1 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to Stuff to Blow 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: your Mind. Listener mail, My name is Joe McCormick. My 4 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: regular co host Robert Lamb is not with me today. 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: I'm recording this one solo, but Rob is going to 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: be back on Mike with us tomorrow. Today is Monday, 7 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,119 Speaker 1: the day of the week we typically read back some 8 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: messages that you all of you out there, have launched 9 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: into the mail harvester. And by the way, if you've 10 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: never written into the show before and you'd like to 11 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: get in touch to give feedback, corrections, commentary on a 12 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: previous topic, or if you just want to share something 13 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: interesting or say friendly hello, you can always reach us 14 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. 15 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 1: By the way, Happy New Year everyone. If you are 16 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: listening from an unsustainably crowded GYM or y m C, 17 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: A good luck with that. Uh, today's mail bag might 18 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: be a little bit weird due to holiday outages. Is 19 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: I think all of these messages came in several weeks 20 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: ago now, but we will do our best to get 21 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: caught up two more recent emails in the coming weeks. 22 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: All right, First, up in response to our episodes on 23 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: the reptiles of the Galapagos, specifically our focus on the 24 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: marine iguana, or, as one great scientists maligned them, those stupid, 25 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: hideous looking creatures. Lurch rights the following, good morning, gentlemen. 26 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: I think it was near the end of part two 27 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: on the Galapagos reptiles when you mentioned the marine iguanas 28 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: have slightly webbed feet, but you didn't see an evolutionary 29 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 1: reason for the feature since they aren't used in swimming. Yes, 30 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: or at least in our unexpert opinion, they didn't appear 31 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: to be used in swimming, so you know, maybe they 32 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: are in some subtle way. But anyway, going on with 33 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: Lurch's message, I happened to be out romping with dog 34 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: at the time. Uh. And this is dog with capital D, 35 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:05,559 Speaker 1: so I think Lurch here is referring to his dog 36 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: who is named dog. So he's out romping with dog 37 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: at the time. He listened to that episode as he 38 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,959 Speaker 1: enjoyed about eighteen inches of snow. Being half mala mute, 39 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,640 Speaker 1: cold weather and snow are like a birthday party for 40 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: him every day. At the time he raised the question 41 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: there was another dog, a German shepherd trying to keep up. 42 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: He couldn't because he had to wade through an extra 43 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: foot of snow the dog ran on top of. While 44 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: all dogs, as far as I'm aware, have webb defeat 45 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: what I call snow, dogs seemed to be able to 46 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:43,360 Speaker 1: deliberately spread their toes, bringing that webbing into play on 47 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: snow and of course mud. This has the effect of 48 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: spreading their weight over a larger area, letting them sink less. 49 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 1: I've not seen any studies or anything on this. I'm 50 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: basing it by comparing dog's footprint on pavement to that 51 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: in snow. In the snow, his footprint is nearly twice 52 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: the size of the one on pavement. How is this relevant? 53 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: I know next to nothing about the Galapagos Islands, but 54 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: I wonder if the webbing on the Iguanas might be 55 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: of use when crossing sand. Well, lurch Uh, I do 56 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 1: not recall this observation about dogs having sort of natural 57 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: snowshoes ever crossing my mind before. But I thought this 58 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: was a really interesting observation about dog pause, so I 59 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: decided to look it up in the zoology literature, and 60 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 1: it seems to me like you are exactly right about 61 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: snow dogs and especially their near wild ancestor, the gray wolf. 62 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: So I was looking at a book called Wolves, Behavior, 63 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: Ecology and Conservation edited by L. David Metsch and Luigi Boitani. 