WEBVTT - Do animals have a sixth sense?

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

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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 how Stuff Works dot Com. Join Josh and Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>the guys who bring you Stuff you Should Know, as

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<v Speaker 1>they take a trip around the world to help you

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<v Speaker 1>get smarter in a topsy turv economy. Check out the

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<v Speaker 1>all new super Stuffed Guide to the Economy from how

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Works dot Com, available now exclusively on iTunes. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>and welcome to the podcast Whoop Whoop. That's the side

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<v Speaker 1>of the police. I'm Josh Clark, Chuck Bryant's with me.

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<v Speaker 1>Boogie Down Productions, Old school rap. That's right, took nice one,

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<v Speaker 1>good call. I love it. Yeah. So um, how are

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<v Speaker 1>you doing. I'm well, sir, Yeah, I'm doing really well. Chuck. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>thank you for asking. Thanks. Do it look healthy from

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<v Speaker 1>the from the nose up, I've noticed that my base

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<v Speaker 1>is becoming increasingly resemblant to a catcher's mit, an old

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<v Speaker 1>catcher's met and not a compass, no, like a very

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<v Speaker 1>round catchers it a perfectly round catcher man. How about that,

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<v Speaker 1>like one of those catchers mits from like the early days.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe my full name could be compass head catcherst it's

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<v Speaker 1>a little cumbersome. So, Chuck, have you ever met a cat?

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<v Speaker 1>I've got two cats, so you have? Oh yeah, you've

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<v Speaker 1>got the Whiz and Lebron. That's pretty close. Actually, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>impressed the Wizard and Laurn Lauren. Okay, yeah, I just

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<v Speaker 1>added a b right, and I would not name my

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<v Speaker 1>cat after Lebron James currently killing the Atlanta Hawks. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>he's good though, and a good guy here. Yeah. Sure, so, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>have you ever met a cat that could predict death? No?

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<v Speaker 1>But I love this story. It's a good one. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you mean the story of Oscar? Yeah? I remember what happened.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh really? Oh yeah, I remember reading about it. I've

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<v Speaker 1>got to pay more attention. Yeah. My wife and I

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<v Speaker 1>share these animal stories with each other, gotcha. Okay, like

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<v Speaker 1>Christian the lion who was taken to Kenyan the seventies,

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<v Speaker 1>don't think there was not a tear or two shed?

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<v Speaker 1>And I agreed Brian Alsehold, especially the one, the version

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<v Speaker 1>of it that was put to Aerosmith's Um. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to uh, don't want to miss a thing. Don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to miss a thing? Yes, exactly, nice Chuck, Okay, well.

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<v Speaker 1>Back in two thousand seven, the New England Journal of Medicine,

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<v Speaker 1>which is not exactly known for its sensational journalism UM

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<v Speaker 1>published a story about a cat named Oscar. And Oscar

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<v Speaker 1>was a resident at a Rhode Island nursing home, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>the Steerhouse Nursing and Rehab Center. And basically he was

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<v Speaker 1>just a normal cat. Aloof kind of was like, Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>you're old and I'm staying away from you. For the

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<v Speaker 1>most part. It was a home. It is a home

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<v Speaker 1>for people with advanced dementia, and I get the impression

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<v Speaker 1>that it has a bit of a hospice vibe to

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<v Speaker 1>it here there um so Oscar, as I said, it's

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<v Speaker 1>generally aloof except when you're about to die all of

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<v Speaker 1>a sudden. If you're laying in bed and Oscar comes

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<v Speaker 1>over to you and sits down next to your bed

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<v Speaker 1>and starts hanging out with you, you got a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of hours left. And uh, Oscar is actually pretty good

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<v Speaker 1>at predicting death. Uh, there's at least twenty five cases

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<v Speaker 1>where he accurately predicted the death of a person in

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<v Speaker 1>the Steer Nursing Home and Josher's there was a rumor

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<v Speaker 1>there is a rumor on the internet going around that

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<v Speaker 1>Oscar met an untimely death and there was a mysterious

