1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, welcome this stuff to Blow your mind. 3 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: My name is Robert lamp and I'm Julie Douglass. Julie, 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:21,080 Speaker 1: we've discussed in the past how robots and uh in technology, 5 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: the the emergence of both of these overtime, the evolution 6 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: of these technologies. Um, we go hand in hand with 7 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: the side idea that we but we look at the 8 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:33,959 Speaker 1: human body and we eventually discover, hey, this is basically 9 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: a machine. It's a machine made out of blood and 10 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: muscles and bone and tissue of different types. But we 11 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: can look at like say the arm, and we can 12 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 1: be like, oh, well that moves because that pulled on 13 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 1: something there and that released there. Yeah, And it is 14 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: so on one one side, we're figuring out how the 15 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: human body works. On the other side, we're learning how 16 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 1: to build things. We're learning how to make little machines, 17 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: little eventually clockwork devices even And you see this as 18 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: you know, I mean way back to Leonardo da Vinci's day, 19 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: where we're creating things that can can move of their 20 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: own power, or can where you can manipulate and use 21 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 1: like a puppet or something you know, so we begin 22 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,479 Speaker 1: to reach this point where we're like, Hey, the human 23 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: body is a machine and I can make machines. So 24 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: I'm gonna make a machine that is the human body, 25 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,559 Speaker 1: or I'm gonna attempt to make a mechanical effects simile 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: of this particular um part of the human body. Right, 27 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,760 Speaker 1: It's not enough that you would just create something in 28 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: your own image. We actually want to see how the 29 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: systems work. Yeah, I mean it's part of the you know, 30 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: it's it's part of understanding it. Let me create a 31 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:41,040 Speaker 1: working model of that so I can better understand how 32 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: that works and at the same time, I can, you know, 33 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: live this whole Frankenstein dream a little bit of of 34 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: creating another human body. Almost. Yeah, And so to me 35 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: it means that we just get to merge two of 36 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: of our favorite topics, or at least for me. Yeah, 37 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: what are those robots and poop? Yes? In this podcast, Yes, 38 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: as the title UH indicates, we are going to discuss 39 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: a robotic pooping duck uh from the past. Uh, specifically 40 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: from the seventeenth century. But but having discussed this whole 41 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: idea that you know that we really want to mechanically 42 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: replicate different functions to the human body, it makes sense. 43 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: And within that framework, yeah I'm pooping duck. You just 44 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: hear about it, you know, just read off the cuff 45 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: and it seems insane. Yeah, it sounds like I remember 46 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:29,920 Speaker 1: finding these. People may have seen these before, but they 47 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: used to make these little I think we're made out 48 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: of a lead or something horrible, maybe some sort of metal, 49 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: but uh, but it seems like they were probably made 50 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 1: out of lad or something. But you you would put 51 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,239 Speaker 1: a little firework in it, and it looked like a 52 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: little dog. And when the firework would go off, it's 53 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 1: kind of like the little things that make snakes, like 54 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: these little black actions. Yeah, and they would they made 55 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: a version of it, you know, back in like I 56 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: don't know, the thirties ere or even say for like 57 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: the World Exposition or something. Yeah, yeah, I don't know, 58 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: but I mean it's the kind of thing that like 59 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: my dad would have played Luther when he was a kid. Um, 60 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: and you would put the fire work in the little 61 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: metal dog lighted up and then like it would look 62 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: like the dog was pooping. It would look like black 63 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: excrement was coming out of the little metal dogs behind. Yeah, 64 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 1: So that's an example of where the you know, the 65 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:15,639 Speaker 1: science was making the dog do something that was funny. 66 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: It was funny that this little tiny dog was pooping. 67 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 1: Science was making a joke. So on one one hand, 68 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: the duck we're about to discuss does that. It is 69 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 1: amusing to see a robotic duck defecate. Um, but it 70 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: is all It also ties well into this idea of 71 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: here's a function of the human body. Uh, if the 72 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: human body is a machine, then I should be able 73 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: to create a machine that does this function. Yes, yeah, yes, 74 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: so we'll discuss that and and I'm jumping ahead just 75 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: for a moment, but we'll also talk about creating a 76 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: machine a machine just for the purpose of creating excrement 77 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: at some point, and then we will talk about its 78 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: true pooping robot. Yes, because this first model that we're 79 00:03:57,200 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: gonna look at is is slightly problematic. But but let's 80 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: go back blueprint. Yes, so let's go back to the hundreds. 