1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of I 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, 3 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:17,919 Speaker 1: and there's Chuck and this is Stuff you Should Know. Uh. 4 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: And that's that's it right there, The Mystery of Coal. 5 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: You like the title I came up with. It's a 6 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: working title, but now I guess it's the official title. 7 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: I like it because I thought, well, what could be 8 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: the mystery of coal? And now I know it's earth science, 9 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 1: so I find it jazz metastic. Hey, you know, this 10 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: is one of the only sciences I can really get into. 11 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: So so did this one suck you in? Then? I 12 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 1: guess it sucked me in like a fallen branch into 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: the depths of a peat bog. Oh my gosh, that's 14 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: some great man. I can't wait for forty seconds from 15 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: now when we start talking about that part. But first 16 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: we gotta tell everybody we're talking about coal. The titles correct, 17 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: it's apt, it's accurate, and there is a mystery to 18 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: the coal, which we'll get to. But there's a lot 19 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: more to col than just the mystery behind it. Um 20 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: And actually, the way that cole forms is super interesting 21 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 1: and it's been forming for a really long time, and 22 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:23,320 Speaker 1: it turns out, chuck, humans have been using it for 23 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: a really long time. There's evidence that the um, the 24 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: people who inhabited China all the way back years ago, 25 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: we're burning coal that they found around the surface as 26 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 1: a fuel, which is pretty that's right. They were tailgating, sure, 27 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:46,119 Speaker 1: burning cole cooking up meat. Oh, I got you. Yeah, 28 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: they were a big time. They had um wooden pickup trucks, 29 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: the cook out of the back. Remember the stainless steel 30 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: pickup trucks at the Atlanta Olympics. I have still never 31 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: seen video of that. You're you just talked about it 32 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: like it was some embarrassing Yeah, yeah, for sure, now 33 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: you definitely have. Anyway, none of that has to do 34 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:08,239 Speaker 1: with wouldn't pickup trucks, is what we're here for. No, 35 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: it has to do with coal. So let's just say 36 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: about years ago we started taking coal from the ground 37 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: and burning it, and on a very small scale, that's 38 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: a pretty clever thing to do. Unfortunately, as we'll see, 39 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 1: we've really kind of taken that to the mp degree 40 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: starting in the Industrial Revolution, and it poses a lot 41 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 1: of problems for the atmosphere that we'll talk about. But UM, 42 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: more to the point because it takes so long to 43 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 1: form coal, the rate that we're burning it at far 44 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: outpaces the rate that it's being made at um, which 45 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: makes coal a non renewable resource, which we kicked off 46 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: years ago. But now finally, Chuck, we've arrived to that 47 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: thing you foreshadowed on, and that's how coal is made. 48 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: So if you want to have a grasp on how 49 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: long it takes to make coal, we're going to explain 50 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: it step by step. That's right. And I referenced Pete 51 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: Boggs at the beginning, and people might have thought, what 52 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: in the world is he even talking about with that, 53 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: and why is Josh so excited? Chuck reference that, and 54 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:16,639 Speaker 1: here's the answer. Uh, Pete is where cold begins. And 55 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,959 Speaker 1: Pete is like, you know, sort of loose layers of 56 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: all kinds of plant and mineral gobbledygook that accumulates in 57 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: the forest in the swampy areas called Pete swamps. You 58 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: might call them bogs or myers, depending on where you 59 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: live in the world. But these are wet lands that 60 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: have really great conditions to swallow up a fallen branch 61 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: or a plant or something like that, or a dead 62 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: animal and have it slowly sink down to the bottom 63 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: and kind of protect it from not completely from erosion, 64 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: but from erosion that would happen if it was on land, right, right, 65 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: So like if you so, the reason why is protected 66 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: from that from de camp um you know, like how 67 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: a body decays or um uh like on the body 68 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: farm at University of Tennessee, or if um you're talking 69 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: about a wild animal in the forest or a mouse 70 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: that got into your attic or a plant that fell 71 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: over in your backyard. People, that stuff decomposes, right, it 72 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,280 Speaker 1: doesn't really decompose in the swamp because a swamp by 73 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: definition has um basically stagnant water. Not much goes on 74 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: in a swamp. Strangely enough, everything just kind of very 75 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: slow motion biologically and geologically speaking. So that water, because 76 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,919 Speaker 1: it lacks oxygen, it's not a really great place for 77 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: the microbes that carry out decomposition on planet Earth to 78 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: live because they need oxygen to carry out those functions 79 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:53,720 Speaker 1: to eat things and decompose them. And so the swamp water, 80 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 1: being stagnant and oxygen poor, acts basically as a preservative 81 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: for the stuff that lived along the swamp and has 82 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: now died and fallen into the swamp and settled on 83 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: the bottom, creating what's lovingly known as muck. That's right, 84 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:11,800 Speaker 1: And the really important part here. You might be saying, like, 85 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: big deal, a bunch of stuff falls to the bottom 86 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 1: of swamp and kind of really really slowly decomposes, if 87 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: at all. The really important part here, and this is 88 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 1: how we get to coal, which ultimately leads to why 89 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: we have problems with climate change, is that carbon is 90 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,720 Speaker 1: locked down in place in the bottom of that swamp 91 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,720 Speaker 1: with that muck. It's just it's just sitting there. It's 92 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 1: not you know, if it was on dry land and 93 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: it was a dead like like keep saying, dead dear 94 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: dead mouse, sure, uh, it would decompose regularly and there 95 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:48,839 Speaker 1: would be an exchange of carbon happening pretty readily. But 96 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: that's not the case. At the bottom of a peat bog, 97 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:54,720 Speaker 1: that carbon is staying locked in and that that carbon 98 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: will eventually become the energy that we need or burn 99 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:02,720 Speaker 1: as coal precisely, so there's some decomposition that happens. Right. 