1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 2: Hey you welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. My 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 2: name is Robert Lamb. 4 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 3: And I'm Joe McCormick, and we're back with part two 5 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 3: in our series on Dust Now. In the last episode, 6 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:25,920 Speaker 3: we talked about how to define dust. We talked about 7 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 3: the definition that came from a book that I've been 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,919 Speaker 3: reading by an author named Jay Owens, defining dust as 9 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 3: tiny flying particles. We talked about our wonderful, beautiful, swarming 10 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 3: invisible domestic companions, the dust mites, and we talked about 11 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 3: atmospheric dust and its complex relationship to weather and climate. 12 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 3: And hey, if you hear a little weirdness, little creak, 13 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 3: little croak in my throat today that may very well 14 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 3: be caused by dust. 15 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 2: There you go. Yeah, So into day's episode, we're gonna 16 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 2: we're gonna be talking about dust bunnies a bit here, 17 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 2: but but not just dust bunnies. Just summoning the specter 18 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 2: of the dust bunny is enough to diverge into topics 19 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 2: concerning cosmic horror and and cosmic mysteries. So even though 20 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 2: the dust bunny is pretty mundane and every day and 21 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 2: you could probably find one in your home within five 22 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 2: minutes if we requested it. Stick around because it's gonna 23 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 2: go interesting places. 24 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 3: I know, based on seeing some reactions to part one 25 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 3: of this series, that there are some real dust haters 26 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 3: in our audience, and so we may in fact here 27 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 3: from listeners who say no, no, no dust bunnies in 28 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 3: my house. They are there forbidden, and I do not 29 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 3: allow a single one to form. 30 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 2: All right, Well, that's it's a very Victorian mindset, as 31 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 2: we'll discuss here, so I don't think I have to 32 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 2: tell many of you what a dust bunny is, though, 33 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 2: as we'll discuss the terminology, there seems to be more 34 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 2: dominant terminology in different parts of the world, and I 35 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 2: wasn't able to find like a really exhaustive list, so 36 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 2: certainly I'm hoping to hear from listeners in other countries, 37 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 2: in other language traditions that have different terms for what 38 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 2: we're talking about here. These are vaguely animal shaped accumulations 39 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 2: of dust that one tends to find in hard to 40 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 2: dust places and corners of a home or other interior space. 41 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 2: A frequent place you may find these is, of course, 42 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 2: like under the bed, under and behind the dresser, places 43 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 2: where dust can accumulate for extended periods of time without 44 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 2: being noticed until you go in there looking for something, 45 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 2: or going in for a more detailed dusting of the room, 46 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 2: and you find something that has accumulated to the degree 47 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 2: that it is kind of vaguely animal shaped. 48 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 3: I must say that I find these accumulate with much 49 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 3: greater frequency if you have a dog. 50 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, wow, yeah, I mean we have a cat. And 51 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 2: that certainly helps too, you know, because, as we'll be 52 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 2: discussing here, like, they are made out of the various 53 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 2: things that make up dust in your home, and pet 54 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 2: dand or pet hair is a large part of that 55 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 2: if pets are present or even have been present in 56 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 2: pat So I found that dust bunnies can be a 57 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 2: deceptively difficult topic to research, as they often garner nothing 58 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,400 Speaker 2: more than just passing mention, even in books devoted to 59 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 2: the topic of dust. I didn't look in all of them, 60 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 2: but I didn't look in a couple of them. And yeah, 61 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 2: even in books devoted entirely to topics of topic of dust, 62 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 2: you might not find much about them. So I suspect 63 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 2: that I'm not alone in turning up a few leads. 64 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 2: But there is some information out there. These accumulations have 65 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 2: been known by different names. Again, this is not an 66 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 2: exhaustive list, so let us know what you have come 67 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 2: to know them as. But in German tradition there are 68 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 2: often referred to as wool mouse or as it means 69 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 2: wool mouse, which I think is pretty good. You know, 70 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 2: looks it actually looks more like a mouse than a rabbit, 71 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 2: at least the ones I encounter. 72 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's you know, you're more likely to find a 73 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 3: mouse than a rabbit inside your home. 74 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:18,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, rabbits get rather big. Like when 75 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 2: I look into the backyard to check in the garden 76 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 2: and I see the prince with a thousand enemies back there, 77 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 2: he's kind of a chonker. I would be rather concerned 78 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:31,919 Speaker 2: if I found a true rabbit sized dust bunny inside 79 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 2: the house. 80 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 3: Maybe you're supposed to think of baby bunnies or like 81 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,159 Speaker 3: just maybe just the bunny's tail, a little cottontail. 82 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 2: Yeah. The other thing I was thinking is maybe it 83 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:42,160 Speaker 2: has to do with like multiple clumps, and you can 84 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 2: be like, oh, it looks kind of like two ears 85 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 2: and a body or something. 86 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 3: That's right. So I think bunny kind of makes sense 87 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 3: because dust bunnies can be floppy. They can be almost 88 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 3: hinged in a way, if you know what I mean, 89 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 3: Like one part of them will fold over and they'll 90 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:58,359 Speaker 3: flop around much like a rabbit's ears. 91 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 2: Now for this next one from English tradition, I do 92 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 2: want to warn everyone I am about to use a 93 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 2: word that has since this antiquated usage of the term 94 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 2: become more offensive. So you know, I don't skip a 95 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 2: few seconds of you. They're young listeners present, you don't 96 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 2: want to hear this word. And I also want to 97 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,839 Speaker 2: throw a warning out there to any automated like spider 98 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 2: bots that are transcribing the podcast and then reporting back 99 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 2: to Apple Podcasts with inside about what we're talking about. 