81 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: All right, we're in France. Um, let's say you were 82 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 1: You're on the streets of France, uh, streets of Paris, 83 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: and you're just you're walking around. You get maybe you 84 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: got a little extra coin in your pocket, jingling there, 85 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: you know, maybe you're you're you're a little loaded with 86 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: delicious wine and and fatty foods and uh, and suddenly 87 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 1: you hear somebody talking about, Hey, come see the pooping 88 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 1: duck we have or the canal did you Oh gosh, 89 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: that was so slaughtered. But what that means is digesting duck. 90 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: The digesting duck, the fabulous digesting duck. So you can imagine, like, 91 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: you know, you go into this exhibition hall and they you, 92 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: you pay, you drop your coins into the bucket and 93 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: you get to go in, and then they unveil this 94 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:56,479 Speaker 1: amazing um um example of modern technology and it really yeah, yes, automato, 95 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:58,919 Speaker 1: which is really important to talk about too, But it 96 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: is this gleam beautiful sculpture. Basically, imagine setting up on 97 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,479 Speaker 1: this pedestal and it's it's gold. It's a gold plated 98 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: copper duck, all right. Um. The it has gilded copper 99 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: feathers that are that are that have a little holes 100 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: in and that allows you to see the inside a 101 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: little bit, so you can tell that it's it's both 102 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,000 Speaker 1: the work of art and it's and it's some sort 103 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 1: of a machine. It's uh. And then it's in the 104 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: shape of a duck, which is it. So it's both 105 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: you see both the natural world. You have the comedic 106 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: going on there because ducks are inherently funny, um and uh. 107 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: And then it's also clearly a machine of human ingenuity. 108 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: And then it's also this you know, like I said, 109 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: it's made out of gold. It's it's it has precious metals. 110 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: It's beautiful to the hole. Yeah, I mean some ofs 111 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: like it was, you know, taken down from Olympius Mount Onlympius, 112 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:51,720 Speaker 1: you know, from the gods, and it has tons of 113 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: moving parts, hundreds four hundred moving parts and each wing. Yeah, 114 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: you said you were reminded of the mechanical owl from 115 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: Clash of the Titans, right, Oh, actually there's something else that. Yeah, 116 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: I often am reminded of Bibo. Yes, this reminds me 117 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: of Febo as well. But okay, so you're you're there, 118 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 1: and the things pretty awesome. And then it starts to move. 119 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: It muddles its water with its beak, it appears to drink. 120 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: It kind of sets up and sets down, and then 121 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: somebody feeds it some with some grain pellets, I believe, 122 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,160 Speaker 1: and it eats it and it kind of you know, 123 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:32,720 Speaker 1: it actually has a swallowing motion, swallowing motion and uh, 124 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: and then it eventually poops. Yeah, I mean this is 125 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: the big part of it, right, And this is this 126 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:40,600 Speaker 1: is the part of the funny equation. Right again, it's 127 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: it's a duck, and it's already funny, but it's now 128 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: it's pooping. Yeah. And it's explained though that the grain 129 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: is passing through tubes to a chemical filled stomach in 130 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: the base and then on through the duck's bowels anus 131 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: and a mechanical sphincter. Yeah. And again that there are 132 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: parts of it where you can see you could like 133 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: part the wings and you can see the glass beneath 134 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: it and the duck's innards. So this is completely fascinating, 135 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,040 Speaker 1: Like I'm here and now, but can you imagine in 136 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: the seventeen hundreds beholding such a spectacle? Yeah? It begs 137 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: the question who created this duck? Right? Who's this? Who? 138 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: What kind of brilliant and maybe slightly demented mind came 139 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: up with this? Right? A talented French engineer by the 140 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: name of Jacques de vi Clessan. Yeah, he was born 141 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: in seventeen o nine died two and ms French engineer. 142 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: He was really into creating these automatons. These uh, specifically 143 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: what we're referred to as philosophical toys, which are curios 144 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: that combines science and amusement, which you know, it's kind 145 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: of like you know, a pooping duck or or or 146 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: something to where it's the the ultimate function of this 147 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: particular automaton. It's like the iPhone of its time, well, 148 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: but the iPhone has purpose. This is more like, let's demonstrate. 149 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: It's kind of like some of these demo robots you 150 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: see today where it's like, wow, it does something amazing, 151 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,040 Speaker 1: but it's kind of pointless, like it's it's demonstrating a 152 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: certain technological skill and it shows that, oh, well, these 153 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: guys really figured out something clever in making this, but 154 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: ultimately it doesn't do anything. Well, yes, not to him, 155 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: because he and this is from the book Digital People. 