1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you should know, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 2: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 2: Chuck and Jerry's here tis Zoo, which makes this is 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:18,279 Speaker 2: uh you should know? 5 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: That's right? Ohod Lvia had a good title on this one. 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 2: Did you like it? Go ahead? 7 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: Well, this is about contortionists, and sure Lvia titled what 8 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:33,240 Speaker 1: she sent us bend it like Gumby. 9 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 2: That's right. 10 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:36,840 Speaker 1: I think it's good. It is good. 11 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, Olivia always comes up with the best. 12 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, and now we know that she listens to some 13 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: of these because she heard you take a dig at her. 14 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 2: About explaining what a socket and electrical plug does. 15 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: Yeah. 16 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, she's a good sport. Though. Let's see what else, Chuck, 17 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 2: I guess you already spoiled what this episode is about. 18 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 2: It's about contor, which I guess we were going to 19 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 2: have to get into eventually. 20 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:07,960 Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, obviously we're talking about bending your body 21 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: right in ways Gumby that are yeah, like gummy, bending 22 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: your bodies in ways that are extraordinary, And as we 23 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: have learned, it's something that maybe you're kind of born 24 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: with and definitely something you can work toward and maybe 25 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: a bit of both. 26 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 2: Yeah. I always assumed it was just a born thing 27 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:27,839 Speaker 2: and that like one out of every fifteen million people 28 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 2: were born as a contortionist essentially, and I figured, yes, 29 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 2: of course they have to train and everything, and you know, choreograph. 30 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 2: There's a lot of types of contortionism that are essentially 31 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 2: contortionist ballets, especially like the ones you see at Circasla, 32 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:46,919 Speaker 2: which if you say that funny, Yeah, it's a hilarious 33 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 2: thing to say, it's a good joke. But I guess 34 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 2: I just didn't realize that it is something you can 35 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 2: Like you or I could go train to be a 36 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 2: contortious We would fail utterly, but we could at least 37 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 2: go train in our fifties and still do a lot 38 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 2: better than we can right now, because it is something 39 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 2: you can adapt your body. 40 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: To, yeah, for sure. And it's also something that's been 41 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: around a long long time, right. 42 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, it has one more thing. It will help you 43 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 2: a lot while we're going through some of this stuff 44 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 2: to just if you can look it up, watch videos, 45 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 2: but even like just photos sometimes can kind of get 46 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,239 Speaker 2: the point across. It's just one of those things. While 47 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 2: we were studying this, I was like, this is gonna 48 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,679 Speaker 2: kind of be tough to describe in some cases, but 49 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 2: we'll do our best. 50 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I don't think it's going to be the 51 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: hard to follow. People know what we're talking about. 52 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 2: Okay, So we are talking about contortionism, and you did 53 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 2: say that it is very, very old. The oldest thing 54 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 2: we've found that is pretty much a certainty that they're 55 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 2: depicting a contortionist was an image that was found in Syria, 56 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 2: an old old polaroid from twenty three hundred BCE, and 57 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 2: there's some contortionists and they're holding swords, and the best 58 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:03,959 Speaker 2: that historians can come up with is that it's possible that. 59 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 2: So there's some Hittite writings that describe a performance where 60 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:13,239 Speaker 2: contortionists basically jump through hoops of swords as basically a 61 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 2: well performance essentially basically say can you do this? No 62 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 2: you can't? 63 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know that followed, of course, we have 64 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: to talk about all the usual sets backs. Of course, 65 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: China will come in, don't worry. But ancient Egypt they 66 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 1: found pottery fragments that date to twelve hundred BCE that 67 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: definitely show women dancing in backbinds, like you know, contorting themselves. Sure, 68 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: and the Greeks also did this later on as well. 69 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, the Greeks is where we finally start to 70 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 2: get to unambiguous descriptions of contortionism. I think as far 71 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 2: back as well the twenty five hundred years ago, something 72 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 2: like that contortionists had become like an actual thing, like 73 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 2: they were part of troops or performers that performed in Greece. 74 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 2: Like if you went to say a public festival, let's 75 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 2: say Dionysus was being celebrated that day, there's a chance 76 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 2: that you might find somebody doing a contortionist act as 77 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 2: just kind of part of the festivities. 78 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. And you know, I mentioned China, and 79 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:17,160 Speaker 1: this is one of those cases where we don't know 80 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: if it if people in China and this was like 81 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: two twenty one BCE to two twenty CE, if they 82 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: were influenced by people from other parts of the world 83 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: or not, or whether it developed independently when people over 84 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: there realized that they were bindi. But when they look 85 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,840 Speaker 1: at like some of the clothes that contortionists were wearing 86 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: in China, it seems like it maybe was influenced by 87 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: people in Europe, but also could have been Maybe that's 88 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: just the garb. 89 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 2: They were all wearing Benatton, Yeah, exactly, stretchy stuff. So, yeah, 90 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,239 Speaker 2: that's very interesting because usually something came out of China 91 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 2: and it influenced Europe rather than going the other way around, 92 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 2: especially that far back. So I'm yeah, as a person 93 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 2: of European ancestry, I'm quite proud of that. 94 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: Of course, you know, you would think India is probably 95 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: a pretty obvious spot for contortionism, and you would be right, 96 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,920 Speaker 1: because there are sculptures in temples from India these date 97 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: to tenth century CE that also show women in contorted poses. 98 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 1: This time it got a little sexier though. 99 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think a lot of times you think about 100 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 2: something like the Kamasutra, and there are definitely contortionist poses 101 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 2: in the Kamasutra. Yeah, but there's the to just think 102 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 2: of it as like, oh, this is just, you know, 103 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 2: like you said, just sexy. There's a spiritual aspect to 104 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 2: that whole thing too. It's like a tantric yoga practice, 105 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 2: but it is also sexy, just admittedly. But there's this 106 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:54,040 Speaker 2: that maybe kind of wonder Chuck like did, like yoga 107 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 2: and Buddhism and Hinduism and the incorporation of all these 108 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 2: physical movements that include contortionism. Did that kind of come 109 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:07,280 Speaker 2: out of this contortionist? I guess heritage or whatever that 110 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 2: dates back to at least the hit Tights, or was 111 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 2: what the hit Tights were doing essentially the foundation for 112 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 2: what would later become, you know, Buddhism and Hinduism. 