1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,680 Speaker 1: Guess what will what's that man go? So there's this 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: fact you always hear about Pablo Escobar. At the height 3 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: of his career, Pablo was bringing in eighteen billion dollars 4 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,719 Speaker 1: a year. That's all cash. It was so much money 5 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: that he was spending a month just on rubber bands. 6 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: Rubber bands, I know. But here's what's crazier. He and 7 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 1: his accountant budgeted to lose ten percent of that. I mean, 8 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:27,159 Speaker 1: Escobar expected to lose one point eight billion dollars and 9 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: the money was going to rats. Rats literal rats, Like 10 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: there were so many of them scarring around his warehouse 11 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: that he just accepted that the rodents were going to 12 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,239 Speaker 1: eat his profits. And you think about it, right, this 13 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: is Pablo Escobar, the most ruthless kingpin in the world, 14 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: and he's happy to kill judges and police officers and 15 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: anyone that's threatening his business. But even he's like, there's 16 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: no way to beat rats. Let's just give them the 17 00:00:52,840 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: ten percent they deserve. That's how unstoppable rats are. I'd say, hey, there, 18 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: podcast listeners, you're listening to Part Time Genius. I'm Will 19 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: Pearson and I'm joined by my good friend Mangues show 20 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: Ticketer and today we're asking why have rats out smart 21 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: at us for so long? It's a good question, and listeners, 22 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: I know it sounds disgusting, but I promise you this 23 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: is going to be fascinating. We've packed this show with fun. 24 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:32,319 Speaker 1: We'll have writer A. J. Jacobs on in a little bit. 25 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 1: We've got a part Time Genius quiz coming up where 26 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: a couple of our listeners can win some very big 27 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: and very important prizes. So who do we invite to 28 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: play in this episode? Mango? Today we asked for librarians 29 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: and only librarians, and I think next week we're looking 30 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: for accountants. That sounds right, yeah, and then I think 31 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: it's pastry Chef's name Kyle. And anyway, be sure to 32 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: follow us part Time Genius on all the social media 33 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: thing he's you know, Twitter, Facebook, if you want to 34 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: come on and compete. So let's dive into today's question, Ango, 35 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: what do you know about rats? Well, the first thing 36 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: I learned is that there are some great titles out 37 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: there about rats, including this book from the eighteen fifties 38 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: called The Rat It's History and Destructive Character. I have 39 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: to say that title does not sound pro rats. It 40 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: isn't it's this famous book in rat studies, and it's 41 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: great because you can tell that the author, James Rodwell, 42 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:23,799 Speaker 1: has zero love for rats. Like one of the things 43 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: he does is to challenge the reader to say the 44 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: word rat slowly, just to confirm how terrible the word sounds. 45 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: He calls it the foulest word in British zoology. You've 46 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 1: got to try it. Um, yeah, it's it's not a 47 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: pretty sounding word, I'll give you that. I know he's right, 48 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,079 Speaker 1: and it kind of sounds foul. So I got curious 49 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: and started looking up synonyms in the thesaurus, and I 50 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: realized there are no pleasant sounding alternatives for the word rat. 51 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 1: All right, give me something like, you know, vermin is one, 52 00:02:54,639 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: rodents nars. It doesn't even sound like a word, but 53 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: that's it. That's where the list stops. The only pleasant 54 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: term I could find for rats was track bunny. I know. 55 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: That's what subway workers call them when they see a 56 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: rat on the subway line. You know, treck bunnies is 57 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 1: almost a little too cute, I think, though, But I 58 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: I get what you're saying. Rats have a terrible reputation 59 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: and could use some rebranding. I don't know, maybe like uh, 60 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 1: like radio Shack rebranded itself the shack because shacks are 61 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: in right now, I guess the shack. Uh Yeah. The 62 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: fishing industry has done this with what they call trash fish, 63 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: so instead of calling it the slime head, they renamed 64 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 1: it the orange roughie. Or instead of the Patagonian toothfish, 65 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: which just sounds disgusting, we've got the Chilean sea bass. Yeah, 66 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: I mean they're there are tons of these. I think 67 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: my favorite is how the pil short goes by the 68 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: name cornish sardine. I'd never eat a pil shirt, but 69 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: a cornish starting I kind of want some, now, I know. 70 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: I just pictured it on like a tiny fork. So 71 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: that's what I'd love to do. Listeners, if you're up 72 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: for it, We're going to run a little contest to 73 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: come up with a new name for rats, something that 74 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: acknowledges the critters are gross but also deserving of admiration. 75 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: And to the top five geniuses who come up with 76 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: a rat replacement that's better than I don't know, uh, 77 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: sewer kittens, We'll send you a tiny wheel of cheese. Alright, 78 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,800 Speaker 1: sewer kittens. Yes, Listeners, please write your suggestions for rebranding 79 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: the rat and we'll honor you on our Facebook page. 80 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:21,840 Speaker 1: So just to get this out there, I'm totally creeped 81 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: out by rats, and it's because their germ elevators. We 82 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,720 Speaker 1: all know that rats carry ticks and lice with them, 83 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: and throughout history they've carried diseases into food sources and 84 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: into people's homes. But they're also just creepy to me. 85 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: I mean, have you ever seen these videos of how 86 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: rats squeeze their bodies under door frames and through tiny 87 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 1: It's so gross. I know, that gelatinous body thing is 88 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: just so disgusting. Like octopuses can do that too. A 89 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: good sized octopus can squeeze through a hole the size 90 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: of a cherry tomato. And to be honest, as much 91 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,040 Speaker 1: as I hate rats, I would be so freaked out 92 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: if my apartment had an octopus infestation, just a nest 93 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,599 Speaker 1: of baby octopus hanging out under the saints. Do you 94 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: remember that Mitch Hedberg bit about how koalas would scatter 95 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: whenever you turn on the lights in his apartment. That 96 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,599 Speaker 1: would be so much cuter than rats or octopus, I know, 97 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: so much more adorable. Here's something I never thought about. 