100 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 2: Please be advised antiquated use of the term here. So 101 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 2: with all that set up. In English tradition, they are 102 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 2: some They were sometimes known as sluts wool. This was 103 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,159 Speaker 2: an antiquated use of that term that meant an unclean 104 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 2: or slovenly person. 105 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 3: So it was an unclean or slovenly person's wool, meaning 106 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:49,600 Speaker 3: it it came from them like it was their wool 107 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,679 Speaker 3: and descended to the floor, or it was like meant 108 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:55,279 Speaker 3: for them like this is the wool they will use 109 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 3: to dress in and heat their bodies. 110 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,280 Speaker 2: Uncertain, I guess it kind of. It also kind of 111 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 2: seems like, Okay, if you were busy, you would have 112 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,480 Speaker 2: cleaned your home and you would have maybe produced actual wool. 113 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 2: I don't know, it's just kind of I guess wool 114 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 2: thought of as something that accumulates naturally in the context 115 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 2: of sheep, I'm not sure. I've also read it referred 116 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 2: to as Beggar's velvet, not to be confused with Beggar's 117 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 2: velvet that was also a blend of cotton and linen. 118 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 2: So you might find references to someone wearing a garment 119 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 2: made of Beggar's velvet, but they're not using a garment 120 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:31,039 Speaker 2: made of dust bunnies. 121 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 3: Wouldn't it be funny though, if dust bunny based fabrics 122 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 3: became like the new hot item, Like, you know, you 123 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 3: have silk, you've got I don't know, angora or something, 124 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 3: and then you get the dust bunny. 125 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,839 Speaker 2: I'm gonna pass on that one, but I don't know 126 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 2: if you use the next term for it, maybe because 127 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,599 Speaker 2: the next term is house moss, and this one I 128 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 2: feel finally sounds a little less disparaging, you know, it 129 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 2: sounds like just something that accumulates naturally and is therefore 130 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 2: rather mundane. I mean, who has a vendetta against moss? 131 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 2: And then finally you'll find other uses such as dust kitten. 132 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 2: I couldn't find any information about this being anything. This 133 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 2: might be a more recent development where we want to 134 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 2: apply all things cat to things in our house, and 135 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:18,239 Speaker 2: therefore think of it as a dust kitten, which certainly 136 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 2: does sound cuter. 137 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 3: Well, a dust bunny is prey, a dust kitten is 138 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 3: a predator. 139 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 2: Dust bunny, however, does seem to be the main US 140 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 2: English term for these accumulations of dust. As this is 141 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,680 Speaker 2: household dust. It's generally composed of the same household components 142 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 2: that we discussed in the last episode, so things like 143 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 2: dead skin, hair, pet dander, lint, pollen, and so forth. 144 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 2: Dust mites may also reside within them, so I don't 145 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 2: think it's anything you necessarily want to form into a garment. 146 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 2: Not that I ever have any problem like touching the 147 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 2: dust bunnies of only scooping up something behind a dresser 148 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 2: that hasn't been moved in a while, but I also 149 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,240 Speaker 2: find that I regard it rather differently than when compared 150 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 2: to dryer lint. Dryer lint always, to me, feels like 151 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 2: a like a sacred and holy substance that must be 152 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 2: removed from the machine. There's something kind of satisfying about 153 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 2: removing dryer lint that, especially when it comes off in 154 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 2: kind of like a clump or a patch, you know. 155 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, when it comes out warm, Oh yeah, that really 156 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:25,520 Speaker 3: emphasizes the holiness of it. 157 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, it still goes straight in the trash. 158 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 3: But you know, I gotta say, dust bunnies came to 159 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 3: seem much more offensive to me. I mean that we 160 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:36,440 Speaker 3: used to just have them around the house all the time. 161 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 3: I don't know if that's gross, but like, you know, 162 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:40,559 Speaker 3: you'd see them and be like, oh, yeah, there's one 163 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,440 Speaker 3: over there. Maybe I'll do something about it. Maybe not. 164 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 3: When you've got a young child who's like mobile, crawling 165 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 3: around on the floor and kind of putting whatever in 166 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 3: their mouth, then there's a sudden urgency to actually do 167 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 3: something about all these little critters piling up in the corners. 168 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 2: Yes, and pile up they do. Now, when you look 169 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 2: around for a detailed description on how dust bunnies form, 170 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,480 Speaker 2: I found that some of the best explanations are not 171 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 2: really about explaining dust bunnies at all, but rather about 172 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:14,440 Speaker 2: using them as a means to better understand accumulations of 173 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 2: cosmic dust and ultimately the formation of much larger bodies 174 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 2: in space. Sources on this include Richard Cowen's book History 175 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 2: of Life. I believe that's kind of like a long 176 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:30,320 Speaker 2: standing like science textbook, kind of a situation. Also Formation 177 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 2: of Cosmic dust Bunnies, an article published in two thousand 178 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:36,920 Speaker 2: and seven in the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science by 179 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:40,559 Speaker 2: Matthews at All. John Hermann brought together some of these 180 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 2: sources for a twenty ten Gizmoto explainer, and there's also 181 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:46,559 Speaker 2: a two thousand and nine Esquire explainer. But everyone is 182 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 2: pretty much circling around the same bundle of sources I find, 183 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,679 Speaker 2: but still an insightful bundle of sources. So, whether we're 184 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 2: dealing with the formation of stars or the formation of 185 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 2: that epic dust bunny under your bed, it comes down 186 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:03,680 Speaker 2: to the process of accretion. Now we've talked about this 187 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 2: in the show before, at least in the cosmic sense. 188 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,440 Speaker 2: In the household sense, however, we'd be talking about a 189 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 2: very weak static electrical charge bringing together only the very 190 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:18,200 Speaker 2: fine particles of dust, because you're not dealing with like 191 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 2: a you know, a cosmic void scenario. This is happening 192 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,200 Speaker 2: under your bed. The rest of what's binding the dust 193 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 2: bunny together, it comes seems to come down to entangled 194 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 2: and matted fibers of the various components that make up 195 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 2: the bunnies. 196 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:36,600 Speaker 3: Just based on my own observations, dust bunnies really do 197 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:40,520 Speaker 3: seem to me to have a large hair component compared 198 00:10:40,559 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 3: to just the dust you'd find anywhere else in your house. 199 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:45,439 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think the hair is key. The hair 200 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 2: gets tangled, hair gets matted in these contexts. It's why 201 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 2: I also, if you're a cat owner and you're you know, 202 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 2: on the lookout for things like hair balls, dust bunnies 203 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:56,680 Speaker 2: can also be instantly a little bit more alarming because 204 00:10:56,679 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 2: you're like, Okay, what what's the classification of this thing 205 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 2: I have found? They're like, Oh, it's just dust bunny. 206 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 2: Nobody is to blame except maybe me. Now, that giz 207 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 2: Moto explainer that I referenced earlier from Herman runs through 208 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,320 Speaker 2: basically all this, But I thought that he has had 209 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 2: a really nice capper for the article, so I want 210 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 2: to read a quote from it. There are other minor 211 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 2: culprits like the cooking of fatty foods, which produces triglycerides 212 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 2: that can attach to dust particles, making them stickier. All 213 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:27,920 Speaker 2: the causes, though, share one characteristic. They're subtle. It's either 214 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 2: electrostatic forces that are nearly impossible to measure, or air 215 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 2: flows that are impossible to feel, or fat deposits that 216 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 2: are unavoidable and unnoticeable byproducts of preparing. Basically any delicious 217 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 2: food actually make that two characteristics. Without dust, they can't exist, 218 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,439 Speaker 2: So get cleaning. This is a very I thought, very 219 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 2: essential to note the airflow aspect of this, because I 220 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:54,800 Speaker 2: think that's another thing you can observe in your home. 221 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 2: It's not only the places where dust isn't easily observed, 222 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:02,479 Speaker 2: but also sort of the corners where like sweeping doors 223 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 2: and human traffic or pet traffic will sort of subtly 224 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 2: push everything together as well. 225 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:12,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, the kind of tide pools of airflow in the home, 226 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 3: places where things just get deposited and left there after 227 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 3: the movement all around. Well, Rob, I want to go 228 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 3: from the cozy and domestic context of dust bunnies back 229 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 3: to something you mentioned a minute ago, which is the 230 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:38,440 Speaker 3: cosmic context because I came across a very intriguing and 231 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:43,559 Speaker 3: very cute hypothesis about the nature of a space object 232 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,280 Speaker 3: that we have talked about several times on the show before, 233 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 3: and that is Omuamua. 234 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 2: Ah Yes, our old friend of Muhamoa. 235 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 3: So to briefly refresh, Omuamua is the name of a 236 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:59,199 Speaker 3: fast moving object in space that was discovered in October 237 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 3: twenty seventeen through a ground based telescope and camera system 238 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 3: called pan stars one at the Haleaka Law Observatory in Hawaii, 239 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 3: and Omumua was big scientific news because it was the 240 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 3: first example ever confirmed of a physical object from another 241 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 3: star visiting our solar system, and scientists were able to 242 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 3: say with high confidence that it came from outside our 243 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 3: Solar system because of its speed and trajectory. So, your 244 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:35,120 Speaker 3: standard asteroid or comet will will orbit our Sun in 245 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,679 Speaker 3: a loop, and it might be a very elongated loop, 246 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:40,240 Speaker 3: or it might be at a kind of tilted angle, 247 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 3: and its speed will tend to change as it goes 248 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 3: around this irregular orbit. Maybe it'll get faster as it 249 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,319 Speaker 3: swings around the Sun and then slow down as it 250 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:52,240 Speaker 3: gets farther away from the Sun in that loop. But 251 00:13:52,559 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 3: instead of orbiting our Sun in a loop, this object 252 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:01,719 Speaker 3: entered the Solar System going extremely fast angle nearly perpendicular 253 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,520 Speaker 3: to the orbital plane of the planets. So if you 254 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 3: picture the planet circling the Sun on a basically flat disc, 255 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:11,720 Speaker 3: could this object hit the disc from the top and 256 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 3: then had its path sharply bent around by the gravity 257 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,839 Speaker 3: of the Sun, and then continued on a course taking 258 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 3: it straight back out of the Solar System forever. And 259 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 3: the decisive factor showing that it was not from here 260 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 3: and would not be returning was speed. It had what 261 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:31,880 Speaker 3: might be called a hyperbolic velocity, enough speed that its 262 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 3: path around the Sun if you zoom out, was clearly 263 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 3: not the tight end of an oval shape, but was 264 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 3: closer to a V shaped corner in a linear path, in. 265 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 2: Other words, just passing through. 266 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:48,240 Speaker 3: Yeah. So, Omuamua got people excited for a number of reasons. 