1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 2: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 2: Chuck and Jerry's here too, and we're going to rope 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 2: you into interest in ropes in this episode the Stuff 5 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 2: You Should Know on Ropes. 6 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, I had this idea, and this is one of 7 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: those where it was a very distinct situation that made 8 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: me think of it, which was on our trip to 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: Nantucket when Emily and I went there for the first 10 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: time not too long ago. We did a sailing trip 11 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: on a kind of an old school boat sailing boat, 12 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: and they let me. I volunteered to help out. So 13 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: I was hoisting sails and raising jibs and things. I 14 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: don't know if that's proper terminology. And I had that 15 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: rope in my hand and I kind of looked at 16 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: it and it was the old school, you know, rope rope, 17 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: not synthetic. It was clearly made from natural fibers and 18 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: it was braided and very thick and heavy, and I 19 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: was like, man, rope, It's like, what a what an 20 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: undersung invention? 21 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 2: Had you taken mushrooms? 22 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: No, not at all, Well, maybe microdoes, but it was 23 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: definitely one of those moments where I was like, what 24 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: an undersung invention? Like, if you pulled one hundred people, 25 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: you would get lots of wheels or maybe gears or 26 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: fire or sliced bread or the toaster or whatever. But 27 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: I doubt if you would get more than like a 28 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: ten percent unless you work in like a sailing industry 29 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 1: or another industry that heavily relies on rope. I doubt 30 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: if you would get a ton of people that said, yeah, rope, 31 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: that's up there is one of the greatest inventions of 32 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: all time. But it has touched so much of humanity 33 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: and the forward progress of humanity. 34 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you'd make a great point. I hadn't 35 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 2: thought about it either. I probably would not have said rope. 36 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 2: But Julie helps us with this, I think. And I mean, like, 37 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 2: if you want to till some like really hard ground 38 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 2: to try to grow crops in it, try to do 39 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 2: that with an ox and a plow, but no rope. Sucker. 40 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, if you want to shoot a wild boar from 41 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: thirty feet away, what are you gonna shoot it with? 42 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: You're gonna shoot it with a bow that has a 43 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: kind of rope. And you know we should point out 44 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:29,639 Speaker 1: that what we're talking about is cordage. So any kind 45 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,679 Speaker 1: of bundled fiber that's braided together, that's all sort of 46 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: a kind of rope. We wouldn't have had musical instruments, 47 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: we wouldn't have had undersea cabling to make the Internet possible. 48 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: And then what sailing came around that you know, you 49 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: think about, Yeah, big deal, it helps sailing, But sailing 50 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:49,639 Speaker 1: is what helped discover the world. 51 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, you got to think of it beyond the America's Cup. 52 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 1: Yeah for sure. 53 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 2: So like you said, let's talk about rope. Let's get 54 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,119 Speaker 2: into it, shall we do it? I learned a lot 55 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 2: in this and like you said, rope is a type 56 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 2: of cordage, not all cordages rope. Rope is essentially made 57 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 2: of different types of smaller ropes bundled together, like you said, braided. 58 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 2: You can also twist them. And you can make it 59 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 2: out of everything from synthetic fibers like jute or sisol. 60 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 2: Sisol comes from the agave plant. Did you know that 61 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 2: I did? Oh? I didn't. And you can make it 62 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 2: out of wire a little bit. You can make it 63 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 2: out of wire. There's all sorts of stuff you can 64 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 2: make it out of But the point is is that 65 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 2: all of them follow essentially the same method of making 66 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 2: a rope. That if you strip away all like the 67 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 2: bells and whistles that you have today, it's they're putting 68 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 2: this stuff together in the same way that people put 69 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 2: it together from the very outset of rope making. 70 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, I think that's the other thing 71 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: that appealed to me was I was looking at this 72 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: rope and saw the like an individual strand was frayed perhaps, 73 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: and I saw how just like human hair like that was. 74 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: And I just love the idea that somebody was like, 75 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: you know, this thing weak, but put all this together 76 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: in it strong. 77 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very clever. I never thought about it either. 78 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,039 Speaker 2: But the way that rope is made strong and stable 79 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 2: in all of that is because they're twisted in opposing 80 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 2: like the fibers are twisted in opposing directions, held to tension, 81 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 2: and that I think the impression I have is that 82 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:34,919 Speaker 2: you're actually storing somehow some energy or force in the 83 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 2: rope when you start braiding it and twisting it under tension. 84 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 1: Yeah, it creates something that has high torsional stability, so 85 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: it can hold its shape even though rope is moving 86 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: around and being tied into knots, and it's constantly twisting 87 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: around and getting pulled on. And you know, it depends 88 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:55,479 Speaker 1: on what kind of rope you have. But you know, 89 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: if you see these those giant ropes that they still 90 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 1: use to tie in like a cruise ship or something, 91 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:03,839 Speaker 1: I mean, it's still the same stuff. It's fascinating to me. 92 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 2: That's right. Let's talk specific jargon, baby, let's I love it. 93 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: I'll let some jargon. 94 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 2: All of this stuff is cordage. Like we said, a 95 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,559 Speaker 2: cord is a rope that's three sixteenths of an inch 96 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 2: or less. That's right, use metric ts. It's still a chord. 97 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 2: You have to use inches for. 98 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: That, that's right. A rope is a rope if it 99 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: is above three sixteenths of an inch. And then a 100 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,280 Speaker 1: cable is when you have several ropes that are twisted together. 101 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:35,840 Speaker 1: And these can be made from all kinds of things, 102 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: like we said, obviously the organic fibers you mentioned some. 103 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: We also have hemp, you may have said hemp and cotton. 104 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: We'll get into synthetics. When that came along, it was 105 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: a real game changer because that provided a little stretch 106 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: so nylon and polyester and polypropylene, stuff like that, and 107 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:58,480 Speaker 1: then wire wires usually steel. And you know, we might 108 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: call something like that a cable, but it's still the 109 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: same concept that it's a kind of rope, as a 110 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: steel cable is or a steel rope is basically a cable. 