WEBVTT - Listener Mail: Our Blessed Saint Poochie 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.280 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:10.680 My Heart Radio. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:14.960 Listener mail. My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick, 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:17.800 and we're uh. I guess this is our first batch 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:20.560 of from the mail bag since the holiday. Yeah, how 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:23.360 was your holiday, Joe? Oh? It was good? That was yours? 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:26.079 It was it was good, laid back, you know. I 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:28.920 got to got to do a lot more miniature painting 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:31.680 than usual. I got to do a little uh writing, 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:34.599 just for fun. So that was nice. What what miniatures 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:36.840 did you paint? Let's see? I did? Oh? I did 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.000 uh three cpo and R two D two three cpo? 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:45.519 Is that like? I'm sorry? R two and cpo? What 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:47.519 is it? What's you go with to Jordan's names? Yeah? 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:52.199 I love uh yeah, no, I painted those guys up. 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:54.520 I got those for Christmas as a gift, along with 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:57.840 their little pot that they land in. Oh that's wonderful. 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:02.080 Well are you ready to jump right into these messages? 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:04.720 Let's do it. What do we got? What is the 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:12.440 mail bot Carney you have for us today? It looks 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:16.040 like this first one is about our episode on holiday Inventions. 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:19.160 I think these were mostly inventions related to Christmas trees. 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:23.360 This comes from Brett. Brett says, Hello, gentlemen, I was 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.160 recently listening to your Holiday Inventions episode when you were 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:29.679 discussing a particular antique tree ornament. It was one that 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:32.600 bubbled when it got warm from a light. I think 0:01:32.640 --> 0:01:34.640 it was Joe who mentioned that it was filled with 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:39.280 methylene chloride. This got my attention. As an organic chemist, 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:43.440 we use methylene chloride or dichloro methane d c M daily. 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.520 D c M is an ideal solvent for many organic compounds. 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:51.320 It's volatility and hence low boiling point and ability to 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:55.240 dissolve many organic compounds make readily make it ideal for 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:58.040 our line of work. To help convince ourselves that we 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:01.800 were able to synthesize a desired compound, we used instruments 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:05.280 such as nuclear magnetic resonance or n MR to help 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:09.399 determine a structure's identity. D c M easily is removed 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:14.200 under reduced pressure under vacuum, therefore reducing the probability of 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:18.680 contaminating and maybe maybe overlapping with the desired peak. D 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.560 c M feels very cool when it touches your glove 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:24.920 quickly penetrating it and entering through the skin, providing a 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:28.160 tingling sensation that we try not to let this happen. 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:31.680 One thing I find amazing of a solvent such as 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:35.240 d c M is its weight. Having two chlorine atoms 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:38.000 attached to a carbon center. You can feel the weight 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:41.919 difference compared to something like isopropanol per volume, and an 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:46.240 even heavier solvent that is closely related is chloroform basically 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:49.000 d c M with an extra chlorine, and you can 0:02:49.080 --> 0:02:52.560 really feel the effect of the extra chlorine. Uh, the 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:56.239 effect of one atom difference. It always fascinates me where 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:59.880 a conversation will go during your episodes Organic synthesis during 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.480 Holiday Inventions episode why Not. That is the power of 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.799 words and thought. Thank you as always for providing such 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:10.640 thought provoking content. Happy holidays, Brett, Well, thanks for getting 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.040 in touch Brett. The power of words and thought. I 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:16.680 have never thought to uh to summarize our ideology that way. 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:19.120 Maybe that's what it is. We just follow the words 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:21.760 and the thought. But yeah, I appreciate hearing from Brett. Here. 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:24.720 This this listener knows their chemistry. This, this was a 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:32.399 delightful email. All right, here's another one. This one comes 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:36.200 to us from Kate and it goes as follows. Dear 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:38.640 Robert and Joe, I just finished listening to your episode 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:41.320 on heavy water, and I was really excited to hear 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:44.680 you mention the kinetic isotope effect. I am a research 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:49.120 scientist and our lab uses D two oh frequently um 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.880 in our study of enzyme mechanics. One of the truly 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:56.680 amazing aspects of the enzyme chemistry is the coupling of 0:03:56.720 --> 0:04:01.279 the movements of electrons and protons hydrogen adam without their electrons. 