267 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 3: First of all, it was the very first of its kind. 268 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 3: Nobody had ever confirmed an interstellar object in our vicinity before, 269 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 3: though soon after its discovery we learned that it might 270 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 3: not actually be all that rare, because another interstellar object 271 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,920 Speaker 3: called Borisov, a rogue comet this time, was spotted in 272 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 3: August twenty nineteen, and there are other indications since then 273 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 3: that this kind of thing might happen a lot. It's 274 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 3: just that Omumua was the first one we happened to 275 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 3: see it happened to catch now. Of course, one corner 276 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 3: of the Internet got very excited because, of course some 277 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 3: people thought it was aliens, right, this is an alien 278 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 3: probe or a techno signature of some kind. We looked 279 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 3: into these claims back in the day when people were 280 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 3: first publicizing them, and our judgment was that, you know, 281 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 3: there's nothing about Omumo that requires that conclusion, though it 282 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 3: did have some very odd and interesting features that require 283 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 3: some explanation. One of these features was its apparent shape. 284 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 3: Omuamua seems to be shaped like almost nothing else we 285 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 3: know of in our solar system, and to be clear, 286 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 3: this shape is something we have to infer not able 287 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 3: to resolve an image of Omumua's shape directly. It's not 288 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 3: like we could zoom in close enough with a telescope 289 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 3: to see it like these pictures of asteroids we get 290 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 3: from like a probe that approaches really close, like the 291 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 3: image we got of the asteroid Binu from the Osiris 292 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 3: REX mission. You know that is a direct camera image 293 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 3: that we could get because we were close. Omuamua is 294 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,920 Speaker 3: a point like source of light. It was far away 295 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 3: and very small. But by analyzing what's called a light curve, 296 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 3: which is the pattern of time based variations in the 297 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 3: intensity of light reflected off of the object, scientists can 298 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:44,120 Speaker 3: put together a likely model or multiple likely models of 299 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 3: its shape, and according to what I've read, the best 300 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 3: models of its shape include either a sort of tumbling 301 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:55,760 Speaker 3: elongated cigar shape or a tumbling flat disc. NASA's overview 302 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 3: of the object still leans toward the cigar shape, saying 303 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 3: that it is probably about four hundred meters long and 304 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:05,879 Speaker 3: about ten times as long as it is wide, and 305 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,679 Speaker 3: there's still some variation in those estimates. Like other sources 306 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,960 Speaker 3: I've looked at the put the guess at it being 307 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 3: more like two hundred meters long and having a slightly 308 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:19,120 Speaker 3: different length to with ratio. So there was a lot 309 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 3: of speculation about what this object is. Is it we 310 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 3: know it comes from outside the Solar System, but is 311 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:29,880 Speaker 3: it an interstellar asteroid? Is it a rogue comet from 312 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 3: another star? Is it a shard of a planet that 313 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:37,200 Speaker 3: got smashed to pieces? What is it another strange feature 314 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 3: of Muamua that seems to contribute to these the search 315 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,760 Speaker 3: for an explanation as to its nature is its seemingly 316 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 3: anomalous acceleration. The object was caught going slightly faster and 317 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 3: faster as it moved away from the Sun, which is 318 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:57,439 Speaker 3: characteristic of comets rather than asteroids. Comets, which have some 319 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,639 Speaker 3: rock and dust content but are also largely made of ice, 320 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 3: can accelerate beyond the speed that would be predicted by 321 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:10,359 Speaker 3: gravity alone by outgassing. When they get close to the Sun. 322 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,760 Speaker 3: Comets heat up and the ice starts to melt. The 323 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,960 Speaker 3: ice and the volatiles melt and they shoot out into space, 324 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 3: and this throwing of water and other volatiles into space 325 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 3: gives the comet an equal and opposite propulsive nudge, increasing 326 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 3: its speed. Omuama behaved basically as if it were receiving 327 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 3: this kind of cometary speed boost as it was flying 328 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:38,000 Speaker 3: away from its closest brush with the Sun. But there's 329 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:42,199 Speaker 3: a problem. When comets melt and outgas like this, we 330 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:46,919 Speaker 3: can see it. They show a cometary tail, and Omuamua 331 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,440 Speaker 3: did not show a cometary tail, and so this, by 332 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 3: the way, was one of the arguments of the people 333 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,119 Speaker 3: claiming that it was aliens, that this strange combination of 334 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 3: observations showed that the object was an alien techno signature, 335 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,959 Speaker 3: basically a vehicle based on the principle of a solar sale. 336 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 3: And we again, we looked at that claim in more 337 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:10,639 Speaker 3: depth years ago. Look up that episode to learn more 338 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 3: if you want. But we sort of agreed with the 339 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:16,399 Speaker 3: skeptics that there's no reason to jump to the conclusion 340 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 3: of aliens yet. Maybe it's just a natural object with 341 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:21,160 Speaker 3: some unusual features. 342 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:23,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it was an exciting question, to be sure, 343 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,679 Speaker 2: and it got the public interested. But is it the 344 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:31,520 Speaker 2: first question you should ask. Probably not, And again it 345 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 2: seems like they are far better explanations for what this was. 346 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 3: Right, So I'm about to get to one of those, 347 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 3: actually a couple, but in any case, it's weird and intriguing. 348 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 3: So it's an object that was from outside our solar system, 349 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 3: speeding up like a comet, but showing none of the 350 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:49,480 Speaker 3: visible tale of gas and dust we would expect from 351 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:52,200 Speaker 3: a comet. And that brings us back to the topic 352 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 3: at hand, the dust bunnies. One hypothesis that was put 353 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:59,879 Speaker 3: forward to explain the observed behavior of Umuamua was this, 354 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 3: What if it's not really an asteroid or a comet 355 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 3: in the way we know? What if it is a 356 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:07,800 Speaker 3: dust bunny from another star? 357 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:09,879 Speaker 2: Dust bunnies from outer space? 