98 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: I was reading this book Rats by Robert Sullivan, and 99 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: Sullivan makes this an analogy that if you see a 100 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: grizzly bear, you know you're in the wilderness, right, like 101 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: you never see a grizzly bear anywhere else. But what 102 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 1: we don't often think about is that if you see 103 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,720 Speaker 1: a rat, it's also an indicator that humans are nearby, 104 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: right right. I mean, it's no secret that rats thrive 105 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: by following human populations around. I mean, if you think 106 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,360 Speaker 1: about it, there really aren't natural predators to pick them 107 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: off in the city. It's basically just rats versus humans. 108 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:46,039 Speaker 1: And just to be clear, while there are plenty of 109 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: rats out there today, we're really focusing on the Norway rat, 110 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: also known as the brown rat. Yeah, I we should 111 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:54,359 Speaker 1: clarify why we're homing in on the Norway at well. 112 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: I mean, there are black rats too, which are smaller 113 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 1: and they tend to be located in warmer climates, But 114 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 1: the brown rats are really the common ones most of 115 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:03,040 Speaker 1: us think about. I mean, you might have heard of 116 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: warf rats or street rats, or barn rats or sewer rats, 117 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: or even you've heard of all I've heard of all 118 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 1: of them. Keep me keep a list. These are all 119 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 1: just brown rats. I mean, the same rat goes by 120 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: all these names because they're so adaptable. Yeah, that's right. 121 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,840 Speaker 1: I mean basically any rat you've been worried about, including 122 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: the ones that swim out of toilets. I know you're 123 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: looking at me skeptically, but every year there are ten 124 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,360 Speaker 1: to fifteen reports of this in Portland, Oregon alone, So 125 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: you've got to imagine that a good number of rats 126 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: creep out of toilets across the US. I mean, Norway 127 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:37,839 Speaker 1: rats are great swimmers, and of course they're not really 128 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: from Norway. Yeah. I guess it's just one of those 129 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 1: things where you want to blame another culture for the 130 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: new type of grossness, like how the Germans called the 131 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: German cockroach the Russian cockroach, and Russians call it the 132 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: Prussian cockroach, and everyone's happy to blame it on somebody else. Which, 133 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:54,839 Speaker 1: by the way, the other part of that rats story 134 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: is that the scientists in England name the rats Norway rats, 135 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: even though they had come from Denmark, the Denmark part 136 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:02,720 Speaker 1: of Norway. That's right. I mean he might have been 137 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:04,920 Speaker 1: a little bit bad at geography, but at the time 138 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:08,359 Speaker 1: Norway rats had not even yet invaded Norway. That's so weird. 139 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: The other thing Sullivan mentions is a rule of thumb 140 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: is that if you see a rat, it means there 141 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: are ten more lurking nearby. And if you see a 142 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: rat during the day, like on the subway tracks, then 143 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: you're really in trouble because there's definitely a problem. Like 144 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 1: rats love to roam at night. They don't want to 145 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: be seen, but if they're out running around, it means 146 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: the population is stressed because there's too much competition for food. 147 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: I never thought about it that way. Well, let's get 148 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: down to it. So we know people hate rats, and 149 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 1: we know they're lurking in bigger quantities than anyone sees. 150 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: But why are rats so hard to control? I mean, 151 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: one of the biggest reasons is that they populate so 152 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: darn't quickly. I heard this crazy thing that if you're 153 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: in a city at any given moment, you're not that 154 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: far from rats having sex. I can't even think. I'm 155 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: not going to tell you where I heard it. I 156 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: heard it somewhere. So but rats are really really good 157 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,080 Speaker 1: at mating. When rats aren't eating, all their due ing 158 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: is having sex. I mean, there's there's no four play, 159 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: no berry White. It's just business. In fact, it's one 160 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: of the biggest reasons rats are so hard to defeat, 161 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: because a male Norway rat can have sex with twenty 162 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: different partners in six hours. And the math on it's baffling. 163 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: I mean, think about this, alright. So one pair of 164 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: rats can churn out fifteen thousand descendants within a year. 165 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: Each letter then has eight to ten rats, and if 166 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: the gestation period is only twenty one days, well that's 167 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: a lot of rats that are then also eager to 168 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: make this It's pretty gross, which makes you wonder why 169 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:35,319 Speaker 1: we aren't all in the rat catching business. I know. 170 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: So while we're on the topic of rat sex, I've 171 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 1: got to tell you about my favorite study on the subject. 172 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: There's this well regarded scientists from Cairo, amd Chfique, who's 173 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: been dead for a while now, but he published this 174 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 1: experiment in European Neurology where he tested the effects of 175 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:56,079 Speaker 1: various pant materials on the sex drive of rats. Let 176 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: me get this straight. He made tiny pants for rats. 177 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,960 Speaker 1: He did the rats went topless, of course, but he 178 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: took seventy five million rats and had tiny trousers custom 179 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: made for each of them. One group were a cotton pants, 180 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:13,320 Speaker 1: another war wool, another war a blend, and these rats 181 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: they didn't get any less frisky. They just continued to 182 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,959 Speaker 1: get down. Except except for what, Except for the ones 183 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:22,440 Speaker 1: dressed in polyester. I mean, this is an amazing part. 184 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: The ones outfitted in a polyester pants started losing their 185 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 1: sex drive, or their confidences or something else. So I 186 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: don't know. Maybe it's the chafing on their tiny rat 187 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: bits that made them lose interests, or just being forced 188 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 1: to wear polyester. But let me get this straight. What 189 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 1: you're saying is all