1 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,479 Speaker 1: Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Ben, 2 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: and I am about to ask a massive favor of 3 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: my co host, who doesn't know what I'm about to ask, 4 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: but is so super cool one of my best friends, 5 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: and hopefully isn't mad at me for putting them on this. 6 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:40,559 Speaker 1: I'm mad at you, like in advance. I also has 7 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: banged my knee on the desk here, so I'm super cranky, 8 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: but go ahead, alright, okay, ladies, gentlemen. Uh Noel Brown. 9 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: Uh Noel is a very talented multi instrumentalist and has 10 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: pipes for the Angels, So nol, I was going to 11 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: ask you if you would do uh, just a small 12 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: rendition of that Heart of Glass song? Absolutely not all 13 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: right up, damn David found out a swattered town. A 14 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: piano was a dude down, leave it up down one, Yeah, 15 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: thank you. I don't know that I'm see. I may 16 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: have pipes to the Angels, but unlike my my dear 17 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: friend Frank, who hopefully is listening, I don't remember lyrics 18 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: quite well. Well, the melody was important there, That's exactly. 19 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: And you might ask, then why are you putting? Why 20 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: are you putting this? Poor guy on. I'd like to 21 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: know you can feel the attention in the room here. 22 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: Our super producer Casey Pegram is uh raising up the 23 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: yellow card for me. That means I'm not Oh wow, 24 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: he had one? He did? I was, I was making 25 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: that up. Oh gosh, Okay, I'll teach you. Yeah, I'll 26 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: teach me. You guys are amazing. We are talking about 27 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: a very very very very strange phenomenon in European history today, 28 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: and I guess we'll just set it up this way. 29 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: In fourteen two, King Charles the six died after ruling 30 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: France for more than four decades forty years. He had 31 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: a couple of different nicknames. One of them was Charles 32 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,239 Speaker 1: the Mad, the Mad King, the Mad King, Charles the 33 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: Mad is he the one who who set everyone on fire? 34 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: And I'm sorry, that's that's that's not real. That's came 35 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,239 Speaker 1: of thrones. But man, what a great show. Just while 36 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:38,959 Speaker 1: we're at a pretty pretty dope show, I feel like 37 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 1: Winds of Winter, that next book is never going to 38 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:46,079 Speaker 1: come out. George R. Martin, if you're listening to do 39 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: whatever you want, man, Yeah, it's fine, you don't owe 40 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:53,079 Speaker 1: anything on. HBO will finish it. For you, it's fine, 41 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: oh that it probably is true. Charles the Mad, although 42 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: he did not burn an entire palace is worth of people, 43 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: was still u kind of wonky and we touched a 44 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,679 Speaker 1: little touched, Yeah, yeah, but a bit different. And he 45 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,079 Speaker 1: may have been the first person to exhibit what is 46 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: known as the glass delusion. What do you think about 47 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: this one? Nol, Yeah, I don't know. I mean, it's 48 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: sure as specific, like how would you arrive at this 49 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: particular conclusion that you are made of glass and would break? 50 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: So this delusion for our boy Charles was brought on 51 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: by melancholia, which is a fabulous film from from Lars Fontrier. 52 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: And I thought it was a made up word, but 53 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: it's actually what they used to refer to depression as um. 54 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: And this continued to pop up weirdly because, like I said, 55 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: it seems like such a specific malady tied to a 56 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: particular person and a very you know, particular kind of delusion. 