100 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 1: It's like if you look at swampmuck that eventually becomes 101 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: pete that eventually becomes coal, that swampmuck, you can't really 102 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: make out like a fish or a tree limb or 103 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: anything like that after a while. So there is some decomposition. 104 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 1: But the upshot of it is it doesn't fully decomposed 105 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: like it would if microbes got onto it on land, 106 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,600 Speaker 1: like you were saying, And that decomposition that microbes carry 107 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 1: out it unlocks all those chemical bonds that store chemical energy. 108 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: It breaks up all of those um constituent elements and 109 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: compounds that that make up those bonds um and then 110 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: it spreads them out so that other plants can come 111 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: along and use them. That doesn't happen in swampmuck. It 112 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 1: just gets trapped frozen in time basically to a certain 113 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:46,720 Speaker 1: part of decomposition. And you still say, so, what, how 114 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: does this make any sense? I'm reeling from all of 115 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 1: this information. We'll just settle down because we're getting to 116 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: the next most important part, and that is that if 117 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: you look at a swamp, say the Okay Finoki or 118 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: swamps in Indonesia, if you back far enough, you would 119 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: probably be looking at something much deeper and more watery, 120 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: like a pond or a lake. And for those ponds 121 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: and lakes end up filling in over time, right, yeah, 122 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: they you know, they start at the banks like you 123 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 1: would think, and stuff drops in in the shallow areas 124 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: and starts accumulating, and that just and we're talking over 125 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: the course of a long period of time. It's not 126 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: like you're gonna turn a lake into a swamp inside 127 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: you know, a couple hundred years. Just try it. Yeah, 128 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: I've tried, trust me, it's not working. But that just 129 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: expands further and further towards the middle. Eventually that lake 130 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: does turn into a swamp. Uh. And eventually that's going 131 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: to turn into dry land. But that muck, that deposit, 132 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: and that muck remains there, but it's now got earth 133 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: on top of it, like you know, dry earth, and 134 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: that that's a lot of compression. That's a lot of weight, 135 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 1: and that's a lot of soil. And depending on and 136 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 1: we'll get to this in a second, but depending on 137 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 1: how deep you are and how much weight and how 138 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: much pressure or uh is on top of you as muck, 139 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: you're going to turn it into different things, uh, different 140 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: kinds of coal. Yeah, definitely, so um that pressure that 141 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: you mentioned, that's like the key ingredient and transforming muck 142 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: to Pete to Cole and talked a little bit about 143 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: this in the Diamonds episode. I think we had to 144 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: have definitely, because eventually you get beyond Cole to graphite 145 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:28,239 Speaker 1: and then ostensibly from graphite onto diamonds, heat and pressure, 146 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: right exactly, Um, and that that's so so Diamonds I 147 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: guess start out as swamp muck too, and Cole is 148 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: kind of like the the middle part of that long, 149 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 1: lengthy process from muck to diamond basically. Um. But the 150 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: album title, by the way, which what was it from 151 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: muck to Diamond? Oh? Nice? That is good. I think 152 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: that's like a that's like if your bands is really 153 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:55,839 Speaker 1: terrible at first but then just gets better and better, 154 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: that's your greatest hits album title. Or if you're Neil 155 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: Diamond and you really want to be on the nose. 156 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 1: But is there a muck? Who know? Is there like 157 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: a muck in the music world that he could have 158 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:11,959 Speaker 1: been doing? I don't think so, because he started out 159 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,839 Speaker 1: because that was in another episode as a writer at 160 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: the the Brill building there for what was it called 161 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:22,960 Speaker 1: tim pan Alley tim pan Alley, Neil Diamond died. He 162 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 1: was a Timpanaley. Guys, he was never he was never mucked. 163 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: How old is he? Like, man, I don't remember that 164 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: little faces on its way to true diamond. He is, 165 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: he's graphified right now. Yeah, so sorry, Neil diamond. So 166 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: um as the as more and more earth just gets 167 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: deposited through the processes of erosion and deposition, and like 168 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: rivers springing up and like flood their banks and spread 169 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 1: out stuff, like more and more earth like builds up 170 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: over that deposit of swamp muck that got laid down 171 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: over time, and that as more and more builds up 172 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: a above it, there's more and more weight and pressure 173 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 1: pushing down and compressing and condensing it. And eventually that 174 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: pete turns into coal. But you can't just say that 175 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: coal is like really old pete because the pressure is 176 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:17,080 Speaker 1: so tremendous and the heat it's kind of like it 177 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: cooks um it cooks the pete into coal. So the 178 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,440 Speaker 1: heat and the pressure actually make it go through like 179 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: a bio geochemical transformation and it becomes a sedimentary rock, 180 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:33,439 Speaker 1: something that's not at all pete. It's it used to 181 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: be pete, but now it's something totally different. It's undergone 182 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: a metamorphosis, which is pretty neat. Yeah, I mean, it's 183 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 1: awesome all that moisture is just squeezed out. All the 184 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: impurities are squeezed