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:04.920 The coupling has the effect of lowering the activation energy 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:08.080 of key steps, helping reactions occur faster and more efficiently. 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:11.800 By observing enzyme turnover in H two O and D 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:14.920 two oh, this kind of coupling can be identified. This 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:18.400 work is highly relevant both to biochemical research and to 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:21.719 the design of new catalysts. Right now, chemists are working 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:25.680 on engineering this kind of step into synthetic catalysts, and 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:29.840 understanding how enzymes work helps guide their work. Our lab 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:33.640 also uses aqua regia as we do work with nanoparticles 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:36.279 as well, and acquareggia is the only thing that will 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:39.359 clean our glassware. So this episode hit, a hit a 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.400 double when it comes to my lab experience. Thanks for 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:44.880 all the fun and informative episodes. You guys keep me 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:48.560 company when I am doing the routine upkeep of laboratory life. 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:52.719 All the best, kate ps. You guys should think about 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:56.360 doing an episode on gold nanoparticles. They have really interesting 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:59.640 modern applications as well as a fascinating historical aspect. The 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:02.479 red color in some stained class was prepared from a 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:05.760 mix of gold salts and tannic acid, which it turns 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:08.240 out is a way to make nano clusters of gold 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:12.040 that I used in my graduate work. Interesting listeners. Bringing 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:15.280 the chemistry today, bringing the gold as Yeah, I would. 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:17.640 I can't remember if we've done it as a designated 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:20.360 episode on gold before. It seems like we should have. 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:23.120 Maybe we did and I forgot it, but either way, 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:25.720 we should do it. I mean, the show has been 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:28.839 going a long time, but uh yeah, I often wonder 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:30.839 when I wanted to do a new episode, I'm like, oh, 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:34.120 was this done like eight years ago or something that 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:35.920 would be hard to figure out. It doesn't even matter 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:37.760 if it was done eight years ago. You know, it's 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.280 like there's gonna be enough new stuff to cover. That's 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:42.120 always my approach. It's like, if we did it before, 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.400 it's probably worth doing again because either there's new science, 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:49.400 there are new wrinkles, there's stuff that we didn't find before. Uh, 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:52.479 you know, it's it's it's similar to the whole situation. 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.640 Remember early on, when these podcasts were just starting out 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:58.400 under the house Stuff Works banner, everyone was sort of 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:02.119 hyper alert to, oh, should we cover this subject because 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:04.800 stuff you should know just did this subject, or history 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:06.960 did just did this subject. And it took a while 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:09.440 for everyone to realize, of course, we're gonna cover subjects 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:11.800 that other people have covered. Sometimes we're gonna hit the 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:14.000 lotto and they're gonna publish in the same week without 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:16.880 anybody knowing about them. But everybody's gonna bring their own 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:20.239 men to the to the information. You know, they're gonna 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:25.040 find different areas to focus on and have different um, 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:28.640 different side thoughts on what they're discussing. Yeah, I know 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:31.080 that's happened to us before, where we published an episode 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.240 on something the same week that Josh and Chuck did, 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:35.799 and then people ask us, did you do this on purpose? 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.200 Why would we do that on purpose? Now we just 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:41.039 we just don't know what the other shows are doing. 0:06:41.080 --> 0:06:43.919 We don't like share calendars or anything, but we should 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:51.640 win something when we line up like that. Okay, this 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:55.960 next message is about fingernails. It comes from Brent. Brent says, Hi, 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:59.160 Robert and Joe. First of all, I love the podcast 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:01.880 and listen to it instantly while working on art projects, 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:05.680 doing chores, playing video games, are just driving around. I 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.320 find every topic fascinating and love to learn new things 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:10.360 from you guys every day. You're both a delight to 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:13.520 listen to. Thank you brand if I remember correctly. In 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:16.520 one of the Fingernail episodes, Robert mentioned the idea of 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:20.120 a superhero who uses their fingernails as a way of 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:23.480 measuring how much they have used their powers. Well, I 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:25.520 don't have an example of a hero. I do have 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:29.800 an example of a villain. And uh, brannan, I want 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:32.320 to say, correct me if I'm wrong. I think this 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:36.320 was not in original Fingernail episodes, but it was in. 