1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, the production of 2 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:15,240 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 3 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:18,640 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb, and I'm Joe mccormaking. Today 4 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: I wanted to start off by doing one of my 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: favorite things to to kick off a Stuff to Blow 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: Your Mind episode, which is go back more than a 7 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: hundred years and read an article about what kinds of 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: animals there are? And I think this one's especially who 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: because it concerns the animals of Iceland. So this was 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: published in a periodical called the Scottish Review I believe, 11 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,520 Speaker 1: in the year nineteen hundred by an author named Olaf Davidson. 12 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: And it's an article called the Folklore of Icelandic Fishes 13 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: in which Davidson catalogs examples of both totally mundane animals, 14 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: like you know, talking about different kinds of whales and 15 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: fish and sharks and things, but then also bizarre stories 16 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: of the boreal realms about you know, uh, weird deadly 17 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: creatures of the waters. And there are just some great 18 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: stories in here, some of which he seems to source 19 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: at least partially from Icelandic newspapers and other ones. I 20 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:20,040 Speaker 1: guess he's drawing more on just general folklore. Um, so, 21 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: the first one I wanted to mention is is great 22 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: he He talks about something called the coil eel or 23 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: rock all, which is something like a cross between a 24 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: fish and a wire saw. So just let me read 25 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: from Davidson here. The coil eel or rock all is 26 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: about two ft in length and lives chiefly in ditches 27 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: or stagnant pools, but is sometimes found in running waters. 28 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: If any animal or human being puts foot into the 29 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: water where it is, the eel coils itself round their 30 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: leg and cuts into the bone or even takes it 31 00:01:55,440 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: right off. Frequently. Yeah, yeah, wire saw right. This frequently 32 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: happens with horses, but cheap escape because their legs are 33 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: too slender for the eel to work upon. How the 34 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: cutting is done is a point on which opinions differ. 35 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,239 Speaker 1: Some say that the venom in the eel is so 36 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: strong that it corrodes the flesh and bone. Others say 37 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: that the eel has fins as sharp as the teeth 38 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: of a saw and does the work with these. It 39 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: is also said to have thin scales as hard as iron, 40 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: and its flesh is poisonous. Wow, this is incredible. It's 41 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: like the swimming guillotine, a very good comparison. You need 42 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: to get like a an Icelandic wizard who's got one 43 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: of these on a leash that he can throw. Yeah, 44 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: that would be great. I mean, these these are this 45 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: is a great hard gimmick right here. Yeah, and and uh, 46 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 1: it's even got an origin story. The rock All was 47 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: allegedly created, according to the tails, when a wizard once 48 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: breathed life into a dead, half rotten eel, thus creating 49 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,040 Speaker 1: this poisonous animal. Oh my goodness that this needs to 50 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: go into a monster manual right here. Yeah. It also 51 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: strikes me as like a good way to convince your 52 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: children not to step in puddles. Yes, yes, the rock 53 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: All made lurk in the puddles? Yeah, do you ever, 54 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: by the way, go through And I know some kids 55 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: do this, Some kids have a real like puddle splashing 56 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: stomping phase. I don't know if you ever dealt with that, 57 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: but I've definitely definitely went through a puddle splashing uh 58 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,120 Speaker 1: phase for sure. Yeah, I mean I can't deny it's fun. 59 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,079 Speaker 1: But okay, So Davidson goes on to another one. There 60 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: there's one called the ohfu oogie, which is a fish 61 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: that has backwards facing fins and which swims in reverse 62 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: tail first. And then there's another one that he calls 63 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: the sea mouse. But I think what he's referring to 64 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: is now called the rabbit fish or the rat fish 65 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: scientific name Chimera monst rosa. Uh. This is a This 66 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: is a cartilaginous fish of the North Atlantic and Mediterranean 67 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: that can grow to about one point five meters in length. 