out, and you're left, but you're you know, 185 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:49,200 Speaker 1: you're still left with those chemical bonds and there this 186 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 1: this is a thing, and it's called qualification, and it's 187 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: there's no better titled thing in earth sciences, I think 188 00:10:55,640 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: than qualification and and very straightforward the process of turning 189 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: muck to Pete's pete ification. Yeah, I think you should 190 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: just addification onto every word to make it really easy 191 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 1: to understand. Neil diamondification, yeah, podcastification. Yeah, that's great. Now 192 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:16,280 Speaker 1: we just became an earth science Should we take a break, Yeah, 193 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: let's and then we'll come back and talk about the 194 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: different types of coal. How about that sounds great? All right, 195 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,680 Speaker 1: we're back. We promised talk of different types of coal. 196 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: Uh if when you last left us, pete has been 197 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:58,079 Speaker 1: squeezed out underground and we're talking, I don't even think 198 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,199 Speaker 1: we said about two and a half to six in 199 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: a quarter miles beneath the earth. It's a long way down. 200 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 1: It takes like that much compression to really start to 201 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:11,920 Speaker 1: turn pete into into coal. Right, So don't go uh 202 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:14,840 Speaker 1: digging a tin foot deep hole, throw some sediment in 203 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,640 Speaker 1: there and expect anything to happen, right Because also I 204 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: don't know if we said this or not, but um, 205 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 1: this process that we're talking about takes place over millions 206 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: to hundreds of millions of years, depending on the situation 207 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: in conditions. That's right, a long long time. And so 208 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: there are a few different things that this coal can 209 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: turn into, or the peat can turn into a few 210 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,000 Speaker 1: types of coal. The first one is lignite. Uh, it 211 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: is crumbly still at this point, and it's not black yet. 212 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 1: It's sort of brownish and you can still sort of 213 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 1: see parts of the original plant material when it's lignite. 214 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: Right after that is bituminous coal UM. And that's the 215 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:57,079 Speaker 1: coal that most people are familiar with. It's far and 216 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:00,640 Speaker 1: away the most widely used coal most like most widely 217 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: mind coal. There's just a lot of it on earth. 218 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:07,680 Speaker 1: And that's just um coal that's been cooking and and 219 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:12,439 Speaker 1: pressed longer than lignite. Soft though, but it's not soft 220 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 1: like to the touch, you know, it's just compared to 221 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: the next step anthracite, it's soft. So yeah, it's called 222 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: soft coal. And then yeah, the next step after that 223 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:25,320 Speaker 1: coal is left alone for much much longer um. And 224 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 1: then there's again you've you've added some sort of heat source. 225 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 1: It's either that um that original deposit of swamp muck 226 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:37,199 Speaker 1: has been moving pushed down further and further closer to 227 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,199 Speaker 1: the Earth's core so that it's just warmer there than 228 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:43,200 Speaker 1: it is towards the surface, or it happened to be 229 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: deposited near like um volcanic activity, so there's that kind 230 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: of heat. So you've got some heat. It's like it's 231 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: in an oven and the pressure. After a long enough time, 232 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 1: you eventually come up with anthracite. And anthracite is like 233 00:13:55,360 --> 00:14:00,160 Speaker 1: the money coal, right, and that is officially hard coal. Uh, 234 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,640 Speaker 1: it doesn't stop there. I think you mentioned something about 235 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:06,520 Speaker 1: neil diamond turning into graphite. That is sort of the 236 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:10,559 Speaker 1: final thing that it can become. And you might think, oh, graphite, 237 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:13,120 Speaker 1: that sounds great, like that must be that must be 238 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,680 Speaker 1: the slowest burning, best coal on the planet. But it's 239 00:14:16,679 --> 00:14:19,920 Speaker 1: really not true because graphite that their bonds, the energy bonds, 240 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 1: are so strong that it takes a lot of energy 241 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 1: to break those up. So you know, like regular soft coal, 242 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: and I think even anthracite, you can ignite it without 243 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 1: a ton of energy. But it's it's going to take 244 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 1: a lot of energy to ignite graphite. Yeah, and the 245 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 1: anthracite is sweet, sweet stuff. It doesn't take much energy 246 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: to ignite. It has a low flame, it's um low smoke. 247 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 1: It's just beautiful stuff. It's just much much rare than 248 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: the bitchamus bituminous coal that we know, the bitamus. Yeah, 249 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 1: it's not nobody likes it, no, so um chuck, I 250 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:01,240 Speaker 1: think we should also mention at this point, um, because 251 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 1: it's about here where I was like, wait, what about oil? 252 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 1: You know, it turns out that oil and coal undergo 253 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 1: virtually the same processes. It's just the location of where 254 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: they started out and then the source material that really 255 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 1: makes them differ. So, coal, as we've seen, is made 256 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,920 Speaker 1: in swampy areas um from land based plants, and oil 257 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 1: is just made in marine areas from sea based life basically. Yeah, 258 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 1: it's really remarkable. How and I remember when we talked 259 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,120 Speaker 1: about like where oil comes from. It's a bit of 260 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 1: a mind blowing thing to understand. And I feel like 261 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: coal kind of completes the picture for me at least, 262 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:43,680 Speaker 1: depends on where it is right or the or how 263 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 1: it started to Well, yeah, I mean that's where it 264 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 1: was when it started. I got you, I got you, 265 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: like Tin ban Alley, poor Neil Diamond. So um, the 266 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 1: feeling he would make an appearance. I don't know why. 267 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 1: I guess because you know we're talking graphite. Once you 268 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: talk fight, your half a skip away from talking about 269 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: Neil Diamond, because everyone knows he has gold records, platinum records, 270 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: and a whole wall full of graphite. That's right. So um, 271 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: it's not just us who understands cole. Like, we're just 272 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 