WEBVTT - What's the deal with totem poles?

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<v Speaker 1>Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray.

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<v Speaker 1>It's ready. Are you welcome to Stuff you should know

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<v Speaker 1>from house Stuff Works dot com. Hey, and welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast. I'm Josh Clark with me as always as

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<v Speaker 1>Charles W. Chuckers Bryant, thank you, and Jerry of course

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<v Speaker 1>Hi Jerry. She's waving at omni President Jerry and Omniscient.

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<v Speaker 1>Scarily enough, Josh, before we get going, can I just

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<v Speaker 1>mentioned a little TV show coming up? I thought we were,

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<v Speaker 1>as you going, No, we're not quite going. Oh, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a TV show that our parent company, Discovery, specifically the

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<v Speaker 1>Science Channel has about a great fall tradition in Delaware

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<v Speaker 1>where they chunk punkins, punkin chunking, punkin chunking and actually

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<v Speaker 1>hurl these things through the air with a catapult and

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<v Speaker 1>it's fun and that they've done a TV show on it,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's on They did two TV shows, Buddy two, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>say it's say the names. Well at eight o'clock on

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<v Speaker 1>the Science Channel, it's Eastern time. There's going to be

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<v Speaker 1>the road to punkin Chunking and where does that road

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<v Speaker 1>lead to punkin chunk in itself? At nine and that

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<v Speaker 1>is Thanksgiving Night on the Science Channel and Science Channel HD. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>and we just wanted to say watch it, yeah, because

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<v Speaker 1>we like Chunking Punkin's Punkin Chunking. And now we're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>talk about whatever. You're gonna cleverly set it up as

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<v Speaker 1>all right, you ready? Yes, Hey, Chuck, Hey Josh. Have

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<v Speaker 1>you have you ever heard the phrase the low man

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<v Speaker 1>on the totem pole? I have, and you know what,

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<v Speaker 1>go ahead. So it's usually too it's it's usually somebody

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<v Speaker 1>who's the grunt. They're at the bottom, they're they're just

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<v Speaker 1>it's us. Okay, there you get lowman on the totem pole.

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<v Speaker 1>Not true if you're suggesting that you and I are

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<v Speaker 1>at the bottom of the heap. True, I had I

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<v Speaker 1>know what you mean. It's actually on totem poles, the

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<v Speaker 1>lower uh carvings were actually of the most high esteem. Right.

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<v Speaker 1>I have no idea. You do now and I do too,

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<v Speaker 1>because we read an article called how totem poles will work.

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<v Speaker 1>By the way, I think we should start using the

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<v Speaker 1>correct version of that, just to confuse people. I get

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<v Speaker 1>on the elevator like house work. Oh well, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm the lowman on the totem pole Like, sorry, you're like,

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<v Speaker 1>what are you talking about? Them? The VP? Right? Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>Things are great? Right? Or when one of the higher

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<v Speaker 1>ups walks by, go, there goes the lowman on the

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<v Speaker 1>totem pole. Exactly, give me some skin. What happened? Did

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<v Speaker 1>they get fired? So? Yeah? Okay, well, Chuck and I

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<v Speaker 1>are going to start confusing people after this, But let's

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<v Speaker 1>talk about total poles first. Okay, let's do. I learned

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of stuff in this one that I didn't know.

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<v Speaker 1>Everything I read in here I learned because I knew

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<v Speaker 1>nothing about totem poles. Really, have you ever seen him? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I've seen him, but I didn't know anything aside from

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<v Speaker 1>you know, to pole. All right, well, let's talk. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>share this information that we've we've learned, let's impart it.

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<v Speaker 1>So one of the things I learned, besides lowman on

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<v Speaker 1>the totem pole being actually important, um, is that the uh,

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<v Speaker 1>the natives Native Americans actually had socioeconomic strata. Yeah, stratum.

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't know that either, strata one of the two. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>I did, And I know what you're talking about here,

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<v Speaker 1>because totem poles were typically commissioned by people of esteem

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<v Speaker 1>and people had money, right, people who wanted to show

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<v Speaker 1>off basically uh, And what they would do would be

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<v Speaker 1>to commission a totem carver who was a person of

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<v Speaker 1>very high authority a littlement on the totem pole and

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<v Speaker 1>might say uh. And the head carver would basically be

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<v Speaker 1>treated with tons of esteem and respect uh and was

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<v Speaker 1>housed at the home of the person who had commissioned them. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and basically retreated like royalty. Because I guess this guy

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<v Speaker 1>could be like, once you've commissioned this, I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>do it, and if you mistreat me or I am

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<v Speaker 1>not amused at any point in time him, I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to carve you naked on this and you have to

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<v Speaker 1>put it up. Yeah, I got this. That is the

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<v Speaker 1>law of the Pacific Northwest. I got this from this

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<v Speaker 1>that totem pole carvers were like many temperamental artists. It's

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<v Speaker 1>kind of funny how they had that same attitude, like

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<v Speaker 1>it's cross culture. If you don't make me happy, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>gonna ruin your commission work and shame you right with

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<v Speaker 1>a shame pole right, well, not necessarily boiler. So the

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<v Speaker 1>other thing I learned is that, um, I'm just gonna

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<v Speaker 1>introduce every point with that for this whole podcast. Another

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<v Speaker 1>thing I learned is that um totem poles haven't been

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<v Speaker 1>around that long. No, I did not know that either,

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<v Speaker 1>And I will say that at the end of every

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<v Speaker 1>time you mentioned that that I didn't realize that they

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<v Speaker 1>have just started in the seventeen hundreds. Late seventeen hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and when the Europeans came over is when they really

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<v Speaker 1>really started booming. They think the Hida tribe h a

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<v Speaker 1>i d a tribe of south eastern Alaska were the

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<v Speaker 1>first to start carving totem poles, and I guess it

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<v Speaker 1>was kind of slow going at first, but really picked

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<v Speaker 1>up once UM settlers colonists started hitting the Pacific Northwest

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<v Speaker 1>and more and more numbers because they brought with them tools. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>but they were a little frightened by them. They were,

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<v Speaker 1>which is funny because from what I understand, UM European

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<v Speaker 1>settlers were among the most superstitious, easily frightened, and most

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<v Speaker 1>suspicious people ever to populate the earth. Seriously. Yeah, so

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<v Speaker 1>they saw totem poles and I think Captain James Cook

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<v Speaker 1>had a famous quote, right, Yeah, he said that they

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<v Speaker 1>were truly monstrous figures, yes, and he was wrong. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>And then you also have the superstition or myth that

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<v Speaker 1>totem poles were used to ward off or worship evil spirits,

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<v Speaker 1>depending on how you felt towards your native neighbors. No,

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<v Speaker 1>what is a totem pole, Chuck, Well, a totem pole? Uh?

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<v Speaker 1>And totem, by the way, is an ojibwa a word?

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<v Speaker 1>Is it really? Josh actually winked at me, by the way.

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<v Speaker 1>Just then for reels a totem pole, Josh. Many times

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<v Speaker 1>it's used to commemorate an event, like Um, I looked

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<v Speaker 1>some of these up. What it might commemorate a funeral,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes childbirth, marriage, and even monarchy. No, yes, no, yes, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>I read that that is true. And Uh. They could

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<v Speaker 1>range in size initially, and I didn't know this either.

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<v Speaker 1>They could be as small as like a walking cane. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>way smaller than I thought I thought they were. They

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<v Speaker 1>were all like extremely large. No, they definitely vary inside

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<v Speaker 1>as I've seen some that are like kneehigh to a grasshoppers,

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<v Speaker 1>you like to say. And then there's others that are,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a hundred and seventy ft tall, which we'll

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<v Speaker 1>get into the world records here shortly too, and not

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<v Speaker 1>just any No, no jackass can come along and carve

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<v Speaker 1>some wood up and say I just made me a

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<v Speaker 1>total pole. There are some very specific, um, I guess

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<v Speaker 1>details that have to be followed for a total pole

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<v Speaker 1>to truly be considered a total pole. Yeah, to be authentic, Josh,

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<v Speaker 1>it needs to be the work of a trained Pacific