113 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, and to be clear, when we say sexy, we 114 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: mean they're depictions of actual intercourse because oh yeah, thanks. 115 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: One of the things that's really annoying to me about 116 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 1: all of this, and Lyvia picks us up sort of 117 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: at the end of the article, but I'm going to 118 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: go ahead and address it now, is that if you 119 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,840 Speaker 1: get you know, one hundred people in a room and 120 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: there's a contortionist, there's probably going to be some dim 121 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 1: witted man making some stupid sexual reference about somebody being bindy, 122 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: about a woman being bindy, and that's just dumb. So 123 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: that's not what we were talking about. We were talking about, like, 124 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: you know, actual pictures of sexual positions. In this case. 125 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 2: I think that was great because you could interpret it 126 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:03,039 Speaker 2: away where we sounded like thirty old men essentially. Yeah, yeah, 127 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 2: the guys who like kind of elbow on another like huh, 128 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 2: check it out. I mean come on, so some people 129 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 2: have further way to come than other people. You know, yeah, 130 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 2: that's true. So back to India itself, there's a clear 131 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 2: like comparison between contortionism and yoga today. And actually it's 132 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 2: kind of neat because if you go online and you 133 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 2: look up like contortionism or training or something like that, 134 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 2: it's essentially people who are into yoga and they're trying 135 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 2: to figure out how to go even further. So they're 136 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 2: following ancient practices that have been around for hundreds, if 137 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 2: not thousands of years, that are contortionists by nature. 138 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. England might not be the most obvious 139 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: place to think about men doing contortionist poses, but that's 140 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: exactly what happened in seventeenth and eighteenth century there in 141 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: the form of posture master masters. Posture master is what 142 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: they were. 143 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 2: That sounds like a mattress, a posture master, but that's. 144 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: What was going on. It's a little odd to think 145 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 1: about now, but there, you know, it might be like 146 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: an actual performance. Maybe sometimes it was something that they 147 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 1: would do on the street to raise money, like busking 148 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: or maybe to trying instead of like holding a sign 149 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: outside your business. There might be a male posture master 150 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: sitting outside your tavern to try and get people in there. 151 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: But it was kind of a big deal and they 152 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: kind of became sort of famous in England at the time. 153 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean this was before TV, radio, internet, even 154 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:40,040 Speaker 2: newspapers in a lot of cases, and there you could 155 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 2: as a male contortionist in particular because it was a 156 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 2: male dominated field at this time, at least in Europe, 157 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 2: and it seems like basically throughout the world that you 158 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 2: could become distinctly famous, like a guy named Joseph Clark 159 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 2: who apparently in the late seventeenth century was a very 160 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 2: very famous contortionist in England, so much so that his 161 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 2: last name was Shorthand for contortion in England and then 162 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 2: eventually would morph into Shorthand for giving somebody something that 163 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 2: they want. 164 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: That's right, the circus is obviously going to come into play, 165 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: and that is when the circus came into play. And 166 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 1: that was and you know, we've done quite a few 167 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: episodes on the circus back in the day, but as 168 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:27,839 Speaker 1: a reminder, this was late eighteenth century when Philip and 169 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,959 Speaker 1: Patty Astley they had a you know, a lot of 170 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: the early circuses were like horse riding tricks like equestrian stuff. Yeah, 171 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:37,480 Speaker 1: and there's definitely formed out of that, out of their 172 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: Astley's riding school in London. And you know, once the 173 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: circus started spreading around, it came to the United States, 174 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 1: and within that circus world contortionists started kind of performing 175 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: on the regular. But you know, it started to get 176 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: and which is like it is today. It gets kind 177 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: of mixed in with other sort of acrobatics. 178 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:01,839 Speaker 2: Yeah, just something back a couple of paces. Once it 179 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 2: reached Europe in England in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, 180 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 2: there was no spirituality associated with it. Once it reached 181 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 2: western Europe, it was performance from that point on, you know. 182 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:16,840 Speaker 2: And yeah, once it hit the circus, it's really started 183 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:21,320 Speaker 2: to morph into what we understand is contortionism today. There 184 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 2: was one trick I have to say that Patty Astley 185 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 2: did on her horse in the very beginning of circuses. 186 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 2: She would ride her horse really fast and her arms 187 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 2: would be covered in bees. 188 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: Yeah. 189 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 2: That's a wild ride for that's a wild ride for 190 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:37,959 Speaker 2: everybody involved. 191 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: Yeah. But you know, maybe she was a beatkeeper. 192 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 2: It doesn't matter what she was doing, Chuck. She was 193 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 2: riding full throttle on a horse with bees all over 194 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 2: her arms. I mean, I'm assuming like they changed like 195 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 2: the shape of her arms because there were so many 196 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:56,839 Speaker 2: bees that kind of thing, not like two or three 197 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 2: bees on each arm. 198 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that wouldn't have much impact. I don't 199 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: think that impressed me quite a bit. It's pretty good trick. 200 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:09,720 Speaker 1: So the actual word contortionists that came around in eighteen sixty. 201 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,960 Speaker 1: Before then, you know, it was just called other stuff 202 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: depending on what culture it was coming from. But if 203 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:18,599 Speaker 1: you were in the US or if you were in 204 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: England performing as a contortionist, you probably said that you 205 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: were either Chinese or Turkish, or German or French, or 206 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: maybe you were you might have just claimed to be 207 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: one of those things because it had such a rich 208 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: tradition in being BINDI like that. But at this point 209 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:37,200 Speaker 1: it started to be mainly women who were hired by 210 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 1: male circus owners and a lot of times performing exclusively 211 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: for male audiences, right. 