WEBVTT - The Wow Signal

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff from the Science Lab from how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Works dot com. Hey, Robert, I want to hear science joke.

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<v Speaker 1>Give me with it. Nature's oxide walks up to Gold said, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>you want to go speak carbon and oh Gold says,

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<v Speaker 1>I just love it. That was a good one to

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<v Speaker 1>get to the elements with that chow. Yeah, we're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>have to do a podcast on the periodic table, I

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<v Speaker 1>think one of these days. Yeah, I think we had

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<v Speaker 1>a request for it. Um, and that comes to it.

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<v Speaker 1>That joke comes to us a compliments of Facebook, Zach,

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<v Speaker 1>and you can send us all your bad jokes. We

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<v Speaker 1>love them clearly. Um on Facebook, we're stuff from the

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<v Speaker 1>Science Lab, or you can always tweet us your bad

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<v Speaker 1>jokes too, were lab stuff over on Twitter. But to

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<v Speaker 1>get away from the periodic table today, we're talking about

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<v Speaker 1>STI again and in particular one when one event in

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<v Speaker 1>SETI that you guys may be familiar with. Yeah, we're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about the Wow signal here, right. Yeah. So I

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<v Speaker 1>was inspired to do this podcast because there's a pretty

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<v Speaker 1>cool event that happened in August called set Con and

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<v Speaker 1>this was convention, right yes, and Comic Con, which you

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<v Speaker 1>were just tweating about the other day. So it was

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<v Speaker 1>organized by the folks at the seti Into Institute and

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<v Speaker 1>that's one of the really the big ones, the big

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<v Speaker 1>cohunas when it comes to study. You know, you have

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<v Speaker 1>people like Frank Drake there, he of the Drake equation,

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<v Speaker 1>Jilt Tarter, she was of course the model for Jodie

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<v Speaker 1>Foster's character in Contact Um. Seth show Stack is one

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<v Speaker 1>of their big people there are one of their big researchers,

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<v Speaker 1>and so they had some pretty cool events. But there

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<v Speaker 1>was an interesting debate that arose out of set Con.

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<v Speaker 1>And we've covered this before. Yeah, most of this, uh

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<v Speaker 1>comes out of some stuff that Stephen Hawkings said in

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<v Speaker 1>the recent and I think I've been saying already, but

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<v Speaker 1>but then he said it on a Discovery documentary series

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<v Speaker 1>about the universe, Stephen Hawkings Universe, and uh so suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>I think it was like like I said, I think

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<v Speaker 1>it was one of those newsweeks for there wasn't much

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<v Speaker 1>to report yet. We hadn't had an oil spill um

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<v Speaker 1>that was like a week off. So they're like, whoa

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<v Speaker 1>Stephen Hawking is saying that aliens want to destroy us.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's uh, let's you know, sex up the headlines and

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<v Speaker 1>uh and and have a field day with this. So

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<v Speaker 1>you guys might remember we did a podcast that covered

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<v Speaker 1>some of this ground. And right like Roberts saying it

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<v Speaker 1>was just hawking, was theorizing, well, yeah, if there's intelligent

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<v Speaker 1>life out there, maybe these life forms might be inclined

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<v Speaker 1>to harm us and take theirs. Yes. His whole thing

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<v Speaker 1>was like, we we are the model that we by

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<v Speaker 1>which we can try and understand what alien life we

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<v Speaker 1>consist of. And if there anything like us, there probably

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<v Speaker 1>kind of jerks, so maybe we shouldn't meet them. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>that was essentially it. I mean it was. It's kind

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<v Speaker 1>of blee. He makes it a lot more elegantly than

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<v Speaker 1>I did. But that was it. But you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>mean I'm not indeed he does he did it? Did

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<v Speaker 1>them justice? You did talking justice? Um. So the debate

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<v Speaker 1>that is coming from this convention and that we've had

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<v Speaker 1>all along is do we actively try to communicate with

