1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you should Know, a production of I 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: and there's Charles W Chuck Bryant. Jerry's here kind of 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:19,319 Speaker 1: I think she went to go open the door for 5 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 1: a delivery person. Other than that, this is stuff you 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: should know. Hey, let's hope it's not the land Shark 7 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:36,480 Speaker 1: nine seventies Saturday Night Live fame. That's good stuff. Man. Hey, 8 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: you know what I would need to shout out a 9 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: listener because this was a genuine listener suggestion. Uh, we 10 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: get lots of suggestions and sometimes we take them. Yeah, yeah, 11 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: I go, I have one in the pipeline right now. 12 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, I'm I'm just gonna let it be 13 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: suspenseful until then. Okay, whose idea I'm trying to think 14 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: of which one might be for you, because I know 15 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: what's in your pipeline, buddy, Okay, we already did the animals. One. 16 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: I can do that scary that scary hole. Uh. This 17 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,759 Speaker 1: is Jamie Boo, her nice name, and I didn't even 18 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: let Jamie know. So hopefully Jamie, here's this and it'll 19 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: just be a big surprise. I know there's a certain 20 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: listener out there who is hoping this would be possums. 21 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: But here's a little hint. If you suggest something too much, 22 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: it becomes a game where we will never do it. Well, 23 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: you can ask the guy who um continuously asked for 24 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: the Hawaiian Overthrow episode. It's one of those we kind 25 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 1: of did that didn't mean we did do it, And 26 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: it's one of those things that you want really bad 27 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: and then when you get it you regret over having 28 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 1: asked for it. Yeah, just too much build up, right, 29 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: You just gotta let things come as they come, exactly, 30 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: chill out, look in your pipeline. I predict that we forgotten. 31 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: We normally would have gotten to possums by seven easily. 32 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: Never No, never, Right now we ut. But today we're 33 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: talking about pearls, right, yeah, pearls and the big thanks 34 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: to Jamie boo Her because this is one I'm surprised 35 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 1: we hadn't done. It's very stuff. You should know. He 36 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: just sort of sitting out there at the bottom of 37 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: the ocean waiting for us to discover it, like a 38 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: pearl diver, which weirdly was not even in this article. No, 39 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 1: I thought it was weird too. I did a little 40 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 1: research on it, so we'll we'll hit that in a minute. 41 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: But yeah, same. I read that Steinbeck book. What was 42 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: it called The Pearl Diver's Daughter. That was the original title, 43 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 1: but he just shortened it and he just said, let's 44 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: just call it the Pearl. Okay, I didn't know that 45 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: was a Steinbeck book. I knew about Grapes of Wrath 46 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: as I lay dying, mainly because that metal band mm 47 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:53,239 Speaker 1: HM travels with Charlie Uhson. Man, what's the canary row? One? 48 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: Cannary row of mice and men? Man? Have you ever 49 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: seen that? With one? The one with Gary Sinice and 50 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: um John Malkovich is Lenny No. I saw the previous 51 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,239 Speaker 1: version when I was a kid that I want to 52 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:12,519 Speaker 1: say it was the Quaide the big boy Quade. Oh, 53 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: he'd be perfect for that, Randy um And I can't 54 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: remember who Lenny was. I think I saw pieces of Oh, 55 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 1: I thought you went of the of the Malkovitch one. Okay, 56 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: I thought you meant Randy Quaide was Lenny. I can't 57 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: imagine him as anybody else. Maybe Curly, but now I 58 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: think Curly is kind of like a Casey sa Moscow 59 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: esque smaller dude. You know what I mean. Wait, who 60 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: did I say? Did I get it wrong? Who did 61 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: I say? Randy Quaide was? You said you couldn't remember 62 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: who Lenny was. I don't remember the other guy's name, 63 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: but Lenny's the one who was old Yeller at the end, right, 64 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: I guess I should say spoiler alert, right of sure, 65 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: But if you don't know what that is, just he's 66 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: guys and Eddie. That's all you need to know. So Chuck, 67 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: let's start talking about pearls at this point. What do 68 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: you think? I think let's do it pretty neat, little Jim. Yeah, 69 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: you can make a really good argument, and I've seen 70 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: it made all over the internet, especially from pearl seller's websites, 71 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: that pearls are far and away the oldest gym people 72 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 1: have ever used to adorn themselves with. I don't know 73 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,919 Speaker 1: if that's true, but it's possible because you have to 74 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,239 Speaker 1: mind gold, you have to stumble upon it. With pearls, 75 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 1: I could see people just you know, diving for seafood 76 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 1: and being like, what is this thing? And oh there's 77 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:30,599 Speaker 1: another one over here, and then all of a sudden 78 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,719 Speaker 1: you've got, you know, these gems that are coming out 79 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: of the Persian Gulf and being a big deal. Yeah, 80 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: and you know it's already weird enough that people correct 81 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: an oyster open and said, maybe I should eat that 82 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: disgusting looking blob. I know that's kind of an angel question, 83 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,920 Speaker 1: is like who ate the first oyster? But uh, when 84 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 1: they saw a little pearl in there? I mean, first 85 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: of all, the interior of any We're not any, but 86 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: of many mollusk shells can be beautifully iridescent and very 87 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: attract of to the eye. So I could see why 88 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: somebody might crack a mollusk open and say, hey, that 89 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: this looks interesting. Wonder if that piece of meat is 90 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: taste good? And it does, especially in a nice buttery 91 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 1: lemon white wine sauce. M hmm. I think we should 92 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 1: do oysters just separately at some point. But I found 93 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,679 Speaker 1: a little pearl. Turns out it was a blister pearl, 94 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: which means it was we'll get to this, but it 95 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: means it's attached to the shell. But I found a 96 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: little blister pearl one time, and I can't remember if 97 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: it was just dining in a restaurant or whether it 98 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: was from a shell when we were like clamming or something, 99 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: But I thought pearls only came from oysters, and that 100 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: is not true. They can come from just about any mollusk, right, 101 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 1: But you do make a good point. Any mollusk can 102 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: make a pearl if you if you're very inclusive of 103 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: what forms of pearl because their formed through the same process. 104 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: Is the difference between a true pearl and a non 105 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: true pearl, if you're going to be a purist, is 106 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: the substance that it's made from. And even more mind 107 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: boggling than that, they're made from the same substance. It's 108 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: just a different structural arrangement of that same substance that 109 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:15,720 Speaker 1: produces a true pearl or a non true pearl. I 110 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: think that was enough mystery. Let's let's get in okay. 111 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: So one of the things that we need to know 112 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: about pearls, and one of the reasons why they've been, 113 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:24,479 Speaker 1: you know, for thousands of years they were like the 114 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:29,679 Speaker 1: great signifier of wealth, is because they're exceedingly rare in nature. 