1 00:00:03,330 --> 00:00:06,410 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,310 --> 00:00:12,070 Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Robert Lamb, and this is The 3 00:00:12,110 --> 00:00:14,610 Speaker 2: Monster Fact, a short-form series from Stuff to Blow Your 4 00:00:14,650 --> 00:00:18,050 Speaker 2: Mind focusing on mythical creatures, ideas, and monsters in time. 5 00:00:19,100 --> 00:00:21,180 Speaker 2: This is going to be an omnibus episode of The 6 00:00:21,220 --> 00:00:24,500 Speaker 2: Monster Fact. This is where we take past entries and 7 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 2: we cobble them all together, collect them because they're related works. 8 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:31,500 Speaker 2: All of these episodes are going to relate to the 9 00:00:31,540 --> 00:00:33,559 Speaker 2: works of Jim Henson. They're going to deal with creatures 10 00:00:33,650 --> 00:00:35,930 Speaker 2: from Labyrinth, and they're going to deal with creatures from 11 00:00:36,290 --> 00:00:41,409 Speaker 2: The Dark Crystal. So let's actually begin with Labyrinth. Let's 12 00:00:41,470 --> 00:00:45,449 Speaker 2: start with an episode on The Four Guards of Labyrinth. 13 00:00:50,130 --> 00:00:52,690 Speaker 2: One of my favorite films of all time is easily 14 00:00:52,750 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 2: the 1986 fantasy musical Labyrinth. a movie that summons the 15 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,970 Speaker 2: combined creative talents of Jim Henson, Brian Froud, Terry Jones, 16 00:01:02,350 --> 00:01:06,429 Speaker 2: David Bowie, and composer Trevor Jones, just to name a few. 17 00:01:07,490 --> 00:01:10,710 Speaker 2: While its predecessor, the 1982 film The Dark Crystal, took 18 00:01:10,770 --> 00:01:16,220 Speaker 2: its fantasy world creation incredibly seriously, Labyrinth leans more into 19 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:22,030 Speaker 2: pure musical fun and Python-esque absurdity. There's a lot of 20 00:01:22,069 --> 00:01:24,630 Speaker 2: this flavor to discuss in Labyrinth, but I wanted to 21 00:01:24,670 --> 00:01:28,630 Speaker 2: talk specifically about the four guards that Sarah encounters as 22 00:01:28,670 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 2: she makes her way across the Goblin King's Labyrinth. They 23 00:01:33,140 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 2: are dog-like humanoid creatures that guard a pair of doors. 24 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,580 Speaker 2: They are either conjoined beings, and therefore two guards, or 25 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 2: they are affixed behind their signature shields in a way 26 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:48,690 Speaker 2: that allow for two beings per shield. They're Absurd appearance 27 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 2: is of course linked to their visual resemblance to double-headed 28 00:01:52,260 --> 00:01:55,500 Speaker 2: European playing cards in which a king, queen, jack, or 29 00:01:55,580 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 2: joker is double-bodied and double-headed in such a way that 30 00:01:59,860 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 2: the card can be discernible from either side of the table. 31 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:08,940 Speaker 2: According to S.T. Binday and the excellent Labyrinth Bestiary, the 32 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 2: heads of the left door guardian are Alf and Jim, 33 00:02:12,490 --> 00:02:15,130 Speaker 2: while the heads of the right door are Ralph and Tim. 34 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,640 Speaker 2: When Sarah encounters the guardians, she quickly learns the rules 35 00:02:19,700 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 2: concerning their doors. One door leads to the castle at 36 00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:26,640 Speaker 2: the center of the labyrinth, where, of course, Sarah is 37 00:02:26,700 --> 00:02:31,260 Speaker 2: trying to go in order to rescue her stepbrother Toby, 38 00:02:31,650 --> 00:02:38,750 Speaker 2: while the other door leads to certain death. The lower 39 00:02:38,810 --> 00:02:40,790 Speaker 2: heads have no idea which door is which, but the 40 00:02:40,910 --> 00:02:45,060 Speaker 2: upper heads do. But Sarah is only permitted to ask 41 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,959 Speaker 2: one of them. Furthermore, one of the two guards always 42 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,470 Speaker 2: tells the truth, while the other one always lies. So 43 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:55,290 Speaker 2: Sarah faces a conundrum. How can she find out which 44 00:02:55,330 --> 00:02:58,329 Speaker 2: door is which? How can she risk asking the wrong 45 00:02:58,510 --> 00:03:03,070 Speaker 2: guard and being lied to? The scenario instantly invokes what 46 00:03:03,130 --> 00:03:06,350 Speaker 2: is known as the liar's paradox. If a liar tells 47 00:03:06,430 --> 00:03:09,330 Speaker 2: you they are lying, well, then they are telling the truth. 