156 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:14,679 Speaker 1: He gave an address in which he said he wanted 157 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: to construct an automat on that will quote imitate in 158 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: its movements, animal functions, the circulation of blood, respiration, digestion, 159 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: and the combination of muscles, tendons, nerves to understand the 160 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: different states of human beings and to heal their ills. 161 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: So he really did have a purpose beyond this. It 162 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: was about, let's create a model, working model of something 163 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: so we can understand the original, which is not unlike 164 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 1: what we do today when we when we are dissect 165 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:41,680 Speaker 1: animals or we run studies and we try to figure 166 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: out how they react to their environment so and so forth, 167 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: so that we can then take that knowledge and apply 168 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: it to ourselves. But the model in and of itself 169 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:52,520 Speaker 1: doesn't do anything aside from right. Yeah, now, some of 170 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:54,439 Speaker 1: the other thing, earlier things he had done. He had 171 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: made android waiters in seventeen to serve dinner and clear 172 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: a table, yes each apparently um was some visitors deemed 173 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:06,959 Speaker 1: this profane and ordered the workshop destroyed this one who's 174 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 1: working and more closely with the church. Yeah, but I 175 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 1: mean that probably did seem like some sort of weird 176 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,439 Speaker 1: witchcraft right at the time. And you can imagine it 177 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: going kind of off to like uh in the Walls 178 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: and Grament cartoons, where he's always making like the automated 179 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:24,719 Speaker 1: UH like delivery system that shoots him down to his 180 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: breakfast table, dresses him, yeah, and dresses him and drops 181 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:29,959 Speaker 1: toast out and put butters the toast, and it always 182 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: goes wrong, so it ends up like getting jam fired 183 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 1: into his face. I like to picture that like church 184 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: officials coming and uh uh and uh vakasan um having 185 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: all these devices that just end up, you know, shooting 186 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: jelly and terrifying and they're like forget it. Yeah. But 187 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: then he also created a mechanical flute player that was 188 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: supposedly just really impressive too, because it was like powered 189 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: by nine different bellows, and it was this little wooden 190 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: man that would play twelve different melodies in the flute. 191 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: It had like a metal tongue supposedly that regulated air 192 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:02,959 Speaker 1: passing through the lips. It had gloved wooden fingers that 193 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 1: covered the holes in the flute as required to play 194 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,560 Speaker 1: these different melodies that would seal off the air. So 195 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: it's like this fabulous little clockwork wooden man would play 196 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: the flute and people were just really in office, and 197 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: and then he would he realized the time was right 198 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 1: for the duck, right, and the duck really sort of 199 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 1: vaulted his career quite a bit. You would think that, 200 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: you know, some people might look down in it, but no, 201 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,560 Speaker 1: I mean it made him are more famous than he 202 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: already was. Yeah, he seemed to realize that apparently he 203 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 1: was quoted as saying that some ladies or some people 204 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: who is that French enough, that's kind of gone off 205 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,839 Speaker 1: into some sort of some ladies or something. Now it's 206 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: it's sounding like laughing or something. Some ladies or some 207 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 1: people who only like the outside of animals, would have 208 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:50,559 Speaker 1: rather seen something else. Uh, you know, he's that he 209 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: that he was. He was sort of already sort of 210 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: joking like this is kind of I don't know if 211 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: you're ready for this. So there's you know, he even 212 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 1: he realized there's sort of a freak show kind of 213 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,199 Speaker 1: vibe to this. Yeah. Yeah, right, he had to kind 214 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: of put that disclaimer out there. Although we'll say the 215 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:05,440 Speaker 1: ladies were probably most excited to see it, even if 216 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,880 Speaker 1: they couldn't voice it at the time. Uh. Yeah, Voltaire 217 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: was actually he seemed impressed. Although it's it's hard to 218 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: say because this comment could be taken anyway, but he 219 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: said without vau consonance, duck, you have nothing to remind 220 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 1: you have the glory of France. Like he was a 221 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: bit of a smart alec, because it's hard to say 222 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 1: whether or not he really felt that way. Yeah, and uh, 223 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: I was really fascinated too by the by one particular 224 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,960 Speaker 1: theory as to why he was fascinating fascinated with with 225 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:38,440 Speaker 1: defication and UH and mechanical ducks and again it ties 226 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:40,560 Speaker 1: into the whole. Let's make a working model of something 227 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: so we can understand it, um. And uh. Apparently he 228 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 1: was a man preoccupied by the state of his digestion. 