1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,640 Speaker 2: Hey you welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. Listener mail. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 2: My name is Robert Lamb. 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 3: And I am Joe McCormick, and it's Monday, the day 5 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 3: of eachweek that we read back messages from the Stuff 6 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 3: to Blow Your Mind email address. If you have never 7 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:24,920 Speaker 3: gotten in touch before, why not give it a try. 8 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 3: You can email us at contact at stuff to Blow 9 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 3: your Mind dot com. All kinds of messages are welcome. 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 3: We especially like feedback to recent episodes and if you 11 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 3: have something interesting to add to a subject we've talked about. 12 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,480 Speaker 3: But whatever you want to send, send it on contact 13 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 3: at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. We got 14 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 3: a great mail bag today. Let's see rob Do you 15 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 3: want to kick things off with this message from Nathan 16 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 3: about future Shock? 17 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 2: Sure? Yeah, Nathan rides Dear Robert and Joe, your episode's 18 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 2: about future Shock. Particularly the third episode, brought to mind 19 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,479 Speaker 2: the original nineteen seventy eight series Connections from science communicator 20 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 2: James Burke. Over the course of the series, he gives 21 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 2: an alternate view of social changes and scientific progress instead 22 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 2: of the Great Man theory of history, where a lone 23 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 2: genius invents a new device out of nothing. Burke posits 24 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 2: that each innovation throughout history came about because somebody merely 25 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 2: put existing pieces of knowledge and technology together in the 26 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 2: right order. In the final episode, he sums up four 27 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 2: potential responses to technological change in a manner similar to 28 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 2: the Tofflers, and then raises questions about each response. One 29 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 2: scrap everything, go rural, two selective research only, three stop 30 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 2: making new things, share what we have now, and four 31 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 2: keep going business as usual. The full series can be 32 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 2: found on the Internet archive in the links below Centism links, 33 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 2: and the final monologue appears in the game The Witness. 34 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 2: I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it before. 35 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 2: Even though the technology he discusses, like the computer has 36 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 2: changed dramatically since the original air date, the lessons he 37 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 2: draws from them are still as relevant as ever. Thank 38 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 2: you for your surprising and refreshing range of topics as always, Nate. 39 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 3: Well, thanks Nathan. I've never seen the full series, but 40 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 3: I've seen segments clipped out into individual videos, and I've 41 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 3: read parts of the book version of Connections. I actually 42 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 3: have a nice, well worn used copy here at the 43 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 3: house that we got somewhere I don't quite recall, but 44 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 3: it was a good used bookstore find at some point. 45 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 3: But Rob, I know you're a big fan of Connections, right, Yeah. 46 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 2: I watch Connections as a kid, as well as episodes 47 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 2: of the other series he did The Day the Universe Changed, 48 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,359 Speaker 2: and I have both book versions, and we've actually turned 49 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 2: to these books for his analysis on past episodes, specifically 50 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,360 Speaker 2: certain episodes of Invention. I forget which ones in particular, 51 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 2: but yeah, I've long found his view of technological change 52 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 2: and evolution somewhat captivating. 53 00:02:57,960 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 3: I agree, and I will say in general, I think 54 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 3: it's really good to be skeptical of the so called 55 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 3: great Man theory of history, or maybe, to be less prejudicial, 56 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,799 Speaker 3: call it the great person or great genius theory. And 57 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 3: of course my skepticism of this model applies not only 58 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 3: to what is normally called history, you know, like political 59 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 3: history and stuff, but to the history of science and 60 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 3: technology as well. One reason I think it's good to 61 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 3: be skeptical of the great genius theory where a you know, 62 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 3: the the idiosyncratic special quality is of a particular person 63 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:33,519 Speaker 3: come around, you know, come around at just the right 64 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 3: time and change the world. One reason I think we 65 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 3: should be skeptical of that view