48 00:03:09,669 --> 00:03:13,450 Speaker 2: Consider the statement, quote, This sentence is a lie, unquote. 49 00:03:13,870 --> 00:03:16,490 Speaker 2: If that statement is true, then it's false. If it's false, 50 00:03:16,530 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 2: then it's true. Oh my. Sarah, of course, is a 51 00:03:20,060 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 2: bright young woman and makes short work of the guardians 52 00:03:23,700 --> 00:03:27,380 Speaker 2: and their attempts to confuse her. As John Turi points 53 00:03:27,500 --> 00:03:30,990 Speaker 2: out in the paper, objective falsity is essential to lying, 54 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:36,310 Speaker 2: an argument from Convergent Evidence published in Philosophy Studies in 2021. 55 00:03:36,310 --> 00:03:40,810 Speaker 2: She engages in what is called answer laundering. If Sarah 56 00:03:40,850 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 2: simply asked one of the guards which door was which, 57 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,700 Speaker 2: then it might be a true or untrue statement that 58 00:03:46,740 --> 00:03:48,940 Speaker 2: she gets in return, and her chances, therefore, are no 59 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 2: better than simply picking a door at random. Instead, she 60 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:59,230 Speaker 2: launders one answer through another. Turi explains, by asking one 61 00:03:59,310 --> 00:04:01,830 Speaker 2: guard whether the other guard would say that this door 62 00:04:01,890 --> 00:04:05,970 Speaker 2: leads to success, Sarah deduced the correct one. Either she 63 00:04:06,010 --> 00:04:08,310 Speaker 2: gets the truth about a lie or a lie about 64 00:04:08,470 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 2: the truth. Whenever she is told yes, the correct answer 65 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 2: is no. And whenever she is told no, the correct 66 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,900 Speaker 2: answer is yes. The truth and the lie dependably cancel 67 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:23,150 Speaker 2: each other out in this scenario, provided, Turi stresses, that 68 00:04:23,290 --> 00:04:27,230 Speaker 2: lies cannot be true. Turi points out that the Riddle 69 00:04:27,270 --> 00:04:29,950 Speaker 2: of the Four Guards is a variant of the Knights 70 00:04:30,290 --> 00:04:35,950 Speaker 2: and Knaves logic puzzle from Raymond Smolian's 1978 publication, What 71 00:04:36,050 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 2: is the Name of This Book?, The scenario in the 72 00:04:39,420 --> 00:04:42,220 Speaker 2: book that closely resembles the scene from Labyrinth involves a 73 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 2: knight and a knave, otherwise indistinguishable, who guard a fork 74 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 2: in the road. Which road do you take? Dare you 75 00:04:49,500 --> 00:04:52,150 Speaker 2: ask these two men, given that one is secretly a 76 00:04:52,210 --> 00:04:55,850 Speaker 2: noble knight and the other secretly a vile knave? Only 77 00:04:55,950 --> 00:04:57,750 Speaker 2: one of them is going to give you a good answer. 