68 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: And so the legend that Davidson recounts about this animal again, 69 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: this is probably now the rabbit fish. But what he's 70 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: calling the sea mouse is that it swims so ferociously 71 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: that the sea foams ahead of its path, and that 72 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: it can open its jaws wide enough to swallow an 73 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: entire boat, which is not true. But I did want 74 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: to read his anecdote about this quote. On one occasion, 75 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:28,679 Speaker 1: two men were out at sea on the East coast 76 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 1: in an open boat, while near them was a French 77 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: fishing vessel. Uh. They had been fishing quietly for some 78 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: time when they heard a tremendous noise out to sea, 79 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: and at once suspected that it was caused by a 80 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:43,919 Speaker 1: sea mouse. In a short time, they saw it, coming 81 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: in the midst of a white foaming wave and making 82 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: straight for their boat. The men were so scared that 83 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: they could do nothing to save themselves. The Frenchman saw 84 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:56,040 Speaker 1: their danger and ran their schooner right in the way 85 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: of the monster, which however still kept the same course 86 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: and speed, and struck the vessel with such force as 87 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,279 Speaker 1: to cant it over to one side. The sea mouse 88 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,040 Speaker 1: continued to press against the ship for a little while, 89 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: and during that time the men were taken on board. 90 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: Then it disappeared and the men afterwards road to land. 91 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: So okay, saying this fish could like actually knock a 92 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 1: ship over, uh, definitely not true about that species. If 93 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: there is any truth to this story at all, it's 94 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,480 Speaker 1: it's obviously not about a rabbit fish. Um. But also 95 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,679 Speaker 1: to confuse things even further, there actually is a marine 96 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: animal now commonly known as a sea mouse, but it 97 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: is not a fish at all, but a marine poly 98 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: keyed worm, usually about three to six inches in length, which, uh, 99 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: this will be relevant to what we're talking about today, 100 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:44,719 Speaker 1: is often covering in something that looks kind of like 101 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 1: a sparkly fur now and and this is an interesting 102 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: organism to be to be sure, but I also looked 103 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: up a picture of the rabbit fish, and it is 104 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: interesting that its head does have kind of the appearance 105 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: of a rabbit's head. It had I can set definitely 106 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,479 Speaker 1: see the comparison. There, something about the way that the 107 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:07,159 Speaker 1: eyes or are structured. Uh, it has has this kind 108 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: of rabbit looking skull. Um. But but then again, I'm 109 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 1: also reading that they can grow to the five feet 110 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,919 Speaker 1: in length. So I guess if one of these creatures 111 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: was to slam into the side of your boat, it 112 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: could at least startle you. It could at least be 113 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: a moment that could then be exaggerated into greater threat 114 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: and tails. Yeah, I guess that's reasonable. I mean, I'm 115 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: picturing boats of a size in this story where that 116 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: wouldn't really make sense because it's talking about like a schooner, 117 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:38,479 Speaker 1: right the I don't know how big is a schooner. 118 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: Can a schooner be small enough to be severely disturbed 119 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 1: by a by a one point five meter fish? I mean, 120 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: if your imagination is there, it can certainly certainly be alarming, 121 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 1: I imagine to confuse things about that story even further, Uh, 122 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: this so called rabbit fish Camira monstrosa. That is one 123 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:00,599 Speaker 1: type of fish called rabbit fish, but then there's also 124 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: a totally different type of fish, also called a rabbit 125 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: fish that's not related. So lots to throw you off 126 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: right there, But anyway, I wanted to get to the 127 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: final citation I want to make from from Olaf Davidson's 128 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 1: article here because it concerns the topic that we're going 129 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: to be getting into over the next couple of episodes. 