1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: Hi there, everybody. It's me Josh, your friend Josh, and 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: this week I've selected do You Really Stay Conscious After Decapitation? 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:15,320 Speaker 1: It was one of our top three grizzliest episodes we've 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: ever done. We talked in depth about what it's like 5 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: to have your head cut off, and it's a pretty 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: grim but it's also, in my opinion, one of the 7 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: most interesting ones we've ever done. So if you are 8 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: fain of heart or week of stomach, skip this one 9 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: if you like, But I dare you to listen anyway, 10 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: because it is that good. Welcome to Stuff you should 11 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: know from house Stuff Works dot com. Hey, and welcome 12 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: to the podcast on Josh Clark. There is Charles W. 13 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: Chuck Bryant asleep at the mic. Wake up, Chuck. I couldn't. 14 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: I could fall asleep right now. That's try with you, 15 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: is it, Paul? It's just a means to sweepy. Are 16 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: you you have a long night last night? Yeah? I 17 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: haven't been sleeping that great really. Plus I got the 18 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: window open because the weather so nice, but that means 19 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: I hear birds in traffic really early, so I've been 20 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 1: waking up at like six fifteen. Yeah, I hate that. 21 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: I hate those birds, the early birds catching their worms? 22 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: Are you don't stupid happy songs? Yeah? I don't like 23 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,960 Speaker 1: that either. I had a weird, uncomfortable dream last night. 24 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: I was trying to rent a car and everything was 25 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: sold out because Texas A and M was in some 26 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: sort of crazy championship and there's like five thousand people 27 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: there and they'd rented all the cars. So I had 28 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: to stand around and wait until somebody brought a car 29 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: back and jump on that. And there's like twelve other 30 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: people doing the same thing. It was kind of no idea, 31 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,320 Speaker 1: why out of nowhere? Huh, I thought, at least to 32 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: be ut No, so chuck, so weird, you know you 33 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: know what that was? That was an example. Dreams in 34 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: general are example of my neural networks. Whatever I learned 35 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: or thought of that that day, um or something and 36 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: jogged my memory. Whatever. There's a there's an idea that 37 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: dreams are the basically your brain strengthening neural networks by 38 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 1: stimulating different ones, basically doing some some PaperWorks, some sorting 39 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: while your body sleeping. Yeah, we still haven't done our 40 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: Deluxe Dream podcast. We haven't. Somebody asked for it recently. 41 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: I think we're I think we're getting more and more 42 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: prepared to it's coming. Okay, But um, that idea is 43 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: kind of is based on um one of well, it's 44 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:35,639 Speaker 1: one of the things that's based on what a guy 45 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: named Francis Crick, who you'll remember was one of the 46 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: co discoverers of the structure d n A. Yeah, he 47 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:45,959 Speaker 1: was the d right. I don't know you're thinking of 48 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: rutten day. Um. He later later on in his career 49 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: really got into the idea of this thing called the 50 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: astonishing hypothesis. But it is it's a little depressing if 51 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: you ask me. We've talked about it before. I think 52 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: we talked about a mirror neurons. But the astonishing hypothesis 53 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: is essentially that all of our thoughts, are dreams, are beliefs, 54 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: our hopes, are fears, are connections to others. Every aspect 55 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 1: of the human experience is based on neurons and their excitement. Right. 56 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: And he said, quite famously, quote, uh, you're nothing but 57 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: a bowl of neurons or pack. Okay, but I said, quote, yeah, 58 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: so you're just rewriting about a sack of neurons like that, 59 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: a fistful of neurons. Oh god, that's awesome, thank you. 60 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: That's a band name. I knew you were going to 61 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: say that full of neurons. Yeah, someone's gonna go be 62 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: that now. Yes. So as as at the basis of 63 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: all of this is the is the neurotransmitter, right, yes, 64 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: which is an electrochemical compound that depending on what kind 65 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: of neuron is excited or what what compound is passed 66 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: from synaps to synaps, right, you're going to have a 67 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 1: different kind of experience. But all these experiences are based 68 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: on these electrochemical reactions in in your neural