78 00:04:57,790 --> 00:05:00,690 Speaker 2: The other one is going to lie to you. The solution, again, 79 00:05:00,790 --> 00:05:05,130 Speaker 2: comes via answer laundering. Ask which path the other individual 80 00:05:05,190 --> 00:05:08,890 Speaker 2: would say is the correct one. So this is how 81 00:05:08,930 --> 00:05:12,610 Speaker 2: the four guards of Labyrinth work. Unless I am lying, 82 00:05:13,230 --> 00:05:19,210 Speaker 2: which I am not. All right, let's keep the Labyrinth 83 00:05:19,270 --> 00:05:23,029 Speaker 2: fires burning with the fireys of Labyrinth. I know you 84 00:05:23,070 --> 00:05:30,030 Speaker 2: remember these guys. Once more, we return to the rich 85 00:05:30,150 --> 00:05:36,090 Speaker 2: magical world of Jim Henson's 1986 classic Labyrinth. having previously 86 00:05:36,130 --> 00:05:38,770 Speaker 2: covered two other of its creatures here on The Monster 87 00:05:38,810 --> 00:05:42,390 Speaker 2: Fact and the film itself on Weird House Cinema. Today, 88 00:05:42,510 --> 00:05:45,849 Speaker 2: I want to talk about the most terrifying denizens of 89 00:05:45,890 --> 00:05:50,180 Speaker 2: the Goblin King's Labyrinth, creatures that have unsettled children for 90 00:05:50,260 --> 00:05:54,740 Speaker 2: almost four decades now, the Fieries of the Fire Gang. 91 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 2: You remember them. Do not tell me that you don't, 92 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,610 Speaker 2: because I know even now you're picturing their lanky, vulture-like 93 00:06:02,710 --> 00:06:06,810 Speaker 2: bodies their huge ears, their bright red and orange fur, 94 00:06:07,130 --> 00:06:12,630 Speaker 2: and those piercing mad eyes. The Labyrinth Bestiary by S.T. Bende, 95 00:06:13,130 --> 00:06:17,390 Speaker 2: with illustrations by Iris Complete, devotes no fewer than eight 96 00:06:17,550 --> 00:06:21,840 Speaker 2: pages to illustrations of the Fieries, along with notations that 97 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:26,620 Speaker 2: describe them as chaotic, unhinged, good-natured troublemakers. And that is 98 00:06:26,700 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 2: essentially correct, but Bende also points out that, quote, Anyone 99 00:06:30,940 --> 00:06:35,670 Speaker 2: adverse to combustion, disorder, and the possibility of dismemberment is 100 00:06:35,730 --> 00:06:41,469 Speaker 2: advised to steer clear of their revelry. Yes, because for starters, 101 00:06:41,550 --> 00:06:44,550 Speaker 2: the Fieries are so named not only for their brilliant 102 00:06:44,610 --> 00:06:49,839 Speaker 2: flame-like colorization, but also for their innate pyrokinetic abilities. And 103 00:06:49,900 --> 00:06:52,860 Speaker 2: even more terrifying, they possess the ability to detach and 104 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,550 Speaker 2: reattach their own limbs and heads at will. They can 105 00:06:56,610 --> 00:06:59,430 Speaker 2: also remove their own eyeballs, roll them as dice, and 106 00:06:59,450 --> 00:07:02,550 Speaker 2: then swallow them in order to return their eyeballs to 107 00:07:02,589 --> 00:07:05,950 Speaker 2: their sockets. But all of this reaches a fever pitch 108 00:07:06,100 --> 00:07:09,280 Speaker 2: when these inhuman hedonists engage in what I can only 109 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 2: describe as a dismemberment party. Fireys will dance around a 110 00:07:13,420 --> 00:07:18,020 Speaker 2: great fire and pull themselves apart with gleeful enthusiasm. They'll 111 00:07:18,060 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 2: employ their disembodied legs and heads as clubs and balls 112 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 2: in morbid games of croquet. They will even swap body parts, 113 00:07:26,550 --> 00:07:30,830 Speaker 2: with each other and reconstitute themselves into multi-limbed forms that 114 00:07:30,890 --> 00:07:34,310 Speaker 2: cavort through the forest. The only rule they keep is 115 00:07:34,350 --> 00:07:37,820 Speaker 2: thou shalt only throw thine own head. And all that 116 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 2: is well and good for the Fieries, except as we 117 00:07:40,620 --> 00:07:44,940 Speaker 2: see in Labyrinth, they can scarcely comprehend beings that don't 118 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 2: have these strange powers of bloodless living dismemberment and instant regrafting. 119 00:07:50,420 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 2: We're to understand that many an outsider guest to their 120 00:07:53,220 --> 00:07:56,490 Speaker 2: festivities winds up as a pile of body parts that 121 00:07:56,570 --> 00:08:02,110 Speaker 2: puzzlingly refuse to graft back together. Way to kill the vibe, and, well, 122 00:08:02,490 --> 00:08:05,690 Speaker 2: also the guest. But it's a detail I always appreciated. 123 00:08:05,750 --> 00:08:09,090 Speaker 2: The fireys are indeed good-time party creatures, but their inability 124 00:08:09,130 --> 00:08:12,970 Speaker 2: to understand other beings makes them a very dangerous encounter 125 00:08:13,030 --> 00:08:16,750 Speaker 2: in the world of Labyrinth. Naturally, we don't have anything 126 00:08:16,870 --> 00:08:19,870 Speaker 2: quite like the fireys in the natural world. Certainly, we 127 00:08:19,910 --> 00:08:23,180 Speaker 2: have some amazing examples of regeneration, from sea stars and 128 00:08:23,190 --> 00:08:27,750 Speaker 2: sea cucumbers to the axolotl, but they regrow, they don't reattach. 