212 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:48,360 Speaker 2: And so yeah, it kind of evolves even further. And 213 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 2: luckily that went from like the point of a contortionist 214 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 2: act eventually evolving to you know, a couple of dudes 215 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,360 Speaker 2: in the audience like elbowing one another, where most people 216 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 2: are like getting what the point is. But that said, 217 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 2: there are contortionist acts today that are very much geared 218 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 2: toward the sexual nature of the whole thing, and you know, 219 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 2: they're performed by women who are doing that on purpose, 220 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,679 Speaker 2: so you you know, whatever, more power to them. There 221 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 2: is like a thread of that. Like you can't just 222 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 2: be like, no, that doesn't exist. Stop stop saying that. 223 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:30,679 Speaker 2: But the point of most contortionist performances, it seems like, 224 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:33,720 Speaker 2: is not that that's a very niche thing these days. 225 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure, there was one, you know, kind of 226 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,520 Speaker 1: notable early contortionist. We got to mention here a name. Well, 227 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 1: her real name was Beatrice Mary Claxton, but Beatrice Claxton 228 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 1: isn't the best name for a contortionist, so she went 229 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: by Nna Bertoldi, which is much more of a sort 230 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 1: of a circusy name. And starting at like age eight 231 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 1: years old, she was touring around and as we'll see, 232 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,520 Speaker 1: you know, contortionism is is mainly a sport of the young. 233 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: You can age out of it like ballet in a 234 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: lot of cases. But she was a kid doing it 235 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,680 Speaker 1: and she performed all over Great Britain and then eventually 236 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 1: traveled to the US in eighteen ninety one. And one 237 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 1: of the reasons we mentioned hers because she was very 238 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: famously one of the early people that Thomas Edison filmed 239 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:20,960 Speaker 1: with his kinetoscope. 240 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,079 Speaker 2: Yeah, which is pretty cool. I mean, you have to 241 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 2: be pretty famous in and of yourself to do that, 242 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 2: but to be memorialized in one of the earliest film 243 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 2: strips is definitely going to help your fame later on 244 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,680 Speaker 2: in history. As a contortionist, I would think, yeah, for sure. 245 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:39,839 Speaker 2: So you want to take a little bit of a 246 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 2: break and come back and talk about the epicenter ground 247 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:45,199 Speaker 2: zero of contortionism. 248 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:46,719 Speaker 1: M where could that be? 249 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 2: Okay, So we're back and I talked about the epicenter 250 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 2: of contortions and I'm just gonna reveal it now. It's Mongolia, everybody. 251 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: That's right. It is has long been that sort of epicenter. 252 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: It still is that epicenter. And we're going to tell 253 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: you why. Because one of the reasons it started as 254 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 1: a big deal there is, or at least we think 255 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 1: that it, you know, had to do with sort of 256 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 1: meditative practices and also like a dance, a Buddhist dance 257 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:44,000 Speaker 1: known as the somme, which is you know, also you know, 258 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 1: it's very religious, obviously tied to Buddhism, but has to 259 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:49,680 Speaker 1: do with, you know, training your body and mind to 260 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 1: work together to do incredible things. 261 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 2: I also saw that has secret meaning meanings that you 262 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:58,800 Speaker 2: have to be a very high, highly advanced Buddhist monk 263 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 2: to you basically be let in on, which is pretty neat. 264 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: Oh cool. 265 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 2: There's also a folk dance in Mongolia that's indigenous to 266 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 2: Mongolia from what I understand b LG b I y 267 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 2: e l G e E. And as far as folk 268 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 2: dances go, I'm not usually a huge fan of folk dance, 269 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:18,720 Speaker 2: Like I wouldn't go to a community center to see 270 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 2: a folk dance performance, but this is a pretty cool 271 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 2: folk dance to just check out on video, in part 272 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 2: because of the movements, which include contortionism, including full back 273 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:32,520 Speaker 2: bends to where the dancer's back is like flat on 274 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:36,440 Speaker 2: the ground while they're on their knees, but also just 275 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 2: the incredibly colorful costumes that they wear too. It's really neat. 276 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: What is a folk dance performance? Like, what are you avoiding? 277 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: I don't even know what that means. 278 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 2: It's kind of like when when people from different cultures 279 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 2: perform traditional dances. Oh okay, it's a folk dance. I 280 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 2: got you, Okay, I mean, what do you think like 281 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 2: square dancing? I guess probably a type of float dance. Yeah. No, 282 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 2: it's just you know, any kind of cultural dancing. For 283 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 2: some reason, it's never floated my boat. 284 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: But I gotcha. 285 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 2: I'm not yucking anyone's yum because I couldn't do a 286 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 2: single step of any folk dance. And I'm usually impressed 287 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 2: with anybody who can dance in any way, shape or form. 288 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:23,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, me too. So twelfth century is when it starts 289 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: to become a really sort of mainstream thing in Mongolian culture, 290 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: basically at you know, festival's court appearances obviously. And then 291 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:37,600 Speaker 1: seventeenth century is when there was a Buddhist leader named 292 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: Ondoor Gigeen's and Zavar who inspired these contortionists with these 293 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 1: I guess there were was it like just art sculptures 294 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: basically the people like in Ul sorts of kind of 295 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: contorted positions. 296 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, he was like do that position, I dare you. Yeah, 297 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 2: he would make sculptures of him. Yeah, that was yeah. 298 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:03,440 Speaker 2: And the guy was so I guess popular that like 299 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:07,840 Speaker 2: he actually advanced contortionism by pushing them to their limits. 300 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 2: I guess as a sculptor. Yeah, you know. 301 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 1: I mean you can bend clay in ways you can't 302 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: bend the body. 303 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:16,640 Speaker 2: That's right. That's why I can bend it like gumby man. 304 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:17,280 Speaker 1: That's right. 305 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 2: So Mongolia is and I thought this was pretty interesting too. 306 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 2: There's like contortionism evolving in different places around the world, 307 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:30,879 Speaker 2: you know, kind of simultaneously, but Mongolia basically took the mantle. 