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<v Speaker 1>dented bedpan found near his lifeless cat body. Not so,

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<v Speaker 1>because we just called. We called the Steer Nursing Home

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<v Speaker 1>to find out there were there were It was kind

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<v Speaker 1>of vague. There were a couple of reputable news sources

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<v Speaker 1>e g. The Savannah Morning News that carried that story,

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<v Speaker 1>but they all appeared to be the same. So Chuck

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<v Speaker 1>and I, being the internet sluice that we are, just

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<v Speaker 1>picked up the phone and did it the old fashioned way,

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<v Speaker 1>and we called the nursing home. And Oscar is still

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<v Speaker 1>alive and well and in the nursing home, apparently predicting

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<v Speaker 1>death as well. Right, although she said that she was

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<v Speaker 1>she was looking at Oscar. I wonder if she met

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<v Speaker 1>Oscar's stuffed body on the counter of the check in

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<v Speaker 1>on that floor. But how hilarious is that that Oscar

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<v Speaker 1>would be murdered because patients didn't like him predicting their

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<v Speaker 1>deaths anymore. So not true. Oscars alive and well. I

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<v Speaker 1>must say when I said my wife and I really

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<v Speaker 1>loved the story. We didn't see it as a as

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<v Speaker 1>a maccab predictor of death kind of thing. Like Josh Bannett,

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<v Speaker 1>we saw it as a comforting thing that an animal provides.

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<v Speaker 1>Was trying to comfort these people. So that's the way

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<v Speaker 1>I took it. Is it? There are other theories? Okay? Alright,

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<v Speaker 1>so Chuck, how could a cat possibly predict death? Right?

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<v Speaker 1>They can smell it? Perhaps smelling is probably the likeliest answer. Yes.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, when you're sick, like when you have the flu,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't smell quite right, you know what I mean?

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<v Speaker 1>You smell sick like your breath is messed up, there's

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<v Speaker 1>some gunk coming out of your pores. I when I

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<v Speaker 1>was sick over the course of the last like eight podcast, UM,

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<v Speaker 1>I was waking up with literally my eyelids pasted shut

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<v Speaker 1>from gunk that was coming out. And don't think that

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<v Speaker 1>didn't smell, pal You want to know more swine flu?

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<v Speaker 1>I want to get back to the cats smelling death? Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So smelling is a pretty obvious way. Apparently, as UM

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<v Speaker 1>people's organs begin to shut down or fail. Uh that

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<v Speaker 1>there's the hypothesis that, um, this would omit certain smells,

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<v Speaker 1>certain chemicals that humans cannot smell. What's that called? When

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<v Speaker 1>a cell commits suicide. Uh sellicide at auto license r

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<v Speaker 1>mortist baby. Um, so okay, the I guess the the

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<v Speaker 1>the senses that as these cells begin to cannibalize themselves

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<v Speaker 1>and break down and all their contents are at least

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<v Speaker 1>it starts to admit a smell that might attract Oscar. Right.

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<v Speaker 1>But the cool thing is, as you said, uh, he

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<v Speaker 1>it's not like he just goes in points like this,

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<v Speaker 1>one's next and then leaves. He hangs out until the

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<v Speaker 1>person is dead and then he leaves. Yeah, that's that's

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<v Speaker 1>what I took. Is that's the comforting part to me,

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<v Speaker 1>and comforting or you know, you wonder if you could

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<v Speaker 1>get the cat that lead you've got a second chance

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<v Speaker 1>or something not true at all. I wonder if people

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<v Speaker 1>have ever tried to bargain with the cat, like, dude,

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<v Speaker 1>I'll totally get you more friskies if you just get

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<v Speaker 1>out of here, or if one of the people in

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<v Speaker 1>the home that didn't like one of the other people

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<v Speaker 1>left a little trail of kibble, yeah, just to screw

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<v Speaker 1>with the their fellow patient nursing home hygiene. It makes

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<v Speaker 1>you wonder, Chuck, is it possible that Oscar the cat

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<v Speaker 1>is in fact the Grim Reaper. Uh, he is not Josh.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's just one example of what we're talking about,