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:39.560 It was response to another listener mail that brought up 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:42.800 a story from Uh. I believe it was from Maori 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:46.920 legend about a god or a figure who uses their 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:50.240 fingernails to to keep a fire going. Yes, yeah, and 0:07:50.280 --> 0:07:51.880 I just said, well, that would be a great sort 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:55.320 of visual um thing to work with in a a 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:58.800 in a modern superhero tale. Yeah yeah, so BRN goes 0:07:58.840 --> 0:08:01.320 on and says, warning, your nail trauma ahead. But it's 0:08:01.360 --> 0:08:04.840 just like one paragraph. I was recently reading a Japanese 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:08.480 manga called Chainsaw Man, and in one of the story arcs, 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:10.360 a villain appears who has made a pact with a 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:13.320 demon for every time she wants to use the power 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:17.200 of the demon, she must sacrifice one fingernail. I thought 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:19.520 it was very interesting to have the limitations of a 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:23.080 power be the amount of fingernails you have and the 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:25.640 amount of time it would take for them to grow back. 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:28.480 This character isn't a very prominent one, but the moment 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:30.520 I saw her, I thought of your show anyway, thank 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:34.240 you for all you do, Brent. Interesting. I gotta look 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:36.920 up Chainsaw Man. I'm hooked by the title alone. I 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:40.120 like that. I'm assuming it's like Chainsaw Man has like 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:43.719 some chainsaw attributes. But the vision of it that I 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:45.400 would I would hope for one that I kind of 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:47.400 I would idly think about in the past was like, 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:49.839 what have you had a person or an entity that 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:52.960 was made entirely out of chainsaws, but not not the 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:56.719 like engine of the chainsaw, but just like the intangible 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:59.760 nous of the chainsaw, you know, like there's something to 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:03.560 it chainsaw that is beyond like any specific part of it. 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:08.120 It is just like the roaring gears of the thing. Yeah. Well, 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:10.880 in like a gnostic sense the same way, how like 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:14.520 God can have different emanations of qualities that are themselves 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:19.160 creators of planes of existence, the chainsaw can produce divine emanations. 0:09:19.559 --> 0:09:22.760 So there's like a quality of chainsaw nests that is 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:25.280 its own deity. And I gotta say, I just looked 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:27.920 up chainsaw Man, and what I like about chainsaw Man, 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:30.720 having never seen him before, is he doesn't just have 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:33.600 chainsaws for hands. He also has a chainsaw for a head. 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:36.199 That's a good touch. Oh, I'm looking at it now 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:40.600 as well. And yes, this is solid. I approved this message. 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:42.520 If it had just been hands, I don't know if 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:44.080 I would have been with it. But the head, the 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:52.760 head thing seals the deal. Yeah. All right, here's another 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:55.319 one for us. This one comes to us from Raphael 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:58.400 and it has to do with our episodes on Spinning. 0:09:59.000 --> 0:10:01.240 Dear Robert and Joe, thank you for your amazing podcast 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:04.360 every week. I look for to your unique discussions connecting science, culture, 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:07.760 and history. As a professional scientists, maintaining my sense of 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:10.880 wondering curiosity about the world is very important in my career, 0:10:10.960 --> 0:10:13.520 and you help stretch the boundaries of my imagination far 0:10:13.559 --> 0:10:17.240 outside my area of expertise. After listening for several years, 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:19.160 I am finally taking the plunge on writing in after 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:22.040 Robert's call for comments on the utility of spinning in 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:25.760 combat situations. My wife and I have participated in combat 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.240 sports or practice martial arts for most of our lives. 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:32.959 Though having trained with truly dedicated professional instructors and Olympic medalists, 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:36.600 we cannot think of ourselves as anything more than enthusiastic amateurs. 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:40.240 What perspective I cannot offer you in depth I can 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:43.760 offer you in breadth of experience. I ask your question 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:46.480 about spinning in combat on our weekly Zoom call with 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:49.760 two of our close friends who are also experienced martial artists. 