229 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:54,840 Speaker 1: He may have suffered from fistula of the anus um 230 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 1: and so this plagued him and UH, I mean, I'm 231 00:11:57,840 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 1: not going to go into the details of this, but 232 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:01,679 Speaker 1: it's a really horrible thing to have to suffer from, 233 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 1: especially uh in this day, at this day and age. 234 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:10,439 Speaker 1: And so his own focus on this machine bowels and 235 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: anus and sphincter um may have been his own reflection 236 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: on his his personal preoccupations. That makes sense. I mean, 237 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: if he especially if he's trying to solve the riddle 238 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 1: of his digestive self system for himself, and you know, 239 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 1: and he had the capabilities to make this this uh 240 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 1: piece of technology, why not do it? UM. Let's talk 241 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: a bit a little bit how it worked real quick. 242 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 1: It had a rubber hose meant to mimic a digestive canal. 243 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: And that's the important thing here because as it turns 244 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: out it is not really it's it's kind of like 245 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: a brilliant con way because it doesn't really digest food. 246 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: As far as we know, it's it's we we can't 247 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 1: really point to the duck today. The duck kind of 248 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:54,839 Speaker 1: like disappeared a little throughout history and and a lot 249 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:58,679 Speaker 1: of this is his guesswork. But but yeah, I mean, 250 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:01,280 Speaker 1: the the hose was pretty importan because it was this 251 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:05,280 Speaker 1: um it was an illusion, and it was said that 252 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: you know that you would put the chemicals down the hose, 253 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 1: and then of course you can peek in and you 254 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:12,959 Speaker 1: can see something that approximates basically a digestive system, right 255 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,199 Speaker 1: the small intestine or you know, intestines in any case. 256 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,040 Speaker 1: But it was kind of fascinating in that sense. But again, 257 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 1: this was just a bit of make believe magic here 258 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:25,679 Speaker 1: going on. As far as we can tell. The food 259 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:27,599 Speaker 1: or went into a slot in the base of the 260 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 1: neck basically and stopped there. And then the the the 261 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 1: duck excrement be it fake duck excrement, uh, you know, 262 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,720 Speaker 1: concocted from you know, materials around the kitchen or actual 263 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:46,199 Speaker 1: duck excrement. I don't know, but but that would have 264 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:48,199 Speaker 1: have come from a different chamber. Yeah, that was actually 265 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:50,680 Speaker 1: a secret compartment where that was coming from. And yeah, 266 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:54,280 Speaker 1: and someone observed that the duck kible I guess you 267 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 1: could call it, was getting stuck in the base of 268 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:58,080 Speaker 1: the throat, so whatever came out on the other end 269 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,839 Speaker 1: couldn't possibly be the same thing, right, So it's kind 270 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:07,320 Speaker 1: of like a combination of magic trick and clockwork ingenuity. Yeah. Yeah, 271 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 1: and uh, if you're interested, there is a replica at 272 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: the Museum of Automatons in Grenoble, France, which I think 273 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 1: would be a fascinating museum to go to. And it's 274 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 1: really I mean, the the pooping duck has a pretty 275 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 1: big reputation. UM recently came up in a Radio Lab episode. UM, 276 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: it has showed up as motifs in film and art, 277 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 1: and most notably in Thomas Pinchon's novel Mason and Dixon, 278 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: the duck comes alive and terrorizes a French chef with 279 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:42,760 Speaker 1: his belt the beak of death. So, I mean, it's 280 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 1: it's definitely captured people's imaginations. But having talked about that, 281 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 1: I think we need to return to what we tend 282 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 1: to return to all the time. I'm pretty happy to 283 00:14:52,640 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 1: talk about it the Cloaca first, this break. This presentation 284 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 1: is brought to you by Intel sponsors of Tomorrow. Okay, 285 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 1: the Kloeca shows up again and just you know, in 286 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: case you guys haven't checked out an other podcast about 287 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 1: dinosaurs having sex. I believe it's called tsur sex. Yeah, 288 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 1: the Kloeca is a sort of uh well, it's let 289 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,840 Speaker 1: me put it this way. The Latin term means sewer, 290 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 1: so it kind of does double duty for everything, so 291 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: you can have sex, double duty, double duty, and you 292 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 1: can do your duty. It's the Yeah, it's it's the 293 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: naughty parts of of birds and and perhaps dinosaurs and 294 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 1: definitely the platypus. That was the other podcast that the 295 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 1: the Cloaca emerged from. Yeah, and as you can tell, 296 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 1: it always makes me uncomfortable because I say things like 297 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 1: you can have sex there. But it's important to to 298 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: bring up in this instance because there's something called the 299 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:01,400 Speaker 1: Kloaca machine. Yes, and it's offying. It is terrifying, It 300 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,880 Speaker 1: truly is, even though it's it's the most sterile contraption 301 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: ever made. It is uh has been created by