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<v Speaker 1>which is animals having a sixth sense. Oh what a

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<v Speaker 1>sixth CeNSE? Well said Chuck. You we already decided that

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck was going to say six cents and not me

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<v Speaker 1>because I can't say yeah, thanks for the impression of

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<v Speaker 1>each other. I have a speech impediment, it turns out. So, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>should we talk about dogs next? Well? Yeah, one of

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<v Speaker 1>the one of the things that's fascinating about oscars. Cats

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<v Speaker 1>aren't They're not they don't do that. They're not empathetic,

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<v Speaker 1>they're not supposed to do that. They're not known for

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<v Speaker 1>being dogs are right, Um? Dogs tend to be very happy,

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<v Speaker 1>loving creatures, and so it would make more sense if

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<v Speaker 1>Oscar was a dog. Sure, because dogs there's all kinds

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<v Speaker 1>of anecdotal stories, uh about dogs detecting cancer by smelling,

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<v Speaker 1>and not just anecdotal. My friend, well, Mr Stack guy,

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<v Speaker 1>I happen to have a study right here, you're killing me.

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<v Speaker 1>I have a two thousand six study right um, And

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<v Speaker 1>I have no idea where it's from, but it seems

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<v Speaker 1>a little shaky to me quite too. It's from Science

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<v Speaker 1>Daily pal. They don't printice anything. UM. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand six study where they took eight six patients

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<v Speaker 1>with cancer with lung cancer and thirty one with breast

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<v Speaker 1>cancer and these were confirmed cancer cases. And then they

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<v Speaker 1>used a control sample of eighty three healthy people, right,

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<v Speaker 1>And they actually took breath samples from these people and

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<v Speaker 1>and seal them in special tubes, and then they exposed

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<v Speaker 1>them to these dogs. They had dog sniff the different

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<v Speaker 1>samples and UM with a eight to seven percent UM accuracy.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you. Uh, these dogs could pick out people with cancer.

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<v Speaker 1>Really wow. So clearly there's some smells that we humans

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<v Speaker 1>aren't aware of, aren't cognizant of, you know, because we

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<v Speaker 1>like to smoke and eat cheeseburgers and things like that. UM,

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<v Speaker 1>that that animals can sense, which would explain why you

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<v Speaker 1>could detect cancer. And there's another study that showed that

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<v Speaker 1>UM dogs could detect bladder cancer in urine. So there

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<v Speaker 1>you have that one to thank you, and uh that

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<v Speaker 1>you know that makes sense to me because animals certainly

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<v Speaker 1>have different hearing capacities than we do. UM. High pitched

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<v Speaker 1>sounds like dog whistles, we can't hear humans typically here

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<v Speaker 1>between twenty and twenty thousand hurts. And elephants too can

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<v Speaker 1>hear between sixteen and twelve thousand, and cattle can go

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<v Speaker 1>all the way up to forty thou And so that's

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<v Speaker 1>why when animals are said to predict weather and earthquakes

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<v Speaker 1>and things like that, that and bear barometric pressure changes.

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<v Speaker 1>They pick up on these things when humans don't. So

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<v Speaker 1>it's not exactly that they have a sixth sense, but

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<v Speaker 1>they used the five senses are more heightened than humans are.

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<v Speaker 1>That's interesting that you say cattle can hear better than

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<v Speaker 1>anybody else. What was that? Well, because I was reading

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<v Speaker 1>in this article it mentions the two four tsunami and

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<v Speaker 1>how there were so few animal carcasses found because so

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<v Speaker 1>many animals acted strangely and basically headed to higher ground

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<v Speaker 1>before the tsunami hit. The animals that they found the

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<v Speaker 1>most of her cattle. So maybe they know and they're

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<v Speaker 1>just like, I don't have a whole lot to live for,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm just gonna let death take me now. Or maybe they,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, had a harder time getting out of there

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<v Speaker 1>than heading the higher crown. I don't know. Yeah, that's

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<v Speaker 1>just one theory. So okay, So Oscar maybe in the

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<v Speaker 1>league of his own by predicting death. But yeah, there

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<v Speaker 1>there is tons of anecdotal evidence that animals, um especially

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<v Speaker 1>dag can sense illness. Right. Um, there was there was

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<v Speaker 1>a chihuahua that a woman in England owned. Who um

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<v Speaker 1>said that her dog detected a breast cancer. I thought

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<v Speaker 1>you're gonna say, taco bell, No awful. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>detective breast cancer three different times in her which sucks.