115 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: Just kind of globally, you'll find a pearl in about 116 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: one and ten thousand mollusks. That's not very many pearls 117 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:40,840 Speaker 1: hanging around out there. So you can imagine that when 118 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: a really nice pearl was found. It was you know, 119 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: very much treasured um. And every single pearl, no matter 120 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: what kind of pearl it is, starts because the little 121 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: mollusk that forms the pearl is irritated. That's right. Uh. 122 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: You've often heard a grain of sand can turn into 123 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,360 Speaker 1: a pearl. That is true. It can be a little 124 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: chunk of the shell. Um. Most times it's a little parasite, 125 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: and it's almost like an allergic reaction takes place inside 126 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 1: the mollusk and that they mount a defense by coding 127 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: this foreign thing that gets in their shell, because you know, 128 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: their shell is is ideally sealed up pretty tight, uh, 129 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: and they like to keep it nice and clean. Um. 130 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: But they something gets in there and they go, all right, 131 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: something's in here, shouldn't be. I'm going to coat this 132 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: thing with a substance and we'll get to what that 133 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 1: is in a second. And that substance basically just builds 134 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: up and eventually it makes a pearl. And you know, 135 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: it can be a little blister pearl that's still attached, 136 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: or you know, ideally what you're gonna get to is 137 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 1: a perfectly spherical, lovely little thing that could someday end 138 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: up on a piece of jewelry. Yeah, now we should 139 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: say like that one and ten molas. Like if you 140 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: if you get ten thousand mollisks together on the beach, 141 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: you would find a pearl in one of them. Um, 142 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: it would be even rarer than that to find a 143 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: perfectly spherical or even close to spherical pearl, Like those 144 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: are really really rare in nature, right, Um. But that 145 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: stuff that makes that pearl, depending on what kind of 146 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: mollusk it comes from, if it's a true pearl, the 147 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: stuff that they build up to kind of isolate that 148 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: grain of sand or that parasite or whatever, is called 149 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: naker and naker is this combination of um, a kind 150 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: of calcium carbonate called aragonite, and then another substance kind 151 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: of like an organic binder called concleolin. And as different 152 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: layers are put down at a little bit of water, 153 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:50,320 Speaker 1: slowly by but surely like the layer kind of gets 154 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 1: bigger and bigger and bigger, and a pearl forms around that. Again, 155 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: you have to remember this, this thing that we prize 156 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 1: and value and think is one of the most beautiful 157 00:08:57,440 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: things in the world, is a Pearl's Like you said, 158 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 1: an allergic reaction to an irritant. That's what it's doing. 159 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,320 Speaker 1: It just so happens that we find them gorgeous and 160 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: like to wear them on our foreheads. Forehead, it's a 161 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: great place for a pearl. How did you pronounce that 162 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: second word, naker or oh con con conchiolian? Yeah, thrown 163 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: that ellen there. It's very easy to want to do. 164 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: Can I get the earth? Yeah? Conkylin uh and naker 165 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,319 Speaker 1: by the way, spelled in a c R E for 166 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: those of you who love it when I just randomly 167 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: spell things, um and naker. You know, I talked about 168 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 1: that beautiful iridescence. Um, it's it's mother of pearl. That 169 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:40,200 Speaker 1: is Naker. So when you look at the inside of 170 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: a of a mollusk, of a shellfish that has that 171 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: wonderful sort of rainbow iridescent look, that is the Naker 172 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 1: and it's really super strong. Um. And I believe it 173 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 1: they've been you know, it's it's part of the structural 174 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: integrity of keeping the mollusks strong, right right, Yeah, It's 175 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 1: like that's um, what what we would consider like what 176 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: our bones are made out of. That's what the mollusk's 177 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 1: hardness is made out of. I think, Yeah, exactly, at 178 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,319 Speaker 1: least the interior part. So then there's the other non 179 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 1: true pearls. They're called non nacreous pearl because they're not 180 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: made with nacre They're made with a calcareous concretion, which 181 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:18,760 Speaker 1: again is made from calcium carbonate crystals, but it's a 182 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: different arrangement of calcium carbonate called calcite, and calcite is 183 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 1: more stable than aragonite, but it's more fragile, and it's 184 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,839 Speaker 1: just not the same thing as a pearl. Yeah, these 185 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:37,959 Speaker 1: are the non acreous are I'm sometimes pink or brown. Uh, 186 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: And they generally come from the Queen conk. We say conk, right, 187 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: and we say conch conk. That's what I always said. 188 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:46,680 Speaker 1: But I also heard people say conch one time, and 189 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:52,040 Speaker 1: I thought it was mispronouncing they were they were dead wrong, okay, uh. 190 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: And this conk mollusk, the queen conk is in the 191 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:59,560 Speaker 1: Caribbean or is it Caribbean because I heard someone say 192 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 1: it's the Caribbean. Yeah. You have to say it like 193 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 1: you're about to sing the Billy Ocean song. Yeah, queen, Yeah, 194 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: but you have to just leave everybody hanging you. Well, 195 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: you've never noticed in that song he goes Caribbean queen 196 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:21,839 Speaker 1: conk in the background. Uh. I do want to recommend 197 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 1: this story that we're not going to get into here, 198 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,959 Speaker 1: but Olivia, who helped us with this, was kind enough 199 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:31,240 Speaker 1: to tease us with a story from one about a 200 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 1: Tai fisherman who found a mellow pearl m e l 201 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: o and that's um one of the other kinds of 202 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: non ne creus uh mollusk pearls, and it was worth 203 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 1: about three grand. These things are really really rare. They're uh, 204 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: you can't make them in nature, so that's why they're rare, 205 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 1: and we get to or you can't make them, you know, 206 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 1: by human hands, I should say. Uh. So they're super 207 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:59,839 Speaker 1: rare and they're very um fragile. Uh and as a result, 208 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: they're really expensive. But is there's a really good story 209 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,679 Speaker 1: about this Thai fisherman who found one worth a lot 210 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:06,839 Speaker 1: of money and just go look it up on the 211 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 1: internet and read about it. But it's it's pretty involved. So, 212 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,080 Speaker 1: like you said, the non acreous pearls are made by 213 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,079 Speaker 1: the mellow mellow sea snail or the queen conk mollusk, 214 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,839 Speaker 1: but the true pearls are typically made by saltwater oysters. 