of history is because 66 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 3: I'm worry of the danger of fundamental attribution error, which 67 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 3: is a concept in psychology. We've done some episodes on 68 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 3: in the past, if you want to go look those 69 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 3: up to get the full story. There are some mixed 70 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 3: results about this finding, but basically it seems that especially 71 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 3: in more individualistic culture is in the United States would 72 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 3: be one of those. We have a tendency to overemphasize 73 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 3: the explanatory importance of internal factors like personality and intellectual 74 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 3: ability and things like that, and underemphasize the role of 75 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 3: external factors like situation and context when explaining the behavior 76 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 3: of people and the you know, the reasons that events 77 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 3: unfold in the way they do. So, I think, at 78 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 3: least in the individualistic culture of the United States, I 79 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 3: think we're probably way too biased in the direction of 80 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 3: rating the importance of factors like the personality and genius 81 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:42,719 Speaker 3: of famous people, and we probably underestimate the importance of 82 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 3: circumstances and context and trends and so. To come back 83 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 3: to Burke, yeah, I think a lot of major turning 84 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 3: points in the history of science and technology arose not 85 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 3: just because of the personal genius of specific inventors and scientists. 86 00:04:57,320 --> 00:04:59,280 Speaker 3: So of course that is a factor too. You don't 87 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 3: want to say like, oh, Isaac Newton wasn't smart, But 88 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 3: I think we should consciously force ourselves to pay attention 89 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:09,040 Speaker 3: to the importance of situations. I think it's really important 90 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 3: that there were situations in history where a lot of 91 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:16,479 Speaker 3: knowledge and material wealth and talent was being brought together 92 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 3: in a context that maybe allowed for experimentation. And when 93 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 3: we look back at history, we probably do have a 94 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 3: cognitive bias, this fundamental attribution era that makes the genius 95 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 3: seem more decisive and makes us ignore the relative importance 96 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:35,479 Speaker 3: of situations in context. And yeah, so I have perceived 97 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 3: in the past. One of the goals of Burke's work 98 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 3: in the History of science and Technology was to show 99 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,919 Speaker 3: the ways that it's a story of intersections and connections 100 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 3: certain pieces of pre existing knowledge or know how technology, 101 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 3: particular needs or questions, all happening to come into contact 102 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:58,279 Speaker 3: at certain times and places in history leading to progress, 103 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 3: and not just like oh wow, this and genius changed everything. 104 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 3: That's my take. 105 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:05,479 Speaker 2: Yeah, no, no, this is this is I agree with 106 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,359 Speaker 2: all of this. Yeah, you know, you have to fu 107 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:13,479 Speaker 2: factor in things like market forces, communication between different cultures, 108 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 2: urban as they I mean, there's just so many different 109 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:22,039 Speaker 2: elements that go into the the alchemy of any given innovation, invention, 110 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 2: et cetera. Even in our Weird House Cinema episodes sometimes 111 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:28,160 Speaker 2: we refer to it as such, but certainly in our 112 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 2: notes we always call the section that gets into cast members, directors, writers, 113 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:36,120 Speaker 2: et cetera. As connections. And I often think about about 114 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 2: about about Bert's work as one might apply it to cinema. 115 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 2: You know, it's it's not just you know, oftentimes you 116 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 2: do have like one really important individual that's you know, 117 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,800 Speaker 2: this is their vision and this is their talent manifested 118 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 2: on the screen, but to varying degrees. And I think 119 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 2: oftentimes it's it's more of this case. I mean, you 120 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 2: have all these different talents coming together, and circumstances is 121 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 2: aligning them that make the movie exactly what it is. 122 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 3: I think that's well said, And you know, people don't 123 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 3: often apply this lens as much to like art and 124 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 3: entertainment as they do to I don't know what we 125 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 3: were just talking about, history of science or technology or 126 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 3: politics or whatever, but I do think it applies there 127 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 3: as well. I mean even in the realm of b movies. 