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<v Speaker 1>She had breast cancer three different times. Better chihuahua was like,

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<v Speaker 1>you got breast cancer? Hunt? Interesting? And uh. There was

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<v Speaker 1>a person with a Dalmatian. I don't know where he

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<v Speaker 1>or she was from, but um, the dalmatian kept smelling

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<v Speaker 1>this freckle on the on the owner's arm and it

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<v Speaker 1>turned out skin cancer. Isn't that weird? I believe it? Man?

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<v Speaker 1>Why not? Like I always say, why not? I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>what do we know as humans? I mean, who knows?

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe animals can totally smell these things. Should we go

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<v Speaker 1>to epilepsy? I think we should. I think we totally should.

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<v Speaker 1>This is something that's it's kind of controversial. Um. One

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<v Speaker 1>of the great failings of my opinion of science is

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<v Speaker 1>that if it can't readily explain something immediately, then it's

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<v Speaker 1>just poop poo's it. But it's looking more and more

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<v Speaker 1>like which is a scientific term for discredit. I think, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>poo poo, um, it is looking more and more like

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<v Speaker 1>dogs can sense epilepsy. Now, I think one of the

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<v Speaker 1>misleading things in these two articles can animals predict death?

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<v Speaker 1>And can a dog really predict a seizure is the

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<v Speaker 1>use of the word predict. There is no prediction. I

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<v Speaker 1>was reading this awesome article on CNN and it was

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<v Speaker 1>about a woman named Klie Johnson and she has um

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<v Speaker 1>epilepsy and cerebral palsy, so she has a seizure. She

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<v Speaker 1>is in trouble. She she wrote, She's in a wheelchair

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<v Speaker 1>and she has to wear a helmet all the time

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<v Speaker 1>because of this UM. And she actually recently got a

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<v Speaker 1>a dog that is a UM seizure sensing dog, epilepsy

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<v Speaker 1>trained seizure alert dog. That's what it's called. Yeah um. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>there's all sorts of seizure response dogs. This is established fact.

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<v Speaker 1>Dogs can be trained to um basically go get help,

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<v Speaker 1>bring food or a blanket. UM. Some lay on top

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<v Speaker 1>of their owners while they're having caesars to like to

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<v Speaker 1>keep um. Yeah, to keep from any kind of uh,

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<v Speaker 1>further injury or right. Um. This is different though totally different,

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<v Speaker 1>because that's a response. This is an alert. Um. She

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<v Speaker 1>has a dog that she got actually chucked from up

0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:32.120
<v Speaker 1>the street. In alfred and Georgia, there's a group called

0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:36.320
<v Speaker 1>Canine Assistance. Yeah and um. In the last few years

0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:40.720
<v Speaker 1>they've trained a hundred seizure dogs. Um. And they actually

0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:44.480
<v Speaker 1>this is the cool part. Caesar dogs um tend to

0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.079
<v Speaker 1>be one of the more expensive dogs, like ten g

0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.400
<v Speaker 1>twenty grand for a dog to train and keep it

0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:56.760
<v Speaker 1>healthy and fed over its lifetime. Right, yes, that's for

0:12:56.840 --> 0:13:00.000
<v Speaker 1>the lifetime. Yeah, veterinary care, that kind of think. That's

0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:03.880
<v Speaker 1>way more than the average dog. Um. The cool thing

0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:07.480
<v Speaker 1>about Canine Assistance is that they the people who get

0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:10.720
<v Speaker 1>their dogs kidding for free and they actually fly the