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<v Speaker 1>Coast carver Pacific Northwest Pacific normally more specific and uh yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>no San Diego carvers up there, forget them. Uh. It

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<v Speaker 1>must be raised according to the specific American Indian traditions

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<v Speaker 1>and ceremonies. There's a ceremony that goes along with it,

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<v Speaker 1>which we'll get to. And it must be blessed by

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<v Speaker 1>natives of the Northwest specific coast. Plus also, it doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>hurt your case if you want to prove that you

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<v Speaker 1>have a an authentic totem pole, that it be made

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<v Speaker 1>from your redd or yellow cedar. Ah. Well, sure you

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<v Speaker 1>can't use you can't use power tools or chainsaws. Well

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<v Speaker 1>they do now, but if you really you didn't, You

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<v Speaker 1>just wasted your time if you were trying to make

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<v Speaker 1>an authentic totem pole. Um. And there are certain colors

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<v Speaker 1>they're traditionally followed red, black, yellow, blue, green, white, um,

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<v Speaker 1>which I find to be an unappealing color combination. Those

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<v Speaker 1>those four or five. Yeah, you know it said they

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<v Speaker 1>did not need to be painted. And I've never seen

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<v Speaker 1>a natural totem pole, but I think that would be

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<v Speaker 1>my preference. Yes, and you can't preserve it in any way.

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't know that either, which means that total poles

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<v Speaker 1>ain't gonna be around all that long. An authentic total

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<v Speaker 1>pole has a lifespan of about a hundred years, especially

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<v Speaker 1>in the Pacific Northwest where it's wet, rainy, muggy, not

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<v Speaker 1>good on on carved wood. Yeah, that's not bad. Tho

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<v Speaker 1>hundred years is pretty good. And did I also say

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<v Speaker 1>it has to be from one single piece? Oh no,

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<v Speaker 1>you didn't say that. It's important too, Yeah, of course. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so Chuck, Basically, we've established that totem poles are there's authentic,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's an authentic ones. You can't just be some

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<v Speaker 1>jackass with a chainsaw. Um. They are the bar or

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<v Speaker 1>bob mitzvah of the Native American culture, with the ceremony

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<v Speaker 1>and the shore and um that they are commissioned, usually

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<v Speaker 1>by a wealthy Native American by a head carver. So

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<v Speaker 1>you've got the head carver, he's got a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>junior carvers, and they get to work. And here we

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<v Speaker 1>reach why the low man on the total pole is

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<v Speaker 1>actually the most prominent figure. Why because the head carver

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<v Speaker 1>carves the lower parts of the totem pole. Yeah, the

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<v Speaker 1>first ten feet. And I would and it's just a guess,

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<v Speaker 1>but I would say probably because they don't want to

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<v Speaker 1>stand on whatever you need to stand on. That's part

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<v Speaker 1>of it. It's also that's also the most visible and scrutinizeable. Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>good point. Okay, So the carver finishes and and probably

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<v Speaker 1>some of the stuff that he's put on there, there's

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<v Speaker 1>some uh basically uh, he'll say, tell me about your

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<v Speaker 1>family history? Yeah, yeah, what kind of birds are you

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<v Speaker 1>fond of? Right? Do you have any ancestor who has

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<v Speaker 1>ever shape shifted into an animal? And the the carver

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<v Speaker 1>is going to take all this into account. The person

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<v Speaker 1>who commissioned it will probably have some ideas and then

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<v Speaker 1>they combine them and you have things like eagles, thunderbirds, bears, owls, wolves, ravens, frogs,

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<v Speaker 1>and each one kind of has a different meaning in

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<v Speaker 1>Native American culture. Sure should we go with those briefly? Uh? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>the eagle obviously flies higher than any other bird, and

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<v Speaker 1>it can spot trouble, so that's a good thing. And um,

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<v Speaker 1>the thunderbird is a mythological creature and it can create

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<v Speaker 1>lightning and thunder by beating its wings and blinking, which

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<v Speaker 1>is why it's mythological. Yes, bear obviously teaches natives certain

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<v Speaker 1>things like, um, how to hunt salmon and how to

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<v Speaker 1>forge for barry, So that's probably good luck to have

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<v Speaker 1>on your pole. Um. Owls are represent souls of the deceased.