we have to do to end 190 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: our war with rats and get them to stop reproducing 191 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: is to hire an army of tailors, have the millions 192 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: of brown rats fitted for polyester trousers, and then sit 193 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: back and watch the population blendle. That simple. Yeah, I mean, 194 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,320 Speaker 1: Nicky Mouse doesn't have kids, and if Disney just switched 195 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: out his fabric and let his boys breathe a little, 196 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,079 Speaker 1: maybe he could start the family. His mom is always 197 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: naging him about. Brilliant And now it's time for a 198 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: dramatic reading of America's foremost rat poet, Jack Handy, from 199 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: his volume Squeaky Poems Rhymes about my rat. Look at 200 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:22,720 Speaker 1: her whiskers, look at her toes after you've rested, look 201 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 1: at her nose. Thank you? So ango, who do we 202 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 1: have on the line? So we have two librarians, Margaret 203 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: and Michael, going head to head in today's matchup. Now, 204 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:45,719 Speaker 1: we wanted librarians and only librarians today because librarians are 205 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: known to be word people, and we will be playing 206 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,200 Speaker 1: a word game before we uh, before we get to 207 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:54,080 Speaker 1: that one, don't we introduce our two contestants. We have 208 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,520 Speaker 1: Margaret on the line. Margaret is a librarian at m 209 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: I T. Margaret, welcome. You said that you actually appeared 210 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: without your permission in a calendar of librarians, a calendar 211 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:11,640 Speaker 1: of fictional librarians. But you're not fictional. No, I'm real 212 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:13,719 Speaker 1: at as far as I can tell. Michael, you are 213 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:15,960 Speaker 1: second contestant, and I want you to tell us what 214 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: calendars you've appeared in. I've never appeared on a calendar. Well, okay, 215 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 1: librarian exactly, all right. Well Michael, you are in Brooklyn. 216 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: Tell us a little bit about what you do. Okay. 217 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:32,360 Speaker 1: I'm a reference librarian of the Brooklyn Public Library. That's awesome. 218 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,439 Speaker 1: And you also have a really interesting story though as well. 219 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 1: In addition to being a librarian, you've been an improv 220 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:43,040 Speaker 1: comic now for whatever a decade, yes, thirteen years. My 221 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 1: specialty is working at the hospitals and nursing homes. I 222 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 1: per form at hospitals and I hope run an improv 223 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: workshop at a nursing home where the people themselves if 224 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: you improv, anybody's interested in joining or contributing. It's www 225 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: dot van ob doc work information. That's very very cool. 226 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 1: And I see, actually you do. One of your characters 227 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:08,200 Speaker 1: is a librarian, so we are now speaking to people 228 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:11,720 Speaker 1: that play two fictional librarians. Do either of you have 229 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: a favorite library in the world, I'm just supposed to 230 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: pick one um in terms of just like Pure Knock, 231 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: my soft soft best library experience I've ever had was 232 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 1: visiting the British Library in London where they keep because 233 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 1: they have like an enormous collection of historical manuscript and 234 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 1: I remember I think I went from a letter uh 235 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: signed by Queen Elizabeth, to a copy of the mc 236 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: mccarta to the manuscript for Persuasion resting on Jane Austen's 237 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 1: writing descument. It's just like I had to sit down 238 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:49,560 Speaker 1: minutes and collect myself. That's pretty great. All right, Well, Mango, 239 00:12:49,679 --> 00:12:52,440 Speaker 1: what game are are two contestants going to be playing today? 240 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 1: So we're going to play a game called rat in 241 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:56,680 Speaker 1: the middle, all right. So the rules of the game 242 00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:59,079 Speaker 1: are simple. Every answer is going to have the word 243 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 1: rat in it. So, for example, we could ask about 244 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 1: the second Star Trek movie because the word wrath and 245 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: wrath of con has the letters rat in it. We 246 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 1: thought it would be fun because your librarians and you're 247 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: used to the world of having to be rather quiet 248 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,959 Speaker 1: in your spaces, we thought we could let you, guys 249 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 1: maybe chime in with animal noises if that works for you. So, um, Margaret, 250 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: you want to be our You want to be our Moor? 251 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 1: All right? Michael, you want to uh what what animal 252 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:29,319 Speaker 1: would you like to pick? You want to you want 253 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: to coca? All right? There we go. Yeah, that and 254 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,200 Speaker 1: that's it. That's more like it. There we go. Alright, 255 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,680 Speaker 1: So we're gonna get started here. Remember you're playing for 256 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,880 Speaker 1: a big prize. Whoever wins, we'll get a handwritten note 257 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:46,199 Speaker 1: from us to your mom or your boss or someone 258 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: else who is important to you, uh, singing your praises. 259 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: So there's a lot on the line here. Okay, guys. 260 00:13:52,559 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: Question number one, I don't forget your noises, and when 261 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 1: we hear your noise, we will call on you and 262 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,440 Speaker 1: you'll have a chance to answer. While this dinosaur had 263 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,840 Speaker 1: over eight hundred teeth, it's more notable for the three 264 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: horns protruding from its face. I believe that was Michael 265 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 1: with the cauca. Alright, what's the answer? Michael? Well done? 266 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: I love how you emphasize the rat there, so alright. 267 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: Question number two? You ready to move, Margaret? I think 268 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: this one might be yours. This is a good one. 269 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: Elvis Presley was a practitioner of this martial art, and 270 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 1: in fact, in nineteen alright, hold on, I'll finish the question, 271 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: he shot a documentary called The New Gladiator, hoping it 272 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: would propel it into the mainstream. What do you think, 273 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 1: Michael Karate? Well done? All right? Answer answer? You're you're 274 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: still not in a calendar, Michael? All right? Here we go. 275 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: Number three. The b Boys and Markey Mark and the 276 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 1: Funky Bunch both had a hit song with this rat 277 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: word in its title? Was that a move I heard? 