129 00:08:28,230 --> 00:08:31,930 Speaker 2: Humans alone have developed the medical knowledge of limb reattachment, 130 00:08:32,190 --> 00:08:34,449 Speaker 2: and even this has its limits and, in the best 131 00:08:34,510 --> 00:08:38,689 Speaker 2: of cases, is far from instantaneous. And as for the 132 00:08:38,730 --> 00:08:43,750 Speaker 2: grafting of another's individual limbs onto your body, and even 133 00:08:43,790 --> 00:08:47,500 Speaker 2: the xenotissue of other organisms such as pigs, humans face 134 00:08:47,540 --> 00:08:52,500 Speaker 2: severe limitations due to the body's autoimmune response to transplanted limbs, tissues, 135 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 2: and organs. This generally requires the use of immunosuppressive medication 136 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,780 Speaker 2: to prevent rejection of the donor limb tissue or organ, 137 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,020 Speaker 2: but the lowering of the body's immune response in general 138 00:09:04,340 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 2: can then open the door for other infections. Donor recipient 139 00:09:08,140 --> 00:09:12,100 Speaker 2: matching can also help, and a host of more advanced techniques, 140 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:16,300 Speaker 2: including stem cell therapy, genetic engineering, biomaterials, and more, may 141 00:09:16,340 --> 00:09:19,980 Speaker 2: provide additional possibilities in the future. Now, with the fireys, 142 00:09:20,059 --> 00:09:23,110 Speaker 2: we might imagine, well, it's possible that their own immune 143 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,109 Speaker 2: systems would reject another firey's head or limbs if it 144 00:09:27,170 --> 00:09:30,770 Speaker 2: remained attached for too long. Human rejection can play out 145 00:09:30,809 --> 00:09:33,990 Speaker 2: over days, months, or even years. The fireys might simply 146 00:09:34,150 --> 00:09:37,380 Speaker 2: not remain attached to other limbs long enough for it 147 00:09:37,420 --> 00:09:40,179 Speaker 2: to be a problem, something maybe they only do during 148 00:09:40,220 --> 00:09:44,179 Speaker 2: these games and festivities. On the other hand, knowing nothing 149 00:09:44,220 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 2: about their deeper biology, it's also possible that they're all 150 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:51,330 Speaker 2: genetically identical and therefore perfect donors for each other. It's 151 00:09:51,490 --> 00:09:55,510 Speaker 2: also possible that the Fierys boast an overall reduced autoimmune 152 00:09:55,550 --> 00:09:59,710 Speaker 2: response to allow this sort of fusing and evolve some 153 00:09:59,870 --> 00:10:03,150 Speaker 2: other form of complementary autoimmune strategy to make up for it, 154 00:10:03,580 --> 00:10:07,010 Speaker 2: which may well be the case with the natural world anglerfish, 155 00:10:07,460 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 2: in which the bodies of genetically disparate male and female 156 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:14,540 Speaker 2: counterparts are able to fuse together without invoking a strong 157 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 2: anti-graft immune rejection response rejection response that we see in 158 00:10:19,059 --> 00:10:22,980 Speaker 2: pretty much all other vertebrates. The fireys don't seem particularly 159 00:10:23,020 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 2: concerned with predators, or anything really, which raises the question 160 00:10:26,900 --> 00:10:29,230 Speaker 2: of why they might have evolved to be like this, 161 00:10:29,370 --> 00:10:32,910 Speaker 2: if such logic even applies to the labyrinth. One can 162 00:10:32,970 --> 00:10:35,810 Speaker 2: imagine there could be a survivable advantage in simply being 163 00:10:35,870 --> 00:10:38,250 Speaker 2: able to graft on the limbs, tissues, and organs of 164 00:10:38,330 --> 00:10:42,010 Speaker 2: other members of your group, perhaps even in a role-based way, 165 00:10:42,429 --> 00:10:46,390 Speaker 2: sharing particularly healthy or strong body parts for particular tasks. 