308 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:32,879 Speaker 2: And one of the reasons why is because they became 309 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,920 Speaker 2: a Soviet state in the forties and as part of 310 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:42,320 Speaker 2: the USSR, the government bankrolled the Mongolian State Circus, which 311 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:45,879 Speaker 2: became world renowned traveled the world. That's one of the 312 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:48,199 Speaker 2: ways it became world renowned. But also because they were 313 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 2: really really good and one of the center pieces of 314 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:56,040 Speaker 2: the Mongolian State Circus was contortionism, and from that it 315 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 2: grew in popularity very very quickly because there's a lot 316 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:01,000 Speaker 2: of funding for it, a lot of publicity for it. 317 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:06,840 Speaker 2: But that created a mushrooming of contortionist schools in Mongolia, 318 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 2: some of which are still around today. 319 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, for sure. The first one and the first 320 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,080 Speaker 1: sort of you know, superstar of that circus was a 321 00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: contortions name Sendayosh and that was the first school. But 322 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: like you said, there's a lot of them still there. 323 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: And it's not just like, hey, if you're from Mongolia 324 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 1: and you're a young girl and your parents think you're 325 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: like pretty flexible early on, they may send you to 326 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,439 Speaker 1: this like that certainly happens, but people from all over 327 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: the world, like gymnasts, will go and train. Like anyone 328 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:44,679 Speaker 1: who wants to sort of increase your flexibility in an 329 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 1: extreme way, there's no better place in the world to 330 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,840 Speaker 1: go than contortionist school in Mongolia. 331 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 2: No, they know what they're they're doing. 332 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 1: In other words, yeah, for sure, their circus isn't nearly 333 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,200 Speaker 1: as big ever since they peeled away from the Soviet 334 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:02,040 Speaker 1: Union in the early nineties, but it's still like a 335 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 1: big kind of rich tradition in that country. 336 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, big time. Right now. The biggest school, I 337 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 2: think the oldest school is owned by a former sumo wrestler, 338 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:17,240 Speaker 2: and he is Mongolia's most famous, most revered sumo wrestler. 339 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 2: He got out of the sumo game and bought the 340 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,119 Speaker 2: school for contortionism. The thing is, it's kind of in 341 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:28,879 Speaker 2: this decline, so much so that Mongolia has been trying 342 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:35,720 Speaker 2: to get UNESCO heritage protection for Mongolian contortionism because it's 343 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:39,240 Speaker 2: just not quite as widespread, even though there's more schools 344 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 2: than ever, it's just become much more diluted. I think 345 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 2: there's a lower barrier to entry for being like say 346 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 2: a teacher or a school owner or something like that. 347 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:52,719 Speaker 2: And then simultaneous to that, a lot of Mongolian contortionist 348 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,880 Speaker 2: trainers are going abroad and so they're taking it with them. 349 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 2: But at the same time, someone in say like England 350 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 2: who sees an English contor, they don't are They're not 351 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:04,480 Speaker 2: regarding the idea that that person was trained by a 352 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 2: Mongolian contortionist teacher. They are looking at the English contortionists, 353 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,359 Speaker 2: and so in that way, it's becoming less and less 354 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:14,440 Speaker 2: identified with Mongolia. 355 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:16,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's kind of a I was kind of 356 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: disappointed that UNESCO turned them down. They try to get 357 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: you know, it added as a list of intangible heritage, 358 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: which it seems very clear that that's the case, but 359 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 1: they rejected the proposal. This was in twenty eleven, and 360 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:32,400 Speaker 1: they said that advocates didn't make a strong enough case 361 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,480 Speaker 1: for its significance in Mongolian culture and society, which just 362 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,200 Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm not on that board obviously, but 363 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,159 Speaker 1: it seems pretty obvious to me as an outsider that 364 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 1: it's like super tied to Mongolian culture. 365 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 2: Sure, well, you will be heartened that the Mongolian folk 366 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 2: dance Bilg is protected under UNESCO heritage. 367 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:54,879 Speaker 1: I'll just take it one step further UNESCO. 368 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 2: That's right. One is also, what's the big deal? I 369 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:02,040 Speaker 2: don't know. I was trying to think about that. I'm 370 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 2: sure that they have a kind of mentality that's like 371 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:06,879 Speaker 2: we don't want to open the floodgates or else, you know. 372 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 2: But I mean, there's plenty of stuff that I'm sure 373 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 2: deserves protecting that they're turning down. And you know what, 374 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,200 Speaker 2: I'd be interested to know about that. I'm going to 375 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:16,919 Speaker 2: look into that and we'll do short stuff on all 376 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 2: the stuff you neesco's turned down for heritage protection. 377 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,840 Speaker 1: Well, if you want to learn about the mechanics, now 378 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: is your time to listen closely. This is the point 379 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:30,439 Speaker 1: where you were probably talking about maybe looking up pictures 380 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:32,840 Speaker 1: and stuff. But you know, I think a lot of 381 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 1: people have seen a lot of this stuff. If you've 382 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 1: ever watched when we were kids, that's incredible or America's 383 00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: got talent these days, they'll have acts like this or 384 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 1: certainly if you've ever been to like Circsole or something. Yeah, 385 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: but backbending, there's like kind of six main sort of 386 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 1: overall things you can learn, and then within that you 387 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,320 Speaker 1: can do all sorts of stuff to incorporate little side 388 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 1: tricks and then you know mix these together for you know, 389 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,040 Speaker 1: performative purposes. But back bending, that's sort of the classic 390 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:07,880 Speaker 1: place that you start the classic back bend. Yeah. 391 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 2: One of the things is the chest stand, and essentially 392 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 2: it's where you're on your chest. See, so I'm gonna 393 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,040 Speaker 2: like everybody get in this position. I'm gonna walk you 394 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 2: through it. You're on your chest flat I guess it's 395 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 2: prone on the floor, and you bend yourself at the 396 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 2: waist and you bring your hips back back, back, back back, 397 00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:30,840 Speaker 2: and then you have your feet on either side of 398 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,640 Speaker 2: your head. You can do this everybody just hanging there. 399 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 2: And then your feet are fat flat on the floor 400 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,840 Speaker 2: on either side of your head. Remember you're still on 401 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 2: your chest, but now your legs are completely over you 402 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 2: and your feet are on either side of your head, 403 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 2: flat on the floor. That's the chest stand. That's the 404 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,879 Speaker 2: most basic one. Anybody can basically do that just jumping 405 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 2: into it. 406 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,879 Speaker 1: Well, my only note with that description is when you 407 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,040 Speaker 1: said your waist went back back back, Technically I think 408 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:01,359 Speaker 1: your waist is going forward forward, forward, So that might 409 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:02,160 Speaker 1: have confused people. 