1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,720 Speaker 1: From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: learn the stuff they don't want you to know. Welcome 4 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,319 Speaker 1: back to the show, Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Matt, 5 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: my name is Ben. You are you that makes this 6 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: stuff they don't want you to know. Our compatriot Knoll 7 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 1: is away from the moment, but never fear he will return. 8 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,879 Speaker 1: And meanwhile, we are joined by our super producer, Tristan 9 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:49,200 Speaker 1: big Red McNeil, Big Red McNeil. That's right, he's hanging out. 10 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,279 Speaker 1: Oh he gave us an approving nod. He did. Oh 11 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: he's he's your tepid about it? Okay, all right, it's 12 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: like a sideways thumb Little Red. Maybe. I don't think 13 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: anybody wants to be called little Red, little though little Yeah? 14 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: What about young Red? Yeah? Yep, that's it. That's the one. Uh. Well, 15 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: this nickname that we are assigning is not just out 16 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: of the blue or out of the red, as you 17 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: would say. In this case, it pertains to this episode 18 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:28,959 Speaker 1: in in a weird, foreshadowy way. So, Matt, you drive, right, 19 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: I do all the time, drive most most days. Yeah, 20 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: almost every single day and you are driving on inner 21 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: States probably yep, those are the one the long roads 22 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: that connect the states and drive through the states. Yes, ye, yeah. 23 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: If you've ever been on the road like Matt and 24 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: I and Tristan I assume, and Noel, then you've seen 25 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: trucks or other vehicles hauling has matt or hazardous materials. 26 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: These could anything from toxic chemicals used in manufacturing two 27 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: explosives are just really messed up waste. In most countries, 28 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,839 Speaker 1: the transport and storage of this stuff is extensively regulated 29 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: because you know that it is dangerous. It most certainly is. 30 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: And in the United States, for example, the FEDS, the government, 31 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: the old Big g it divides these hazardous materials into 32 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: several different categories nine to be exact. You'll find explosives, gases, 33 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 1: flammable and combustible liquids. Those are all kind of lumped 34 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: together there. You've got flammable solids. Now this includes things 35 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: that would say dangerous when wet, so something like you've 36 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: got sodium and solid form. You don't want to get 37 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: that stuff wet and spontaneously combustible. It might just happen. Yeah, 38 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:53,839 Speaker 1: that's the most terrifying of all of them. I think 39 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: I'm just driving my truck and it it did its thing. 40 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: You've got oxidizers and organic paroxyids poison, that's the toxic 41 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: sign that you've seen. The old is that the skull 42 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:09,959 Speaker 1: and crossbones one. Yeah, old school, and then also inhalation 43 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: hazard poison, which is again as as you said, Matt, 44 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 1: it's kind of pushed together into a you know, this 45 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: category is like a duplex. And then of course you 46 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: get into the weirder stuff radioactive materials, corrosive materials, and 47 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: the category that sounds like it was totally four or 48 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: forty seven on a Friday when they were finishing the 49 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: list miscellaneous generally dangerous, which that could be so many 50 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: different things. But all of the materials that are grouped 51 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: in these nine categories are essential to the functioning of 52 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: society and industry. It's not just a bunch of people 53 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: with a weird hobby, you know, Holland sodium through the 54 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: desert or something. It's not that mad, Max. Yeah, all 55 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: those middle schools science teachers really need that sodium to 56 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 1: to throw it into a puddle at school one day, 57 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 1: so you gotta get it to him. Yeah, yeah, exactly. 58 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: Think of the children. So there's a organization here in 59 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: the States. And if you live somewhere else, somewhere that 60 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: is not the US, your country probably has an organization 61 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: like this too. In the US, this stuff is regulated 62 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: by UH and a group with the incredibly sexy name 63 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or FILMSKA or FILMSKA, 64 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,480 Speaker 1: and uh, yeah, I think no would appreciate that. And 65 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: weird story. When I was checking out some of the 66 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: material on their site and doing some research into hazardous materials, 67 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 1: let's see why very soon, ladies and gentlemen, I was 68 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: baffled and a little disturbed that the thing was like 69 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: riddled with typos. Yeah, two major ones specifically that I 70 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: didn't even notice when I looked at it. Ben had 71 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,919 Speaker 1: to go a note, look at that word again, Ill, 72 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:13,599 Speaker 1: that's the thing, man, because it is a federal level website. 73 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 1: So I assumed that there were closely related words that 74 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: I was not aware of, you know, like the you know, 75 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:26,479 Speaker 1: like how absorb and adsorb are two different things. I 76 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:33,480 Speaker 1: thought maybe combustible was was a word combustible. See, they're 77 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: just discussing the different ways you can transport it. Yeah, 78 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: there we go convenable, combustible comes to danable, it's a 79 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:47,039 Speaker 1: danable comes Adanable comes a Danable. That's a weird one. 80 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: But the point is, uh, let's just let's just imagine. 81 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,920 Speaker 1: Let's assume, in the most optimistic way possible, that they 82 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: have some typos there because their folk gissing on keeping 83 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: things from blowing up on America's roadway safety first spelling right, Yes, 84 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,279 Speaker 1: And whenever you're driving, you've probably seen it has MATT sign. 85 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: You can easily go to these websites and they will 86 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 1: show you the classification. It's very it's got a very 87 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: Ikea approach. You know, they're they're heavier on symbols than 88 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 1: they are on letters. But there is another class of 89 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: hazardous material. It's one most members of the public will 90 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: hopefully never encounter firsthand. These are weaponized hazardous substances. These 91 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: are substances that just don't don't just like hurt you 92 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 1: as a byproduct of what they're supposed to do in manufacturing. 93 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: They were created specifically two kill you and everything you 94 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: love if you disagree with the people in charge. Yeah, 95 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:58,840 Speaker 1: or at least the people that have their hands on 96 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: this stuff. And uh, thankfully this many of these things 97 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: we're gonna go through here aren't going to be just 98 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: shipped down five you know, hopefully hopefully. Perhaps we don't 99 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: know the ins and outs of you know, whatever black 100 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: budget group is doing this, but let's get into these. 101 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 1: So there's VX. This is an odorless, tasteless nerve agent 102 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: that in its pure form appears this weird brownish, oily liquid. 103 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: It was developed in the UK, the United Kingdom in 104 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 1: the early nineteen fifties. And this stuff is particularly potent 105 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 1: because it's a persistent agent. Yeah, what what does that mean? Exactly? Well, okay, 106 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 1: so once it gets released out into the atmosphere, it 107 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 1: takes longer than a lot of these other substances to evaporate. 108 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: So if you've just got regular weather conditions and you're outside, 109 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: it will persist for days on top of surfaces wherever 110 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: it just happens to land, and it can even last 111 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: for months if you're in the right cold conditions. This 112 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: stuff is very, very dangerous, and you've probably heard about 113 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: it before. It is a it is a weapon of war, 114 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 1: and that is its only purpose. Then there are things 115 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: like Sarah, also known as g B. It's it's volatile. 