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<v Speaker 1>So that might be a mortuary pole. Oh, actually, no,

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<v Speaker 1>that is when the ashes are actually in the pole, correct, right,

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<v Speaker 1>that's the type of poll. There's a there's a entry

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<v Speaker 1>way totem pole, which is kind of like a coat

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<v Speaker 1>of arms. Um, and that's what that's what A lot

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<v Speaker 1>of the early settlers of the Pacific Northwest took these

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<v Speaker 1>ass as a coat of arms, like family coat of arms. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>So you've got entry way totem poles, mortuary poles, which

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<v Speaker 1>actually do have a hollow cavity to put the ashes

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<v Speaker 1>of a dead person in. Yeah, it's like an urn basically.

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<v Speaker 1>Yet a very cool urn, a very tall urn. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And then there's ridicular shame poles like you mentioned, right.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what I want to bring back, the shame pole. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So Chuck, talk about the most famous when the Lincoln

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<v Speaker 1>Pole in sex Men, Alaska. Yeah, this is when um

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<v Speaker 1>and I didn't know to see this. Here's another thing.

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<v Speaker 1>I learned Native Americans had slaves. The the the Lincoln

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<v Speaker 1>poll was actually uh to shame the US government because

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<v Speaker 1>of the Emancipation Proclamation in eighteen sixty three. And many

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<v Speaker 1>members of the is that Lingott is that I was

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<v Speaker 1>pronounced the Lynott tribe Lingot. I think the team might

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<v Speaker 1>be silent, but they're they're slaves were freed. I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>know that Native Americans had slaves. I know, That's what

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<v Speaker 1>I just said. Neither did I. And so they got

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<v Speaker 1>all mad and said, you know what, we're gonna do

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<v Speaker 1>a Lincoln poll and it's gonna shame President Lincoln for

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<v Speaker 1>the Emancipation proclamation. Actually that's not true. I guess I

0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.760
<v Speaker 1>did know that they would capture other people in battle

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<v Speaker 1>and force him into slavery. I didn't know that. Okay, So, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>we've got the type of pole established what we know

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<v Speaker 1>what's on the pole and it has to be raised. Now, well,

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<v Speaker 1>this is when the fund starts, the rowdy fund. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>we're talking about the potlatch. And a potlatch is basically

0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:59.760
<v Speaker 1>a big whopping party that you raise the pole. Obviously,

0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:00.959
<v Speaker 1>you put it near the ground and you have the

0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:03.040
<v Speaker 1>ropes and you pull it up and sink it into

0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:05.840
<v Speaker 1>the ground and then it's it sounds like from what

0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:09.560
<v Speaker 1>I researched on potlatches, it's just a big freaking party.

0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:13.440
<v Speaker 1>So now we've reached a the Native American equivalent of

0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:18.800
<v Speaker 1>a bot mitzvah and an Amish barn raising put together.

0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:21.200
<v Speaker 1>How did they do the same thing? Well, the Amish

0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:23.160
<v Speaker 1>raised barns is a big communical event. Have you ever

0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:25.960
<v Speaker 1>seen witness? Yeah? But they have a big party, yeah,

0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:30.400
<v Speaker 1>well an Amish party. Everyone eats sandwiches and drinks lemonade. Sure.

0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:32.800
<v Speaker 1>And the reason we can get away with that is

0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:35.560
<v Speaker 1>because no Amish person will ever hear this podcast, that's right.

0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:36.960
<v Speaker 1>And if you write in and say your finding because

0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:41.719
<v Speaker 1>you're Amish, then you're a liar. Liar alright, So chuck um.