1: basically reporting what science has figured out. Science has a 273 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:21,560 Speaker 1: pretty pretty great understanding of how coal forms, the processes 274 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: it overgoes all that, so like that you needed to 275 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:28,680 Speaker 1: point that out. So um, we understand coal enough that 276 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 1: we can actually even go back and say like, hey, 277 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: this seem actually probably came here, and we've got a 278 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: little yarn. We can tell you guys about where one load, 279 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: in particular, when major cole seem came from. Uh. And 280 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 1: the whole thing started all the way back in the 281 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: Carboniferous period, which was really wet and really really warm. Um. 282 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: I think the average global temperature for the first half 283 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 1: of the Carboniferous Carboniferous period it was like sixty degrees fahrenheit, 284 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: which is twenty celsius. Okay, that doesn't sound very warm, 285 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,760 Speaker 1: but consider that one of the I think it was 286 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:09,320 Speaker 1: like the second hottest year on record, the global temperature 287 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,359 Speaker 1: was fifty eight point seven six degrees fahrenheights. So this 288 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,520 Speaker 1: is a good ten degrees fahrenheight warmer on average. That's 289 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:20,600 Speaker 1: a lot warmer for a global temperature. It is, uh, 290 00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:22,640 Speaker 1: and it's hard to wrap your head around a global temperature, 291 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 1: but yeah, that's that's everything, right, not just where you live, 292 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:28,600 Speaker 1: you know, because when I first saw these numbers, I 293 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:31,160 Speaker 1: was like, it's could that be correct? But yeah, you don't. 294 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:32,960 Speaker 1: Kind of when you think of global averages, it's a 295 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: whole different ballgame, yeah, because I mean you're you're not 296 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 1: just taking the equator into into um account. You're also 297 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:42,399 Speaker 1: taking the poles into account. You're mixing it all together, 298 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:46,080 Speaker 1: carrying the one. A bell goes off when you finally 299 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 1: reach the answer, and there you go. That's right. And 300 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 1: there were a lot of swamps back in those days, obviously, 301 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: and uh, there were a lot of them were around 302 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:56,159 Speaker 1: where the equator is, so it was going to be 303 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,959 Speaker 1: especially hot there. And one in particular near the equator 304 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: or was straddling. And I know we've talked a lot 305 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:07,120 Speaker 1: about tectonic plates and mirriad episodes, including the volcanoes. One 306 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,800 Speaker 1: but one of them straddled a plate boundary right where 307 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 1: a couple of these plates met. Uh, And I guess 308 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 1: we should say where it is. Uh, present day Europe, 309 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:22,199 Speaker 1: Asia and North America was called Laurasia, and then Gondwana, 310 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:28,239 Speaker 1: which is present day Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia, and India. 311 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,920 Speaker 1: And these guys started banging up against each other as 312 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,320 Speaker 1: plates do when they when they meet and say hello. 313 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:36,680 Speaker 1: And mountain ranges are formed. And we know this is 314 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: how mountain ranges are formed. But this particular mountain range 315 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: was formed and then kept moving and kept moving until 316 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:47,679 Speaker 1: it eventually became the Appalachian Mountains. And so as these 317 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 1: these massive supercontinents collided with one another and pushed it 318 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:55,800 Speaker 1: into one another and created this mountain range. Um, as 319 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: the the land that made the mountains went up, the 320 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:02,920 Speaker 1: land on either side of those mountains bowed down, which 321 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,800 Speaker 1: was swampy if you remember. Yes, And that's really important 322 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: because when that that process took place, and it's not 323 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 1: like they just ran into each other like a car 324 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: crash or anything. Took place over a really long time, 325 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 1: but it was enough that it was it was dropping 326 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: huge amounts of swamp muck and vegetation deep below the 327 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:24,480 Speaker 1: earth at a much faster rate than the succession of 328 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 1: a lake to a pond to a swamp to dry 329 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 1: land happened. So it was dropping a bunch of swamp 330 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,400 Speaker 1: muck down on either side of it. And that as 331 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: that mountain rage moved forward and settled in the northeastern 332 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: United States and southern southern part of Canada, it took 333 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,119 Speaker 1: those deposits with them, and then it baked and cooked 334 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:45,560 Speaker 1: for a couple of hundred million years. And now you 335 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,120 Speaker 1: have the coal seams up in the Appalachians right now. 336 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 1: That's right. And this is no mystery, like it makes 337 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 1: a lot of sense. We know why a lot of 338 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:58,359 Speaker 1: coal was formed. Then it was the first part of 339 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:01,880 Speaker 1: the Carboniferous period, which is called of the Mississippian epoch. 340 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:04,720 Speaker 1: Uh And like you said, it was really warm and 341 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: sea levels were a lot higher than they are now, 342 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: and a lot of the land was underwater. There was 343 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,520 Speaker 1: a lot of sea, a lot of marine environment environments 344 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 1: where oil would form and this was at the beginning. 345 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 1: The Pennsylvania epop epoch came next, and this is when 346 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,000 Speaker 1: the temperature is cooled down, and this was kind of 347 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 1: the latter half of the Carboniferous period. That seawater is 348 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: locked up in the ice. Toward the poles, the seawater retreats, 349 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: and this is where you got those big swamps, and 350 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: this is you know, the Pennsylvanian epoch was when uh, 351 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:39,160 Speaker 1: basically there was a huge spike in what would become coal. Yeah, 352 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:42,159 Speaker 1: so it makes total sense, and we understand why a 353 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:45,399 Speaker 1: huge deposition of the word world's coal came from this 354 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,680 Speaker 1: particular epoch of the Carboniferous period, because before that everything 355 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: was too much underwater for there would be swamps, and 356 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,399 Speaker 1: you need swamps to create coal, right. But the thing is, 357 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:59,159 Speaker 1: there's a mystery and that shortly after the end of 358 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:03,359 Speaker 1: the Pennsylvania period of or epoch of the Carboniferous period, 359 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,479 Speaker 1: that that deposition of cold just drops off suddenly. So 360 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 1: it's almost like there's just one slice of of Earth's 361 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: natural geological history where most of the coal that we 362 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:19,720 Speaker 1: find in the entire world was created. There's some before that, 363 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,400 Speaker 1: there's some still going on today. Coal still being made. 364 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:27,400 Speaker 1: But the bulk of it, the vast majority, happened during 365 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: this and why why it started then, no mystery why 366 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: it stopped around then? That has been a long standing mystery. 