111 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, wire rope is rope. A cable is a bunch 112 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 2: of ropes. You can make it out of sisol if 113 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,359 Speaker 2: you wanted to a cable, sure, and then a bunch 114 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 2: of cables twisted together is called the super duper rope. 115 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: Right, that's right. Good jargon. 116 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 2: So let's keep going. Let's talk jargon in as far 117 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 2: as construction goes. You said you can braid ropes, you 118 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 2: can also twist them. I never thought about this, and 119 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 2: I watched two videos. The one is it was a 120 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 2: how It's made video. God bless how it's made. Because 121 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 2: if you ever run into a written or verbal explanation 122 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 2: of something where you're like what, go find the how 123 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,280 Speaker 2: it's made version and you'll see it with your own eyes. 124 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: They've always done a great job. There's a lot, in fact, 125 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: there's a lot of good rope making videos online. 126 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 2: I watched like three or four others they're mesmerizing. 127 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: They got far. 128 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 2: There's another one we found called how Do They Braid Rope? 129 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 2: And it's from the National Film Board of Canada, the 130 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 2: Boards of Canada, and it doesn't even have narration. The 131 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 2: only soundtrack is the factory sounds like that really is mesmerizing. 132 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 2: And so you see the two different ways rope is made, 133 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 2: and the first how it's made one uses twist, which 134 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 2: is a conventional rope. And as I was saying, when 135 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 2: I started talking, I never realized that most ropes I've 136 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 2: ever seen in my life are twisted. I always just 137 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 2: assumed they were braided, and that was just wrong, wrong, wrong. 138 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, And when you look at them up close, though, 139 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: you can definitely see the difference between a braid and 140 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: a twist. I love in twisted rope. This is when 141 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: you have twisted strands that are counter twisting around each other. 142 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:45,720 Speaker 1: Usually it's three strands, and that's called a hawser laid twist. 143 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: But you can also have a four strander, which is 144 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: shroud laid. And that's if you've ever had a rope. 145 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: And then you've seen at the end of the rope 146 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: a little guy right in the center of it running 147 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: through the core. That's the fourth strand. It's like a 148 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: little core at the center of it all, and that 149 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: is the child blade. 150 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 2: Yes, and we should say another piece of jargon. You 151 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 2: don't make rope or produce rope or anything like that. 152 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: You lay rope, that's right, just like you lay a cable. 153 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I never thought about that. I thought that 154 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 2: meant like actually putting it down. But yeah, no, totally. 155 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 1: So what about the braid. 156 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 2: The braid is something to see. Watching a braided rope 157 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 2: being created is amazing because there's all these little spools 158 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 2: during this amazing like ballroom dance with one another. It's 159 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 2: really cool. 160 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: Yeah. 161 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 2: But they braiding is where you take a bunch of 162 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 2: strands and you braid, well, you braid them together into 163 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:47,319 Speaker 2: an interlocking structure. Usually it has a core, and the 164 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 2: core can be twisted and have like a braided shell 165 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:53,839 Speaker 2: around it. And when you're braiding stuff, you can use 166 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:58,079 Speaker 2: way more strands than you can usually with a twisted rope. 167 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, and they're generally a little longer and more appliable 168 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,320 Speaker 1: than a twisted rope. But I like a good old 169 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 1: school rope. 170 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,080 Speaker 2: I do too, A good natural fiber rope that you 171 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 2: can't even get your thumb and fingers to touch because 172 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 2: it's so thick. That's amazing. 173 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: Agreed. They've been using rope for probably hundreds of thousands 174 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: of years. Part of the problem with specifically dating rope 175 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: is that the early ropes were obviously organic in their 176 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: nature and their fibers, and so that stuff's not going 177 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: to stick around forever. We do have some, you know, 178 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: kind of cool evidence, like thirty four thousand years ago 179 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: in the Republic of Georgia where they saw flax fibers 180 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: embedded in clay, and so that was like, all right, 181 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: it's embedded in clay where it's sort of preserved, and 182 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: these were twisted and knotted up. So clearly people were 183 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: using rope back then. But there's other evidence of older 184 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: stuff too. 185 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, this is like implicit evidence. It's not direct, 186 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 2: like finding an actual piece of cordage. This is like 187 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 2: when they found a weaving tool years old in Germany. 188 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 2: It's made of ivory. Essentially, it was designed to keep 189 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 2: the strand separate when braiding or twisting the rope together, 190 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 2: which is still a technique that's used today. 191 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: Yeah. 192 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 2: And then also they found beads, stone and shell beads 193 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 2: that start appearing in the prehistoric record three hundred thousand 194 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 2: years back. And I mean, try to wear a bead 195 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 2: around your neck without some sort of cordage. You can't 196 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 2: do it. 197 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:29,720 Speaker 1: No, those puka shells are just falling all over the floor. 198 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean maybe you could hold one under your chin, 199 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 2: between your chin and your neck, but who wants to 200 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 2: walk around like that? 201 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,679 Speaker 1: Just use a cord, that's right. The idea for all 202 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: of this probably came from early on when they use 203 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: roots and vines for stuff like this. And you know, 204 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: I've got my camp up in the North Georgia Mountains. 205 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: There are some trees that have a like a like 206 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: a vine hanging down that like it might as well 207 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: be just nature's rope, you know. 208 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 2: For sure? What is I know exactly what you're talking about, 209 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:03,560 Speaker 2: but I've never stopped and wondered what it was. 210 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:07,240 Speaker 1: I guess it's a vine sure, Like it can't be 211 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: a root if it's coming down like from up top right. 212 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, I didn't know if you knew what kind of 213 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:12,800 Speaker 2: vine it was. 214 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 1: No, I don't know what kind of vine it is, 215 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 1: But you know, you can sometimes you can like swing 216 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: on that stuff if it's sure if it's attached, but 217 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:20,360 Speaker 1: be careful. 218 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 2: I mean, I guess that's what Tarzan used in the 219 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 2: old movies, right. 220 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, he wasn't carrying around rope and slaying it over 221 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: tree branches. 