166 00:10:47,030 --> 00:10:49,950 Speaker 2: One can also see where this could easily get out 167 00:10:49,990 --> 00:10:52,990 Speaker 2: of hand, but then again, perhaps it also benefits the 168 00:10:53,050 --> 00:10:56,550 Speaker 2: fireys as far as group cohesion goes. Not only can 169 00:10:56,580 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 2: they share information and resources, they can share body parts 170 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 2: and adapt their forms to different tasks. Hey, after all, 171 00:11:04,260 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 2: there's no reason to domesticate a horse when you can 172 00:11:07,460 --> 00:11:10,900 Speaker 2: just make a horse-like body out of your own assembled limbs. 173 00:11:11,540 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 2: If this is all the case, however, clearly they overcame 174 00:11:14,540 --> 00:11:18,330 Speaker 2: their natural obstacles long ago, and now devote their natural 175 00:11:18,410 --> 00:11:26,580 Speaker 2: talents exclusively to self-enjoyment and celebration. Oh, ought to do 176 00:11:26,820 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 2: one more Labyrinth entry. Why not? This is a deeper cut, 177 00:11:30,020 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 2: but one of my favorite things in the whole movie. 178 00:11:32,500 --> 00:11:39,339 Speaker 2: These are the nipper sticks of Labyrinth. I'd like to 179 00:11:39,380 --> 00:11:41,710 Speaker 2: turn our attention once more to the world of Jim 180 00:11:41,750 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 2: Henson's 1986 fantasy film, Labyrinth. where a vast, shifting maze 181 00:11:47,940 --> 00:11:52,670 Speaker 2: surrounds the goblin king's castle, full of various hazards, traps, 182 00:11:53,070 --> 00:11:56,870 Speaker 2: and riddles. It is not uncommon to encounter the goblin 183 00:11:57,030 --> 00:12:00,530 Speaker 2: army in these parts, as they tend to such important 184 00:12:00,610 --> 00:12:04,979 Speaker 2: work as tormenting good-natured beasts like Ludo. In the film, 185 00:12:05,140 --> 00:12:10,020 Speaker 2: Sarah encounters several heavily armored goblins, engaging in just such 186 00:12:10,100 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 2: work with nipper sticks. These are long sticks or cudgels 187 00:12:14,900 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 2: with a strange, bitey creature perched toward the end of 188 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:23,190 Speaker 2: the stick. These creatures are hairless and pink, their eyes 189 00:12:23,270 --> 00:12:27,290 Speaker 2: remain closed, and they seem unwilling or incapable of leaving 190 00:12:27,570 --> 00:12:30,010 Speaker 2: the end of the stick that they cling to with 191 00:12:30,110 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 2: clawed hands and feet. While the goblins don't bother to 192 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,880 Speaker 2: explain the origin of the Nibir sticks, and the bestiaries 193 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,740 Speaker 2: and novelizations I turn to were equally silent on the matter, 194 00:12:42,300 --> 00:12:45,580 Speaker 2: One is struck by a sense of newborn or larval 195 00:12:45,660 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 2: morphology in the nipper beast. It has not yet opened 196 00:12:50,380 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 2: its eyes. It does not move on its own. It 197 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:56,720 Speaker 2: has not grown hair. Its only defining behavior is to 198 00:12:56,860 --> 00:13:00,180 Speaker 2: bite at any and everything it can with its pronounced 199 00:13:00,460 --> 00:13:04,940 Speaker 2: sharp teeth. Larval aggression is very much a reality in 200 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,250 Speaker 2: the animal world. It is common among nursery mates, generally 201 00:13:08,300 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 2: due to resource limitations. Some salamanders and frogs even develop 202 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 2: cannibal morphs, larvae with larger teeth and mouths, to gobble 203 00:13:17,300 --> 00:13:22,170 Speaker 2: up nursery mates when resources are tight. While horrific sounding 204 00:13:22,190 --> 00:13:25,450 Speaker 2: to us, this is just the survival economics of the wild. 205 00:13:26,130 --> 00:13:29,510 Speaker 2: It's also one way of interpreting the large mouths and 206 00:13:29,620 --> 00:13:34,060 Speaker 2: teeth of the nippers. Larvae have many enemies, however, so 