Belgian 302 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: conceptual artists them Delvoy and it's a thirty nine foot 303 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: long machine. Yeah, and the pictures of it, it's like 304 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: it it looks like it's laid out on tables and 305 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,280 Speaker 1: it's in this big, barren room and it's just kind 306 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:22,440 Speaker 1: of disturbing now, I mean looking at it and knowing 307 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: what it is. Well, I mean it could be an 308 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 1: autopsy room too, because it's so sterile. Uh. But the 309 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: idea is that it's meant to be housed in a 310 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,640 Speaker 1: room sized installation of six glass containers connected to each 311 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: other with wires, tubes and pumps. And every day the 312 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: machine receives a certain amount of food. This is from 313 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 1: art nett dot com. Meat, fish, vegetables, and pastries passed 314 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,400 Speaker 1: through a giant blender and then we're mixed with water 315 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 1: impoured into jars filled with acids and enzyme liquids. There 316 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 1: they got the same treatment that's the human stomach, and 317 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: electronic and a mechanical units controlled the process, and after 318 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: almost two days, the food came out of a filtering 319 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: unit as something close to genuine human scat. It was 320 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 1: nourished by a first class chef who prepared two meals 321 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: a day in and detached kitchen. The atmosphere suggested a 322 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:11,640 Speaker 1: hospital equipped for a strange experiment, the birth and care 323 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: of a machine that eats and defecates a mechanical baby. Hi, 324 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,159 Speaker 1: it seems to say, I'm almost like you, well, I 325 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:22,199 Speaker 1: don't know about that last part um, but no, no, 326 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,159 Speaker 1: it does seem to drive home like two facts. A. 327 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:27,400 Speaker 1: It definitely ties in with the whole idea of let's 328 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:29,439 Speaker 1: make a machine that does what a human does, in 329 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:33,120 Speaker 1: this case turning food and processing and turning into excrements. 330 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 1: And also there's this kind of it is kept, this 331 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:39,120 Speaker 1: kind of frightening, the humanizing thing to it, like look 332 00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 1: at this, this is what you basically are humans? Yeah, 333 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 1: the machine. In fact, that same article goes on to 334 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:46,920 Speaker 1: say that there was a little girl in the field 335 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: trip and she started crying at the side of it. 336 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,399 Speaker 1: Whose idea for a field trip with this kid? Like, 337 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 1: all right, kids, we can either go to the zoo 338 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:56,960 Speaker 1: or we can go see the robotic cloaca at the 339 00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:00,920 Speaker 1: art museum. Um. Yeah, and it really is awful when 340 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: you you should definitely look at some videos online of 341 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 1: it because the the end part, I suppose the anus 342 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,640 Speaker 1: part is squirting it out almost like a pastry. But truly, 343 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 1: this is this is a this is poop coming out 344 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:19,399 Speaker 1: now it bags itself. It doesn't bag itself. Um, But 345 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:22,600 Speaker 1: because that would be an awesome like innovation. But no, 346 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:24,239 Speaker 1: I don't. I don't believe it does. But I know 347 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: that on display they had dozens of vacuum packed Kloeca 348 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,639 Speaker 1: eliminations that were made during the five first exhibits of 349 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:34,280 Speaker 1: the machine around the world, and there's apparently a waiting 350 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: list of collectors that are really eager to buy one 351 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,639 Speaker 1: of those, especially the ones in the New York exhibition. 352 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: So it's pretty sought after stuff. This sounds it sounds 353 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:45,520 Speaker 1: like a very kind of like turning the art wear 354 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,960 Speaker 1: world on its head. Its kind of a banks kind 355 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,760 Speaker 1: of thing, like I'm going to create a machine that 356 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,160 Speaker 1: creates poop and then I'm gonna sell it to art lovers. Yes, 357 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:59,199 Speaker 1: right right, which the artist I mean, he loves this, right, 358 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: and we'll get to him in a second. Um. But 359 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:03,120 Speaker 1: the matter is, just in case you're worried about hygen, 360 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:05,919 Speaker 1: it's irradiated with gamma rays to kill the bacteria and 361 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: dried and vacuum packed, um. And then after that they're 362 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: packed air tight in a plexiglass box. So there you go. 363 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,800 Speaker 1: There's the Chloaca machine. UM. And then the reaction. Of course, 364 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,320 Speaker 1: I think the little girl starting to cry is pretty perfect. 