networks. So 69 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: you have one one neuron exciting another and they become 70 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:17,919 Speaker 1: connected and it goes on and on, and then you 71 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: have a neural network that's associated with fear or fear 72 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: of bears. More specifically, you see a bear and it's 73 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 1: excited because you stored this neural network as a memory, 74 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: and that's consciousness, that's being alive. As they say, right, 75 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 1: it kind of takes the mystery out of life to 76 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: a certain extent. An you think, yeah, but it also 77 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,720 Speaker 1: and that's a great set up too for this and also, um, 78 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: you know, as long as you can measure that and 79 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: you can measure those brain waves that means there's something 80 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:46,160 Speaker 1: going on there, right, because we have we do have 81 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: machines called electro en cephalographs e g s that measure 82 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: the electrical activity in your head, and we've determined science 83 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: has come to agree that there's a strong enough correlation 84 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: between somebody going, hey, why is this thing on my 85 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: head um and electrical activity while it's happening that when 86 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: we detect this electrical activity, we're saying this person is conscious, right, 87 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: right right, And that is a great way to set 88 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 1: up a study that was performed in the Netherlands. He's 89 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: wacky Dutch at the red red bowed. I'm sure that's 90 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: not pronounced correctly. I would say rod Bood rod Bood 91 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: University and the Netherlands in the nes h it's that word. 92 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: I know. It's a lot of nitten him, nimigan, nimogen, 93 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 1: nije m. That's what I'm going with. And that's one 94 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: of the easier looking Dutch towards us to go over 95 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: their aunt's crazy. Um. So they did this. You know 96 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: when you when you work with lab rats that sometimes 97 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:46,920 Speaker 1: you have to put them to death. And what they 98 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: do is they chump their little heads off because they 99 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 1: you know, that's a quicken, speedy way to to kill something. 100 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: So they thought, you know, we might want to do 101 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: some test to see if this is actually a humane 102 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: way of doing this, which is what they thought it 103 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: all along, which is why they decapitate rats and other 104 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,919 Speaker 1: lab animals, is because it's assumed that's humane. These Dutch 105 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: researchers saying, well, wait a minute, is it. Let's find 106 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: out I would think smothering one with a tiny pillow 107 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: while petting it, Yeah, while stroking it. I've thought about 108 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: that too. But fear, Yeah, sure, because I think we 109 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: should probably define humane here. Humane is probably the absence 110 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: of fear and pain. It's a humane way to kill 111 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 1: something on purpose. Yeah right, those are probably the two 112 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: things I would want cut out of my death, fear 113 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: and pain. So um, they did this. They performed these 114 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: tests on rats, attached them to the little e g s, 115 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: cut off their heads, and they found that the brain 116 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 1: continue to operate uh generate electrical activity between thirteen and 117 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:48,840 Speaker 1: a hundred hurts frequency, which is that means thought and consciousness, right, 118 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 1: study of electrical activity in the brain. We found that 119 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:56,160 Speaker 1: within that band, that frequency band, those frequent stands that's 120 00:06:56,279 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: when you're thinking and feeling and saying, what is going on? Right? 121 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: Why is my lifeless body over there without my head on? Right? 122 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: For about four seconds and then lights out? Yeah, lights out? 123 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: And then I think after about another fifty seconds or 124 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: something forty or fifty seconds, there was one last burst. 125 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: It wasn't exactly lights back on. It was like the 126 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: the end of everything in one last point. But there 127 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: was nothing between those that indicated consciousness. It was just 128 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: like everything was gone after about fifty seconds, but four 129 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: seconds consciousness, which brings us to capital punishment capital. Uh. 130 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: The way they came up with that originally is from 131 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: the Latin term cut put um, which means head. So 132 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: decapitation was where capital punisiments derived from decapitation. That's exactly right. 133 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: And so now we can talk about humans losing their heads. 