222 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 2: No. The other thing about rope is that it seems 223 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 2: to have been developed pretty much universally, Like like every group, 224 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 2: including ones that were never in contact with one another, 225 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 2: figured out how to make rope on their own. Yeah, 226 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:47,680 Speaker 2: and then they just used whatever local types of fiber 227 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 2: was available. Like in North America, indigenous people used sinew 228 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,800 Speaker 2: like tendons of say deer, I saw red deer sinew 229 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:03,440 Speaker 2: rope making video. Yeah, yeah, hair, papyrus and reed in Egypt, 230 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:09,439 Speaker 2: coconut fiber and bamboo in Southeast Asia. Like essentially you're like, okay, 231 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 2: can you make fibers out of this? Yes, well then 232 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:13,080 Speaker 2: you can make a rope out of it too. 233 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:16,679 Speaker 1: Yeah. And you know, like we mentioned stuff like you know, 234 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,960 Speaker 1: to string a bow obviously, but also making netting to 235 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,320 Speaker 1: catch fish, shelter to weave together, you know, rope to 236 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: help like lift up a heavy frame of a hut 237 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,080 Speaker 1: or something, hauling stuff, lashing things together. And this is 238 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:36,200 Speaker 1: what I didn't really think of. But early bridges were 239 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: made of rope, And so if you want to get 240 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: from here to there and you can't do it, one 241 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:43,400 Speaker 1: of the earliest things you could do is build a 242 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 1: rope bridge. 243 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:48,439 Speaker 2: I would just not have gone across well, or I'd 244 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:52,080 Speaker 2: have to go around. But there was a Herodotus wrote 245 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:56,800 Speaker 2: in its histories about Xerxes, the first army in the 246 00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 2: Second Persian War. I failed to look where this like 247 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,720 Speaker 2: when this took place. But this was ancient Greece, obviously, 248 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 2: But they apparently bridged something like a kilometer wide straight 249 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 2: using rope and their ships to basically stretch the rope 250 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:17,679 Speaker 2: and then put boards over these two or three rope 251 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 2: strands that were going all the way across the strait 252 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 2: to go invade grease. 253 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:26,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, could you supprobl So rope is being used for 254 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:29,640 Speaker 1: a ton of things for you know, many thousands of years. 255 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: Then all of a sudden, around thirty five hundred BC, 256 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 1: sailing became a thing. Yeah, and all of a sudden 257 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,440 Speaker 1: it was on. Everyone was like, all right, rope is 258 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 1: the key to all of this happening. Can't raise a 259 00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 1: sail without rope, can't tie up a can't more a 260 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 1: ship or can't anchor a ship without rope, So it's 261 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: key to what we're doing. And you know, people sailed 262 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: around for a little while, but then the fifteenth century 263 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: rolls around and the Age of Discovery starts unfolding, and 264 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, if you were a nation that 265 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:06,199 Speaker 1: was really good at sailing, you could and they did, 266 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 1: you could go around the world and start claiming places 267 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:10,760 Speaker 1: as your own. 268 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:15,880 Speaker 2: Yes, and so rope became a really hot commodity during 269 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 2: the Age of Discovery or the Age of colonialism. I guess, yeah, 270 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 2: there was another industry that came along after, say, like 271 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 2: the navies of the world had started sailing, and that 272 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 2: was the whaling industry. For sure. The whaling industry needed 273 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 2: way more rope than a typical like you know, battleship 274 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 2: or cutter needed, because in addition to all the ropes 275 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 2: that like your typical sailing vessel needs, they also needed 276 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 2: lots and lots of rope, strong rope to connect to 277 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 2: the harpoon that they would harpoon a whale with and 278 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 2: then drag the whale around with them for the rest 279 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 2: of the time they were at sea. And there was 280 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 2: a I guess in Moby Dick. Still haven't read it yet. 281 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 2: Melville talks about how the rope was coiled so precisely 282 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 2: by like a professional rope layer in the bow of 283 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,600 Speaker 2: the boat. This rope that was connected to the harpoon 284 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 2: because if there was any kind of like kink or 285 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 2: loop or something in it, it would just take your 286 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,200 Speaker 2: arm clean off. Like if you got your arm caught 287 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 2: in this thing and a whale was rushing away with 288 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 2: a harpoon in it, it would your arm was just gone. 289 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know what I'm remembering now too. This 290 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: was another reason for rope because in Nantucket they had 291 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 1: the whaling museum there. Oh ye, So I went to 292 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: the whaling museum, which I thought was super interesting. And 293 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: I've never been more close than reading Moby Dick. Like 294 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 1: I'm right there. I'm just I'm working on a book 295 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: right now. The next horror book coming out soon from 296 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: Keith Rossen, the guy who had been reading lately, is 297 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 1: called chron By the way. It's great, but Moby Dick 298 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: is right there. And the thing that really pushed me 299 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: over the edge is I just saw that Rob Delaney, Uh, 300 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:03,320 Speaker 1: you know the actor and comedian Rob Delaney. He's got 301 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:08,200 Speaker 1: a podcast out now called Exploring the Greats that I 302 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,800 Speaker 1: haven't listened to yet. But he and a professor named 303 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 1: Hester Bloom are doing Moby Dick one chapter at a time, 304 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:18,640 Speaker 1: and I love Rob Delaney. I was like, you know what, 305 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: I think everything in life is telling me to finally 306 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: read Moby Dick and maybe listen to this podcast as 307 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 1: I go along and be a good way to do it. 308 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 2: Okay, do it. 309 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: So I'm right, as soon as I finished Keith Rossen's book, 310 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 1: I'm gonna I think I'm going to dive into Moby Dick. 311 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 2: Fine, you can do it. Man. 312 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 1: Should we take a break, Yeah. 313 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 2: Let's take a break. 314 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: All right, We're gonna take a break and we're going 315 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 1: to talk about how rope is made right after this, So. 316 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:03,680 Speaker 2: Chuck, like we were saying that ivory weaving tool forty 317 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 2: thousand years ago in Germany, it's essentially like it's still 318 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:13,119 Speaker 2: definitely a part of how rope making was made traditionally 319 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,240 Speaker 2: and then still today. But there is essentially if you 320 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:20,919 Speaker 2: were making a rope, say pre twentieth century, yeah, you 321 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 2: were following essentially four steps. You have to prepare the fibers. 322 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:26,480 Speaker 2: You spin those fibers in a yarn. You twist the 323 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 2: yarn and the strands, and then you twist the strands 324 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:31,439 Speaker 2: and a rope, because, like I was saying before, a 325 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:38,480 Speaker 2: rope is actually just increasingly large ropes twisted or braided together. 