367 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 1: And here is of course, where we get to the 368 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:41,640 Speaker 1: mystery of coal. Uh, that's right. And to explain the mystery, 369 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:43,919 Speaker 1: I guess we gotta get to sort of the second 370 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,199 Speaker 1: part of why there was so much coal, and that 371 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:49,240 Speaker 1: was due to the giant plants all of a sudden 372 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:53,240 Speaker 1: that we're happening happening during the Pennsylvanian epoch. It was 373 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:55,880 Speaker 1: just a lot of new plant diversity and they were 374 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 1: really really big plants. They sucked up a lot of 375 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:01,720 Speaker 1: the CEO two in the atmosphere, admitted a lot of oxygen, 376 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,919 Speaker 1: and that made the plants grow biggie biggie big, and 377 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:09,080 Speaker 1: those big, big plants fell over into these swamps. And 378 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: so this that's sort of part two of you know, 379 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:14,240 Speaker 1: if you have a lot of material all of a sudden, 380 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: and a lot bigger material, h then you can eventually 381 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,000 Speaker 1: get more coal. So we know all this stuff and 382 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,920 Speaker 1: that's all well and good, but scientists started to look 383 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 1: around again and say, like we need to try and 384 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:30,119 Speaker 1: figure out and I guess you know, it's an understanding 385 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: of what happened in the past so we can understand 386 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: what may happen in the future. It's a meta narrative. 387 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: It is a meta narrative. Uh. And so to get there, 388 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:43,520 Speaker 1: we to the mystery. We have to explain what lignant is, right. Yeah, 389 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,200 Speaker 1: So one of the one of the reasons all those 390 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:48,879 Speaker 1: plants were allowed to get so huge wasn't just that 391 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:52,080 Speaker 1: they sucked up all the CEO two. It's that apparently 392 00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:56,760 Speaker 1: around this time, lignan appeared on Earth, and lignant is 393 00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 1: what gives plants cell walls, their sturdiness, um, their heartiness, 394 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 1: UM makes it difficult for them to break down after um, 395 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: after they die, after they fall over and hit the 396 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,920 Speaker 1: swamp floor. And so they said, okay, lagnan came around 397 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,120 Speaker 1: around then. Maybe the reason why there was so much 398 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,359 Speaker 1: coal being laid down during that period and then it 399 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:26,199 Speaker 1: tapered off is because lignin showed up before anything that 400 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:30,040 Speaker 1: could break down. Lignant appeared on Earth, and then once 401 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:34,919 Speaker 1: that stuff came along, UM, the deposition of coal dropped 402 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:39,120 Speaker 1: off dramatically. And that's what's called the white rock appearance 403 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: theory of where our coal came from her wind. That's right. 404 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 1: And it sounds so boring too, you know, the regular 405 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,600 Speaker 1: person on the street. But if you're a scientists, well 406 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,480 Speaker 1: you think you don't You think it sounds pretty interesting. 407 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:58,600 Speaker 1: White rock theory, Yeah, I think that sounds amazingly interesting. 408 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: It's as feel like it's the theory title that only 409 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,480 Speaker 1: an Earth scientists would love. But you're also in Earth science, wonk. 410 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,439 Speaker 1: So of course you're gonna gonna turn your crank, you 411 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:11,960 Speaker 1: know what I mean, I guess my grank. It's spending 412 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,879 Speaker 1: a million miles right now. So they had this theory 413 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,840 Speaker 1: and they started looking back and the U. S. Department 414 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:22,200 Speaker 1: of Energy said, and this was in twelve. They came 415 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:25,480 Speaker 1: out with the theory and said, hey, I bet you 416 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:27,639 Speaker 1: anything there was this. There was this new kind of 417 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:31,640 Speaker 1: fungus that came on the scene that could take care 418 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:34,399 Speaker 1: of lignant like nothing else before it could take care of. 419 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,560 Speaker 1: And they said, I bet you dollars to donuts that 420 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,359 Speaker 1: this made an appearance right about that same time. And 421 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 1: they went back and checked and they were right. Yeah. 422 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 1: They analyzed the genomes of a ton of different fungi 423 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 1: from a class of fun guy called wood decay fun Guy, 424 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: which really lives up to its name. It's one of 425 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:55,560 Speaker 1: the one of the few things on Earth that is 426 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,119 Speaker 1: capable of breaking down lignan. But boy can't. Like if 427 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,800 Speaker 1: you've ever seen a bunch a weird shingle like mushrooms 428 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: growing out the side of a fallen tree in the woods, yeah, 429 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:06,919 Speaker 1: that's the type of wood decay fun Guy. And if 430 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,840 Speaker 1: you've ever picked up a piece of wood and it's 431 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 1: just crumbled in your hands, that was because of the 432 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:14,160 Speaker 1: fun Guy, you can thank you for that dry rock. 433 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: So they're really good at it. But they're doing that today. 