0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:44.840
<v Speaker 1>They have a great party, and apparently it does get

0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:48.600
<v Speaker 1>rowdy as I alluded to before, because the Canadian government

0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:53.120
<v Speaker 1>actually banned potlatches at some point in time, UM, and

0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:57.160
<v Speaker 1>they that had a really deletrious effect on the number

0:12:57.200 --> 0:12:59.920
<v Speaker 1>of totem poles that were carved and raised in North

0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:03.040
<v Speaker 1>America and then in the twentieth century, because a totem

0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:06.080
<v Speaker 1>pole without a potlatch is like a donut without a hole,

0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:11.640
<v Speaker 1>very much so it's like a jelly donut. UM. And

0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:15.120
<v Speaker 1>that's not the only reason that that totem pole carving

0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.199
<v Speaker 1>declined in the twentieth century, and actually it came close,

0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:22.319
<v Speaker 1>very close to the point of extinction. UM. The Native

0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:26.240
<v Speaker 1>American children were not being educated in traditional means any

0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:29.840
<v Speaker 1>longer in the traditional ways, UM, so they were losing

0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:33.000
<v Speaker 1>that knowledge of how to carve a decent thunderbird. There

0:13:33.000 --> 0:13:35.080
<v Speaker 1>were in a lot of head carvers that were being

0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:40.800
<v Speaker 1>trained any longer. UM. Atari is a huge is generally

0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:43.000
<v Speaker 1>pointed to is one of the biggest reasons the total

0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:46.920
<v Speaker 1>pole raisings declined. UM. And there was also a ton

0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:51.200
<v Speaker 1>of theft by museums and private people. I didn't hear

0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.439
<v Speaker 1>about it, but just go steal totem poles for their

0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:56.200
<v Speaker 1>own collections. It's how do you hide a totem pole.

0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:58.360
<v Speaker 1>I don't think you're really trying to. You just say

0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:01.920
<v Speaker 1>you've been exploited by my people a really long time.

0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:03.960
<v Speaker 1>I'll just take this and get away with me. Go.

0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:09.040
<v Speaker 1>It was so rampant, in fact, that in President George H. W. Bush,

0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:15.160
<v Speaker 1>Herbert Walker, yeah, Herbert Right Bush signed the Native American

0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:18.560
<v Speaker 1>Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and it basically said, if

0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:21.800
<v Speaker 1>you've ever stolen a totem pole, take it back. And

0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:24.520
<v Speaker 1>people did. And as a result of this kind of

0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:29.160
<v Speaker 1>renewed enthusiasm for totem poles, we lost our puritanical fear

0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:31.960
<v Speaker 1>of them. People started carving him again. You know what

0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:37.320
<v Speaker 1>else is in that bill? What wire tappings? Bad? Total

0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:42.040
<v Speaker 1>poles back and talk openly on your phone? Right? Um? So, okay,

0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:46.040
<v Speaker 1>So there's a resurgence in totem pole creation, right, in

0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:49.560
<v Speaker 1>native and non native. Right. So let's say, Chuck, I'm like,

0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:53.040
<v Speaker 1>I want an authentic totem pole to talk about my

0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:57.080
<v Speaker 1>daughter's monarchy. Well, then, like anything else, Josh, you would

0:14:57.120 --> 0:15:00.280
<v Speaker 1>get on the internet and search totem pole carving, and

0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:02.840
<v Speaker 1>you would find some people that do that for a living, right,

0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:05.440
<v Speaker 1>some Native and some non native. Yeah, depending on So

0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:07.480
<v Speaker 1>if I wanted an authentic one, how much am I

0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:09.400
<v Speaker 1>going to show out? Josh? You would have to pay

0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:14.960
<v Speaker 1>about grand to a hundred grand rageous? Yes, I won't

0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:19.800
<v Speaker 1>pay more than ten thousand dollars you sa, Charlatan Minachia,

0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:24.240
<v Speaker 1>No Minachi. Uh so yeah, that's and I think, um, like,

0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.600
<v Speaker 1>seven hundred and fifty bucks is the low end of

0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:31.280
<v Speaker 1>a non authentic three foot pole, right in about fifteen

0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:35.160
<v Speaker 1>grand for twenty ft right, non authentic, non authentic? Right?