278 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 1: What do you think? Michael? Vibrations? That's absolutely right. Okay, 279 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: here we go. Alright, I'm going to skip to another 280 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:24,320 Speaker 1: one here. All right, it's okay, This is okay. This 281 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 1: Sasha Baron Cohen character is known for being the sixth 282 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:34,120 Speaker 1: There we go. What do you say, Margaret? Y are 283 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: well done? Alright? One more question here, question number five. 284 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: Lisa and Bart are obsessed with this violent Tom and 285 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: Jerry rip off on the Simpsons. Was that a sound? Okay? 286 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:53,040 Speaker 1: Here we go, go for it. Show well done? Alright, alright, 287 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 1: man goes. So what's our final tally here? So we've 288 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: got Michael in first place with three points and Margaret 289 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: in second place with two points. Michael, our letter do 290 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: your mom will be in the mail shortly, and because 291 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 1: we don't want anyone's mailbox to feel too lonely, Margaret, 292 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: we're gonna send you a potato from Potato Parcel, the 293 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 1: world's premier site for sending a potato through the postal service. 294 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: Thank you both for playing. So One thing I found 295 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:27,320 Speaker 1: surprising was just how new rat studies are. In fact, 296 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: I was actually thrown off by how new rats are 297 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,760 Speaker 1: to the United States. Like historically they're documented in Southeast Asia, 298 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: then they move up to China, they invade Siberia and 299 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 1: they march into Russia and then they sneak onto ships 300 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: and move across the water with people. But and this 301 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 1: is hard to fathom, rats didn't even arrive in places 302 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: like Spain until eighteen hundred. That is pretty crazy. I mean, 303 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: you imagine rats have just always been around and part 304 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: of the cultural fabric. But it's true they only invaded 305 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: states like Montana and the nineties or yeah. And and 306 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 1: just to drive that point home, you know, j Otto 307 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 1: Been the dudes who studied birds. Of course, he also 308 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,400 Speaker 1: studied rats and did rat paintings. And according to Sullivan, 309 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 1: when oddo Been showed his paintings to members of Congress 310 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,199 Speaker 1: and we're talking about the early eighteen hundreds here, a 311 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:14,560 Speaker 1: number of them mistook the rats for squirrels. Like these 312 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:17,359 Speaker 1: were educated men, many who worked farms, and they couldn't 313 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 1: tell the rats from squirrel. It can be tough sometimes 314 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: you have to admit that. I mean, it's a little odd, 315 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 1: but but you're right. The government only started studying the 316 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: animals during World War two, back when we thought the 317 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,479 Speaker 1: Nazis might harness rodents to spread disease all across Europe. 318 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,880 Speaker 1: In fact, people who wanted to study rats before, they 319 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,440 Speaker 1: had to do it on the sly. So take Elmer McCollum, 320 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 1: for instance. He was one of the pioneers at Johns 321 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,199 Speaker 1: Hopkins in the early nineteen hundreds, but he started his 322 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 1: research with rats at the University of Wisconsin. But the 323 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,120 Speaker 1: thing is he had to do it in secret because 324 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:53,240 Speaker 1: and I'm quoting, the Wisconsin state legislature would not support 325 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,400 Speaker 1: public expenditures on room and board of rats. A pest 326 00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:58,719 Speaker 1: to the Wisconsin I guess they paid tuition. I don't know, 327 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,399 Speaker 1: but I thought it was a weird. That's so weird. 328 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: But what we've learned about rats in the last seventy 329 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:08,119 Speaker 1: years is incredible, and it's basically that they're little geniuses. 330 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: Like they followed us across continents. They have this extraordinary 331 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:14,920 Speaker 1: sense of smell their home bodies, like they really don't 332 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:18,159 Speaker 1: travel more than sixty from their nest unless they have to, 333 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,000 Speaker 1: in which they can travel great distances and tread water 334 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: for like three days at a time. They can be 335 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:27,000 Speaker 1: dropped from heights of fifty feet without injuring themselves. I 336 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:31,680 Speaker 1: mean that's five stories off the ground. And they're really adaptable. 337 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:33,840 Speaker 1: Like if rats have been born in an alley that 338 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,080 Speaker 1: serves Indian food, they'll have a preference for samosas and 339 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:40,520 Speaker 1: curries and spicy foods. And they don't even eat that 340 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 1: much food, only like three to four ounces a day. 341 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:47,840 Speaker 1: That's pretty adaptable. They're also super cooperative, like in one 342 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:51,600 Speaker 1: study from two thousand, twelve rats were offered a chocolate 343 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 1: chip treat or the opportunity to free a fellow rat, 344 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 1: and over and over they freed the rat first, and 345 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 1: then they shared the treat. And in studies where two 346 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:02,160 Speaker 1: rats had to press their own buttons at the same 347 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: time to release treats, they quickly learned to cooperate. And 348 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: this was the craziest to me. They're really sensitive, kind 349 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,480 Speaker 1: of like humans. Like if one of them get stressed, 350 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: they bring that energy back to the nest and all 351 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:17,760 Speaker 1: of the rats get stressed. That's so sweet. The other 352 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:19,919 Speaker 1: thing I was reading about was just how suspicious they 353 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,680 Speaker 1: are of anything new, which of course is why pest 354 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 1: control is so hard. Right, So we've established they're really 355 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:30,439 Speaker 1: reproductive unless they're sporting polyester, and they're really smart, but 356 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,760 Speaker 1: why haven't humans figured out a way to keep them 357 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,040 Speaker 1: in check? Yeah? Well, one of the funny things that 358 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 1: keeps coming up in history is that we kind of 359 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:41,639 Speaker 1: keep forgetting about rats until we're actually confronted with them again. 360 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: So it's kind of an out of sight, out of 361 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 1: mind thing. But as soon as we do see them, 362 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: we move super quickly. Right. So, in the nineteen sixties, 363 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 1: Ebony magazine did this spread of housing projects in New 364 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:55,679 Speaker 1: York where the apartments were so dilapidated and drafty that 365 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,959 Speaker 1: children were under thick blankets trying to protect themselves from 366 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,000 Speaker 1: the cold. This wasn't at night, this was during the day, 367 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:04,879 Speaker 1: and the public was largely unmoved by the scene. But 368 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,159 Speaker 1: then people from the buildings started catching rats and bringing 369 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:10,439 Speaker 1: them into courts and showing the rats to the press. 