365 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: But what they found is that when they compared the 366 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: human created excrement to the Chloaca machines excrement, it was 367 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 1: remarkably similar in bacterial content. UM. And the machine also 368 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,679 Speaker 1: seemed to suffer from constipation and stomach upsets, caused in 369 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,880 Speaker 1: part by the diet that was fed to it and 370 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 1: the different acids the ratio is used. Well, it's hard 371 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: to follow that. UM. I mean just think good, it's 372 00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 1: the thing that have teeth. But I do want to say, 373 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:54,560 Speaker 1: just real quick, them delvoid the artist. He's completely obsessed 374 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,680 Speaker 1: with Pooh pursuits. Um. He created tiles that from far 375 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,159 Speaker 1: away looked like kind of like le Moorish tiles, but 376 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 1: when you get up close on them you realize that 377 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:08,960 Speaker 1: it's like this curling figure and it's actually of his own. Uh. 378 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:11,160 Speaker 1: I don't know if it's a painted on their orders 379 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 1: to photograph that's then put on there, but it's of 380 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: his own excrement. UM. And this is the same guy, 381 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:18,639 Speaker 1: just just so you know, because obviously he's pretty much 382 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,320 Speaker 1: proporcifal um. He had an x ray in which excuse me, 383 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:25,240 Speaker 1: had an installation in which he X rayed people having 384 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:29,840 Speaker 1: sex using sonograms. Um well, not having sex using sonograms, 385 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,439 Speaker 1: but he used sonograms, mammograms, m r s, and X 386 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: rays and then to film them having sex and I 387 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 1: mean very intimate. So that guy, because I think I've 388 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 1: I've run across that, but yeah, yeah, I mean we're 389 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:45,479 Speaker 1: talking about very graphic intimate scenes here. And he turned 390 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,480 Speaker 1: those into stained glass church windows and he was able 391 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,360 Speaker 1: to capture the images by slathering the models with barium 392 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,320 Speaker 1: powder mixed with nibia cream in order to eliminate illuminate 393 00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 1: the bones during X raying. Well, I'm glad he's not. 394 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: Everything he does is vow that's scatological. So it does 395 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 1: make me wonder. I wonder if he has like what 396 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: if there's a reason for the fixation. I wonder if 397 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,919 Speaker 1: he has digestion problem. Yeah, well, well I don't know, 398 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: because there's an interview in which he proclaims he's very 399 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,520 Speaker 1: proud of his experiment and he proclaims his like the 400 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 1: best smelling, the best formed, the best texture. It's like 401 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,919 Speaker 1: he's like Kellogg And in that movie where Anthony Hopkins 402 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:26,879 Speaker 1: played him, Yes, he is subccessful. Yes, he's obsessed with 403 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:32,080 Speaker 1: goes into his toilet, are onto tile. Well he can 404 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:35,720 Speaker 1: be proud, but nobody likes likes a braggert um. Now 405 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 1: there's another robotic if you might think, well, one, we 406 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: have one actual pooping robot, right, so that's enough. Well 407 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: there's another project that takes it much farther because the 408 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:48,159 Speaker 1: thing about the Chloaca machine, uh, is that it is 409 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: not really creating energy from this and that's the crucial thing. 410 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: It's like, our bodies don't just turn food into poop obviously, uh, 411 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:56,960 Speaker 1: just for the spectacle of that. I mean, the whole 412 00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,359 Speaker 1: purpose is I need to take the energy that is 413 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,879 Speaker 1: in food, use it from I've harvested for my body, 414 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,159 Speaker 1: turn it into more of my body, and then the 415 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:10,440 Speaker 1: excrement is the product byproduct, the unusable parts. So the 416 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,399 Speaker 1: real interest here to some robotists, specifically the robotist at 417 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,960 Speaker 1: Bristol Robotics Laboratory, have been to create a truly self 418 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: sustainable robot. So they've had earlier projects and we're talking 419 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,360 Speaker 1: about basically robot predators. They can hunt down and eat 420 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,199 Speaker 1: living organisms then break them down into energy. Okay, does 421 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 1: that sound a little bit, Well, yeah, I guess a 422 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:37,720 Speaker 1: little bit that can can eat. But so they have 423 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 1: they've had earlier products, like they had the slug bot 424 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:45,760 Speaker 1: that thrives on garden because I guess they're easy pickings, right, um. 425 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 1: And then they've had there was the echo Bot two, 426 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 1: which eats flies, and they've even explored the possibilities of 427 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:55,320 Speaker 1: a plankton eating robot for the oceans. And uh, you know, 428 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:56,960 Speaker 1: like like some of these like you can imagine like 429 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 1: a gardening robot going through your garden and then at 430 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,959 Speaker 1: and and not only is it there is it's kind 431 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:04,720 Speaker 1: of like a rumba that eats slugs. You want to 432 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,479 Speaker 1: de slug your garden, get a rumba that that eats slugs, 433 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: but instead of having to recharge itself, it just charges 434 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: itself on all the slugs it eats. You know. I 435 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 1: think that's the basic I actually think it's a really 436 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,359 Speaker 1: cool idea. Um. But they use microbial fuel cell to 437 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,200 Speaker 1: the digest that biomass, right and turn it into electricity. Yeah. 438 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:24,520 Speaker 1: They the echo about three is the most recent one 439 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:26,320 Speaker 1: and this and they've been really showing this one off 440 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,160 Speaker 1: and they they talk it up as the world's first 441 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:34,160 Speaker 1: robot to exhibit truly self sustainable functions. Uh. And it's 442 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:37,080 Speaker 1: capable of operating with an enclosed environment for seven days, 443 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,320 Speaker 1: collecting its food and water from the area environment and 444 