WEBVTT - The Monstrefact Redux: Donkeys of Dune

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

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures,

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<v Speaker 1>ideas and monsters in time. When it comes to the

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<v Speaker 1>fauna of the planet Aracus, your mind probably turns to

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<v Speaker 1>the famous sandworm. Alternatively, you might think of muad Dib,

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<v Speaker 1>the desert mouse, descended from terrestrial kangaroo mice that were

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<v Speaker 1>introduced to the planet by human colonists. But another introduced

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<v Speaker 1>species concerns me today, the Coulon. Yes, the donkeys of

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<v Speaker 1>Frank Herbert's Doone. The coulon are only mentioned twice in

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<v Speaker 1>the original novel, both times in the appendix, were told

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<v Speaker 1>that they were once wild donkeys of Earth's asiatic step

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<v Speaker 1>and were introduced and adapted for work on the planet Aracus.

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<v Speaker 1>We also learn that some smugglers made use of coulon

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<v Speaker 1>as pack animals, but quote the water price was high

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<v Speaker 1>even when the beasts were fitted with modified still suits.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the tidbit that enthralls me every time I

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<v Speaker 1>reread it. Perhaps it's just the mental image of a

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<v Speaker 1>donkey clad in a futuristic water reclamation suit, then used

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<v Speaker 1>by smugglers to traffic psychedelic space drugs. While the Dune

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<v Speaker 1>Encyclopedia is usually quick to expand on concepts from the novels,

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<v Speaker 1>they offer very little on the donkeys of Done except

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<v Speaker 1>to claim that the Fremen inhabitants of Aracus employed them

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<v Speaker 1>as well and use the animal's milk in their cuisine.

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<v Speaker 1>By the way, this book features a few recipes you

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<v Speaker 1>can prepare yourself. I often wondered why Frank Herbert would

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<v Speaker 1>choose to have introduced donkeys on Aracus and not camels. Camels,

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<v Speaker 1>after all, are the ships of the desert highly suited

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<v Speaker 1>for dry air environments, but the donkey, too, is a

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<v Speaker 1>highly evolved desert ungulate. Both species offer energy and water savings,

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<v Speaker 1>but is one truly a better choice than the other?

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<v Speaker 1>Was I wrong to question Herbert's wisdom in giving oracous

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<v Speaker 1>the donkey as usuff at all? Explore In energy costs

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<v Speaker 1>of walking in camels from nine, the camel benefits from

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<v Speaker 1>low energy cost of walking, which results in an economy

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<v Speaker 1>of heat production and food water requirements. Plus, the authors

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<v Speaker 1>argue that the camel is unequaled by other mammals in

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<v Speaker 1>its ability to carry heavy loads for long distances. The

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<v Speaker 1>domestication and popularity of the camel is a topic of

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<v Speaker 1>great interest and was the subject of historian Richard Bullets

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<v Speaker 1>book The Camel and the Wheel. In his two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>five book Hunters, Herders and Hamburgers, he mentions that he

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<v Speaker 1>nearly wrote a book on the donkey as well. Both

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<v Speaker 1>animals would have entered the world of human domestication, he

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<v Speaker 1>writes between four thousand and three thousand b c. As

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<v Speaker 1>Roger S. Bagnal discusses in the paper The Camel, the

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<v Speaker 1>Wagon and the Donkey in later Roman Egypt, both creatures

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<v Speaker 1>had their advantages depending on the job and the environment.

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<v Speaker 1>The camel was superior in its greater range, endurance, and

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<v Speaker 1>ability to go long distances without water, but it was

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<v Speaker 1>also more expensive than the donkey, and its advantages would

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<v Speaker 1>be less impressive if it was required for short and

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<v Speaker 1>or infrequent trips. And so what of the world of Iracus.

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<v Speaker 1>We might well assume that the mighty camel's long distance,

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<v Speaker 1>high volume skills were less necessary within a civilization full

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<v Speaker 1>of high tech ornithopters, and on a world where travel

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<v Speaker 1>across the open desert is so terribly risky due to

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<v Speaker 1>the sandworms attraction to the rhythm afoot and hoofsteps. Perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>then the donkey was is the best fit and the

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<v Speaker 1>domesticated species most likely to survive on aracous long term,

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<v Speaker 1>as it was perhaps cheaper to keep and better used

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<v Speaker 1>for short travel in protected areas and also as a

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<v Speaker 1>dairy animal. Tune into additional episodes of The Monster Fact

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<v Speaker 1>or The Artifact each week. As always, you can email

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<v Speaker 1>us at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com.

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