370 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,879 Speaker 1: That's when the public opinion shifted. So and the odd 371 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: part is that this happens over and over. Like in 372 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:18,920 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirties, the New York Times had stories about 373 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: the atrocious rat infestation on Rikers Island. You know, this 374 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 1: is the prison island between Queens and the Bronx. Well, 375 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,120 Speaker 1: the rat problem was so bad that the guards bought 376 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,359 Speaker 1: a dog to control the rats. You know what the 377 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: rats did, They actually killed the dogs. So it was 378 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 1: it was that bad, and pretty soon the officers on 379 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: the island were dumping poison and discussing bringing snakes onto 380 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 1: the island to deal with the rats. But New York 381 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,959 Speaker 1: totally ignored the situation until the rats swam from the 382 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:50,200 Speaker 1: island to this super exclusive summer community on Long Island Sound. 383 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:52,720 Speaker 1: And you know, when these ultra rich beach goers saw 384 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:55,919 Speaker 1: rats on their beach, they weren't having it. Yeah, that 385 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,760 Speaker 1: makes sense, but let's get zen for a second. This 386 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: is actually one of the themes that keeps coming up 387 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:05,120 Speaker 1: in Sullivan's book, and it's that exterminators have the cisphius 388 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,000 Speaker 1: like task. They're given this enormous job of trying to 389 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 1: control the rodent population, but as soon as they stop 390 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:14,920 Speaker 1: seeing rats, their budgets get cut, so no one wants 391 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,880 Speaker 1: to admit they exist. And it's crazy because, like past, 392 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,080 Speaker 1: controllers will work at five star hotels, and when they 393 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:22,880 Speaker 1: do that, they have to work in disguise, or when 394 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,160 Speaker 1: they introduce themselves at parties are on the first date, 395 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 1: they kind of have to tread carefully, and so you 396 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 1: you kind of come away feeling sorry for them, but 397 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,680 Speaker 1: also with this tremendous sense of respect. Like the best exterminators. 398 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:39,480 Speaker 1: They actually work as rats ares, and they're essentially archaeologists. Archaeologists, 399 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 1: What what do you mean by that? Like, the rats 400 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 1: won't travel far from home, but they will travel deep. 401 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: So a good exterminator actually sees those city and layers. 402 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:49,920 Speaker 1: They study old maps, and so in New York, for instance, 403 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,600 Speaker 1: a real student will decipher that a new sewer system 404 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:54,880 Speaker 1: is built on top of a system from the eighteen hundreds, 405 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:57,360 Speaker 1: and that might be built on one from the seventeen hundreds, 406 00:21:57,359 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 1: and that might be over where a stream used to be. 407 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 1: And while those places aren't really functional or even accessible 408 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:05,920 Speaker 1: to humans anymore, there's no doubt that there's a rat 409 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:09,000 Speaker 1: population that's made a home for themselves there, and as 410 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,400 Speaker 1: long as they can still get to a food source. Well. 411 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:13,639 Speaker 1: The other thing I think that's kind of fascinating is 412 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,159 Speaker 1: how you were telling me that Sullivan almost compares catching 413 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: rats to think you said, fly fishing. Yeah, Like you 414 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:20,440 Speaker 1: kind of have to know the rhythm of the rat 415 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:22,959 Speaker 1: population and where they're flowing, and except that it's going 416 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 1: to take a while, and you've got to go in 417 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,119 Speaker 1: with this mentality that the rats are going to come 418 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 1: to you. I guess I've never thought about rats being 419 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 1: so zen. Thank you now for another dramatic reading from 420 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:44,919 Speaker 1: Squeaky Poems, Rhymes about My Rat by America's foremost rat poet, 421 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:51,359 Speaker 1: Jack Handy. What more is a man need than a 422 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 1: Scotch and a rat and maybe a gun to rest 423 00:22:54,080 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: in his lap. So our guest today is one of 424 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 1: our favorite people in the world, right mango. Yeah, definitely 425 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:16,760 Speaker 1: top forty. Oh, easily top forty. So for the past 426 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:19,720 Speaker 1: several years he's thrown himself into these crazy experiments and 427 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 1: written about them, whether it was reading the entire Encyclopedia 428 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:26,320 Speaker 1: Britannica from A to Z, living an entire year according 429 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:28,880 Speaker 1: to the laws of the Old Testament, working to bring 430 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 1: his body to peak help through diet and exercise, or 431 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 1: working to build the world's largest family reunion. He's always 432 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: ready to dive in. Oh and he's a distant relative 433 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 1: of Michael Jackson, which he can tell us about A. J. Jacobs. 434 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to part time genius. Thank you guys, happy to 435 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: be here. You're in my top forty two. Thank you. 436 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,239 Speaker 1: This is so flattering. That's that's really what we were 437 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:54,920 Speaker 1: fishing for there, to be honest with you. So wow. 438 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: So A j It's it's hard to believe it's been 439 00:23:57,840 --> 00:23:59,879 Speaker 1: over a decade since he wrote no it all. I 440 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:03,399 Speaker 1: read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica from cover to cover. But 441 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: I'm assuming you've managed to retain it all pretty much everything. Yeah, 442 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: and maybe one or two facts in the eight those 443 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:15,400 Speaker 1: were earlier. No, unfortunately I've forgotten. I play a good 444 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:21,399 Speaker 1: ninety nine point eight percent still is better than, you know, 445 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:24,920 Speaker 1: better than when I started, so ver minus. Did did 446 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,760 Speaker 1: you actually sit down and read every single entry, every 447 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,719 Speaker 1: single page of Encyclopedia Britannica. I did. I did. I 448 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: started at A A A K, which is a type 449 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 1: of Korean music, as I'm sure you know, and then 450 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 1: I ended A D D Y W I E C. 451 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: So I read and that's the town in Poland right again, 452 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:52,880 Speaker 1: not not too sure. So yes, I read the whole thing. 453 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 1: And I did it because my dad, when I was 454 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:59,280 Speaker 1: a kid, he started to read the encyclopedia. He loved learning, 455 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 1: he loved read inc. But he only made it's the 456 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:06,159 Speaker 1: middle of the beach like Bolivia or so uh, And 457 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:08,520 Speaker 1: I figured, you know, why not try to finish what 458 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: he began and removed that black mark from our family history. 