434 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:19,879 Speaker 1: And they came along at some point in time. And 435 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:23,159 Speaker 1: when they analyzed the genes of one kind a white 436 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:28,040 Speaker 1: rot fungi, which is a mushroom bearing fungus um, they said, 437 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:30,600 Speaker 1: you know what, I think this actually came along towards 438 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:34,679 Speaker 1: the end of the Carboniferous period beginning of the Permian period, 439 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,399 Speaker 1: And this is probably the reason why all of that 440 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 1: cold deposition suddenly dropped off all of a sudden, right, 441 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,439 Speaker 1: because now you have a situation where instead of dropping 442 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: off falling into a swamp, largely decomposed and sitting there forever, 443 00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:53,720 Speaker 1: you've got it falling down, and you know, the funk 444 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 1: is doing its thing, just like we see more of today. Yeah, 445 00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,800 Speaker 1: it jumped on it like the bunny from Monty Python 446 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:03,879 Speaker 1: and the Holy Grail. That's what that's how they pounce. Uh. 447 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:07,639 Speaker 1: Is this a good time for a break? I guess so. 448 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: But I think we need to throw a little cliffhanger 449 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,239 Speaker 1: in their chuck, because there's a lot of scientists out 450 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,119 Speaker 1: there to say, not so fast. You can take your 451 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:17,200 Speaker 1: white rock theory and shove it, because I'm not convinced. 452 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:20,439 Speaker 1: I think that's a great cliffhanger. Thank you, all right, 453 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:49,120 Speaker 1: We'll be right back. Okay. So some scientists have made 454 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:53,320 Speaker 1: the white rock theorists cry secretly in the bathroom atwork, 455 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,679 Speaker 1: not openly, but they did cry because they weren't very 456 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 1: kind about it. They weren't. It was really mean. But 457 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:02,440 Speaker 1: um they did make some really good points, and one 458 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:05,439 Speaker 1: of them is that you know, we're not entirely certain. 459 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 1: Maybe white rock ancestors showed up around the end of 460 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:13,480 Speaker 1: the carboniferous period. It's possible, but that's not to say 461 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 1: that there's nothing that could break down lignant that existed 462 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:21,280 Speaker 1: before that. So maybe there was something already and you 463 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: can actually see evidence of it from fossilized plant material 464 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,920 Speaker 1: that are partially decayed. Um, how would they have been 465 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: at all decayed if there wasn't anything that could break 466 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:35,399 Speaker 1: down lignan before white rock came along. Yeah, so something 467 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,600 Speaker 1: was breaking stuff down. Uh, this may have sped it 468 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:42,600 Speaker 1: up or whatever, but something was already happening, and it appears, 469 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:44,399 Speaker 1: and I might let me know if I have the 470 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 1: wrong take on this, but it appears what they're saying 471 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: as an alternate theory is maybe there was not a 472 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:56,159 Speaker 1: big drop off more so than there was just a 473 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:02,000 Speaker 1: weird anomalous spike because of these tectonic lights crashing together 474 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:04,880 Speaker 1: and all of a sudden it happened to happen where 475 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 1: all this swamp Plan was and that just really sped 476 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:12,199 Speaker 1: things up. So what we saw then was, uh, like 477 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: what we're seeing today maybe is more in the order 478 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,120 Speaker 1: of just kind of how it normally is. And there 479 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:19,160 Speaker 1: was just a big spike because there was a big 480 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,200 Speaker 1: spike because of these tectonic plates happening and all of 481 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:25,280 Speaker 1: a sudden, this huge deposits of stuff and the Swamplan 482 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:29,440 Speaker 1: being buried underground. Yeah, like that's that's precisely right. That 483 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: that we've been looking at it the wrong way. It's 484 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,200 Speaker 1: it's not like that was the normal process of coal making. 485 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,639 Speaker 1: It just so happened that there was this period of 486 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:40,720 Speaker 1: time in Earth's history where the conditions were perfectly right 487 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 1: to make a bunch of coal all at once, and 488 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:47,680 Speaker 1: that window eventually closed and the continents broke up and 489 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:49,920 Speaker 1: they took their coal seams with them around the world. 490 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:54,480 Speaker 1: This see, this is the stuff that really fascinates me 491 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:58,160 Speaker 1: about Earth sciences is sort of the sliding doors thing, Like, 492 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:01,720 Speaker 1: had that not happened, we would not have had coal 493 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: on the order that we have today at all, And 494 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: like what what would how would that have changed the world, 495 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 1: And how would that have changed the Industrial revolution? Or 496 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,360 Speaker 1: maybe prevented the Industrial Revolution from happening, because I guess 497 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:17,520 Speaker 1: we'd would still be burning would I guess who knows 498 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:21,600 Speaker 1: we'd be we would have figured out how to burn diamonds. Maybe. Yeah. 499 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: It's just really interesting that this, you know, tectonic plates 500 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:29,760 Speaker 1: millions and millions of years ago, uh, ends up affecting 501 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 1: like well as we'll see the Earth's climate today, but 502 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,400 Speaker 1: how we get around in the world, and like the 503 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: energy we consume and not just tectonic plates. But the 504 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,560 Speaker 1: happenstance that there was the appearance of lignant which allowed 505 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 1: all of this stuff, to all these plants to diversify 506 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 1: and explode in size, and that fascinating and that yeah, 507 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:52,560 Speaker 1: it is. It took all these different little factors to 508 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:56,040 Speaker 1: make the coal that we see today so abundant. Because yeah, 509 00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 1: if that hadn't happened, if we didn't have these abundant deposits, um, 510 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:02,640 Speaker 1: who yeah, who knows where we would be or what 511 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:05,400 Speaker 1: we would be doing for for energy. And and that 512 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:08,720 Speaker 1: is the thing, because we are definitely using a lot 513 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:13,600 Speaker 1: of coal for energy and as a result, we're, um, well, 514 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:15,840 Speaker 1: we're wrecking the planet. There's really no other way to 515 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: put it. It's definitely not just because of coal, but 516 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:21,360 Speaker 1: coal has definitely been a huge culprit because we've been 517 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:26,000 Speaker 1: using it for so long. Again it powered the industrial revolution, um. 518 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:29,440 Speaker 1: And then also because it is just such a dirty 519 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:34,840 Speaker 1: energy source. It is. Uh. But here's the thing, when 520 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:37,360 Speaker 1: used as an energy source, as a dirty energy source, 521 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: if that coal were uh, we're not extracted and it 522 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:44,120 Speaker 1: just you know that the plant matter fell into the 523 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:48,360 Speaker 1: swamp and and it and it decomposed very slowly down 524 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:51,200 Speaker 