0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:15.120
<v Speaker 1>people there their dogs recipients out to Atlanta to hang

0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:16.600
<v Speaker 1>out with the dog for two weeks and they pay

0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:20.240
<v Speaker 1>for everything that pay for air fair um, lodging, food,

0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:23.960
<v Speaker 1>the whole shebang. Um. And they actually also pay for

0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.640
<v Speaker 1>the dogs veterinary and food bills for the rest of

0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:30.920
<v Speaker 1>its life. Yeah. That is a great organization. It's a

0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:33.920
<v Speaker 1>canine assistance out of Alpharetta, Georgia, and they are doing

0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:37.080
<v Speaker 1>some good in the world. Um. But anyway, there in

0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:42.600
<v Speaker 1>this article there were two funny well one was terribly ironic,

0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:46.120
<v Speaker 1>the other was kind of funny. UM. The the the

0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:51.079
<v Speaker 1>researcher a neurologist who is poo pooing the concept that

0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:58.440
<v Speaker 1>UM dogs can predict seizures. His name is Dr Gregory Berkley. Barkley,

0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:00.480
<v Speaker 1>you give me this look, and I was like, I'm

0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.120
<v Speaker 1>missing something here, and he said, and I actually agree

0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:05.720
<v Speaker 1>with him. He points out that the dogs can't predict

0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:08.720
<v Speaker 1>seizures UM, but that it's actually responding to an earlier

0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.559
<v Speaker 1>stage of the seizure before the patient is aware that

0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.079
<v Speaker 1>the caesuar is going on. Okay, like an eye movement

0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:18.400
<v Speaker 1>or dilation, possibly a smell, something that the patient's not

0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:21.440
<v Speaker 1>aware of. And the big problem with seizures is that

0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:23.960
<v Speaker 1>if you're driving a car, yeah, and you have a seizure,

0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:28.040
<v Speaker 1>so long, right, And I know that the ones who

0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:29.640
<v Speaker 1>are good at this, the dogs are good at this,

0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:33.240
<v Speaker 1>can predict anywhere. But I mean sometimes it's like thirty seconds,

0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:35.160
<v Speaker 1>which is enough time to pull a car over. But

0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:37.280
<v Speaker 1>this one lady said that she gets about a thirty

0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:39.960
<v Speaker 1>to forty five minute heads up from her her dog,

0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:43.560
<v Speaker 1>so did MS Johnson. She gets anywhere from twenty to

0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:46.040
<v Speaker 1>forty minutes. And this this dog that she just got

0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:51.480
<v Speaker 1>last year named ben Um, he's actually her second. Here's

0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:54.600
<v Speaker 1>the here's the horribly ironic thing. Um. She had another

0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:59.160
<v Speaker 1>great seizure dog for twelve years named McKeever, who actually

0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:03.160
<v Speaker 1>helps through her roughest time. She was having many more

0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:07.560
<v Speaker 1>seizures I think, uh, I think about ten a week maybe,

0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:10.360
<v Speaker 1>and it's actually gone down since then. But he was

0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:13.520
<v Speaker 1>really working over time. She had him for twelve years

0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:16.280
<v Speaker 1>until two thousand and seven when he died after having

0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:20.200
<v Speaker 1>his own seizure. Boy, isn't that awful? Yeah, this podcast

0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:22.520
<v Speaker 1>officially became one that my wife will not listen to.

0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:24.600
<v Speaker 1>I will steer her away from this. Yeah, dogs having

0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:28.560
<v Speaker 1>seizures is kind of sad. Yeah, but what an irony is?