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<v Speaker 1>extraterrestrial intelligence? What's the benefit? Yeah, like, are they what

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<v Speaker 1>are they gonna come? And do they're gonna come and

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<v Speaker 1>share their technology with us and and you know, be

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<v Speaker 1>super beneficial or or are they going to conquerss I

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<v Speaker 1>guess the I deal. I mean a lot of it

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<v Speaker 1>is just based in curiosity. You know, the universe is vast,

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<v Speaker 1>it you know, spans essentially forever as far as our

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<v Speaker 1>minds can understand it or grasp it, you know, and

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<v Speaker 1>so what's out there? You know, Well, curiosity of course

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<v Speaker 1>being the predecessor of innovation and exploration all those good

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<v Speaker 1>ations that we like to do, and that advanced our

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<v Speaker 1>civilization too. Yeah. So if they have the technology to

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<v Speaker 1>receive our message, you know, for actively broadcasting one of

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<v Speaker 1>those foolish things like did you hear about the instance

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<v Speaker 1>where that social networking site Bibo sending hundreds of user

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<v Speaker 1>generated text messages and um pictures and all this stuff. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that was They covered that in this American Life of Contact. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's just all sorts of idiotic things being sent

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<v Speaker 1>out there. They were basically like some heartfelt things. It

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't all idiotic, but a lot of kind of silly

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<v Speaker 1>things that were being beamed to a planet twenty light

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<v Speaker 1>years away, an extra planet. Yeah. Maybe maybe it's because

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<v Speaker 1>I like to think maybe it's kind of like a

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<v Speaker 1>conspiracy theory thing. I mean, it's kind of like the

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<v Speaker 1>the NASA who ever found out that there's that there's

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<v Speaker 1>some danger over there, there's some sort of like horrible

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<v Speaker 1>intergalactic civilization. They're like, whoa, We've got to convince them

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<v Speaker 1>that we're really dumb, because otherwise it's gonna come and

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<v Speaker 1>harvest our brains. So let's let's hook them up to

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<v Speaker 1>our social networking. You know, they're trying to think them out.

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<v Speaker 1>Interesting my theory because earlier, you know, the earlier method,

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<v Speaker 1>like with the voyager missions and all, was to you know,

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<v Speaker 1>a send naked pictures of ourselves, but also you know,

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<v Speaker 1>be like, look at us, we understand math and and

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<v Speaker 1>you know that we have this grasp of science, and

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<v Speaker 1>trying to convey that we're we're nice, upstanding members of

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<v Speaker 1>the neighborhood and that we should be invited over to

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<v Speaker 1>dinner sometime. You know that kind of thing. Yeah, so,

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<v Speaker 1>whatever your stance is on sending messages, we really have

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<v Speaker 1>been sending messages indirectly pretty much ever since TVs and

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<v Speaker 1>radios have been around, Right, Yeah, it's kind of like

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<v Speaker 1>we've in um in contrast to like sending out a

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<v Speaker 1>polite message to the neighbors, It's like we've had our

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<v Speaker 1>windows open with the TV blaring literally with the TV

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<v Speaker 1>for forty years, and now the neighbor is finally coming

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<v Speaker 1>over and being a pan of brownies and you know

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<v Speaker 1>some music. Yeah, there's actually there's a great Futurama episode

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<v Speaker 1>where the aliens come to invade because there they've been

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<v Speaker 1>like this takes place, you know, like far in the future.