410 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,119 Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, I think maybe that's why I was like, 411 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:09,720 Speaker 2: this is this is hard to describe because I knew 412 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 2: I was going to screw it up just royally. 413 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,439 Speaker 1: Well, you've also got the front bend. If someone has 414 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:17,879 Speaker 1: got a little humor to their performance, you're probably going 415 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: to use a front bend because that is when you're 416 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 1: sort of doing the opposite in which you fold your 417 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:26,639 Speaker 1: head and chest all the way between your legs to 418 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:28,840 Speaker 1: where you're sort of looking at your own butt. So 419 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: obviously insert joke right there. 420 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:35,000 Speaker 2: Yes, these are the ones that really get to me, 421 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:39,920 Speaker 2: Like the there's like some sort of preternatural like zap 422 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 2: that contortionist poses can do to you, or to me 423 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:47,879 Speaker 2: at least, and the like the human pretzel one or 424 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 2: the human knot. Those are the ones that they just 425 00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:53,960 Speaker 2: zap me. It's a very thrilling way. But at the 426 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 2: same time, I like there's some part of my lizard 427 00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 2: brain that like that ain't right. Body's not supposed to 428 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:00,200 Speaker 2: do that. 429 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, we go to Circula every year when 430 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:06,280 Speaker 1: it comes to Atlanta in the fall. That's kind of 431 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,960 Speaker 1: one of our little family traditions, and there's always some 432 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:13,160 Speaker 1: kind of contortionists, I feel like. But yeah, this last one, 433 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:15,639 Speaker 1: and I can't remember which one it was called, but 434 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,680 Speaker 1: they had a guy and it was he was the 435 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,080 Speaker 1: best I had ever seen. It was. I wasn't quite 436 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,160 Speaker 1: sure what I was watching it at certain points where 437 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,800 Speaker 1: you can't even tell which arm was which or you know, 438 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,159 Speaker 1: it was definitely one of those brain breaking sort of performances. 439 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 1: It was incredible. 440 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, those are. I think one of the 441 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:40,359 Speaker 2: other things too that I've noted, especially with Search to 442 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,680 Speaker 2: Sola performances, is it's not just like a hey, look 443 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:45,680 Speaker 2: I'm in this pose and I'm holding this pose and 444 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,160 Speaker 2: now I'm just going to get into the next post. 445 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 2: Like the transition from one post to another is incredibly important, 446 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:52,840 Speaker 2: and that's kind of what makes it like a very 447 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 2: ballet like performance, you know. I think that's just that 448 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,639 Speaker 2: makes the whole thing like even more amazing, but at 449 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,879 Speaker 2: the same time time more exapts me less than just 450 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,000 Speaker 2: like a here's a pose. Check it out. Let. It 451 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:08,240 Speaker 2: really sink in what I'm doing right now. Yeah, it's 452 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 2: like I like it when it's the way that you 453 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:13,000 Speaker 2: describe it where you can't even tell what's what. 454 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I think definitely the next part balancing 455 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:20,440 Speaker 1: is when that comes into play. That's I think a 456 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,159 Speaker 1: lot of like the feats of strength combined with you know, 457 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: I said, they kind of mix things up in circuses, 458 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,280 Speaker 1: and the feats of strength is definitely when balancing comes 459 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: in because that's when you're contorted in a pose and 460 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,920 Speaker 1: maybe you're like lifting yourself off the ground in a 461 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: little ball that you can't even figure out with just 462 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:39,879 Speaker 1: like your fingertips or something like that. 463 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:42,920 Speaker 2: Yeah. Very famous. One of these is the Marinelli bend, 464 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 2: and that is essentially kind of like it's like a 465 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 2: chest stand. It's very similar to a chest stand, except 466 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:53,480 Speaker 2: that rather than having your weight on your chest, you 467 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 2: have all of the weight in your entire body on 468 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,200 Speaker 2: your teeth and you're probably biting a pole and that's 469 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,480 Speaker 2: what's holding you up while you're doing your chest stay 470 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,159 Speaker 2: in the middle of the air. It's quite impressive and 471 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:09,480 Speaker 2: I looked it up. There is a Mongolian contortionist named 472 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 2: sastral Ordenablig and she holds the record for holding a 473 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:17,400 Speaker 2: Marinelli bend for four minutes and seventeen seconds. 474 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:23,640 Speaker 1: That's a long time with her teeth. Yeah, dislocation, that's 475 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: another one that probably might trigger some folks. That is 476 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:31,040 Speaker 1: kind of one of those deals where it looks like 477 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:33,920 Speaker 1: you're popping your shoulder or your arm out of joint 478 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 1: or something like that to achieve the sort of performative effect. 479 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 1: The shoulder passed through with sort of a classic move. 480 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:45,920 Speaker 1: That's where you hold a stick with both hands and 481 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,200 Speaker 1: you move the stick all the way, you know, in 482 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,160 Speaker 1: front of your body and then over your head into 483 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:52,359 Speaker 1: your back, but you're not changing your grip, so your 484 00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:55,680 Speaker 1: arms are twisting and contorting in ways that look like 485 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 1: they've been dislocated. 486 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,680 Speaker 2: Yeah. The splits too. I always thinking the splits is 487 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 2: kind of like a cheer Yeah, it's classic. It's like 488 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:05,680 Speaker 2: a cheerleader thing, or you know your friend in the 489 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,720 Speaker 2: neighborhood can do it. Have you ever done a split? 490 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,560 Speaker 1: Now, I'm not splitty. I mean I used to be 491 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:16,920 Speaker 1: very flexible, like I could put my ankle, like my 492 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,040 Speaker 1: foot behind my head. 493 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:18,680 Speaker 2: Wow. 494 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 1: When I was young and stuff like that, and when 495 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: I was one come close now in Ruby the other 496 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:26,679 Speaker 1: day was just laughing at me because I was actually 497 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:27,320 Speaker 1: fairly close. 498 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 2: But I was never a splitter, all right, fair enough, 499 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 2: I wasn't either. But one of the basic things that 500 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:38,320 Speaker 2: you have to learn is the splits, because so many 501 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 2: of the other kind of movements and poses are based 502 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:45,720 Speaker 2: on being able to do a split. It's a basic one. 503 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:48,239 Speaker 2: But if you really want to be impressed, go look 504 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 2: up over splits, which is doing a split. But say 505 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 2: one foot is on a chair in front of you 506 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 2: and the other foot is on a chair behind you, 507 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,200 Speaker 2: and you're a foot or so off of the ground, 508 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:02,000 Speaker 2: almost making a just the beginnings of a U with 509 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 2: your legs. 510 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, I like that standing split where you're on one 511 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 1: leg and you have reached behind you and grabbed that 512 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,160 Speaker 1: foot and brought it all the way over. That's always 513 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 1: because that's also incorporates balance. Obviously. 514 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:18,480 Speaker 2: I don't remember who did that, but one of the 515 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,280 Speaker 2: I think that one of the American skaters in the 516 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 2: Winter Olympics did that while they were doing like a spin. 517 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:31,240 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, but it was like perfectly ninety degrees perpendicular 518 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 2: to the ice. It was really amazing. 519 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 1: Well you got to are you get that half point deduction. 520 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 2: And then twisting too. This kind of twisting is not 521 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,720 Speaker 2: necessarily in and of itself a pose, although it will 522 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 2: be impressive, but it's kind of like a fundamental part 523 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:50,080 Speaker 2: of a bunch of other poses, right where if you're 524 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,160 Speaker 2: twisting yourself around, or if you're moving yourself so that 525 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 2: you can't tell what arm is, what you're twisting to 526 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 2: some degree. And what's really fascinating to me about this 527 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:06,520 Speaker 2: is that each individual vertebra is rotating, and it's rotating 528 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:10,720 Speaker 2: to a degree that the average person can't do obviously, 529 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 2: but just the idea of your spine, I would think 530 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:17,440 Speaker 2: of it as moving in one thing. But it's just 531 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,960 Speaker 2: like think, think, think, think, think. Each vertebra is moving itself. 532 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:23,400 Speaker 2: I think that's an amazing skill. 533 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 1: Just that. 534 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 2: Like if somebody walked up to me and said I 535 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,320 Speaker 2: can twist all of my individual vertebra, can you? I 536 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:31,719 Speaker 2: would say I don't think I can. 537 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:35,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I wouldn't know if I am exactly. 538 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 2: I know somebody's getting right in and be like, don't 539 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,720 Speaker 2: be stupid, Josh. Everyone's vertebra twist individually I get that. 540 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 2: I guess I'm trying to get across that I'm impressed 541 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:46,200 Speaker 2: by contortionists. Okay, for sure. 542 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:48,200 Speaker 1: Should we take another break? 543 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 2: I think we should. 544 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 1: All right, We're going to come back and talk about 545 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: sort of the dark side of this right after this. 546 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:19,520 Speaker 3: Stop stop stop, all right, I promise talk of the 547 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,200 Speaker 3: talk of the dark side, and that is to say 548 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:23,800 Speaker 3: there are. 549 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:29,400 Speaker 1: Some some syndromes and some disorders that could lend itself 550 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:32,440 Speaker 1: to this. Uh So, I guess that's the dark side. 551 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:35,280 Speaker 1: The first thing we should clear up is that double 552 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,480 Speaker 1: jointed is not a thing. Uh. I know, that's something 553 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:40,280 Speaker 1: that everyone kind of learned on the playground, like, look, 554 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,200 Speaker 1: I'm double jointed. But what people or people don't have 555 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:45,320 Speaker 1: extra joints. What people are really talking about there is 556 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:49,880 Speaker 1: what's called hypermobility. Yeah, and that is something that obviously 557 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: if you are hyper mobile, then you are have a 558 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,000 Speaker 1: pretty good leg up to being a contortionist. And they 559 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:59,960 Speaker 1: would diagnose that or I guess, rather rate your high 560 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:04,800 Speaker 1: mobility on what's called the Baiton scale, and nine is 561 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 1: the highest on that scale. And if you're a contortionist, 562 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:08,960 Speaker 1: you're probably a nine. 563 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:11,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, But also aren't you a jerk if you make 564 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:14,240 Speaker 2: a scale and you just leave it at nine rather 565 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:14,720 Speaker 2: than ten. 566 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 1: I just I feel like there had to be a 567 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 1: reason for that, but I didn't ask. 568 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:22,080 Speaker 2: Well, you at a point for each thing that somebody 569 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:24,960 Speaker 2: can do. So it's things like can you touch your 570 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:27,640 Speaker 2: thumb to your forearm? And I can do that very easily. 571 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:31,960 Speaker 2: I'm doing now over and over again. But you want 572 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 2: to be able to do that with each hand. There's 573 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 2: like can you does your nee go back a certain 574 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:42,720 Speaker 2: degree behind itself. There's just a bunch of different ones, 575 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 2: and you add one point for each limb that can 576 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 2: do that, and I guess it just adds up to nine. 577 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,240 Speaker 2: He wasn't being a jerk. I was just kidding. 578 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,040 Speaker 1: Yeah. So I mentioned early on that genetics could play 579 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: a part, and that's certainly true. You know, if your 580 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,320 Speaker 1: parents were controls or your mom is a contortionist, you 581 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:05,840 Speaker 1: may be born more flexible, you may be born with hypermobility. 582 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:08,840 Speaker 1: But sometimes it does correlate, like I said, with the 583 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:14,360 Speaker 1: genetic conditions. The first one is eds Ler's dan Low syndrome. 584 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,360 Speaker 1: There's really thirteen of those syndromes. So it means that 585 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:20,400 Speaker 1: you know, if you're a contortionist. You may have one 586 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: of these, not always, but it's possible. Yeah. 587 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:29,320 Speaker 2: I think it's sometimes called circosolate disease, and there are, 588 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:32,200 Speaker 2: like you said, thirteen of them. They because the one 589 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:35,080 Speaker 2: thing they have in common is that they affect your 590 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:37,400 Speaker 2: connective tissue. So you can have one that makes you 591 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:44,720 Speaker 2: very hyper mobile, very extendable. Hyper extendable because the connective 592 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:47,120 Speaker 2: tissue in your joints is not as say, stiff as 593 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:49,960 Speaker 2: somebody else's, so you can go way beyond the normal 594 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 2: range of motion. But then there's also other ones that 595 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,280 Speaker 2: keep you from being able to control your own breathing, 596 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 2: or your teeth fall out of your head because your 597 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,120 Speaker 2: gums are not kind of active enough to hold them 598 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 2: in there. So there's a whole bunch of different ways 599 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,400 Speaker 2: that this can affect you. It just happens that a 600 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:08,200 Speaker 2: couple of the forms of EDS, or a couple of 601 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:11,240 Speaker 2: the symptoms of some types of EDS make you much 602 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,760 Speaker 2: more hyper mobile and hyper extensive. 