134 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: Well yeah, because as we said, um, a humane way 135 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: of executing something or dispatching something um is to take 136 00:07:54,800 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: fear and pain out of it, right. Yeah. And this, 137 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: this study of these rats suggests that hold on. I 138 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: want everybody to do this, right. I want you to 139 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: look around, to think, to feel, to listen. Well, I 140 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: count four seconds off you're ready? One, two, three, four, 141 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: took a lot in just then, didn't you a lot 142 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: more than I'd be comfortable taking in with my head 143 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: not attached to my body exactly. So here's the This 144 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: is why the rat the rat study is so disturbing 145 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: because it suggests that after your head is cut off, 146 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: you are still very much aware of what's going on 147 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,679 Speaker 1: and can think and feel and be terrified. Right, yes, 148 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:39,200 Speaker 1: and you know I read. I wish I had a 149 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: better source for this, but I did find one doctor 150 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 1: that firmly believes that there's a lot of pain associated 151 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: with a decapitation. Execution by decapitation, maybe not for long, 152 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: but he's like, I don't know about this painless thing, 153 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: right well, and long before um this Dutch study was published, people, 154 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: people have long suspected like this, you're still conscious after 155 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,439 Speaker 1: you're decapitated for a little while. Right, let's talk about 156 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: decapitation first. I want to give a shout out to 157 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: our buddy Alan Bellows from Damn Interesting, who wrote a 158 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: great article as well. You know him that, Um, yeah, 159 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: he he emails with us sometimes, Okay, yeah, um, he 160 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,320 Speaker 1: wrote one called lucid decapitation that I used this source 161 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 1: for this. It's great. I read that today too. Yes, 162 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: um so, chuck, let's let's do talk about a history 163 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: of head loss as it were, and not losing one's 164 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: head isn't losing one's cool. No, do you mean Chopper style, 165 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,520 Speaker 1: although you do probably lose your cool when you lose 166 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 1: your head and you're still conscious. We'll find out. Uh 167 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,840 Speaker 1: in the biblical uh apocrypha, I love that word. Uh. 168 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,320 Speaker 1: There's a widow named Judith. She cut off the head 169 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: of an Assyrian general name Holofer needs and uh he 170 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: was he was a bad guy, laying seized her town. 171 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,840 Speaker 1: She cut his head off. Romans just sduced him and 172 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 1: then cut his head off. Well, that's the way to 173 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,480 Speaker 1: do it, especially if you're a biblical widow. Right. The 174 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 1: Romans did that to um their own because they thought 175 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:06,319 Speaker 1: it was a better and more painless way than crucifixion, 176 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: which they did to outsiders, which is not a very 177 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: nice way to die. I'm at evil Europe obviously all 178 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 1: kinds of people from the ruling class, the peasants. And 179 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: uh today it still happens in a few Middle Eastern countries. Yeah, Qatar, 180 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:27,959 Speaker 1: Yemen ran, most prominently Saudi Arabia. Seeing what was the 181 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 1: fahrenheight nine eleven. There's footage of like a um, somebody 182 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 1: being beheaded in public and Saudi Arabia and like the 183 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: late nineties, did they use the sword? Yeah, I really yep, 184 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:43,559 Speaker 1: the schmidtar and Josh, they're also the extra judicial judicial um, 185 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: like when you know, a journalist is captured and beheaded 186 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:48,679 Speaker 1: by a group of guerrillas, and that's not like they 187 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:51,200 Speaker 1: don't use a sword or a guillotine. Is really gruesome, Yes, 188 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: it's extremely gruesome. That's right. That's why um, most modern 189 00:10:55,920 --> 00:11:00,440 Speaker 1: cultures UM have come to the conclusion that beheading is 190 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: um extremely barbaric. It's an extremely painful way to die 191 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: and I imagine probably one of the more terrifying ways 192 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: to die too. UM. But it took a while for 193 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 1: everybody to come to that conclusion, right, Yeah, And you 194 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 1: mentioned Saudi Arabia is one of the main countries they 195 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,560 Speaker 1: they have Uh, I guess you would call very qualified 196 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: swordsman to do this, but other places they're not so 197 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 1: qualified and it doesn't go as smoothly. Sometimes there's like 198 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: some chopping has to go on, which is not ideal. 