215 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 1: Or freshwater mussels. Like when you're thinking of a pearl, pearl, 216 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: it probably came from a mussel, possibly from Ohio or Tennessee, 217 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:29,439 Speaker 1: of all places, the Tennessee River. That was one of 218 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: the most mind blowing things I've ever heard. Or if 219 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,680 Speaker 1: it's saltwater oysters, it might be on the northern coast 220 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,440 Speaker 1: of South America. It might be on the in the Baja, 221 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: the Gulf of California, off the Baja in Mexico. Um, 222 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 1: those are some really good spots for it, too. Or 223 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 1: it could also be in places in Japan as we'll 224 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:52,760 Speaker 1: see too. Yeah, and the Tennessee River and a couple 225 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 1: of these other places are some of the some of 226 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: the only places where people still dive for pearls, because again, 227 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:01,280 Speaker 1: as you'll see, most pearls that we see today are 228 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 1: made by people, Uh well, people and mollusks, sure in conjunction. Yeah, um, 229 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:11,680 Speaker 1: but you know, we can talk just for a little 230 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 1: bit about pearl diving. That was how they used to 231 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: find pearls. And if you think, well, I get oysters, 232 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: you know, I live in I live near the ocean, 233 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: and I get oysters just in my oyster trap a 234 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: few feet down those are almost certainly not going to 235 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:29,920 Speaker 1: be making pearls. The pearl bearing mollusks are generally very 236 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,480 Speaker 1: very very deep, and these divers it was kind of 237 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 1: the I don't know if it was the reason people 238 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: started free diving so deep, but people who were really 239 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:43,200 Speaker 1: good at free diving so deep, uh, often became pearl 240 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:45,840 Speaker 1: divers in you know, free diving, or the people that 241 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:48,320 Speaker 1: eventually they would get a mask, but they would you know, 242 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: you just go down there with your lungs and swim 243 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,959 Speaker 1: super super super deep. And that's what the Steinbeck novel 244 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: is about. So so, like I saw that a pearl 245 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: diver might dive down to any feet undred and fifty feet. Yeah, 246 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,560 Speaker 1: that's like fifty meters if you're paying attention, Um, that 247 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: is extremely deep. That's actually beyond like the recreational scuba 248 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 1: divers limits. I think that's like ninety hundred feet. So 249 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: these people are free diving that deep, and yeah, they're 250 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 1: having to hold their breath for many, many minutes, but 251 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 1: they're pretty good at it. And the reason why I 252 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: think they have to dive so low and the reason 253 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:25,600 Speaker 1: why you're not going to find a pearl in an 254 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: oyster along them, the shoreline is because the flow of 255 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:34,240 Speaker 1: water has to be below a certain speed or else 256 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 1: the nakers just not going to form correctly or at all, 257 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: from what I can tell, So they're gonna be just 258 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 1: sitting real still. Yeah, exactly, for sure. Should we take 259 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: a break. Sure, we'll take a break, and we'll come 260 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 1: back and talk a little history, because it turns out 261 00:14:47,680 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 1: people have like pearls for a really long time. So Chuck, 262 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: we're back and we're talking pearl history and um. From 263 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: what I could tell, for about four thousand years, the 264 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 1: vast majority of pearls came from around the Persian Gulf, 265 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Mannar by Sri Lanka. 266 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:29,240 Speaker 1: And that was just the way it was. If you 267 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:33,480 Speaker 1: had a pearl before about the nineteen twenties or thirties, 268 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: it was very likely that it came from one of 269 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: those areas. And in about the Middle East or Southeast Asia. Yeah, 270 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 1: and they were, like you said, they were always prized. Um. Obviously, 271 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 1: if you look at a pearl, um, it's a anytime 272 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: something really that beautiful comes from nature, that's that rare um. 273 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: It becomes a precious item. And from the very beginning 274 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 1: in I mean you name it. In most ancient places 275 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: where you could get pearls, they were written about. They 276 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 1: were prized and warned by the nobility. Maybe nobility definitely 277 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 1: kings and queens, maybe sometimes only kings and queens, and 278 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 1: not even like lower nobility. They were that rare, but 279 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: they also kind of hoarded them, like their stories of 280 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: you know, uh, ancient queens having like hundreds and hundreds 281 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: of pearls. Uh, It's not like they just had like, oh, 282 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: we found one and the rest, you know, other people 283 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: can wear. Yeah. I think the oldest pearl necklace that 284 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: was found is come comes from about twenty four hundred 285 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:35,440 Speaker 1: years ago or twenty three hundred years ago in a 286 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: place that was called Susa, which we now recognizes Iran, 287 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: And it was in a princess's sarcophagus, and it was 288 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: a pearl necklace of two hundred and sixteen pearlstears. It 289 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,320 Speaker 1: is a lot of pearls, especially considering again like just 290 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: any normal pearl is found in one in ten thousand mollusks, 291 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: and this this princess had two hundred and sixteen pearls, 292 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 1: So she would have been what you would call fabulously 293 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: wealthy at the time. Uh. Uh. Native American cultures prized 294 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 1: the pearl as well as you'll see. If you can 295 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,399 Speaker 1: find them in the Tennessee River, Uh, then you can. 296 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:10,639 Speaker 1: There are other places in the Midwest of the United 297 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: States where you can find pearls still today. So they 298 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:16,679 Speaker 1: love them and use them. I think Mother of Pearl 299 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:21,239 Speaker 1: has always been used. The ancient Egyptians definitely used it 300 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: as far as BC, even though they got pearls much later. Yeah, 301 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,600 Speaker 1: apparently it wasn't until they were conquered by the Persian 302 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:36,199 Speaker 1: Empire about the sixth yes, sixth century BC um that 303 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:38,639 Speaker 1: they finally got pearls, which does not make sense to me, 304 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 1: but you know them's the Brakes history. Uh. This cleopatri 305 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:45,960 Speaker 1: story is pretty interesting. I think we talked about this 306 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 1: in our Cleopatric episode. I'm pretty sure it sounds awfully familiar. 307 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: It did. As the legend goes, she bet Mark Antony 308 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 1: that she could present the most expensive dinner ever made, 309 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:00,439 Speaker 1: and he was like, all right, let's see what got 310 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,040 Speaker 1: I think there's a catch. And there was a catch 311 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: because supposedly pearl earrings were crushed into powder and dissolved 312 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: into wine, and she went game on. She famously went 313 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 1: and then down her pearl shot of vinegar. Yeah, and 314 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 1: supposedly he said, no, thank you, No, that's too opulent 315 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:25,399 Speaker 1: from waw. Yeah, I can't. I don't know if that 316 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 1: would be bad for you or probably just benign. Well, 317 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,359 Speaker 1: it depends, because there's a lot of cultures over the years, 318 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: as we'll see, that have basically prized pearls for all 319 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: sorts of medicinal values along the way, Like everybody from 320 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: the Hindus to the Daoists to um ancient Sanskrit medical 321 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:47,199 Speaker 1: texts like the Chakara Samhita all basically said, hey, pearls 322 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 1: are really good for everything from prolonging youth to curing 323 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:55,040 Speaker 1: weak eyes. It's an elixir to restore strength. Like I 324 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:59,439 Speaker 1: think anytime there's something that's valuable as a thing of beauty, 325 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:01,920 Speaker 1: they also just assume that it has some sort of 326 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:05,760 Speaker 1: healthful properties as well, And pearls are definitely in that 327 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,679 Speaker 1: in that um realm. I'm curious if there's anything to 328 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,679 Speaker 1: any of that, if there's been like modern studies on 329 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: pearl dust. Well, I know they put pearl dust in 330 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: some skin creams too, and it supposedly adds a youthful 331 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: glow to your skin. But that's smax to me of 332 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:25,199 Speaker 1: basically the same thing as Sanskrit medical texts saying it 333 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:29,159 Speaker 1: restores strength and youthfulness. And you know that because you 334 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 1: use it right, maybe it's still worth a try. Um. 335 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:39,480 Speaker 1: Once the Crusades got going in the medieval era, they 336 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: started trading with Asia, all these pearls were coming to 337 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,639 Speaker 1: Europe and again, and once they made their way to Europe, 338 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:50,439 Speaker 1: they were basically off limits. They're actually sumptuary laws that 339 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:53,080 Speaker 1: said you can't have them, common