0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:32.040
<v Speaker 1>So it is possible for a dog to uh Again,

0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:34.080
<v Speaker 1>we shouldn't use the word predict the seizure, and they

0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.160
<v Speaker 1>don't necessarily have to be trained, right, Chuck? Aren't some

0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:38.920
<v Speaker 1>of them just the household pets that are picking up

0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:41.400
<v Speaker 1>on this just from living around people with epilepsy. Right,

0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:44.000
<v Speaker 1>And I think they've also decided that it's uh not

0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.640
<v Speaker 1>breed specific either, so it's not I don't think they

0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:50.000
<v Speaker 1>found any specific breed has been any better than the next. Right,

0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:53.080
<v Speaker 1>Is that true? Uh? Yeah, I remember. I think it's

0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:55.560
<v Speaker 1>the impression I have is that it's more exposure to

0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:59.040
<v Speaker 1>epilepsy than anything else, and looking for signs and queues,

0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:01.680
<v Speaker 1>and then the second stages learning to not be afraid

0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.440
<v Speaker 1>of what happens when the owner's eyes roll back ahead

0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:07.520
<v Speaker 1>and they start trembling, and then they alert. They all

0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:09.800
<v Speaker 1>have their different ways of alerting. Some poet them, some

0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:13.880
<v Speaker 1>lick their hand. Uh. Some I think walk around in

0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:17.240
<v Speaker 1>circles or make a close eye contact. So it's pretty cool.

0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:19.920
<v Speaker 1>They have their different messages they'll send the owner. Yeah

0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:23.160
<v Speaker 1>you got anything else? No, I don't think so, Josh.

0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:25.000
<v Speaker 1>I would like to say, UM. One of the things

0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:29.520
<v Speaker 1>that I have read in researching this was that, UM, people,

0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:33.000
<v Speaker 1>since it's not proven, and since if it if it

0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:36.080
<v Speaker 1>does work, if a dog can sense a seizure early

0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:40.120
<v Speaker 1>on just from being around someone with epilepsy. UM, I

0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:42.480
<v Speaker 1>read over and over again that people are kind of

0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:46.800
<v Speaker 1>warned from staying away from um dog breeders or trainers

0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:50.760
<v Speaker 1>that charge you like twenty grand for a dog UM,

0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:54.080
<v Speaker 1>especially with with groups like Canine Assistants out there doing

0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.360
<v Speaker 1>lots of good. Yeah, and they can never guarantee to

0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:58.720
<v Speaker 1>That's the other takeaway I had is that doctors say

0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:00.840
<v Speaker 1>that this can be you can be a good thing,

0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.440
<v Speaker 1>but it's certainly not a fail safe and you should

0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:07.080
<v Speaker 1>never like rely on this as your only means of

0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.440
<v Speaker 1>helping yourself out if you have. But at the end,

0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:13.720
<v Speaker 1>even if the dogs hit and they feel pretty good

0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:15.800
<v Speaker 1>and they can and they also doctors said, they do

0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:19.760
<v Speaker 1>provide the companionship and the and all the other good things. Ultimately,

0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:21.480
<v Speaker 1>you have a dog, and how can you go wrong

0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:23.600
<v Speaker 1>when you got a dog? Exactly? My dogs the only

0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:27.720
<v Speaker 1>thing they can predict is five o'clock dinner time. And

0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:32.240
<v Speaker 1>so where am I? What does that leave me? Um?

0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:35.200
<v Speaker 1>Feeding the dogs? But feeding the dogs, it's their world

0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:36.680
<v Speaker 1>and I'm just living in it. If you want to

0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:41.440
<v Speaker 1>learn more about animals and their sixth senses? How is

0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:45.800
<v Speaker 1>that type in animals and predict in the search part

0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:49.320
<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com? And uh, that leaves us

0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:53.480
<v Speaker 1>with only one possibility, the possibility that it is time

0:17:53.520 --> 0:18:00.320
<v Speaker 1>for listener mail. It is Josh. This is part two

0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:05.480
<v Speaker 1>of high fructose Corn Syrup Replies. Seriously, dude, I'm telling

0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:08.800
<v Speaker 1>you these For some reason, corn brings out the smarts

0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:12.360
<v Speaker 1>because these people were awesome and it was not just

0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:17.600
<v Speaker 1>fluffy like so many fanmail. No, I'm just kidding, Wow, Chuck,

0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:21.200
<v Speaker 1>just kidding. Uh. This is from when in Los Angeles

0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:24.280
<v Speaker 1>and when says, uh, he wants to add a little

0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:27.320
<v Speaker 1>bit about what we said about HFCs. He said, you

0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:29.160
<v Speaker 1>said it was very cheap, and that's why it's used

0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:32.119
<v Speaker 1>to such extent. True enough, but you did not mention.