130 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: So here he goes on my favorite part. On the 131 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: shores of lakes in the north of Iceland, there have 132 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: sometimes been found strange and ugly fishes resembling trout, which 133 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: neither dogs nor birds of prey would eat. These were 134 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: doubtless specimens of the shaggy trout or load selunger, also 135 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: a very poisonous fish. One of these was cast on 136 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: shore at Savina Votten in eighteen fifty four, and an 137 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: illustration of it is given in the newspaper nor Dury 138 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: for eighteen fifty five. It was very unlike in ordinary trout, 139 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: both in shape and in color. On its lower jaw 140 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: and its neck, it had reddish hair forming a kind 141 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: of beard. There were also hairy patches on its sides. 142 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: And hair on its fins, so there can be no 143 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: doubt it was a shaggy trout, though the writer of 144 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: the article in Nordury does not say so. Now I'm 145 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:16,679 Speaker 1: suspecting that wizard again. Yeah, I mean one I'm wondering. 146 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: Iceland is not super densely populated, right, so you know, 147 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: you have a few larger cities and then the little settlements, 148 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:27,240 Speaker 1: especially around the coasts all around, but then big parts 149 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: of the inner country are you know, mostly uninhabited. So 150 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 1: I wonder is that wizard territory? Is that where the 151 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: wizards are out there making fish with beards? Yeah, I 152 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: mean there aren't enough people around to really mess with, 153 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: so yeah, they're doing terrible things to fish. But this 154 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: is by no means the only account of the shaggy 155 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,160 Speaker 1: trout or the furry trout of Iceland. I found more 156 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: about this this local lore in an article in the 157 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: Paris Review by David Buckspan from sixteen, which is actually 158 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,680 Speaker 1: about something totally different. It's not an article about Icelandic legends. 159 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:04,599 Speaker 1: It is about a speaking event with an Icelandic novelist 160 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:07,199 Speaker 1: who goes by the name Sean spelled s j o 161 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: in but pronounced Sean and you might know him as 162 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: a collaborator with Bjorke. He apparently wrote lyrics for some 163 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:15,959 Speaker 1: of her songs, and I think they've performed in bands 164 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: together at least at some point. Um. But then at 165 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: a certain part in the evening at the speaking thing, 166 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 1: Sean turns to explaining his personal obsession with this shaggy 167 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: trout legend of Iceland, and he definitely expands on what 168 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,560 Speaker 1: we've just established. So he does say, yeah, there's an 169 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 1: animal allegedly known as the furry trout. It looks the 170 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 1: same as a normal trout, except it's covered in fur, 171 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:42,840 Speaker 1: which is a little different than what Davidson said. Davidson 172 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: said it looked very different from a regular trout. But 173 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: Sean goes on to say that according to the legend, 174 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: you might be fishing for a school of regular trout 175 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 1: with a net and then suddenly one of them there 176 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 1: in your net is completely covered in fur, and it's 177 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: just right there with the other ones. But he there's 178 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: the really interesting variation. Olaf Davidson says that the common 179 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:06,839 Speaker 1: belief is that the shaggy trout is poisonous, so you 180 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: shouldn't need it because it could hurt you. Maybe make 181 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: you sick or kill you. But Sean says that the 182 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 1: legend he learned when he was nine years old was 183 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,200 Speaker 1: that if a man ate the furry trout, he would 184 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: become pregnant and he would end up having to give 185 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:24,840 Speaker 1: birth through his scrotum. Okay, well, I have some doubts 186 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,400 Speaker 1: and some questions about that that last claim. Yes, and 187 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: he actually even describes like the birthing procedure, which involves 188 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 1: like the scrotum swelling with the child and like you 189 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: have to get a knife and lay him on a 190 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: table and all that. It's you can go read the 191 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,200 Speaker 1: article if you want. Uh. But then is it a 192 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 1: normal human child or is it like a fish person? Oh, 193 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: I think it's just a human child. After that where 194 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:48,560 Speaker 1: I don't know, he doesn't really go into what the 195 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:58,679 Speaker 1: implications for the child is. But anyway, the more I 196 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: got interested in the store is the more I discovered 197 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: that there are, in fact stories from all over the 198 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 1: world about various types of furry fish. And so that's 199 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: what I wanted to look into for the next couple 200 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: of episodes here, because I think you you may well 201 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: agree that fish generally do not have fur, So we 202 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,240 Speaker 1: wanted to talk about like what these stories are and 203 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: where they come from and what might explain them. Yeah, 204 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:27,079 Speaker 1: and and these are going to cover a fair amount 205 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: of ground. We're gonna get into some legends and mythology. 