199 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: And one of the reasons why um it is an 200 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: ideal is because it takes chopping, or it did for 201 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:40,080 Speaker 1: many many centuries, because you had to either do it 202 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: with a knife, which was really like not a beheading. 203 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: It was more cutting someone's head off over the course 204 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 1: of a few minutes probably, or you could try to 205 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:52,839 Speaker 1: behead somebody with an axe or a sword, and those 206 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:57,679 Speaker 1: are the two favored implements used for state sanctioned executions. Right. 207 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:02,000 Speaker 1: But like you said, some cultures like Saudi Arabia today, 208 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 1: you have to be um, you're a very highly trained, 209 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 1: highly skilled headsman, is what it's called. Um. In other cultures, 210 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: you could have also doubled as the guy who like 211 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: pulled the lever on the gallows and you had no 212 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: extra training. Maybe you've done it once before, maybe you hadn't. 213 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 1: So for the most part, when you were beheaded, most 214 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 1: likely it was going to take more than one blow, 215 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 1: and um, you're going to feel it. Yes, then everything changed. Yes, 216 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: the guillotine, Yes, chuck him. The fact of well one 217 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 1: of the facts of this, uh this podcast. Yeah, I've 218 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:39,360 Speaker 1: always heard, and I think a lot of people have 219 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: always heard. The guillotine was named after Joseph Guillotine, the 220 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:46,599 Speaker 1: inventor of the guillotine. He was not the inventor of 221 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:48,679 Speaker 1: the guillotine. No, it was named after him. It was 222 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 1: named after him, But he was not the invitor. He 223 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: was the champion of the guillotine as a humane method 224 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: of execution. Yeah he was. He a doctor, Yeah he was. 225 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 1: He was a French physician of the revolution. Um. Another 226 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 1: doctor named Antoine Louis was the one who actually invented it, 227 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: and Joseph Ignas guillotine Um had a lot more power 228 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: in Cloud and said, this invention is awesome. It's going 229 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 1: to allow us to kill people more humanely but also 230 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: more quickly. And that actually led inadvertently, if you know, 231 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:24,320 Speaker 1: the guillotine started out to be a humane method of execution, 232 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: UM to what's called the Reign of Terror. Yeah. I 233 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:32,359 Speaker 1: think you said thirty thousand people, uh, hit the guillotine 234 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: in one year, in less than a year, actually, in 235 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: thirty thousand is one of the lower estimates of it. 236 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,199 Speaker 1: I've seen up to like fifty or sixty thousand people. 237 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:42,280 Speaker 1: It's just like they're like, oh, great, well, here's a 238 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: machine of execution and we're going to basically turn it 239 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 1: into the end of the assembly line. Yeah. It's you know, 240 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: for those of you who don't know what a guillotine 241 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: is a little odd because they're all over the place 242 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:57,680 Speaker 1: and cartoons even in in pop culture. But it's a 243 00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: big it's a tall, like fourteen ft tall at the 244 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,480 Speaker 1: at the top, yes, fourteen, and it and it drops 245 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,040 Speaker 1: a large blade that's held in a track, so it 246 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 1: goes straight down. How have you? So the blade, the 247 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,319 Speaker 1: blade itself has a weight at the top, you can see, 248 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: it's like an iron bar. And then the angle blade 249 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: right diagonal blade. They those two things combined way about 250 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: a hundred seventy The mouton is the weight. Yeah, So 251 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: this puppy slides down very fast at fourteen from fourteen 252 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: feet in its track very precisely gets the back of 253 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: your neck. It's very sharp, and that generally means your 254 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: head will probably just fall straight down into the little 255 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 1: peach basket right ideally right now, if you are um, 256 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 1: if you were beheaded prior to the invention of the guillotine, 257 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: right this podcast, And also I have to say, like 258 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 1: you're you're right, everybody knows what a guillotine looks like 259 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: to a certain extent. It wasn't until I wrote this 260 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: and was doing research for it that I really actually 261 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: looked at the actual guillotine, the whole assembly, right, I mean, 262 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: look at that thing. That monster is horrific, and it's 263 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: like that's used by the state, and that's how you 264 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: are going to die. You're going to lose your head. 265 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 1: And Victor