459 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,679 Speaker 1: I like that you were worried about spoiling the reading 460 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,440 Speaker 1: of the Encyclopedia Britannica. So is there anybody would even 461 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:23,480 Speaker 1: know where to find a printed At this point, I 462 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:25,800 Speaker 1: know it's true. I fell my kids and I'm like, 463 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: why are you talking about that mysterious encyclopedia? So a J. 464 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,159 Speaker 1: One of the things I love reading in your books 465 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:36,199 Speaker 1: is these stories of your wife's spinusmen and also her 466 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:39,760 Speaker 1: beleaguered responses to things. And I was curious both what 467 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:42,359 Speaker 1: project has been like the most difficult on your family 468 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: and if you've abandoned anything because it's been too hard. 469 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:47,399 Speaker 1: As you know, the one about following all the rules 470 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:50,399 Speaker 1: of the Bible as literally as possible, so I had to. 471 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 1: The Bible says no shaving, so I had this huge beard. 472 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,439 Speaker 1: She didn't love that. She did not kiss me for 473 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 1: literally seven months. There was no physical contact. UM. I 474 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 1: don't know if this is appropriate to UH to your show, 475 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 1: but I'll just throw it out there. And but the 476 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:13,320 Speaker 1: Bible says in Levinicus that you cannot touch women during 477 00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:16,439 Speaker 1: their time of months. And if you take it the 478 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:20,480 Speaker 1: Bible really literally, you cannot sit in a seat where 479 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:24,159 Speaker 1: UH a woman, a menstruating woman has that because the 480 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: seat becomes impure. And my wife found that offensive, so 481 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: she sat and everything apartment. I also love that you 482 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:41,639 Speaker 1: actually stoned someone right as I did. So I was 483 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:43,680 Speaker 1: in sort of the middle of the year. I was 484 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 1: getting very into it, so following everything and I looked biblical. 485 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 1: So I had the beard and a white robe and sandals, 486 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:54,240 Speaker 1: and I was in Central Park in New York where 487 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,560 Speaker 1: and a man came up to me and said, why 488 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,480 Speaker 1: are you addressed like that? And I explained, well, I'm 489 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: trying to follow all the rules of the Bibles that 490 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:07,560 Speaker 1: from the ten Commanders to sony adulters. He says, well, 491 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,879 Speaker 1: I'm an adulterer. Are you going to stone rate? And 492 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:16,399 Speaker 1: I said, well, that would be fantastic. So in recent 493 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,280 Speaker 1: years you've been obsessed with genealogy and proving that we're 494 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,159 Speaker 1: all related, and you even have a terrific podcast, one 495 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:25,080 Speaker 1: of our favorites called Twice Removed where you focused on this. 496 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,000 Speaker 1: It would have been some of the more interesting findings 497 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,879 Speaker 1: from this obsession of yours. Yeah, this started because I 498 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: got the strange email from this guy who said, you 499 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,399 Speaker 1: don't know me, but I'm your eighth cousin, and I 500 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:39,840 Speaker 1: thought he was gonna, you know, ask, here's my bank 501 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:44,520 Speaker 1: account in Nigeria, please lire ten thousand dollars. But it 502 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:46,920 Speaker 1: turns out he's just part of this group that are 503 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: building these massive family trees that are trying to connect 504 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:53,920 Speaker 1: everyone in the world, and the biggest one is literally 505 00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:57,960 Speaker 1: now a hundred twenty million people all connected. So I 506 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,920 Speaker 1: found out this is exciting. As a I am Barack 507 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:07,480 Speaker 1: Obama's relatives. He is my fifth grade aunt's husband's brother's wife, 508 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:14,840 Speaker 1: seventh grade nephew, so we are very close brothers. What's 509 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:16,199 Speaker 1: up next for you? A j What are you? What 510 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:18,920 Speaker 1: are you thinking about? Now? I am Actually I've got 511 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,680 Speaker 1: another book that I'm doing with Ted Books, and I'm 512 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:27,200 Speaker 1: gonna take something normal, uh, something I use every day, 513 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 1: a cup of coffee, uh, and then I'm gonna go 514 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,560 Speaker 1: around the world and try to thank everyone involved in 515 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 1: making that cup of coffee a reality, so the beans 516 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 1: and I hope, so, I hope. So I don't know, 517 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:47,760 Speaker 1: we'll see it is uh, So I have to do that. Well, 518 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,800 Speaker 1: since you've been, uh, the subject of so many studies, 519 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: we thought it was only appropriate for you to join 520 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: us in this episode to answer some questions about rats. 521 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:58,480 Speaker 1: So are you up for this high stakes quiz? A J? 522 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,800 Speaker 1: I am? I love rath alright, So what quiz are 523 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 1: we playing with A J? Today? We're playing a game 524 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 1: called Fancy Rats. And the good news for AJ is 525 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: it's a true false quiz. Right, Okay, here we go. 526 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:15,920 Speaker 1: I think we have five questions for you, a J. 527 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 1: The first one true or false. The fannie pack was 528 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:22,640 Speaker 1: originally invented by a rat fancier who often used the 529 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:26,720 Speaker 1: pounds to sneak his lucky rat, Theodore into bowling alleys 530 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,880 Speaker 1: with him. Is this true or false? Oh? Man, I 531 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 1: love it. I wanted to be true very much. And 532 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,360 Speaker 1: I actually was at some party recently and like the 533 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,600 Speaker 1: funkiest person there was wearing a fanny pack. So I'm 534 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 1: I'm hoping that we're seeing a resurgence the santy packs. 535 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 1: The HTR crap. I'm going to say that is weird 536 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:49,480 Speaker 1: enough that it's got to be true. Oh, I wanted 537 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:53,920 Speaker 1: to be alright. The second question, that's right? All right? 