64 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: This was from University of Chicago Press, two thousand seven, 65 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: and this is in a chapter by H. Match one 66 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: of the editors and rolf O. Peterson on wolf prey relations, 67 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: typically the effects of snow and other weather conditions on 68 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: interactions between wolves and the animals they hunt. One really 69 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: cool observation the authors make here. They say that during 70 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: midwinter thaws, wolves will sometimes sleep through the afternoon in 71 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 1: the early evening and then wake up to hunt prey 72 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: in the nighttime. Why is this, The authors suggest it's 73 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: because the wolves are waiting for the temperature to drop 74 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: at night, which facilitates the formation of a crust on 75 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: the top layer of snow, which plays to their advantage 76 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,919 Speaker 1: during pursuit of prey. And so the main effect of 77 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: snow on wolves primary prey animals is to slow them 78 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,840 Speaker 1: down and hinder their movements because they're wading through these 79 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:50,600 Speaker 1: big drifts. But that's not always the case with the 80 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: wolves themselves, and certainly not to the same extent. So 81 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: here match and Peterson write quote, most prey probably have 82 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: a heavier foot loading than do wolves, so they would 83 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:06,279 Speaker 1: sink deeper and be hindered more than wolves. Estimates for 84 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,160 Speaker 1: footloading and deer, for example, range from two hundred and 85 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: eleven grams per cubic centimeter to four hundred and thirty 86 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: one to one thousand, one hundred and twenty four grams 87 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,840 Speaker 1: per cubic centimeter, whereas for wolves the estimate is about 88 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: one hundred and three grams per cubic centimeter. Ungulates are 89 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: usually much heavier than wolves and possess hard hoofs that 90 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: puncture snow much more easily than the spreading, webbed toes 91 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: of a wolf foot. This difference can tilt the balance 92 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: toward wolves during predation attempts on animals from the size 93 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 1: of deer to bison. So this comes back to that 94 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 1: observation that wolves might sometimes sleep through a warmer part 95 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,560 Speaker 1: of the day in midwinter to wake up in the 96 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: dark and hunt. The crust that forms on top of 97 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: the snow in the cold night air will support a 98 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: wolf running on it, running on its naturally webbed biological snowshoes, 99 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 1: and I think the technical term for the webbing between 100 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,040 Speaker 1: the toes is interdigital webbing. But a deer hoof will 101 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 1: punch right through that crust and get stuck in the snow, 102 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: so the deer will be unable to run at top speed. 103 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: And I guess the question is do modern domestic dog 104 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: breeds like the malamute have similar abilities. I didn't find 105 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,720 Speaker 1: any scientific research on this, but it seems to be 106 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: just common knowledge among dog breeders that Arctic breeds like 107 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: the malamute and the husky and so forth have characteristics 108 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: that make them move well in the snow. And I 109 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: found an article on the American Kennel Club website which 110 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: does describe the malamute as having broad paws that helped 111 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: distribute their weight over a larger surface area so they 112 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: can run on the top of the snow. So, Larch, 113 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 1: I think your observation about your half mallamute dog is 114 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: probably exactly correct, and also probably not just a breed 115 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: trait specific to the mala mute and husky and so forth, 116 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: but sort of an ancestral trade that goes all the 117 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: way back to their wolf ancestors or wolf like ancestors. Now, 118 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: as for marine iguanas, I couldn't say. I couldn't say 119 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: if movement on sand would have anything to do with it, 120 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: though obviously I don't think the snow crust principle would 121 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: really apply to sand, unless there's some kind of sand 122 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: crusted phenomenon I've never heard of, so I don't know, 123 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: but the interesting idea anyway, lurches email goes on from here. 124 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: Lurch rights Iguanas hold a small special spot in my heart. 125 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 1: In the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo nine, as I recall, 126 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: I spent six weeks in the Virgin Islands as part 127 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: of an emergency communications team. Nobody had electricity, including the 128 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: hotel at which we stayed, so we left our doors 129 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: and windows open at night to take advantage of the breeze. 130 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: The third night, I dreamt I was being buried alive, 131 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 1: rather terrifying, but wait, it gets worse. When I jerked 132 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: awake and opened my eyes, I was nos to know 133 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: is with the ugliest face I'd ever seen. The moonlight 134 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: decidedly did not help. Teleportation is possible. But when I 135 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: had stopped screaming, I was awake enough to realize I 136 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: had been cuddled by three rather large iguanas. One of 137 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: which had decided sleeping on top of me was a 138 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 1: good joke. For the remainder of my stay, I always 139 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,240 Speaker 1: had at least one iguana share my bed at night. 140 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: Seriously cool lurch. Uh wow, well that's a great story. 141 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 1: Anybody else out there have that experience, Please right in 142 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: if you've had iguanas crawl into bed with you. I 143 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: don't think pets count. All right, This next message comes 144 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: from Carl. Carl says, dear Robin Joe. Firstly, congratulations to 145 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: Joe and family on their new arrival. Hope all are 146 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: well and happy. Thank you very much, Carl, We all 147 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: are indeed well and happy. In fact, I my first 148 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 1: attempt at recording this episode, I had the creature on 149 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:07,960 Speaker 1: my chest in the baby Bjorn with me here. I 150 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: was like, surely we can make this work. You know, 151 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: she's just sleeping. Uh, she she can be my sort 152 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: of silent co host. But the problem was she was 153 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: not silent at all. In fact, she was she was 154 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 1: breathing like Darth Vader, and it absolutely came through on 155 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 1: the recording. So rather than have all the Darth Vader 156 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 1: breathing and the Goblin snarls and all that, I decided 157 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:31,959 Speaker 1: to to wait to record this at at another time. 158 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,679 Speaker 1: So here we are. But maybe in the future she'll 159 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: she'll join me on Mike when she's not quite so loud. 160 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: Karl's message goes on onto eggs consumed raw. Now this 161 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: must be related to the episode that Rob and I 162 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: did on eggnog. Karl writes, when in Peru, maeen we 163 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 1: drank many piece cooast sours, the national cocktail of Peru. 164 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:57,680 Speaker 1: One was served to us at the first opportunity on 165 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:00,960 Speaker 1: arrival and about every chance after that for two and 166 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: a half weeks. It's made with Peruvian Piececo as the 167 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: base liquor, UH fresh squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, ice, 168 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,840 Speaker 1: egg white, and angustura bitters. It's shaken to a froth, 169 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:15,440 Speaker 1: strained into a glass, and topped with a few drops 170 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,800 Speaker 1: of angustura bitters. Quite tasty, by the way. The cocktail 171 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,320 Speaker 1: was invented by an American bartender, Victor Morris, in Peru 172 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:26,320 Speaker 1: in the late night in the early nineteen hundreds. Piececo 173 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,679 Speaker 1: is a high proof, local unrefined brandy that makes up 174 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: most of the drink after ice. Maybe there's enough alcohol 175 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 1: to kill any salmonella, but we never became ill or 176 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,680 Speaker 1: heard of anyone else becoming ill from drinking Piececo sours, 177 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: which were even dispensed from vending machines in one remote area. 178 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: I decided to serve them at a dinner after we 179 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 1: after we returned home, but I used pasteurized egg whites 180 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: from a carton. I still have the bottle of Piececo 181 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: in my cabinet. It's not something you would enjoy over 182 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 1: the rocks, say, and has no other uses I know of, 183 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: but since it's been around before piece Coast hours were invented, 184 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: it must have other uses. As always, I enjoy your podcasts. 185 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: It's good to have Joe back. Carl. Well, thank you, Carl, 186 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 1: it's good to be back. I've never tried a piaccoat sour. 187 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,680 Speaker 1: I will say, I don't know if I would fully 188 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 1: count on the alcohol content of a cocktail to kill 189 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: salmonilla bacteria that might might be present in a contaminated egg, 190 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: especially immediately, because you might remember they found in one 191 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 1: of those experiments we talked about in the egg nog 192 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 1: episode that it actually took several days, from several days 193 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: up to several weeks for a batch with alcohol content 194 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 1: to become sterile. And I think the more likely explanation 195 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: for the fact that you never became sick after drinking 196 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: one of these drinks is that you just never got 197 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 1: a contaminated egg. Like most eggs are fine. The CDC 198 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: used to cite an estimate that it was about one 199 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 1: out of every twenty thousand eggs produced annually in the 200 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,840 Speaker 1: United States that carried salmonella. Uh. By the way, I 201 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:03,440 Speaker 1: after the episode, I tried to look up and find 202 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: the original source of that claim, and I believe it 203 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 1: is a paper called Estimating the Annual fraction of Eggs 204 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:14,679 Speaker 1: Contaminated with Salmonella in tarot Titus in the United States, 205 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:19,120 Speaker 1: and this was by Eric Ebel and Wayne Schlausser published 206 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,079 Speaker 1: in the International Journal of Food Microbiology in the year 207 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:24,679 Speaker 1: two thousand. Now that number may have changed in the 208 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,160 Speaker 1: last twenty two years one out of every twenty thousand, 209 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:29,560 Speaker 1: If so, hopefully it's even lower, But I have not 210 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:32,080 Speaker 1: found a more recent estimate, so as far as I know, 211 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: that's that's still the most recent guests anybody's come up with. Now, 212 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: what does all that mean. I'm of course not advising 213 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: people to eat raw eggs. You definitely do not want 214 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: to get salmonella. It is awful. Uh so, caution with 215 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 1: raw eggs is great, but also I mean, no reason 216 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:56,439 Speaker 1: to be overly fearful. Most eggs are fine. All right, 217 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 1: on to the next message. This one comes from Chuck 218 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,720 Speaker 1: all so concerning egg based cocktails related to our eggnog episode, 219 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 1: another discussion of the piececo Sour and our Vault episodes 220 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: on the invention of the mirror and various psychological effects 221 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:15,560 Speaker 1: related to mirrors. Chuck says, dear Robert and Joe, happy 222 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:19,200 Speaker 1: holidays and great tidings to you both, and congratulations to 223 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: Joe on the new addition to the family. These are 224 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:23,719 Speaker 1: the days that will seem so long, and it will 225 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:27,320 Speaker 1: vanish faster than you could imagine how true that is. 226 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:29,679 Speaker 1: And then Chuck takes a paragraph here to say some 227 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:32,840 Speaker 1: very kind things about the show. But then he goes 228 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:37,440 Speaker 1: on to say, I'm writing specifically because of your eggnog episode. Personally, 229 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 1: I want to like eggnog more than I actually do. 230 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 1: Every year I'm tempted by the ingredients and try a glass, 231 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:48,080 Speaker 1: but then I find it particularly revolting. Maybe it's the 232 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: type of rum that's in it. I do recall, however, 233 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: that back in the nineteen eighties, when I was a 234 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 1: latchkey kid, Carnation made an eggnog flavored powder you put 235 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: in milk as an instant break fist. Oh boy um. 236 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: To my little brain, the flavor was amazing, but it 237 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: could only be purchased as part of a mixed box 238 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: of instant breakfasts containing vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate flavors. I 239 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,839 Speaker 1: think my desire to like eggnog comes from that nostalgia. 240 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: That being said, I will no doubt keep trying eggnog 241 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 1: every year to see if I strike gold. You guys 242 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 1: also mentioned a dearth of egg based cocktails. If no 243 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 1: one else has said this to you, uh and as 244 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 1: you see now, we've got several messages about this. But 245 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,560 Speaker 1: Chuck says, I'd like to offer up the Piececo sour 246 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: Piaceco is a brandy from Peru. I was introduced to 247 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 1: the liquor by my wife, who is originally from the 248 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: Peruvian city of cheek Clio. There are myriad varieties of 249 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: piececo Piasco sours are kind of the national cocktail of Peru. 250 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 1: Though Chile and Bolivia may claim Piececo, they, as my 251 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: wife says, are wrong. Basic piececo sours are made up 252 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:00,880 Speaker 1: of piececo egg whites, sweet syrup, and some lime juice. 253 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:03,480 Speaker 1: This is shaken with ice to foam the egg whites 254 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: and mix well, and then the ice is strained out. 255 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:08,600 Speaker 1: When you poured into a glass a few drops of 256 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: Angustura bitters and you have an amazing drink. I heartily recommend. 257 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:14,760 Speaker 1: Chuck goes on to say two asides to set this 258 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: first one up. It's going to reference a series of 259 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 1: studies we talked about in our episodes on mirrors. These 260 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: studies identified what has been called the strange face in 261 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: the mirror effect, which is a phenomenon where if you 262 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 1: put people in a room with dim lighting and you 263 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 1: have them stare at their face in the mirror for 264 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 1: at least ten minutes, the majority of subjects will report 265 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: strange visual hallucinations and illusions, including everything from blurring and 266 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: deformations of the facial features to seeing their face as 267 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 1: another face entirely either belonging to another person known or unknown, 268 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: or changing into a cat or a pig, or an 269 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:03,040 Speaker 1: alien or a monkey monster. And basically all UH respondents 270 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 1: reported that in some way they came to see their 271 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: face after prolonged staring in low light, as as other 272 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: in some way as somehow not belonging to them, or 273 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: or had some kind of dissociative experience. So the main 274 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 1: study here was called the Strange Face in the Mirror 275 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: illusion illusion by Giovanni bi Caputo in the journal Perception 276 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: in two thousand ten, but it's been replicated under a 277 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:31,800 Speaker 1: variety of conditions in other studies. Sense anyway from here, 278 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: Chuck writes one, I read a book when I was 279 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 1: a teenager about exploring your past lives. Oh boy, I 280 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 1: can't remember the title or author, but one of the 281 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:46,360 Speaker 1: techniques in it was to stare in a mirror at 282 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 1: length in dim lighting until you quote see the faces 283 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:54,560 Speaker 1: you had in those previous lives. I'd forgotten all about this, 284 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:58,000 Speaker 1: but it rushed forward in my memories during your mirror episodes, 285 00:16:58,200 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: and I've been meaning to write you to let you know. 286 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: Apparently the staring in a mirror in the dimness technique 287 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 1: was known and written about at least thirty five years 288 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:08,920 Speaker 1: ago by metaphysical believers. It's cool to get the true 289 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:12,680 Speaker 1: science about this now. Yeah. That that is really interesting, Chuck. 290 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,920 Speaker 1: And it's interesting about using the mirror to allegedly see 291 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:21,400 Speaker 1: faces of past lives, specifically because of a similar thing 292 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:26,119 Speaker 1: in Caputo's study. A full eighteen percent of respondents in 293 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: that research reported seeing their own face transformed in some 294 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:34,960 Speaker 1: way to resemble one of their parents faces, And of course, 295 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,639 Speaker 1: seeing like a parent or an ancestor seems maybe to 296 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,160 Speaker 1: to suggest a similar strain of thinking to like seeing 297 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,919 Speaker 1: a past life. But there was another part of the 298 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,840 Speaker 1: result that was that there was an aggregate category of 299 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: hallucinations which included seeing quote, an archetypal face such as 300 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,880 Speaker 1: that of an old woman, a child, or a portrait 301 00:17:56,080 --> 00:18:00,280 Speaker 1: of an ancestor. Now, I suppose the causation in here, 302 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:02,240 Speaker 1: if there is any, could go either way. It could 303 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:06,280 Speaker 1: be that the strange face in the mirror illusion naturally 304 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: tends to cause a substantial fraction of people to hallucinate 305 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 1: their own face as transforming into that of an of 306 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:16,400 Speaker 1: a parent or what they believed to be the face 307 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,120 Speaker 1: of an ancestor, and that could give rise to this 308 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:21,679 Speaker 1: idea that you see past lives of your own in 309 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 1: a mirror. Or it could be that if people widely 310 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:28,600 Speaker 1: believed you could see past lives by turning down the 311 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 1: lights and gazing into the looking glass, that might have 312 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:34,080 Speaker 1: in fact primed people to report stuff like this in 313 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: these experiments. So interesting. I wonder how widely um believe 314 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,240 Speaker 1: that that thing that you read in the book was Uh. 315 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: One last thing about the strange face in the mirror illusion. 