Hugo famously said that, um, a person can 266 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 1: have a certain indifference on the death penalty as long 267 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: as one has not seen a guillotine with one's own eyes, 268 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: which is I think very true. It's pretty easy to 269 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: talk a tough game about things like this until you 270 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 1: actually see it go down exactly. So yeah, So the 271 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: guillotine what it does is knows most notably is it 272 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: deprives your brain of oxygen and blood right your your 273 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 1: circulatory system. It's a closed system, right, so it's it's 274 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 1: based on um pressure. Your heart is pumping the blood 275 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: throughout the body. It passes by, the lungs drops off 276 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: c O two, which you exhale, It takes in oxygen, 277 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: which you inhale, and then the whole thing goes again. Right, 278 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 1: as long as the system is closed and the hearts, 279 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: the hearts beating, and the lungs are transferring, um uh, 280 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: you're fine. Once you take a head off. You have 281 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: opened this closed system, and eventually the heart's going to 282 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:12,800 Speaker 1: just pump everything out of the neck and whatever was 283 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: in the head at that time is going to come out, 284 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: and the brain, starved of oxygen and blood, starts to 285 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 1: degrade very quickly. It's processes start to degrade right now. 286 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 1: If you are at the hands of a hack literally 287 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 1: headsman right who doesn't notice do and he's got a 288 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 1: blunt blade, he's hungover, who knows he's gonna take your 289 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: head off. It's good. It's gonna take a few what 290 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 1: is the disco I okay, it's gonna take it's gonna 291 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:48,120 Speaker 1: take a few um hacks, and you're going to bleed out, 292 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 1: probably before your head comes off. Not so with the guillotine. 293 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: It is that very precise. It comes right down, It 294 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: takes your head right off, and then there's a little 295 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 1: wooden shield to make sure that it doesn't go flying 296 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 1: into the crowd. Instead, it maybe hits the shield and 297 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: it bounces into the basket where a headsman can hold 298 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:08,159 Speaker 1: it up. Yeah, or sometimes throw it into the crowd. 299 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:12,080 Speaker 1: Didn't know they did that? Interesting, and sometimes they would 300 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 1: be big jerks in the case a very famous case 301 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:20,680 Speaker 1: of Charlotte Corday, she who was executed in France in 302 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:25,640 Speaker 1: sevente because she assassinated a revolutionary leader named Jean Paul 303 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:30,040 Speaker 1: Melaw and the jerk executioner picked up her head and 304 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 1: smacked her around in a little bit. Yeah, he got 305 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: eleven years in prison for it too. And people who 306 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: witnessed this say that her expression on her headless head, 307 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, her head, bodiless head, her dismembered headed, good lord, 308 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:52,959 Speaker 1: uh showed unequivocal marks of indignation. So she actually had 309 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 1: a facial expression of like, how dare you slap me? Right? 310 00:17:56,119 --> 00:17:59,160 Speaker 1: And it wasn't like from from what I understand, it 311 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,199 Speaker 1: wasn't like that's how she looked when she when he 312 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: picked her head up. Yeah, there was a change. It 313 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: was after he smacked her, like her cheeks flushed and 314 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:10,360 Speaker 1: she basically went into a rage right before she died. 315 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 1: He had eleven years for that. Interesting, Yeah, the French 316 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: did not You did not screw around. You didn't do that. 317 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:19,640 Speaker 1: That was a huge lapse in humanity taste. Yeah, cut 318 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:23,879 Speaker 1: off the heads fine smacking around. Well again, remember that 319 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: this is this is the time, this is sevente France 320 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,399 Speaker 1: officially adopted the guillotine in seventeen two and used it 321 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,640 Speaker 1: until nineteen seventy seven. Yeah, that was the last guy 322 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: to have his head cut off by the French state. 