people, you can't have 340 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 1: anything nice. That's what all these laws are about. Yeah, 341 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: supposedly it was to to really keep the class delineations 342 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 1: in a order, but also it's supposedly to prevent the 343 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:07,479 Speaker 1: lower classes from engaging in in wanton spending that they 344 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:10,880 Speaker 1: couldn't afford, you know, in a like a form of vice, 345 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: like luxury. Basically, Um, the thing is that we have 346 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:18,160 Speaker 1: credit cards right right, It's the opposite of a sumptuary law. Um. 347 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 1: The thing is, apparently Scotland has really nice pearls. And 348 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 1: I saw in more than one place that the story 349 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:29,840 Speaker 1: goes that Caesar actually invaded Britain because he was after 350 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:32,840 Speaker 1: um Uk pearls at the time, although it was in 351 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: the UK. You know what I'm saying. We still get 352 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 1: those emails all the time. For sure, we could, like 353 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 1: if you put a gun to our head, we could 354 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,440 Speaker 1: come up with it. But just sometimes on the fly 355 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,880 Speaker 1: it's hard to remember. Well. And sometimes when we say 356 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 1: English or England, we're talking about England. I think the 357 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: official right, right, but yeah, exactly, but I think the 358 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:54,800 Speaker 1: official thing is the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 359 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 1: northern Ireland. I think I can hear some people in 360 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:02,119 Speaker 1: Europe clamping right now. Uh well, speaking of them, uh, 361 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: the colonizers. Of course, once they started making their way 362 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 1: around the world and plundering everything, they obviously took wherever 363 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: there were pearls, they would take and harvest those pearls 364 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 1: and send them back to Europe again, whether it was 365 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: Panama or Mexico or places in South America. Wherever they 366 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:23,919 Speaker 1: went and they had pearls, they were for the right, 367 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: for the taken, and again they went back to the courts. Generally, 368 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 1: um men wore pearl ear rings. Apparently in Henry's court, 369 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: um Elizabeth had thousands and thousands of pearls that were 370 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,640 Speaker 1: you know, hey, a pearl button looks much nicer than 371 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,720 Speaker 1: a real button or just a pearl adornment, and so 372 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:46,800 Speaker 1: let's just use those instead of regular buttons. Yeah. One 373 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 1: thing that I found mind blowing was that um that 374 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:53,880 Speaker 1: her gowns would have thousands of pearls sewn into them, 375 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: and that when you clean the gown you had to 376 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,200 Speaker 1: you had to take all the pearls off and then 377 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,720 Speaker 1: clean it and then sew all the pearls back onto. 378 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 1: Can you imagine you know what? I bet if you 379 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:09,880 Speaker 1: told that story back then and Elizabeth was in the room, 380 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,919 Speaker 1: she would say, really, they do that right, probably, And 381 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 1: by the way, off with your head right for telling 382 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 1: me that story. I don't like guilt man. That was 383 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:25,120 Speaker 1: a great Elizabeth the first impression. Thank you, so onward 384 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:29,160 Speaker 1: and upward, Chuck. Because in the late late nineteenth century, 385 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:34,679 Speaker 1: and in particular, a guy named guest Tom Vives became 386 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,399 Speaker 1: the first human being, as far as we know, to 387 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:42,639 Speaker 1: set up a genuine, large scale commercial oyster farming operation 388 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:48,159 Speaker 1: with the express purpose of producing as many pearls as possible. 389 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: Pretty good idea in eighteen it is. And because the 390 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,160 Speaker 1: the you know, the the um what's the word, I'm 391 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,879 Speaker 1: looking for where something happens and like in ratio for 392 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: warm um the how about okay, I know where you're going. 393 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,920 Speaker 1: How about this, Because pearls are so rare, Vives said, 394 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,119 Speaker 1: I'm going to overcome this by just having gobs and 395 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,200 Speaker 1: gobs and gobs of oysters. Um, so that just I'll 396 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 1: beat the odds. And in fact, he beat the odds 397 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 1: big time because he was farming oysters and harvesting anywhere 398 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: between four to fourteen pearls per one hundred oysters. So 399 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,160 Speaker 1: he was having a four to fourteen percent yield of 400 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,200 Speaker 1: of pearls. Pretty good, right, well, I mean way better 401 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:36,639 Speaker 1: than what we said to begin with, which is one 402 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,399 Speaker 1: in ten, right, which is so he was harvesting up 403 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 1: to fourteen percent of pearls, or harvesting pearls from fourteen 404 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 1: percent of his oysters. The worldwide estimate would be harvesting 405 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:50,159 Speaker 1: pearls from point zero zero zero one percent of oysters 406 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,119 Speaker 1: that you would find. Yeah, and I don't think we 407 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,119 Speaker 1: said this is in Mexico, And of course these are 408 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:01,240 Speaker 1: reports that this happened in fourteen percent is the very 409 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 1: highest end. It was four to fourteen. But that's even 410 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,800 Speaker 1: let's say it's four percent. That's still a lot more. 411 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 1: And the only thing that people can reckon is that 412 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:14,159 Speaker 1: it was just a place where, uh, they had a 413 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 1: lot more pearls, because that can happen. Yeah, the conditions 414 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:19,840 Speaker 1: must have just been just perfect right there in the 415 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:23,200 Speaker 1: Gulf of Mexico. Um. That yeah, so good for guests, 416 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: tom vvs. But one really important thing to remember about 417 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: Vivez's operation is he was farming them naturally. Again, he 418 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,360 Speaker 1: was overcoming the odds just by sheer numbers of oysters 419 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: he was raising. But he also figured out some really 420 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:38,639 Speaker 1: important stuff too that the better you take care of 421 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:41,919 Speaker 1: your oysters, the more you protect them from predators, the 422 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:44,959 Speaker 1: more you protect them from disease, the more you scrub 423 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,200 Speaker 1: them free of barnacles several times a year, the likelier 424 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:51,439 Speaker 1: they are to produce a really nice pearl. Uh. And 425 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,760 Speaker 1: so he established some techniques that I believe are still 426 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:57,600 Speaker 1: kind of foundational in pearl culturing today. But he did 427 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 1: not try to artificially implant or or get um I guess, 428 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,600 Speaker 1: jump start pearl creation in oysters. He was just letting 429 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,439 Speaker 1: it happen naturally. So he wasn't technically culturing pearls. He 430 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:14,880 Speaker 1: was just farming oysters for their pearls. Yeah, cultivating, right, 431 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:19,600 Speaker 1: I'd say culturing. No, I mean he would have been cultivating, 432 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:27,480 Speaker 1: oh sure, sure, grooming, breeding, um raising, Uh, beating the odds. Uh. 433 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,200 Speaker 1: If you want to talk about making pearls, culturing pearls, 434 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 1: of course, you got to look to ancient China. They're 435 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:35,360 Speaker 1: the first people that kind of started doing that. They 436 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:38,240 Speaker 1: put little molds. This is very cool. They put little 437 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:43,440 Speaker 1: molds that had different things, but chiefly little Buddha images 438 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: into muscles freshwater muscles around five CE, and they would 439 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:50,919 Speaker 1: develop those blister pearls that I talked about that I 440 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,280 Speaker 1: found one time that are attached to the interior of 441 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:57,360 Speaker 1: the shell, and it would be in about the same shape. 