128 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 3: On the show before you Know, we've talked about how 129 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 3: different a Roger Korman movie. One Roger Korman movie is 130 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 3: from another, depending on circumstances like what was Coorman's budget, 131 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 3: how long did he have to make it, what kind 132 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 3: of actors did he have access to? And this leads 133 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 3: to incredibly different results. It's not always just you know, 134 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 3: the loan genius at the top of the organizational chart, 135 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 3: the of the film deciding whether something is good or 136 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 3: bad by their individual personal qualities. 137 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, real quick. I'll mention. When it comes to 138 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 2: James Burke's work, I had to look up his film 139 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 2: again because I know there had been rumblings about him 140 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 2: doing another Connections book and or series to sort of 141 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 2: bring things into our modern time. He is still alive, 142 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 2: still active. There was also a Connections three that came 143 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 2: out in the late nineteen nineties, so I'm not sure 144 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 2: where what he's working on at the moment of that 145 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 2: project is in the works, but I hope it is 146 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 2: because I would be very interested to see the Connections 147 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 2: approach to the modern state of technology. 148 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 3: I think I recall one thing being about connections actually 149 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 3: having some overlap with the predictions of the Tofflers in 150 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 3: Future Shock, which is I think he predicted an ever 151 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:46,959 Speaker 3: accelerating rate of change and development in science and technology, 152 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 3: and then downstream from that in culture, primarily in his 153 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:56,239 Speaker 3: view because of the increase in connections, because the improvements 154 00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:01,199 Speaker 3: in communication technology make connections happen more frequently than they 155 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:03,920 Speaker 3: ever did before, and this is what he thought was 156 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 3: going to was going to keep accelerating the technological change. 157 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:13,199 Speaker 2: Anyway, solid listener mail Nathan, thanks for writing in Okay. 158 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:16,439 Speaker 3: This next message is in response to our episodes on 159 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 3: the Ignobel Prize Ignobel Prizes from twenty twenty three. This 160 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 3: is from Sam and it is about the twenty twenty 161 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 3: three Geology Prize, which was awarded to an essay about 162 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 3: eating and tasting fossils. Sam says, Hello, Robert and Joe. 163 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 3: I am a recent geology graduate from the University of 164 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 3: West Georgia. I just finished your first episode of the 165 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 3: Ignobel Prizes and I have an answer to your question 166 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 3: of what does the Eocene Epic taste like? I asked 167 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 3: this at the end of the episode. Yeah, Apparently Sam 168 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 3: has the answer, Sam says, I work as a clay 169 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 3: tester for a kalanite mine in middle southern Georgia, and 170 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 3: some of our clay comes from the eosine, and as 171 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 3: a geologist, I of course had to give it a 172 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 3: thorough examination by tasting a small amount. The eosine age 173 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 3: clay has an acidic and bitter taste, with undertones of 174 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 3: vanilla and a texture like powdered peanut butter or protein powder. 175 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:25,440 Speaker 3: This may seem strange, but it is common for practicing 176 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 3: geologists to taste minerals, fossils, and even plain dirt to 177 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 3: clarify properties both chemical and physical. For example, I have 178 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 3: been taught to taste the difference between the mineral halite, 179 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:42,239 Speaker 3: which is in ACL, and sylvite KCl, which appear identical. 180 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:46,440 Speaker 3: Halte tastes salty as it is salt in a in 181 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,959 Speaker 3: the formula that's sodium sodium chloride, Sam goes on, and 182 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:55,680 Speaker 3: sylvite tastes bitter due to the potassium content. Another example 183 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 3: is the quote toungue test on fossils, where putting the 184 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 3: tip of your tonge on a potential fossil will help 185 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 3: identify fossil from rock. Fossils being poor us will stick 186 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,720 Speaker 3: to your tongue more than rock and sometimes require conscious 187 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 3: effort to unstick your tongue. Oh, that sounds kind of scary. 188 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 3: We even taste a small amount of soil samples to 189 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,320 Speaker 3: tell between clay and silt. Silt has the consistency of 190 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 3: toothpaste and clay like creamy peanut butter. Love the podcast, Hope, 191 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 3: I provided an interesting and entertaining answer to your question. Sam. Oh, 192 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:34,640 Speaker 3: thank you, Sam, you absolutely did. This is one of 193 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 3: my favorite kinds of listener mail. 194 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,440 Speaker 2: All right, does The next one comes to us from Jeff. 195 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:50,319 Speaker 2: Jeff says, this is Jeff with one F greeting science 196 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 2: humans in the altanin Antenna episode. I think it was 197 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:57,680 Speaker 2: Joe who mentioned manganese nodules and passing. I believe this 198 00:11:57,720 --> 00:11:59,959 Speaker 2: would be an excellent topic for a proper. 199 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:02,839 Speaker 3: And just for clarity, I was gonna insert a note 200 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 3: here to describe these manganese nodules, which are I've also 201 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 3: seen sometimes called ferromanganese nodules or polymetallic nodules. Are these 202 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 3: mineral concretions that form slowly over time at the bottom 203 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:19,240 Speaker 3: of the ocean. So if you ever see like deep 204 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,760 Speaker 3: sea Rover camera footage of a you know, a submersible 205 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,720 Speaker 3: going over the seafloor. Sometimes you will see them scattered 206 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 3: all about, looking like weird gray metal turnips through these 207 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 3: strange little spheres or balls on the ocean floor. And 208 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:35,560 Speaker 3: they're formed out of a variety of metals. Manganese and 209 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 3: iron are common ingradients, hence ferromanganese nodules the name there, 210 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,319 Speaker 3: but they also sometimes contain other metals like nickel and 211 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,560 Speaker 3: cobalt too. And a cool thing about these nodules is 212 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:51,199 Speaker 3: that they form by accretion of concentric layers around a 213 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:53,960 Speaker 3: nucleation point, which might be I think like a It 214 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 3: could be like a grain of clay, or like a 215 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 3: dead organism or something. There's a little nucleation point and 216 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 3: then it starts a creating these metal layers around it. 217 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 3: So they have rings like a tree trunk. I think. 218 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 3: One estimate I came across was that they tend to 219 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:11,680 Speaker 3: grow about a millimeter every million years. But because of 220 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 3: the way these rings form in layers, you can cut 221 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 3: a manganese nodule in half and analyze its structure to 222 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 3: get information about seawater chemistry going back millions of years. 223 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:26,840 Speaker 3: Another interesting thing is that they somehow tend to remain 224 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:30,480 Speaker 3: at the top of the ocean floor sediment layer over 225 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:34,560 Speaker 3: these millions of years, instead of getting subducted, you know, 226 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,440 Speaker 3: instead of getting buried and incorporated into the rock beneath. 227 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 3: So somehow they stay on top there while they're accumulating 228 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:45,200 Speaker 3: all these metal layers. So anyway, that's manganese nodules. Back 229 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:46,320 Speaker 3: to Jeff's message. 230 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 2: In the original Star Trek episode featuring a monster in 231 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 2: a mining colony, I think I've seen this one. By 232 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 2: the way, the miners discovered a bunch of odds spheres 233 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 2: made of mostly silicone and had been destroying them because 234 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 2: they figured they were just guardage. They didn't can connect 235 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:02,680 Speaker 2: them at all to the mysterious attacks on their workers. 236 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,520 Speaker 2: The reveal was that a silicone based alien creature was 237 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,520 Speaker 2: lashing out trying to protect its eggs from the humans. 238 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 2: When I saw the episode, I thought there was no 239 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 2: way humans encountering something so peculiar and suspicious would just 240 00:14:15,679 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 2: dispose of them without curiosity, particularly while miners were being 241 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 2: killed on a regular basis. But given that similar nodules 242 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 2: exist on Earth, the Federation had probably run into many 243 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 2: naturally occurring phenomena like these on other planets with no 244 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 2: association to living creatures. So I suppose it's not so 245 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 2: strange that a corporation would think nothing of clearing the 246 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 2: way of unprofitable rubble. A second example was the Epcot 247 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 2: attraction Horizons, in which there was a scene depicting a 248 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 2: robot on the ocean floor picking up manganese nodules, as 249 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 2: well as a huge system of vacuum tubes sucking them 250 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 2: up into floating collection units on the surface. Apologies for 251 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 2: the zibruder like quality of the attached photos, the attraction 252 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,320 Speaker 2: was demolished before the age of the smartphone camera. The 253 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 2: scene is not directly referenced or explained in the narration. 