323 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:39,080 Speaker 1: It was a I believe, a rapist, murderer, UM immigrant 324 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: who hit death row. And then three years after that, 325 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:43,960 Speaker 1: France was like, We're done with the death penalties. It 326 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,679 Speaker 1: isn't the crazy people were like partying in studio sixty 327 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,960 Speaker 1: four fifty four with their disco eyes sixty four. Where 328 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 1: in the world did that come from? So yeah, and 329 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:54,200 Speaker 1: then all of a sudden in France are cutting people's 330 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 1: heads off. Still right, but again remember they adopted it 331 00:18:57,359 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: the year before. This guy smacks Charlotte Corday's the year 332 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 1: after they adopted it, and people are like, uh, I 333 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: don't think that's supposed to happen. So from that that 334 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,680 Speaker 1: moment on, and probably before that because Chuck there there 335 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:15,880 Speaker 1: have been other um instances of people in history who 336 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:19,879 Speaker 1: had their heads taken off skillfully. Um. For example, ambole 337 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:24,400 Speaker 1: In King Charles the first they had their heads taken skillfully, 338 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:26,199 Speaker 1: and both of them were reported to try to have 339 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,680 Speaker 1: to try to speak like they were moving their lips 340 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,560 Speaker 1: and their eyes were moving. Right. This is not funny, 341 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 1: it's just it's insane. Yeah, I'm not laughing because I 342 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,639 Speaker 1: think this is funny. And there's a huge debate that's 343 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: become increasingly one sided in favor of what we're talking 344 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:49,080 Speaker 1: about today. Um. The other side is, well, this is 345 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 1: just like ghost electrical activity. Yeah, like you prick a 346 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: frog ten minutes after this dissected, and they're still going 347 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:58,719 Speaker 1: to move. They have that stimulant or Marshall Brain has 348 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: that very popular post on the blogs about sprinkling salt 349 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: on frog's legs and making a move. Really truly, you've 350 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 1: seen it. I don't think you have to check it out. 351 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,760 Speaker 1: And that's crazy. Yeah. Um, but yes, So that's if 352 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:18,000 Speaker 1: you cut a leg off or you cut an arm off. Yeah, 353 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: that's remnant electrical activity. It's the same thing in the head. 354 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:26,199 Speaker 1: It's still electrical activity. The problem is you don't experience 355 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:29,880 Speaker 1: pain and fear and terror in your arm. Your arm 356 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 1: feels absolutely nothing. All sensations that we experience, whether it 357 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:38,959 Speaker 1: it's our arm being cut off or you know, feeling 358 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:42,000 Speaker 1: terror at seeing our arm cut off, all of that 359 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:44,360 Speaker 1: is in the head. So when you decapitate, the head 360 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,879 Speaker 1: and there's still electrical activity, the chances are that it 361 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:51,320 Speaker 1: is conscious experience. Yeah, your brain has It's not like 362 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: your head got bashed in. Your brain is very much intact. Yes, 363 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,680 Speaker 1: it's just not attached to the lower half and it 364 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,439 Speaker 1: still has plenty of oxygen and plenty of blood to 365 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: deliver that oxygen for a few seconds. And that's what's required. 366 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: As long as your brain hasn't suffered any damage, as 367 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: long as um you have oxygen, you have blood, you 368 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,680 Speaker 1: are likely going to experience consciousness. And this is pretty 369 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: much the conclusion that that people have arrived at, Like, yeah, 370 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 1: if you cut someone's head off cleanly and quickly, they're 371 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 1: going to know what's going on for a little while afterwards. Yeah, 372 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:24,520 Speaker 1: and how long is very much up for debate. They've 373 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: tested or not tested, but they've seen evidence and other 374 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:30,800 Speaker 1: mammals up to like a half a minute. Yeah. Chickens 375 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:34,159 Speaker 1: are very famous for running around the barnyard with no 376 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:35,879 Speaker 1: heads for a little while. Do you ever hear the 377 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,120 Speaker 1: story of Mike the headless chicken for a very long 378 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: time in Mike's case, eighteen months, But Mike the headless chicken, 379 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:43,440 Speaker 1: And if you're interested in that, type in Mike the 380 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:47,199 Speaker 1: headless chicken, how stuff works, and it will bring up 381 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 1: some things here. They're including a blog post I wrote 382 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,879 Speaker 1: on it. But his he was different because the farmer 383 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 1: missed his brainstem, and chickens are almost all brainstem. But 384 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 1: Mike lived like an extra eighteen months actually in good 385 00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 1: juicy breast and exactly. And he choked on a colonel 386 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: of corn. That's how Mike died, after having his healthy 387 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: feeding it though with a dropper. Okay, well that makes sense. 388 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:12,840 Speaker 1: Let's tell some more stories, anecdotal stories about people living 389 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:16,160 Speaker 1: and making faces after their head has been cut off, okay, 390 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: because those are interesting. In nineteen nine, an army veteran 391 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: was in a car crash with um a friend. His 392 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 1: friend was decapitated sadly, and he saw looked at his 393 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 1: friend's face not attached to his body, and saw a 394 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 1: distinct change in expression from he says, quote first of 395 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:38,639 Speaker 1: shock and confusion and then terror or grief. It's horrific. 