326 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:42,199 Speaker 1: Yeah, and when we say yarn, that's a term that 327 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:45,640 Speaker 1: you might think of as twine if you like bought 328 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 1: it in a store. We're not talking about like crafting yarn. No, 329 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 1: but it just maybe ounts yeah, for sure, but maybe 330 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: think twine and we'll go over these steps. We're not 331 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: going to get like super super in the weeds because 332 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,760 Speaker 1: we've learned that, you know, trying to describe a like 333 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,639 Speaker 1: a process, a factory process with just your mouth, is 334 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,399 Speaker 1: that the easiest thing to do. So I would encourage 335 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: everyone to go look up a rope walk on YouTube, 336 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:12,040 Speaker 1: and like we said, there are a bunch of different videos. 337 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,400 Speaker 1: Just pick one of them. And if that doesn't fancy, 338 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: that isn't your fancy, isn't your fancy, cat fancy, I 339 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:25,639 Speaker 1: love your markets just to shout out cat fancy. If 340 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:27,680 Speaker 1: that one's not your liking, then there will no doubt 341 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 1: be another one. But we're talking about like up until 342 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,920 Speaker 1: the seventeen hundreds, they used something called a rope walk, 343 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:39,080 Speaker 1: which was a configuration of machines at opposite ends of 344 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: a long space. Sometimes it was an open field. Sometimes 345 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,680 Speaker 1: it was a big, huge open like barn, but you 346 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:48,960 Speaker 1: had a flaming tarpet nearby, which we'll see why in 347 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: a minute. Maybe you had a water wheel helping out. 348 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:56,159 Speaker 1: But it was generally human powered, and it needed to 349 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,439 Speaker 1: be long because they were making long ropes. And in 350 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:00,080 Speaker 1: order to make a long rope, you just have to 351 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 1: walk this thing down hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of 352 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,159 Speaker 1: feet until it's twisted up. 353 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 2: Yep. I mean that's essentially that. And you have to 354 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 2: start with fiber. And again whatever local fiber you had works, 355 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,720 Speaker 2: But do you need fiber to spin yarn? And yarn 356 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 2: is step two. Fibers you have to prepare. You do 357 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 2: all sorts of things to them, like you beat them, 358 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,440 Speaker 2: you soak them, you call them names, and then once 359 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:30,360 Speaker 2: they dry out, you run them through like giant combs. 360 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,520 Speaker 2: You pull them through combs to basically individuate them. Right, Yeah, 361 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,960 Speaker 2: then you start spinning those fibers into yarn. Now you're 362 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,679 Speaker 2: in the rope making this for sure. 363 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:44,000 Speaker 1: So you've got a spinning wheel At this point, you've 364 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,680 Speaker 1: got a person with a bundle of fibers coiled around 365 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: their waist. It's hooked to a spindle, and then they 366 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:54,680 Speaker 1: just very slowly walk backward, feeding those fibers in until 367 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:56,680 Speaker 1: you get to the end of the rope walk. And 368 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 1: then you have your yarn. But in order to make 369 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:02,560 Speaker 1: that yarn into the strand, you got to soak that in, 370 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:06,640 Speaker 1: tar ring it through a roller. And then you've got 371 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:10,080 Speaker 1: like a usable yarn or twine that you roll around 372 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: or wind around a big bobbin. 373 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:15,760 Speaker 2: Yes, and now that you have yarn, which is essentially 374 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 2: just think of it as a bunch of really really 375 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:22,400 Speaker 2: thin ropes. Right. Now that you have your yarn, you've 376 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,320 Speaker 2: got your first component of rope. Now you take the 377 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,440 Speaker 2: yarn and you twist it or you braid it into strands. Right, 378 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 2: so you take a bunch of different lines of yarn, 379 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:34,560 Speaker 2: you pull it through a tube which smooths the fibers, 380 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:38,200 Speaker 2: compacts it, right, and then you also have it under tension. 381 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,320 Speaker 2: You want it to be tense. And again you a 382 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:45,800 Speaker 2: machine basically pulls it down the length of this rope walk, 383 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 2: which are really long. I don't know if you said 384 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 2: it or not. Some of them are like a thousand 385 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 2: feet long. 386 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,800 Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, it depends on how long you need your rope. Sure, yeah. 387 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 2: And then there's a forming machine that essentially separates the yarn, 388 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 2: and on the other side of the forming machine is 389 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,719 Speaker 2: whatever machine they used to twist or braid it. And 390 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,919 Speaker 2: then as you just keep walking backward that more and 391 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,920 Speaker 2: more yarn gets turned into rope where it all comes 392 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:13,199 Speaker 2: together at the center and it's twisted or braided. You 393 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:15,400 Speaker 2: get to the other end. Now you have a strand. 394 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 2: You do that a bunch of times. Then you have 395 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 2: the components you need to make a rope. 396 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:22,879 Speaker 1: That's right, and you're going to twist those strands into rope. 397 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 1: Three or four of those strands are going to stretch 398 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: between a couple of twisting machines and they have Again 399 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:31,440 Speaker 1: you got to really look this thing up because all 400 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 1: of this is possible, of course, because of two other 401 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:37,240 Speaker 1: key inventions, the wheel and the gear. Yeah, because it's 402 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: you know, it looks like a sort of like a 403 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:43,760 Speaker 1: little horse cart moving very slowly backward. So that's on wheels, 404 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,200 Speaker 1: and then you have these gears moving in different directions. 405 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:52,440 Speaker 1: That's making a thing that all these strands are tied 406 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:55,679 Speaker 1: to goes in a circle, so it just starts twisting it. 407 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:00,199 Speaker 1: And you got to have this other thing though, Man, 408 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,000 Speaker 1: I forgot about the cone. Yeah, this cone that's got 409 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,920 Speaker 1: these three notches, like you know, one at the top 410 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: and two on the sides. Like if you looked at 411 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: it from the front, it would be a triangle. But 412 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: it just runs through those I guess cutouts from the 413 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 1: cone to kind of keep everything from getting like twisted 414 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:18,359 Speaker 1: in a bad way. 415 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:21,760 Speaker 2: Yeah. So on the on the back side of that cone, 416 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 2: which is called the laying top, it's keeping all those 417 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 2: strands separated. On the front side of it, that's where 418 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,399 Speaker 2: the strands are being brought together and twisted into the rope. 419 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,200 Speaker 2: Right again, you just walk backward, you pull those strands 420 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,399 Speaker 2: through that processor that turn that twists them into rope, 421 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 2: and once you reach the end of the rope walk, 422 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 2: you've got a huge long length of rope that you 423 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 2: cut and you say presto. That's a tradition in rope making. 