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 1: by this weaning liquid food and little dishes. It's not 445 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: this one isn't actually like hunting down slugs or anything 446 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 1: quite so vigorous. But yeah. The the actual digestion is 447 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,919 Speaker 1: done by a series of microbial fuel cells uh bacteria 448 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:55,320 Speaker 1: in the south. And these cells consume the food and 449 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,639 Speaker 1: produce hydrogen atoms as a by product. All right. Then 450 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: the hydrogen goes into the fuel cell itself, which generates 451 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,359 Speaker 1: electricity to the powers the robot. And then there's also 452 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: it drinks water because it needs the water to keep 453 00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: from dehydrating. B exactly. And the remaining biomass goes through 454 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,520 Speaker 1: the entire cycle once more. So there's it's not just 455 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: food food to poop with this thing. It actually cycles 456 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:19,480 Speaker 1: in another time just to make sure it gets everything 457 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,159 Speaker 1: it needs out of the out of the the food, 458 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:26,560 Speaker 1: water and uh, and then it basically goes potty. Ye. 459 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 1: What I think it's interesting about this too, is that 460 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,160 Speaker 1: it's kind of like the Venus fly trap of robots, 461 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:36,400 Speaker 1: although it doesn't quite catch its own flies yet, right right. 462 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,680 Speaker 1: Then they've worked with some designs that would would enable 463 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:40,520 Speaker 1: that will do that, but not in a very cool, 464 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:42,840 Speaker 1: not like in a venus fly trap kind of mouth, 465 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,880 Speaker 1: the kind of way. Now then there's a so so yeah, 466 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:48,639 Speaker 1: this is an example of it catches, it catches something, 467 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 1: digest that and turns it into energy and then excretes. 468 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:54,560 Speaker 1: And then yeah, the biproduct is, of course what you said, 469 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,200 Speaker 1: the potty part right now. And then there's one more 470 00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: and this this one got a little more play in 471 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: the media because it's it's called the it was part 472 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: of a DARPA concept and it was it's called the 473 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:14,720 Speaker 1: energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot or e a t R eater, 474 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 1: which uh, you know, so yeah, this one got a 475 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 1: lot of play because people were like, they are designing 476 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: a military robot that will eat human corpses, and so 477 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:29,359 Speaker 1: like everybody who is into writing headlines was like instantly like, 478 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 1: oh my god, that's that's because it's headline gold. You know. Well, 479 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: but you know, like for for people like myself who 480 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,160 Speaker 1: fear the singularity a bit, it does kind of seem like, oh, okay, 481 00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 1: so that's how it's gonna go down. Humans become food 482 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:43,920 Speaker 1: for robots, right, of course, it's one of the you 483 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:46,199 Speaker 1: know they say, like, you know, uh, dog bites man, 484 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:48,680 Speaker 1: that's not a story. Dog man bites dog. That's a story. 485 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: But actually, robot eats human, human eats robot. Both are 486 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,720 Speaker 1: pretty awesome. So it's kind of a toss up there. 487 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:57,879 Speaker 1: But this was definitely the robot eats human thing, though 488 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,600 Speaker 1: the DARPA actually played that down. They're like, no, this 489 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:05,639 Speaker 1: is not about a deadly robot, uh, you know, eating 490 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:10,520 Speaker 1: the dead on the battlefield. But but basically the way 491 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:12,879 Speaker 1: this would it would depend on this thing called a 492 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,639 Speaker 1: Cyclone Mark five, which is uh, this company called Cyclone 493 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:20,480 Speaker 1: Power came up with and it's basically a steam engine. Uh, 494 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:22,119 Speaker 1: and most of the time it would not be uh, 495 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,040 Speaker 1: it would be digesting, like burning vegetable matter that it finds, 496 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:29,120 Speaker 1: so that that would be it's would primarily be a vegetarian. Yeah. 497 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,719 Speaker 1: When we're talking about the energy too that it's getting 498 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,920 Speaker 1: from these food sources, it's it's just not quite that 499 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 1: big of a deal yet that it could actually um 500 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,480 Speaker 1: power these robots to the point where they would be 501 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:44,800 Speaker 1: zooming around. Yeah, this is not as near nearly as 502 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 1: robust a design as the echo bot. Yeah, I mean this, 503 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,440 Speaker 1: this is fairly rudimentary. So it's going to take a 504 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 1: couple of years before they eat us. Yeah, yeah, but no, 505 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,480 Speaker 1: I think it's actually really cool because it's an alternative 506 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 1: to how we make and use energy. Yeah, because it's 507 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: just another way we could harness ergy. Yeah. And it's like, 508 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:04,680 Speaker 1: imagine again, imagine a gardening robot that doesn't actually need 509 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:09,080 Speaker 1: to be refueled with by plugging itself into the electrical outlet. 510 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 1: It doesn't have to be filled with gas. Imagine it 511 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,000 Speaker 1: going around and eating like just some you know, decaying 512 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:18,200 Speaker 1: vegetable matter and fueling itself or catching slugs or catching flies. 513 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 1: So I see, I see a couple of unfortunate chipmunks there. 