358 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 3: Can your heart stand the shocking facts about dust bunnies 359 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 3: from outer space? So I want to mention a paper 360 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:23,159 Speaker 3: called Omuamua as a cometary fractal aggregate the dust bunny model. 361 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 3: This was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters in twenty 362 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:32,640 Speaker 3: twenty by Jane x lu Irich Fleckoy and Renaud Tousson. 363 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,879 Speaker 3: In their abstract, the author's right, the first known intertellar object, 364 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:41,679 Speaker 3: Omuamua displayed such unusual properties that its origin remains a 365 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:46,040 Speaker 3: subject of much debate. We propose that Omuamua's properties could 366 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,640 Speaker 3: be explained as those of a fractal dust aggregate. Parentheses, 367 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 3: a dust bunny formed in the inner coma of a 368 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 3: fragmenting exo ort cloud comet. So this would be a 369 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:04,200 Speaker 3: comet coming from the sort of sphere of objects surrounding 370 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:09,159 Speaker 3: another star, like the Sun's ort cloud. The authors go on, 371 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 3: such fragments could serve as accretion sites by accumulating dust particles, 372 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:20,360 Speaker 3: resulting in the formation of a fractal aggregate. The fractal 373 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 3: aggregate eventually breaks off from the fragment due to hydrodynamic stress. 374 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 3: With their low density and tenuously bound orbits. Most of 375 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:34,919 Speaker 3: these cometary fractal aggregates are then ejected into interstellar space 376 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 3: by radiation pressure. So for some more explanation on this 377 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 3: that would make better sense to a non specialist, I 378 00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:45,240 Speaker 3: came across an article in Popular Science which included illuminating 379 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:48,239 Speaker 3: quotes from some of the authors of this paper. So 380 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:51,400 Speaker 3: this article is called Omuamua isn't aliens, but it may 381 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,320 Speaker 3: not be an asteroid either. This was by Charlie Wood 382 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:59,240 Speaker 3: So according to this article. In February twenty nineteen, a 383 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 3: Space Telescope Science Institute astronomer named Amaya Moro Martin suggested 384 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:10,879 Speaker 3: that the explanation for Omuamua's weird acceleration was perhaps that 385 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:15,200 Speaker 3: it was unusually light weight, so less like an asteroid, 386 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 3: less like a space rock, and more like a space feather, 387 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,440 Speaker 3: and this would make it possible for a natural object 388 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,200 Speaker 3: to function more like a light sale to be significantly 389 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 3: sped up by radiation pressure from the sun. The sunlight 390 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:35,199 Speaker 3: giving it a push. Scientists investigating this idea referred to 391 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 3: the model as a fractal aggregate. So aggregate, of course 392 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,359 Speaker 3: means you know, a collection of smaller things. In the 393 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:47,159 Speaker 3: words of the article, quote a fluffy conglomeration of dust 394 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 3: and ice grains, And the fractal part of that name 395 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 3: refers to a porous structure that repeats at different levels 396 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 3: of resolution. So if you zoom in or zoom out, 397 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 3: you would see similar patterns of holes and gaps in 398 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 3: this structure. Irich Fleckoy, a physicist at the University of 399 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 3: Oslo who was one of the authors of the dust 400 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 3: Bunny paper, said to Popular Science for this article quote, 401 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,440 Speaker 3: I think if you hit this thing, it would be 402 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 3: a little bit like hitting a spider web. 403 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 2: Oh wow. 404 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 3: So the paper had to answer several questions. First of all, 405 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:27,280 Speaker 3: would the fractal aggregate explain this object's movement and acceleration? 406 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 3: The authors say yes. In fact, there was another weird 407 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 3: fact about Omuamua that didn't come up earlier. Apparently there 408 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 3: was a slowing of its rotation as it traveled, and 409 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 3: the authors said that this fit well with the fact 410 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:47,879 Speaker 3: that solar radiation pressure can exert an uneven push on 411 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 3: a rotating object with like some parts of an object 412 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:54,600 Speaker 3: getting more of a push from the solar radiation than others, so, 413 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:58,040 Speaker 3: for example, it pushes more on parts that are highly reflective. 414 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 3: So it's possible that radiation pressure could help explain the 415 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 3: change into Inomumua's tumbling or rotation pattern. If so, radiation 416 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,119 Speaker 3: pressure from the Sun could also be responsible for its acceleration. 417 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:17,240 Speaker 3: Another question is could a very very low density, porous 418 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:22,199 Speaker 3: fractal object like a dust bunny survive tumbling through space 419 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:26,400 Speaker 3: without being ripped apart. The authors model this and they 420 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,959 Speaker 3: conclude yes, it can, but the model does have challenges, 421 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:35,359 Speaker 3: and the Popular Science article quotes an astrophysicist at Cambridge 422 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:39,439 Speaker 3: named Roman Rafikov who points out that in order for 423 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 3: the dust bunny model to work to have the right 424 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:45,479 Speaker 3: amount of acceleration due to radiation pressure, it would have 425 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:50,520 Speaker 3: to be amazingly low density, about one hundred times less 426 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 3: dense than air at sea level on Earth, and Rafikov 427 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,479 Speaker 3: points out that this is even less dense than human 428 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:01,640 Speaker 3: engineered aerogels, which are pecifically created to be as low 429 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 3: density as possible. So, Rafikov says in the article quote 430 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,880 Speaker 3: how do you reconstruct this in interstellar space? Like, how 431 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 3: does something like that form? How does it stay intact? However, 432 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,919 Speaker 3: despite Rafikov's skepticism of what this model would require, he 433 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:19,960 Speaker 3: also said at the time of the article, at least 434 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 3: in twenty nineteen, that he couldn't come up with a 435 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,960 Speaker 3: better explanation. But that doesn't mean there isn't one. So 436 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 3: the dust bunny model I love it. It is a 437 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,359 Speaker 3: few years old now, and it's not the only proposal 438 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,840 Speaker 3: to reconcile umumu as weird acceleration with its lack of 439 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:40,680 Speaker 3: the normal features associated with commentary outgassing. For example, there 440 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,760 Speaker 3: was a paper I came across that was published in 441 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 