WEBVTT - Is Itching Contagious? (And Does Scratching Really Help?)

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope

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<v Speaker 1>and iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Guess what Will, What's that Mango?

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<v Speaker 1>I was looking through the Ignoble Prizes, which released this week,

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<v Speaker 1>and for those who don't know, these are funny prizes

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<v Speaker 1>that honor academic papers that are so surprising that they

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<v Speaker 1>make people laugh and then think. And one of the

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<v Speaker 1>articles that caught my attention was a Piece Prize that

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<v Speaker 1>they gave out for studying the pleasure ability of scratching

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<v Speaker 1>an itch.

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<v Speaker 2>I do love that they gave out a peace prize

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<v Speaker 2>for this, but like, what did the scientists actually find

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<v Speaker 2>in this study?

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<v Speaker 1>So apparently they were looking into when you itch, what

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<v Speaker 1>areas that you can scratch are most satisfying. So they

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<v Speaker 1>looked at a few areas and triggered scratching in people

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<v Speaker 1>in those places, and they came to the conclusion that

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<v Speaker 1>the places where a little scratching is most satisfying is

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<v Speaker 1>on your back.

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<v Speaker 2>Mm hmm. I could have guessed that a backscratch obviously

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<v Speaker 2>feels amazing, But the other place.

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<v Speaker 1>Of high pleasure your ability was the ankle. If you

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<v Speaker 1>got a mosquito bite, for instance, on your ankle scratching

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<v Speaker 1>it results in the most satisfaction, and apparently the higher

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<v Speaker 1>the scratch on your foot, like the closer it is

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<v Speaker 1>to the ankle, the more satisfying it is.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, I think if you had asked me, like

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<v Speaker 2>where the most pleasurable place to scratch an itch was,

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<v Speaker 2>the ankle might have been tenth on my list. But

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<v Speaker 2>now that you're saying it, and especially when you say

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<v Speaker 2>mosquito bite, I actually sort of get it. It makes sense.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, well, I'm so lucky it enough to quiz you

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<v Speaker 1>on all the.

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<v Speaker 2>Other places that you I can name the others, actually

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<v Speaker 2>I'll put to I'll email you a list.

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<v Speaker 1>But all this reading about itching and scratching made you

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<v Speaker 1>want to look into the science of itches, like why

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<v Speaker 1>do we itch? Why does it feel so good to scratch?

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<v Speaker 1>And what's our body trying to tell us from all

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<v Speaker 1>of this? So let's dive in.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good

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<v Speaker 2>pal Mangash hoot Ticketer and sitting behind that big booth,

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<v Speaker 2>and he's always up to something interesting. This week, he's

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<v Speaker 2>got a whole bunch of posters behind him, and actually

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<v Speaker 2>these appear to be homemade but very professional posters behind him,

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<v Speaker 2>one of them of Itchy and Scratchy from The Simpsons,

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<v Speaker 2>one of them the character poison Ivy from Batman. Sorry,

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<v Speaker 2>that one took me a minute. And then I think

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<v Speaker 2>that's a poster of the musician Lee scratch Perry. Is

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<v Speaker 2>that the right? Okay? All right, all because we are

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<v Speaker 2>doing an episode on itching. So well done, Dylan. That's

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<v Speaker 2>our wonderful producer, Dylan Fagin.

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<v Speaker 1>Actually, you know, before we start talking about this, I

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<v Speaker 1>love that he's got that Itchy and Scratchy poster up there.

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<v Speaker 1>And I read this thing about how sometimes the Simpson

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<v Speaker 1>writers used to use the Itchy and Scratchy cart tune

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<v Speaker 1>just for inside jokes. And there's this one episode where

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<v Speaker 1>the writers added a character called Puuci to the mix,

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<v Speaker 1>so it was like Itchy and Scratchy and Poucy because

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<v Speaker 1>apparently a focus group had recommended that they add another character,

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<v Speaker 1>and the whole show ends up being a disaster. But

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<v Speaker 1>what I didn't realize was that it was basically making

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<v Speaker 1>fun of the fact that I think this was in

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<v Speaker 1>the eighth season, the execs at Fox asked the Simpsons

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<v Speaker 1>writers to add a teenager to the family because they

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<v Speaker 1>thought it would I guess make the show more lively

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<v Speaker 1>or something. And the Simpsons writers refused, but they decided

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<v Speaker 1>to mock it on the show in Itchy and Scratchy,

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<v Speaker 1>which I just think it.

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<v Speaker 2>So fun.

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<v Speaker 1>Anyway, I had to throw that tangent in there. But

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<v Speaker 1>let's get started, all right.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, one of the things that I wanted to look

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<v Speaker 2>into is why we say we're itching to do something,

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<v Speaker 2>like when we're eager to do something, and it actually

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<v Speaker 2>comes back to Latin so weirdly, on our skin, we

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<v Speaker 2>have these special itch sensing nerve endings and when they

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<v Speaker 2>get stimulated, this is whether it's by mechanical, thermal, or

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<v Speaker 2>chemical mediators, we get an itching sensation. So those nerve

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<v Speaker 2>endings are called pre receptors. And in fact, the scientific

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<v Speaker 2>word for itching is proitis.

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<v Speaker 1>I actually love when the scientific words for things are

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<v Speaker 1>so different, Like apparently the scientific word for burping is eructation.

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<v Speaker 1>Is it?

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<v Speaker 2>Really? I did not know that?

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<v Speaker 1>So tell me a little bit about proritis.

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<v Speaker 2>All right. Well, Proitis comes from the Latin word periray,

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<v Speaker 2>which means to itch or to long for it's hard

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<v Speaker 2>to say, but that's what it means.

