1 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,439 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Robert Lammin. This is the Monster Fact, 3 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 2: a short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind, 4 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 2: focusing in non mythical creatures, ideas and monsters in time. 5 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 2: Our recent Weird House Cinema episode on the nineteen eighty 6 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 2: one film Dragon Slayer got me thinking once more about 7 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 2: dragon flight. In this film, noted for its superb dragon effects, 8 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 2: we get to see Vermathra's pejorative soar terrifyingly across the 9 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,160 Speaker 2: sky like a fighter jet, as well as swooped down 10 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 2: from craggy Peaks, but we don't see the creature engage 11 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 2: in vertical takeoff. In the special features for the excellent 12 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 2: twenty twenty three remastered Blu Ray release, the effects team 13 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 2: indicated that they intentionally avoided depicting the dragon taken to 14 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 2: flight in order to avoid challenges in making the feat 15 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 2: seem believable, because, of course, dragons, while creatures of fantasy, 16 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,479 Speaker 2: should feel believable on the screen, and that may often 17 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 2: mean choosing what to depict and what to leave to 18 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 2: the audience's imagination. But in raising the specter of believable 19 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 2: dragon flight, I was reminded of an older episode of 20 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 2: Weird House Cinema in which I discussed the nineteen eighty 21 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 2: two animated film The Flight of Dragons with Seth Nicholas Johnson. 22 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,399 Speaker 2: The film from Rankin in Bass was based on the 23 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 2: nineteen seventy nine book by Peter Dickinson and illustrated by 24 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 2: Wayne Anderson. Part coffee table fantasy art book and part 25 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 2: speculative natural history of dragons. The book is an absolute delight, 26 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 2: and affordable used copies are still very much in circulation. 27 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 2: Dickinson lays out one of the more intriguing models for 28 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 2: dragon biology and flight, which I'll briefly summarize here. For starters, 29 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 2: the dragons of flight of ddragons are quote flying bricks. 30 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 2: They have thick bodies and short wings, but are very 31 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 2: capable of flight. The wings for starters are too small 32 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 2: to support their weight and are not proper limbs, but 33 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 2: rather webbed spines that evolved from their ribs. The dragons 34 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:20,399 Speaker 2: only use these wings for propulsion and maneuvering because their 35 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:25,359 Speaker 2: large bodies contain lighter than air gas, specifically hydrogen, which 36 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 2: the dragon produces via digestion of limestone. The fiery breath 37 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 2: then is a byproduct of their mode of flight. They 38 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 2: must regularly vent hydrogen as a means of lowering their 39 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 2: altitude when in flight, or as a matter of course, 40 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 2: when not engaged in flight. Via structure known as thors 41 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,080 Speaker 2: thimble and the roof of their mouth, the dragons are 42 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 2: able to ignite the hydrogen as a great burst of flame. 43 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:53,920 Speaker 2: The film does a fine job relating all of this, 44 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 2: and the book ruminates on the speculative evolution, life cycle, 45 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,800 Speaker 2: and biology of fire breathing dragons as well as dragon slayers. 46 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 2: It's a great deal of fun, but also rather insightful 47 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 2: and clever. I highly recommend it to anyone with an 48 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 2: interest in the monster sciences. While we don't have any 49 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:16,280 Speaker 2: terrestrial organisms that engage in this mode of flight, science 50 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 2: fiction contains numerous other examples of creatures that fly via 51 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 2: bladders of lighter than atmosphere gas. Artist and author Wayne Barlow, 52 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 2: a legend in his field, for example, envisioned the Eosapiens 53 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,640 Speaker 2: in his nineteen ninety book Expedition. Barlow envisioned them as 54 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 2: the most advanced life form on the planet Darwin four, 55 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 2: floating in the atmosphere via two bladders of methane in 56 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 2: the planet's oxygen rich atmosphere. Tune in for additional episodes 57 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 2: of The Monster Fact, The Artifact, or Anamalia Stupendium each week. 58 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 2: As always, you can email us at contact at stuff 59 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 2: to Blow your Mind dot com. 60 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 61 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 62 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.