116 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: It's also a nerve agent, and it's highly toxic, sue toxic. 117 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: In fact, that a single drop the size of a 118 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: of a head of a pen p I n lest 119 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: my accent betrayed me. Just that drop is enough to 120 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: kill a human being like that, an adult human being. 121 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: It's colorless, it's odorless, and that's when it's at room temperature. 122 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,079 Speaker 1: Apply a little heat, it evaporates rapidly and it will 123 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: spread into the environment. The good news is it's a 124 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:50,320 Speaker 1: short lived threat. You may recognize this from some recent 125 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: news reports. In two thousand thirteen, the United Nations confirmed 126 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: that a chemical weapons attack involving saren Uh spread via 127 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: specially designed brockets, took place in the suburbs of the 128 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:08,720 Speaker 1: Syrian capital. This was called the most significant confirmed use 129 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:12,959 Speaker 1: of chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein used them 130 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: in Halabja in Yeah by Bonky Moon, Right, Bonky Moon 131 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: you in Secretary General. Yeah. And I was wondering then, 132 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 1: because you know, we have to take a skeptical look 133 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 1: at a lot of these stories that come out when 134 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: there's a suspected attack. Sure, I wonder if our listeners 135 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: like believe that that is truly what happened. It's interesting. 136 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 1: You know, there is a there is a wealth of 137 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: contradictory reporting from all sides in the Middle East, and 138 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 1: maybe that's an entire episode to itself, I think so. Uh. 139 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,439 Speaker 1: And then of course there's mustard gas. This is also 140 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: known as sulfur mustard, and it gets its name from 141 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 1: this smell that it emits. It's like it's like rotten mustard, 142 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:06,080 Speaker 1: kind of like mixed with garlic. It's I don't know. 143 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: You don't want to smell it, all right, and you 144 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: definitely don't want to smell it. You don't tell me. 145 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: Let me live my truth, bro. Yeah, my truth does 146 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 1: not hopefully involve inhaling sulfur mustard because it's pretty nasty, right, Yeah, 147 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: it's it's in this group of agents called blister agents 148 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: or vessicants, and they target the eyes, respiratory tract, skin, 149 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: And it starts off as just this irritant, right, and 150 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: your your body cells, your skin particularly, gets a little red, 151 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: but then it starts to poison your cells. When skin 152 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:47,559 Speaker 1: is exposed to it, like I said, it turns red 153 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: and then it burns for a little while. Then these 154 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 1: large blisters appear and it causes some serious scarring and 155 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: the pain has been described as unbelievable. Um, your eyes 156 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 1: will swell up, tier you might even go blind if 157 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 1: you are exposed to mustard gas. And it is more 158 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 1: well known than another chemical agent. One of the most 159 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 1: dangerous chemical weapons in existence now. And this, of course 160 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: is just counting the public stuff we know about. There's 161 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: pretty compelling evidence that during the Cold War both the 162 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 1: US and Russia conducted some very very unethical, highly illegal 163 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: experiments in weaponizing different agents. And are you familiar with 164 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:46,200 Speaker 1: that show the Americans? Right right, So there a lot 165 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: of the twist and turns and that show are inspired 166 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: by Cold War era espionage. It's a it's a show. 167 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,839 Speaker 1: It's a fictional show about a fan emly of deep 168 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: cover Russian operatives living in the United States. Highly recommended. Yeah, yeah, 169 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: it's on f X if you're interested. And no one's 170 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: making us say that we genuinely like spy shows. What 171 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: are we talking about? What is one of the most 172 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:20,600 Speaker 1: dangerous existing chemical weapons that we know of. It's foes gene. 173 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 1: It was first used in combination with chlorine gas in 174 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen. This is old stuff too, This is an 175 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 1: old evil and Germany dropped eighty eight tons of it 176 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: on British troops, causing hundreds of deaths. Really nasty stuff 177 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 1: during World War One. In fact, it accounted just this 178 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:44,600 Speaker 1: substance loan for eight of all chemical fatalities jeeze. And 179 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: we know that there was a lot of mustard gas 180 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:52,559 Speaker 1: and other things that, yeah, like that at the quotamest poem, right, 181 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,280 Speaker 1: and there of course other things. We're barely scratching the 182 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:01,440 Speaker 1: poisonous surface of chemical weaponry. They're also syani. It's but 183 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,839 Speaker 1: when we come to weaponized or dangerous substances, there is 184 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 1: one substance that are a type of substance that is 185 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 1: by far much much more dangerous. So VX can persist 186 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: in a place, right, saren can spread rapidly rice and 187 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: plays a big role in uh imprecations. Yeah, yeah, polonium, right, 188 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: which is the Russia's version of I want you to 189 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: know who through this stone. But the most important kind, 190 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 1: at least for the survival of humanity, would be radiological 191 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: and nuclear threats. And this is stuff like dirty bombs, 192 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:50,080 Speaker 1: improvised nuclear devices that phrases terrifying. Yeah, right, It's not 193 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: like an improv show at Second City. It's it's not 194 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 1: a yes and bomb. Yeah, well yeah, you just throw 195 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:58,839 Speaker 1: that that N word in there, and even something that's 196 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,440 Speaker 1: as scary as an revised device or an i e. D. 197 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:06,680 Speaker 1: Throw that inward in and good god. But wait, there's more. 198 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:12,479 Speaker 1: Since the late nineteen eighties, intelligence agencies and criminal organizations 199 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 1: alike around the world have been chasing after another type 200 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 1: of dangerous substance, a mysterious material thought to have terrifying 201 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 1: potential for destruction exceeding the capacity of almost every other 202 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:32,720 Speaker 1: sort of nuclear material available, something known as red mercury. 203 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 1: See that's where we got to the name again. Yeah, 204 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: we're we're there now, We're we finally got there. We're 205 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 1: christening super producer Tristan with an awful weapon of potential 206 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,680 Speaker 1: mass destruction. That's kind of cool though, it's cool. It 207 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: makes an impression in the room, you know, when you 208 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,680 Speaker 1: walk in. But first things first, First questions first, what 209 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 1: is this stuff? Originally, when it was first reported by 210 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: the US and Soviet sources, the West called this substance 211 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 1: read because it came from Russia. Everybody in the listening 212 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 1: is just going, yep, that's like the laziest propaganda. Allegedly, 213 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 1: it came from Russia. It's very important to say, because 214 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 1: later reports suddenly claimed the material was called red mercury 215 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: because it had a red tent, a reddish tinge. And 216 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: as we'll see later in the episode here, that's where 217 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 1: the problems begin. Reports of red mercury's composition vary widely. Yeah, 218 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: and you can see that if you just start taking 219 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,680 Speaker 1: a look at the reporting that's been done on this substance. 220 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: So if we go back to and look at the 221 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 1: new scientists or new scientists, excuse me, there's no the alright. 222 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 1: They have an article called Cherry Red and very Dangerous, 223 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 1: and it says that new information was leaked from South Africa, Russia, 224 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: and the United States and it has convinced leading nuclear 225 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:05,920 Speaker 1: scientists that this stuff red mercury, the potential risks of 226 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:09,560 Speaker 1: it should now be taken seriously. The scientists, by the way, 227 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 1: we're talking about, are not just some guys. We're talking 228 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 1: about Sam Cohen, he was nuclear physicist who invented the 229 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 1: neutron bomb, and also Frank Barnaby, who was the former 230 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. And it 231 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:28,600 Speaker 1: says that these guys specifically were worried that red mercury 232 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: could make it much easier for nations or terrorist groups 233 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 1: to construct small but deadly thermonuclear fusion weapons. That's that 234 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: sounds pretty terrifying when you read it in something as 235 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: reputable as New Scientists. And there's a quote here from 236 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 1: Sam Cohen who says, I don't want to sound melodramatic, 237 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: but red mercury is real and it is terrifying. I 238 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: think that it is part of a terrorist weapon that 239 00:16:54,720 --> 00:17:01,480 Speaker 1: could potentially spell the end of organized society. Done. WHOA. 240 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: And he's not saying it, of course, he literally says 241 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 1: he's not trying to be melodramatic. Uh. Frank Barnaby's group 242 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 1: talked to four anonymous scientists in Russia and said they 243 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:17,959 Speaker 1: provided detailed information about red mercury, and at the time 244 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: again this he concluded that it is a polymer with 245 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: a gel like consistency in which mercury and antimony have 246 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:29,359 Speaker 1: been bound together after a radiation for up to twenty 247 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: days in a nuclear reactor, and his belief again at 248 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: the time, was that this substance could yield enough chemical 249 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: energy when compressed to fuse tridium atoms and produce a 250 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 1: thermo nuclear explosion. Yeah, and and in this article, what 251 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: these guys were calling for, like the reason why they're 252 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 1: bringing all this stuff out into the public sphere is 253 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,639 Speaker 1: because they were trying to get tridium, uh to be 254 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,159 Speaker 1: like to put more controls over the production and trade 255 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,399 Speaker 1: in tridium, which they think, you know, if you have 256 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: this other substance, red mercury, and try to um put 257 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:09,120 Speaker 1: him together and you make this device right. And there 258 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: are other stories too that you have possibly seen in 259 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:15,760 Speaker 1: headlines over the years, and we'll just we'll we'll list 260 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:18,959 Speaker 1: a couple, but there's one that I'd like to explore 261 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,760 Speaker 1: in a little more detail because it's the one that 262 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 1: inspired us to follow up on this. In the BBC 263 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: two thousand and four, terrorists were arrested because they were 264 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: trying to buy red mercury. Yeah, alleged terrorists. So there 265 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: was this newspaper reporter who apparently like did one of 266 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: those meetings. He was posing as somebody that he wasn't 267 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: and tried to get them or interest them in purchasing 268 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:50,680 Speaker 1: this red mercury that he had. And anyway, these guys 269 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: went to trial and it took a long time. I 270 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:54,399 Speaker 1: think in two thousand six is when it was finally 271 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: over because all of these dudes got cleared because this 272 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: upstance that he had wasn't red mercury. He didn't have 273 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:08,199 Speaker 1: anything of the sort. The newspaper, the journalist and these guys, 274 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: I don't know, how do you. It's that whole entrapment 275 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 1: thing that happened, And they were saying that they were 276 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:18,320 Speaker 1: trying to turn the reporter in that they didn't know 277 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: as a reporter for trying to sell them really dangerous materials. 278 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 1: You know. That kind of reminds me of the FBI 279 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: attempts a few years back to infiltrate mosque and try 280 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: to make the people at the mosque like radicalize them. Yeah, 281 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 1: and then they end up calling the cops, calling the 282 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:43,359 Speaker 1: Feds on the Feds. So there was another story, a 283 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: local story two thousand seventeen, just a few months ago 284 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: here in Atlanta, where our podcast is based, streets downtown 285 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: closed because of March. There were reports that a man 286 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:04,360 Speaker 1: had brought red mercury from Africa and he was walking 287 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: into the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. So people are freaking out, 288 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:14,920 Speaker 1: you know, I mean, many people have never heard of this. 289 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 1: You might think, Okay, mercury, what is that that's a planet. 290 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:20,639 Speaker 1: That's a thing that goes in thermometers, you know what 291 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 1: I mean. There are probably a few people who honestly thought, 292 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:26,399 Speaker 1: and I'm not making fun of anyone, this would like 293 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,520 Speaker 1: this would seem plausible to me who honestly thought, I 294 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: thought Mars was the red one, you know what I mean. 295 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: So we have a quote here from Atlanta Police officer 296 00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:40,560 Speaker 1: Stephanie Brown who said, we received a call regarding a 297 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:43,720 Speaker 1: mail coming into the facility carrying red mercury from Africa. 298 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:48,240 Speaker 1: We're still gathering details on the call. And in that article, 299 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:51,199 Speaker 1: red mercury is described as a substance used to create 300 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:57,720 Speaker 1: nuclear bombs. Homeland security was called hazmat team, bomb squad, 301 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:03,520 Speaker 1: fire trucks, who knows, man veterinarians, maybe an airplane pilot, 302 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,000 Speaker 1: like every authority you can imagine, like a really old 303 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: angry librarian. Everybody showed up. Yeah, and major parts of 304 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 1: Atlanta were shut down, parts of some of the big 305 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,679 Speaker 1: streets in downtown Atlanta. And then the next day turned 306 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:24,280 Speaker 1: out that there were no arrest made. Nope, nobody was arrested. 307 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:30,480 Speaker 1: What the guy had was quote not red mercury. Um uh, 308 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,720 Speaker 1: they you know, it was a claim that somebody made 309 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 1: I guess and according to this article, you know, they 310 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 1: go on to talk about red mercury what it might 311 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:45,160 Speaker 1: be um and they said it says US Homeland Security 312 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:48,920 Speaker 1: agents responded, which is, you know, that's a big time 313 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: had you have all the people that have been talked 314 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: about came through. I made the angry librarian up. I 315 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,200 Speaker 1: don't know if she was actually there. And and then 316 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: after all of this, no arrests, and the police would 317 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: not say what substance was actually found. There's just definitely 318 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 1: not this red mercury stuffy or is this one of 319 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,840 Speaker 1: those nothing to see here folks? Right, that's a good question. Uh, 320 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 1: And just to shall we say in biggen the sphere 321 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 1: here a bit, let's let's look at red mercury reports. 322 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: In other parts of the world, it's a big deal. So, 323 00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 1: for instance, in two thousand and nine, this was one 324 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,159 Speaker 1: of the more interesting stories we dug up about this. 325 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:35,960 Speaker 1: In Saudi Arabia. Singer sewing machines pretty popular. Everybody's got 326 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,360 Speaker 1: it so right, everybody's got wear clothes. Um. In two 327 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,960 Speaker 1: thousand and nine, a rumor spread that these sewing machines, 328 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,119 Speaker 1: not all of them, but some of them contained red mercury, 329 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:54,480 Speaker 1: and it caused the prices to massively increase. And here 330 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:58,159 Speaker 1: here the too odd things. First, people who believe the 331 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: rumor were convinced that you could techt red mercury, that 332 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:04,920 Speaker 1: it was in small amounts in the needles of some 333 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 1: sewing machines. In the way that you would detect it 334 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 1: is you would have cellular phone and you would put 335 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,960 Speaker 1: the phone while you're on a call near the needle, 336 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:17,040 Speaker 1: and if the line cut off when I got near 337 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:23,120 Speaker 1: the needle, you knew that red mercury was present. Weird science, right, 338 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:28,359 Speaker 1: if it's true. Second thing, nobody agreed. Nobody agreed on 339 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 1: what this what this looked like, if it was really read, 340 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: what it could be used for. But they came up 341 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,359 Speaker 1: with some ideas. Uh. They had said, perhaps it was 342 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:43,160 Speaker 1: an essential component of nuclear power, perhaps had the ability 343 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:47,520 Speaker 1: to extract gold, what or the ability to summon gin 344 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:53,920 Speaker 1: oh like genies jin And so this potentially could be 345 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:57,679 Speaker 1: either giving you lots of power from a military perspective 346 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 1: or from a wish is aunting perspective, from a magical 347 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 1: or occult perspective. And for anybody who's interested in learning 348 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 1: more about Jin, I do want to refer you to 349 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 1: our earlier episode. If you have not checked it out, 350 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: you can find it on our website deep Breath stuff 351 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:17,160 Speaker 1: they don't want you to know dot com. And also 352 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 1: watch American Gods because there is a jin in the 353 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:28,919 Speaker 1: episode that went out last actually form of gin. Yeah. Okay, 354 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: I think I believe I've got my hierarchy correct. There's 355 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,680 Speaker 1: also that's an awesome book before we move on. Book 356 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:39,919 Speaker 1: is great. The show is turning out much better than 357 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,040 Speaker 1: I expected. That's cool, man, I'm gonna I'm gonna check 358 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: it out. Here's here's the thing, though, The official spokesperson 359 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: for police forces in Saudi Arabia said that these rumors 360 00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:54,520 Speaker 1: have been started by gangs who are trying to swindle 361 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:56,760 Speaker 1: people out of their money because they had a bunch 362 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:03,640 Speaker 1: of singer. That's a weird one to uh, that's that's 363 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 1: a weird one to go to jail for. Yeah, it 364 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,480 Speaker 1: really is. You know, do you remember that phase this 365 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 1: was off air when I was trying to figure out 366 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:16,160 Speaker 1: like the most insignificant or petty crimes and the one 367 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:18,880 Speaker 1: I don't know if this is a crap, Please tell 368 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: me if this is a real thing, folks, I haven't 369 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:25,560 Speaker 1: looked into it. Yet stamp fraud, you know, like making 370 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,600 Speaker 1: fake postage stamps. Apparently that was the thing back in 371 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:33,200 Speaker 1: the day. It just seems weird, like what's your profit margin? Yeah, 372 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:35,960 Speaker 1: what do you tell people you got locked up for? 373 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:38,640 Speaker 1: Ward when you get caught? You know, I think that 374 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,399 Speaker 1: is all about bulk, Like how many can you sell? 375 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 1: I made a million thirty seven cents at a time 376 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: because that ink isn't cheap, No, and then you've got 377 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:51,159 Speaker 1: adhesives you gotta get I guess some special scissors to 378 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:56,159 Speaker 1: get that pattern. Perforated lines, perforated lines. I don't know. 379 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,640 Speaker 1: Stamp fraud, it's not a time you wanna you wanna 380 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:03,480 Speaker 1: get locked up for And it does sound like this 381 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:08,920 Speaker 1: was the sowing machine thing was here and gone hysteria 382 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:11,840 Speaker 1: or fad, you know, sort of like tulips with the 383 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:18,160 Speaker 1: Dutch or dangerous version of Beanie Babies or something like that. 384 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,880 Speaker 1: But because of these real life reports, these real life 385 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 1: events in what over the past thirty almost forty years, 386 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: Red Mercury has earned a place in pop culture. That's right. 387 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 1: There were video games made about this, well, one in particular, 388 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: the Weekend Point To called Shadow Ops colon Red Mercury. 389 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 1: This is a two dozen four first person shooter for 390 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:46,679 Speaker 1: Xbox and Windows, and it's one of those you know, 391 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: pretty standard wartime FPS is where you're a Delta Force 392 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:56,120 Speaker 1: operative attempting to recover what a briefcase nuclear bomb, so 393 00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:00,760 Speaker 1: essentially uh an improvised nuclear device. And it was code 394 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,159 Speaker 1: named Red Mercury. And to note here this is two 395 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:05,879 Speaker 1: thousand four when it came out, but it's from a 396 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:11,840 Speaker 1: terrorist mercenary who's operating out of Syria. Interesting out of 397 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 1: Sirius Syria pops up again. And then there's a movie 398 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,720 Speaker 1: from two thousand five that has to do it's called 399 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:19,680 Speaker 1: Red Mercury and it has to do with people trying 400 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:24,639 Speaker 1: to chase down sources of the substance. Ah man, have 401 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 1: you checked it out? I have not seen that one. 402 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: I'll check it out. I couldn't find it in any 403 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:33,399 Speaker 1: of my standard places, Sutton Criterion Collection or making like that. 404 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:38,919 Speaker 1: So what's what's interesting about these pop culture references is 405 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,760 Speaker 1: they show how the rumors of this substance spread from 406 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:45,879 Speaker 1: the realm of journalism into the world of fiction. And 407 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:50,920 Speaker 1: that happens on a fairly routine basis. But what if 408 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,720 Speaker 1: Red Mercury is different, and we'll get into that right 409 00:27:54,760 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: after a quick word from our sponsor. Here's where it 410 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:15,879 Speaker 1: gets crazy. No one knows, no one agrees or what 411 00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:19,359 Speaker 1: exactly this stuff is, Matt. There is no indication that 412 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 1: red mercury is even a mercury compound. However, there are 413 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 1: some forms of mercury that fit a little bit of 414 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:33,400 Speaker 1: the purported criteria. Right. There's a red form of mercury 415 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:37,200 Speaker 1: that's very toxic, but it's not explosive. There's a red 416 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:42,520 Speaker 1: colored or of mercury, mercuric sulfide cinabar, which is toxic 417 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 1: but not explosive. There's mercury fulminate, which is shocked sensitive 418 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 1: and explosive, and it's been used in some ammunition cartridges. Uh. 419 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: And there are a couple of other things. There was 420 00:28:54,880 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 1: one there was one substance, dimethyl mercury that was considered 421 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: briefly as a rocket fuel in the nineteen fifties, but 422 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: chemical companies who supplied test materials were not messing around 423 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:12,320 Speaker 1: with it. So none of the mercury compounds, none, all 424 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:15,840 Speaker 1: caps in O any have that have some sort of 425 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: partial red mercury property can be the actual red mercury, 426 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:26,720 Speaker 1: and that hasn't stopped people from having theories and and 427 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,160 Speaker 1: uh describing it. So we can tell you a little 428 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 1: bit about what the Soviets thought it was used for. Yeah. Back, 429 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 1: according to quote Soviet sources, this red mercury had a 430 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 1: street name called mercuric stypik heptoxid, which is a fun 431 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:50,560 Speaker 1: thing to say. This stuff is super conductive and allegedly 432 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 1: it's used to produce high precision conventional and nuclear bomb explosives. 433 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,720 Speaker 1: It could also make stealth surfaces, which is you know 434 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: that kind of cool, uh, and also to make self 435 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:12,680 Speaker 1: guided warheads. And let's let's just reiterate that conventional and 436 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:17,840 Speaker 1: nuclear bombs, stealth surfaces, self guided warhead. Man, that's a 437 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 1: lot of things that this stuff can do. Those are 438 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:24,920 Speaker 1: also three very different things, right, And the properties that 439 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:28,840 Speaker 1: read mercury is typically assigned are some of the most 440 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 1: common parts of the description of this substance. It's what 441 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,040 Speaker 1: is called ballow technic, which is just that, you know, 442 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: a fancy way of saying it produces immense pressure when ignited. However, 443 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 1: when combined with other claims about red mercury's capabilities, it 444 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:48,080 Speaker 1: sounds more and more like a work of science fiction. 445 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,240 Speaker 1: With an emphasis on fiction too good to be true. Right, So, 446 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:56,040 Speaker 1: in addition to releasing massive pressure, this stuff is also 447 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 1: strongly insensitive to shock or fire. That strongly resistant is 448 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:04,120 Speaker 1: a better way to say it. So, you know, you 449 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:08,840 Speaker 1: could substitute red and stimpy, you could substitute you could 450 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: take the log song and the syllables don't work out. 451 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:14,640 Speaker 1: But if you put red mercury in there, you know, 452 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 1: you can do all that stuff with red mercury and 453 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 1: it still wouldn't explode. But despite this durability, it apparently 454 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:26,479 Speaker 1: has a very fast ignition rate that seems contradictory. It 455 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: does doesn't end again, extremely high energy density. It's very 456 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:35,120 Speaker 1: difficult to identify a class of substances that has all 457 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:39,720 Speaker 1: of these qualities. Sort of a silver bullet Holy Grail situation. 458 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: And that we should say that that none of us 459 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:49,040 Speaker 1: on this team are chemist by trade, and we're neither physicists. Yeah, 460 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,640 Speaker 1: we might be physicist by hobby, but wait, are you 461 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 1: a physicist? I mean, I'm interested in it. I'll read 462 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:01,120 Speaker 1: a book about physics. I definitely um deal with physics 463 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:06,360 Speaker 1: on a second delie basis. I mean, I'm not, you know, 464 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:12,560 Speaker 1: planning to hunt black holes anytime soon. You know, I 465 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:17,760 Speaker 1: don't get in internet arguments with Stephen Hawkins yet, and 466 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,560 Speaker 1: he's probably brutal. I don't know he'll let you have it. Yeah, 467 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 1: but you know, I think he's got a good heart. Absolutely, 468 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 1: he's he's got a good heart. There. Here's something else. 469 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:31,680 Speaker 1: Remember we mentioned the nuclear physicist speaking of physicist Frank 470 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 1: Barnaby earlier. Uh. He worked at the Atomic Weapons Establishment 471 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 1: in the nineteen fifties, and he claims that there are 472 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:43,920 Speaker 1: evidence the show VICH turned out vast quantities of mercury 473 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 1: antimony oxided, the intermediate and equally elusive compound from which 474 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:53,200 Speaker 1: red mercury is supposedly produced by placing it inside a 475 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:57,360 Speaker 1: nuclear reactor. There's no doubt they made a large amount 476 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:00,520 Speaker 1: of that stuff. I've talked to chemists who have eliged 477 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,600 Speaker 1: the niche to Germany. But what they get with it? 478 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 1: He says, he's a mystery. Oh I like this guy. 479 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:12,880 Speaker 1: Let's bring him back for some things. So what are 480 00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:15,640 Speaker 1: people saying about this stuff? Man? So some people think 481 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:19,200 Speaker 1: that the intermediate compound, the one that Frank there is 482 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:25,000 Speaker 1: kind of discussing, could actually multiply the yield of an explosion. 483 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 1: So if you if you take this and use it 484 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:31,760 Speaker 1: inside a conventional let's say a nuclear warhead or rocket 485 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:35,880 Speaker 1: or something, it would work as a fuel additive, which 486 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:40,440 Speaker 1: you know, that's interesting that that you could use that, 487 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:43,480 Speaker 1: I guess for that purpose, just to just to increase 488 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 1: the yield. I guess that's the idea, you make it stronger. 489 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,200 Speaker 1: And others say, the compound was I radiated at the 490 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,560 Speaker 1: core of a nuclear reactor to produce pure red mercury, 491 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:55,920 Speaker 1: and this stuff would be capable of exploding with enough 492 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:59,360 Speaker 1: heat and pressure to act as a trigger inside a 493 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 1: brief case sized fusion bomb. So your red mercury in 494 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,600 Speaker 1: this case would just be the thing that makes the 495 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:11,560 Speaker 1: reaction occur, right right, the instigator in the crowd of 496 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:18,760 Speaker 1: nuclear reactions. There are massive problems with this stuff though, Yeah, 497 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:22,439 Speaker 1: all right, First the story changes. Often reports a red 498 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:25,799 Speaker 1: mercury don't seem to be consistent and in any substantive 499 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:29,920 Speaker 1: way other than this stuff is powerful bad guys wanted. 500 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:35,600 Speaker 1: According to experts like Barnaby, even if the substance was discovered, 501 00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:39,400 Speaker 1: it wouldn't be that useful. And according to experts like Barnaby, 502 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:41,840 Speaker 1: the guy we keep talking about, even if this stuff 503 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:44,759 Speaker 1: was real, it really wouldn't be that useful. And we 504 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,719 Speaker 1: have another quote for terrorists, it would offer no significant 505 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:53,160 Speaker 1: advantages over an ordinary high explosive or if they wanted 506 00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: a dirty bomb a radioactive source to go to. The 507 00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:00,680 Speaker 1: trouble of spending huge amounts of money on red mercury 508 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,960 Speaker 1: makes no sense at all, makes no sense at all. 509 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 1: I couldn't agree with Barnaby more if he's right. If 510 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:12,880 Speaker 1: he's right, and according to official sources, nobody has actually 511 00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:17,640 Speaker 1: real facts obtained this substance. So could this be a 512 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:21,160 Speaker 1: cover up? If so, what kind is it? One of 513 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:25,759 Speaker 1: those things where one or two, maybe even five governments 514 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:28,680 Speaker 1: officially know that this stuff exists and what it can do. 515 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:31,680 Speaker 1: They have the documentation, they know how to make it, 516 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,440 Speaker 1: but they want to suppress that knowledge. I mean, I 517 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,760 Speaker 1: could see that as being a possibility. Here's another odd 518 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:43,440 Speaker 1: fact that a spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Authority 519 00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:48,440 Speaker 1: said red mercury doesn't exist. The whole thing is a 520 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,160 Speaker 1: bunch of malarkey. Oh wow, so he's saying it's a 521 00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:56,200 Speaker 1: lepre con is that slaying? Is that? You know? I mean, 522 00:35:56,239 --> 00:35:59,800 Speaker 1: I'm just the malarkey took me to lepric, I'm not. Yeah, okay, 523 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,239 Speaker 1: I don't know, man, you're hipper than I am. So 524 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,359 Speaker 1: I don't know. If like LEPrecon was like the new 525 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:07,319 Speaker 1: thing you say, now it can be do you and 526 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:09,480 Speaker 1: your friends when you hang out at the are you 527 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 1: are like, what up LEPrecon? Yeah, it's more like an 528 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:17,120 Speaker 1: exclamation if something is tremendously cool and if green is 529 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:21,480 Speaker 1: involved whatsoever? Oh okay, okay, like, man, that is so 530 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:27,239 Speaker 1: leprechn You know, I don't want to steal your your bit. 531 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:30,480 Speaker 1: I'm gonna try it, maybe see what works out, and 532 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:33,120 Speaker 1: if it if it goes well, I'll tell people that, 533 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:35,879 Speaker 1: you know, I'll credit you. And it goes poorly, I'll 534 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:38,080 Speaker 1: take the fall. I like it better than some of 535 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:46,120 Speaker 1: the current new slang words, like what combustible? Yeah, combustible, man, combustible. 536 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:53,600 Speaker 1: But yeah, but that's the thing. Oh fleek, Oh fleek. 537 00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:56,520 Speaker 1: You don't care for fleek. I can't fleek, man. I 538 00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:58,680 Speaker 1: just don't like the way it rolls off the tongue. 539 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,400 Speaker 1: It's a little bit smoother than LEPrecon. I'm just saying 540 00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:04,760 Speaker 1: that as your friends. Well, that's why I like Leprichn 541 00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:08,400 Speaker 1: because it takes a little more effort. Uh, and you 542 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:12,160 Speaker 1: know there's a there's a guy with gold. But just 543 00:37:12,239 --> 00:37:16,720 Speaker 1: like red mercury, is the effort worth it Also also, 544 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:19,520 Speaker 1: unless we get too far off the rails, I don't 545 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:23,279 Speaker 1: want to bury the lead here. An official spokesperson for 546 00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:28,480 Speaker 1: the International Atomic Energy Authority said, this stuff doesn't exist. 547 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:32,840 Speaker 1: It never existed. What we'll be back afterward from a 548 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:49,080 Speaker 1: responsible and we're back. So what we're left with here, people, 549 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,759 Speaker 1: there are two roads that we can go down. Red 550 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:55,719 Speaker 1: mercury is either a long running propaganda sting operation on 551 00:37:55,760 --> 00:38:00,759 Speaker 1: behalf of intelligence agencies, or it's this ancient relic of 552 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:03,720 Speaker 1: the Cold War when tensions were so high and rumors 553 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,360 Speaker 1: were everywhere. Yeah, that's the thing. We do have a 554 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:09,560 Speaker 1: couple of different paths. So let's look at the idea 555 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:13,920 Speaker 1: that this whole thing was a shaggy dog story that 556 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:18,719 Speaker 1: for decades, not just the US, not just Russia, but 557 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:24,040 Speaker 1: multiple other countries including South Africa, made up a boogeyman 558 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:29,919 Speaker 1: to catch terrorists or criminal organizations or likely each other. 559 00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:35,719 Speaker 1: We have, you know, we have some indications experts who 560 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:40,040 Speaker 1: searched for real red mercury, like Peter Zimmerman, found the 561 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:46,840 Speaker 1: story quickly deteriorated and that uh, everything about his search 562 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:50,279 Speaker 1: led him to conclude this was a disinformation campaign of 563 00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:54,080 Speaker 1: phony news articles planned decades ago by the KGB and 564 00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:57,160 Speaker 1: then by its successor, the FSB. And there are other 565 00:38:57,239 --> 00:39:01,320 Speaker 1: variants in the story, including one where Washington and Moscow 566 00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:07,080 Speaker 1: worked together, you know, circulating these stories to flush out 567 00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:13,320 Speaker 1: nuclear smugglers. And the thing with that is this idea 568 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:20,520 Speaker 1: of these two ostensibly enemy governments cooperating this way is 569 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:25,480 Speaker 1: really popular with a lot of soldiers and officers and 570 00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:30,400 Speaker 1: bomb disposal and counter WMD weapons mass destruction jobs. But 571 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:34,360 Speaker 1: Zimmerman felt like he couldn't prove it. He felt like 572 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:39,439 Speaker 1: he could definitely prove whatever this stuff is it's not real, 573 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:43,799 Speaker 1: or it's a fishing expedition as a way to draw 574 00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:49,720 Speaker 1: people to it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, which is incredibly clever. 575 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:53,439 Speaker 1: You gotta you gotta admire the art in some things, 576 00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:56,520 Speaker 1: even if you don't agree with the idea, just because 577 00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:59,040 Speaker 1: these rumors have been so persistent throughout the years, and 578 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:01,440 Speaker 1: it's still this that we can have a story in 579 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:07,560 Speaker 1: where people, somebody somewhere in authority said, oh, Red Mercury, okay, 580 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:10,439 Speaker 1: shut that thing down, shut it all down. It could 581 00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:14,640 Speaker 1: also be UM. Here's here's a different idea, maybe a 582 00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:16,799 Speaker 1: middle ground force here. It could also be a code 583 00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:22,399 Speaker 1: name for some other type of nuclear industry related material, right. 584 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:25,120 Speaker 1: It could have been a Soviet code name for something else, 585 00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:29,319 Speaker 1: like lithium six, which was a controlled material that was 586 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:33,840 Speaker 1: actually used in nuclear weapons. And maybe traffickers repurposed the 587 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,879 Speaker 1: label for whatever irradiated crap they were trying to sell 588 00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:43,080 Speaker 1: to UH unsuspecting terrorists, because if you read the accounts 589 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:48,120 Speaker 1: of people, even isis the terrorist organization. If you read 590 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:51,840 Speaker 1: the accounts of people trying to purchase this stuff, the 591 00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:56,040 Speaker 1: way that it's explained to them when they finally find 592 00:40:56,120 --> 00:41:00,799 Speaker 1: it and buy it at enormously expensive isis by the way. 593 00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:05,560 Speaker 1: One one great example would be UH when it was 594 00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:09,440 Speaker 1: described as a small box that had to be carried 595 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:12,520 Speaker 1: in a special container and had to be opened in 596 00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:16,520 Speaker 1: a special way with a special device. These are sold separately, 597 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:20,359 Speaker 1: I assume UM and could never be opened because when 598 00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:25,560 Speaker 1: it did, everything would blow up in like a multikilometer radius. 599 00:41:25,719 --> 00:41:28,959 Speaker 1: Hold on, I thought this thing was super stable. Well 600 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:32,640 Speaker 1: that's what you know. You gotta have the device sold separately. 601 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,440 Speaker 1: But that's that's also that snacks of classic of a 602 00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:40,560 Speaker 1: classic con job, because yeah, if you can't look at 603 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:43,839 Speaker 1: the merchandise, but you're going to hand some money over 604 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:47,879 Speaker 1: or something arrested? What's that old? What's that old? Saying 605 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:50,560 Speaker 1: a pig in a poke? Is that just something they 606 00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:53,759 Speaker 1: say in Tennessee. I don't like that, never mind. It's like, 607 00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:56,400 Speaker 1: don't don't buy a pig in a bag unless you 608 00:41:56,440 --> 00:41:58,600 Speaker 1: look in the bag. It's you're given a poke first, like, 609 00:41:58,719 --> 00:42:03,560 Speaker 1: make sure it's squeals, you know, I gotta check. I 610 00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:06,520 Speaker 1: gotta check before we sign off on that as official 611 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:08,800 Speaker 1: stuff that I'll want you to know. Pig buying advice 612 00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:14,160 Speaker 1: sounds good. Sounds If you happen to run into somebody 613 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:17,120 Speaker 1: who has a burlap sack and they tell you there's 614 00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:18,640 Speaker 1: a pig in there and they'll sell it to you, 615 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:22,000 Speaker 1: just I mean, what are you doing anyway? Don't engage 616 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:25,040 Speaker 1: with that person. Yeah, just leave it alone, man. Pig 617 00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:28,279 Speaker 1: bag man is going to be fine. You can leave 618 00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:31,200 Speaker 1: can leave him to his own devices, as long as 619 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:33,160 Speaker 1: they are not nuclear. And now we get to the 620 00:42:33,239 --> 00:42:38,319 Speaker 1: scariest possibility of all ladies and gentlemen, Red Mercury, What 621 00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:43,240 Speaker 1: if this thing is real? But somehow it's been continually 622 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:49,000 Speaker 1: over the decades suppressed. Right, this is I'm gonna go 623 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:53,560 Speaker 1: ahead and say this is the most disturbing as as 624 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:58,200 Speaker 1: you said earlier, but it's it's also, thankfully one would hope, 625 00:42:58,239 --> 00:43:00,640 Speaker 1: the least plausible. But think about it's been in all 626 00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:03,879 Speaker 1: these news stories over and over in the decades. It's 627 00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:07,800 Speaker 1: never been verified. When law enforcement is attempted to acquire 628 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:11,720 Speaker 1: this stuff, it has in every single case you can find, 629 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:18,600 Speaker 1: turned out to be something else according to the story. Yeah, 630 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:23,839 Speaker 1: these are not the nuclear devices you're looking for. It's 631 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:27,319 Speaker 1: we're both doing that Star Wars droid wave. I feel 632 00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:30,360 Speaker 1: like we need to explain that. You know the what 633 00:43:30,440 --> 00:43:32,440 Speaker 1: we're talking about late, it's the force. You're using the 634 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:36,239 Speaker 1: force to coerce somebody. You see the force. Yeah, and 635 00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:41,120 Speaker 1: it's Uh. It turns out that most experts believe red 636 00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:46,560 Speaker 1: Mercury is about as real as the Force. So, regardless 637 00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:50,560 Speaker 1: of how you feel about Star Wars, regardless of what 638 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:55,000 Speaker 1: conclusions you draw about red Mercury, regardless whether it is 639 00:43:55,120 --> 00:43:59,359 Speaker 1: in fact real or if it is in fact an 640 00:43:59,360 --> 00:44:03,560 Speaker 1: elaborate sting operation that people are still falling for, one 641 00:44:03,640 --> 00:44:08,040 Speaker 1: chilling fact remains people are dying as a result, actual 642 00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:13,759 Speaker 1: people are actually dying because one rumor that's spread. We 643 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:16,920 Speaker 1: talked about the one in Saudi Arabia, kind of funny 644 00:44:17,360 --> 00:44:22,640 Speaker 1: sewing machine tycoons, right, love it, love it. But in 645 00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:27,200 Speaker 1: Afghanistan it was a little different because rumors spread that 646 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:33,000 Speaker 1: land mines contained red mercury, and numerous people died going 647 00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:36,879 Speaker 1: up to these live minds and attempting to dismantle them 648 00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:40,759 Speaker 1: and extract the stuff that they thought was in there. 649 00:44:42,120 --> 00:44:45,440 Speaker 1: When dismantling a live mind is as you may assume 650 00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:53,560 Speaker 1: a job for the experts, which, yeah, but isn't it 651 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:58,200 Speaker 1: Isn't it weird? Because I had no idea that this existed. 652 00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:01,520 Speaker 1: This is such a strange thing to do. I am persuaded. 653 00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:10,200 Speaker 1: I'm like, sure this does not exist, and full of 654 00:45:10,280 --> 00:45:14,000 Speaker 1: you know what, iffory, Yeah, exactly, that's I I hate 655 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:17,600 Speaker 1: to agree completely with you on this, just because I 656 00:45:17,640 --> 00:45:21,160 Speaker 1: want to offer a different opinion. But everything that I've 657 00:45:21,160 --> 00:45:24,000 Speaker 1: seen in the research that we've done for this leads 658 00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:27,600 Speaker 1: me to believe that it's not real. But it's hard 659 00:45:27,719 --> 00:45:31,239 Speaker 1: for me to wrap my head around it lasting this long, 660 00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:36,040 Speaker 1: a rumor persisting this long, and then what if Yeah, like, 661 00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:39,520 Speaker 1: what for lack of a better phrase, fueled this rumor 662 00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:44,680 Speaker 1: for so long, Right, what if there is some sort 663 00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:51,799 Speaker 1: of powerful substance capable of jump starting a fusion reaction, 664 00:45:53,120 --> 00:45:57,799 Speaker 1: and it's so dangerous that when people discovered it, they 665 00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:04,600 Speaker 1: including including Dr Cohen, when they discovered it, they said, Okay, 666 00:46:04,600 --> 00:46:10,200 Speaker 1: everybody needs to shut it down. We know that we like, 667 00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:13,239 Speaker 1: we know we don't get along all the time, but 668 00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:16,239 Speaker 1: we'd like we look forward to not getting along for 669 00:46:16,320 --> 00:46:19,640 Speaker 1: a long long time. And if anybody has this, it's 670 00:46:19,719 --> 00:46:23,400 Speaker 1: the end. Imagine the implications if one of these small 671 00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:27,200 Speaker 1: nuclear devices goes off in a city anywhere in the world, 672 00:46:27,920 --> 00:46:33,279 Speaker 1: and the reaction of other countries, right with all who 673 00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:35,640 Speaker 1: also have nuclear devices, who are going to be trying 674 00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:39,120 Speaker 1: to point the finger, and there's that it's only a 675 00:46:39,160 --> 00:46:42,839 Speaker 1: few what is it, a few seconds when some of 676 00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:45,319 Speaker 1: the nuclear systems in the world, some of the dead 677 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:49,360 Speaker 1: hand stuff, when some of that can be triggered. Ah, yeah, 678 00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:54,480 Speaker 1: the dead hands system is very very dangerous thing. Uh. Well, 679 00:46:54,560 --> 00:46:57,920 Speaker 1: you know that's and that was a Soviet thing and 680 00:46:58,040 --> 00:47:01,520 Speaker 1: it's I'm assuming still a Russian. Uh. And then the 681 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:03,960 Speaker 1: United States, who knows what kind of systems that we 682 00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:07,799 Speaker 1: have with all the all the minutemen that exist around, uh, 683 00:47:08,320 --> 00:47:12,240 Speaker 1: around the globe. Now, the spooky thing about the way 684 00:47:12,320 --> 00:47:18,040 Speaker 1: the US handles it's nuclear arsenal is that a large 685 00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:24,160 Speaker 1: percentage of it is continually traveling around the globe. Yeah, 686 00:47:24,160 --> 00:47:32,239 Speaker 1: which is spooky stuff, spooky, frightening, semi apocalyptic stuff. And 687 00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:34,719 Speaker 1: it doesn't even matter at that point who set off 688 00:47:35,040 --> 00:47:39,440 Speaker 1: a bomb, you know, right, because in in the early 689 00:47:39,600 --> 00:47:42,160 Speaker 1: part of it, at least whatever reaction occurs is going 690 00:47:42,200 --> 00:47:45,600 Speaker 1: to be before you can you know, confirm who it is. 691 00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:49,960 Speaker 1: And a lot of our listeners who have lived through 692 00:47:50,520 --> 00:47:54,839 Speaker 1: the Cold War time period, you know, you've probably seen 693 00:47:54,880 --> 00:47:57,840 Speaker 1: those accounts that came out years later of how close 694 00:47:58,760 --> 00:48:01,480 Speaker 1: the entire species got to just call in it one 695 00:48:01,680 --> 00:48:07,280 Speaker 1: long night, And we'd like to hear what you think 696 00:48:07,320 --> 00:48:11,040 Speaker 1: about red mercury? Has this ever popped up in your 697 00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:15,040 Speaker 1: in your leck of the woods? Has anybody ever been 698 00:48:15,080 --> 00:48:18,160 Speaker 1: on the news for attempting to smuggle red mercuries? You 699 00:48:18,239 --> 00:48:21,360 Speaker 1: might try to sell you some, Yeah, And did have 700 00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:23,800 Speaker 1: you seen any other pop references to this? I couldn't 701 00:48:23,880 --> 00:48:26,040 Speaker 1: recall if in Call of Duty or any of these 702 00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:28,880 Speaker 1: other games that I've played it, like showed its face somewhere. 703 00:48:28,880 --> 00:48:32,680 Speaker 1: I can't I couldn't remember. I just you know, I 704 00:48:32,680 --> 00:48:39,640 Speaker 1: I'm baffled still because neither explanation is particularly iron clad, 705 00:48:39,880 --> 00:48:43,640 Speaker 1: you know what I mean. It sounds crazy to say 706 00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:48,560 Speaker 1: that there's some real substance that is enormously powerful that 707 00:48:48,640 --> 00:48:51,480 Speaker 1: has just been continually popping up in the news and 708 00:48:51,480 --> 00:48:55,120 Speaker 1: then being removed. But it also sounds crazy for to 709 00:48:55,200 --> 00:48:58,400 Speaker 1: be this elaborate. Like we've said it before on the 710 00:48:58,400 --> 00:49:02,080 Speaker 1: show Rube goldberg S hoax. It's like that game mouse trap, 711 00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:06,640 Speaker 1: you know what I mean. You could just arrest people, 712 00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:09,879 Speaker 1: but maybe it's I'm still divided, man, because maybe it's 713 00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:12,000 Speaker 1: safer to have a thing that you know is an 714 00:49:12,040 --> 00:49:17,120 Speaker 1: inert substance, right, You can just get something that has 715 00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:19,960 Speaker 1: a red pigment to it, and then it seems like 716 00:49:20,280 --> 00:49:25,279 Speaker 1: that's obviously red mercury. So like maybe these intelligence agencies 717 00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:32,960 Speaker 1: just took a page from shady drug dealers. Do people 718 00:49:33,000 --> 00:49:36,520 Speaker 1: do that? People are out there selling paprika as red mercury? 719 00:49:36,520 --> 00:49:39,719 Speaker 1: I don't know, because no one knows what it looks like. 720 00:49:40,600 --> 00:49:42,319 Speaker 1: But yeah, we want to we want to hear from you. 721 00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:45,920 Speaker 1: We want to hear which of these sides you tend 722 00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:52,360 Speaker 1: to fall on. And if you think this is nicely 723 00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:57,319 Speaker 1: an incident, you know this kind of subterfuge, or if 724 00:49:57,360 --> 00:50:01,640 Speaker 1: there are other examples and speaking emails from you, it's 725 00:50:01,640 --> 00:50:08,760 Speaker 1: time for chat at Corners. Our first message comes from 726 00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:12,000 Speaker 1: Andrew Allenson. He says, I'm writing to let you guys 727 00:50:12,040 --> 00:50:14,720 Speaker 1: know how influential you've been to me and my team 728 00:50:14,719 --> 00:50:17,319 Speaker 1: for the past two years. I'm not asking you to 729 00:50:17,360 --> 00:50:19,880 Speaker 1: plug my project or anything like that. I just wanted 730 00:50:19,880 --> 00:50:21,879 Speaker 1: to let you know that it exists and to give 731 00:50:21,920 --> 00:50:26,560 Speaker 1: you a little backstory. Now we're gonna say the name 732 00:50:26,600 --> 00:50:29,680 Speaker 1: of the game. We are not outright plugging Allen's game. 733 00:50:29,719 --> 00:50:34,000 Speaker 1: We are telling you about his game. Is that clear, Allen? 734 00:50:34,080 --> 00:50:37,000 Speaker 1: So you don't feel weird. This is We're going to continue. 735 00:50:37,440 --> 00:50:41,080 Speaker 1: I'm working on a game called Why two k Now? 736 00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:45,160 Speaker 1: That is Why one one K Dash, a postmodern RPG. 737 00:50:45,960 --> 00:50:48,279 Speaker 1: It's about a bunch of conspiracy theorists in the ninet 738 00:50:48,440 --> 00:50:51,799 Speaker 1: nineties searching for a woman who mysteriously vanished in an 739 00:50:51,840 --> 00:50:57,240 Speaker 1: elevator that sounds familiar, Ben mh. The game revolves around 740 00:50:57,239 --> 00:51:01,239 Speaker 1: a primitive, early nine nineties occult mess sage board that's 741 00:51:01,320 --> 00:51:03,880 Speaker 1: kind of cool and the various threads lead to different 742 00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:06,040 Speaker 1: quests in the game. I've been a fan of reading 743 00:51:06,080 --> 00:51:08,319 Speaker 1: about weird things happening since I was a child, and 744 00:51:08,360 --> 00:51:10,840 Speaker 1: came across your podcast and YouTube channel when I was 745 00:51:10,880 --> 00:51:13,240 Speaker 1: looking for some ideas to fill out the various threads 746 00:51:13,239 --> 00:51:17,239 Speaker 1: in the game's forum. Your podcasts and reactions to conspiracies 747 00:51:17,239 --> 00:51:19,720 Speaker 1: were invaluable to getting into the minds of the forum 748 00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:22,680 Speaker 1: users and making the world feel real. So I just 749 00:51:22,760 --> 00:51:24,520 Speaker 1: wanted to say thank you for what you're doing and 750 00:51:24,640 --> 00:51:29,759 Speaker 1: keep up the good work. Well that is supremely cool. Alan. Uh. 751 00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:32,279 Speaker 1: You know that Ben and I are both gamers as 752 00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:35,319 Speaker 1: well as Noel. Noel talks about that a lot, and 753 00:51:35,440 --> 00:51:39,319 Speaker 1: Uh knowing that somehow what we've done has worked its 754 00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:43,240 Speaker 1: way into a virtual world makes me personally tremendously happy. 755 00:51:44,320 --> 00:51:46,359 Speaker 1: So let us know how the game goes. We'd love 756 00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:49,600 Speaker 1: to hear an update, yes please. Our next one comes 757 00:51:49,680 --> 00:51:52,680 Speaker 1: from our next shout out rather comes from Crystal K, 758 00:51:53,239 --> 00:51:56,880 Speaker 1: who says Plumb Island is an animal disease research facility, 759 00:51:56,960 --> 00:51:59,879 Speaker 1: at least according to Silence of the Lambs. This would 760 00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:02,719 Speaker 1: certainly account for any perceived air of secrecy about the 761 00:52:02,760 --> 00:52:06,040 Speaker 1: place Also, Clarisse was the one who suggested she could 762 00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:10,000 Speaker 1: arrange for lectors vacation to the island in exchange for 763 00:52:10,040 --> 00:52:14,759 Speaker 1: identifying Buffalo Bill. Thank you so much, Crystal. You know, 764 00:52:14,840 --> 00:52:17,399 Speaker 1: I'm I don't remember if we mentioned this on the air, 765 00:52:17,760 --> 00:52:20,360 Speaker 1: but do you know that Anthony Hopkins do you know 766 00:52:20,360 --> 00:52:23,480 Speaker 1: how how much he's actually in Silence of the Lambs 767 00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:27,360 Speaker 1: the original Signs of the Lambs as Hannibal Lector? Is 768 00:52:27,400 --> 00:52:31,200 Speaker 1: it like a percentage he's it's like fourteen minutes the 769 00:52:31,239 --> 00:52:34,120 Speaker 1: whole film. He really made an impression. Huh. I mean 770 00:52:34,120 --> 00:52:36,960 Speaker 1: those are the kind of roles you wanna live for, 771 00:52:37,120 --> 00:52:41,120 Speaker 1: you know, do a cool, creepy fourteen minute cameo. Yeah, 772 00:52:41,160 --> 00:52:43,960 Speaker 1: who happens to be a cannibal? It's like, who's the 773 00:52:44,000 --> 00:52:48,279 Speaker 1: most important character in Waiting for Good Dough? The guy 774 00:52:48,320 --> 00:52:55,800 Speaker 1: who doesn't show up or RoboCop or RoboCop. I'm pretty 775 00:52:55,800 --> 00:52:58,399 Speaker 1: sure RoboCop shows up in robot I was just trying 776 00:52:58,440 --> 00:53:01,319 Speaker 1: to figure out, trying to figure out who the most 777 00:53:01,360 --> 00:53:05,120 Speaker 1: important character is if not RoboCop. But listeners, you have 778 00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:07,280 Speaker 1: to help me out. I don't know. There's a French 779 00:53:07,320 --> 00:53:12,720 Speaker 1: play called tartoof and for the which I remember reading 780 00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:18,799 Speaker 1: years ago and for the first easily two thirds of it, 781 00:53:19,239 --> 00:53:23,319 Speaker 1: people are talking about this tartoof dude and he doesn't 782 00:53:23,320 --> 00:53:25,640 Speaker 1: show up until the end. It was, it was baffled. 783 00:53:26,200 --> 00:53:28,200 Speaker 1: He kind of lives up to the hype, but not really. 784 00:53:28,840 --> 00:53:31,000 Speaker 1: It's it was sort of the RoboCop of its time. 785 00:53:31,280 --> 00:53:34,759 Speaker 1: I get it, you know. We I don't know if 786 00:53:34,760 --> 00:53:36,560 Speaker 1: we can keep doing these jokes. Last one of us 787 00:53:36,719 --> 00:53:39,480 Speaker 1: goes back and watches robo cop oll No problem. I'm 788 00:53:39,520 --> 00:53:41,680 Speaker 1: not gonna take the fall. I'm gonna do it. And 789 00:53:41,960 --> 00:53:45,880 Speaker 1: if you, if you write to us, I'll confirm or 790 00:53:46,080 --> 00:53:50,719 Speaker 1: or deny whatever you say a RoboCop expert, I'll We 791 00:53:50,800 --> 00:53:55,200 Speaker 1: have time for one more shout out. Our next message 792 00:53:55,239 --> 00:53:59,200 Speaker 1: says I am me, you are you, and this is 793 00:53:59,239 --> 00:54:02,040 Speaker 1: an email to stuff they don't want you to know. Well, 794 00:54:02,080 --> 00:54:05,960 Speaker 1: of course I love that opening. Yeah, I love the show. Guys. 795 00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:08,279 Speaker 1: You help you help keep me sane whilst at work 796 00:54:08,800 --> 00:54:10,759 Speaker 1: with the stuff you should know boys. Oh cool, that's 797 00:54:10,760 --> 00:54:14,160 Speaker 1: a good company. Um. Now down to business. Vaping you 798 00:54:14,280 --> 00:54:17,720 Speaker 1: heard of it, Yes, we have heard of it. Vaping 799 00:54:17,800 --> 00:54:20,200 Speaker 1: is a smoking cessation. It's a way for smokers to 800 00:54:20,239 --> 00:54:23,040 Speaker 1: get off the cigarettes in a healthy and safe way. 801 00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:26,200 Speaker 1: In a basic form, it gives the user the sensation 802 00:54:26,239 --> 00:54:29,960 Speaker 1: of smoking, the nicotine delivery from smoking, but it leaves 803 00:54:29,960 --> 00:54:33,360 Speaker 1: out the seven thousand plus nasty chemicals and carcinogen's smoking 804 00:54:33,360 --> 00:54:37,799 Speaker 1: cigarettes delivers into your body. Vaping has turned into an international, 805 00:54:37,840 --> 00:54:42,160 Speaker 1: multibillion dollar industry, creating thousands of jobs and businesses. It's 806 00:54:42,200 --> 00:54:49,920 Speaker 1: created friendships and families throughout the world. Okay, yeah uh, 807 00:54:49,960 --> 00:54:53,400 Speaker 1: and above all else, it's saved hundreds of millions of lives. 808 00:54:54,080 --> 00:54:57,640 Speaker 1: But ben, here's where things get crazy. Currently, at this 809 00:54:57,719 --> 00:55:01,280 Speaker 1: moment in time, that's right, whilst you are reading this email, 810 00:55:02,360 --> 00:55:04,920 Speaker 1: the US government and f d A are trying to 811 00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:07,560 Speaker 1: destroy it. And I don't mean trying to get the 812 00:55:07,560 --> 00:55:11,120 Speaker 1: booming industry that is vaping under control. I mean these 813 00:55:11,160 --> 00:55:14,680 Speaker 1: guys want to wipe out the whole thing, one hundred 814 00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:16,960 Speaker 1: percent gone in the blink of an eye. They want 815 00:55:17,000 --> 00:55:21,120 Speaker 1: it gone, and they're trying anything to do it. And 816 00:55:21,160 --> 00:55:25,200 Speaker 1: they oh, man, oh my gosh. Okay, so Jack, this 817 00:55:25,280 --> 00:55:27,000 Speaker 1: is from Jack. By the way, do we ever say 818 00:55:27,120 --> 00:55:30,280 Speaker 1: this is from Jack? Okay, okay, Jack, thank you for writing. 819 00:55:30,280 --> 00:55:33,279 Speaker 1: And he goes on and he just he gives us 820 00:55:33,280 --> 00:55:38,439 Speaker 1: so much great information about vaping along with his fun storytelling. 821 00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:43,239 Speaker 1: But we're gonna end it right here. So why is 822 00:55:43,280 --> 00:55:46,200 Speaker 1: the US government so against vaping if it is a 823 00:55:46,239 --> 00:55:49,160 Speaker 1: health benefit to the millions of citizens and the billions 824 00:55:49,200 --> 00:55:52,719 Speaker 1: of people worldwide. Is it because it's dangerous and will 825 00:55:52,800 --> 00:55:55,520 Speaker 1: kill people quicker than a bullet to the head, or 826 00:55:55,560 --> 00:55:58,600 Speaker 1: would you say it's because the cigarette companies who sponsor 827 00:55:58,760 --> 00:56:02,960 Speaker 1: these state officials and senators and government organizations are losing 828 00:56:03,040 --> 00:56:06,320 Speaker 1: millions of dollars worth of revenue each week two people 829 00:56:06,440 --> 00:56:10,839 Speaker 1: not smoking. No, that can't be. People would think that's 830 00:56:10,880 --> 00:56:16,240 Speaker 1: some sort of crazy conspiracy. Jack, that's that is fantastic. 831 00:56:16,520 --> 00:56:20,600 Speaker 1: Thanks so much for writing in, Jack, Crystal and Andrew. 832 00:56:21,040 --> 00:56:24,680 Speaker 1: Uh that that's a good point about vapory. Yeah, yeah, 833 00:56:24,760 --> 00:56:28,440 Speaker 1: I mean there are so many conflicting studies that have 834 00:56:28,560 --> 00:56:31,880 Speaker 1: been coming out over the past five years. Yeah, vaping 835 00:56:32,160 --> 00:56:35,560 Speaker 1: is uh pretty interesting, you know, yeah it is. And 836 00:56:35,600 --> 00:56:37,239 Speaker 1: you I've heard a lot of people talk about how 837 00:56:37,280 --> 00:56:40,480 Speaker 1: it has helped them quit smoking or at least been 838 00:56:40,520 --> 00:56:44,080 Speaker 1: a part of quitting smoking, right right, And then, uh, 839 00:56:44,120 --> 00:56:46,879 Speaker 1: you know, a lot of the rumors about va being 840 00:56:47,120 --> 00:56:53,000 Speaker 1: the science behind them evaporates after I'm so sorry, After 841 00:56:53,760 --> 00:56:57,880 Speaker 1: I'm not really sorry. I'm inordinately proud of every stupid 842 00:56:57,920 --> 00:57:00,400 Speaker 1: pun I've ever made beautiful, but you a lot of 843 00:57:00,400 --> 00:57:04,560 Speaker 1: the science is still contradictory in various studies, funds of 844 00:57:04,600 --> 00:57:07,040 Speaker 1: conflicting stuff, and just like the stuff with sugar, we 845 00:57:07,080 --> 00:57:12,239 Speaker 1: have to ask ourselves who is funding whom when these 846 00:57:12,280 --> 00:57:15,000 Speaker 1: things come out? Thank you so much for writing guys. Again, 847 00:57:15,120 --> 00:57:22,640 Speaker 1: this concludes our gosh and this concludes our episode, but 848 00:57:22,720 --> 00:57:27,439 Speaker 1: not our show. We will be returning the very same 849 00:57:27,520 --> 00:57:30,680 Speaker 1: time next week, and time is relative. I guess whatever 850 00:57:30,800 --> 00:57:33,720 Speaker 1: you check out your the podcast that you listen to, 851 00:57:34,520 --> 00:57:37,440 Speaker 1: you will find the new episode of our show. Yeah, 852 00:57:37,480 --> 00:57:40,320 Speaker 1: that's correct. And next week Noel will still be on 853 00:57:40,360 --> 00:57:44,200 Speaker 1: an adventure. Adventures are great, and uh we will. We 854 00:57:44,240 --> 00:57:47,400 Speaker 1: look forward to seeing him two weeks from now and 855 00:57:47,600 --> 00:57:50,280 Speaker 1: in the meantime, if you would like to check out 856 00:57:50,360 --> 00:57:56,000 Speaker 1: some of the strange, weird, fascinating, disturbing, and occasionally humorous 857 00:57:56,080 --> 00:57:58,280 Speaker 1: stories that for one reason or another, have yet to 858 00:57:58,360 --> 00:58:01,520 Speaker 1: make it onto the air, you can find us on YouTube. 859 00:58:01,600 --> 00:58:03,960 Speaker 1: You can find us on Instagram. You can find us 860 00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:11,160 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook mostly Conspiracy Stuff, and Instagram is Conspiracy 861 00:58:11,200 --> 00:58:13,440 Speaker 1: Stuff Show. If you'd like to check out some of 862 00:58:13,480 --> 00:58:16,680 Speaker 1: the other episodes we referenced earlier in the show. You 863 00:58:16,720 --> 00:58:20,280 Speaker 1: can find not just one, not just three, but every 864 00:58:20,320 --> 00:58:23,280 Speaker 1: audio episode we have ever done on our website. Stuff 865 00:58:23,320 --> 00:58:25,800 Speaker 1: they don't want you to note dot com. And if 866 00:58:25,840 --> 00:58:30,880 Speaker 1: you're saying, look, I get it, but don't like social media, 867 00:58:31,520 --> 00:58:34,040 Speaker 1: you know, I like to keep things simple, cut straight 868 00:58:34,080 --> 00:58:38,440 Speaker 1: through the sound and the fury of the modern digital world, 869 00:58:38,520 --> 00:58:41,280 Speaker 1: and just go from point A to point B through 870 00:58:41,360 --> 00:58:46,240 Speaker 1: Yahoo or whatever you're chosen. Poison is, you're in luck. 871 00:58:46,760 --> 00:58:49,760 Speaker 1: You can email us directly. We are conspiracy at how 872 00:58:49,840 --> 00:59:12,160 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com.