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<v Speaker 1>So the idea of longing and desire is linked with

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<v Speaker 1>this physical sensation of itching.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's exactly right. And you know it makes sense

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<v Speaker 2>because when you have an itch, you feel like you

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<v Speaker 2>have to scratch it. Actually, the first recorded definition of

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<v Speaker 2>an itch came from a German physician named Samuel Hoffenreffer

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<v Speaker 2>back in sixteen sixty. So he defined an itch as quote,

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<v Speaker 2>any unpleasant sensation that elicits the desire or reflex to

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<v Speaker 2>scratch or put another the way, if you're scratching something,

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<v Speaker 2>then the sensation that provoked it is, by definition an itch.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you talk about that itch pain relationship a little more?

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<v Speaker 2>Mm hmm. There's a complex relationship between itching and pain.

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<v Speaker 2>The pure receptors I mentioned before are on the end

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<v Speaker 2>of specialized nerve cells called sea fibers, and these sea

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<v Speaker 2>fibers are identical to those associated with the sensation of pain,

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<v Speaker 2>but they are functionally different because they only convey the

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<v Speaker 2>itch sensation. So when they're stimulated on the skin, these

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<v Speaker 2>sea fibers carry signals along the nerve to the spinal

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<v Speaker 2>cord and onto the brain of course, and that's where

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<v Speaker 2>they're processed, and that generates this scratching or rubbing reflex

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<v Speaker 2>response to that itch.

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<v Speaker 1>nordvpns for you. But why is our reflex to scratch it?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, scratching it interferes with the sensations arising from these

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<v Speaker 2>pre receptors. And this is the interesting part. They do

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<v Speaker 2>this by stimulating various pain receptors in the same areas,

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<v Speaker 2>so the pain is almost like a save for the itching.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, it's not just scratching that will stop

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<v Speaker 2>an itch, like other painful stuff like heed or capsation.

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<v Speaker 2>Of course, the hot stuff and pepper's or even electrical

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<v Speaker 2>shocks can stop itching. I don't know that you'd want

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<v Speaker 2>to take it to that link, but it turns out

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<v Speaker 2>that does work. But you know, pain can stop an itch.

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<v Speaker 2>But it's unclear whether the pain and itching are separate

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<v Speaker 2>sensations or like the same sensation.

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<v Speaker 1>But I don't know, just less, can you talk about

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<v Speaker 1>that relationship a little more?

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<v Speaker 2>There's basically two theories about how this works. So there's

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<v Speaker 2>the intensity theory and the specificity theory. So the intensity

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<v Speaker 2>theory states that the skin is studded with this array

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<v Speaker 2>of nerve endings called no susceptors. Now, their job is

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<v Speaker 2>to relay information about the presence of potentially damaging stimuli

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<v Speaker 2>to the spinal cord and the brain. And so a

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<v Speaker 2>weak assault on these neurons result in an itch, while

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<v Speaker 2>a fully fledged attack results in pain.

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<v Speaker 1>So, like you said, the same sensation but less.

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<v Speaker 2>I nailed it, and I'm glad you understand it now.

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<v Speaker 2>But you know, the specificity theory states that some neurons

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<v Speaker 2>are responsible for pain while a different set cares about

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<v Speaker 2>an itch. Or alternatively, it could be that there's a

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<v Speaker 2>single set of neurons responsible for no susception, but that

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<v Speaker 2>they somehow tell the difference between sta simuli that are

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<v Speaker 2>itchy and those that hurt.

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<v Speaker 1>But you would never scratch something that's just hurting you, right,

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<v Speaker 1>Like you don't stub your toe and then scratch at

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<v Speaker 1>it to stop the pain.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, I mean, there are distinct sensations that elicit these

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<v Speaker 2>very distinct reactions. So when something hurts, our body responds,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, with their withdrawal reflex. But you know, think

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<v Speaker 2>about it. You put your hand over a fire, the

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<v Speaker 2>pain makes you yank get back, But the scratching reflex

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<v Speaker 2>brings attention toward rather than away from the affected skin.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know this is probably evolutionary. Like if you're

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<v Speaker 2>looking closer at a quick scratch, or even just mindlessly

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<v Speaker 2>scratching at something, it's pretty effective at removing an insect

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<v Speaker 2>or other unwanted material from your skin or your hair.

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<v Speaker 2>So it actually works.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's interesting about a scratch drawing attention to your

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<v Speaker 1>skin or your body.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And so here's how it works. Like when something

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<v Speaker 2>bothers the skin, like a mosquito bite, the cells release

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<v Speaker 2>a chemical, usually a histamine, as an immune response to this,

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<v Speaker 2>and that release provokes the no susceptors in the skin

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<v Speaker 2>to send a message to the spine, which then relays

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<v Speaker 2>the message through a bundle of nerves called the spinathalmic

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<v Speaker 2>tract all the way up to the brain. So, in

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<v Speaker 2>two thousand and nine, this group of researchers used the

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<v Speaker 2>histamine injection to make the legs of their non human

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<v Speaker 2>primates itch while an electrode monitored what happened inside those tracks.

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<v Speaker 2>And as soon as the histamine was injected, the neurons

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<v Speaker 2>started firing faster. So when the researchers offered up a

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<v Speaker 2>few scratches, those neurons slowed their fire. And what those

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<v Speaker 2>electrodes showed them was that the scratching actually does its

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<v Speaker 2>work in the spinal cord rather than the brain.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm actually glad that you brought up that spine

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<v Speaker 1>itch connection because I saw something about that in my

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<v Speaker 1>research and decided to look into it a little more.

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<v Speaker 1>But before we get into that, let's take a quick break.

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<v Speaker 2>Welcome back to Part Time Genius. We we're talking all

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<v Speaker 2>things itchy. So, Mango, you were just about to talk

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<v Speaker 2>about the connection between the spine and itches.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, So this discovery comes from two thousand and seven,

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<v Speaker 1>when a professor and researcher named Jufeng Chen at the

0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:20.440
<v Speaker 1>Washington University School of Medicine led a team that was

0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:24.160
<v Speaker 1>looking into the role of a specific receptor called GRPR.