206 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 1: We're going to talk about some some some some definite uh, 207 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,960 Speaker 1: denizens of the of the the actual oceans and lakes 208 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,440 Speaker 1: and rivers of our world. Uh, and then also some 209 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:46,760 Speaker 1: possible like misinterpretations of natural creatures. So there's there's a 210 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 1: lot on the table here with the furry fish, and 211 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:53,080 Speaker 1: I think, yeah, I think everybody's gonna be pleasantly surprised. Now. 212 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: The shaggy trout of Iceland is actually one of several 213 00:11:56,080 --> 00:12:00,200 Speaker 1: reports of furry fish that are collected in a book 214 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,439 Speaker 1: that I was looking at called The Beasts That Hide 215 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 1: from Man, Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals, by an 216 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 1: author named Carl Schucker. I think this was originally published 217 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:13,719 Speaker 1: in two thousands three. I might have been looking at 218 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: an addition from but Shooker is a British crypto zoologist, 219 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,559 Speaker 1: and as you may well know, crypto zoologist can mean 220 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:28,839 Speaker 1: extremely different things, right, So it could be a clear skeptical, 221 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: responsible researcher who tries to investigate reports of animals that 222 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: are not well documented or not documented at all by 223 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:40,840 Speaker 1: by regular scientific methods, and find out if these reports 224 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: can in fact be confirmed. And there are cases like this. 225 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 1: There are cases of, for example, of animals thought to 226 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,840 Speaker 1: be long extinct but then turning up extant in the 227 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: world today. For example, the sela can't the type of 228 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: lobe finned fish that was thought to be long extinct, 229 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 1: but then live specimens were found. But on the other hand, 230 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 1: of course we know, if you know, if you're a 231 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: fan of like certain types of TV documentaries or whatever, 232 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 1: a cryptozoologist could also be a self applied label for 233 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:12,319 Speaker 1: somebody who says that they have a big foot corps 234 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,319 Speaker 1: in their freezer, but you're not allowed to look at it. Yeah, Yeah, 235 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:19,680 Speaker 1: there's a there's a broad spectrum in the crypto zoology world, right, 236 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:21,960 Speaker 1: And so I think, from at least what I was 237 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:23,959 Speaker 1: looking at in this book, I think Shooker seems to 238 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,680 Speaker 1: be closer to the former. Somebody who's you know, trying 239 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: to responsibly apply, uh, you know, reasonable skeptical methods of 240 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: investigation to reports of perhaps not well documented animals. There 241 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:38,959 Speaker 1: may be something I missed, but at least in the 242 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:40,560 Speaker 1: parts of the book I was looking at. He he 243 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: does not seem to treat reports of strange animals with 244 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:47,480 Speaker 1: automatic credulity and and certainly not talk like the big 245 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: foot freezer guy. But anyway, a useful thing about this 246 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 1: book is whatever the actual explanations for these reports, it 247 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 1: is useful in itself just to collect the reports, right uh, 248 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,320 Speaker 1: to say, Okay, what are people saying about, for example, 249 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: furry fish, whether or not there actually is such a 250 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: thing or something that we can identify that could have 251 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:10,680 Speaker 1: been mistaken for such a thing. At least you know, 252 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: what are people saying? And so that's what he does 253 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: in this chapter. He's got at least five different examples. 254 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: And so the next thing I wanted to talk about 255 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 1: was another one that that I came across because I 256 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 1: found in this chapter, and this is Marco Polo's hairy Fish. 257 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,720 Speaker 1: So this story is originally told in the Travels of 258 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: Marco Polo, which is the English title of a thirteenth 259 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 1: century Italian travelogue written by a guy named Rusticello or 260 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: perhaps Rusticiano of Pisa, based on the accounts of Marco Polo, 261 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 1: the Venetian merchant, diplomat and explorer of of great renown. 