0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:33.720
<v Speaker 1>And we had a couple of people right in about

0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:37.240
<v Speaker 1>this is that the price of HFCs has kept artificially

0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:40.360
<v Speaker 1>low by the policies of the US government. US government

0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:42.840
<v Speaker 1>has placed a quota on sugar imports to the US

0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:46.480
<v Speaker 1>in order to protect the domestic sugar producers and sugars.

0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:50.560
<v Speaker 1>Case are called tariff rate quotas. So that provides for

0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:53.320
<v Speaker 1>a low tariff on certain quantity which is a quota amount,

0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:56.000
<v Speaker 1>and a higher tariff on any quantity above that level.

0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:59.560
<v Speaker 1>So this creates an artificial shortage of sugar that drives

0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:03.200
<v Speaker 1>up US prices and supports American sugar growers, but it

0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:05.919
<v Speaker 1>also makes sugar a very expensive product. Just to give

0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:07.879
<v Speaker 1>you an idea, last year, the price per pound of

0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:10.800
<v Speaker 1>sugar in the United States was about fifty five cents

0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:14.240
<v Speaker 1>and the world price was about eighteen cents. Wow. Is

0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:17.520
<v Speaker 1>that amazing? God, I wish I'd lived in Portugal. Uh.

0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:21.160
<v Speaker 1>In contrast, Josh HFCs runs about twenty five cents per pound.

0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:24.359
<v Speaker 1>What So it is no surprise that when President Reagan

0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:27.520
<v Speaker 1>drastically lowered the quota for sugar in the eighties, driving

0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:30.920
<v Speaker 1>up the domestic price way way up, the major soft

0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:33.560
<v Speaker 1>drink maker switch from sugar to high princ dos corn strups.

0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:35.879
<v Speaker 1>So there you have it, and thank yeah. If the

0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:39.520
<v Speaker 1>if the sugar market in the US was unrestricted, there

0:19:39.520 --> 0:19:43.119
<v Speaker 1>will be no economic consented for anyone to use HFCs,

0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:45.439
<v Speaker 1>and those quotas would be removed from the sugar market.

0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:49.119
<v Speaker 1>Is uh that they would be removed as pretty much

0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:52.439
<v Speaker 1>impossible now because there's too much money at stake. So

0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:55.000
<v Speaker 1>we had other people writing in about this and that's

0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:57.800
<v Speaker 1>it seems to be. It's going on. Yeah, So thank you.

0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:01.840
<v Speaker 1>When in Los Angeles you are super fan an awesome

0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:04.080
<v Speaker 1>field reporter will call you, hey, you know what, we

0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:06.000
<v Speaker 1>should start saying what we're going to do in the

0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:08.080
<v Speaker 1>future and let people tell us ahead of time. Then

0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:09.840
<v Speaker 1>we can work it into the podcast and give him

0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:12.119
<v Speaker 1>zero credit for it. That's true field reporters. We have

0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:16.240
<v Speaker 1>field reporters. Yeah, eye reporters. So if you wanted to

0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:18.840
<v Speaker 1>I report for us, or just say hi or be

0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:22.760
<v Speaker 1>like what up yo? Send us a an email to

0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:29.440
<v Speaker 1>Stuff Podcast at how stuff works dot com. For more

0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:31.760
<v Speaker 1>on this and thousands of other topics. Is it how

0:20:31.800 --> 0:20:34.520
<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot com and be sure to check out

0:20:34.520 --> 0:20:36.359
<v Speaker 1>this stuff you Should Know blog on the house stuff

0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:41.119
<v Speaker 1>works dot com home page. Brought to you by the

0:20:41.160 --> 0:20:44.480
<v Speaker 1>reinvented two thousand twelve camera. It's ready, are you