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:52.160 Between the four of us, we have seventy plus years 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:54.600 of experience across a diverse set of martial arts and 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:58.880 combat sports. Initial reactions to the idea of spinning strikes 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:02.600 and combat were mixed too incredulous. After some discussion, our 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:06.320 general consensus was that spinning does have combat utility, but 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:09.240 not in the ways presented in many films and video games. 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:11.320 Before I get much further, I will point out something 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:14.640 that may seem obvious when evaluating anything in martial arts 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:18.200 or self defense. The effectiveness of any particular technique is 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:21.400 always dependent on the specific context in which it is used. 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:25.720 Particularly in martial arts and sports that includes competitive sparring. UH, 0:11:25.800 --> 0:11:28.559 the rules and restrictions in place for safety and that 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.760 define the scoring system will heavily influence the combat style 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:34.600 and what is considered to be effective. This is certainly 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:38.360 the case in competition taekwondo, which seems like one of 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:42.760 the modern martial arts that employs the most spinning strikes. Thankfully, 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:45.880 even modern m m A includes rules that prohibit many 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:48.600 of the most effective and damaging attacks that would in 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:52.080 reality be the best survival options in a lethal self 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:56.240 defense situation. Modern combat sports also generally prohibit the best 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:59.640 self defense techniques of all running away as fast as possible. 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:04.600 That would be interesting if that was always an option, 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:06.880 you know, right, if that was like a strategy you 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:10.760 could deploy in the ring yeah, Oh he's trying to 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:14.640 He's trying the runaway. I don't know how that works. 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:17.480 But back to the outcome of our conversation, we all 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:20.600 agree that that full spinning strikes used at longer fighting 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:22.760 distances the kind of moves you mentioned on the show 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:25.600 are a pretty bad idea. In most one on one combat, 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:29.120 spinning punches and kicks can generate significant power, but require 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:32.559 you to sacrifice balance, stable footing, and present your back. 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:36.839 If initiated at standard kicking and punching ranges, they are 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:41.040 easily anticipated and therefore countered. Spinning kicks in particular, also 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:44.520 require a high level of skill, athleticism, and flexibility. A 0:12:44.559 --> 0:12:47.560 martial artist can achieve the same level of striking power 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:50.360 with none of the drawbacks using half turns instead of 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.679 full rotations. Many attacks that appear to be spins are 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:58.200 actually multiple half turned strikes in sequence. There are situations, 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:01.199 such as the one represented in the video of Joaquin 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:05.280 Buckley's competition knockout kick, where a spinning move can help 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:09.120 you escape a bad situation or attack from an unexpected angle. 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.560 Someone with sufficient skill might use spinning strikes effectively in 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:16.560 the right circumstances, but such instances seem like exceptions that 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:19.640 prove the rule, and they go onto to share some 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:22.160 more details that we don't have time to get into here, 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:25.960 but basically getting into say spotting techniques that are a 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:29.040 part of everyday training exercises, just how you how you 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:33.960 utilize a spin, But they continue quote everyone also agreed 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:37.200 spins are very useful in multiple attack or situations. When 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:40.200 facing multiple opponents, it is all about maintaining mobility and 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:43.079 preventing yourself from being overwhelmed. Spins are a useful way 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:46.040 to dodge, reorient in a new direction, and quickly spot 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:49.000 other opponents or escape opportunities. If you want to see 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:51.599 this in action, just watch a basketball, American football, or 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:55.839 rugby game. Spins are frequently employed to break past opponents 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:58.760 or dodge tackles. The utility of spinning to deal with 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:02.360 multiple attackers applies to armed as well as on armed combat. 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:05.400 Some of the katana and short staff exercises I know 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.360 include spinning footwork based on the assumption that you have 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:12.720 to quickly reient to deal with armed attackers from multiple directions. 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:16.240 The closest thing to a Tasmanian Devil style spin is 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:20.320 a stationary three sixty degree spin combined with a horizontal 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:23.680 sword slash performed at the very end of some sword kata. 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:26.840 My understanding is that this is not meant as any 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:30.640 sort of directed attack. Rather, you are checking every direction 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:33.120 for new opponents after you think you have defeated your 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:36.440 initial attackers. The sword slash is meant to give any 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:39.640 new attack or a reason to pause and maybe by yourself, 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:43.640 a potentially life saving moment. In the end, we concluded 0:14:43.680 --> 0:14:46.680 that the obvious athleticism and easily visualized nature of spinning 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:48.520 punches and kicks is the reason that we see so 0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:50.920 many of them in movies and video games. Just like 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:54.680 the reverse grip use on long blades and punching armored 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:58.360 opponents with unprediccted fists, spinning strikes are dramatic and fun 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:01.400 to watch, but probably best left on the screen anyway. 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:04.200 I hope this email provides a useful perspective. Our group 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:06.600 certainly had fun discussing the topic. Thanks for all your 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:10.840 great episodes, Raphael. Wow that was some depth, Rafael. Yeah, 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:12.360 that was great And like I said, we didn't even 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:14.480 have time to read all of that one but on 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:18.800 the show here. But yeah, I greatly appreciate folks chiming 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:22.080 in with their expertise, in this case dealing with spinning 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:32.800 in combat. All right, this next message comes to us 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:36.840 from Pearl, also about spinning. Pearl says, Hi, Robert and Joe, 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:39.520 in your episodes about spinning, you mentioned spinning in ballet 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:43.080 and separately, the feeling of being entranced as a spectator 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:47.520 of spinning persons, especially the Sufi dervishes. I wanted to 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:49.880 bring up a famous piece of ballet spinning lore that 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:53.640 will bridge these two ideas, where the trance state induced 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:57.320 by watching someone spin actually moves the story forward. It's 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:01.000 also explored in Aronofsky's Black Swan, but since the whole 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:03.880 film is one long, bad trip, this particular bit of 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:07.720 psychedelic spinning gets lost in the mix. In the classical 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:11.400 ballet Swan Lake, a crucial moment in the story comes 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:14.000 at the end of the second act, when the deceptive 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:18.920 black Swan o'deal secures the devotion of Prince Siegfried. She 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:23.119 accomplishes this by executing a series of consecutive whirling movements 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.960 on point over the course of thirty two counts of 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:29.760 feverish music, known as the Black Swan coda at the 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:33.320 rate of at least one spin per count. In modern productions, 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.520 this almost always comes in the form of thirty two 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:40.720 fuette turns French for whip, a type of pirouet in 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:43.440 which one leg is extended out to the side and 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:47.080 pulled back into the body, quickly creating the force necessary 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:50.680 to whip the body around on its axis. This movement 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.560 is done without ever placing the working leg, the one 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:56.920 doing the whipping motion, back down on the ground, enabling 0:16:56.960 --> 0:16:59.800 the dancer to execute many more turns than would otherwise 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:03.120 be possible within the same amount of music. The Prince 0:17:03.440 --> 0:17:07.080 and the audience is so entranced by the spinning that 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:10.040 all doubts about o'deal are dispelled, and he commits his 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:13.320 heart to her, now actually believing that she and the 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:16.920 white Swan odette are one and the same. After all, 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:20.399 how many enchanted mutant swan women could there possibly be 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:24.639 within one forest. The same idea has been used in 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:28.920 other ballets, and super quick, super athletic pirouetts are standard 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:32.520 practice for today's dancers, but watching the Black Swan coda 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:36.720 is still a mind altering experience, even for seasoned patrons 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:39.280 of the art form. I tried and failed to keep 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:42.320 this letter short. Ballet is a world full of weird, 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:45.439 morbid fairy tales and bizarre physical feats that need a 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.320 lot of explaining. My personal connection is that I've been 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.840 dancing ballet as a hobby since age three, including several 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:55.760 years on point. That's almost three decades, and I'm still fascinated. 0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:59.600 Love the show Pearl and then Pearl attaches a video 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:03.040 that we can watch. Very cool. Yeah, in this video, 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:12.040 the turns got us on and on. It's unbelievable. All right, 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:13.879 here's another one for us. This is perfect because it 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:17.439 also deals with Russian storytelling. This one concerns the Leshy. 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:21.640 Dear Robert and Joe, I hope you're enjoying the holiday season. 