207 00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:37,420 Speaker 2: it also bodes well for larvae to fend off predators, 208 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:41,490 Speaker 2: as well as cannibal adults of the same species. It 209 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,590 Speaker 2: has been theorized that the dorsal spines on metallic blue 210 00:13:44,650 --> 00:13:48,490 Speaker 2: lady beetle larvae serve to protect them against attacks by 211 00:13:48,510 --> 00:13:53,590 Speaker 2: the larvae of other species, species that often boast the speed, maneuverability, 212 00:13:53,910 --> 00:13:59,030 Speaker 2: and mandibles to take out susceptible larvae. This, according to 213 00:13:59,550 --> 00:14:03,010 Speaker 2: Intra-Guild Predation Among Lady Beetles and a Green Lace Wing 214 00:14:03,390 --> 00:14:07,829 Speaker 2: by McCodd and Grant, from the Bulletin of Entomological Research 215 00:14:08,010 --> 00:14:13,050 Speaker 2: in 2007. In short, larvae and babies generally have a 216 00:14:13,170 --> 00:14:17,210 Speaker 2: great deal of development left to do, sometimes in quite 217 00:14:17,230 --> 00:14:20,030 Speaker 2: a hurry. But in some cases it makes sense to 218 00:14:20,170 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 2: front-load that development with an outsized ability to defend yourself 219 00:14:25,300 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 2: or to consume your competitors. One can easily imagine the 220 00:14:29,540 --> 00:14:33,760 Speaker 2: goblins of the Goblin City in Labyrinth capitalizing on these 221 00:14:33,820 --> 00:14:43,220 Speaker 2: adaptations for their own nasty weaponry. All right, up next, 222 00:14:43,340 --> 00:14:45,420 Speaker 2: let's get a little bit into some Dark Crystal. These 223 00:14:45,460 --> 00:14:48,620 Speaker 2: are from the Dark Crystal Age of Resistance, which I 224 00:14:48,860 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 2: greatly enjoyed. I think there's a lot of wonderful world 225 00:14:51,140 --> 00:14:54,900 Speaker 2: building in that show. So first, let's enjoy the Locksnakes 226 00:14:55,220 --> 00:15:03,150 Speaker 2: of Thra. The Skeksis of Thra saw nature as a 227 00:15:03,170 --> 00:15:07,310 Speaker 2: thing to be broken, reconstructed, and used as they saw fit. 228 00:15:08,130 --> 00:15:11,150 Speaker 2: Their perverse outlook famously resulted in the creation of such 229 00:15:11,270 --> 00:15:16,170 Speaker 2: horrors as the Rambaging Gartham and Spying Crystal Bats. But 230 00:15:16,210 --> 00:15:18,860 Speaker 2: a less obvious example can be found in the humble 231 00:15:19,140 --> 00:15:23,380 Speaker 2: Lock Snake. As witnessed in the Dark Crystal Age of Resistance, 232 00:15:23,780 --> 00:15:27,580 Speaker 2: and related by Adam Caesar in The Dark Crystal Bestiary, 233 00:15:27,940 --> 00:15:30,430 Speaker 2: the Lock Snakes were a variety of serpents noted for 234 00:15:30,470 --> 00:15:34,620 Speaker 2: their mineral-hardened scales an inclination to wrap around an object 235 00:15:34,980 --> 00:15:38,660 Speaker 2: and tightly bind themselves onto that object by latching onto 236 00:15:38,700 --> 00:15:42,460 Speaker 2: their own tail. Presumably, this tactic would protect the creature 237 00:15:42,500 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 2: in the wild from predators that would otherwise snatch them away, 238 00:15:46,260 --> 00:15:48,510 Speaker 2: much in the same manner that an eagle may take 239 00:15:48,590 --> 00:15:53,050 Speaker 2: off with a terrestrial snake. The presumably arboreal lock snake 240 00:15:53,330 --> 00:15:57,310 Speaker 2: would simply hunker down and bind itself around a branch 241 00:15:57,650 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 2: and trust its unbreakable, rock-like exterior to protect it. The Skeksis, 242 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:05,920 Speaker 2: of course, saw only potential purpose in these creatures, and 243 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 2: adapted them for use as an actual locking mechanism on 244 00:16:09,060 --> 00:16:12,910 Speaker 2: cabinets and books to keep out unwanted individuals, and should 245 00:16:12,950 --> 00:16:15,930 Speaker 2: that individual manage to break the bond, well, then they 246 00:16:15,950 --> 00:16:19,350 Speaker 2: have to deal with the snake's bite. The particulars of 247 00:16:19,410 --> 00:16:23,810 Speaker 2: how authorized users of the lock snakes unlocked the serpent 248 00:16:24,030 --> 00:16:26,290 Speaker 2: remain something of a mystery, but it seems