262 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 1: I'm sure you know who Marco Polo is. Yes, if, if, 263 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: even if you are not super familiar within you know 264 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: the pool name of Marco Polo, which, by the way, 265 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:58,680 Speaker 1: the last pool I was at, or one of the 266 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: most recent pools I was at, they had a sign 267 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 1: that said no Marco Polo. Marco Polo was explicitly banned 268 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,520 Speaker 1: from the pool. Why what is it dangerous? I got 269 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 1: the impression that it was just maybe annoying because they were, like, 270 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 1: you know, people were living near the pool, and therefore 271 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: they didn't want to hear children say Marco Polo over 272 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: and over again. But occasionally a child would get in 273 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: the pool start saying Marco Polo, and the more rule 274 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: oriented children would would remind them that it was not allowed, 275 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 1: and then some would try and do it, do Marco 276 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: Polo with different words, and and and other kids or 277 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: sometimes adults would be like, no, no, you can't, you 278 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:39,680 Speaker 1: can't just do that. It's still Marco Polo. No, instead 279 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 1: of Marco Polo, you do Rusty Cello or Rusty Chano. 280 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: You know, Rusty Cello. Yeah, wouldn't work. Not not allowed, 281 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 1: not allowed. I forget, what's kind of variations. They were trying, 282 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: um very obvious ones like you know, um pool cleaner 283 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 1: fish or something, you know, just based on the first 284 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,400 Speaker 1: two things they saw. Well anyway, so I found out 285 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: about this story of a furry fish because of this 286 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 1: passage from Shooker's book. But then I actually went and 287 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: looked up the original text to put the claim in 288 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: its full context. So this passage from Marco Polo's account, 289 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,640 Speaker 1: which is the version translated to English by Ronald Latham 290 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: for for Penguin, is describing a marvelous city that Marco 291 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 1: Polo calls King Pai, but which I believe corresponds to 292 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: the modern day city of Hung Sho. And so at 293 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:31,240 Speaker 1: the time he entered the city, Marco Polo was operating 294 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: under the aegis of Kubla Khan. That that's a bit 295 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: if you don't know much about Marco Polo's journeys. He 296 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,240 Speaker 1: had a relationship with the court of the cons I 297 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 1: think uh at least going back through his father. But 298 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: he was favored by by the court of Kubla Khan. 299 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: And so he was not only a merchant and a 300 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: trader and explorer, but he also operated as a diplomat 301 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: on behalf of Koplakan, and at the time of his 302 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: visit to this city that is now known as hung Show, 303 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: the cons had conquered it. So there are a couple 304 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:03,720 Speaker 1: of names to define ahead of time, so this paragraph 305 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: makes sense. He mentions a figure named King fak Fur, 306 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:11,400 Speaker 1: who was the original ruler of Kingsai before it was conquered, 307 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: and then he also mentions Bayon, who was a Mongol 308 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:17,959 Speaker 1: general who commanded the armies of Kubla Khan during the 309 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 1: conquest of Song dynasty China. So the account goes, let 310 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:24,640 Speaker 1: me tell you now of a marvel that occurred when 311 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:28,480 Speaker 1: Bayon was besieging this city. It happened after King fak 312 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 1: Fur had taken to flight, that a multitude of the 313 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: town's folk were fleeing by boat by way of a broad, 314 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: deep river that flows past one side of the city. 315 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: All of a sudden, while they were actually on the river, 316 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,119 Speaker 1: the water completely dried up, so that Bayon, on learning 317 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: the news, came to this part and compelled all the 318 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 1: fugitives to return to the city. And a fish was 319 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 1: found lying high and dry across the river bed. And 320 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: what a fish for it was fully one hundred paces long, 321 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:01,919 Speaker 1: but its girth was by all means proportionate to its length. 322 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: Its whole body was hairy. Many people ate of it, 323 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,399 Speaker 1: and many of those who did so died. Mr Marco, 324 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,239 Speaker 1: as he relates, saw the head of this fish with 325 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: his own eyes in a certain temple of the Idols. 