514 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:27,080 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, it's possible, all right. So there 515 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: again terrifying future of robots. Plus well, digestion. It depends 516 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,159 Speaker 1: on how you look at it. It's like it's like 517 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:37,920 Speaker 1: digesting itself, you know. Um. But yeah, on one hand, 518 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,639 Speaker 1: we have you know, robots seating human corpses. On the 519 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,920 Speaker 1: other hand, we have robotic models of human functions that 520 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:48,480 Speaker 1: we would want to better understand. All right, take me 521 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,080 Speaker 1: to the light to some emails. All right, Yes, we 522 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:53,800 Speaker 1: have some emails that actually deal with ye, both of 523 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:58,120 Speaker 1: wese deal with our mentioned and discussion of non Pho 524 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:03,200 Speaker 1: non Cloe related topic. So Adam writes in Adam says, 525 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 1: I am an open nonbeliever in all religions, but belief 526 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:09,680 Speaker 1: but believe that the basic ideas associated with them will 527 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 1: always have their place in society. And he's responding to 528 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,440 Speaker 1: our religion in Space episode Don't Kill, Don't steal, don't 529 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:19,120 Speaker 1: sleep with your neighbor's life, respect your blah blah blah, 530 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:21,720 Speaker 1: it goes on forever. I really enjoyed the reference to 531 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,399 Speaker 1: the buffet, where I said that I kind of like 532 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:30,679 Speaker 1: the idea personally of of uha future humans taking the 533 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:33,600 Speaker 1: best aspects of different religions and carrying them with them 534 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,639 Speaker 1: in the future and leaving the batty stuff on the 535 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:39,640 Speaker 1: table with human belief. He says, I really enjoyed the 536 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 1: reference to buffet because that's the way I have always 537 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:43,520 Speaker 1: loved my life, and that's the way I teach my 538 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:46,160 Speaker 1: kids to live their lives. Religion in Space would need 539 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:48,680 Speaker 1: to be flexible so that you could effectively understand what 540 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,360 Speaker 1: you discover about other people in their religion. So in 541 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,000 Speaker 1: short of a face style religion, with tolerance being the 542 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:57,120 Speaker 1: rack of lamb with a nice plum sauce, and flexibility 543 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 1: being the asparagus with shallots, and uh o blanc sauce 544 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,000 Speaker 1: is the way to go. And yes, I would gladly 545 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:06,520 Speaker 1: wear a turtle neck to the table. All right, turtleneck 546 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,760 Speaker 1: Carl Sagurn reference there. Oh, yes, yes, because we were 547 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: discussing a sagan religion of the in which we would 548 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:17,959 Speaker 1: all wear title. Next cool, here's another one. This one 549 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 1: is responding to the Memory Palace episode that we did 550 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 1: about the about human memory and this memory trip. That 551 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:28,080 Speaker 1: well technique that we used that to relies on spatial um. 552 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: Spatial memory um. Anyway, Sean writes in and says, hey, 553 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:34,240 Speaker 1: Robert Julie, I just listened to the Memory Palace episode. 554 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 1: I was blown away. Uh as you were talking. It 555 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 1: was almost step by step how I remember everything I 556 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:42,960 Speaker 1: get with a lot of meetings, and it's sometimes rude 557 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:46,040 Speaker 1: to take notes, So I just uh sit, listen and 558 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,320 Speaker 1: associate where they're sitting with the words in relation to me, 559 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,120 Speaker 1: and I can recall entire meeting for weeks after and 560 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:54,280 Speaker 1: everyone is so baffled by it. But I have been 561 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 1: doing it since grade school. In fact, I failed classes 562 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,400 Speaker 1: while I aced the finals in tests because notes are large, 563 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,400 Speaker 1: great percentage, and I've had to retest because teachers believed 564 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:06,959 Speaker 1: I was cheating. I love this episode. I finally know 565 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,880 Speaker 1: what to call the method to my madness. Thanks Sean. 566 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: It's very cool. Yeah, that's really cool. There's somebody using 567 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:17,000 Speaker 1: the memory palace or or related techniques in their daily 568 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: life to remember things. I have to say I've been 569 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,240 Speaker 1: employing it now and again sometimes so my attention gets 570 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,440 Speaker 1: diverted by some of the images that I come up with. 571 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:28,640 Speaker 1: So you find yourself at the grocery store and you're like, what, 572 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 1: like you created this like fantastic image of like chipmunks 573 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 1: dressed in like tutor uh costuming and yeah, sumo wrestler 574 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,400 Speaker 1: with a bikini on? Like what was that actually representing? 575 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:44,720 Speaker 1: What that congees? Yeah? Well cool h. If you have 576 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 1: anything you would like to share with us, cool links, 577 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:50,360 Speaker 1: cool tidbits, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter 578 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: as Blow the Mind, and you can always drop us 579 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 1: a line at Blow the Mind. It has to work 580 00:30:54,840 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: dot com. Be sure to check out our new video podcast, 581 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,480 Speaker 1: Stuff from the Future. Join how Staffork's staff as we 582 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:09,080 Speaker 1: explore the most promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow.