WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: Marvel’s The Thing

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

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

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<v Speaker 2>Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 2>Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures, ideas and monsters

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<v Speaker 2>in time. So far in this series of episodes on

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<v Speaker 2>the monsters of Marvel Comics, we've discussed mummies, mystique and

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<v Speaker 2>the symbiots. But now it's clopper in time. We're of

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<v Speaker 2>course talking about Ben Grimm, a human test pilot transformed

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<v Speaker 2>into an orange rock skin super bruiser by cosmic rays.

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<v Speaker 2>The other humans aboard the experimental spaceship would become Mister Fantastic,

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<v Speaker 2>Invisible Woman and human Torch, and of course now we're

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<v Speaker 2>talking about the thing all together, they're the Fantastic four.

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<v Speaker 2>Grim's skin is encased in plates of stone, reminiscent of

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<v Speaker 2>the epidermal scales or scoots found on various birds and reptiles,

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<v Speaker 2>but more importantly for our discussions here on a few mammals,

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<v Speaker 2>namely the extant armadillo and the extinct glyptodoct. Though with

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<v Speaker 2>Marbles the thing, these plates are not keratin, but some

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<v Speaker 2>form of indestructible rock It's the perfect body armor for

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<v Speaker 2>the sort of superhero who regularly throws down with the

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<v Speaker 2>likes of Doctor Doom, Frankenstein's Monster, and the Incredible Hulk.

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<v Speaker 2>But I didn't decide to do this episode on the

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<v Speaker 2>Thing based purely on Ben Grimm's rocky skin. It was

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<v Speaker 2>actually his fingers that attracted me to the big luck.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think I'd ever noticed this myself before. But

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<v Speaker 2>while human Grim of course had five digits on each hand,

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<v Speaker 2>Thing has only four, you know, like Mickey Mouse or

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<v Speaker 2>Carter on the Simpsons. In the excellent book marvel Anatomy

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<v Speaker 2>by Mark Sumerek and Daniel Wallace with illustrations by Jonah Loege,

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<v Speaker 2>the authors point out that on occasion, special circumstances allowed

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<v Speaker 2>Grim to retain his human form, including all four original fingers,

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<v Speaker 2>only to lose one in the transformation back to the Thing.

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<v Speaker 2>The authors and illustrator here speculate that beneath his armor plating,

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<v Speaker 2>his ring and pinky fingers are fused together into a

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<v Speaker 2>single digit, and that X ray imagery would reveal all

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<v Speaker 2>the bones of two fingers in things outermost digit. I

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<v Speaker 2>love this detail, but of course, what does it mean?

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<v Speaker 2>Perhaps nothing, but It's interesting to note that most of

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<v Speaker 2>us non superheroes can't move our pinky finger without also

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<v Speaker 2>moving our ring finger, and the reason for this is

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<v Speaker 2>that the nerves for these digits are intertwined. Perhaps this

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<v Speaker 2>anatomical fact has something to do with things tetradactyly. It

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<v Speaker 2>makes it harder for Grim to use normal devices, but

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<v Speaker 2>perhaps the fused finger aids him in grappling monsters and

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<v Speaker 2>hurling debris during superhero battles. A natural world form of

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<v Speaker 2>this fusing, known as syndactyly, occurs infrequently in humans, but

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<v Speaker 2>is a common feature of some organisms, such as the Siamang,

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<v Speaker 2>a primate native to Sumatra in the Melee Peninsula. They

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<v Speaker 2>have naturally occurring webbing between their second and third toes,

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<v Speaker 2>and sometimes the fourth and fifth toes are also webbed

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<v Speaker 2>together as well. The purpose of syndactyly in the Ciamang, however,

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<v Speaker 2>remains elusive, as pointed out by Weisbecker and Nielsen in

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<v Speaker 2>a two thousand and eight article published in BMC Evolutionary Biology.

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<v Speaker 2>Past hypotheses have explored the possibility that the web digits

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<v Speaker 2>are adaptive for the creatures are boreal lifestyle or for

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<v Speaker 2>use in grooming. But the authors find these hypotheses unconvincing

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<v Speaker 2>and stress that it might not be a functional adaptive

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<v Speaker 2>trait at all. A true explanation remains elusive. Thing's fingers

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<v Speaker 2>are not merely webbed, however, but tightly fused into a

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<v Speaker 2>single digit reminiscent of say, a whale's flipper, so the

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<v Speaker 2>comparison is perhaps less than illuminating. We might well compare it, however,

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<v Speaker 2>to cases of complex syndactyly in the natural world, in

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<v Speaker 2>which the bones are fused together as well as the flesh.

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<v Speaker 2>The kangaroo is a great example of this, with its

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<v Speaker 2>middle toes fused together. According to John Simons in the

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<v Speaker 2>twenty thirteen book Kangaroo Quote, this seems to have been

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<v Speaker 2>driven by a change from tree dwelling to ground dwelling,

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<v Speaker 2>but is now marvelously adapted for hopping. By the way

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<v Speaker 2>connecting to our core stuffed to blow your mind episodes

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<v Speaker 2>on the horse, you might find it interesting to know

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<v Speaker 2>that the extinct short faced kangaroo, including the giant Procoptodon,

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<v Speaker 2>actually evolved to feature hoofed single digits on their toes

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<v Speaker 2>as well with the thing. However, Hmmm, I'm gonna have

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<v Speaker 2>to stand by my own hypothesis regarding the fuse digits

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<v Speaker 2>that somehow this is aiding Ben Grimm in collaborating time.

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<v Speaker 2>But I would love to hear from anyone out there

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<v Speaker 2>if you have a hypothesis regarding the curious hands of

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<v Speaker 2>the thing. Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster

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<v Speaker 2>Fact each week. As always, you can email us at

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<v Speaker 2>contact as Stuff to Blow your Mind dot com.

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