326 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,720 Speaker 1: Now we should put some caveats in, right, because there 327 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: are several reasons the story is already coming to us 328 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 1: in a kind of hazy fashion. Right. We're getting it 329 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 1: through several layers. This is an account written by Mr 330 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: Rusty Cello Rusty Chano of Pisa, based allegedly on the 331 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,800 Speaker 1: accounts of Marco Polo, who claims that he saw the 332 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 1: head of this fish with his own eyes. But it 333 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,159 Speaker 1: sounds like he must have at best heard second hand 334 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:45,119 Speaker 1: the accounts of the story about the river drying up, 335 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,679 Speaker 1: revealing the giant hairy fish a hundred paces long, and 336 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 1: then the people eating it and dying from it. Right, 337 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:55,560 Speaker 1: because the story is saying, oh, the head is preserved 338 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 1: in this particular temple, and this is the backstory on 339 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: that head. Right now, While I think they're good jumping 340 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 1: off points to to start thinking about possibilities, I don't 341 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,120 Speaker 1: think we can be too sure that either of these accounts, 342 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:10,879 Speaker 1: either the Icelandic furry fish or Marco Polo's hairy fish 343 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:14,879 Speaker 1: and in Hung Joe Uh, that they are necessarily based 344 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 1: on anything real than anybody actually saw. These could be 345 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 1: you know, fanciful imaginative stories people made up, or they 346 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: could be based on something. But I do think it's 347 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 1: interesting that in either case that both of these hairy 348 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:31,800 Speaker 1: fish so far are regarded as poisonous and harmful to eat. Yeah, 349 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 1: this is very interesting, and I was particularly fascinated by 350 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 1: this Chinese um account or this Chinese episode. It was 351 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 1: like technically a Venetian account, but decided to read a 352 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:44,640 Speaker 1: little bit more about it. So I was looking at 353 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:49,879 Speaker 1: a C. Mules Marco Polo's descriptions of Quinsai, and the 354 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:52,920 Speaker 1: author here basically looks at this everything that Marco Polo 355 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,440 Speaker 1: has to say about the city, and it's analyzing it 356 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,119 Speaker 1: and comparing it to other accounts and Chinese historical accounts, 357 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:01,320 Speaker 1: and the there says that they can find no mention 358 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 1: of this this fish in Chinese sources detailing the siege 359 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 1: in question. However, he says that roughly forty years before 360 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 1: Polo's visit, strange aquatic creatures had been reported in the river. 361 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:15,920 Speaker 1: This would have been the summer of twelve thirty nine. 362 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:20,399 Speaker 1: Quote Chao Yu Kon reported that recently, while he was 363 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 1: watching the violence of the boar. Now just a quick 364 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 1: description of what the boar is, and this will make 365 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,560 Speaker 1: sense if you think back to the passage that that 366 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: that Joe just read. Uh, this is a bore current, 367 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 1: a rare natural phenomenon in which the leading edge of 368 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,679 Speaker 1: an incoming tide forms a wave or waves of water 369 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 1: that travels up a body of water and reverses the 370 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:48,359 Speaker 1: direction of the current. Anyway, the author continues, Um, while 371 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: he was watching the violence of the boar, he had 372 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 1: suddenly seen strange creatures which were neither dragons nor fishes 373 00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:59,600 Speaker 1: in shoals, ruffling up their bristles and raising their spines. 374 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,680 Speaker 1: And he wished to report and announced to the emperor 375 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: that he proposed to use powerful crossbows and guns. And 376 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 1: there's a question mark after guns, So I'm not sure 377 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,680 Speaker 1: if the particular terminology is in question there or whatnot? 378 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:16,879 Speaker 1: Um to remove this ill omened portent whoa so this 379 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 1: along with other accounts and quote the sight of some 380 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,479 Speaker 1: monstrous skull or tooth which may well have been shown 381 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,919 Speaker 1: in some temple um and they also point out that 382 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 1: a large tooth was actually shown as Buddhist tooth at 383 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,120 Speaker 1: the time. All of this may may have then been 384 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: cobbled together and you know, reformed into the account we 385 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 1: just looked at. Okay, so it's possible that the account 386 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: we're getting, I guess third hand at this point through 387 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:47,159 Speaker 1: Marco Polo's uh biographer here is some sort of half 388 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: remembered synthesis or reassemblage of these other pieces that we're 389 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: seeing in Chinese sources. Right now, this is conjecture on 390 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 1: my part, but I'm reading that the the sing Tang 391 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: river here was no own to at least sometimes have 392 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 1: yang Z River dolphins in it um now their namesake river. 