1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures, ideas, 5 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 1: and monsters in time. Sift around through urban legends and 6 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: hauntings websites enough and you'll come across talk of the 7 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: mud Man of Metz said to haunt Metz Bridge and 8 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: mets Iowa. Websites such as Haunted Places mentioned tales of 9 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: a mud monster in the depths beneath the bridge, perhaps 10 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: a ghost or revenant of a man who died in 11 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: a fatal car accident at the site. Some accounts raised 12 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: the possibility that this individual died while fleeing a crime 13 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:56,319 Speaker 1: scene and that their bloody crimes doomed them to this 14 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: horrible existence in central Iowa. Haunting men of mud can 15 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: be found elsewhere in the world as well. Specifically, there 16 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: is the do ro Tabo of Japan. The name means 17 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: either mud man or rice patty man. This yokai is 18 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: generally described and depicted as a humanoid of mud, or 19 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: at least a torso of mud emerging from the mud 20 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: of a rice patty, grasping about with its arms and 21 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: staring out of a single wide eye in its head 22 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: as it wails in the night. According to Hiroko Yota 23 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: and Matt Alt in their excellent book Yokai Attack, the 24 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 1: do Rotabo is not generally believed to be dangerous. It cries, 25 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: it frightens those who encounter it. Some traditions say it 26 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: originated in the spirit of a man who lost his 27 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: hard earned farmland and now haunting those very rice patties, 28 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: cries for its return in the night. The authors share 29 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: that the do Rotabo's origins go back at least as 30 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: far as say can Toriyama's famous eighteenth century your Kai 31 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: book Tales of Monsters then in now, And while it 32 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: might be based on pre existing folk tales, it's more 33 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,639 Speaker 1: likely a creation of Toriyama himself. I'll have to admit 34 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: that this frightening spirit loses some of its appeal given 35 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: that it might have been a little more than the 36 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: embodiment of a crude sexual metaphor quote to stick a 37 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: pole in the rice patty. The door o Tabo's appearance 38 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,119 Speaker 1: is vaguely phallic, and the authors point out that Toriyama 39 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: may have been referencing Brothels that were located north of 40 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: Edo Castle at the time. Mud monsters pop up in 41 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: our modern fictions as well. Just to name a few appearances, 42 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: you'll find them in the goose Bumps book series and 43 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: TV show, as well as the movies Spookies and Terry 44 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: Gilliam's two thousand and five fantasy film The Brothers Grimm. 45 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:56,359 Speaker 1: Mud Men have also emerged from the muck and such 46 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: role playing games as Dungeons and Dragons, and you'll be 47 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: able to smite them in such video games as Blasphemous. 48 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: In the natural world, many creatures take advantage of mud, 49 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: either as part of their habitat or as an excellent 50 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: cooling and sun productive coating for their skin. Mud can 51 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:17,640 Speaker 1: also aid in the removal of ecto parasites, provide relief 52 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: from biting insects, and prevent skin from drying out. And yes, 53 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: it can also aid in camouflage. The wart hog is 54 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: a great natural example of this, but of course, if 55 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 1: you ever find yourself battling invisible aliens in the jungle, 56 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: this trick also comes in handy for muscular commandos as well. 57 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster fact or 58 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: the Artifact each week. As always, you can email us 59 00:03:49,240 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. 60 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of iHeartRadio. 61 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart 62 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 63 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: favorite shows.