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:23.560 I'm a tremendous fan of your show. The first episode 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:25.960 I ever listened to was about Jupiter's Moons a few 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:29.680 years back. I was hooked after that. I so enjoyed 0:18:29.680 --> 0:18:32.600 the episode about the leshy. It inspired my husband and 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:35.320 I to watch the folk tale season of The Storyteller 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:38.480 so great I waited until closer to Christmas to check 0:18:38.480 --> 0:18:41.560 out the Russian movie you mentioned. Frosty a k a. 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:46.119 Jack frost a k a Morozko. This movie is a trip. 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:48.200 I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, 0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:50.920 but the more it sinks in, the more I realized. 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:53.880 I love this movie. It is so colorful and imaginative. 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:57.639 The characters, songs, costumes, and effects are also great. I 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:02.119 definitely recommend the original Russian movie with English subtitles. Dubbing 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.560 just won't do, as you won't get to hear the 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:10.960 tiny soft voice of Nastia or um Ivanusca's hey Ulus. 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:15.240 I'm not sure I'm saying that right. Uluiyu song. The 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:18.280 Bobby Yaga kills it with her costume and crazy faces 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:21.520 and laughs. Father Frost costume is out of this world. 0:19:21.800 --> 0:19:26.040 The step Sister and Uh and the Quarter are also hilarious. 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:28.760 I think some may not understand this movie, but if 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:30.320 you think of it as a Wizard of Oz or 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:33.359 Alison Wonderland from another culture, it makes sense. I think 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:36.719 this is one of my new Winter classics. Also, I 0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:39.440 often think of the the Lesti story about the guy 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:41.560 who brought the Lessie to a wedding as a guest, 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:44.920 so ridiculous. I cracked myself up just thinking about it. Yeah, 0:19:45.000 --> 0:19:47.280 that was a good one. That was It's just I 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:50.520 love the the weirdness of so many of those tales. 0:19:50.520 --> 0:19:53.160 And and again, uh, if anyone's interested to go back, 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:56.480 I mentioned the author who has compiled so many of 0:19:56.480 --> 0:20:01.840 these stories, and that book was tremendous. Anyway, continue, Um, 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:03.800 thank you so much for the wonderful podcast. It has 0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:06.760 ignited so many fun adventures and explorations for me. Also, 0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:10.200 you'll have the best podcast voices just saying happy holidays, 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:16.399 Leslie in Seattle, illegal flattery. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:19.680 Jack Frost, because again, it is a beautiful movie. Most, 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:21.479 I feel like, well maybe not most, but a lot 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:24.720 of people in the US are probably only familiar with 0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:27.399 it from Mystery Sense Theater three thousand. But it is 0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:30.080 in and of itself just a beautifully made film with 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:32.240 a lot of wonderful stuff in it. So um, yeah, 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:35.479 I highly recommend folks check it out during the winter months. 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:40.119 I agree. Yeah, Um, it is both funny but also uh, 0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:42.120 you know, if if you put yourself in the right 0:20:42.200 --> 0:20:45.159 mindset and experience it as a as a as a 0:20:45.200 --> 0:20:47.479 fresh fallen snow, you know, like it's sort of like 0:20:47.960 --> 0:20:51.520 a new babe in the world. It's it's quite wonderful, 0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:57.320 not a princess, a queen and Leslie thank you, yeah, 0:20:57.680 --> 0:21:05.280 far too kind. I thought maybe we should wrap up 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:08.720 here with a question that may be relevant, because I 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:11.879 can't imagine we will stop using this point of comparison 0:21:11.880 --> 0:21:14.400 as we go on. So Taylor, writing in about Weird 0:21:14.440 --> 0:21:18.520 How Cinema, Taylor says, hey, Rob and Joe Taylor from 0:21:18.520 --> 0:21:21.160 Salt Lake here with a simple question, could you define 0:21:21.280 --> 0:21:24.600 pucci for me? This time has come up several times 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:28.520 in recent episodes, referencing both Sonic the Hedgehog and the 0:21:28.600 --> 0:21:32.000 obnoxious teenage son from Ghost in the Machine. I don't 0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:35.280 know if it's a generational gap or a cultural moment 0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:38.600 I missed. I'm twenty five, but I've never heard this word, 0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:41.280 and I now have burning curiosity to be looped in 0:21:41.640 --> 0:21:44.000 since I don't know how it's spelled in this context. 0:21:44.119 --> 0:21:46.879 Urban Dictionary has been less than helpful. So maybe you 0:21:46.880 --> 0:21:50.320 can help a brother out with a little flaming barrel etymology. 0:21:50.359 --> 0:21:52.840 As always, thanks for doing what you do and filling 0:21:52.880 --> 0:21:55.560 the duller moments of my days with weird, thoughtful, edifying 0:21:55.640 --> 0:21:58.359 ear candy. I'm really enjoying Weird How Cinema and the 0:21:58.400 --> 0:22:03.080 recent diversity of content the best tailor. Yeah, I figured 0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:06.760 this is probably worth explaining for other listeners who are 0:22:06.760 --> 0:22:09.440 not as deeply rooted in Simpson's lore as we are, 0:22:09.480 --> 0:22:12.600 because I I think sometimes I just like, you know, 0:22:12.680 --> 0:22:15.480 like Shakespeare could assume that everybody in his audience knew 0:22:15.520 --> 0:22:18.000 the Bible, so they all had the same point of comparison. 0:22:18.000 --> 0:22:20.399 I tend to assume everybody knows the Simpsons, but I 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:23.840