254 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 2: It was just an awesome extra throwaway detailed to experience. 255 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 2: At the time, I thought it was silly fantasy that 256 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 2: anything so ridiculously useful would be sitting in convenient chunks 257 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 2: easily accessible on the ocean floor. I chalked it up 258 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,720 Speaker 2: to excessive optimism on the part of Disney ride designers. 259 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 2: But these nodules were discovered in the nineteenth century, so 260 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 2: they clearly knew what they were doing. 261 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 3: To borrow a joke from Mystery Science Theater three thousand. 262 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 3: These photos of the EPCOT Horizon Center do look like 263 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 3: someone's last known photograph. 264 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, they're pretty cool. I've seen a recent documentary featuring 265 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 2: prototypes that are remarkably similar to what the Disney people 266 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 2: imagined in the nineteen eighties. Given that these metals are 267 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 2: now in high demand for electric vehicle and mobile device batteries, 268 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 2: there is now talk of and controversy about mining the 269 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 2: nodules on a massive scale. In both these instances, my 270 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,560 Speaker 2: dismissive smug response was purely a result of my ignorance. 271 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 2: The world is simply cooler than I thought pop. Now 272 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 2: that I think about it, perhaps you guys could also 273 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,800 Speaker 2: do an episode on the unreasonably beautiful and artificial looking 274 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:09,800 Speaker 2: crystal caves on Earth. They also seem like impossible creations 275 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,240 Speaker 2: of Hollywood set designers, but are in fact just nature 276 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 2: doing its thing. I wonder if the guys who built 277 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 2: Superman's Fortress of Solitude vacationed underground in Mexico. Thanks again 278 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 2: for your continued pursuit of the strange and wonderful Jeff. 279 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,280 Speaker 3: Well, thank you for the great email. Jeff. You know 280 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 3: we we did an interview years ago. I think this 281 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 3: was the interview we did with Diva Aimon about where 282 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:39,200 Speaker 3: we talked about some of the controversies about ocean floor mining. 283 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 3: But I don't recall if that was specifically with reference 284 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 3: to manganese nodules or to something or about something else. 285 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't remember if that in particular was pointed out, 286 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 2: but you know, I'm sure if we'd known to ask 287 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 2: her about it at the time, we could we could have. 288 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 2: But yeah, that was a great interview that was back 289 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 2: there in the archive somewhere. All right. This next one 290 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 2: comes to us from Adam. Adam says, hey, guys, on 291 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:12,479 Speaker 2: the newest episode regarding the Ignobel Prizes, the horror manga 292 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:16,679 Speaker 2: author Junji Ito has one called and I may be 293 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 2: pronouncing this wrong, Geo. It's Gyo. That involves necro mechanical implications. 294 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:26,359 Speaker 2: Really great story. Check it out. 295 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 3: So the necro mechanical connection would be that one of 296 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 3: the Ignobel prizes we talked about from this year was 297 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 3: awarded to a team that had done research on how 298 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 3: to turn a dead spider into a gripper claw with 299 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 3: just fluid pressure. 300 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 2: That's right, and so perhaps not so surprising. It sounds 301 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:51,080 Speaker 2: like young g Ito has explored this territory as well. 302 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 2: This is kind of a fun coincidence because the day 303 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:57,719 Speaker 2: this email came in, Joe and I were over at 304 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 2: the Museum of Illusions in Atlanta getting some updated photographs, 305 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:05,159 Speaker 2: photographs taken of us and look out, you'll get to 306 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 2: see these, uh in the near future wherever photos of 307 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 2: us are appropriate. And the we were talking with the 308 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:17,879 Speaker 2: marketing manager there and she recommended Junji Eto. I forget 309 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:20,400 Speaker 2: exactly how it came up, but she she she brought 310 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:22,439 Speaker 2: up this particular artist. 