424 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 2: You have to shout presto when the rope is finished. Yeah. 425 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 1: It's really neat though, Like when you look at this 426 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:59,159 Speaker 1: big like rack of bobbins with like maybe dozens of 427 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:03,439 Speaker 1: I guess arns feeding through this little doughnut like tube 428 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:07,080 Speaker 1: to make a strand and then that all being twisted 429 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 1: together with another. You know, these are machines, but it's 430 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,080 Speaker 1: like the most basic machines you can have. It's a gear, 431 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 1: you know, twisting a thing in a circle. So it's 432 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:19,400 Speaker 1: like it's just I love the really ingenious lo fi 433 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: stuff like this. 434 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, that's what that how it's made video 435 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 2: features is an old rope walk. Apparently one of the 436 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:32,119 Speaker 2: oldest ones that's still around is in the Sweden city 437 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 2: of Karlskrona. It's from the eighteenth century. It's like a 438 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 2: thousand feet long three hundred meters and it's Sweden's longest building. 439 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:42,800 Speaker 2: Oh well, which makes sense. I mean, there's probably not 440 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:44,959 Speaker 2: a lot of buildings that are a thousand feet wide 441 00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:45,960 Speaker 2: in Sweden. 442 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 1: Probably just the no, never mind, bad joke, that's gonna say, 443 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:53,159 Speaker 1: the Toble run factory. That's Switzerland, though, isn't it. 444 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 2: Oh that was great, Chuck. I love that. There was 445 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,400 Speaker 2: a problem with this early rope up until about the 446 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 2: end of the eighteenth century, and that was you were 447 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,880 Speaker 2: pulling these strands through and they were all the same 448 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 2: length when they were twisted together. The problem is is 449 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,440 Speaker 2: that meant that the stuff on the outside was under 450 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:17,959 Speaker 2: higher tension than the stuff on the inside because they 451 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:21,240 Speaker 2: were all the same length. Yeah, don't look too deeply 452 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,360 Speaker 2: into it, just trust me. That's what happened, right, never 453 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,880 Speaker 2: thought about it. So that meant that these ropes were 454 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 2: more likely to fray and crack and in turn break, 455 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 2: and that you needed a really thick, heavy rope to 456 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 2: make up for that. And then this captain for the 457 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:40,359 Speaker 2: East India Company came along the same was Joseph Hudder. 458 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 2: Captain Joseph Hudder, and at the end of the eighteenth 459 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 2: century he created the forming plate, which is still very 460 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,520 Speaker 2: much in use today. And it is so simple and 461 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 2: it makes so much sense that I would love to 462 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,479 Speaker 2: just explain it real quick. Are you okay with that please? 463 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,360 Speaker 2: The forming plate is a disc flat disk and there's 464 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:02,160 Speaker 2: a bunch of consent circles drilled into it from made 465 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 2: out of individual holes. The fibers go through each of 466 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 2: those holes and then they all come together at a 467 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:14,040 Speaker 2: center point where they're twisted or braided right well, because 468 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:17,199 Speaker 2: the fibers going through the holes that make up the 469 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:21,160 Speaker 2: outer circles have to technically travel further to that center 470 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,639 Speaker 2: point because they're being bowed out. They have to go 471 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:28,040 Speaker 2: far out. And then in that means that the fibers 472 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:32,000 Speaker 2: used in the outside of the rope are longer than 473 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,760 Speaker 2: the fibers on the inside of the rope, which means 474 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:38,520 Speaker 2: that they're all under equal tension when the rope is finished. 475 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 2: And so basically, Joseph hutter made it quite possible for 476 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 2: much narrower, lighter ropes to do the job of heavier 477 00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 2: ropes because they resisted fraying and breaking because of the 478 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 2: different lengths of fiber used in them. 479 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:57,600 Speaker 1: Again, and genius Joseph uder It seems like one of 480 00:25:57,640 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: those guys. My brother's kind of one of these guys, 481 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:02,680 Speaker 1: and I have a good friend named John Wolf who 482 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 1: is one of these guys. Just really smart people that 483 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:09,760 Speaker 1: when presented with a almost like a mechanical problem like this, yeah, 484 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:12,439 Speaker 1: their brains can just see it in a way and say, well, 485 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 1: why don't you just do this? And that I think 486 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:17,360 Speaker 1: Josep Huttert might have been one of those guys where 487 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:18,679 Speaker 1: he's like, well, you should just do this. 488 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you're exactly right, because it's that it's 489 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:25,200 Speaker 2: that basic. Yeah, but it solves the problem so elegantly. 490 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:26,280 Speaker 2: It's it's beautiful. 491 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, but you got to have a certain kind of 492 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 1: brain to think that way. And I don't absolutely. 493 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 2: I'd be like, I still don't understand why the outer 494 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 2: edges are fraying, you know, when they're all the same length. 495 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:40,439 Speaker 1: A quick example is I have a system at my 496 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:43,120 Speaker 1: camp where it draws water out of the creek and 497 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:45,359 Speaker 1: there's a propane hot water heater so we can have 498 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:48,240 Speaker 1: like hot water and a sink. Awesome for washing dishes. 499 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:52,680 Speaker 1: And it wasn't It was too long of a pool 500 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 1: at one point, and the motor, I guess, was getting 501 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: weaker and it wasn't pulling far enough. And I was like, 502 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:57,879 Speaker 1: I don't know what to do, man, this thing well pull. 503 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:00,240 Speaker 1: I wonder if they have a bigger one. And John 504 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:01,959 Speaker 1: Wolf was there and he's like, yeah, I gotta just 505 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: get Like when I worked for Coke years ago and 506 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,120 Speaker 1: we had really long lines, we would just put another 507 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: pump in the middle so it would just get to 508 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:11,119 Speaker 1: that point and then that pump would pump it to 509 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 1: the other pump. He said, you should do that. I 510 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:16,199 Speaker 1: was like, that is so simple. That's either something like 511 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:18,960 Speaker 1: Ruby tells me or that you tell me because I 512 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:21,280 Speaker 1: would never been able to figure that dumb thing out. 513 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:22,040 Speaker 2: That's awesome. 514 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, that kind of brain I just really admire. 515 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:25,680 Speaker 2: Did you do it? 516 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, and it worked, works like a charm. You 517 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:29,800 Speaker 1: should see the flow. 518 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:33,200 Speaker 2: That's awesome. That's funny. John Wolf always works how he 519 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 2: used to work for Coke into every conversation. 520 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 1: Oh man, you know Wolf. 521 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 2: So is it break time yet or are we still 522 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,680 Speaker 2: going No, let's take a break. Okay, we're taking a break. 523 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:44,200 Speaker 2: Everybody just watch. 524 00:27:43,920 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 3: Us, all right. 