0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:27.560
<v Speaker 1>It's the gastrin releasing peptide receptor, and he was trying

0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:30.320
<v Speaker 1>to figure out what it had to do with itching. Now,

0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:33.320
<v Speaker 1>no one had really studied itch as separate from pain

0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:36.160
<v Speaker 1>before two thousand and seven, but Chen and his team

0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:39.000
<v Speaker 1>were looking at mice that were missing the GRPR gene

0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:41.880
<v Speaker 1>to see if they reacted differently to pain stimuli than

0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:45.040
<v Speaker 1>normal mice did. And while they didn't react any differently

0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.559
<v Speaker 1>to pain, when they stimulated the GRPR in normal mice,

0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:51.200
<v Speaker 1>the mice started scratching themselves as if they had this

0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:54.360
<v Speaker 1>really bad itch. And that's how they figured out that

0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:57.920
<v Speaker 1>the pain sensation and the itch sensation are mediated by

0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:01.920
<v Speaker 1>separate sets of genes in the spine, which means potentially

0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:04.560
<v Speaker 1>that drugs can actually be used to suppress the itch

0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:09.400
<v Speaker 1>sensation without affecting the pain sensation. And that's particularly important

0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.280
<v Speaker 1>because pain can be kind of this like protective queue

0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:13.480
<v Speaker 1>that warns of danger.

0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:15.360
<v Speaker 2>So it'd be great to.

0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:18.360
<v Speaker 1>Have this anti itch medication that doesn't compromise our pain

0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:19.480
<v Speaker 1>sense and capability.

0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:21.760
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean that makes sense. It's best to be

0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:23.960
<v Speaker 2>less itchy and safe ideally.

0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:27.400
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. But Chen didn't stop there, so ten years later,

0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:32.400
<v Speaker 1>in twenty seventeen, his teammate another really interesting discovery about itchiness.

0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:35.599
<v Speaker 2>I keep itching just talking about itching. It's almost like

0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:37.520
<v Speaker 2>when you're in a place and you're not supposed to laugh,

0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:39.320
<v Speaker 2>and then you can't help. But laugh that that is

0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:40.440
<v Speaker 2>the experience I'm having.

0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:42.520
<v Speaker 1>I don't know about Youah yeah, totally. I want to

0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:47.640
<v Speaker 1>scratch my head so badly, right yeah. And it's funny

0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:50.800
<v Speaker 1>because you know, his team actually was the ones that

0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:55.119
<v Speaker 1>discovered that itchiness is contagious. So they did this experiment

0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:57.680
<v Speaker 1>with two different groups of mice. And I'm not sure

0:13:57.679 --> 0:13:59.800
<v Speaker 1>why it's always mice. It's never like a group of

0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:03.520
<v Speaker 1>frat guys who lives in Williamsburg. But the researchers bred

0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.040
<v Speaker 1>one group of mice to be chronically itchy, and then

0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:08.400
<v Speaker 1>they put the itchy mice in a cage next to

0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:11.240
<v Speaker 1>normal mice, and then they recorded hours and hours of

0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:14.240
<v Speaker 1>both sets of mice. And when they analyzed the footage,

0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:17.160
<v Speaker 1>they discovered that the normal mice, just by observing the

0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:21.640
<v Speaker 1>chronically itchy mice scratching, scratched themselves twice as much. Basically,

0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:23.520
<v Speaker 1>the normal mice became twice as itchy.

0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:27.760
<v Speaker 2>Imagine what fund we could have making other people scratch themselves, Mango, Like,

0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:29.680
<v Speaker 2>all we have to do is stand around them for

0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:31.920
<v Speaker 2>hours scratching ourselves.

0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:35.040
<v Speaker 1>It sounds like a really good use of time, but

0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:37.600
<v Speaker 1>it turns out there are other ways to get people

0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:41.000
<v Speaker 1>to itch too. So in nineteen ninety nine, German researchers

0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:43.560
<v Speaker 1>found that just listening to a lecture about itching made

0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.520
<v Speaker 1>the audience itch and start to scratch themselves. And the

0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:49.840
<v Speaker 1>aim of the lecturers was to present an itch inducing lectures.

0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:52.800
<v Speaker 1>So they showed all these slides that induce scratching, right,

0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:56.760
<v Speaker 1>like pictures of fleas mites, allergic reactions. Then they showed

0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.840
<v Speaker 1>slides that induced relaxation and a sense of well be

0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:03.440
<v Speaker 1>So they showed like pictures of baby skin and soft

0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:06.080
<v Speaker 1>down and a mother with a child in her arms,

0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:09.520
<v Speaker 1>and they discovered a few fascinating things. So first the

0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:14.080
<v Speaker 1>self reported itch sensation and all this observed scratching increased

0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:17.600
<v Speaker 1>after they showed those first set of pictures. But after

0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:20.120
<v Speaker 1>hearing the lectures discussed the next set of things and

0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:24.680
<v Speaker 1>showing those other pictures, the observed scratching decreased. So you

0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:28.120
<v Speaker 1>can actually lower the itch sensation when you show calm

0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:29.280
<v Speaker 1>soothing pictures.

0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:32.720
<v Speaker 2>I've never really thought about it, like working in reverse,

0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.400
<v Speaker 2>So you could potentially soothe an itch by looking at

0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:36.440
<v Speaker 2>calming images.

0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:39.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, but I guess the question is like, would you

0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:40.200
<v Speaker 1>want to do that?

0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:41.760
<v Speaker 2>What do you mean?

0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:46.240
<v Speaker 1>So? I mean itch remedies are great, but sometimes itching

0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:50.120
<v Speaker 1>is medically necessary, right, and sometimes isn't the best feeling

0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:52.680
<v Speaker 1>of the world, like a really good backscratch. I mean,

0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.560
<v Speaker 1>people have been talking about this forever. In a nineteen

0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:59.960
<v Speaker 1>forty eight paper in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, this neurophysiology,

0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:03.120
<v Speaker 1>just George Bishop wrote, quote, scratching an itch with a

0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:06.680
<v Speaker 1>violence that would cause pain elsewhere maybe experienced as one

0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:10.640
<v Speaker 1>of the most exquisite pleasures. And the poet Ogden Nash

0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:14.280
<v Speaker 1>once said, quote, happiness is having a scratch for every itch.