311 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,520 Speaker 3: I think she said she had listened to our episode 312 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:28,919 Speaker 3: about melting and uh, was that what it was? 313 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:33,520 Speaker 2: Yeah? Because he's so I haven't read any of his 314 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 2: full works, but I'm familiar with him by reputation. I've 315 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 2: seen various stills. You know, a lot of his stuff 316 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,920 Speaker 2: is very I wouldn't say maybe meme worthy, but it 317 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 2: shared a lot because his work has this real visceral, 318 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 2: nightmarish quality to it, where a single image is just 319 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:58,159 Speaker 2: instantly more horrifying than most illustrations you've seen from a 320 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:01,399 Speaker 2: comic book or a manga. It's at His work has 321 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 2: also been adapted multiple times, including the Long Run in 322 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,359 Speaker 2: long running Tony film franchise in Japan, as well as 323 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,800 Speaker 2: the two thousand film spiral. I was looking around. It 324 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 2: looks like he's also done some guest art for Magic 325 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 2: the Gathering. Joe included some screenshots of these Magic the 326 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:23,359 Speaker 2: Gathering cards that unity Eto did. They're pretty horrifying. It's 327 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 2: like black and white manga style, and again, all sorts 328 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 2: of strange body horror type things occur. 329 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:31,960 Speaker 3: Oh boy, it's sort of hard to tell what I'm 330 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,480 Speaker 3: looking at the pictures. A little shrunken? Am I seeing 331 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 3: a skull with peacock feathers? Is that? 332 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,439 Speaker 2: I'm not sure? Yeah, not a detailed shot of this 333 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,879 Speaker 2: particular magic card. But yeah, something something horrible or wonderful 334 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,440 Speaker 2: happening to flesh. It's hard to say. 335 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:53,239 Speaker 3: It's always one or the other, isn't it. 336 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 2: Yeah? So yeah, yeah, I should at some point, if 337 00:19:57,600 --> 00:19:59,720 Speaker 2: I have the if I'm brave enough, I should probably 338 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:02,880 Speaker 2: pick up up some of his original work and dive 339 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 2: in and see how how my brain takes it. 340 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 3: Okay, you want to do one last message about Weird 341 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:09,840 Speaker 3: House Cinema here? 342 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:11,200 Speaker 2: Sure, what do you got? 343 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:19,840 Speaker 3: I'll do this one from Chelsea. Chelsea says, Hi, guys, 344 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 3: just listen to Your Stickiness Part three episode where I 345 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:27,480 Speaker 3: think we asked for examples of sticky monsters because we 346 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:31,359 Speaker 3: came up with fewer than we expected to find, and 347 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 3: Chelsea says, I have a sticky monster for you. When 348 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 3: I was in elementary school in the nineties, I was 349 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:42,399 Speaker 3: plagued by Gooey Gus, the purple chewing gum slime monster 350 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 3: from the TV show Ghost Writer Rob. I had to 351 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 3: look up a picture of Guey Gas. I put it 352 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 3: in the outline for you if you want to scroll 353 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,960 Speaker 3: down and see him here. So he's like purple and 354 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 3: very melted. He looks like a melted crayon man. But 355 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 3: he's wearing a pink turtleneck and what looks like a 356 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:04,359 Speaker 3: black leather jacket like the Fawns. 357 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 2: Weird. Yeah, and the purple coloration reminds me of another 358 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 2: nice uzy creature from media of Yesterdyear, the Power Rangers 359 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:16,320 Speaker 2: villain Ivan Ooze, played by the great Paul Freeman. 360 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 3: I don't remember what Ivan Oohs looked like, though I 361 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:21,879 Speaker 3: remember the name he is. 362 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,359 Speaker 2: You know, he's purple and uzi and you know it 363 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:25,680 Speaker 2: looks like a Power Rangers villain. 364 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,480 Speaker 3: I remember Rita Rapulsa. What was the relationship of Rita 365 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 3: Rapulsa to ivan Ooz was one the other's boss. 366 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:35,520 Speaker 2: I guess he must be a boss. I'm not really 367 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 2: sure about how everyone's connected in that universe. But of course, 368 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:41,920 Speaker 2: Paul Freeman for those of you that don't recognize the 369 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 2: name of hand, but of course played Bellock in Raiders 370 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:49,760 Speaker 2: of the Lost gar so tremendously fun actor. And I 371 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:51,680 Speaker 2: don't know if I've ever watched the Power Rangers movie 372 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 2: that he's in in its entirety, but I'm assuming he 373 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:55,440 Speaker 2: has some fun with this role. 374 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:57,639 Speaker 3: Okay, Well, I don't know which one came first, so 375 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:00,119 Speaker 3: either Guey Gus or ivan Uze might have to to 376 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,720 Speaker 3: the other one for stealing a stick. But anyway, to 377 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 3: pick up with Chelsea's message here, Chelsea says, some of 378 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,159 Speaker 3: the other girls and I believed he lived in the 379 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:12,800 Speaker 3: storm grate in the corner of the playground. 