538 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: For one second question, true or false? Before he transitioned 539 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,960 Speaker 1: to being a mouse and two thousand twelve, Chuck from 540 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: Chuck E Cheese was formerly a rat, an unusual mascot 541 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,720 Speaker 1: for a children's arcade slash pizza parlor. What do you 542 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,880 Speaker 1: think true or faults? Oh that's a good one. Oh 543 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 1: that's a good one. In I feel like I got 544 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,320 Speaker 1: to go through again because you wouldn't do you wouldn't 545 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:22,120 Speaker 1: do two falses in a row, and really tricky. You 546 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:26,000 Speaker 1: guys are really tricky. Alright, you're right, true, I'm gonna 547 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,880 Speaker 1: true even born a cigar chomping New Jersey rat and 548 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 1: initially went by the name Rick Rick the rat. Alright, 549 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:41,880 Speaker 1: good job you are. You are one out of two 550 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:46,000 Speaker 1: number three true or faults. In two thousand sixteen, researchers 551 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 1: discovered something that rat fanciers have long known that rats 552 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:53,840 Speaker 1: laugh when tickled. I feel all I read that somewhere 553 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:59,280 Speaker 1: not in the encyclopedia, So I'm gonna say, yeah, you're right. Yeah, 554 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: they giggle and ultrasonic volume that's too high pitched fris 555 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,920 Speaker 1: to hear. Good job, all right, Number four true or 556 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 1: faults and fancy rat circles. The critter or pet that 557 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:16,400 Speaker 1: changed your mind about rats is called a heart rat um. 558 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:18,600 Speaker 1: And I do know this is the one of one 559 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,080 Speaker 1: of the few facts I remember about raps is that 560 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 1: they do get bad tr because I think a couple 561 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:28,320 Speaker 1: of years ago, didn't they find that it was probably 562 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:34,040 Speaker 1: Gerbils who spread the black plague and that so go 563 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:36,960 Speaker 1: onto something here a little that was my heart rap. 564 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:43,680 Speaker 1: I'm gonna say true, Yeah, it's true, and uh, it's 565 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:45,960 Speaker 1: odd because that phrase doesn't work for everything, like no 566 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 1: one talks about their heart. Bruce Willis, Look he's talking, 567 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: is my Yeah, I think that's mine too. Actually, So 568 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:54,920 Speaker 1: you're on a roll here, a J. So with let's 569 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:58,520 Speaker 1: see if we can finish strong question number five. Angelina 570 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,640 Speaker 1: Jolie once had a pet rat named Harry, but gave 571 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,040 Speaker 1: it up when it started chewing through too many of 572 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:09,880 Speaker 1: her curtains. Well, I feel I used to work of 573 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: entertainment weekly and I feel I did a lot. Like 574 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:16,600 Speaker 1: she had a vial of Philly Bob Thornton's blood. So 575 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:20,560 Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, maybe it's like, maybe it's 576 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:25,040 Speaker 1: a vicious rumor, but I feel I've heard that. So 577 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:34,440 Speaker 1: I'm gonna say true, true tries, which is our endless 578 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 1: admiration at the top thirty or so I think at 579 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,040 Speaker 1: this point. So well, A J. We can't wait to 580 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:45,560 Speaker 1: check out your your next book, and of course everybody 581 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,480 Speaker 1: should check out your podcast. Twice removed, but thanks so 582 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:51,719 Speaker 1: much for joining us today. Thank you, guys. I'm huge fans. 583 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:55,560 Speaker 1: I'm so excited you're doing this podcast and honored to 584 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:59,600 Speaker 1: be a part of and and ruin it by talking 585 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 1: about wife's rats nine situation. All right, so let's bring 586 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,120 Speaker 1: this all home. Is their hope for humans in this 587 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:22,920 Speaker 1: war with rats? So it seems like there are only 588 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: a few solutions because rats have been resistant to poisons 589 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,959 Speaker 1: and they're really just so clever and one is and 590 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:32,720 Speaker 1: this isn't happening anytime soon. But we could all turn 591 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:35,720 Speaker 1: vegan because rats are not fans of raw vegetables. Yeah, 592 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:38,120 Speaker 1: I'd say that's not happening anytime soon. Where we can 593 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,120 Speaker 1: make a move to things like metal garbage cans, because 594 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,280 Speaker 1: it all comes down to basically starving out the rats 595 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 1: and protecting our garbage, or by abandoning a place and 596 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,760 Speaker 1: having them try to live without us, or what's what's 597 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:52,200 Speaker 1: the other option? Well, this is kind of the best hope, 598 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,880 Speaker 1: and that's birth control. You're saying, put them on the pill? Yeah, Like, 599 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:58,960 Speaker 1: since the polyester pants, things seems like a stretch. This 600 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:01,200 Speaker 1: might be the best option. And there's this new e 601 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:04,720 Speaker 1: p A approved birth control for rats. It's been made 602 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:08,279 Speaker 1: super sweet and really fat rich because rats have even 603 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:10,640 Speaker 1: more of a sweet tooth than us. And it basically 604 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:13,919 Speaker 1: spurs mouse a pause I know, which is the cut 605 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:17,480 Speaker 1: ci term scientists used for rat menopause. But it triggers 606 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:21,080 Speaker 1: it super early so that the populations can't breed. Poor 607 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,640 Speaker 1: rats have hot flashes. Well, it's better than having them 608 00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:27,520 Speaker 1: in your cupboards, right, But that's the great hope for 609 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:30,279 Speaker 1: now and how we'll finally win this battle against the 610 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,880 Speaker 1: grossest of foes. Um. And actually there's one more school 611 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,080 Speaker 1: of thought on this, and that is to do nothing. Wait, 612 00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 1: that makes no sense. We were just going through hy 613 00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:43,120 Speaker 1: Rats are winning this war. Why would we ignore them? Well, 614 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:46,440 Speaker 1: the thought is because rats are super sensitive. When we 615 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:48,840 Speaker 1: kill a rat, it's peers tend to feel the danger 616 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:51,880 Speaker 1: and start varying from their norm. And when that happens, 617 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:54,319 Speaker 1: they ran into other rats and scrape it up. And 618 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:57,880 Speaker 1: that's really where pathogens cross and diseases spread and mutap. 619 00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:00,440 Speaker 1: So if you can get their rat, he needs to 620 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,560 Speaker 1: stay to themselves and sort of curb the diseases that's 621 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: kind of what scientists think might be the best you 622 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,440 Speaker 1: can ask for. Anyway, if you're interested in the subject, 623 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:11,239 Speaker 1: you should definitely read Robert Sullivan's Rats, which formed the 624 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:21,000 Speaker 1: backbone of this episode. M All right, you know what 625 00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:24,040 Speaker 1: time it is, Mango, time for the fact off you 626 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:25,640 Speaker 1: bet it is as to the part of the show 627 00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:27,799 Speaker 1: where we get to use the fascinating things we learned 628 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,000 Speaker 1: in our research for this episode but didn't get a 629 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:32,520 Speaker 1: chance to mention. And I kind of have a feeling 630 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:35,480 Speaker 1: Mango intentionally held back a few just for this big moment, 631 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:38,319 Speaker 1: So why don't you go first, Mango? So this one 632 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:41,960 Speaker 1: is totally gross. Back in the eighteen fifties, gamblers in 633 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,320 Speaker 1: New York City used to crowd into halls to watch 634 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:47,800 Speaker 1: and bet on