still be a really cool place to 732 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:02,040 Speaker 1: is it. And yeah, I feel like we've talked about 733 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:05,720 Speaker 1: some pretty amazing places today and for those we've missed, 734 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:08,160 Speaker 1: we know we've still got sixty four more episodes in 735 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:10,319 Speaker 1: this sixty five part series, you know, to come at 736 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:12,680 Speaker 1: some point in the future. But I bet we've still 737 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:14,200 Speaker 1: got a few more to talk about because you know 738 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:16,640 Speaker 1: what time it is? Time for the PTG fact off. 739 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:31,000 Speaker 1: All right, I'll kick us off. So did you know 740 00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:34,439 Speaker 1: that Canada's home to the world's first UFO landing pad? 741 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:37,640 Speaker 1: Went in nineteen sixty seven, the town of St. Paul 742 00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:41,400 Speaker 1: and Alberta built this landing pad, and Canada's National Defense 743 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:43,680 Speaker 1: minister even showed up to cut the ribbon at the 744 00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:46,680 Speaker 1: opening ceremony. I mean, it turns out it might have 745 00:38:46,719 --> 00:38:48,480 Speaker 1: been a little bit more of a move to attract 746 00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:51,160 Speaker 1: tourists as much as it was for Martians, but it's 747 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:53,840 Speaker 1: still pretty fun. I also be like, that's how welcoming 748 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:57,239 Speaker 1: Canadians are kidding. So I've got a weird one too. 749 00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:00,080 Speaker 1: Did you know what Canada's universal health care system an 750 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:02,800 Speaker 1: actor key for Sutherland having common I don't, but I 751 00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:06,360 Speaker 1: was actually just wondering that this morning. Well, Tommy Douglas, 752 00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:09,680 Speaker 1: who was the Premier of Saskatchewan, initiated the universal healthcare 753 00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:12,120 Speaker 1: idea in a big way when his province said an 754 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:16,280 Speaker 1: example for the federal government. That's because he instituted public 755 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:20,760 Speaker 1: hospital insurance. But almost as big as this accomplishment, Douglas 756 00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:24,160 Speaker 1: is also the grandfather of key for Sutherland. Oh wow, 757 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:27,959 Speaker 1: you really bury the lead there. That's an important fact. Okay, alright, 758 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,040 Speaker 1: So the red and white Canadian flag, you know, this 759 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:31,960 Speaker 1: is the one with the big maple leaf on it. 760 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:36,640 Speaker 1: It was adopted in nineteen six, only seventy years after 761 00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:39,200 Speaker 1: it was first suggested that Canada should have a national 762 00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:42,560 Speaker 1: flag with a big maple leaf. So until the adoption 763 00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:45,759 Speaker 1: in the sixties, Canada actually didn't have a national flag. 764 00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:48,440 Speaker 1: That's crazy. So one of my favorite things to do 765 00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:50,120 Speaker 1: when I travel is to try some of the favorite 766 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:53,560 Speaker 1: local drinks. But there is one drink that I cannot 767 00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:57,600 Speaker 1: imagine trying, and this is in Dawson City's downtown hotel 768 00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:01,120 Speaker 1: bar in Yukon, it's called the s our Toe cocktail, 769 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:04,080 Speaker 1: which is a glass of local bourbon with a mummified 770 00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:07,879 Speaker 1: human toe dropped into it. Almost seventy people have had 771 00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:11,440 Speaker 1: the drink and with this toe in it, but one 772 00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:15,080 Speaker 1: customer almost ruined it for everyone. He actually swallowed the 773 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:18,680 Speaker 1: toe intentionally, but not to worry that they had another 774 00:40:18,719 --> 00:40:20,840 Speaker 1: one ready to go. And and apparently there's now a 775 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:24,880 Speaker 1: fine for anyone who swallows the toe. Who's capable of 776 00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:28,719 Speaker 1: swallowing a toe. That is all right, well, this is 777 00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:31,000 Speaker 1: not that crazy of a fact. But actually I realized 778 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:33,040 Speaker 1: there was something that I forgot to mention earlier, and 779 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:37,160 Speaker 1: that's the fact that of the Canadian population lives within 780 00:40:37,239 --> 00:40:40,280 Speaker 1: a hundred miles of the US border. So as huge 781 00:40:40,360 --> 00:40:43,040 Speaker 1: as the country is, land wise, there are so few 782 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:46,520 Speaker 1: people per square mile once you get beyond that hundred miles. 783 00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:50,680 Speaker 1: So Canada may not be called everywhere, but it is 784 00:40:50,719 --> 00:40:54,480 Speaker 1: home North America's only cold sauna. It's called Sparkling Hill 785 00:40:54,600 --> 00:40:58,400 Speaker 1: and it's this resort in British Columbia. It doesn't sound pleasant, 786 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:00,879 Speaker 1: but apparently flash freezing your self is good for things 787 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:04,000 Speaker 1: like arthritis and muscle pain, and several other elements, and 788 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:06,839 Speaker 1: while you're inside, you spend three minutes in a room 789 00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:10,360 Speaker 1: at negative a hundred sixty six degrees fahrenheit, But just 790 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:12,480 Speaker 1: a few more minutes of that and the temperature could 791 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,320 Speaker 1: actually kill you. I mean, that doesn't sound like anything 792 00:41:15,400 --> 00:41:18,279 Speaker 1: i'd want to try. And you know, everything else we've 793 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:20,239 Speaker 1: talked about today, I think I would at least like 794 00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:22,760 Speaker 1: to visit, but but not this one. But I'm impressed 795 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:26,080 Speaker 1: you managed to bring the conversation back to freezing in Canada. 796 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:28,520 Speaker 1: So I think I'm going to give you this week's trophy. 797 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:30,680 Speaker 1: And remember, listeners, if there are facts you think we 798 00:41:30,719 --> 00:41:33,279 Speaker 1: should know, email us at part Time Genius at how 799 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:36,479 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com or call us on our seven 800 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:40,279 Speaker 1: fact hotline one eight four four pt Genius. We can't 801 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:42,880 Speaker 1: wait to hear from all our Canadian listeners. And just 802 00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:44,680 Speaker 1: before we go, I just want to say a special 803 00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:47,520 Speaker 1: thanks to Chris Hadfield. He's such a hero to us, 804 00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:49,839 Speaker 1: and and please go check out his new Rare Earth 805 00:41:49,920 --> 00:42:05,240 Speaker 1: series on YouTube. Thanks so much, thanks again for listening. 806 00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:07,560 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is a production of How Stuff Works 807 00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:10,120 Speaker 1: and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant people who do 808 00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:13,200 Speaker 1: the important things we couldn't even begin to understand. Tristan 809 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:15,879 Speaker 1: McNeil does the editing thing. Noel Brown made the theme 810 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:18,800 Speaker 1: song and does the MIXI mixy sound thing. Jerry Rowland 811 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:22,160 Speaker 1: does the exact producer thing. Gay Bluesier is our lead researcher, 812 00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:25,160 Speaker 1: with support from the Research Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan 813 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:27,400 Speaker 1: Brown and Lucas Adams and Eve. Jeff Cook gets the 814 00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:29,640 Speaker 1: show to your ears. Good job, Eves. If you like 815 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:31,520 Speaker 1: what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe, And if you 816 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:33,600 Speaker 1: really really like what you've heard, maybe you could leave 817 00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:35,959 Speaker 1: a good review for us. Do we do? We forget Jason? 818 00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:36,879 Speaker 1: Jason who