0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:37.680
<v Speaker 1>But you know who knows? No one knows. Yeah, Josh,

0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:40.040
<v Speaker 1>you want to talk about the records. Yes, this is

0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:43.040
<v Speaker 1>that heavy, Chuck, and that heavy each Everything that comes

0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:45.120
<v Speaker 1>out of Chuck's mouth right now is a statistic, right,

0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:48.120
<v Speaker 1>Chuck Richard and South Korea, Good luck here, buddy, um

0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:52.040
<v Speaker 1>Albert Babe British Columbia had a has a hundred and

0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.760
<v Speaker 1>seventy ft tall, hundred seventy three foot tall totem. It's

0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:58.240
<v Speaker 1>got to be the world's tallest totem pole. Right, No

0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:02.640
<v Speaker 1>think again, sir, because uh there was one that the

0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:06.400
<v Speaker 1>Guinness Book certified at one hundred and eighty five ft.

0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:10.960
<v Speaker 1>It's got to be the world's tallest totem Victoria, British Columbia.

0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:15.400
<v Speaker 1>But you know what, it was torn down because of controversy.

0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:18.200
<v Speaker 1>The town evidently got really upset about all the grief

0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:21.400
<v Speaker 1>about the Guinness Book record and was it authentic and

0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:24.560
<v Speaker 1>was it the really the tallest one. So an angry mob,

0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:30.760
<v Speaker 1>from what I gather, led by motabatd tear down this

0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:34.200
<v Speaker 1>totem pole and cut it up into pieces and burn it. Yeah,

0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:37.360
<v Speaker 1>the record holder. There goes the grief. I mean, how

0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:39.800
<v Speaker 1>much grief could it have caused? I don't I don't know. Yeah,

0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:42.280
<v Speaker 1>I mean that's gotta be Um. I've been to Victoria.

0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:44.600
<v Speaker 1>It's not exactly like a rough and tumble town. It's

0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:47.680
<v Speaker 1>pretty peaceful. Um, so I imagine there must have been

0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:50.200
<v Speaker 1>a tremendous amount of grief. I guess so, or they

0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:52.800
<v Speaker 1>hadn't put their chainsaws to you slately and we're looking.

0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:56.920
<v Speaker 1>You know, Betty was hungry, right. But the thickest pole

0:16:57.000 --> 0:17:02.440
<v Speaker 1>Josh is not disputed. That is in British Columbia as well,

0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:06.280
<v Speaker 1>and that was carved by Richard hunt In and it

0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:10.440
<v Speaker 1>has a diameter of six feet. That is one thick pole. Yeah,

0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:13.600
<v Speaker 1>and I'd like to say Richard hunt. If you listen

0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:15.639
<v Speaker 1>to this podcast, I would like to see a picture

0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:19.160
<v Speaker 1>of your totem pole. Yeah, seriously, so email, it's conture.

0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:23.560
<v Speaker 1>We'll give the email address at the end. Right now,

0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:26.200
<v Speaker 1>Is that the end? I think? So you got any

0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:27.840
<v Speaker 1>more on totem poles and I got nothing else. I

0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:30.360
<v Speaker 1>like the ones with the wings. I'll just say that.

0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:33.240
<v Speaker 1>I like at the top, like a thunderbird with the

0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:34.879
<v Speaker 1>wings coming off the side. It makes sense to have

0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:39.000
<v Speaker 1>them at the top. But that's at least important. So yeah, yeah,

0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:41.640
<v Speaker 1>So well, if you want to know more about totem poles,

0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:43.159
<v Speaker 1>and I kid you not, Chuck and I learned a

0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:45.760
<v Speaker 1>lot of surprising facts that we're just kind of in

0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:47.920
<v Speaker 1>between the lines of this article. It happens a lot

0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:51.240
<v Speaker 1>on how stuff works dot com. You can type totem

0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:54.719
<v Speaker 1>poles into the handy search bar of our venerated site.