1: there and eventually became uh, you know the three stages 525 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: of coal, or I guess the four stages of coal. 526 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:55,960 Speaker 1: It would just stay that CEO two would stay locked 527 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,760 Speaker 1: down in there. Yes, it's uh, it actually acts as 528 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: a sequest to rower I guess, to keep that carbon 529 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:07,120 Speaker 1: locked underground where it would have stayed had it not 530 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,160 Speaker 1: been for us. Yeah, so that makes it a carbon sink. 531 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:15,520 Speaker 1: Um is a sequester. Reminds me of that kids in 532 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:21,840 Speaker 1: the hall eradicate toor um So, but being a carbon sink, 533 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:24,600 Speaker 1: that makes it a really major part of the carbon cycle, 534 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:28,080 Speaker 1: which is the shuffling of carbon throughout the Earth, into 535 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:31,960 Speaker 1: the oceans, into the atmosphere, and that actually acts as 536 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,440 Speaker 1: Earth's thermostat because, like we were talking about, when all 537 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,240 Speaker 1: those plants came along in the Mississippian epoch of the 538 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: Carboniferous period, they the more and more plants sucked more 539 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: and more carbon dioxide out of the air, which actually 540 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 1: cool global temperatures. Right, So, less carbon in the atmosphere 541 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:54,680 Speaker 1: equals lower lower temperatures. More carbon in the atmosphere equals 542 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 1: higher temperatures, and so over time is that carbon moves 543 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:02,080 Speaker 1: slowly from atmosphere into rock and then released again into 544 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:07,920 Speaker 1: the atmosphere. That just keeps temperatures stable generally globally within 545 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: a range. Um and cole plays a big part of that. 546 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 1: But we have radically accelerated the pace of release of 547 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:22,040 Speaker 1: that carbon from those the carbon sink, that is coal 548 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,160 Speaker 1: back into the atmosphere by digging it up and burning 549 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:28,480 Speaker 1: it and not just um, not just speeding it up 550 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:31,600 Speaker 1: by by by um, you know, setting it on fire 551 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 1: rather than letting it a road naturally over time, but 552 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:38,240 Speaker 1: also just the massive amounts that we burn have had 553 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 1: a terrible effect. Well yeah, I mean you make a 554 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:43,640 Speaker 1: good point. You know, this coal, like an earthquake might 555 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:48,000 Speaker 1: push this coal seum above ground eventually and that exposes 556 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,600 Speaker 1: it to the atmosphere, but it's still going to be 557 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:53,400 Speaker 1: releasing that CEO two very slowly because it's not on fire. 558 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:56,280 Speaker 1: Then the point you made was like, there may be 559 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:58,760 Speaker 1: an unlucky thing, like you know, lightning might hit it 560 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 1: and light it on fire or something like that, but 561 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:05,200 Speaker 1: save that or or some human coming along and doing it, 562 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:06,720 Speaker 1: it is going to be a really slow sort of 563 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:09,600 Speaker 1: natural process, and you're not gonna see these big spikes 564 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:12,560 Speaker 1: of c O two being released. Yeah, so a good um, 565 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:15,960 Speaker 1: a good reference point of references. Volcanoes are like the 566 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:20,280 Speaker 1: biggest emitter of carbon from the Earth back into the atmosphere. 567 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:24,960 Speaker 1: They it literally melts rock that contains carbon, including coal, 568 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:29,360 Speaker 1: and shoots that that out. Is like volcanic emissions back 569 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:34,280 Speaker 1: into the atmosphere. On a given year, volcanic activity releases 570 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:37,920 Speaker 1: between a hundred and thirty and three eighty million metric 571 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:43,160 Speaker 1: tons of carbon dioxide. On a given year, humans release 572 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:49,160 Speaker 1: thirty billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 573 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,280 Speaker 1: So yeah, and coal is a big, big part of that, 574 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:55,120 Speaker 1: um and it just kind of gives you an idea 575 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 1: of like just how lopsided things are becoming. So hence 576 00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:01,480 Speaker 1: we reached that point where global warming even though it's 577 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:04,040 Speaker 1: hot or it's cold, and there's freak weather and weird weather, 578 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:07,200 Speaker 1: and it's like, what does global warming even mean? We're 579 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:11,480 Speaker 1: contributing to global warming by releasing more carbon dioxide into 580 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,759 Speaker 1: the atmosphere, which warms the atmosphere, warms the surface of 581 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:18,759 Speaker 1: the oceans, which leads ocean a cidification to sea levels rise, 582 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:23,920 Speaker 1: and a whole cascade of really unpleasant stuff is happening 583 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:25,960 Speaker 1: and is about to happen that we're all going to 584 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,840 Speaker 1: have to adapt to and get used to. Yeah, I 585 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,799 Speaker 1: think we've It's interesting, I don't we've never done one 586 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:35,160 Speaker 1: solely on climate change, have we? I think we have? Oh, 587 00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:38,840 Speaker 1: have we? I believe we have maybe global warming itself. 588 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,640 Speaker 1: I don't remember, but I feel like we have done 589 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:44,200 Speaker 1: because I just I kind of thought that we had 590 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:48,839 Speaker 1: covered it pretty fully in bits and chunks and a 591 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:53,160 Speaker 1: lot of different episodes, which really sort of bells very 592 00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:57,720 Speaker 1: clearly out that you know, there are so many reasons 593 00:34:57,719 --> 00:35:00,440 Speaker 1: and so much there's so much history to it, Like 594 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:02,279 Speaker 1: I mean, I guess we probably did cover it in 595 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:05,920 Speaker 1: one episode, but I just the the tendrils of climate 596 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,880 Speaker 1: change are so far reaching, Like it's not it's not 597 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:11,520 Speaker 1: a surprise that it's made appearances and like dozens of 598 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,439 Speaker 1: our episodes. But I think that's one of the things 599 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:18,560 Speaker 1: I like about our job is like, you know, there's 600 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:21,520 Speaker 1: everybody knows that, like CEO two contributes to climate change, 601 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,200 Speaker 1: but you and I have the opportunity to like kind 602 00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:25,520 Speaker 1: of take it slow and slow things down and explain 603 00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:27,600 Speaker 1: it in a little more detail, you know, so that 604 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:30,600 Speaker 1: people who listen to us can can be like, oh, yes, 605 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 1: that's true. And I know why, you know. I think 606 00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 1: that's it's very rewarding job