396 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 1: It is horrific. You mentioned Ambo Lennon King Charles Um 397 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,760 Speaker 1: there was there was one story, a very dubious one 398 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 1: that's not in his biographies, but Antoine la Vossier in 399 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:55,439 Speaker 1: seventeen ninety four, apparently agreed to try and blink for 400 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:57,879 Speaker 1: as long as he could afterwards. Yeah. He was a 401 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,359 Speaker 1: French chemist around the time of the revolution, right, Yeah, 402 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,400 Speaker 1: so he reportedly blinked for about fifteen to twenty seconds. 403 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 1: But there's there was also another murderer name uh Larcennaire 404 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 1: who said, all right, I'm gonna wink at everyone after 405 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:15,520 Speaker 1: my head's cut off if I can. He didn't wink. Um, 406 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:18,400 Speaker 1: there is one. There is an account that is not dubious. 407 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:26,320 Speaker 1: It's probably the um most scientific observations of you know, 408 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:31,119 Speaker 1: consciousness following decapitation. Ever, Um, it's very famous and it 409 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,640 Speaker 1: is verified as far as I know. In n five, 410 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:40,919 Speaker 1: a guy named Dr Boreo right basically got permission to 411 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: study the decapitated head of a murderer named on Relong 412 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:50,480 Speaker 1: Wheel right and Um, so he was right there, right 413 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:52,879 Speaker 1: at head level when line Wheels head came off. This 414 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 1: plan in place, I assume he immediately picks up the 415 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:58,440 Speaker 1: head and starts experimenting on it. And over the course 416 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 1: of thirty seconds, the physician basically he said longuil and 417 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,760 Speaker 1: long will opened his eyes and focused them his head 418 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: just his head focused them on Dr. Barrio and then 419 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,200 Speaker 1: kind of like faded out again, and then doctor said 420 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: long Guil, and Long Guil opened his eyes again and 421 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,160 Speaker 1: focused them, he says, undeniably focused them on the doctor's 422 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:24,800 Speaker 1: eyes again, and then he tried it a third time 423 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:27,119 Speaker 1: and then nothing. So that was his plan. Was yelled 424 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:29,440 Speaker 1: his name. I guess it worked, but it did work. 425 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: He said that he his observations were that this that 426 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 1: this this decapitated head went from its eyes closed or 427 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:39,320 Speaker 1: glazed over to you know, consciousness coming back into it 428 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 1: and focusing its eyes on him. Because as a response 429 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:50,640 Speaker 1: to his name being called, yeah, and German researcher st summering, 430 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,960 Speaker 1: this is the worst one. If he he said that, 431 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,719 Speaker 1: um he he that was a physician inspecting ahead and 432 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,720 Speaker 1: poked the spinal canal with his finger, and that the 433 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 1: head the person grimaced horribly and they grind their teeth. 434 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: So it's almost as if the head was saying, I 435 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: know you think I'm dead, but that really really hurts. Yeah. 436 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 1: The spinal canal is where your spinal cord is in 437 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:18,080 Speaker 1: your spine, so you would think that there was a 438 00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: little bit left because he was poking up into the 439 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:23,879 Speaker 1: spinal cord with his finger, and I can't imagine the 440 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 1: excruciating pain that that would cause. Well, the doctor I 441 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,160 Speaker 1: found that said that he thought it was decidedly painful, 442 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,359 Speaker 1: That's what he said. He's like, you can't expose and 443 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 1: cut the spine like that without there being a lot 444 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 1: of pain. Yeah, And that was st simmering right in 445 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:42,800 Speaker 1: arguing in the French newspapers to stop cutting people's heads off. Well, 446 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:45,960 Speaker 1: they listened a little less than two hundred years later. 447 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: So I think the answer to this one is yes, 448 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:54,720 Speaker 1: you stay conscious after your head is cut off from 449 00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:58,400 Speaker 1: your body, at least for several seconds. That's right, right, 450 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:01,120 Speaker 1: well done, sir, Thank you, sir. Good article. Uh. If 451 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 1: you want to learn more, you should search for stuff. 452 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:06,960 Speaker 1: You should know how stuff works in your search engine, 453 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,920 Speaker 1: and it should bring up our brand spanking new, beautiful 454 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:12,760 Speaker 1: looking stuff you should know homepage. Yeah, we got a 455 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,639 Speaker 1: little fan page now that uh looks like a proper 456 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 1: fan page. Yeah, and we we decide what's on it, right, 457 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,880 Speaker 1: we say, hey, here's some cool articles you guys should 458 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:23,119 Speaker 1: check out. Here's some articles based on some of our 459 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:27,320 Speaker 1: favorite podcasts, image galleries, quizzes, just basically everything. Like it's 460 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 1: like they gave a portion of the site to us, 461 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:31,879 Speaker 1: and we're doing some cool stuff with it. How about that? 462 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 1: So um, you'll be able to find that there right indeed? 463 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 1: Okay um? And yeah, wow, I didn't say search bar. 464 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,200 Speaker 1: Just type the capitation into the search bar at how 465 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:46,359 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com and that will probably bring up 466 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,000 Speaker 1: some cool stuff, including this that sounds like a practical joke. 467 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:51,639 Speaker 1: Just type the capitation and and see what happens. It 468 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: brings up nothing but rabbits. And since I said search bar, 469 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 1: listener man, Josh, I'm gonna call this little poem from 470 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:09,920 Speaker 1: Alex our fan. And Alex's birthday is a today. Happy birthday, dude, 471 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:13,160 Speaker 1: Happy birthday Alex. You know you're timing there, buddy. Yeah, 472 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,840 Speaker 1: and this is his twenty one birthday. And I hope 473 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:17,640 Speaker 1: he has a strong stomach girl, else he was never 474 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,879 Speaker 1: going to hear this, that's right. Alex is in a 475 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:24,120 Speaker 1: creative writing class and he writes poems and lots of them. Well, 476 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 1: he says, I write nothing but poems, even though I'm 477 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,119 Speaker 1: a guy. Yes, Josh, he is a guy, but he 478 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 1: is a poet. A strange thing to say, renaissance man. Recently, 479 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 1: I was listening to how fossils work and saunas more 480 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:38,200 Speaker 1: interesting than you think. And I wrote this poem about 481 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:42,680 Speaker 1: the podcast, sleeping in my bed, trying to absorb unique 482 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:47,639 Speaker 1: facts about different topics, dreaming of a fossil forming, a 483 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:51,399 Speaker 1: young Josh smoking, and an older Chuck laughing at dirty 484 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:55,679 Speaker 1: Chuck's I'm not sure what that means, understanding now that 485 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 1: reading about saunas requires you to strip. Having this podcast 486 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 1: allows me to own a piece of history. I'm sorry, 487 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 1: I own a piece of unique history, learning about different 488 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 1: parts of human life, healing over and laughter at the jokes. 489 00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:17,199 Speaker 1: You are reading this like William Shatner reads poetry. I 490 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:21,399 Speaker 1: am now I know why people own eye products to 491 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,879 Speaker 1: listen to Josh and Chuck w talk about talk and 492 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: joke around. I hope you like it, and I hope 493 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:30,000 Speaker 1: you like you're part of the poem. I don't remember. No, 494 00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: it's not because that'd be weird. So the whole high 495 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:35,640 Speaker 1: end all my poems with hope you like that. Yeah, 496 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:38,960 Speaker 1: but you know the first letter of each line spells 497 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 1: out stuff you should know. Oh you didn't know that. 498 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: That's why I was reading it like Shatner, having would 499 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:50,520 Speaker 1: be the h oh you didn't know that, even points 500 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:52,080 Speaker 1: out if you still don't get it, read the first 501 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,280 Speaker 1: letter of each line. So very creative, and even Joe 502 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,320 Speaker 1: didn't get it. Thanks a lot, Alex. Happy birthday to you, 503 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:04,320 Speaker 1: all right, Chuck. Indeed, probably shouldn't ask for any decapitation 504 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 1: stories or poems. Yeah, I know, poems. You don't get 505 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,520 Speaker 1: any ideas from this. This, this is just special, all right. 506 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,840 Speaker 1: If you have an unusual pet that is not a ferret, 507 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: because it's not unusual any longer, Um, we want to 508 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:21,720 Speaker 1: hear about it. If you have taken an animal from 509 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,960 Speaker 1: the wild and tamed it to be your pet or 510 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 1: possibly do your bidding, we want to hear stories about that. Okay, 511 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,880 Speaker 1: send it in an email to Stuff podcast at how 512 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. For moral this and thousands of 513 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,320 Speaker 1: other topics. Is it how stuff works dot com. To 514 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 1: learn more about the podcast, click on the podcast icon 515 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:47,160 Speaker 1: in the upper right corner of our homepage. The how 516 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 1: Stuff Works iPhone app has arrived. Download it today on iTunes.