603 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:17,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. Sometimes if you are hyper mobile and 604 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:19,800 Speaker 1: you have the EDS, and that's one of I guess 605 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: sort of the pluses. It can have some harmful traits, 606 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:27,440 Speaker 1: like although it can also help with the skin hyper 607 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:32,480 Speaker 1: extensibility like having really stretchy skin, or maybe joint instability 608 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:34,920 Speaker 1: is obviously a bad one because that can lead to 609 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: injury and dislocations and stuff like that. But we should 610 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:41,560 Speaker 1: point out that there doesn't seem to be any like 611 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,880 Speaker 1: weird high rate of injury for people who are involved 612 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:50,040 Speaker 1: in contortionism, and definitely not does it mean like you're 613 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:52,800 Speaker 1: going to die younger. That's sort of a old wives 614 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:55,840 Speaker 1: tale that contortionists die young, But that may have to 615 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:58,800 Speaker 1: do with the fact that it could be go along 616 00:33:58,840 --> 00:33:59,760 Speaker 1: with some of these syndromes. 617 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:02,360 Speaker 2: Yeah. I also wonder if it has to do with 618 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:04,840 Speaker 2: just going out of the public eye at a very 619 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:07,960 Speaker 2: young age, because in Mongoli, I think the average career 620 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,760 Speaker 2: of a contortionist goes from about age six to age thirteen. 621 00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:13,360 Speaker 2: So I wonder if that just kind of helped develop 622 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:15,360 Speaker 2: that old wives tale over the years. 623 00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:19,080 Speaker 1: Oh, like people think they died and just aged out exactly. 624 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:20,240 Speaker 1: Oh interesting. 625 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:23,720 Speaker 2: One of the things that was always kind of obvious 626 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:25,799 Speaker 2: to me is that women are more flexible than men 627 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:30,719 Speaker 2: on the whole. There are actually distinct physiological reasons for this, 628 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:34,200 Speaker 2: one of which I mean body structure obviously, but hormones 629 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:41,200 Speaker 2: apparently affect your connective tissue and it's I guess strength 630 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:45,359 Speaker 2: or degree of flexibility. And so when women take progestin 631 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:51,359 Speaker 2: progestin only birth control pills, they're more hyper mobile than 632 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 2: when they aren't on birth control pills. Isn't that fascinating? 633 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:58,520 Speaker 1: Yeah? For sure. And then you know, jumping back to 634 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:02,760 Speaker 1: the syndromes, the second one is something called marphan syndrome, 635 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:05,120 Speaker 1: which I feel like we've talked about at some point. 636 00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 1: I know I've heard of it. But that's another genetic 637 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:12,200 Speaker 1: condition that makes that connective tissue like super flexible. Right 638 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:16,080 Speaker 1: in this case, it's about sort of like EDS, it's 639 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:19,600 Speaker 1: about one in four thousand each of them are. And 640 00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:21,760 Speaker 1: you know this one you can cause shortness of breath, 641 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:27,799 Speaker 1: heart palpitations, ie pain sometimes, and you know those are 642 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,360 Speaker 1: the two main ones. But outside of this, there's an 643 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:34,720 Speaker 1: umbrella term called hypermobility spectrum disorder that kind of covers, 644 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,680 Speaker 1: you know, other things that lend itself to extreme flexibility. 645 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:42,839 Speaker 2: Yes, and like like you said, you do have advantages 646 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:44,759 Speaker 2: to this. So if you're a woman on a high 647 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:49,000 Speaker 2: level of hormones who has Marphin syndrome and maybe a 648 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:53,600 Speaker 2: high hypermobility spectrum disorder. You are probably a like what 649 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:57,480 Speaker 2: I thought all contortions were, essentially a born contortionist. There's 650 00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:01,280 Speaker 2: challenges for all the advantages that offers, and then obviously 651 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:03,440 Speaker 2: the drawbacks in other ways that it affects your health. 652 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:06,600 Speaker 2: But as far as contortionism goes, it has just a 653 00:36:06,719 --> 00:36:11,120 Speaker 2: suite of advantages for you. But there's also like drawbacks 654 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:13,200 Speaker 2: in that, like you will have to probably do more 655 00:36:13,239 --> 00:36:16,360 Speaker 2: strength training than the average person because again your connective 656 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:20,040 Speaker 2: tissue is weaker than other people's, which makes you easier 657 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:23,719 Speaker 2: to flex or more flexible, and then also you might 658 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:26,560 Speaker 2: be more prone to injury, like you were saying, because 659 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:28,760 Speaker 2: you can dislocate way easier than other people. 660 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, but they've you know, they've done studies and it's 661 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,520 Speaker 1: they haven't found it any different than any other sort 662 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:39,120 Speaker 1: of you know, professional athleticism. They've even put people in 663 00:36:39,239 --> 00:36:42,879 Speaker 1: the Wonder Machine and have been contort in an MRI 664 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:48,160 Speaker 1: and didn't see anything odd going on. So they basically said, 665 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:49,600 Speaker 1: it's all good, keep doing what you're doing. 666 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:55,480 Speaker 2: Nothing odd going on here. Yeah, So if you wanted 667 00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:58,520 Speaker 2: to get in the contorting chuck, where would you start? 668 00:36:59,040 --> 00:36:59,640 Speaker 2: That's the question. 669 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:03,160 Speaker 1: I put to you, now, let's start stretching immediately. 670 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:05,919 Speaker 2: I think I think that's a good, good plan. 671 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:08,319 Speaker 1: Yeah, but you should probably start as a small kid, 672 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:13,120 Speaker 1: like some people get into this as adults, but much much, 673 00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:15,959 Speaker 1: much more often, like I would say ninety five percent 674 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,760 Speaker 1: of the time, you're starting out as a kid because 675 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:20,600 Speaker 1: you have a lot more you know, you're flexible as 676 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:23,040 Speaker 1: a kid, you got more collagen fibers going on, your 677 00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:25,680 Speaker 1: muscles and joints don't have as much calcium at that point. 678 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:31,200 Speaker 2: So kids are just bendy, they are super bendy. You 679 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:33,279 Speaker 2: also want to do a lot of strengths training too, 680 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:35,160 Speaker 2: and you're gonna, like, if you want to be an 681 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:38,640 Speaker 2: actual professional contortionist, you're basically gonna need to dedicate your 682 00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:41,880 Speaker 2: life to it. You have to train every day for 683 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:45,799 Speaker 2: hours and hours a day. And that whole stretching thing 684 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:48,640 Speaker 2: is not just like what you do to warm up. 685 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:52,480 Speaker 2: There's it's actually part of your training is to stretch 686 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:56,800 Speaker 2: because there's a really interesting reflex called the myotatic reflex, 687 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:02,239 Speaker 2: the myostatic but essentially, when you flex a muscle or 688 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:05,800 Speaker 2: when you press on a muscle, the reflex is that 689 00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:10,000 Speaker 2: your muscle automatically contracts. It's how your body keeps you 690 00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:15,360 Speaker 2: from falling down. Essentially, is this automatic reflex. The problem 691 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:20,480 Speaker 2: is that keeps your muscles from expanding or stretching further. 692 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:23,239 Speaker 2: So if you just stretch like normal, like if you 693 00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:26,400 Speaker 2: do a hamstring stretch, your muscles are no longer than 694 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:29,160 Speaker 2: they were before you did that hamstring stretch. It feels 695 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:31,799 Speaker 2: better and they're looser, but they're not actually longer, which 696 00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:34,600 Speaker 2: is really important in contortionism. So they've figured out that 697 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:37,759 Speaker 2: there are certain ways that you can do stretching. They're 698 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:43,799 Speaker 2: called proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretches, and essentially this is how 699 00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:47,680 Speaker 2: you train your body to actually elongate the muscle fibers. 700 00:38:48,719 --> 00:38:51,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you are well on your way at that point. 