that we have, Chuck, it is. 607 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:41,359 Speaker 1: We're lucky, dudes, We are lucky. Um, you got anything else? 608 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:43,960 Speaker 1: I got nothing else. This is a fun one, kind 609 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:49,160 Speaker 1: of short and sweet but dense like coal. That's right. Uh, Well, 610 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:51,680 Speaker 1: if you want to know more about Cole, there's a 611 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,279 Speaker 1: lot of stuff to read, a lot of stuff, surprising 612 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,120 Speaker 1: amount of stuff on coal out there. Um, and it's 613 00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:59,560 Speaker 1: kind of fun. Uh. And since I said it's kind 614 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:01,560 Speaker 1: of fun, that means it's time for a listener mail. 615 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:08,200 Speaker 1: I'm gonna call this from an assie friend of ours. Hey, 616 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:12,040 Speaker 1: gent's sending a hello all the way from Australia Land. 617 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:14,560 Speaker 1: Like many of your listeners, I never really had a 618 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:16,440 Speaker 1: reason to write in other than to thank you guys, 619 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:19,480 Speaker 1: until the other day. That is. Recently, In one of 620 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:22,920 Speaker 1: your new new episodes, Josh made a point to clear 621 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:26,040 Speaker 1: any possible confusion about the way people should interpret the 622 00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:29,520 Speaker 1: title of the show. He explained that he was unsure 623 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:31,920 Speaker 1: whether people should be or would be saying it and 624 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,719 Speaker 1: stuff you should already know or cool stuff we think 625 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:39,839 Speaker 1: you should know. It's funny you're just kinda talking about that. Uh. 626 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:43,560 Speaker 1: And with that out loud brain fart of an f overthought, 627 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:46,200 Speaker 1: I finally had my reason to get in touch. It's 628 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:47,640 Speaker 1: like you were speaking to me and I didn't even 629 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:52,280 Speaker 1: know it. Uh. And here goes the explanation. Okay, growing 630 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:54,319 Speaker 1: up in a home with a single mom and a 631 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:56,680 Speaker 1: protective one, Uh, there are a lot of very basic 632 00:36:56,760 --> 00:36:58,880 Speaker 1: yet potentially dangerous things that I was not allowed to 633 00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,879 Speaker 1: do or even learn how to do. The logic being 634 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,160 Speaker 1: if I didn't know, I wouldn't try it and I 635 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 1: wouldn't get hurt. Uh. This was just so so great 636 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,000 Speaker 1: until I was an adult out in the real world 637 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,880 Speaker 1: with no idea how to use a can opener. So 638 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:15,960 Speaker 1: now there's me searching for a cool new podcast to 639 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,400 Speaker 1: listen to and I see one called Stuff You Should Know, 640 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:22,200 Speaker 1: and I swear to Steve Irwin, my first thought was, 641 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:26,319 Speaker 1: bloody hell, they might be able to teach me how 642 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:30,400 Speaker 1: to use a can opener. Of course, instead, what I 643 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:34,640 Speaker 1: found was an absolute beheamoth of a discography with more 644 00:37:34,719 --> 00:37:36,880 Speaker 1: amazing stories, topics and jokes and I could ever have 645 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:39,560 Speaker 1: wished to hear about or even even if I look 646 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:41,880 Speaker 1: to be a hundred. Uh now listen to all the 647 00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:43,919 Speaker 1: episodes and can't wait for the new ones through the week. 648 00:37:44,239 --> 00:37:46,840 Speaker 1: I don't really need to be a listener mail. The 649 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 1: fact that it seems you guys genuinely read these is 650 00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:51,799 Speaker 1: amazing enough to me. I hope you guys and your 651 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:54,359 Speaker 1: families are well and staying safe. Keep it up, you 652 00:37:54,400 --> 00:38:01,719 Speaker 1: bloody effing legends. Cheers. That is from Jackson and can Burra, Australia. 653 00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:08,440 Speaker 1: Nice thanks Jack Cambarra, Canberra, Canberra. All right, um, I 654 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:12,680 Speaker 1: really brushed up before our Australian Yeah, that was a 655 00:38:12,719 --> 00:38:14,840 Speaker 1: great email, Jackson, like one of the one of the 656 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:17,200 Speaker 1: better ones we've ever gotten, So thank you very much 657 00:38:17,239 --> 00:38:20,719 Speaker 1: for that. Um, I think practice makes perfect with a 658 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:25,640 Speaker 1: with a can opener, Okay, I just need to close 659 00:38:25,719 --> 00:38:27,719 Speaker 1: that circle. Yeah, and I don't think I could. I 660 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:31,120 Speaker 1: could explain it. I'm thinking of it and I don't 661 00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:35,000 Speaker 1: think I can, so just give it some Yeah, you mean, 662 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:38,400 Speaker 1: I have one that goes on the top and it 663 00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:42,600 Speaker 1: it actually like breaks the seal between the top of 664 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:46,120 Speaker 1: the can and the actual can. And I it took 665 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:48,279 Speaker 1: me several times. I think I actually went and looked 666 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:50,440 Speaker 1: up online how to use that one. Because I'm like, 667 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:53,640 Speaker 1: it cuts around the side and takes the whole lit off. Yes, yeah, yeah, 668 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:55,799 Speaker 1: I've seen those. Those are good. Yeah, I've seen him too. 669 00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,719 Speaker 1: I've never tried to use one before, and it's not intuitive, 670 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:01,640 Speaker 1: so I guess you're Yeah. My advice, Jackson is to 671 00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:04,080 Speaker 1: just go look up a couple of how to videos 672 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:07,439 Speaker 1: on the internet and they will explain how can openers work? 673 00:39:07,719 --> 00:39:10,839 Speaker 1: And that means by proxy, I've just explained how can 674 00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:15,200 Speaker 1: openers work? Or by one of those great old school 675 00:39:15,239 --> 00:39:18,040 Speaker 1: seventies p green electric cannon putters and set it on 676 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:19,919 Speaker 1: your counter. Those are awesome. Yeah, you want to talk 677 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,960 Speaker 1: about home defense, just like, keep a couple of those 678 00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:25,960 Speaker 1: lids laying around. You can throw them like throwing stars 679 00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:29,800 Speaker 1: at in true ninja stars. And is there anything in 680 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:33,320 Speaker 1: the seventies that wasn't dangerous? I don't think so. I 681 00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:37,919 Speaker 1: don't either remember the strollers back then? Good lord? Sure well, 682 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,080 Speaker 1: we could go on like this forever, but I can 683 00:39:40,239 --> 00:39:42,680 Speaker 1: hear John Hodgman rolling over in his grave and he's 684 00:39:42,719 --> 00:39:45,960 Speaker 1: not even dead yet. He'd pre rolls though, just to 685 00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:48,200 Speaker 1: you know, get the practice in right. So if you 686 00:39:48,239 --> 00:39:49,920 Speaker 1: want to get in touch of this, like Jackson did 687 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,640 Speaker 1: You can send us an email to stuff podcast at 688 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:58,080 Speaker 1: iHeart radio dot com. Stuff you Should Know is a 689 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:01,919 Speaker 1: production of iHeart Radio. More podcasts my heart Radio, visit 690 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,799 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 691 00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:12,719 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows. H m hm