442 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:01,480 Speaker 1: It's not like it produced a perfect little Buddha blister pearl, 443 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 1: but looked enough like it to where it was, you know, 444 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:09,320 Speaker 1: a pretty ingenious thing. Um, they were not, they were 445 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,760 Speaker 1: you know, I think the blister pearls are called like 446 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 1: half pearls or hemispherical. They're not obviously prized and the 447 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:18,199 Speaker 1: kind that you want to put on a necklace. But 448 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 1: it kind of got the ball rolling as far as uh, 449 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,439 Speaker 1: knowing that we can culture pearls. They would say it 450 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:31,040 Speaker 1: either looks like Buddha or Abraham Lincoln guaranteed. So a 451 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:33,880 Speaker 1: long time after that, UM, people started like really trying 452 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:37,640 Speaker 1: to figure out how to intensively cultivate pearls or culture pearls. 453 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,440 Speaker 1: I'm confused, but UM. There was a guy named WILLIAMS. 454 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,919 Speaker 1: Seville Kent who was English, believe it or not, and 455 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:48,520 Speaker 1: he was a marine biologist working in Australia. UM, and 456 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:50,720 Speaker 1: he said, you know, I really think this guest on 457 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 1: Vivez guy is is onto something. UM, but I think 458 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:57,640 Speaker 1: he's he's missing the point. He's just kind of letting 459 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:02,879 Speaker 1: nature take its course, beating the odds, you could say. UM. 460 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 1: And instead, Seville Kent wanted to kind of like hasten 461 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,399 Speaker 1: nature to kind of like increase his chances even further 462 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:15,800 Speaker 1: by trying to figure out how to make pearls happen unnaturally, 463 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 1: I guess. And he never got any further than creating 464 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 1: blister pearls, which from what I can tell, is the 465 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:24,440 Speaker 1: easiest pearl you could possibly make. And he died eight 466 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:27,080 Speaker 1: and it just he just never cracked that code. But 467 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: shortly after that, in another part of the world, in Japan, 468 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:33,000 Speaker 1: there were some guys who've been working on this independently, 469 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,840 Speaker 1: and they did crack that quote. Finally they did. And 470 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 1: we should mention the reason that they wanted to speed 471 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 1: up the pearl nous of the world was not only 472 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:45,760 Speaker 1: just to obviously make more money if they could control 473 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 1: something like that, but in Australia and in Japan, uh, 474 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,520 Speaker 1: they were, um, these moments were overfished at the time, 475 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:55,960 Speaker 1: which meant obviously they were under pearled, and so they 476 00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:58,600 Speaker 1: kind of had like there was a need created for 477 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 1: pearls that wasn't being met. So all of a sudden 478 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:03,439 Speaker 1: they started saying, hey, we can If we can make 479 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 1: a blister pearl, maybe we can carry this over and 480 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:10,600 Speaker 1: make regular real pearls. And in Japan there's the akoya 481 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: oyster okoya oyster sorrd to say fast and abalone, which 482 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 1: is like a big, very expensive kind of seafood. It's 483 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 1: a sea snail and huh it is, yeah, yeah, what 484 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:28,119 Speaker 1: do you think it was? I thought it was more 485 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,320 Speaker 1: clam like than snail like that. Well, it's called a 486 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:34,200 Speaker 1: sea snail, but it looks like a clam. Okay, that's 487 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 1: one of those things sort of like never mind, I'm gonna. 488 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:39,960 Speaker 1: I want to know, you have to text it to me. 489 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:42,640 Speaker 1: Oh that's okay, Well, yeah, I'll text it to you. 490 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 1: Um So, these two things, the Akoya oyster and the 491 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 1: abalone uh in Japan and the waters around Japan had 492 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: very um nice natural pearls being produced again under pearl 493 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:00,360 Speaker 1: because of overfishing. And in eighteen eight he ate there 494 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 1: was an oyster farmer who figures very highly in the 495 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:06,080 Speaker 1: story name Uh. And this gets a little confusing because 496 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:09,320 Speaker 1: a lot of names are similar, but his name was 497 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:14,480 Speaker 1: Kokichi Miki Moto, and he started working with a professor 498 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 1: name Kochi Ki is that right? Kakichi Kaikichi uh Mitsukuri Uh. 499 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: And he was from Tokyo Imperial University, and they started 500 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 1: working together trying to get a technique going for initially 501 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: growing these blistered pearls. And they were successful in that 502 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 1: not only could they get that going, but they could 503 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,880 Speaker 1: actually industrialize it and make it like a really ramp 504 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 1: up the process and get a lot of them going. Yeah. 505 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,480 Speaker 1: Mickey Moto's aim for for starting to cultivate pearls was 506 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,479 Speaker 1: because he wanted to democratize pearls. He wanted anybody at 507 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:48,480 Speaker 1: the time to be able to wear a pearl necklace. 508 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 1: And that's why he was, you know, he said about 509 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,160 Speaker 1: trying to figure this out. And again, like you said, 510 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: the best they could come up with blister pearls, and 511 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 1: they call them half pearls for a reason because you 512 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,560 Speaker 1: have to break them off of the shell, that inner shell, 513 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,480 Speaker 1: and so you've ruined one side of it, whereas a 514 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: true pearl um will form inside the oyster and can 515 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,280 Speaker 1: just be kind of plucked out rather easily, and it's 516 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:13,440 Speaker 1: it's a whole it's a whole pearl that's not attached 517 00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:17,000 Speaker 1: to the shell. So it seems like if you could 518 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: make a blister pearl, you could make a true pearl, 519 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,600 Speaker 1: and it just was not that easy. UM and neither 520 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,400 Speaker 1: Mickey Moto nor Mitsukuri ever figured it out. Really, it 521 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 1: was actually a student of Mitsukuries, a guy named Tokichi Nishikawa, 522 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: who UM actually came up with the the way to 523 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:40,320 Speaker 1: create a genuine pearl through cultivation practices, and the same 524 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:45,920 Speaker 1: process is essentially UM used today. Yeah, it's basically what 525 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,360 Speaker 1: they did was they said, hey, let's take what nature does, 526 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:51,200 Speaker 1: and that's like what we have to sit around and 527 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:55,360 Speaker 1: wait every ten thousand molesks to see happen, and let's 528 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: let's just do it ourselves. Let's figure out a way 529 00:30:57,800 --> 00:30:59,840 Speaker 1: to speed it up and do it by hand. And 530 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:02,320 Speaker 1: they did. They would cut out that you know we 531 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,280 Speaker 1: talked about the naker. They would cut out the part 532 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,000 Speaker 1: of the oyster, which is the mantle that secretes that naker. 533 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,280 Speaker 1: They would artificially put in a little bit of shell. Uh. 534 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:14,120 Speaker 1: Instead of like a grain of sand, they would use. 535 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 1: I think they found that a little like round cutting 536 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,240 Speaker 1: of that iridescent shell works best, right. I think they 537 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:23,680 Speaker 1: found that muscle shells work best for some reason. But yeah, 538 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:26,719 Speaker 1: they would make them round or spherical, right, and then 539 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:31,440 Speaker 1: they would put that back into another oyster. I think 540 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:35,000 Speaker 1: of the same variety. I don't think they mix and matched. 