701 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:53,560 Speaker 1: You obviously got to be drinking plenty of water too, 702 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:57,040 Speaker 1: because that's going to keep that spinal support, keep those 703 00:38:57,120 --> 00:39:01,120 Speaker 1: disks nice and cushiony, and that's just a good Obviously, 704 00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:03,239 Speaker 1: when they tell you to drink water every day, there's 705 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:05,160 Speaker 1: lots of reasons for that, but that's one of them. 706 00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:08,720 Speaker 1: Just as a regular old person walking around not twisting 707 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:13,440 Speaker 1: themselves into shapes, and you know, they have found that 708 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:17,000 Speaker 1: it gets Obviously it gets better with time. Like when 709 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:20,400 Speaker 1: you start training, your muscles aren't going to change that 710 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:24,000 Speaker 1: much in the first few weeks, but your neurons actually 711 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:27,279 Speaker 1: shipped in their behavior, and your pain tolerance is going 712 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:31,000 Speaker 1: to increase, and your range of motion is going to extend. 713 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,960 Speaker 1: And again this is just you know, for contortionism, but 714 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:37,040 Speaker 1: flexibility and stretching is kind of one of the keys 715 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:40,360 Speaker 1: to aging. Well, you know, so this advice is for 716 00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:41,080 Speaker 1: a lot of people. 717 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:43,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, when I was looking up a lot of this 718 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:47,279 Speaker 2: stuff for contortionism, I ran into tons of videos that 719 00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:49,680 Speaker 2: were just like for that, like just to become a 720 00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:54,800 Speaker 2: more flexible average person. It is a super important agreed. Yeah, okay, 721 00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:59,640 Speaker 2: so if you want to go see a contortionist, there 722 00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:02,040 Speaker 2: are big is on the web, but it's much much 723 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:05,279 Speaker 2: different to see it in person. So you know, yeah, maybe, 724 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:07,960 Speaker 2: like you said, make an annual pilgrimage to sirch to 725 00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:09,439 Speaker 2: so lay like your family. Chuck. 726 00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:11,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, Fourth, I think it's fun. 727 00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:15,279 Speaker 2: Well, since Chuck said he thinks it's fun, everybody, that 728 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:16,400 Speaker 2: means it's time for listener. 729 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:21,799 Speaker 1: May guys are gonna call this no corrections, just compliments. 730 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:24,320 Speaker 1: Nice That was in the subject line, so I'm always 731 00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:29,000 Speaker 1: prone to read one of those. It was a nudge 732 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,600 Speaker 1: listening to Jane Stanford episode was a nudge to finally 733 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:33,080 Speaker 1: write in and thank you guys for what you do. 734 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:36,960 Speaker 1: And so what Sarah has done here was wrote a 735 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:40,120 Speaker 1: top sort of a stuff you should know top ten, 736 00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:45,279 Speaker 1: which means it's four things long, five things long, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. No, 737 00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:47,759 Speaker 1: there's ten, but maybe i'll read like six of them 738 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:51,200 Speaker 1: in truth you shouldow style. Yeah, so here we go 739 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:53,359 Speaker 1: with number ten. Thank you for your friendly banter at 740 00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:55,800 Speaker 1: the beginning of the episode. Number nine. Thank you for 741 00:40:55,840 --> 00:41:00,880 Speaker 1: the witty episode names. Number eight. We always try to 742 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:02,120 Speaker 1: make the episode titles. 743 00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:03,480 Speaker 2: Kind of fun most of the time. 744 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:07,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, sometimes it's straightforward. You can't, you know, mock something like, 745 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:11,600 Speaker 1: oh I don't know anything serious or sad. Number eight. 746 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:16,200 Speaker 1: Thank you for the movie book cocktail, barbecue rice recipe 747 00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:21,000 Speaker 1: recommendations that you share, sometimes topics specific and sometimes not. 748 00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:24,239 Speaker 1: Number seven. Thank you for your obvious desire to not 749 00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:27,480 Speaker 1: show just kindness to different groups of people, but or 750 00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:31,600 Speaker 1: be politically correct, but to actually be kind people. All right, 751 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:34,840 Speaker 1: that's nice. Yeah. Number six, Thank you for your openness 752 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:38,080 Speaker 1: about your own lives, pets, and relationships, which makes us 753 00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:41,040 Speaker 1: feel like we can relate to you. It's a good one, 754 00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:44,120 Speaker 1: yeah for sure. Number five, Thank you for being surprisingly 755 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:47,400 Speaker 1: informative on unique topics, but also admitting that some of 756 00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:50,920 Speaker 1: them are not as tantalizing parentheses. I'm looking at you, 757 00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:54,400 Speaker 1: hard sciences, That's what Sarah said. And can we all 758 00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:57,040 Speaker 1: admit that the true crime and holiday extravagances are the best, 759 00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:03,160 Speaker 1: so serious into those. Number four, Thank you for coordinating 760 00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:06,200 Speaker 1: the intro outro jingle to the overall style of the episode. 761 00:42:06,760 --> 00:42:10,200 Speaker 1: We need to thank one person in another whole set 762 00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:12,160 Speaker 1: of people for that. Obviously, Jerry is the one who's 763 00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:14,640 Speaker 1: picking those out. Sure, so she's doing the coordination, but 764 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:18,200 Speaker 1: stuff you should know listeners of the people who perform 765 00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:20,480 Speaker 1: and those to begin with and recording. 766 00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:22,640 Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, and Dave and Ben pick them out to 767 00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:25,840 Speaker 2: Jerry's the all time goat. Yeah for sure, she's the 768 00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:27,359 Speaker 2: all time greatest of all time. 769 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:32,200 Speaker 1: That's right. Number three, Thank you for the mispronunciations and 770 00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:35,839 Speaker 1: the accents, especially in the Halloween episodes. Sarah really gets 771 00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:38,320 Speaker 1: what we're trying to do here. Number two, Thank you 772 00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:41,200 Speaker 1: for creating something we can usually safely listen to with 773 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:45,239 Speaker 1: kids in the car and still be entertained, or just 774 00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:47,520 Speaker 1: have on in the background so we feel surrounded by friends. 775 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:52,520 Speaker 1: Number one, thanks to you both for coming to Madison, 776 00:42:52,560 --> 00:42:56,960 Speaker 1: Wisconsin in April. Stay second row seats, so, Sarah, I 777 00:42:57,040 --> 00:42:59,000 Speaker 1: guess we'll be seeing you on the second row there. 778 00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:02,400 Speaker 1: And if you haven't got tickets for Madison yet or 779 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:05,120 Speaker 1: Akron or Chicago, there are still tickets available. 780 00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:08,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's stuff youshould Know dot com on the tour button. 781 00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:09,600 Speaker 1: That's right. 782 00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:11,800 Speaker 2: That was really nice, Sarah. That was a great email. 783 00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:15,040 Speaker 2: I'm glad you selected that one. Chuck. Yeah, thank you 784 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:17,280 Speaker 2: very much for all that, Sarah, and thanks for listening 785 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:20,399 Speaker 2: as much as you obviously do. And if you want 786 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:22,719 Speaker 2: to be like Sarah and send us a clever, cool 787 00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:25,520 Speaker 2: neat email, we love those. You can send it off 788 00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:28,359 Speaker 2: to stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 789 00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:34,279 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 790 00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:38,520 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 791 00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:40,480 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.