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<v Speaker 1>So they're just now watching an Ally McBeal esque show

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<v Speaker 1>and can you just mentioned Ally mcnel? I forget it

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<v Speaker 1>was called like single Female Lawyer or something. So suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>they're signing there there the signals is interrupted, and they're like,

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<v Speaker 1>what happened to the rest of on the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the series, And so they come to invade Earth because

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<v Speaker 1>they want to find out how the series ended. So

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<v Speaker 1>let's do a quick reminder. I know you guys know this,

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<v Speaker 1>but of how we conduct set on Earth, the search

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<v Speaker 1>for extraterrestrial intelligence, it's pretty simple. Basically, we just listen

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<v Speaker 1>and we watch. And this is interesting and that there

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<v Speaker 1>is a lot of argument out there over whether we're

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<v Speaker 1>listening and watching for the right stuff. Our method so

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<v Speaker 1>far has really been to concentrate on collecting the radio

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<v Speaker 1>waves emanating from space. Yeah, we often use radio signals

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<v Speaker 1>as a as a benchmark for a civilization's technological achievement. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>So there are some people like cosmologists Paul Davies who

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<v Speaker 1>are saying, hey, maybe we should be checking out some pulsars.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe there's some civilizations out there saying, listen that pulsar.

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<v Speaker 1>We're making it flash like a beacon. How come the

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<v Speaker 1>civilization isn't getting it? It's so obvious. Yeah, that would

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<v Speaker 1>be like a type two civilization or or type three.

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<v Speaker 1>So we look and we listen, and we're basically listening

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<v Speaker 1>by eavesdropping on any radio communications coming from beyond Earth. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>we're trying to hear their TV show, is there lawyer

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<v Speaker 1>shows from some distant point in their past. So the

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<v Speaker 1>basic instrument going on here is a radio telescope in

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<v Speaker 1>the search for steady. It collects radio waves from space,

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<v Speaker 1>and because the cosmic radio waves are weak, the telescope

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<v Speaker 1>collecting dishes are are really large. And you guys know

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<v Speaker 1>this if you've seen are Cibo and Puerto Rico, or

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<v Speaker 1>pictures of the now defunct Bigger in Ohio, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>actually bigger that we're going to be talking about today.

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<v Speaker 1>These things look more like landscape and then something we've built,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, it's like just huge, huge telescopes. Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and they can survey these enormous chunks of the sky,

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<v Speaker 1>one of like these large chunks of the sky one

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<v Speaker 1>at a time, those chunks for signals, you can take

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<v Speaker 1>this sort of wide field approach and it lets the

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<v Speaker 1>telescope cover the entire sky out of low resolution in

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<v Speaker 1>a short period of time. So you're packing all this

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<v Speaker 1>information and but you know what, you're not getting particularly

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<v Speaker 1>quality information. So you do pick up the signal, well,

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<v Speaker 1>you're not going to know precisely where it was without

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<v Speaker 1>a high resolution arch and then you know what, what

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<v Speaker 1>if it doesn't repeat right, then you can't because that's

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<v Speaker 1>like we were talking earlier. Repetition is I mean, it's

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<v Speaker 1>key in science. And I hear heard something interesting, I

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<v Speaker 1>want to hear it again so that I can start

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<v Speaker 1>analyzing it. And you can also do a targeted search,

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<v Speaker 1>right yeah, and this is uh, focusing on a limited

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<v Speaker 1>number like one thousand to two thousand of the sun

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<v Speaker 1>like stars out there for extraterrestrial signals. Targeted search allows

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<v Speaker 1>for a more detailed investigation of a small area that

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<v Speaker 1>we think might be probable location so in in other words,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's it's like it's sounds a targeted search instead

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<v Speaker 1>of a wide search. It'sn't like you know, there's it's

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<v Speaker 1>like when the police decide to search an individual house

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<v Speaker 1>instead of canvassing the neighborhood. Yeah, because they already have

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<v Speaker 1>some suspects in mind. Yeah, yeah, they have some intel

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<v Speaker 1>that they're going on. So and the idea here is

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<v Speaker 1>we have we might have intel to go on because

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<v Speaker 1>we're saying, oh, well, this particular uh section has the

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<v Speaker 1>potential more of a potential to have a planet and

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<v Speaker 1>life could have evolved on than this like empty area blackness.

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<v Speaker 1>And another thing to bring to the table is that

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<v Speaker 1>our knowledge of exoplanets out there is growing every day.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean we know of hundreds yeah, so yeah, the

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<v Speaker 1>intelligence is improving, so we're getting a better idea of

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<v Speaker 1>where we should be aiming these targeted searches. And in fact,

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<v Speaker 1>that's what Kepler has been out there doing, to a

0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:24.760
<v Speaker 1>hardworking Kepler. So today we're pretty much interested in one

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<v Speaker 1>particular radio telescope by the name of Bigger. Bigger is

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<v Speaker 1>pretty famous as far as radio telescope scale. That sounds

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<v Speaker 1>kind of funny, Yeah, like I was trying to imagine

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<v Speaker 1>like like one of those teenage magazines that you see

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<v Speaker 1>in the grocery store, and they'd be like the cover

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<v Speaker 1>is like something about like the heart Throb and then

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<v Speaker 1>like top ten radio telescopes and like teenagers are going

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<v Speaker 1>crazy for him. Right, So Vigier was in Ohio, was

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<v Speaker 1>Ohio State University Radio Telescope. And to paraphrase one of

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<v Speaker 1>our old freelance writers, Susan Nasser who wrote about Figure,

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<v Speaker 1>but he looked kind of like a shiny parking lot.

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<v Speaker 1>It had a wall that was sitting on either end,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's one all that one wall that faced the sky.

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<v Speaker 1>Chick collect these radio waves and the waves then traveled

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<v Speaker 1>over the ground, which was covered with a sheet of

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<v Speaker 1>aluminum to preserve the signal as block interference, good stuff

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<v Speaker 1>like that, And then they traveled to the other wall,

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<v Speaker 1>which was curved, and it sent the waves to receiver

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<v Speaker 1>and eventually all that handy information wound up being printed

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<v Speaker 1>out at a computer. Yeah, they're kind of big eyes source,

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<v Speaker 1>but they kind of have to be to do well.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's kind of sad Bigger is no longer there. Bigger, Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>It went online in nineteen in nineteen seventy three it

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<v Speaker 1>began searching for radio signals. But since Bigger has been

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<v Speaker 1>in service, it has now gone defunct, and I believe

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<v Speaker 1>it has been replaced by a development of residential development

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<v Speaker 1>in Ohio, which I think is really sad. It would

0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:50.440
<v Speaker 1>have been more ironic if you have been replaced by

0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:55.360
<v Speaker 1>a parking lot. So yeah, nine seventy three, Bigger begins

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<v Speaker 1>its work. It's it's very serious, steady work, and one night,

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of years later, we get something pretty interesting

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<v Speaker 1>going on. Yeah, this was back in August, more than

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<v Speaker 1>thirty years ago. It's a hot summer night. Yeah. They

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<v Speaker 1>had big Ear aimed basically just just scan the Milky

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<v Speaker 1>Way for some sort of a signal, and uh it

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<v Speaker 1>got one, um, a really strong signal yeah. Um, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was long too, one minute twelve seconds. Yeah, it's

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<v Speaker 1>for the For the one minute and twelve seconds, the

0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:31.920
<v Speaker 1>waves were in the telescope search being the signal was strong.

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<v Speaker 1>It ranged from five to thirty times the background radio

0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:38.120
<v Speaker 1>noise that radio telescopes regularly to pick up. So that's

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<v Speaker 1>an interesting thing to note. Right, there's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>spaces in noisy place. Um, and there's a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>of a window that you can listen for. And so

0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:48.400
<v Speaker 1>this was stronger than the background noise out there. So

0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:52.640
<v Speaker 1>that was pretty interesting. Yeah, the signal was amazing, and

0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:54.360
<v Speaker 1>uh so of course we kept searching for it. Like

0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:56.719
<v Speaker 1>I said, repetition, we wanted to hear it again. We

0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.960
<v Speaker 1>didn't hear it again. We have never heard it again. Yeah,

0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:01.960
<v Speaker 1>that's left in the case with these signals and and

0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.200
<v Speaker 1>the Wow signal as this would soon be called because

0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:07.240
<v Speaker 1>days later professor at an Ohio State, a guy by

0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:10.000
<v Speaker 1>the name of Jerry Emon or Emmin, he saw the

0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:12.400
<v Speaker 1>print out from Big Ears computer. There's no one around

0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:14.320
<v Speaker 1>to tell to talk to poor Jerry, and he circled

0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:16.600
<v Speaker 1>the sequence from the night Big Ear picked up this

0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:23.120
<v Speaker 1>unusual signal and he wrote wow exclamation point. And so

0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:27.120
<v Speaker 1>professor was teaching Astronomy and Electrical Engineering os U. He'd

0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:30.000
<v Speaker 1>worked on Big Ears project. In fact, you're so devoted

0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:33.320
<v Speaker 1>to Big Ear and the telescope's work that after funding

0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:35.240
<v Speaker 1>was slashed and he was like, oh, he came back

0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:38.320
<v Speaker 1>as a volunteer. Wow, because he's kind of like that

0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:39.800
<v Speaker 1>dude who like, you know, it's like you see a

0:12:39.800 --> 0:12:41.920
<v Speaker 1>ghost or something for you know, and then you're like,

0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:44.240
<v Speaker 1>you spend the rest of your life sort of like

0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:46.600
<v Speaker 1>trying to figure out what the world that was. Yeah,

0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:48.920
<v Speaker 1>well I think he has in this case. I really

0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:51.559
<v Speaker 1>think he has, because the Wild signal is huge. I mean,

0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:53.679
<v Speaker 1>why was it so huge, why was it so remarkable,

0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:56.319
<v Speaker 1>and why couldn't have just been some object in space?

0:12:58.000 --> 0:12:59.600
<v Speaker 1>Because we know that there are a lot of natural

0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:02.920
<v Speaker 1>objects like stars and black holes and these emit radio waves.

0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:04.920
<v Speaker 1>But on wow is line of sight in the sky,

0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:08.120
<v Speaker 1>there were no astronomical sources of radio waves at all.

0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:11.839
<v Speaker 1>So WOW did hail from a spot near Sagittarius A,

0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:14.520
<v Speaker 1>which is a pretty big source of radio waves at

0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:17.240
<v Speaker 1>the center of our galaxy. But wow is line of

0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:20.080
<v Speaker 1>sight that night in the sky, it didn't match up.

0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:23.000
<v Speaker 1>It traced to a different line of sight than this region.

0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.400
<v Speaker 1>And so really the conclusion that we drew was, of

0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:28.760
<v Speaker 1>all the sources known at the time, WOW did not

0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:33.200
<v Speaker 1>seem to come from a natural object in space, which

0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:35.720
<v Speaker 1>would mean it's uh, It's like Sherlock Holmes said, right,

0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:37.680
<v Speaker 1>once you've ruled out all the natural, then you have

0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:43.199
<v Speaker 1>to worry about the unnatural. Yeah, yeah, well yeah, or aliens.

0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:47.160
<v Speaker 1>But yeah, first us could it have been US. Um okay, well,

0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:49.920
<v Speaker 1>so yeah, interesting the radio signals narrow band, meaning it

0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.679
<v Speaker 1>range over a few frequencies, unlike most of the natural

0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:55.520
<v Speaker 1>radio sources in space, whose emissions tend to range over

0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:59.560
<v Speaker 1>a huge number of frequencies. And yeah, like you were

0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:02.480
<v Speaker 1>just saying it have come from US. Yeah, we sent

0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.360
<v Speaker 1>a lot of stuff into space, So there is the

0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:08.760
<v Speaker 1>argument that that it could have come from some sort

0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:12.120
<v Speaker 1>of you know, Earth produced instrument, A circling satellite on

0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:16.240
<v Speaker 1>a probe, you know, on a program course through the space,

0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:18.920
<v Speaker 1>could have sent the radio waves. Has it sent it

0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:22.040
<v Speaker 1>back to Earth? Um? Well, no, The Big Air Group

0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:24.320
<v Speaker 1>was good. They did their homework, They did their due diligence.

0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:26.800
<v Speaker 1>They checked their lists for instruments in space at the time,

0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:29.360
<v Speaker 1>because it would have been disappointing if they were like, oh,

0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:32.240
<v Speaker 1>that was just something bouncing off of a satellite and

0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:34.800
<v Speaker 1>it would that would have made kind of sense, you know. Well,

0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:37.320
<v Speaker 1>they didn't find any. They checked their lists for all

0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:39.360
<v Speaker 1>these instruments. They didn't find any that were in Wild's

0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:41.560
<v Speaker 1>line of sight. They made a couple of calls, seriously,

0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:45.840
<v Speaker 1>if they missed something. Nothing turned up. Besides that, we

0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:48.600
<v Speaker 1>usually sent instruments to investigate moons and planets in our

0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:51.080
<v Speaker 1>solar system, and the signal came from a plane apart

0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:54.600
<v Speaker 1>from that plane, which I realized it's kind of tricky,

0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:58.680
<v Speaker 1>but it wasn't. It wasn't. Again, it's it's not if

0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:00.640
<v Speaker 1>it's bouncing off of something, as not bouncing off of

0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:03.200
<v Speaker 1>anything that we sent up. So then again you also

0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:05.920
<v Speaker 1>have the fact that man made transmissions weren't allowed at

0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:10.240
<v Speaker 1>the cimeter radio wavelength that figure was listening to, right,

0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:12.640
<v Speaker 1>So not only is there something weird out there making

0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.360
<v Speaker 1>radio waves, but it's breaking the law. It's breaking the law.

0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:19.240
<v Speaker 1>And then, like Robert was saying, just a little bit ago,

0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:22.120
<v Speaker 1>there's this later idea that was floated that maybe, in fact,

0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:24.320
<v Speaker 1>the wild signal was a radio wave sent from Earth

0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:27.880
<v Speaker 1>that ransom space debree got reflected back. But again they

0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:29.840
<v Speaker 1>ruled it out. They thought that the pattern didn't quite

0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:32.840
<v Speaker 1>seem to match up for that scenario, which really is

0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:35.760
<v Speaker 1>of course extraterrestrials. Yeah, when you rule out all the

0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:37.920
<v Speaker 1>other scenarios, like you're saying, yeah, then you just go

0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:42.200
<v Speaker 1>with the the unnatural and it's and so, yeah, we

0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:44.280
<v Speaker 1>haven't had any kind of repetition on this, So it's

0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:46.560
<v Speaker 1>it continues to be a mystery and people continue to

0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:49.920
<v Speaker 1>throw out the theories, and he knows it maybe maybe

0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:52.480
<v Speaker 1>one of those things that will never really have a

0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:56.360
<v Speaker 1>firm answer too. And the wild signal is by far

0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:59.080
<v Speaker 1>not the only signal that we've never been able to explain.

0:15:59.560 --> 0:16:03.560
<v Speaker 1>The vaunted a study researcher Paul Horowitz who works out

0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:07.840
<v Speaker 1>of Harvard because picked up legend goes thirty seven signals

0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:10.600
<v Speaker 1>that he was never able to explain much in the

0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.400
<v Speaker 1>way that we dismissed all of these factors as causing

0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:16.320
<v Speaker 1>the Wow signal. He's done the same in a in

0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:20.960
<v Speaker 1>an old paper. So the signals are out there and now,

0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:25.080
<v Speaker 1>and then there's also glupe right, oh glup. Yeah, Strickland

0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:27.120
<v Speaker 1>strictly wanted us to mention this one and this isn't

0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:29.840
<v Speaker 1>so much an extraterrestrial signal, that this was a funky

0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.880
<v Speaker 1>signal that was picked up underwater. Yeah, And I think well,

0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:35.840
<v Speaker 1>Strickland and other people like to make the claim that

0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:40.720
<v Speaker 1>it was the HP Lovecraft creation, the you know, the

0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:44.800
<v Speaker 1>the god Cathulu, yes Caul on which we have an article,

0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:46.640
<v Speaker 1>by the way, have you read that article? Yeah, I

0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:48.840
<v Speaker 1>don't have to. I'm all up on that stuff. That

0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:52.120
<v Speaker 1>Cathulo articles really aimed at people who really aren't is

0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:56.000
<v Speaker 1>into Lovecraft as I am, like I should read. Well,

0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:58.680
<v Speaker 1>my theory is that if the glut signal is Cthula,

0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:02.480
<v Speaker 1>it's because Cathula really ticked off at how overblown he's

0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.720
<v Speaker 1>become in uh in popular culture, and it is particularly

0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:09.919
<v Speaker 1>irritated about the plush dolls you can buy. Right, So

0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:13.119
<v Speaker 1>the gloop signal was picked up by one of the

0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:16.399
<v Speaker 1>booty's out there, placed I think by a naval body,

0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:20.080
<v Speaker 1>and it was picked up by the sonar equipment and

0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:23.720
<v Speaker 1>it was said to be so deep and that it

0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:25.960
<v Speaker 1>could not have been produced by any animal that we

0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:28.760
<v Speaker 1>know of. Okay, fine, it was an animal produced. Well,

0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:31.720
<v Speaker 1>maybe it was produced by something some rumblings within the

0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:34.480
<v Speaker 1>inner Earth. Yeah, there's a lot in the inner Earth

0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:38.560
<v Speaker 1>that we we don't completely understand. So that's completely feasible. Yeah,

0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:40.919
<v Speaker 1>so that's gloup for you, strick or ancient you know,

0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:43.960
<v Speaker 1>squid god living on the bottom of the ocean. Very scientific.

0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:47.440
<v Speaker 1>But here's another Lovecraft connection. Maybe the whole signal is

0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.000
<v Speaker 1>actually as is off. Yeah, So what do you guys

0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:52.520
<v Speaker 1>think these signals are. We're always putting the call out

0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:54.679
<v Speaker 1>to write in and tell us your thoughts. We'd like

0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:57.720
<v Speaker 1>to hear you think about Wow. Yeah, and uh point

0:17:57.720 --> 0:17:59.560
<v Speaker 1>here at it. Yeah. Check out our checks out on

0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:01.560
<v Speaker 1>Facebook where we're Stuff in the Science Lab, or on

0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:05.280
<v Speaker 1>Twitter where we're lab Stuff. Um, we'll update you with

0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:08.840
<v Speaker 1>all the stuff we're writing about and uh podcasting about. Hey.

0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:10.399
<v Speaker 1>So we'd love to hear what you guys think of

0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:14.280
<v Speaker 1>the Wow signal and other city phenomena out there, So

0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:16.080
<v Speaker 1>send us an email it science stuff at how stuff

0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:19.560
<v Speaker 1>wrix dot com. Yeah, and be sure to check out

0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:22.600
<v Speaker 1>our Facebook and Twitter accounts as well. On Twitter, we're

0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:25.600
<v Speaker 1>lab Stuff. On Facebook we're stuff in the Science Lab.

0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:29.240
<v Speaker 1>And there's always how stuff works dot com where Cfolo

0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:31.760
<v Speaker 1>awaits you. So that's all we got for today. Thanks

0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:41.560
<v Speaker 1>for listening, guys. For more on this and thousands of

0:18:41.600 --> 0:18:44.920
<v Speaker 1>other topics because at how stuff works dot com. Want

0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:47.639
<v Speaker 1>more how stuff works, check out our blogs on the

0:18:47.640 --> 0:19:04.520
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