the sport called ratting. Ratting. Yeah, Like basically, 635 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,320 Speaker 1: a guy would show up with a big, misshapen sack 636 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:52,960 Speaker 1: full of rats, and when the ref said go, he 637 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:56,480 Speaker 1: let all of the animals just spill out, and then 638 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:58,839 Speaker 1: they let a dog go after them, and people would 639 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:01,000 Speaker 1: bet on how many rats trained dog could kill in 640 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,640 Speaker 1: a short period of time. So you got to imagine 641 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:06,400 Speaker 1: this scene, right, people are betting and yelling in this terrier, 642 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:09,640 Speaker 1: because terriers are just the best at this. This terrier 643 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:12,480 Speaker 1: is going crazy while rats are running around, and it's 644 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:16,680 Speaker 1: horrible and super popular and bloody. But discuss I know, 645 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:19,120 Speaker 1: but that's not even the weird part, right. Ratting was 646 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:22,160 Speaker 1: considered a man's sport because it was so vicious, like 647 00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:24,479 Speaker 1: a single dog could kill a hundred rats in six 648 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:27,359 Speaker 1: minutes or something. But to expand the audience and make 649 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,440 Speaker 1: it more palatable for women and children, they had organized 650 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:33,239 Speaker 1: the same thing in the afternoons, but they'd replaced the 651 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,000 Speaker 1: dog with a weasel. Oh of course, right, because that's 652 00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:39,560 Speaker 1: not gross at all. I know. They honestly thought watching 653 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:41,920 Speaker 1: a weasel kill a bag of rats was more appropriate 654 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,360 Speaker 1: for kids or something. But anyway, that that was America's 655 00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:49,000 Speaker 1: favorite spectator sport until baseball took over. Okay, that's that's 656 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:50,640 Speaker 1: a gross way to start this one. Gets a good 657 00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:53,000 Speaker 1: job on this one, all right. So all this talk 658 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:54,879 Speaker 1: of rats, maybe want to go to a place where 659 00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:57,759 Speaker 1: there are no rats, And it turns out that's what Alberta, 660 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:01,000 Speaker 1: Canada is all about, and act, if we're being honest, 661 00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:03,480 Speaker 1: it might be the number one reason to go to Alberta. 662 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:06,279 Speaker 1: Alberta is huge. It's actually bigger than France or any 663 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:08,759 Speaker 1: country in the EU. But it's so committed to the 664 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:12,480 Speaker 1: rat free bit that they've dedicated a rat patrol monitoring 665 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:16,560 Speaker 1: the borders for rats, and anytime there's an infestation, they 666 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,359 Speaker 1: bring in heavy machinery and dig out the entire nest 667 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,320 Speaker 1: to eradicate it. So in big years they'll find maybe 668 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,719 Speaker 1: two or three infestations across the region, but most years 669 00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:29,200 Speaker 1: they're not any that's kind of crazy. Uh So this 670 00:37:29,239 --> 00:37:31,040 Speaker 1: is a super simple one, but it makes me happy. 671 00:37:31,239 --> 00:37:33,600 Speaker 1: Did you know that male rats are called bucks and 672 00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:36,319 Speaker 1: females are called does? I did not know? I know. 673 00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:37,960 Speaker 1: And the best part of it is that you can 674 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,279 Speaker 1: sing the sound of music song with new lyrics like 675 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:45,719 Speaker 1: dough or rats. I get the idea. That's a good one. 676 00:37:45,719 --> 00:37:47,840 Speaker 1: That's a good one. All right. Rats are subject to 677 00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:50,200 Speaker 1: peer pressure. If they see a bunch of their friend 678 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:54,120 Speaker 1: rats eating something on appetizing, they'll join into rapper tupac. 679 00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:57,200 Speaker 1: Shakur studied ballet in high school and started the nutcracker 680 00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:00,560 Speaker 1: as the mouse bringing some tupac. Well done, you get 681 00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:03,840 Speaker 1: a extra point for that one, alright. Fancy rat owners 682 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:07,560 Speaker 1: practice something called road dentistry. You're not gonna believe this one. 683 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:09,840 Speaker 1: So where they'll open up their mouths and let a 684 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 1: rat nibble and pick food from their teeth, they're basically 685 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:17,600 Speaker 1: outsourcing the job of flossing to their pets. That's crazy. 686 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:19,440 Speaker 1: You have to YouTube this. I'm not I'm not kidding. 687 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:21,560 Speaker 1: It so gross. The owners will just lean back and 688 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:25,000 Speaker 1: the rats get really deep in their mouths. It's because 689 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:28,120 Speaker 1: rats have a grooming behavior where they'll clean each other's teeth, 690 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:31,560 Speaker 1: and rat parents basically consider it the ultimate compliments. So 691 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:36,279 Speaker 1: you have to YouTube it. Um well, I cannot top that, 692 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:39,000 Speaker 1: So you win this week's fact Off. Thank you to 693 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:41,400 Speaker 1: our listeners out there. Please send in your suggestions for 694 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:43,360 Speaker 1: rebranding the Rat and we'll make sure you get a 695 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:45,640 Speaker 1: fun prize out of it. And you know, well, there's 696 00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:47,239 Speaker 1: one last part of the show that we need to 697 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:50,600 Speaker 1: deal with, the Part Time Genius Awards, And today I'd 698 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:52,640 Speaker 1: like to nominate the author of the best book I 699 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:55,520 Speaker 1: read last year, The Stench of Honolulu, of course, and 700 00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:59,960 Speaker 1: also America's pre eminent rat poet. That's right, Mr Jack Handy. 701 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,120 Speaker 1: You'll be added to our Hall of Genius and we'll 702 00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:04,320 Speaker 1: be mailing you a certificate to hang on your fridge. 703 00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:07,319 Speaker 1: Congratulations Jack Handy. And in honor of Jack Handy, why 704 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:10,000 Speaker 1: don't we read one last poem from America's greatest rap 705 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:12,680 Speaker 1: poot to close the show. I think that's a fine idea. 706 00:39:13,719 --> 00:39:16,640 Speaker 1: The Middle Ages were the best of times to be 707 00:39:16,719 --> 00:39:19,720 Speaker 1: a rat. You could point to a man with plague 708 00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:24,600 Speaker 1: and say I gave him that. Thank you. Until next time, 709 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:41,520 Speaker 1: we're Will and Mango for Part Time Genius. Thanks again 710 00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:43,720 Speaker 1: for listening to Part Time Genius. Be sure to subscribe 711 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:45,880 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your podcast, and because we're a 712 00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:48,359 Speaker 1: brand new show, if you're feeling extra generous, we'd love 713 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:50,280 Speaker 1: it if you give us a rating on Apple Podcast. 714 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:53,480 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is produced by some of our favorite geniuses. 715 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:56,439 Speaker 1: It's edited by Tristan McNeil, theme song and audio mixing 716 00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:59,719 Speaker 1: by Noel Brown. Our executive producer is Jerry Rowland. Our 717 00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:02,640 Speaker 1: res arch team is Gabe Bluesier, Lucas Adams, Autom white 718 00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:06,120 Speaker 1: Field Me Toronto, Austin Thompson and Meg Robbins. Jason Hoke 719 00:40:06,239 --> 00:40:07,120 Speaker 1: is are chief cheerleader.