525 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:06,680 Speaker 1: So we've covered up through the seventeen hundreds, told everyone 526 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,159 Speaker 1: how rope is made. When it comes to the eighteen 527 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,560 Speaker 1: hundreds and the Industrial Revolution starts happening, all of a sudden, 528 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 1: we have steam powered machines, and so rope is evolving 529 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,560 Speaker 1: at the same time, and like how it's used in 530 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 1: applications and stuff like that. So you need like better rope, 531 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:27,080 Speaker 1: bigger rope, longer rope, stronger rope, and all of a sudden, 532 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:30,680 Speaker 1: with steam power, you could do that. And you know, 533 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,440 Speaker 1: it's basically the same way you're just using like kind 534 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:36,960 Speaker 1: of like everything with the Industrial Revolution, all of a sudden, 535 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 1: you could just do it on a much bigger scale 536 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: using machinery. 537 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's interesting. It's like the Industrial Revolution changed the 538 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 2: demands that were put on rope and that at the 539 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,880 Speaker 2: same time it changed the ways that rope could be 540 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 2: made to satisfy those demands. 541 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: Pretty cool point. 542 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 2: And it all comes down to steam power. One of 543 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:57,800 Speaker 2: the cool things about making rope with steam power with 544 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,280 Speaker 2: an automated factory, even like this is early nineteenth century, 545 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 2: you need rope because they would use rope that ran 546 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,720 Speaker 2: through the whole factory around like a central steam engine. 547 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:11,640 Speaker 2: We've talked about this before and I don't remember what 548 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:15,240 Speaker 2: it was in maybe diesel generator, I don't remember, but 549 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:21,320 Speaker 2: that main engine spun it moved the rope, and the 550 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,560 Speaker 2: rope ran around and moved these individual machines. It's one long, 551 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 2: continuous thing of rope. It's like the idiom says, you 552 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 2: need rope to make rope. 553 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:31,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's good idiom. 554 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:34,400 Speaker 2: I think so too. I don't know what it means, 555 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 2: but it sounds like it. 556 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:40,320 Speaker 1: Well. They also were had innovations and textiles at the time, 557 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:42,479 Speaker 1: so they were kind of co opting some of that 558 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 1: stuff to make better ropes. Like one example, I guess 559 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: is they were able to shrink a lot of stuff 560 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:52,440 Speaker 1: to much smaller things. So the spinning jenny that used 561 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 1: to be this you know, mammoth machine, all of a 562 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:56,240 Speaker 1: sudden you could fit in a room. And because it's 563 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:58,840 Speaker 1: in a room and you didn't have this like two 564 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:02,040 Speaker 1: thousand foot rope walk, you could like fully enclose that 565 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:04,280 Speaker 1: and you could make rope year round, and it could 566 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:07,720 Speaker 1: be heated, and you could hire women to work in 567 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: there because they already had experience working in textiles, so 568 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:12,120 Speaker 1: now they could help make rope. 569 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:17,720 Speaker 2: Right. So, yeah, the nineteenth century, the industrial Revolution essentially 570 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:22,040 Speaker 2: well revolutionized how rope is made, even though it's still 571 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:26,120 Speaker 2: using the same technique. It's just now the work is 572 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:29,120 Speaker 2: being done more and more by machines. Right, Well, that's 573 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 2: industrial revolution at its core, But it didn't really kind 574 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,960 Speaker 2: of change the types of rope that were being produced 575 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:39,360 Speaker 2: as much. One thing that did come out of the 576 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:41,720 Speaker 2: nineteenth century was wire rope. That was a brand new 577 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,640 Speaker 2: thing that the Germans gave us in the eighteen thirties 578 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 2: because they needed it for their mining industry. And now 579 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 2: all of a sudden, you could build bigger and bigger 580 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 2: ships and make them out of metal because you didn't 581 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:56,600 Speaker 2: need to use fiber rope any longer. You could use 582 00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:00,479 Speaker 2: metal rope which people call cable, but again it's still 583 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:01,920 Speaker 2: just wire rope. 584 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:06,200 Speaker 1: That's right. And things stayed humming along pretty great until 585 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:09,200 Speaker 1: the nineteen hundreds came along, and all of a sudden 586 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:13,000 Speaker 1: in the twentieth century, we had synthetics upon us. So 587 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 1: nylon was the next like real big game changer when 588 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 1: it was introduced by the DuPont Chemical Company in nineteen 589 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:25,040 Speaker 1: thirty nine as toothbrush bristles. When people are like, hey, 590 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:27,320 Speaker 1: if you make these super long and they're not just 591 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: for toothbrushes, we can make this into rope, and I 592 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 1: think it'll be stronger, think it'll be stretchier. And within 593 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 1: a couple of years, you know, World War two definitely 594 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,480 Speaker 1: helped when they had blocked like using raw materials for 595 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 1: rope making. So that's when nylon really had a chance 596 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:44,920 Speaker 1: to shine. 597 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:49,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, and then shortly after that, polypropylene and polyester followed too, 598 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 2: and so synthetics were basically everybody was like better living 599 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 2: through chemistry in the second half of the twentieth century, 600 00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:59,719 Speaker 2: and that certainly applied to rope making two and it's 601 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,160 Speaker 2: still around today. I mean, like synthetics are. You can 602 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:06,800 Speaker 2: find both natural fiber rope and synthetic rope as well. 603 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:11,440 Speaker 2: But just because of the kind of operations that you 604 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:15,240 Speaker 2: see in modern rope making facilities and factories, uh huh, 605 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:18,440 Speaker 2: it just it'd be almost weird to see somebody make 606 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:22,120 Speaker 2: a fiber rope in one of the modern factories, like 607 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 2: synthetic nylon and other kinds of material ropes just make sense. 608 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. And the process is really similar because 609 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,680 Speaker 1: you're you're still physically doing the same thing, but in 610 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 1: this case, you're starting out instead of you know, like 611 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:41,760 Speaker 1: long fibers that you're running through a steel comb, you're 612 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 1: starting out with pellets that came from processed crude oil, 613 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:49,760 Speaker 1: like little rice sized pellets of like you know, nylon, 614 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:51,640 Speaker 1: let's say. And then you got to melt those down 615 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:56,360 Speaker 1: in an extruder and push it through like smaller and 616 00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:59,280 Speaker 1: smaller nozzles until you get down to the diameter of 617 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,480 Speaker 1: a hair, say, And then you have this long filament 618 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:04,400 Speaker 1: and you know, you have to put it in a 619 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,080 Speaker 1: cooling bath and so it holds a shape and stuff 620 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:09,640 Speaker 1: like that. You stretch it out some on some rollers. 