0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:58.360
<v Speaker 1>And uh, I guess it's time for a listener mail,

0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:07.639
<v Speaker 1>right Yes, Josh, I'm just gonna call this. I like

0:18:07.800 --> 0:18:12.200
<v Speaker 1>to read these um funny emails from time to time. Okay,

0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:14.200
<v Speaker 1>this guy is really funny. He's a good writer, he's clever,

0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:17.680
<v Speaker 1>so he gets on the air. This is uh, this

0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:20.560
<v Speaker 1>says Hey, guys, I've been traveling backwards in time, and

0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:24.280
<v Speaker 1>I'm writing you from February two thousand nine, where Haiku

0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:28.280
<v Speaker 1>Theater ends abruptly with refrigerator and sayings like the Germans

0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:32.240
<v Speaker 1>compass head and it's a poncy scheme haven't even been

0:18:32.320 --> 0:18:35.159
<v Speaker 1>uttered yet by some strange quirk. When I load your

0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:38.520
<v Speaker 1>podcasts into my iPod, they play back in reverse chronological order,

0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:41.600
<v Speaker 1>giving me side effects like hearing listener mail for episodes

0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:45.679
<v Speaker 1>that haven't even mentioned or haven't happened yet. However, unless

0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:49.080
<v Speaker 1>I start tattooing myself like the guy Memento, I'll probably

0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:51.320
<v Speaker 1>just keep things the same, as it makes listening even

0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:53.640
<v Speaker 1>more fun. And we've heard this before. The people listen

0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:55.520
<v Speaker 1>out of order and they liked that better. I'm no

0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:59.560
<v Speaker 1>stranger to self imposed odd circumstance. For instance, I've purposely

0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:01.840
<v Speaker 1>used my mouse left handed, even though I'm right handed.

0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:06.600
<v Speaker 1>I sometimes reason things out while I'm dreaming. I often

0:19:06.600 --> 0:19:10.120
<v Speaker 1>balance on one leg while brushing my teeth. Like this guy,

0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:13.800
<v Speaker 1>I learned to read things upside down, and he has

0:19:13.800 --> 0:19:16.080
<v Speaker 1>also run into some groovy things, like when I was

0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:18.520
<v Speaker 1>in the army, I knew a guy who saw things

0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:21.560
<v Speaker 1>upside down and backwards, and he learned to cope by

0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:24.879
<v Speaker 1>writing things upside down and forwards, or I guess right

0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:28.639
<v Speaker 1>side up upside down. I once dated a girl whose

0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:31.040
<v Speaker 1>mother would eat the same thing for every meal for

0:19:31.119 --> 0:19:33.720
<v Speaker 1>a period of time. Two weeks of hard boiled eggs

0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:36.840
<v Speaker 1>for every meal, black licorice for three days straight, et cetera.

0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:40.000
<v Speaker 1>And I once worked with a guy who owned a

0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:44.440
<v Speaker 1>car that wouldn't make left hand turns. He's my favorite dude,

0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:47.080
<v Speaker 1>uh and basically he's leading up to a request. All

0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:48.480
<v Speaker 1>of this makes me wonder if you should do a

0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:52.440
<v Speaker 1>podcast on something like how living Strangely works, an explanation

0:19:52.480 --> 0:19:54.959
<v Speaker 1>of odd things that people choose to do which may

0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:57.440
<v Speaker 1>or may not actually provide tangible benefit to their lives.

0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:01.359
<v Speaker 1>We'll get Fuller to pitch it. Maybe. So so that

0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:04.120
<v Speaker 1>is from Michael Mack. You're not gonna say my last

0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:08.960
<v Speaker 1>name on the air anyway. Cracking from Colorado. Nice, thank you, Michael. Yeah,

0:20:09.160 --> 0:20:12.000
<v Speaker 1>very funny. Yeah. If you have a funny email you'd

0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:13.879
<v Speaker 1>like to send Chuck and I, there are a favorite

0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:17.399
<v Speaker 1>you can send it to. Oh wait, or if your

0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:19.840
<v Speaker 1>name is Richard Hunt and you've created the world's thickest

0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:23.959
<v Speaker 1>totem pole. You can send it to stuff podcast at

0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:30.919
<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com For more on this and

0:20:31.000 --> 0:20:34.440
<v Speaker 1>thousands of other topics. Does it how stuff works dot com.

0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:37.399
<v Speaker 1>Want more how stuff works, check out our blogs on

0:20:37.480 --> 0:20:42.520
<v Speaker 1>the house. Stuff works dot Com home page brought to

0:20:42.560 --> 0:20:45.639
<v Speaker 1>you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. It's ready,

0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:46.280
<v Speaker 1>are you