as if 249 00:16:26,330 --> 00:16:30,390 Speaker 2: they might be trained to respond to a particular master. Likewise, 250 00:16:30,670 --> 00:16:33,750 Speaker 2: their use would seem to be time-limited, useful only for 251 00:16:33,850 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 2: temporary absences from the vicinity of these prized chest, tome, 252 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:42,060 Speaker 2: or other possession. The concept of the lock snake is 253 00:16:42,100 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 2: of course linked to the terrestrial tradition of the Ouroboros, 254 00:16:45,620 --> 00:16:48,550 Speaker 2: the symbol of a serpent biting onto or swallowing its 255 00:16:48,610 --> 00:16:51,710 Speaker 2: own tail, forming a loop as well as a potent 256 00:16:51,810 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 2: paradox of self-consumption. Nothing quite like this exists in the 257 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 2: natural world, but the image, the symbolism, as we've discussed before, 258 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:04,050 Speaker 2: is potent. Now, as for the detail that Caesar shares 259 00:17:04,109 --> 00:17:06,850 Speaker 2: regarding the diet of the lock snakes, that they consume 260 00:17:06,910 --> 00:17:10,290 Speaker 2: minerals to strengthen their scales, this does have some parallels 261 00:17:10,330 --> 00:17:14,370 Speaker 2: in our natural world. Beavers, for instance, consume an iron-rich diet, 262 00:17:14,710 --> 00:17:18,070 Speaker 2: which helps fuel the iron-rich enamel of their powerful teeth. 263 00:17:18,690 --> 00:17:21,359 Speaker 2: Various animals may consume minerals from time to time to 264 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:25,469 Speaker 2: offset dietary deficiencies. and the use of swallowed stones or 265 00:17:25,510 --> 00:17:30,469 Speaker 2: gastroliths to aid in digestion has been documented in various reptile, bird, 266 00:17:30,710 --> 00:17:35,260 Speaker 2: and mammal species. Given the avian characteristics of the Skeksis themselves, 267 00:17:35,340 --> 00:17:38,720 Speaker 2: it's not unthinkable that the masters of the Dark Crystal 268 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:42,860 Speaker 2: might have consumed stones to aid them in the digestion 269 00:17:43,260 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 2: of their many strange meals in their grotesque banquets. And finally, 270 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:56,939 Speaker 2: one more creature, a very memorable creature from Dark Crystal, 271 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:59,419 Speaker 2: the Age of Resistance. This is going to be the 272 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:07,810 Speaker 2: Grunak of Thra. The crimes of the Skeksis are many 273 00:18:07,970 --> 00:18:11,090 Speaker 2: on the planet Thra, from the cracking of the Crystal 274 00:18:11,109 --> 00:18:14,770 Speaker 2: of Truth to their war of extermination against the Gelfla. 275 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:18,710 Speaker 2: While the plight of the Gelflings is of particular note, 276 00:18:18,810 --> 00:18:23,730 Speaker 2: other species suffered and died under Skeksis rule, including the 277 00:18:23,770 --> 00:18:27,790 Speaker 2: gentle Grunach. As related by Adam Chessery in the Dark 278 00:18:27,850 --> 00:18:34,280 Speaker 2: Crystal Bestiary, these gray-skinned, flat-faced bipeds were a prominent, technologically 279 00:18:34,340 --> 00:18:38,020 Speaker 2: advanced sentient species on Thra during the Age of Harmony. 280 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,510 Speaker 2: But as the Skeksis rose to power during the Age 281 00:18:41,550 --> 00:18:45,990 Speaker 2: of Division, The twisted lords of the crystal decimated the Grunach. 282 00:18:46,670 --> 00:18:50,290 Speaker 2: They spared only two individuals to serve as slaves in 283 00:18:50,330 --> 00:18:54,010 Speaker 2: the castle of the crystal. Here they aided the scientist 284 00:18:54,050 --> 00:18:57,470 Speaker 2: Skektek in his vile research and spoke not a word 285 00:18:57,510 --> 00:19:01,490 Speaker 2: of their species' lost culture or the cruelty of the Skeksis, 286 00:19:02,010 --> 00:19:07,570 Speaker 2: for their mouths were sewn shut in a permanent mournful frown. Now, 287 00:19:07,670 --> 00:19:11,669 Speaker 2: you might wonder how the last Grunach carried on without mouths. 288 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:16,020 Speaker 2: But the biology of Thra is exotic and diverse. And 289 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,639 Speaker 2: so is our own here on Earth. So we can 290 00:19:18,700 --> 00:19:23,460 Speaker 2: turn to our own natural world for possible answers. For starters, 291 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:25,700 Speaker 2: are we sure that the Grunach need to eat at all? 292 00:19:26,180 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 2: The Lunamoth is an example of a moth that does 293 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,970 Speaker 2: not eat as an adult. It possesses vestigial mouth parts, 294 00:19:33,310 --> 00:19:37,270 Speaker 2: but they're functionless. As the adult flying forms don't live 295 00:19:37,330 --> 00:19:40,610 Speaker 2: long enough to require sustenance, they do all of their 296 00:19:40,730 --> 00:19:45,139 Speaker 2: eating during their larval caterpillar stage. While the Grunach are 297 00:19:45,420 --> 00:19:48,870 Speaker 2: clearly vertebrates and not insects, perhaps they go through some 298 00:19:48,930 --> 00:19:53,390 Speaker 2: sort of metamorphosis and, via a slow metabolism, live off 299 00:19:53,430 --> 00:19:56,929 Speaker 2: of fat stores from their previous life stage. They are, 300 00:19:57,030 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 2: after all, sloth-like in movement and appearance. Of course, it's 301 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 2: also possible that they just don't need mouths to feed. 302 00:20:06,210 --> 00:20:09,370 Speaker 2: From a technological standpoint, it's possible that they're fed through 303 00:20:09,410 --> 00:20:12,910 Speaker 2: a nasal feeding tube, but they also might absorb nutrients 304 00:20:12,970 --> 00:20:17,180 Speaker 2: through their skin. The hagfish, for example, can absorb dissolved 305 00:20:17,260 --> 00:20:21,720 Speaker 2: organic matter across the skin and gill. Other primitive scavenger 306 00:20:21,780 --> 00:20:25,060 Speaker 2: fish boast this ability as well, so perhaps the grunach 307 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:30,169 Speaker 2: boasts some similar evolutionary legacy. Even in human beings, our 308 00:20:30,250 --> 00:20:35,870 Speaker 2: skin has absorption characteristics. It's also possible that the grunach 309 00:20:36,180 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 2: are an entirely different sort of organism, feeding off, say, 310 00:20:39,820 --> 00:20:44,410 Speaker 2: soil nutrients, or the multi-solar energy of Thra, or even 311 00:20:44,530 --> 00:20:48,510 Speaker 2: energy absorbed from the Great Crystal itself. We will of 312 00:20:48,570 --> 00:20:52,670 Speaker 2: course never know. The last Grunach could not speak, though 313 00:20:52,690 --> 00:20:55,050 Speaker 2: they at least succeeded in helping to bring about the 314 00:20:55,109 --> 00:20:59,770 Speaker 2: downfall of the General Skekvar, who played the central role 315 00:21:00,150 --> 00:21:06,950 Speaker 2: in the downfall of their species. All right, there you 316 00:21:06,990 --> 00:21:09,770 Speaker 2: have it. I hope you enjoyed this dive into the 317 00:21:09,830 --> 00:21:13,010 Speaker 2: world of Jim Henson. Obviously, there's a lot more there. 318 00:21:13,070 --> 00:21:15,469 Speaker 2: So if there are specific creatures you would like for 319 00:21:15,510 --> 00:21:20,480 Speaker 2: me to explore in future installments of The Monster Fact, 320 00:21:20,660 --> 00:21:24,500 Speaker 2: or if it's something you think deserves more focused discussion 321 00:21:25,220 --> 00:21:26,980 Speaker 2: on a core episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, 322 00:21:27,060 --> 00:21:30,159 Speaker 2: or even a Weird House Cinema episode, write in and 323 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,420 Speaker 2: let us know. That's exactly the kind of guidance that 324 00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:37,189 Speaker 2: we will benefit from. In the meantime, tune in for 325 00:21:37,230 --> 00:21:40,180 Speaker 2: additional episodes of The Monster Fact, The Artifact, or Animalia 326 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:43,159 Speaker 2: Stupendium each week. As always, you can email us at 327 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,180 Speaker 2: contact at stufftoblowyourmind.com. 328 00:21:52,450 --> 00:21:54,890 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of iHeartRadio. 329 00:21:55,270 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app. Apple 330 00:21:58,630 --> 00:22:00,980 Speaker 1: Podcasts are wherever you listen to your favorite shows.