541 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:39,239 Speaker 1: And that would basically cause that process to start. They 542 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:41,680 Speaker 1: would say something's in me that shouldn't be in me, 543 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,760 Speaker 1: and it would create a little pearl sack has that 544 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:47,440 Speaker 1: little seed in the middle, and it started just coating 545 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 1: it with that substance. Yeah, And so they would surgically 546 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:55,280 Speaker 1: implant shell pieces and like a piece of mantle from 547 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:57,760 Speaker 1: another oyster, which is kind of mangola esque if you 548 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: think about it. And they would use little, tiny modified 549 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,840 Speaker 1: dental tools to create this surgery um and it was 550 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: really hard to do because you can't open an oyster 551 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:10,120 Speaker 1: shell more than two to three centimeters, which is not much, 552 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:14,160 Speaker 1: or else it's it's either going to kill them the oyster, 553 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,560 Speaker 1: or it's going to upset it so much that it's 554 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 1: going to reject this this implanted nucleus the seed for 555 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 1: the pearl. So it's really hard to do. And again 556 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:25,239 Speaker 1: this is still the way that they do this, and 557 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,480 Speaker 1: it turns out, strangely, there was an entirely other guy 558 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 1: UH named um Tatsuey miss A who was a carpenter 559 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,520 Speaker 1: and he was working on his own version of the 560 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:40,800 Speaker 1: exact same thing, apparently independently at the same time in Japan, 561 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 1: and he Uh and Nishikawa went to go patent their methods, 562 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,200 Speaker 1: found that the other one had applied for a patent 563 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:50,680 Speaker 1: for the exact same thing, and came to an agreement, 564 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:52,800 Speaker 1: which I think is really sweet because had it been 565 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:55,200 Speaker 1: like Thomas Edison or somebody, that would have been like 566 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:58,080 Speaker 1: legal battles and murders of elephants and all that stuff. 567 00:32:58,120 --> 00:32:59,800 Speaker 1: These guys just came to an agreement to call this 568 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:05,920 Speaker 1: process the Nishikawa method. Right. Uh, some people say that, um, 569 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,760 Speaker 1: we talked about Seville Kent, who died without having perfected 570 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:13,680 Speaker 1: the non blistered process. Uh. Some accounts do say that 571 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:16,400 Speaker 1: both of these people, which is, you know, basically how 572 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:20,600 Speaker 1: they were working independently on the same process, got their 573 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 1: process from notes from Seville Kent. But I don't think 574 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:26,440 Speaker 1: that's been like proven out, so who knows, It's just 575 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:28,640 Speaker 1: part of the lore. Well yea at this point. I mean, Plus, 576 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:34,840 Speaker 1: the Ville Kent never cracked the blister, the blister pearl barrier. Yeah, 577 00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:38,840 Speaker 1: he'll he'll b BP yeah or b P B B 578 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:44,280 Speaker 1: b B blister yeah, the BP B. So Mickey Moto, 579 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:48,120 Speaker 1: who just as a refresher was that original oyster farmer, 580 00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: was a really good promoter, really good marketer. UM had 581 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:57,880 Speaker 1: a pretty good operation going. In fact, they still the 582 00:33:57,920 --> 00:33:59,760 Speaker 1: company is still around today and they still make pearl 583 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:03,000 Speaker 1: jew reach. But they would build these big pearl structures 584 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:07,000 Speaker 1: at displays that expo shows. And he would go around 585 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:10,440 Speaker 1: and talk to like governments and say, hey, this jewelry 586 00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:13,520 Speaker 1: is like I know, we're making them by hand, but 587 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:16,000 Speaker 1: it's still like a real pearl, Like look at these 588 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:19,640 Speaker 1: things and sort of had to overcome the uh, these 589 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:24,680 Speaker 1: aren't true pearls argument, Yeah, the diamonique challenge. Yeah, but 590 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:27,000 Speaker 1: you did overcome it. The thing is is they're just 591 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:30,680 Speaker 1: not as valuable, not because they're not real pearls. They 592 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:32,840 Speaker 1: are real pearls that are made from the same stuff 593 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:35,960 Speaker 1: and everything. It's just that humans have intervened and taken 594 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:39,080 Speaker 1: happenstance out of the out of the process. Right. The 595 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:41,560 Speaker 1: reason that they're not as expensive is because there's so 596 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:44,120 Speaker 1: many of them. You can produce them so much more easily. 597 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:47,160 Speaker 1: And so Mickey Moto actually did what he set out 598 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:50,680 Speaker 1: to accomplish, democratized pearls. And now you can get a 599 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,360 Speaker 1: strand of pearl like a pearl necklace for like a 600 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: hundred bucks if you want. And they're beautiful, gorgeous pearls 601 00:34:57,080 --> 00:34:59,279 Speaker 1: that if somebody came up and said which one is 602 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:02,560 Speaker 1: the natural pearl and which one is the cultivated pearl? Uh, 603 00:35:02,719 --> 00:35:06,560 Speaker 1: you would not be able to tell no, not at all. Uh. 604 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:09,560 Speaker 1: They were brought over to America and at a really 605 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:13,839 Speaker 1: bad time, just before the Great Depression in nine eight, 606 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:17,040 Speaker 1: but they hung around and then after the Great Depression, 607 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,600 Speaker 1: um people started buying pearls and pearl necklaces. And another 608 00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:24,400 Speaker 1: thing that happened was they started making just straight up 609 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:29,680 Speaker 1: imitation pearls and these look great too. And Jackie Kennedy's 610 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,360 Speaker 1: very famous pearl necklace was not real. It was a 611 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:37,120 Speaker 1: gift from her mother. Uh, they were artificial pearls. I 612 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:39,160 Speaker 1: think a lot of times the pearl necklaces that you 613 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:43,120 Speaker 1: see um can be artificial. And uh they sell like 614 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,840 Speaker 1: hotcakes too. Yeah. I looked it up. I could not 615 00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:50,400 Speaker 1: find for certain what Jackie Kennedy's um pearls were made of. 616 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:53,440 Speaker 1: But the closest I saw was a guess at glass 617 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,600 Speaker 1: that they were made of glass. Everybody, you know, there's 618 00:35:56,640 --> 00:36:00,319 Speaker 1: been apparently all kinds of things glass alabaster, and then 619 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:03,080 Speaker 1: they would put everything from egg white to fish scales 620 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:07,040 Speaker 1: to snail slimeh to create that. You know, pearl has 621 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:09,600 Speaker 1: a certain look. It's not just like a plastic wind 622 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:13,000 Speaker 1: looks plastic for a reason, but a good artificial pearl 623 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:16,680 Speaker 1: has a little magic to it as well. Do we 624 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:19,000 Speaker 1: take a break? I think so, all right, we'll take 625 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,359 Speaker 1: our last break and we'll come back and finish up 626 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:41,320 Speaker 1: with what's going on today in the world of pearls. 627 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:48,439 Speaker 1: All right. Uh, we're in modern times now and things 628 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:52,960 Speaker 1: are still about the same about the pearls, like genuine 629 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:56,120 Speaker 1: pearls that you're going to get our cultured Uh it is. 630 00:36:57,280 --> 00:36:59,400 Speaker 1: If you'd say I want a pearl necklace and I 631 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:03,200 Speaker 1: wanted to be the pearls found from that are natural pearls, 632 00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:05,239 Speaker 1: then you got a lot of money laying around and 633 00:37:05,239 --> 00:37:10,400 Speaker 1: you're pretty picky. Uh yeah, yeah, that's yeah. But you 634 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:12,680 Speaker 1: can thank Mickeymoto for not having to have to have 635 00:37:12,719 --> 00:37:16,000 Speaker 1: a lot of money laying around or to be particularly picky. Um. 636 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:19,319 Speaker 1: And there's a bunch of types of cultured pearls. Uh. 637 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:22,759 Speaker 1: There's a koya, south Sea, Tahitian and fresh water and 638 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:26,120 Speaker 1: depending on the type of mollusk that's used, it's going 639 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:29,520 Speaker 1: to produce different colored gems. Basically, because I don't know 640 00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:31,120 Speaker 1: if we said are not. A pearl is considered a 641 00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:34,799 Speaker 1: gem even though it's not um like a mineral in 642 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:37,480 Speaker 1: the sense that like a diamond is, but it's still 643 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:40,480 Speaker 1: it still has a crystalline structure, so I guess it's 644 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 1: considered a gem. Plus people just like to wear them 645 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:45,479 Speaker 1: on their foreheads. As I said, But if you want 646 00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:47,880 Speaker 1: a black pearl you're gonna have to go down to 647 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:51,600 Speaker 1: Tahiti and get one from the black lip oyster, which 648 00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:54,759 Speaker 1: is just a yeah, they're cool, and they're not necessarily 649 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:56,600 Speaker 1: all black. They can be gray, they can be browned, 650 00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:59,520 Speaker 1: they can be black, but they'll also they'll also have 651 00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:03,160 Speaker 1: like kind of iridescent hints of like greens or purples, 652 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:07,840 Speaker 1: even pink. I saw oh pink pearls, well, pink black pearls, 653 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:11,520 Speaker 1: which is uh if you if you're talking about just 654 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:15,359 Speaker 1: sort of the standard traditional classic pearl. Uh. They are 655 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,360 Speaker 1: produced in Japan and China, and those are those original 656 