57 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: But it kept popping up throughout history. Even Hippocrates, um, 58 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: you know, used the term melancholia in his Book of Aphorisms, 59 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: called it a long lasting fright or despondency and profound depression. Again, 60 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: the term over time became depression, right right. Uh. The 61 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: condition of melancholia affected people who are isolated, who are 62 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:21,840 Speaker 1: generally around a lot of people and ding ding ding 63 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:24,799 Speaker 1: ding ding. That sounds like something that could easily happen 64 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: to a queen or a king, especially just being surrounded 65 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: by you know, sycophants who just tell you what you 66 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,360 Speaker 1: want to hear, and being completely isolated from any real 67 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: meaningful let's say, human contact, maybe even not knowing enough 68 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: to differentiate to right. Scary, Yeah, it's super scary. So 69 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: some of these folks with melancholia in this time. Uh, 70 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: this condition produced this glass delusion, which was also accompanied 71 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 1: by something called photophobia, which is sensitivity to light. Yes, yeah, oh, 72 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,480 Speaker 1: and we should mentioned just for backg out for the 73 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: time here. Charles was born in thirteen sixty eight in 74 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: December and died in October fourteen twenty two. The mad 75 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: wasn't his only nickname. He was also called the beloved Man. 76 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: That's too two extremes there, That's very wise. You can 77 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: be mad and and beloved. Yeah, sure, I mean maybe 78 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: the madness was sort of like cookie and then it 79 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 1: didn't like he didn't like, you know, murder his his people, 80 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: in droves. He just was a little a little touched 81 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: and maybe some people found it charming, and he was convinced, 82 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: he was convinced that he was physically made of glass. 83 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:43,440 Speaker 1: He did some he had some very specific request or 84 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: demands from everyone in court, so he needed to have 85 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 1: special clothes. He demanded they have special clothes made for 86 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: his person to protect him from the possibility of shattering, 87 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: like reinforced with iron on the inside. I could picture 88 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: is almost like a strange kind of exoskeleton, right, And 89 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: he would not allow people to touch him because he 90 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: was afraid that they would break him into tiny smithereens. 91 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: And this is not something that was just a passing 92 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: fancy for him. It followed him throughout his entire life, right. 93 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:23,160 Speaker 1: And he was not the only member of the royalty 94 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:27,679 Speaker 1: with this same delusion. There was also Princess Alexandra Emily 95 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:32,920 Speaker 1: of Bavaria, and she believed that because she had swallowed 96 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: a glass grand piano as a child, that it is 97 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:41,160 Speaker 1: somehow turned her into fragile class. That's a bit of 98 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 1: a jump, yes, yeah, and you can hear this case 99 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: discussed that Princess Alexandrew's case discussed in detail in stuff 100 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: you missed in history class. Yeah, that you don't have 101 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: a so called the Princess who swallowed a glass piano. 102 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,720 Speaker 1: It's a very appropriate title. Let's just a backtrack here 103 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: one second. How does one acquire a tiny glass grand 104 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:07,839 Speaker 1: piano A? And and how do you accidentally swallow it? Well, 105 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: obviously you are trying to play it with your mouth. 106 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: You know. I once thought that I swallowed an entire 107 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: wrapped cough drop, and it turns out that I didn't 108 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: and actually do that. But I spent a whole day 109 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: convinced that I had swallowed a cough drop that was 110 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: a reco lack that was wrapped, and then I found 111 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: it later in my pocket, and I felt very foolish. 112 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: But I spent that day kind of probably feeling a 113 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: little bit how this princess might have felt, um, you know, 114 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: maybe a little bit less extreme, but you know, I 115 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: definitely felt something was off. I didn't feel like I 116 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: was made of reco luck, but you know, I was spooked. 117 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: And sometimes obsessive thoughts can haunt us. You know, imagine 118 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: if you've ever had I'm not equivocating these things entirely, 119 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: but just by way of comparison to imagine if you 120 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: ever had a song stuck in your head to the 121 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: point that it becomes torturous. Right, Oh, it's not that bad. 122 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 1: That song is not gonna get Second, it's not gonna happen. 123 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: Where does happen to me? And I can't live ever? No, no, no, 124 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: I'm gonna get you. You could try get you. Well, 125 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: hopefully you will have it. A we have a long, 126 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: long future ahead of that, uh of you trying to 127 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: get songs stuck in my head? Okay? And uh, the 128 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: thing is that when you have a song seck in 129 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: your head and uh, this thought that will not leave 130 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: this unwelcome visitor. Yeah, it's unwelcome visitor that shows up 131 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: in the house of your mind and makes itself at 132 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: home and begins altering the interior decoration. Uh. Compulsive thoughts, 133 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: thoughts that you don't want to have but you cannot escape, 134 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 1: can occur for very long periods of time. So this 135 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:57,719 Speaker 1: isn't just I guess I'm saying this because this is 136 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: not just restricted to the glass illusion, which by the way, 137 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: was one of the most prevalent delusions of its time. 138 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:06,839 Speaker 1: That's the whole point here. That's so interesting and a 139 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 1: lot of that is tied to the actual technology of glass. Yeah, 140 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: so it's spread to anything that contained glass as well. 141 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 1: There's a history of psychiatry paper from that dives into 142 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,719 Speaker 1: this type of melancholy and shows that other people had 143 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,959 Speaker 1: delusions where they thought they were specifically flasked or what 144 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: you and I would refer to as urinals in the 145 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: modern day, or oil lamps, or like any number of 146 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: other glass receptacles totally. But it was also the new 147 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,959 Speaker 1: invention of clear glass that is largely blamed for the 148 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 1: this delusion because people just had not seen this before 149 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: and it appeared as magic. It appeared as something utterly mystical, 150 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 1: and you know, you could probably see how something like 151 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: that might play into the delusion of people that are 152 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: possibly predisposed to those cyclical thoughts that you're talking about, 153 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: right exactly, Because according to the author of this paper, 154 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: Gil Speak the melancholiacs whose delusions manifested this way, it 155 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: was manifesting because it was a need to protect the body, 156 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:26,320 Speaker 1: and they were often also preoccupied with protecting their souls. 157 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: So in a layered way, in a layer K kind 158 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,080 Speaker 1: of way, this delusion might have been a side effect 159 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: or symptom consequence of the internal struggle dealing with the 160 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: metaphysical reality of death, and of course the overwhelming desire 161 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:48,559 Speaker 1: to avoid death at all costs, which is still very 162 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 1: understandable in Yeah, I'm into it as well, and these 163 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:56,840 Speaker 1: issues have not disappeared. You know, if you're isolated from 164 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,079 Speaker 1: people today and you're you're suffering from mental illnes this, 165 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: you can see how it would make sense to imagine 166 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: yourself as a material that's easily breakable, largely invisible, incredibly fragile. 167 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:12,839 Speaker 1: I mean, we're all living in a material world and 168 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: I'm a material girl made of material. In Speaks paper 169 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:29,599 Speaker 1: in this review, they address this concept of mortality and 170 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 1: there's a there's a fantastic quote here that builds after 171 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:40,959 Speaker 1: speak is placing this concept, this delusion in the context 172 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: of theologians reacting to the world of free thinkers versus 173 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 1: the strict boundaries of orthodoxy, right, like, is it is 174 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 1: it heretical to think that you were made of glass 175 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 1: in a world that is governed by strict religious monotheistic dogma, 176 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: where there is an absolute odd with an absolute plan. 177 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:07,720 Speaker 1: So people try to people try to address this both 178 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:12,560 Speaker 1: as a social conundrum man and internal struggle, and I'll 179 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 1: just read the quote here, and I want to see 180 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:17,559 Speaker 1: what you think. For those whose faith was strong enough 181 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 1: to shoulder the church's advocation to prepare oneself for dying, 182 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:25,440 Speaker 1: and there was prolific literature on this topic, the melancholic 183 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 1: delusions manifest itself in a fervent wish to be released 184 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 1: from this earthly form. James Howell is an example of 185 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: this is Reflections as he languished imprisoned embody, the manifestations 186 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 1: of the glass delusion. The soul is a spark of immortality. 187 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,959 Speaker 1: She is a divine light, and the body is but 188 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 1: a socket of clay that holds it in. Some this 189 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: light goes out with an ill favored stench, but others 190 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 1: have a save all to preserve it from making any 191 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: snuff at all. So this idea of like dying a 192 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:03,680 Speaker 1: good death choosing the way in which you die seems 193 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:07,559 Speaker 1: central to this class delusion, because now you're you know, 194 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 1: if you know you're going to die right, and you 195 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 1: have a spiritual belief that something happens after you die, 196 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,679 Speaker 1: and you live in a society that tells you more 197 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:19,839 Speaker 1: or less an if then scenario, you know, if you 198 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:22,079 Speaker 1: are a good person. If you follow the rules of 199 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 1: the church, then you will go to a paradise. You know. 200 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: It's it's an action of retaining control. Like I'm not 201 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: gonna I'm the King of France. I'm not gonna accidentally 202 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:36,199 Speaker 1: shatter because I shook someone's hand. I'm not done yet. 203 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: Build me a suit of I I see what you're saying, 204 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: because at first I was sort of like, it seems 205 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: like you'd be very out of control. But we've given 206 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 1: those powers to guard against a something that you could 207 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 1: more or less control than. Maybe that is a form 208 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 1: of that. It's interesting and actually, as it turns out, 209 00:13:55,760 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 1: this delusion carried on into the into there isn't even um. 210 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: There are quite a few cases of glass delusion up 211 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: into the eighteen eighties in the footnotes of a Servantes 212 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:19,080 Speaker 1: home called the Glass Graduate Um talking about contemporary cases 213 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: in in a Parisian asylum and doesn't have too much 214 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,920 Speaker 1: too much else on that, but it does discuss it. Um. 215 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 1: Do you do you do you know of any other 216 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:34,400 Speaker 1: case has been Yeah? Actually, uh so. Tchaikovsky, Peter Eliot 217 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 1: Tchaikovsky has some of his actions, some of his neurotic 218 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:45,000 Speaker 1: behavior had led people to think that he was suffering 219 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 1: something similar to the class delusion, at least in terms 220 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,920 Speaker 1: of his perception of his fertility. He had this deep set, 221 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 1: dead certain belief that if he did not hold his 222 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: chin while he was conducting, that his head would fall off, physically, 223 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 1: just fall off. And you know, people debate over whether 224 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 1: this legend is exaggerated, but it seems to have a basis. 225 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: In fact, he had said himself that he felt his 226 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: head would fall sideways unless he constantly fought to keep 227 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: it upright. So he's scared to conduct. And he said 228 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: that he also had a tremendous insecurity about conducting because 229 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,800 Speaker 1: he was aware that his condition might make him look weird, 230 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 1: if that makes sense. This was an eighteen sixties In 231 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: eighteen eighties six, he said that he was haunted by 232 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: this idea of conducting, but it followed him for quite 233 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 1: a while in his life. In that servant's story I 234 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: was talking about earlier, the Glass Graduate is actually a 235 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:57,400 Speaker 1: short story. Um The circumstances were that the hero of 236 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 1: the story eats a poisonous for quince and it's meant 237 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 1: to be an afrodisiac, but it actually triggers the delusion, 238 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 1: which I would I would think was probably inspired by 239 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:14,200 Speaker 1: the glass piano story of like ingesting something and then 240 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: having it, you know, having some kind of overpowering effect 241 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 1: on in your mind, you know the actual composition of 242 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: your body. And here's another interesting thing. So we said, 243 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 1: Tchaikovsky is uh suffering from something similar to this, but 244 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:34,200 Speaker 1: it's not specifically glass. The weird thing is, we have 245 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,840 Speaker 1: to ask ourselves what happened. What happened to this delusion 246 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 1: that was once relatively well known such that authors like 247 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 1: Servants were writing about it. The general assumption for a 248 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:50,560 Speaker 1: long time was that around the eighteen thirties, cases of 249 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: glass delusion disappear from the literature, from the medical records, 250 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: and at first glance, it would be easy to assume 251 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,600 Speaker 1: that society and culture had changed so extremely over time 252 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 1: such that people who are suffering from mental illness would 253 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,720 Speaker 1: no longer manifest this particular delusion. Going back to the 254 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:13,360 Speaker 1: earlier point about new technology, maybe it's a case where 255 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 1: someone believes they are made of a different new substance, right, 256 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,119 Speaker 1: just for the sake of argument, carbon fiber. You know, 257 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,200 Speaker 1: we don't know if there's an actual case, but the 258 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,879 Speaker 1: point is, like a newer material might have launched the 259 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 1: same thing. However, a psychiatrist named Andy Lemaine at Leaden 260 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:38,119 Speaker 1: in the Netherlands uncovered more cases and he felt that 261 00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:45,119 Speaker 1: he was finding an authentic case of genuine glass delusion, 262 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,919 Speaker 1: and his research in this field at the psychiatric hospital 263 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,760 Speaker 1: in Leyden where he was serving as director led him 264 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 1: to discover lost cases recorded after that eighteen thirties disappearance 265 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 1: day Uh he found a lecture in three from an 266 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: Edinburgh mental hospital that cited the symptoms of three female patients, 267 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: and one of them was convinced that her legs and 268 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: her back, part of her back, all of her back, 269 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 1: we don't know, but her legs in her back were 270 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 1: made of glass. She had such a fear of this, 271 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:26,639 Speaker 1: of this condition that just like Charles the six, she 272 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 1: would not allow people to touch her. Nurses could not 273 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,959 Speaker 1: get near her to change her clothes or help her. 274 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:34,680 Speaker 1: And this, you know, this is an interesting thing. I 275 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:38,000 Speaker 1: don't think we mentioned people who have the glass delusion. 276 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,959 Speaker 1: I think that what's interesting is that the glass they 277 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: imagine comprising their body is much more fragile than actual 278 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 1: real world glass, because you could touch a glass were 279 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 1: we hold glasses and drink out of them. Yeah, I 280 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: mean it's it's a it's a it's more durable than 281 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:56,000 Speaker 1: you give it credit for. I mean, most of the 282 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: drinking glasses at my house there were Mason jars, and 283 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:00,960 Speaker 1: I dropped those all the time, and they over time 284 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,800 Speaker 1: do develop little cracks, but they don't usually just explode. 285 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 1: What if? What if these people were made of pyrex? Though, 286 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:12,120 Speaker 1: you know what happens in pyrex, drops everywhere, explodes everywhere. 287 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: Pretty wild. But then this guy Lemaine and were, I 288 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:18,119 Speaker 1: don't know, we're being a little liberal with his pronunciation. 289 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: It's l A M E I J. And I'm assuming 290 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:24,400 Speaker 1: this soft J. I couldn't find anyone speaking it online, 291 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:28,119 Speaker 1: But we are doing our best. Um. He later discovered 292 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:32,120 Speaker 1: a young man at a clinic in Letten, the university 293 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:36,640 Speaker 1: clinic where he worked, who specifically said he was made 294 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:40,120 Speaker 1: out of glass. He was so jazzed about the opportunity 295 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:45,560 Speaker 1: to talk to only like modern day case of this 296 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:49,080 Speaker 1: that that had been found for decades. Uh, and was 297 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:52,359 Speaker 1: incredibly excited. So he dropped everything he was doing, he says, 298 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: and he you know, high tailed it and and made 299 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,160 Speaker 1: this happen. So he hung out with this gentleman for sometime, 300 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: and he did, in fact confirm that the guy believe 301 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 1: that he was made of glass. There's a fabulous quote 302 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,600 Speaker 1: from this this patient. They're having a conversation and the 303 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 1: patient points to a window in the room where they're meeting, 304 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,720 Speaker 1: and he asked the professor what could you see? What 305 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,360 Speaker 1: can you see? This is positively cinematic, but it really 306 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: as man that that should be a this should be 307 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 1: a moment. So uh, Lemaine says, well, he gives it 308 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,320 Speaker 1: the old college. Go, you know, a gold college. Try. 309 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,919 Speaker 1: He says, I see a street, I see some cars, 310 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: I see some more buildings, and I see people walking past. 311 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,560 Speaker 1: And then a moment of silence filled the room. Ah, 312 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,560 Speaker 1: you missed the glass in the window. You didn't see it, 313 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: but it is there. That's me. I'm there and I'm 314 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: not there like the glass in the window. Spooky. Yeah, yes, spooky. 315 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 1: And you know what, not to pat ourselves on the 316 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,199 Speaker 1: back too much, but well done, right, well I think 317 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:02,399 Speaker 1: we said that anything um so that on your party. Thanks, thanks, 318 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: I can't take all the credit. He didn't want to. 319 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:08,880 Speaker 1: He wanted to be very careful when he was speaking 320 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:13,320 Speaker 1: with this patient. He didn't want to accidentally let's say 321 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,320 Speaker 1: go too far, too fast, and distort the conversation by 322 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,680 Speaker 1: right out opening up with well, maybe you have ideas 323 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: of fragility and transparency and they're manifesting in this way, 324 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,359 Speaker 1: you know. And this led to the class in the 325 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,680 Speaker 1: window conversation, which again is just I can see it, 326 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 1: you know, I can see that film. So Lemaine continued 327 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: his conversation and ultimately he he came to the belief that, 328 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 1: based on some of the life events the patient told 329 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: him about, including a recent accident, he believed that the 330 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:55,840 Speaker 1: class delusion was, in a way an attempt to regain privacy. 331 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:58,920 Speaker 1: What's interesting about this patient is that he felt that 332 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: he could switch it on and off, so he wasn't 333 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: stuck forever like Glass. But that's cool. He felt like 334 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:07,479 Speaker 1: he could become it, so that that kind of goes 335 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:09,680 Speaker 1: back to what you're saying earlier about how you know, 336 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,320 Speaker 1: in the early cases of glass illusion, it almost manifested 337 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: itself as in some as some strange form of control, 338 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:20,240 Speaker 1: kind of like to be able to control your circumstances 339 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 1: um or control the manner of your own death or 340 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 1: something like that. I think that's really interesting, and maybe 341 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:30,680 Speaker 1: then this means in some ways, this this feeling is 342 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: something that comes from the extreme end of the social 343 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 1: anxiety scale, because we've all had social anxiety at some point, right, Like, 344 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: I'm assuming I don't want to put you on the 345 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,040 Speaker 1: spot again based on the top of our show. Having 346 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,560 Speaker 1: it right now, buddy, you're having it right now. It's 347 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:52,159 Speaker 1: gonna be okay now of course, of course, you know, 348 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,639 Speaker 1: but you got you gotta kind of like, uh, you 349 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: play little little tricks with yourself if you have it 350 00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:59,119 Speaker 1: to kind of like, um, get rid of it. And 351 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: I don't know, like the so this seems like a 352 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:05,119 Speaker 1: very extreme case, but I could certainly see it as 353 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,840 Speaker 1: being some sort of deep seated you know device. And 354 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,399 Speaker 1: to take a phrase from the uh Simpsons, one of 355 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: the one of my favorite words they use, we can 356 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,560 Speaker 1: the big end this phenomenon, because you see the glass 357 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: delusion feels very specific. And I love the point you 358 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: made about technology because it was new at the time. 359 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:29,320 Speaker 1: And so now the next question is are there other 360 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:32,320 Speaker 1: things that function in the same way? Is there another 361 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,440 Speaker 1: example of a new material? Right? I think it used 362 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: carbon fiber just because spoiler alert, I knew that probably 363 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,920 Speaker 1: wasn't true, but why not, like like cotton candy or something, 364 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: you know, like where does where? Where does it end? Yeah, 365 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:50,800 Speaker 1: in the nineteenth century, when cement became a popular building material, 366 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,200 Speaker 1: there were people who began to have this belief that 367 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: they were made of cement. And I wonder if it's 368 00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:00,960 Speaker 1: the same thing as uh, you know, people who believe 369 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 1: that their minds are being hacked in the information age. 370 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:07,200 Speaker 1: That's a good point, dude, that's a I mean, it's 371 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,400 Speaker 1: a scary point because again we have to be conscious 372 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,680 Speaker 1: and aware of the fact that just because somebody was 373 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,879 Speaker 1: born in a different point in time doesn't mean they 374 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 1: were in any way less intelligent. I got the same equipment, 375 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 1: for sure. And there's just different contexts and different historical 376 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: periods that lead people to you know, experience things different 377 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:30,639 Speaker 1: and have different anxieties that are tied to their surroundings. 378 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 1: And I love the connection with technology and with you know, 379 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 1: being hacked or you know being like surveillance, the idea 380 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,359 Speaker 1: of like being surveilled all the time, with you know, 381 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 1: our smartphones and our computers listening to us and such. So, 382 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:43,920 Speaker 1: I don't know, what do you guys think what would 383 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,119 Speaker 1: be a modern day glass delusion? Can you guys think 384 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,879 Speaker 1: think of any equivalence. We would love to hear it 385 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:52,400 Speaker 1: once she email us a native gack Yeah remember gack, 386 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:56,159 Speaker 1: I was more of a floam guy. Yeah, like floam 387 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:58,920 Speaker 1: and my my kid is really into like kinetic sand 388 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:00,639 Speaker 1: and stuff like that. But yeah, what would be a 389 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,359 Speaker 1: modern equivalent with what do you think about this idea 390 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:08,320 Speaker 1: of materials magical seeming materials? Is there even anything that 391 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:12,440 Speaker 1: could infect our minds or fascinate us in such a 392 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:16,360 Speaker 1: way that it could cause a delusion of that magnitude? 393 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:18,720 Speaker 1: Let us know. Send us an email ridiculous at how 394 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,439 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. And we do want to end 395 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 1: on a very important note. Although we were talking about 396 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:28,359 Speaker 1: a fascinating phenomenon in the past, we are not in 397 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 1: any way ridiculing or casting aspersion on people who find 398 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:36,520 Speaker 1: themselves struggling with mental illness today. If you have concerns 399 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 1: about yourself or loved when we are lucky enough to 400 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:40,880 Speaker 1: live in a day and age where there are numerous 401 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:45,000 Speaker 1: free resources available, and please make use of them. And 402 00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:47,640 Speaker 1: I don't want us to end on a down note. 403 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: It's just important to know that you're not alone. And 404 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:55,400 Speaker 1: I also want to know gack or floam, I hope 405 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:57,919 Speaker 1: this is not the issue that finally divides a sureparable 406 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,560 Speaker 1: Egal Flak perhaps Flat actually combine the tune that's way 407 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:06,280 Speaker 1: better than gome Let's go. I don't even want to know. 408 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: I don't want to know either, But if you feel 409 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 1: like you have a good pitch for what we should 410 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:13,480 Speaker 1: identify as go, you can let us know what the 411 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:18,000 Speaker 1: same email address. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, 412 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:23,480 Speaker 1: and Twitter. As always, we're still vision boarding away for 413 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:25,720 Speaker 1: our future Pinterest page, and if you feel like it, 414 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 1: um feel compelled to do so, throw us a review 415 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: on iTunes. It helps kind of get the show up 416 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 1: there and have more people find out about it. So um, 417 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,400 Speaker 1: unless unless you you absolutely can't stand us, in which 418 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:38,880 Speaker 1: case just keep it to yourself. But we are glad 419 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:40,720 Speaker 1: that you're listening to us just the same, and we 420 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: hope that you'll join us for the next episode of 421 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:44,800 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History. Goodbye, everyone,