0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:17.240
<v Speaker 2>I mean, that's definitely true. But you know, like the

0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:20.880
<v Speaker 2>pleasure and pain cocktail of an itch is, it's pretty complicated.

0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:23.840
<v Speaker 2>Like patients with exema have reported that they scratch not

0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:27.320
<v Speaker 2>until the itch has subsided, but until it no longer

0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.840
<v Speaker 2>feels good to scratch, So it's a little different.

0:16:30.240 --> 0:16:32.560
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that makes sense, although it seems like you know

0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:35.160
<v Speaker 1>that that could exacerbate the skin conditions, right.

0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:39.440
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, not only that, but chronic itching can cause psychological distress.

0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:42.040
<v Speaker 2>And this is something we really don't think about that much.

0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:45.800
<v Speaker 2>But there's a stigma associated with skin disorders and scratching.

0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:49.560
<v Speaker 2>So one study interviewed adults with chronic itching conditions, and

0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:53.680
<v Speaker 2>almost all of them said that itching had profound emotional effects,

0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:57.240
<v Speaker 2>such as depression or guilt or panic and you know,

0:16:57.240 --> 0:17:01.760
<v Speaker 2>sometimes feeling isolated because the resulting scratching elicited such negative

0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:05.879
<v Speaker 2>responses from other people. And it might even have historical roots,

0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:09.280
<v Speaker 2>like in early European medical practices, and itch wasn't just

0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:13.600
<v Speaker 2>equated with an affectious disease. It also conveyed these moral lapses,

0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:17.119
<v Speaker 2>like like a lack of hygiene or social inferiority. So

0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:18.439
<v Speaker 2>there was a lot wrapped up in it.

0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:21.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that makes a lot of sense about the social

0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:23.680
<v Speaker 1>history that you know. This just reminded me of a

0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:26.600
<v Speaker 1>story when Henry was like three years old. We had

0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:29.600
<v Speaker 1>this couple over to our house for dinner and we

0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:31.879
<v Speaker 1>were all sitting downstairs and we put Henry to bed,

0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:34.560
<v Speaker 1>or we thought we'd put Henry to bed, and then

0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:38.560
<v Speaker 1>like he walks down completely naked. He's like two years old,

0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:43.720
<v Speaker 1>and he goes, guys, I got examunt. Oh no, I

0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:45.879
<v Speaker 1>don't even know how we learned the word examon and

0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:47.000
<v Speaker 1>where his clothes work.

0:17:47.119 --> 0:17:50.000
<v Speaker 2>But it was Yeah, so like weirdly, that sort of

0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:52.359
<v Speaker 2>thing is not socially acceptable to just walk into a

0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:55.520
<v Speaker 2>room naked and announce that. So it's just I see

0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:59.040
<v Speaker 2>what we're talking about here, But I mean, you know it.

0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:03.240
<v Speaker 2>You think think back to when humans learn to associate

0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:07.360
<v Speaker 2>certain things with disease, like around scratching or as we're

0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:11.320
<v Speaker 2>talking about here, that can actually trigger a physical disgust response,

0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:13.560
<v Speaker 2>which is unfortunate, but that is what happens.

0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:16.280
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it seems like something everyone should be able to

0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:19.400
<v Speaker 1>empathize with because wind to scratch an itch is universal.

0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:23.840
<v Speaker 1>But obviously there's acceptable scratching and unacceptable scratching.

0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:26.960
<v Speaker 2>Right right, And then there's this itches that don't respond

0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:30.080
<v Speaker 2>like even to excessive scratching, meaning you could scratch and

0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:32.600
<v Speaker 2>scratch and never actually get at these itches.

0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:33.960
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, which sounds like torture.

0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.199
<v Speaker 2>No, I really does. And there's actually something called a

0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:41.359
<v Speaker 2>neuropathic or neurological itch, which is a type of itch

0:18:41.600 --> 0:18:44.600
<v Speaker 2>under the skin that you actually can't scratch to relieve

0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:47.760
<v Speaker 2>because it's caused by nerve damage rather than issues related

0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.000
<v Speaker 2>to the skin, and it can be caused by things

0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:54.960
<v Speaker 2>like diabetes or shingles, brain lesions, or liver diseases. There's

0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.240
<v Speaker 2>you know a host of other things that can lead

0:18:57.280 --> 0:18:59.840
<v Speaker 2>to this, and you know, the itch tends to be chronic,

0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:03.040
<v Speaker 2>difficult to treat, and there's really not much you can

0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:03.639
<v Speaker 2>do about it.

0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:05.680
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I remember there was like a New Yorker piece

0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:07.879
<v Speaker 1>about a woman who had an itch on her skull

0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:10.080
<v Speaker 1>and she just couldn't stop scratching at it, and it

0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:12.439
<v Speaker 1>just like led to all sorts of issues, which just

0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:14.879
<v Speaker 1>sounds miserable, But you know, there are also things that

0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:17.400
<v Speaker 1>are kind of the opposite of that. In the nineteen fifties,

0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:21.000
<v Speaker 1>there was this scientist named J. R. Traver who suffered

0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:24.920
<v Speaker 1>from a condition called delusional parasitosis. It's this condition where

0:19:25.000 --> 0:19:28.200
<v Speaker 1>people have become convinced that they're infested with parasites, which

0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:31.639
<v Speaker 1>leads to itching, and Travor refused to accept that this

0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:34.440
<v Speaker 1>was just a delusion, so she published a paper about

0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:38.080
<v Speaker 1>her experience combating what she called skin mites. She visited

0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:41.359
<v Speaker 1>tons of doctors, used dangerous pesticides on herself, tried to

0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:44.520
<v Speaker 1>scratch the phantom mites out with fingernails, and it went

0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:47.640
<v Speaker 1>on for her whole life. Travers actually started to itch

0:19:47.680 --> 0:19:51.760
<v Speaker 1>around her fortieth birthday and continued scratching at these delusional

0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:56.040
<v Speaker 1>itches until she died forty years later. Now, Unfortunately, since then,

0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:59.760
<v Speaker 1>other people with delusional parasitosis have pointed to Traver's work

0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:03.720
<v Speaker 1>evidence that in fact they do have an itchy parasitic

0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:07.760
<v Speaker 1>infection and not a psychiatric condition, which it actually is.

0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:10.200
<v Speaker 2>Well, I mean that also just sounds like torture.

0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:12.800
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, imagine thinking your body was covered in mites for

0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:15.480
<v Speaker 1>forty years. It would be like constant scabies, right.

0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:18.520
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I actually speaking of that you were talking about

0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:20.959
<v Speaker 2>you looked into scabies, right, like, can can you actually

0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:22.800
<v Speaker 2>explain it a little force? I feel like it's one

0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:26.200
<v Speaker 2>of those words that's used without people actually understanding it.

0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:29.920
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and weirdly, I've heard of people getting it recently.

0:20:30.000 --> 0:20:32.600
<v Speaker 1>But scabies is a skin condition that causes almost this

0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:37.280
<v Speaker 1>like unbearable itchness, and it's caused by tiny mites that

0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:39.560
<v Speaker 1>do burrow into your skin. Like. The mites have been

0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:44.080
<v Speaker 1>around forever, but it wasn't until the eighteen thirties eighteen

0:20:44.160 --> 0:20:48.560
<v Speaker 1>thirty four at the Hospital Saint Louis in Paris, that

0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:51.360
<v Speaker 1>the mites were discovered as the cause of scabies, and

0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:53.960
<v Speaker 1>at the time about sixty five percent of the beds

0:20:54.160 --> 0:20:57.400
<v Speaker 1>in the hospital were occupied by patients suffering from scabies.

0:20:57.800 --> 0:21:01.199
<v Speaker 1>It was a Corsican student named s Fernucci who had

0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:03.840
<v Speaker 1>been taught by peasant women of his home island how

0:21:03.880 --> 0:21:07.160
<v Speaker 1>to extract the mites with a pin, and he showed

0:21:07.200 --> 0:21:09.400
<v Speaker 1>the method to the doctors at the hospital.

0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:13.240
<v Speaker 2>So people actually had to be hospitalized for scabies.

0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:16.200
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it can be really debilitating, and scabies was also

0:21:16.200 --> 0:21:19.640
<v Speaker 1>a big problem during the American Revolution. This was before

0:21:19.680 --> 0:21:22.080
<v Speaker 1>they discovered the cause with skin mites. They called it

0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:25.719
<v Speaker 1>the itch. And in fact, it happens at Valley Forge

0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:29.320
<v Speaker 1>when George Washington is there and he issues this general

0:21:29.440 --> 0:21:33.320
<v Speaker 1>order that proclaims, quote being also informed, many men are

0:21:33.359 --> 0:21:36.679
<v Speaker 1>rendered unfit for duty by the itch. The commander in

0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:40.320
<v Speaker 1>chief orders and directs the regimental surgeons to look attentively

0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:42.600
<v Speaker 1>into this matter, and as soon as the men who

0:21:42.600 --> 0:21:45.679
<v Speaker 1>are affected with this disorder are properly disposed in huts,

0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:48.320
<v Speaker 1>to have them anoided for it. I mean, it's pretty crazy.

0:21:48.800 --> 0:21:51.360
<v Speaker 2>It's amazing that the itch was enough of a concern

0:21:51.440 --> 0:21:54.080
<v Speaker 2>in the middle of a very bloody war, Like it

0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:57.159
<v Speaker 2>just speaks to how bad these afflictions are. And so

0:21:57.200 --> 0:21:59.480
<v Speaker 2>I think one of the central questions of life mango

0:21:59.600 --> 0:22:02.800
<v Speaker 2>and here is to scratch or not to scratch?

0:22:03.440 --> 0:22:05.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, one of Hamlet's lesser known soliquy.

0:22:05.920 --> 0:22:08.640
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it was a really powerful one. So we all

0:22:08.640 --> 0:22:10.600
<v Speaker 2>have this reflex to scratch an itch. But it's a

0:22:10.640 --> 0:22:13.879
<v Speaker 2>big question, like to scratching help or hurt us? And

0:22:13.880 --> 0:22:17.359
<v Speaker 2>it's a question scientists are actually looking into this study

0:22:17.400 --> 0:22:19.760
<v Speaker 2>as recently as twenty twenty three. It was at Harvard

0:22:19.800 --> 0:22:22.480
<v Speaker 2>Medical School, and it showed for the first time that

0:22:22.520 --> 0:22:27.960
<v Speaker 2>a common skin bacterium Staphylococcus eras or s RAS, can

0:22:28.080 --> 0:22:31.760
<v Speaker 2>cause an itch by acting directly on nerve cells. So

0:22:31.800 --> 0:22:35.040
<v Speaker 2>this helps explain why common skin conditions like exima and

0:22:35.160 --> 0:22:40.159
<v Speaker 2>atopic dermatitis are often accompanied by persistent itch. So in

0:22:40.200 --> 0:22:43.679
<v Speaker 2>these conditions, the equilibrium of micro organisms that keep our

0:22:43.720 --> 0:22:48.200
<v Speaker 2>skin healthy is often thrown off balance, so it allows

0:22:48.240 --> 0:22:52.399
<v Speaker 2>this bacteria to flourish and so it can cause an

0:22:52.440 --> 0:22:56.280
<v Speaker 2>itch by instigating a molecular chain reaction that culminates in

0:22:56.320 --> 0:22:57.720
<v Speaker 2>the urge to scratch.

0:22:58.560 --> 0:23:01.800
<v Speaker 1>But why would a microbe like cause us to itch?

0:23:02.160 --> 0:23:04.960
<v Speaker 1>Evolutionary speaking, like what's in it for the bacterium?

0:23:05.760 --> 0:23:07.960
<v Speaker 2>It's a good question. I mean, researchers say that the

0:23:08.000 --> 0:23:12.080
<v Speaker 2>pathogens may be hijacking the itch sensation and other neural

0:23:12.119 --> 0:23:16.240
<v Speaker 2>reflexes to their advantage. So, for example, previous research has

0:23:16.280 --> 0:23:20.920
<v Speaker 2>shown that the TB Bacterium directly activates vagual neurons to

0:23:20.960 --> 0:23:24.360
<v Speaker 2>cause cough, which might enable it to spread more easily

0:23:24.480 --> 0:23:28.040
<v Speaker 2>from one host to another. There's another researcher that speculates

0:23:28.080 --> 0:23:31.560
<v Speaker 2>that quote the itch scratch cycle could benefit the microbes

0:23:31.600 --> 0:23:34.440
<v Speaker 2>and enable their spread to distant body sites and to

0:23:34.760 --> 0:23:37.200
<v Speaker 2>uninfected host That's interesting.

0:23:37.280 --> 0:23:39.119
<v Speaker 1>I feel like you always hear people say don't scratch,

0:23:39.160 --> 0:23:41.920
<v Speaker 1>it'll make it worse, But what it actually means is

0:23:41.960 --> 0:23:44.560
<v Speaker 1>like you'll make a better home for the bacteria. But

0:23:45.119 --> 0:23:49.040
<v Speaker 1>you know, sometimes scratching an itch is just a really harmless,

0:23:49.200 --> 0:23:50.120
<v Speaker 1>joyful pastime.

0:23:51.400 --> 0:23:53.080
<v Speaker 2>I mean, I'm guessing you're going somewhere with this, So

0:23:53.359 --> 0:23:54.480
<v Speaker 2>what do you mean exactly by that?

0:23:54.960 --> 0:23:56.879
<v Speaker 1>So have you ever heard of ruyi?

0:23:57.240 --> 0:23:57.920
<v Speaker 2>I don't think so.

0:23:58.320 --> 0:24:03.120
<v Speaker 1>It's basically a very fancy backscratcher. Really was a ceremonial

0:24:03.160 --> 0:24:06.800
<v Speaker 1>scepter used by Chinese nobles and monks, and it's revered

0:24:06.840 --> 0:24:10.640
<v Speaker 1>by Chinese people for its symbol of good fortune and longevity.

0:24:10.800 --> 0:24:13.880
<v Speaker 1>But originally it was just designed as a backscratching instrument.

0:24:14.160 --> 0:24:17.760
<v Speaker 2>So wait, so noblemen would take this scepter, this important

0:24:17.800 --> 0:24:20.840
<v Speaker 2>symbol of good fortune, and just start scratching themselves with it.

0:24:20.880 --> 0:24:22.680
<v Speaker 2>That just seems pretty casual.

0:24:23.400 --> 0:24:26.560
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so not exactly. The ruiz popularity peaked during the

0:24:26.640 --> 0:24:30.200
<v Speaker 1>King dynasty, and it was first used by the common

0:24:30.240 --> 0:24:33.600
<v Speaker 1>folk before Chinese emperors and imperial officers took a fancy

0:24:33.640 --> 0:24:36.159
<v Speaker 1>to it, and then to suit the imperial taste and

0:24:36.320 --> 0:24:40.199
<v Speaker 1>exquisite rui was manufactured by the nation's top craftsmen. But

0:24:40.640 --> 0:24:43.200
<v Speaker 1>over time the ruie stopped being used as a backscratcher,

0:24:43.680 --> 0:24:46.240
<v Speaker 1>and just because of its beautiful craftsmanship, it rose in

0:24:46.280 --> 0:24:49.800
<v Speaker 1>status as almost this preferred choice of imperial gifts.

0:24:51.280 --> 0:24:54.119
<v Speaker 2>So the ruery jumped classes from like practical tool for

0:24:54.160 --> 0:24:56.800
<v Speaker 2>their commoners to this symbol of grand Europe.

0:24:56.880 --> 0:25:00.000
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. But one other cool thing is that in Chinese

0:25:00.840 --> 0:25:05.080
<v Speaker 1>means quote everything goes well. And I feel like that's

0:25:05.119 --> 0:25:07.520
<v Speaker 1>the best way to articulate the feeling you get when

0:25:07.520 --> 0:25:08.800
<v Speaker 1>you're like scratching in it.

0:25:09.359 --> 0:25:11.919
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, when you're locked in on a good scratch, it

0:25:12.000 --> 0:25:14.359
<v Speaker 2>really is a beautiful moment. Like we should focus on

0:25:14.359 --> 0:25:17.080
<v Speaker 2>that for just a second, Like everything goes well when

0:25:17.080 --> 0:25:17.680
<v Speaker 2>that happens.

0:25:18.280 --> 0:25:19.800
<v Speaker 1>So the first time I wanted to scratch because it

0:25:19.800 --> 0:25:23.080
<v Speaker 1>feels good, not just because I'm feeling itchy, but right exactly,

0:25:24.000 --> 0:25:25.560
<v Speaker 1>I feel like I've got to get you a rui.

0:25:25.760 --> 0:25:27.560
<v Speaker 1>But before I do that, why don't we do a

0:25:27.640 --> 0:25:35.560
<v Speaker 1>quick fact though, So here's one to get us started.

0:25:35.680 --> 0:25:40.160
<v Speaker 1>In twenty sixteen, neurologists from Germany's University of Lubec discovered

0:25:40.160 --> 0:25:42.639
<v Speaker 1>that you can soothe an itch by tricking your brain

0:25:42.720 --> 0:25:45.119
<v Speaker 1>with a mirror. So if you look into a mirror

0:25:45.160 --> 0:25:48.200
<v Speaker 1>while itching and scratch the opposite side, the itch will

0:25:48.200 --> 0:25:50.879
<v Speaker 1>subside as if you're actually scratching at the point of

0:25:50.880 --> 0:25:53.280
<v Speaker 1>the itch. And apparently the trick can be used to

0:25:53.280 --> 0:25:55.919
<v Speaker 1>help people who have severe skin problems to stop them

0:25:55.920 --> 0:25:58.560
<v Speaker 1>from further hurting areas where their skin is healing.

0:26:00.200 --> 0:26:01.840
<v Speaker 2>Are well, here's a question that a lot of cat

0:26:01.880 --> 0:26:06.120
<v Speaker 2>owners want answered. Why do cats love clawing at your furniture?

0:26:06.160 --> 0:26:07.920
<v Speaker 2>And I guess the question I would ask is why

0:26:07.920 --> 0:26:10.920
<v Speaker 2>do you have a cat? But either way, it turns

0:26:10.960 --> 0:26:13.439
<v Speaker 2>out there, yeah, there's so many questions here, but it

0:26:13.480 --> 0:26:16.000
<v Speaker 2>turns out there are more than a few reasons. So

0:26:16.080 --> 0:26:18.159
<v Speaker 2>one is the scrape off the nail tip so that

0:26:18.200 --> 0:26:21.199
<v Speaker 2>they can grow fresh sharper nails. And another is that

0:26:21.240 --> 0:26:24.840
<v Speaker 2>apparently all that scratching works like a massage, so after

0:26:24.880 --> 0:26:27.919
<v Speaker 2>sleeping for sixteen hours a day, all that pawing and

0:26:28.000 --> 0:26:30.560
<v Speaker 2>clawing helps them work out the kinks and their back

0:26:30.640 --> 0:26:34.639
<v Speaker 2>muscles actually, but the main reason, according to cat scientists,

0:26:34.760 --> 0:26:38.320
<v Speaker 2>is it's territorial. So the scratching leaves marks to let

0:26:38.359 --> 0:26:41.680
<v Speaker 2>other cats and humans know who really owns the sofa,

0:26:42.000 --> 0:26:44.439
<v Speaker 2>as well as a personal scent that comes off, you know,

0:26:44.520 --> 0:26:45.600
<v Speaker 2>from their papads.

0:26:45.880 --> 0:26:48.080
<v Speaker 1>I mean, the territorial stuff makes sense, But like I

0:26:48.160 --> 0:26:51.840
<v Speaker 1>never thought of like scratching as like recovery for cats

0:26:51.840 --> 0:26:52.800
<v Speaker 1>who are sleeping a lot.

0:26:53.160 --> 0:26:55.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I totally didn't think about that either.

0:26:56.320 --> 0:26:58.880
<v Speaker 1>So did you know that certain fruits and vegetables can

0:26:58.880 --> 0:27:01.560
<v Speaker 1>make your mouth itch? And this is according to New

0:27:01.640 --> 0:27:04.919
<v Speaker 1>York mags the cut. It's related to allergies, So if

0:27:04.960 --> 0:27:07.719
<v Speaker 1>you're allergic to tree pollen, there's a good chance that

0:27:07.920 --> 0:27:10.919
<v Speaker 1>carrots and kiwis will be a problem. If you're allergic

0:27:10.960 --> 0:27:14.639
<v Speaker 1>to summer grasses, tomato and watermelon can make your mouth itchy,

0:27:14.920 --> 0:27:17.480
<v Speaker 1>And if you have trouble with autumn weeds, apples and

0:27:17.480 --> 0:27:20.480
<v Speaker 1>bananas have proteins that trigger those same allergies.

0:27:21.040 --> 0:27:22.720
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I hadn't thought about it, but I feel like

0:27:22.760 --> 0:27:26.719
<v Speaker 2>I actually get that from certain certain foods, like pineapple.

0:27:26.760 --> 0:27:28.520
<v Speaker 2>After I ate it, sometimes I just feel like something

0:27:28.520 --> 0:27:30.200
<v Speaker 2>has like cut up my tongue.

0:27:30.200 --> 0:27:31.800
<v Speaker 1>Do you know what I'm talking about?

0:27:31.960 --> 0:27:33.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I don't know if that's the same thing, But

0:27:33.560 --> 0:27:35.600
<v Speaker 2>I think I'm just trying to say I relate to it.

0:27:36.000 --> 0:27:38.040
<v Speaker 2>I'm just trying to relate to what you're saying, mango.

0:27:38.560 --> 0:27:40.439
<v Speaker 2>But all right, well I got another one. So in

0:27:40.480 --> 0:27:43.000
<v Speaker 2>the run up to the Olympics, the French released a

0:27:43.080 --> 0:27:47.320
<v Speaker 2>scratch and sniff stamp featuring the baguett. The wonderfully Aromatic

0:27:47.359 --> 0:27:50.240
<v Speaker 2>stamp was released on the feast day of Saint Honore,

0:27:50.600 --> 0:27:54.120
<v Speaker 2>the patron saint of Baker's, along with an official statement

0:27:54.160 --> 0:27:57.600
<v Speaker 2>from the Post Office that proclaimed, quote, the baguette, the

0:27:57.640 --> 0:28:00.119
<v Speaker 2>bread of our daily lives, is the symbol of our

0:28:00.000 --> 0:28:03.639
<v Speaker 2>our guesstronomy and the jewel of our culture. But as

0:28:03.640 --> 0:28:05.879
<v Speaker 2>The New York Times joked, there is no word on

0:28:05.960 --> 0:28:07.760
<v Speaker 2>if a croissant stamp will follow.

0:28:08.600 --> 0:28:12.520
<v Speaker 1>I feel like, just like smelling fresh bread from a

0:28:12.560 --> 0:28:14.760
<v Speaker 1>sticker would make me want to buy like a loaf

0:28:14.800 --> 0:28:15.440
<v Speaker 1>of fresh.

0:28:15.160 --> 0:28:17.440
<v Speaker 2>Bread, like totally good marketing.

0:28:17.720 --> 0:28:20.560
<v Speaker 1>So here's something I learned from our old palasin mental flaws.

0:28:20.720 --> 0:28:24.720
<v Speaker 1>The phrase from scratch, like baking something from scratch, weirdly

0:28:24.800 --> 0:28:27.840
<v Speaker 1>comes from sports. So the idea of starting from scratch

0:28:27.920 --> 0:28:30.159
<v Speaker 1>came from a scratch line that was scratched into the

0:28:30.240 --> 0:28:32.840
<v Speaker 1>ground as the starting line for a race, and it

0:28:32.920 --> 0:28:35.600
<v Speaker 1>kind of evolved to starting at the very beginning and

0:28:35.680 --> 0:28:39.320
<v Speaker 1>eventually starting without help. So when you bake something from scratch,

0:28:39.560 --> 0:28:40.760
<v Speaker 1>you're starting from the origin.

0:28:41.600 --> 0:28:44.280
<v Speaker 2>That makes sense, all right. Well, here is a really

0:28:44.320 --> 0:28:48.240
<v Speaker 2>crazy one about a man named Bill Morgan from Melbourne, Australia.

0:28:48.440 --> 0:28:50.959
<v Speaker 2>In nineteen ninety nine, Bill had a heart attack and

0:28:51.000 --> 0:28:53.800
<v Speaker 2>fell into a coma for about two weeks. He was

0:28:53.840 --> 0:28:57.120
<v Speaker 2>just thirty seven years old, but somehow he miraculously woke

0:28:57.200 --> 0:29:00.120
<v Speaker 2>up from it and to celebrate his survival, he went

0:29:00.160 --> 0:29:02.880
<v Speaker 2>out and bought a scratch lottery card and I guess

0:29:02.920 --> 0:29:05.640
<v Speaker 2>in Australia you can win other prizes, but he won

0:29:05.760 --> 0:29:10.000
<v Speaker 2>a car worth about twenty seven thousand dollars. Anyway, when

0:29:10.040 --> 0:29:12.280
<v Speaker 2>the local news heard about the incident, the story of

0:29:12.360 --> 0:29:15.479
<v Speaker 2>him coming back to life and winning the lottery, they

0:29:15.520 --> 0:29:18.479
<v Speaker 2>asked him to recreate this for a news segment, so

0:29:18.480 --> 0:29:21.320
<v Speaker 2>they filmed him going into a shop buying a ticket

0:29:21.480 --> 0:29:24.959
<v Speaker 2>and scratching the foil, and when he did, he won again.

0:29:25.120 --> 0:29:27.600
<v Speaker 2>This time he won a two hundred and fifty thousand

0:29:27.680 --> 0:29:29.560
<v Speaker 2>dollars jackpot. Is that not nuts?

0:29:30.040 --> 0:29:32.320
<v Speaker 1>That is nuts? It's almost like worth the coma.

0:29:32.880 --> 0:29:35.840
<v Speaker 2>Ye, exactly, there's a short list of things that are

0:29:36.520 --> 0:29:39.400
<v Speaker 2>worth the coma. But yeah, you're probably right on this one.

0:29:39.840 --> 0:29:42.760
<v Speaker 1>I actually had a fact about scratch lottery tickets too.

0:29:42.800 --> 0:29:45.600
<v Speaker 1>It's about these two artists who make sculptures from discarded

0:29:45.640 --> 0:29:50.560
<v Speaker 1>scratch off tickets to represent discarded dreams. So they used

0:29:50.560 --> 0:29:53.160
<v Speaker 1>like forty thousand dollars of discarded tickets to make a

0:29:53.280 --> 0:29:56.680
<v Speaker 1>dream car sculpture, and they use another seventy thousand dollars

0:29:56.680 --> 0:29:59.120
<v Speaker 1>of discarded tickets to build a dream home. But I

0:29:59.160 --> 0:30:01.520
<v Speaker 1>honestly don't think I can beat that coma fact. It's

0:30:01.560 --> 0:30:04.280
<v Speaker 1>too good. I'm gonna hand you the trophy.

0:30:04.040 --> 0:30:06.200
<v Speaker 2>Right now, Arnie to Warney, I got a bunch of

0:30:06.240 --> 0:30:08.640
<v Speaker 2>coma facts for future episodes because I just feel like

0:30:08.680 --> 0:30:10.960
<v Speaker 2>they always they always take it. But thank you. It

0:30:11.040 --> 0:30:13.080
<v Speaker 2>is nice to end an episode about scratching an itch

0:30:13.120 --> 0:30:16.360
<v Speaker 2>and feeling this satisfied. So we'll be back again next

0:30:16.360 --> 0:30:18.400
<v Speaker 2>week with a brand new episode of part Time Genius

0:30:18.400 --> 0:30:21.360
<v Speaker 2>in the meantime from Dylan, Mary Mango, and Me. Thank

0:30:21.400 --> 0:30:22.400
<v Speaker 2>you so much for listening.

0:30:34.600 --> 0:30:37.920
<v Speaker 1>Part Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio.

0:30:38.400 --> 0:30:42.360
<v Speaker 1>This show is hosted by Will Pearson and Me mongas Chatikler,

0:30:42.800 --> 0:30:46.760
<v Speaker 1>and research by our good pal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's

0:30:46.760 --> 0:30:49.680
<v Speaker 1>episode was engineered and produced by the wonderful of Dylan

0:30:49.760 --> 0:30:53.440
<v Speaker 1>Fagan with support from Tyler Klang. The show is executive

0:30:53.440 --> 0:30:57.000
<v Speaker 1>produced for iHeart by Katrina Norvell and Ali Perry, with

0:30:57.080 --> 0:31:00.800
<v Speaker 1>social media support from Sasha Gay, Trustee r Pots and

0:31:00.920 --> 0:31:05.000
<v Speaker 1>buy any Shorty. For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio,

0:31:05.440 --> 0:31:09.520
<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

0:31:09.560 --> 0:31:10.479
<v Speaker 1>to your favorite shows.