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:23,239 Speaker 1: cultured a koya pearls still to this day. Um. And 657 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:25,680 Speaker 1: then I guess you know the fresh water pearls. Those 658 00:38:25,719 --> 00:38:28,200 Speaker 1: are the ones that come from the Tennessee River, among 659 00:38:28,239 --> 00:38:31,920 Speaker 1: other places. Uh, fresh water mussels produced them. They are 660 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:35,000 Speaker 1: um not as expensive. They come in all kinds of 661 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:38,560 Speaker 1: shapes and sizes from lakes and ponds and I guess 662 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:42,439 Speaker 1: rivers if it's the Tennessee River. And uh, they're also 663 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,640 Speaker 1: little things called like rice pearls that look like what 664 00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:48,279 Speaker 1: you would think look like little grains of rice. Um. 665 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:51,520 Speaker 1: They tried to perfect the process of getting them less 666 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:54,120 Speaker 1: rice like over the years and found that if they 667 00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:57,319 Speaker 1: just switched the species of muscle, then they could do 668 00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:00,399 Speaker 1: that and it worked. Yes, And here is a little 669 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:02,319 Speaker 1: tipped for you. If you want to impress everyone at 670 00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:05,759 Speaker 1: the country club, you obviously belong to. UM. Next time 671 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:08,399 Speaker 1: you see somebody wearing pearls that are not spherical, tell 672 00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:11,880 Speaker 1: them you love their baroque pearls, because a baroque pearl 673 00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:17,200 Speaker 1: is anything but around shaped pearl. Yeah. If you look 674 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,880 Speaker 1: up baroque pearl necklace, it looks almost like a necklace 675 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:24,520 Speaker 1: of molars. Yeah, weirdly they do. Um, And that's a 676 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:30,040 Speaker 1: that's a natural looking pearl. Again, a perfectly spherical, even 677 00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:35,080 Speaker 1: close to perfectly spherical pearl is really rare in nature. Um. 678 00:39:35,239 --> 00:39:37,560 Speaker 1: And so more often than not, you're going to see 679 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:40,919 Speaker 1: everything from like blobby misshapen ones that, like you said, 680 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:44,399 Speaker 1: look like molars, ones that are like teardrop shape. There's 681 00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:47,440 Speaker 1: a bunch of different cool shapes that that you know, 682 00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:50,440 Speaker 1: it can be produced as natural pearls, and all of 683 00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:55,040 Speaker 1: those are broke right. UM. It is still kind of 684 00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:59,440 Speaker 1: a rare thing to cultivate successfully, or to culture successfully, UM, 685 00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:02,080 Speaker 1: a pearl old they've gotten the process down pretty good. 686 00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:04,840 Speaker 1: But uh, it takes about ten to eighteen months, and 687 00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:09,680 Speaker 1: about half of the oysters even survive that nucleation process, 688 00:40:09,719 --> 00:40:13,360 Speaker 1: like you were talking about, because it's really just very 689 00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:16,480 Speaker 1: very precise and it is very finicky. Uh. And of 690 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:19,440 Speaker 1: those half, only about five percent will end up producing 691 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:24,320 Speaker 1: a high quality pearl. So when you're pearl uh culturing, 692 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:25,920 Speaker 1: I was about to say farming, I guess it's farming 693 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:29,040 Speaker 1: in a way. Um, you are making most of your 694 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:35,080 Speaker 1: profit about from those that five percent of the fifty 695 00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:38,520 Speaker 1: percent end up becoming high quality pearls. And you can 696 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:40,799 Speaker 1: still do some stuff with a non high quality, but 697 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:42,880 Speaker 1: you're not going to get the big top dollar prices. 698 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:46,279 Speaker 1: And again that's just from cultured pearls. Again, it just 699 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:48,719 Speaker 1: kind of reminds you how how really rare the really 700 00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:51,160 Speaker 1: nice natural ones are. And you said that it takes 701 00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:53,760 Speaker 1: ten to eighteen months. I saw in some cases they'll 702 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:56,720 Speaker 1: they'll give the pearl up to four years to develop. 703 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:00,320 Speaker 1: And while they're while they're cultivating or cult during the 704 00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:04,520 Speaker 1: the oysters, the pearls in the oysters, um, they will 705 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:08,000 Speaker 1: scrub the oysters three times a year protect them from 706 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:11,440 Speaker 1: predators and disease. These are like the most well cared 707 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:14,919 Speaker 1: for oysters, which is great, but again they've had some 708 00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:18,439 Speaker 1: other foreign objects surgically implanted in them, and then when 709 00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:21,760 Speaker 1: the pearl is taken out, I don't believe the oyster 710 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:26,120 Speaker 1: typically survives that process, which, if you really stop and 711 00:41:26,120 --> 00:41:28,719 Speaker 1: think about it, is is pretty mean. It's actually a 712 00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:32,880 Speaker 1: really mean, tortuous process. They're cared for while they're being raised, 713 00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:35,919 Speaker 1: it's true, but they're killed to get the pearl out 714 00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:38,840 Speaker 1: of them. They're just basically a machine to produce a pearl. 715 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:42,480 Speaker 1: Is how the pearl industry views oysters or other mollusks 716 00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:45,760 Speaker 1: that that produce pearls for it, well, hopefully they become 717 00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:48,840 Speaker 1: dinner and then nope, part of someone's driveway. They definitely 718 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,400 Speaker 1: do not. They don't need really know and one of 719 00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:54,640 Speaker 1: the I think what Gaston Vivez actually might have come 720 00:41:54,719 --> 00:41:56,719 Speaker 1: up with this technique if it's not older, but I 721 00:41:56,719 --> 00:42:00,360 Speaker 1: think it's still in Useton places build harvest the oysters 722 00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:02,160 Speaker 1: when it's pearl harvesting time, and just to make the 723 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:06,640 Speaker 1: process easier, they'll dump the oysters into huge piles. Cover 724 00:42:06,719 --> 00:42:09,000 Speaker 1: the piles so that things can't get to them, like 725 00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:12,799 Speaker 1: predators or like vultures or whatever. Um, and let the 726 00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:15,600 Speaker 1: oysters rot, and then the pearls are just easier to 727 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:19,840 Speaker 1: retrieve after the fleshy part of the oysters gone. Truly, 728 00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:22,239 Speaker 1: some of those dudes are eating oysters. Some of them are. 729 00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:24,520 Speaker 1: And if you how about this, chuck, I've got a little, 730 00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:26,440 Speaker 1: a little fact for you that's going to keep you 731 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:31,120 Speaker 1: off the oysters forever. Um, you you don't. If you're 732 00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:35,120 Speaker 1: eating a raw oyster, you're not dead oyster. Everyone does that. 733 00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:38,960 Speaker 1: It's really I didn't realize that really. Yeah, No, I'd 734 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:42,279 Speaker 1: never really thought about it. But there's there's they're probably dead, 735 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:44,680 Speaker 1: but if they're dead, they're freshly dead, and they're so 736 00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:47,600 Speaker 1: freshly dead it's possible that they're not actually dead yet. 737 00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:49,440 Speaker 1: So you might be eating them live when you eat 738 00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:52,919 Speaker 1: them raw. I hadn't thought about that. It makes me sad. Yeah, 739 00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:58,560 Speaker 1: I think they once you, I mean you've shucked oysters before, really, no, 740 00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:02,520 Speaker 1: I might have my oysters for me. Well. Part of 741 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:05,120 Speaker 1: the shucking process involves cutting it loose from its shell 742 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:10,680 Speaker 1: where it's attached, and I think that's that's that lifeline. Um, yeah, 743 00:43:10,719 --> 00:43:14,600 Speaker 1: I mean, hey, it's just it's a renewable resource. But uh, 744 00:43:14,760 --> 00:43:17,440 Speaker 1: Peter obviously is going to say, now, making pearls is 745 00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:20,200 Speaker 1: not something people do just because you're you're messing with 746 00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:22,560 Speaker 1: an animal to get something from it. Yeah, so pet 747 00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:24,799 Speaker 1: is of course going to be against us. Sure, and 748 00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:28,600 Speaker 1: there is like a moral question about it is morally questionable, 749 00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:31,600 Speaker 1: but there are some real upsides to it. One is 750 00:43:31,640 --> 00:43:35,759 Speaker 1: it gives another industry to um to areas that might 751 00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:38,319 Speaker 1: be subject to over fishing, so that they don't have 752 00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:40,640 Speaker 1: to over fish just to make money. They can raise 753 00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:45,160 Speaker 1: oysters as well for pearls. Um. The oysters definitely clean 754 00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:48,239 Speaker 1: the water in the area that they filter out all 755 00:43:48,239 --> 00:43:51,719 Speaker 1: sorts of impurities and problems. UM. So that actually does 756 00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:54,640 Speaker 1: make the water cleaner and um as long as they're 757 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:57,000 Speaker 1: not messing with like the coral reefs or the local 