380 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 2: Oh boy, that is that's so good. 381 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:19,879 Speaker 3: We spent at least a few recesses putting grass clippings 382 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,320 Speaker 3: and dandelions down the grate as an offering so he 383 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:26,800 Speaker 3: wouldn't ooze out of the grate. And in case us 384 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:30,720 Speaker 3: all in bubblegum. I love this because this is a 385 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,400 Speaker 3: this is a bull's eye of like a childhood behavior. 386 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,879 Speaker 3: It's like, yes, I did stuff like that, this is 387 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 3: what kids do. But it also describes the invention of religion. 388 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:44,800 Speaker 3: Chelsea goes on to say, side note, I'm shocked that 389 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 3: you all made it through the discussion of glutenous rice 390 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,479 Speaker 3: that was in the Stickiness part one episode without mentioning 391 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 3: its uses against jung she as featured in Mister Vampire, 392 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,399 Speaker 3: which was an excellent Weird House episode. Thanks for all 393 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:02,879 Speaker 3: the great discuss Chelsea. Chelsea, you're exactly right. You know, 394 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 3: I thought it would come up. I'm pretty sure when 395 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 3: we were planning the episode, it just never did. 396 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:10,159 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean, I guess we have plenty to 397 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,800 Speaker 2: talk about without touching on that. Also, I'm not I'm 398 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:15,919 Speaker 2: not sure if the stickiness has anything to do with 399 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,960 Speaker 2: its vampire fighting powers. I could be wrong, but I 400 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 2: always thought it was more of the dry rice. But 401 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,200 Speaker 2: I would not be shocked at all of some cultures 402 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 2: ascribe productive qualities specifically to cook sticky rice as well. 403 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 2: It does seem like that would have the you would 404 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:32,919 Speaker 2: have the advantage of it sticking to the vampires when 405 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:33,879 Speaker 2: you pelded them with it. 406 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 3: I do remember it being a plot point in the 407 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 3: movie that it had to be the glutinous rice, right, 408 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 3: Like the regular rice was no good because he went 409 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 3: to the rice dealer and the rice dealer tried to 410 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 3: scam him by charging out for sticky rice but giving 411 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 3: him regular rice. 412 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:51,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, he either gave him regular rice or he cut 413 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 2: it with another rice. So yeah, that was a fun 414 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:57,600 Speaker 2: part of a Yeah, a really fun movie. 415 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:00,159 Speaker 3: I feel like we I only barely remember now we 416 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,400 Speaker 3: may have gone into this in the episode, but like why, yeah, 417 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,360 Speaker 3: why was it? Why did it need to be glutenous 418 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 3: rice to have the magical effect? Like why wouldn't regular 419 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:09,440 Speaker 3: rice work? 420 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:13,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not sure if we specified Yeah. 421 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 3: Okay, do you think that's enough emails to appease Guey Gus? 422 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 2: And I think so. 423 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:19,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely from taking our souls. 424 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:23,119 Speaker 2: Yeah, look up a photograph of Guey Gus. If you 425 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:25,840 Speaker 2: get a chance, it's worth It's worth the trip. It's 426 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 2: everything you're hoping it'll be. So Yeah, if you want 427 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,200 Speaker 2: to write in, if you have thoughts on anything we've 428 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:35,399 Speaker 2: discussed here today, recent episodes, possible future episodes of stuff 429 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 2: to blow your Mind, weird House, cinema, monster fact artifact. 430 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:43,320 Speaker 2: It's all fair game. We'll just remind you that listener 431 00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:45,680 Speaker 2: mail occurs in the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast 432 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,200 Speaker 2: feed every Monday. 433 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:51,199 Speaker 3: Huge thanks to our excellent audio producer JJ Posway. If 434 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 3: you would like to get in touch with us with 435 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 3: feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest a 436 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 3: topic for the future, or just to say hello, you 437 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,320 Speaker 3: can email us at contact that Stuff to Blow your 438 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:08,160 Speaker 3: Mind dot com. 439 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 440 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,119 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 441 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,000 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.