621 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:13,720 Speaker 1: Apparently the stretching causes the polymer chains to align, which 622 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:16,920 Speaker 1: is really going to strengthen it. But after that, aside 623 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:19,880 Speaker 1: from having to treat it a little differently, it's kind 624 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:23,240 Speaker 1: of the same process as an old rope walk and 625 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,840 Speaker 1: then a factory as far as twisting the stuff together. 626 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:28,640 Speaker 2: Exactly, except that these are done by machines that can 627 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:33,080 Speaker 2: spin at like a thousand RPMs. As they're twisting these things. 628 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:36,560 Speaker 2: It can make rope super fast. They do that with 629 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,760 Speaker 2: yarn and then onto strands and then onto rope, and yeah, 630 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:42,320 Speaker 2: it's essentially the same stuff again, back to that forty 631 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:46,880 Speaker 2: thousand year old ivory weaving tool. And but once you 632 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,480 Speaker 2: have the rope made, then it kind of jumps back 633 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,880 Speaker 2: into modern the modern era because you have to do 634 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:55,520 Speaker 2: things with nylon rope that you don't have to do 635 00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 2: with fiber rope, which is like you have to heat 636 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:02,640 Speaker 2: set it with steam that helps keep those polymers locked 637 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:06,160 Speaker 2: in that same direction. They test them. I'm sure they 638 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:09,799 Speaker 2: do this with modern fiber ropes too, but they they 639 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:12,719 Speaker 2: stretch them, they jump on them, they beat them up, 640 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 2: they do all sorts of stuff, and they have sensors 641 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,759 Speaker 2: that detect what's going on within the rope, and then 642 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,320 Speaker 2: once the rope passes some sort of certification, it's maximum 643 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 2: operating capacities are stamped on the label and it's coiled 644 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:27,000 Speaker 2: up and sold. 645 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:32,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. Let's talk about a few specific kinds of 646 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:36,719 Speaker 1: rope because it gets depending on what you need to do. 647 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:39,960 Speaker 1: You might need a rope that's like stretch here or 648 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:45,560 Speaker 1: I don't know, stiffer. Let's say, so, if you want 649 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:48,600 Speaker 1: to talk about shot cord, that is bungee cord. Yeah, 650 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:53,200 Speaker 1: and that is you know, if I've never bungee jumped, 651 00:34:53,200 --> 00:34:56,440 Speaker 1: but I did learn at one point that a bungee 652 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,080 Speaker 1: cord was just a lot of rubber bands twisted into 653 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:01,319 Speaker 1: a rope. And I don't know if that made me 654 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:03,080 Speaker 1: feel better or worse about the whole process. 655 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:06,120 Speaker 2: Well, yeah, so this is it's silicone to begin with, 656 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:10,200 Speaker 2: silicone rubber and it's vulcanized and usually they're made of 657 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:14,959 Speaker 2: sixteen different strands and then that's just the core. There's 658 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 2: a synthetic fiber shell that goes around the cord. Yeah, 659 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,480 Speaker 2: and yeah, I think shock chords are pretty pretty reliable 660 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:26,839 Speaker 2: for the most part. Yeah, they apparently stretched to about 661 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:29,799 Speaker 2: one hundred and thirty percent of their original length, and 662 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:35,240 Speaker 2: then Benden snatched back to their original length again without 663 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:42,040 Speaker 2: being mall, without breaking sure or without losing their elasticity. 664 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:45,359 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, I seriously what I mean? Uh, Well, 665 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:48,120 Speaker 1: eventually they do over time, though, I guess because just 666 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:50,560 Speaker 1: using regular bungee cords around the house, like old old 667 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:51,680 Speaker 1: ones aren't as stretchy as they. 668 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,080 Speaker 2: Used to be. Good point, And you probably want to 669 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:57,279 Speaker 2: go bungee jump at a place that's reputable enough that 670 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,640 Speaker 2: they're not over using their bungee cords. Agreed, Great point. 671 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:04,520 Speaker 1: You've also got spot cord, and that is not super 672 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:08,080 Speaker 1: strong or anything, but it has a high resistance to snags. 673 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:11,280 Speaker 1: And the cool thing about spot cord it's a cotton 674 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:14,560 Speaker 1: rope that's braided and it's been produced by the Samson 675 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:18,200 Speaker 1: Cordage Company for about one hundred and fifty years. And 676 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:21,520 Speaker 1: if you go to like a big box hardware store 677 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 1: or something and you just get like a little fifty 678 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:28,200 Speaker 1: foot small thin rope, it's probably a spot cord. 679 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,440 Speaker 2: Yeah. They feel real nice because they're cotton. Yeah, if 680 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,399 Speaker 2: you've ever used a clothes line that's not wire, yeah, 681 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:36,480 Speaker 2: there you go, it's probably a spot cord. 682 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:40,399 Speaker 1: Yeah, if you've ever tied up your neighbor to a chair, 683 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,279 Speaker 1: probably using spot cord, if you're not into the duct 684 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:43,840 Speaker 1: tape thing. 685 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:47,719 Speaker 2: And came into the room saying, well, well, well look 686 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:49,120 Speaker 2: how the tables have turned. 687 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:51,600 Speaker 1: That's right. I hope that comes across as a joke. 688 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:55,040 Speaker 1: I know, I'm sure that's real world violence or although 689 00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:56,480 Speaker 1: you could just be tying them to a chair to 690 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:58,879 Speaker 1: make them watch the Simpsons or something. Let's say that's 691 00:36:58,920 --> 00:36:59,680 Speaker 1: what I was talking about. 692 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:04,360 Speaker 2: And then another special rope, and these are very special ropes, 693 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:09,200 Speaker 2: by the way, it's the lariat. And lariat is the 694 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:12,719 Speaker 2: correct term for what a lot of people call lassos, 695 00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:16,080 Speaker 2: but I lift it up, chuck. Lasso is a verb, 696 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:19,319 Speaker 2: and it's what you do with a lariat, which is. 697 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:23,480 Speaker 1: Now, yeah, yeah, that makes sense. You lasso a horse 698 00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:24,040 Speaker 1: or something. 699 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:26,880 Speaker 2: Yes, exactly. And you and I both have our own lariots. 700 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:29,239 Speaker 2: Do you remember Kathy with the ka and Phoenix gave 701 00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:30,280 Speaker 2: them to us at the field. 702 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:32,120 Speaker 1: I thought it was Denver, but was it Phoenix? 703 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:32,640 Speaker 2: Phoenix? 704 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:35,319 Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, I still have mine. It's hanging up at 705 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:35,720 Speaker 1: the camp. 706 00:37:36,040 --> 00:37:38,240 Speaker 2: Yeah. I can't tell you how many steer I've wrestled 707 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:39,840 Speaker 2: with mine. 708 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:45,520 Speaker 1: These are traditionally made with horsehair or raw hide. Today 709 00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 1: they're usually braided with nylon or polyester maybe. But the 710 00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:52,880 Speaker 1: key to this thing is is that it's stiff. Like 711 00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:54,799 Speaker 1: I said, sometimes you might need a stiff rope. So 712 00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:58,360 Speaker 1: you know, if you've never used a or tried to 713 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:00,680 Speaker 1: lasso something, you might be surprised to know that it's 714 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:03,400 Speaker 1: a it's a you know, it's stiff. 715 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:06,360 Speaker 2: It's very stiff, super stiff, and it barely fits in 716 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:08,680 Speaker 2: your suitcase from Phoenix back home to Atlantic. 717 00:38:08,719 --> 00:38:10,279 Speaker 1: I know we managed it though. 