316 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 1: An interesting finding of subsequent studies was that a mirror 317 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: was not strictly part of the illusion. Instead, the necessary 318 00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:01,200 Speaker 1: ingredients seemed to be dim light conditions, time, and a face, 319 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:05,120 Speaker 1: though not necessarily the reflection of your own, because there 320 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:07,199 Speaker 1: was another study that I think was also done by 321 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:11,680 Speaker 1: Caputo in which found similar effects simply by having people 322 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:16,639 Speaker 1: stare at each other's faces intersubjective facial gazing for prolonged 323 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:20,360 Speaker 1: periods in low light, and that this also produced kind 324 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:25,679 Speaker 1: of strange hallucinatory or perceptive illusion effects. Uh, if you 325 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:29,680 Speaker 1: did it long enough. Anyway, back to Chuck's message, and 326 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:31,879 Speaker 1: this is the second part of his his two part 327 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,240 Speaker 1: tangent to probably everyone that writes has a weird house 328 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:39,240 Speaker 1: cinema suggestion. And if I may, I suggest Big Trouble 329 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,240 Speaker 1: in Little China. Not only is it my favorite movie ever, 330 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: but I know you guys referenced it all the time. Uh, 331 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 1: and you've said that you should do a John Carpenter movie. 332 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: I've seen it so many times I generally failed to 333 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,399 Speaker 1: realize how just plain weird the movie is. It was 334 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: so odd that the marketing had no idea what to 335 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: do with it. It dealt with themes and characters no 336 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:00,399 Speaker 1: one in the West had any deep, non colledge of, 337 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: and the main character, the awesome Kurt Russell, of course, 338 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:07,120 Speaker 1: was actually the sidekick the whole time. I suspect many 339 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:09,560 Speaker 1: of your listeners have seen this very quotable film, but 340 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,720 Speaker 1: a weird house examination would be greatly appreciated. Yeah, Rob 341 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:15,880 Speaker 1: and I do mention this movie a lot. It's it's 342 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:20,040 Speaker 1: it's a it's a common it's a house favorite. Uh. Finally, 343 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:21,919 Speaker 1: Check says, thank you for taking the time to read this. 344 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 1: You guys rock me. Have a great three sincerely, Chuck 345 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:29,479 Speaker 1: right back at you, Chuck. Alright. Well, I think that 346 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:31,959 Speaker 1: does it for today's mail bag, but we will be 347 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 1: back with more of your messages next week and in 348 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,639 Speaker 1: the meantime, if you're new to the show, you can 349 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,400 Speaker 1: check out all of our other episodes anywhere you get 350 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,919 Speaker 1: your podcasts. Monday's we Read Listener mail, Tuesdays and Thursdays 351 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,680 Speaker 1: are our core stuff. To Blow Your Mind episodes. Those 352 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,520 Speaker 1: are usually about science and culture in some way. Wednesdays 353 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:54,879 Speaker 1: are our short form episodes. Those are called the Artifact 354 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: or sometimes the Monster Fact Friday, as we do a 355 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,200 Speaker 1: movie show, Rob and I just kicked back and talk 356 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,560 Speaker 1: about a strange film, good or bad, on a series 357 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:07,320 Speaker 1: we call Weird House Cinema. Saturday's we haul out an 358 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,760 Speaker 1: episode from the Vault, and Sunday's we publish nothing at 359 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 1: All Big thanks to our audio producer, Max Williams. If 360 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:17,280 Speaker 1: you would like to get in touch with us with 361 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:20,720 Speaker 1: feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest topic 362 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:22,880 Speaker 1: for the future, or just to say hello, you can 363 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: email us at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind 364 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:36,400 Speaker 1: dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production 365 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,200 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, 366 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,119 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 367 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.