758 00:43:57,080 --> 00:44:00,160 Speaker 1: ecosystems to to create these farms, and they're doing it 759 00:44:00,200 --> 00:44:02,920 Speaker 1: in a more sustainable manner, it actually is a fairly 760 00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:06,160 Speaker 1: sustainable industry. It's just again mean to the oysters or 761 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:10,160 Speaker 1: other mollusks. Are you off oysters now? I don't know. 762 00:44:10,239 --> 00:44:12,279 Speaker 1: You'll have to ask me when somebody presents me with 763 00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:16,520 Speaker 1: a platter of them and some crackers and and uh, 764 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:21,080 Speaker 1: mignon Net, Mignonett. You gotta order that stuff? Uh, you 765 00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:24,120 Speaker 1: just randomly get presented with platters of oysters? What kind 766 00:44:24,120 --> 00:44:26,319 Speaker 1: of life you live in at the country club when 767 00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:30,000 Speaker 1: I wear my string of molar pearls? Uh? Should we 768 00:44:30,120 --> 00:44:33,120 Speaker 1: go over kind of quickly a couple of these um 769 00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:38,360 Speaker 1: expensive famous pearls. Yeah, definitely, so you know, if you 770 00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:41,719 Speaker 1: want to talk about super expensive, super huge pearls, Uh, 771 00:44:41,719 --> 00:44:45,000 Speaker 1: there are a handful that. Um, you know, sometimes they 772 00:44:45,040 --> 00:44:48,080 Speaker 1: look like super large molar Sometimes they look like Olivia 773 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:52,160 Speaker 1: described one as looking like a giant white brain. Um, 774 00:44:52,239 --> 00:44:55,680 Speaker 1: they're they're not very good looking. Um, yet they can 775 00:44:55,719 --> 00:45:00,000 Speaker 1: be really expensive, just as prized collectibles. I think. Um, 776 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:02,640 Speaker 1: it's not like I don't think they've discovered a process 777 00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:06,400 Speaker 1: where they can take a big, large brain looking oyster 778 00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:08,480 Speaker 1: and break it down into a pearl and break it 779 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:11,719 Speaker 1: down into like five thousand perfect little pearls, right, No, 780 00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:14,080 Speaker 1: not that I know of. No, it's more just like 781 00:45:14,120 --> 00:45:17,239 Speaker 1: they prize it for its weirdness and rarity. Yeah, yeah, 782 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:19,399 Speaker 1: there's one. I think the biggest one we could find 783 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:22,319 Speaker 1: is the seventy five pound pearl of Puerto And the 784 00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:24,719 Speaker 1: thing is, whenever one of these comes out. Everybody's like, 785 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:27,720 Speaker 1: that's so expensive, it's so valuable. That one was valued 786 00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:30,839 Speaker 1: at a hundred million dollars and it was found by 787 00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:32,680 Speaker 1: a fisherman who kept it under his bed for a 788 00:45:32,719 --> 00:45:34,839 Speaker 1: decade in the Philippines. Now, all of a sudden, he's 789 00:45:34,880 --> 00:45:37,560 Speaker 1: sitting on a hundred million dollar pearl um or I 790 00:45:37,600 --> 00:45:40,960 Speaker 1: should say, sleeping over one um. But it's never been sold, 791 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:43,360 Speaker 1: so no one knows if it actually is worth that. 792 00:45:43,520 --> 00:45:47,280 Speaker 1: It's worth whatever somebody will pay for it, basically exactly. 793 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:49,440 Speaker 1: It's a very good point. But there is one called 794 00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:52,840 Speaker 1: La Peregrina, and it is arguably the most famous pearl 795 00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:55,279 Speaker 1: in the world. Is an egg shaped pearl. It's been 796 00:45:55,719 --> 00:45:59,560 Speaker 1: um fashioned into different necklaces and different jewelry. It's appeared 797 00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:02,719 Speaker 1: in poor tricks of queens, including I believe Elizabeth the 798 00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:05,920 Speaker 1: First and then a bunch of Spanish queens over the 799 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:09,040 Speaker 1: years because it was part of the Spanish Crown jewels. 800 00:46:09,480 --> 00:46:11,720 Speaker 1: And then it finally made its way into a necklace 801 00:46:11,719 --> 00:46:15,480 Speaker 1: that Richard Burton bought for Elizabeth Taylor in nine very 802 00:46:15,520 --> 00:46:18,080 Speaker 1: famously so in that need, imagine wearing a piece of 803 00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:20,920 Speaker 1: jewelry that you knew was in a portrait of a 804 00:46:21,040 --> 00:46:24,319 Speaker 1: queen that was made hundreds several hundred years ago, and 805 00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:27,040 Speaker 1: now you're wearing it too, Like that's just cool. That's 806 00:46:27,080 --> 00:46:29,200 Speaker 1: one thing I like about stuff like this, Like a 807 00:46:29,280 --> 00:46:31,759 Speaker 1: pearl is something that can you know, make its way 808 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:35,239 Speaker 1: through time and history from from person to person. Yeah, 809 00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:37,480 Speaker 1: and part of Hollywood history. I mean, one of the 810 00:46:37,480 --> 00:46:42,160 Speaker 1: great offen on romances in Hollywood history. Some people would 811 00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:45,400 Speaker 1: prize it just for that, from Richard Burton to Elizabeth 812 00:46:45,400 --> 00:46:49,759 Speaker 1: Taylor's neck. And uh, I think we should also mention 813 00:46:49,800 --> 00:46:51,719 Speaker 1: at least the people like, come on, I don't care 814 00:46:51,760 --> 00:46:56,000 Speaker 1: about giant Mueller's brain looking things. Guys, what is the 815 00:46:56,000 --> 00:47:00,239 Speaker 1: biggest like pearl pearl, Like the biggest really round owned 816 00:47:00,680 --> 00:47:04,040 Speaker 1: natural looking pearl. Uh? And I think the biggest one 817 00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:07,040 Speaker 1: they found is about and it's pretty big if you 818 00:47:07,040 --> 00:47:11,200 Speaker 1: think about a near spherical pearl um about point seven 819 00:47:11,200 --> 00:47:15,080 Speaker 1: inches right, um, and that's big. It's thirty three carrots. 820 00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:17,719 Speaker 1: If you know anything about diamonds of thirties, imagine a 821 00:47:17,800 --> 00:47:20,600 Speaker 1: thirty three caret diamond, but a pearl instead. And I 822 00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:23,280 Speaker 1: think it's sold for a million dollars in two thousand fourteen, 823 00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:28,600 Speaker 1: appropriately enough a million buckaroos. Uh, yeah, you've got anything else? 824 00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:32,120 Speaker 1: I got nothing else. All right, well, Chuck's got nothing else. 825 00:47:32,160 --> 00:47:34,319 Speaker 1: I've got nothing else. And since I just said that 826 00:47:34,360 --> 00:47:39,879 Speaker 1: out loud, that means it's time for listener mail. Uh. 827 00:47:39,920 --> 00:47:43,160 Speaker 1: And I'm gonna call this do do, which is usually 828 00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:48,879 Speaker 1: your trumpet. Powell would like, yeah, please do do do do. Oh. 829 00:47:48,920 --> 00:47:52,760 Speaker 1: You went an octave higher. Yeah, very impressive. The stuff 830 00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:55,320 Speaker 1: you should know five k is all set and ready 831 00:47:55,360 --> 00:47:58,000 Speaker 1: for another year. If you're listening, you don't know what 832 00:47:58,040 --> 00:48:00,120 Speaker 1: this is. The stuff you should know Army on the 833 00:48:00,120 --> 00:48:02,879 Speaker 1: Facebook page, they get together, they plan out a five 834 00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:06,960 Speaker 1: k race uh slash walk and it's just a very 835 00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:10,759 Speaker 1: fun community event that happens all over the world. I 836 00:48:10,800 --> 00:48:13,920 Speaker 1: think it's not like they all meet together in Kansas 837 00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:17,239 Speaker 1: that Aaron Cooper's house and run from his driveway to 838 00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:22,120 Speaker 1: the nearest grocery store, which is at least five k Uh. 839 00:48:22,160 --> 00:48:24,680 Speaker 1: They do this at the same time in the spirit 840 00:48:24,719 --> 00:48:29,360 Speaker 1: of all being together. And the dates are October twenty 841 00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:34,080 Speaker 1: one to October one, so it's a rolling race, Uh 842 00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:37,600 Speaker 1: it is. They took a vote online and the title 843 00:48:37,640 --> 00:48:42,240 Speaker 1: of the race this year is the s y five 844 00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:46,600 Speaker 1: k is ready are you in commemoration of the tenure 845 00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:49,680 Speaker 1: anniversary of the camera ad that ran. It's probably still 846 00:48:49,719 --> 00:48:51,719 Speaker 1: running for all I know. It definitely is on some 847 00:48:51,840 --> 00:48:56,200 Speaker 1: episode somewhere. Um there is an event page if you 848 00:48:56,239 --> 00:48:58,080 Speaker 1: want to find out more. They're getting all the details 849 00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:00,640 Speaker 1: worked out still, but I wanted to drop this early. 850 00:49:01,320 --> 00:49:03,600 Speaker 1: Just go to this Stuff you Should Know Army facebook page, 851 00:49:04,280 --> 00:49:06,440 Speaker 1: do a little search for the five K. They probably 852 00:49:06,440 --> 00:49:11,040 Speaker 1: have something pinned. Uh. There is someone named the listener 853 00:49:11,080 --> 00:49:14,920 Speaker 1: named Sarah Denny what Moore who is suggested a costume element. 854 00:49:14,920 --> 00:49:17,400 Speaker 1: If people are into that and they're working out the 855 00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:20,799 Speaker 1: prizes and things, and uh, it's all going. So if 856 00:49:20,840 --> 00:49:24,080 Speaker 1: you're into community and exercise and being a part of 857 00:49:24,120 --> 00:49:26,400 Speaker 1: something cool, go check it out. Uh. And this, of 858 00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:31,440 Speaker 1: course was an update from Aaron Mizzell. Aaron Mizell, Aaron, 859 00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:33,040 Speaker 1: I don't know which way I've said it in the past, 860 00:49:33,080 --> 00:49:37,279 Speaker 1: but I'm saying Mozzelle, Mozzelle. It's probably just Mozzell. Aaron's great, 861 00:49:37,320 --> 00:49:39,000 Speaker 1: She's been around forever. She was a movie crush or 862 00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:41,640 Speaker 1: two and that was still a thing. Yeah, and she's 863 00:49:41,680 --> 00:49:44,200 Speaker 1: a long time member of the Stuff You Should Not Army, 864 00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:46,080 Speaker 1: And maybe even the chair of the Stuff you Should 865 00:49:46,120 --> 00:49:50,040 Speaker 1: Know five K I'm not sure. She's definitely up there. Um. 866 00:49:50,120 --> 00:49:51,759 Speaker 1: And if you want to be like Aaron and let 867 00:49:51,840 --> 00:49:55,640 Speaker 1: us know something awesome happening, we want to hear about it. 868 00:49:55,920 --> 00:49:57,800 Speaker 1: You can send it to us in an email to 869 00:49:57,920 --> 00:50:03,840 Speaker 1: stuff podcast at iHeart radio dot m H. Stuff you 870 00:50:03,840 --> 00:50:06,360 Speaker 1: Should Know is a production of I Heart Radio. For 871 00:50:06,440 --> 00:50:09,439 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 872 00:50:09,640 --> 00:50:12,560 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 873 00:50:15,360 --> 00:50:15,400 Speaker 1: H