718 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:12,480 Speaker 2: Yeah. The way they work though, is a Honda knot 719 00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:16,640 Speaker 2: which slides up and down the rigid rope or stiff 720 00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:19,080 Speaker 2: rope very easily. So when you get it around to 721 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:22,600 Speaker 2: steers horns, you pull it and the loop closes, but 722 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:26,520 Speaker 2: it doesn't close mid air on your way right on 723 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:28,600 Speaker 2: its way to the steers horns like it would if 724 00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:30,160 Speaker 2: you made it out of a spot cord. 725 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:31,239 Speaker 1: That's right. 726 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:35,120 Speaker 2: There's also we can't not talk about climbing ropes. Chuck. 727 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:38,719 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's what keeps you alive if you're a 728 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:43,080 Speaker 1: into repelling and rock climbing. Yep, they used to be 729 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:47,200 Speaker 1: made out of plant fibers before nylon, just like any 730 00:38:47,239 --> 00:38:50,319 Speaker 1: other rope that we're talking about, of course. But you know, 731 00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:53,040 Speaker 1: if you've seen an action movie from the old days 732 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:57,960 Speaker 1: and that rope is being you know, wearing against that 733 00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:00,480 Speaker 1: rock at the top of a cliff, yeah, it starts 734 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:04,600 Speaker 1: going dying, dying, dying, and you're worried about your action hero, 735 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:07,200 Speaker 1: then you need to go to a nylon rope because 736 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:09,719 Speaker 1: one of the important things about a nylon rope is 737 00:39:09,719 --> 00:39:11,600 Speaker 1: not going to phrase as much like in the movie. 738 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:14,160 Speaker 1: And also if you fall, it's going to be a 739 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:17,440 Speaker 1: little stretchier. So in the old days, if you fell 740 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:19,560 Speaker 1: like off of Everest in the old days, with a 741 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:23,359 Speaker 1: fiber rope, like the entire force of falling is just 742 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:25,839 Speaker 1: stops in an instant because there's zero stretch. And that's 743 00:39:25,880 --> 00:39:26,279 Speaker 1: no good. 744 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:28,520 Speaker 2: No, that produces rope trauma. 745 00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:32,160 Speaker 1: Aha, very nice. 746 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:34,200 Speaker 2: It can cut you just clean in half. 747 00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:35,799 Speaker 1: That's what I've heard. 748 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:39,839 Speaker 2: So with climbing ropes in particular, there's a special type 749 00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,719 Speaker 2: of rope construction that's he's called the Kern mantle construction 750 00:39:43,239 --> 00:39:46,680 Speaker 2: and it refers to the Kern the core like a kernel, 751 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,319 Speaker 2: and that's made of a nylon rope, and then there's 752 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:54,000 Speaker 2: a mantle the shell that has made of braided nylon 753 00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:59,000 Speaker 2: that protects the internal nylon rope, so the internal kern 754 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:03,279 Speaker 2: rope is low bearing. The outer shell rope protects that 755 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:06,920 Speaker 2: internal load bearing one. But because they're both so strong, 756 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:09,839 Speaker 2: if one failed, the other would be able to keep 757 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:14,400 Speaker 2: you dangling. And they're stretchy enough that rope trauma is 758 00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:17,440 Speaker 2: brought to almost nil. The possibility of it. When you 759 00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:20,640 Speaker 2: fall off of a cliff wearing a current mantle rope 760 00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:21,640 Speaker 2: that's right now. 761 00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:26,160 Speaker 1: You came around in nineteen and fifty three. Yep, the odds, 762 00:40:27,120 --> 00:40:29,160 Speaker 1: and I guess that's kind of it on rope, right. 763 00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:32,000 Speaker 2: That's it. One thing that struck me I could not 764 00:40:32,239 --> 00:40:36,200 Speaker 2: find an answer for it is that in the United 765 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:40,040 Speaker 2: States alone, in twenty twenty five, three point five billion 766 00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:44,839 Speaker 2: dollars worth of rope was sold. Pretty impressive. They're projecting 767 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:48,200 Speaker 2: it to increase to six billion in less than ten 768 00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:51,560 Speaker 2: years by twenty thirty three. I could not find why, 769 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:54,839 Speaker 2: what do we need more rope for? I don't know. 770 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:57,640 Speaker 2: Maybe gen Z's going to finally discover rope in twenty 771 00:40:57,680 --> 00:40:58,719 Speaker 2: thirty three, I don't know. 772 00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:01,719 Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm trying to think of how like 773 00:41:01,760 --> 00:41:04,720 Speaker 1: a data center uses rope or something that's like something 774 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:07,600 Speaker 1: really like growing fast right now, But I don't know. 775 00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:11,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess maybe if you include fiber optic cable. 776 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:14,120 Speaker 2: Oh maybe fiber optic rope, I should say in in 777 00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:18,040 Speaker 2: that that might account for it. Good con Well, that's 778 00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:21,400 Speaker 2: it for rope everybody, which means it's time for listener mail. 779 00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:27,759 Speaker 1: This goes back to the voice of God Dan Lafontaine, 780 00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:30,600 Speaker 1: the famous movie trailer guy in a World, We did 781 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:34,080 Speaker 1: a what is say? Dan? M No, that was his brother. 782 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:39,120 Speaker 1: He should have heard his voice. Hey, guys, Don Lafontaine, 783 00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:40,399 Speaker 1: I think we did a shorty on him. 784 00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:42,239 Speaker 2: Shorty yeah, voice of God. 785 00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:45,000 Speaker 1: So hey, guys, been meaning to write for a while, 786 00:41:45,719 --> 00:41:47,879 Speaker 1: and when I heard the short stuff, I was like, Bam, 787 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:50,440 Speaker 1: now I have to write. Because my father was a 788 00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:53,360 Speaker 1: sound editor in New York City and worked on movie trailers, 789 00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:57,200 Speaker 1: the sound mixes for them, and recording the voiceovers. He 790 00:41:57,239 --> 00:42:00,799 Speaker 1: met many actors over the years, and also Don, who 791 00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:03,600 Speaker 1: became a good friend of our family. When my younger 792 00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:06,440 Speaker 1: brother Travis was born in nineteen seventy one, Don became 793 00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:09,800 Speaker 1: his godfather. Even my mother loved Don and was always 794 00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:12,359 Speaker 1: said he was such a neat guy and fun and 795 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:14,960 Speaker 1: they spent some time partying with him back in the day. 796 00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:17,560 Speaker 1: I have some old pictures of Don and my parents, 797 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:20,680 Speaker 1: those little square wins with the rounded off corners where 798 00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:22,760 Speaker 1: everything looks like shades of brown and orange and yellow. 799 00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:26,200 Speaker 1: You know the ones. Guys, if I can lay my 800 00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:29,359 Speaker 1: hands on one, I'll attach it, which did not happen, 801 00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:31,200 Speaker 1: by the way, but I'd be tickled to death if 802 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:32,960 Speaker 1: you selected my email to be read on the air 803 00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:36,799 Speaker 1: like you have no idea. Ll you can even edit 804 00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:41,840 Speaker 1: down and I won't mind. Smiley face yours, both of you's, truly. 805 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:47,160 Speaker 1: That is from Tegwin Allen Stockdale or the nickname. 806 00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:51,319 Speaker 2: Tag What a name? That is a great name? Agreed, Well, 807 00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:54,080 Speaker 2: thanks a lot, Teglin Allen Stockdale. I don't think I 808 00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:57,480 Speaker 2: would ever say your name other than to use. 809 00:42:57,360 --> 00:42:58,640 Speaker 1: All three agreed. 810 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:01,439 Speaker 2: Oh great. If you want to be like Tiglin Allen 811 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:04,640 Speaker 2: Stockdale and email us with a great story about something 812 00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:06,839 Speaker 2: we talked about. We love that kind of thing. You 813 00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:08,719 Speaker 2: can wrap it up, spank it on the bottom, and 814 00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:15,480 Speaker 2: send it off to Stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 815 00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:18,480 Speaker 1: Stuff You should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 816 00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:22,759 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 817 00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:24,720 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.