3: Nature last year in twenty twenty three by astronomers Jennifer 442 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 3: Bergner and Darryl Seligman called acceleration of Umumua from radiolytically 443 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,920 Speaker 3: produced H two in H two O ice. And these 444 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:01,639 Speaker 3: authors put together a model that could explain the acceleration 445 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:06,359 Speaker 3: of omuumua without the normally visible cometary tale by saying 446 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:10,920 Speaker 3: that it is due to its unique life history, and 447 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 3: because of this life history, it was simply venting a 448 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:17,800 Speaker 3: different kind of volatile than what you'd see in a 449 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:22,440 Speaker 3: normal local comet from our Solar System. So the authors say, 450 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:26,159 Speaker 3: quote here, we report that the acceleration of Omuumua is 451 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:31,159 Speaker 3: due to the release of entrapped molecular hydrogen that formed 452 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 3: through energetic processing of an H two zero rich icy body. 453 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 3: In this model, Omumoua began as an icy planetesimal that 454 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:44,480 Speaker 3: was irradiated at low temperatures by cosmic rays during its 455 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:48,879 Speaker 3: interstellar journey and experienced warming during its passage through the 456 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:53,000 Speaker 3: Solar System. So the idea is, this icy object is 457 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:56,679 Speaker 3: out in the interstellar medium between star systems for ages 458 00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:00,320 Speaker 3: and ages, and the whole time it is just getting cooked. 459 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:05,280 Speaker 3: It is getting bombarded by cosmic radiation. This radiation splits 460 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:08,800 Speaker 3: apart the H two O molecules in the ice of 461 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:13,680 Speaker 3: this object and creates H two hydrogen gas trapped within 462 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,320 Speaker 3: the ice. Then when it gets close to the Sun, 463 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:20,160 Speaker 3: the ice melts a bit and releases this hydrogen gas, 464 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:23,639 Speaker 3: which provides the acceleration, but not the same kind of 465 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:27,000 Speaker 3: tail you would see from the regular venting of pure 466 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:30,080 Speaker 3: intact H two O and dust and in a regular comet. 467 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,680 Speaker 3: So just wanted to throw that out there, because there 468 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 3: are multiple possible non aliens explanations. Maybe one day we 469 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 3: will have a more conclusive model, but I think for 470 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:43,040 Speaker 3: now we still don't know for sure what this object was. 471 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 3: I do kind of hope it was a dust bunny. 472 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 3: But yeah, all interesting ideas. 473 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:52,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, because ultimately, you know, is it a life elsewhere 474 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:57,480 Speaker 2: in the galaxy in the universe. We don't know for sure. 475 00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 2: We can't say one way or another. Is there dust? Yeah? 476 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:01,840 Speaker 3: Hell, yes, I. 477 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:14,760 Speaker 2: Think we can all agree there's dust. Now here's an 478 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 2: interesting tie into the dust bunny that brings us back 479 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 2: to terrestrial affairs but also into the world of invention 480 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 2: and the history of science as science has been accepted 481 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,240 Speaker 2: by the general public. And this is where we're also 482 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,480 Speaker 2: eventually going to get into some cosmic horror as well, 483 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:37,480 Speaker 2: because one approach to dealing with the accumulation of dust 484 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,320 Speaker 2: in the home and the accumulation of dust bunnies would 485 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,840 Speaker 2: at least seem to be the elimination of the empty 486 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 2: and wasted space in a room where they typically accumulate. So, 487 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 2: in other words, think of it this way. Most of 488 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 2: us tend to approach this by all right, we know 489 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 2: where the dust accumulates. Let's go dust there let's go 490 00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 2: sweet there. But you might also think, well, what is 491 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:03,000 Speaker 2: this space in my house for the only thing it's 492 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 2: good for is accumulating dust and dust bunnies. I should 493 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:06,960 Speaker 2: just seal that off. 494 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 3: But wait, it isn't the point of having an interior 495 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:12,360 Speaker 3: space in your home that you can use that space. 496 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 3: If you just seal space off, it's like you can't 497 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:15,320 Speaker 3: get to it. 498 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,440 Speaker 2: Well, these would be spaces that would be very difficult 499 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 2: to utilize, such as not an entire corner of your house, 500 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 2: but just that minute corner. This specifically one example, this 501 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:31,320 Speaker 2: would be the little corners at the edge of each 502 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:35,880 Speaker 2: stair in a stairwell. And this is particularly a place 503 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:37,000 Speaker 2: where we see. 504 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 3: The that's the devil's playground exactly. 505 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,440 Speaker 2: This is where we see the application of the decorative 506 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 2: dust corner. These were popular during the Victorian era, especially 507 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:49,280 Speaker 2: you know, during like the eighteen eighties, it seemed to 508 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 2: be an era of popularity for these. These were little 509 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:58,920 Speaker 2: metal features sometimes described as an exploded triangle. I included 510 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 2: some images here for you and anyone out there. If 511 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 2: you want to see this, look up dust corner. You know, 512 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:05,960 Speaker 2: there's like a simb There's a Wikipedia page about them. 513 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,120 Speaker 2: The various images that there are historic examples, but then 514 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 2: also some people are still producing these for you know, 515 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,040 Speaker 2: homes that want that kind of like older touch, that 516 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 2: kind of Victorian touch. And so in this picture, Joe, 517 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 2: you can see in the corner of the stairs, the 518 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,320 Speaker 2: little corner there is just capped off, so the dust 519 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 2: cannot accumulate there. 520 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:29,920 Speaker 3: Right, So instead of the corner of the inside of 521 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:32,960 Speaker 3: a cube type shape, there is a smooth ascent, the 522 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 3: little curved triangle goes right in there and just makes 523 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:37,560 Speaker 3: it a gentle slope. 524 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 2: Yeah. And these were generally made out of metal, they 525 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 2: were generally highly decorative. They would have been uniform, so 526 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,080 Speaker 2: whatever design you had, they would have been. This design 527 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,280 Speaker 2: would be on all of the little dust corners that 528 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 2: you installed in your house. And you know, the interesting 529 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 2: thing about them is, I feel like I've almost certainly 530 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,360 Speaker 2: toured places that still have these either original pieces or 531 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:01,840 Speaker 2: part of some sort of retro design aesthetic. But I 532 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 2: don't remember ever having seen one before. Maybe they're just 533 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:09,120 Speaker 2: easy to miss. I'm not sure they're look familiar to me. Yeah, 534 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:11,360 Speaker 2: so I'm now I'm on the lookout for them. But 535 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,000 Speaker 2: I've at least thus far in my life. I feel 536 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:15,440 Speaker 2: like I've not been paying enough attention. 537 00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:17,960 Speaker 3: They do look like something you would see in a 538 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:19,040 Speaker 3: historic home. 539 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:24,239 Speaker 2: Yes, and there does seem to be a science connection here, 540 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:27,360 Speaker 2: or at least a science history connection, according to Gail 541 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:32,800 Speaker 2: Caskie Winkler, author of Victorian interior decoration, cited in a 542 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,160 Speaker 2: May June two thousand and sixth edition of Old House Journal. 543 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:41,800 Speaker 2: The article here says quote even science affected stare hardware, 544 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 2: with dust corners emerging in the eighteen eighties, probably in 545 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:50,560 Speaker 2: response to the growing acceptance of germ theory. Summarizes Gail 546 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 2: Caskie Winkler. 547 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 3: What dust corners and germ theory? That's I wouldn't have 548 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:56,240 Speaker 3: made that connection. 549 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:59,800 Speaker 2: Because of the dust. Yeah, so interesting. I was also 550 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:03,080 Speaker 2: reading about dust corners in an article by Will Wiles 551 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:08,120 Speaker 2: titled The Corner of Lovecraft and Ballard, about architectural details 552 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:12,400 Speaker 2: and the fiction of various authors. But as the title suggests, HP. Lovecraft, 553 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,920 Speaker 2: they lived eighteen ninety through nineteen thirty seven, and JG. Ballard, 554 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:18,800 Speaker 2: who live nineteen thirty through two thousand and nine. The 555 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:21,640 Speaker 2: Lovecraft connection, of course, would seem to line up with 556 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 2: the timeline of dust corners in particular, but Wiles is 557 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 2: in general describing the kind of architectural war on filth 558 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:36,240 Speaker 2: that rises with acceptance of germ theory, impacting various aspects 559 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:40,440 Speaker 2: of design, and then also like modernist thought and also 560 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:41,720 Speaker 2: weird fiction of the era. 561 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:48,160 Speaker 3: Okay, so that maybe there are certain architectural features that 562 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:52,720 Speaker 3: signal an evolving idea of what it means to because 563 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:56,720 Speaker 3: a lot of architecture in history has communicated an idea 564 00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:59,240 Speaker 3: of being able to tame the natural world, to sort 565 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:03,040 Speaker 3: of like sub do nature and bring it under our control. 566 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:06,200 Speaker 3: And this is a space that we control. This is order, 567 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:08,960 Speaker 3: and this is human civilization inside this building with these 568 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 3: right angles. But as the understanding of nature changes to 569 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:18,200 Speaker 3: include like smaller and smaller organisms, maybe that also signals 570 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 3: a concurrent change in how architecture expresses that desire to dominate. 571 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,720 Speaker 2: Nature right right, especially on the home front, in the home. 572 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,480 Speaker 2: So it's not a situation where victorians were saying we 573 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 2: have to install dust corners everywhere if we are to 574 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:37,719 Speaker 2: defeat plague or anything like that. No, no, but it 575 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 2: was more like, okay, once this mindset has is becoming 576 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:44,600 Speaker 2: more and more popular and accepted, you know, your eyes 577 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 2: turned to the house, and and oh, here is the dust, 578 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:52,160 Speaker 2: and where's the dust accumulating? What can be done architecturally 579 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:58,600 Speaker 2: stylistically to combat this enemy, So Wiles writes the following quote. 580 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:02,040 Speaker 2: Once the home was rid of moldings, fabrics, and chotsika's, 581 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:07,400 Speaker 2: the sanitary maniac suspicion fell on the dust harboring corner itself. 582 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 2: In the eighteen eighties, the dust corner was introduced, a 583 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:14,880 Speaker 2: brass triangle that could be tacked at the meeting point 584 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:17,960 Speaker 2: of two walls and the floor, or the corners of 585 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 2: a flight of stairs, so dirt couldn't gather and sweeping 586 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:23,920 Speaker 2: would be easier. But he of course points out that 587 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:27,960 Speaker 2: dust corners were a clumsy and imperfect solution in a 588 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:33,520 Speaker 2: modernist yearning for the true cornerless room, a term the 589 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:37,440 Speaker 2: cornerless room that became associated with breaks from reality, So 590 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:42,120 Speaker 2: the padded room of a sanitarium was sometimes referred to 591 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:46,960 Speaker 2: as a cornerless room, he writes, quote, in the literature 592 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,279 Speaker 2: of the first half of the twentieth century, there are 593 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:53,480 Speaker 2: references to the cornerless room as an ultimate convenience in 594 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:56,960 Speaker 2: a modern home. So it's suddenly it's like boat. We're 595 00:34:57,040 --> 00:34:58,799 Speaker 2: kind of having it both ways. It's like this thing 596 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,600 Speaker 2: we're yearning for, but also this thing that is that 597 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:06,680 Speaker 2: it might be unnatural but also might be just the 598 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:10,799 Speaker 2: desired form of everything. And then the corner sometimes in 599 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,880 Speaker 2: some uses, becomes a gateway to cosmic horror and madness. 600 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:18,680 Speaker 2: One literary example that he draws on is a short 601 00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:22,000 Speaker 2: story not by HP Lovecraft, but by one of his protegees, 602 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:25,640 Speaker 2: another author of the same time period that he was 603 00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:29,400 Speaker 2: in communication with, a gentleman by the name of Frank A. 604 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:34,160 Speaker 2: Belknup Long, and the work in question is The Houlms 605 00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:38,600 Speaker 2: of Tendalos. So this was a story that I was 606 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:41,440 Speaker 2: originally just going to reference, but then I found like 607 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:44,160 Speaker 2: a ninety nine cent collection of this author's work. I 608 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:45,960 Speaker 2: picked it up, I started reading. I haven't finished it 609 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:49,400 Speaker 2: yet as of this recording, but it's essentially one of 610 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:55,360 Speaker 2: these sort of gentleman's study kind of setups where you 611 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:59,960 Speaker 2: have two scholarly individuals. It is almost impossible for me 612 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:02,440 Speaker 2: not to picture them as being played by Peter Cushing 613 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:05,799 Speaker 2: and Christopher Lee, and one of them. This is like 614 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:09,839 Speaker 2: a ninth late nineteen thirty story, I believe, and the 615 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:12,760 Speaker 2: main character is like I have decided to take drugs 616 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:18,520 Speaker 2: and travel through time, and his friend is like, oh, 617 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:19,839 Speaker 2: I don't think you should do that, and he's like, no, 618 00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:21,400 Speaker 2: I haven't all worked out, and he's like, okay, fine, 619 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:26,160 Speaker 2: I will. I will be here to help you into Yeah, 620 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:31,800 Speaker 2: that's the setup, but it eventually involves terrifying, vaguely hound 621 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,680 Speaker 2: like entities from another dimension that enter into our world 622 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:40,760 Speaker 2: through geometric corners. Here's the here's a quick line from it. Quote, 623 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:45,960 Speaker 2: The foul expresses itself through angles, the pure through curves. Man, 624 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:49,680 Speaker 2: the pure part of him is descended from a curve. 625 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,719 Speaker 2: So yeah, this idea that, like the angle is so 626 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:56,319 Speaker 2: unnatural that this becomes the nexus point through which these 627 00:36:56,760 --> 00:37:01,760 Speaker 2: terrifying creatures can appear at any moment and hunt one down. 628 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:02,520 Speaker 1: Now. 629 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:05,840 Speaker 2: Wells also cites a book by Ellen Cleary, Victorian Dust Traps, 630 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:09,799 Speaker 2: which expands on this Victorian fear of dust, arguing that 631 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:11,839 Speaker 2: dust traps in the home, so you know, areas where 632 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:16,320 Speaker 2: dust accumulates became the new focal point for potential disease 633 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:21,080 Speaker 2: during this time. The quote primary locus of pollution anxiety 634 00:37:21,239 --> 00:37:26,520 Speaker 2: within sanitary geographies of the Victorian home, which is I 635 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:28,600 Speaker 2: found a rather nice way of putting it. 636 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:31,319 Speaker 3: Oh, that's interesting because going back to what we talked 637 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:34,880 Speaker 3: about in the first episode, I actually don't know the 638 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:38,920 Speaker 3: extent to which, if any, there is a correlation between 639 00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 3: dust and say, the spread of infectious disease, Like it 640 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:46,920 Speaker 3: is there really any connection there between you know, tiny 641 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:49,800 Speaker 3: flying particles or the accumulation of dust in the house 642 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:54,440 Speaker 3: with the spreading of germs per se. But of course 643 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:57,400 Speaker 3: we do know that there is some correlation with dust 644 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:00,759 Speaker 3: and dust mites, which, as we talked about it in 645 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:05,280 Speaker 3: the last episode, are the number one source of allergic 646 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:07,560 Speaker 3: reactions in human beings worldwide. 647 00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:08,480 Speaker 2: Yeah. 648 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:12,439 Speaker 3: Absolutely, and of course that allergic reaction has many things 649 00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:14,680 Speaker 3: in common with some infectious diseases. 650 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:16,719 Speaker 2: But anyway, this is all interesting in this idea of 651 00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:19,719 Speaker 2: it being like a focal point of cleanliness based on 652 00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:23,640 Speaker 2: new information that may be feeding anxieties about the link 653 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,279 Speaker 2: between cleanliness and health, which of course is always a 654 00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:28,759 Speaker 2: complex scenario in the human mind because you also have 655 00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:33,399 Speaker 2: these other ideas of hygiene and spiritual cleanliness that get 656 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:35,759 Speaker 2: clogged up with everything else. But it reminds me a 657 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:38,840 Speaker 2: little bit of during the early days of the pandemic, 658 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:41,799 Speaker 2: in particular, when suddenly there's a lot more focus on, say, 659 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:45,040 Speaker 2: door knobs and the cleanliness of door knobs. That was 660 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:50,880 Speaker 2: something that not everyone was ignorant of prior, but it 661 00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:54,440 Speaker 2: suddenly became a much bigger thing, and then. 662 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:55,160 Speaker 3: Front of mind. 663 00:38:55,239 --> 00:38:58,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, front of mind. And then in the last couple 664 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:00,800 Speaker 2: of years it's been able to we've been able to 665 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:03,560 Speaker 2: push it further back. So I speaking for myself, I 666 00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:06,400 Speaker 2: don't think as much about who's been touching the doorknob, 667 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:10,759 Speaker 2: certainly not like those early days of the pandemic. All right, well, 668 00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:12,239 Speaker 2: we're going to go ahead and close it out there, 669 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:14,520 Speaker 2: but we'd love for everyone to write in. If you 670 00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:18,319 Speaker 2: have a first and foremost more information about what you 671 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:22,320 Speaker 2: call a dust bunny, from whatever background you have, or 672 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:25,640 Speaker 2: whatever you've learned in your travels or your conversations, let 673 00:39:25,719 --> 00:39:27,960 Speaker 2: us know. We'd love to hear from you. If you 674 00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:32,319 Speaker 2: have additional thoughts on cosmic dust, cosmic horror corners, the 675 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:36,279 Speaker 2: hounds of tendlos, whatever you have right in, we'd love 676 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:38,640 Speaker 2: to hear it. Just a reminder that Stuff to Blow 677 00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:41,040 Speaker 2: Your Mind is primarily a science and culture podcast, with 678 00:39:41,239 --> 00:39:44,560 Speaker 2: core episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Listener mail on Mondays 679 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:46,840 Speaker 2: a short form episode on Wednesdays and on Fridays, we 680 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:48,880 Speaker 2: set aside most serious concerns to just talk about a 681 00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:50,960 Speaker 2: weird film on Weird House Cinema. 682 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:54,680 Speaker 3: Huge thanks as always to our excellent audio producer JJ Posway. 683 00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:56,359 Speaker 3: If you would like to get in touch with us 684 00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:59,200 Speaker 3: with feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest 685 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:01,160 Speaker 3: a topic for the future, sure, or just to say hello, 686 00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:04,239 Speaker 3: you can email us at contact Stuff to Blow your 687 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:12,880 Speaker 3: Mind dot com. 688 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:15,920 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 689 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:18,759 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 690 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:35,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.