WEBVTT - The Artifact Redux: Krueger's Claw

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the Artifact,

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<v Speaker 2>a short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind,

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<v Speaker 2>focusing on particular objects, ideas, and moments in time. The

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<v Speaker 2>a Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise gave us an

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<v Speaker 2>iconic but at times perplexing horror icon in the form

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<v Speaker 2>of Freddy Krueger. He's a disfigured phantom of the opera

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<v Speaker 2>esque character with a taste for fedoras and red and

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<v Speaker 2>green striped sweaters. He does not wear a mask, and

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<v Speaker 2>he attacks his victims in their dreams, making frequent use

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<v Speaker 2>of his signature weapon, a clod leather right hand glove.

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<v Speaker 2>Freddy's glove. While iconic, has only a few real world analogs.

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<v Speaker 2>Throughout in history, weapons like the sword have proven to

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<v Speaker 2>be more than effective as a means of slashing adversaries

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<v Speaker 2>with a forged blade. When we do find weapons more

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<v Speaker 2>in line with Freddy's claw, they tend to either still

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<v Speaker 2>require the use of a handle or hilt, such as

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<v Speaker 2>with various punch daggers, or they function in a way

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<v Speaker 2>comparable to, say, brass knuckles in Japanese martial arts. The

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<v Speaker 2>Tikokagi claw weapon perhaps serves as one of the best

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<v Speaker 2>parallels to Freddy's claw. I was reading about this weapon

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<v Speaker 2>in Classical Weaponry of Japan, Special Weapons and Tactics of

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<v Speaker 2>the Martial Arts from two thousand and three by Sergei mo.

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<v Speaker 2>Mull draws special attention to the shuko and ashiko weapons

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<v Speaker 2>hand and foot hooks, respectively, which are thought to have

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<v Speaker 2>been used as quote unquote ninja weapons for scaling walls, trees,

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<v Speaker 2>or other obstacles. Their main function was climbing, not combat,

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<v Speaker 2>but Mole points out that they could still have proven

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<v Speaker 2>fierce in close corners combat, and it certainly would have

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<v Speaker 2>given the user a certain psychological advantage. The ticocaggi, however,

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<v Speaker 2>which means iron backhand claw, was unlikely to have been

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<v Speaker 2>used for climbing, he writes, and its elongated blades were

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<v Speaker 2>seemingly designed to slash and rip up skin. Still, it

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<v Speaker 2>should be noted that the tickocaggi was not a glove.

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<v Speaker 2>The human hand, after all, has evolved for fine manipulation,

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<v Speaker 2>it can also be used for bare handed violence, and

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<v Speaker 2>it has even been hypothesized that the hand evolved to

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<v Speaker 2>form an effective fist for punching, but it certainly didn't

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<v Speaker 2>evolve to slash. Oh. Certainly, human fingernails can dig and tear,

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<v Speaker 2>but your fingers simply are not suited for the broad

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<v Speaker 2>slashes and of course occasional torpedo style stabbing through the

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<v Speaker 2>torso that a Krueger glove seems designed to administer. Freddy's

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<v Speaker 2>creator Wes Craven cited the housecat as if inspiration for

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<v Speaker 2>Freddy's claw, and certainly cats are pretty skilled slashers, but

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<v Speaker 2>even their amazing retractable claws are multipurpose, and as Douglas

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<v Speaker 2>j Emlin points out in the excellent book Animal Weapons,

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<v Speaker 2>the primary purpose of the claus during a kill are

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<v Speaker 2>to catch and hold the prey in place in order

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<v Speaker 2>for the cat to deliver a powerful killing bite. Not

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<v Speaker 2>only does this latching on with the claws enable the

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<v Speaker 2>teeth to sink home in the prey animal, they also

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<v Speaker 2>hold the prey animal in place through the death throws,

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<v Speaker 2>and this prevents these movements from snapping the cat's long

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<v Speaker 2>canines off in the body. Freddy Krueger, of course, is

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<v Speaker 2>a fictional monster. He can do whatever he pleases, while

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<v Speaker 2>an actual human might well break their own fingers, using

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<v Speaker 2>such a glove as a weapon. All Freddy has to

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<v Speaker 2>do his dream. Tune in for additional editions of the

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<v Speaker 2>Artifact or the Monster Fact each week. As always, you

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<v Speaker 2>can email us at contact at stuffdblow your Mind dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For

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