393 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:10,160 Speaker 1: The Z is several hundred miles north, but at least 394 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 1: prior to the nineteen fifties there were sightings of dolphins 395 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 1: in this river. So I can't help but wonder if 396 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:18,880 Speaker 1: this might have been a case of a half rotted 397 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: river dolphin washing up. Because tissue and fibers on rotting fish, dolphins, 398 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:27,800 Speaker 1: and whales can sometimes take on shocking forms that maybe 399 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,359 Speaker 1: that then can be connected to various myths and legends 400 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:35,359 Speaker 1: or theories about cryptids. Oh yeah, I mean that. We 401 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:38,520 Speaker 1: actually did a couple of episodes. It was a few 402 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,600 Speaker 1: years back at this point about globsters, the which is 403 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 1: the nickname for these objects. You know, these sort of 404 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:50,359 Speaker 1: masses of biomaterial that will often wash up on beaches 405 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:53,440 Speaker 1: and be proclaimed monsters. You know, they get their own 406 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: article in the Daily Mail and it's oh, here's a 407 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:00,200 Speaker 1: dragon from the sea. And most of the time, I'm 408 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,160 Speaker 1: they're whales. Not every time, but most of the time 409 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:07,080 Speaker 1: there's some type of whale in some stage of decomposition 410 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,560 Speaker 1: which can truly take on bizarre appearances. Yeah. For example, 411 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:15,719 Speaker 1: consider the Sacklin Island wooly whale, which was washed up 412 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:19,400 Speaker 1: on Sacklin Island in Russia back in you can find 413 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:21,639 Speaker 1: pictures on this. The spelling is s A K H 414 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,880 Speaker 1: A L I N. It looks weird and it does 415 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:29,840 Speaker 1: look furry. But one of the chief theories here is 416 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,480 Speaker 1: that this is just a dolphin carcass, that this is 417 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:36,600 Speaker 1: a dolphin carcass that is decayed. It's a dolphin globster. 418 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: So I again this is conjecture on my part, but 419 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 1: it makes me wonder if that might have been what 420 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:45,040 Speaker 1: we were looking at. It would also explain why eating 421 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 1: the flesh of this creature might not be a great 422 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:52,280 Speaker 1: choice for your digestion or your overall health. Right. So 423 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 1: if this were the origin of the story from Keensai 424 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 1: or hang Joe, now, um, it would be that some 425 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 1: in some way the water washed back and revealed the 426 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 1: carcass of a large, perhaps young c river dolphin or 427 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 1: some other type of aquatic mammal that was dead sitting 428 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,600 Speaker 1: there on the bank in some stage of decomposition. It's 429 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,080 Speaker 1: the fibers of its body kind of looked like hair 430 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,560 Speaker 1: in a weird way that you know, we've we've seen 431 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:24,800 Speaker 1: with other globsters before. Somebody decided to eat it, and 432 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: obviously it made them sick because this is rotten meat. 433 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: And then somehow that got estranged and gave rise to 434 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:35,359 Speaker 1: this legend. Yeah, or you can also imagine how it 435 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:37,199 Speaker 1: could have just been a situation where the thing was 436 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:42,119 Speaker 1: clearly foul and someone wisely said I don't think anyone 437 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:45,600 Speaker 1: should eat this, and eventually that becomes I heard somebody 438 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: ate it and they died. But then I heard that 439 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 1: I heard that several people ate it and they died, 440 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,240 Speaker 1: So I don't know. There you can easily imagine various 441 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 1: ways that the the story could form based on just 442 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:01,720 Speaker 1: this one weird encounter with a st range globster body 443 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 1: in the water. Yeah, so we don't know, but I 444 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,760 Speaker 1: do think that's a reasonable possibility to imagine as an 445 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,520 Speaker 1: inspiration for these types of stories. And in fact, in 446 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: his book, Shooker sort of goes to the same place. 447 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,520 Speaker 1: He says, Yeah, it's possible that this is a this 448 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:18,879 Speaker 1: is a half remembered story about a decomposing animal body 449 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 1: of some kind, And of course the decomposing flesh would 450 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,359 Speaker 1: have made people sick if they tried to eat it. 451 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 1: And again the other half being that, yes, often decomposing 452 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:37,200 Speaker 1: flesh really does look hairy in a certain way. Than Now, 453 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,399 Speaker 1: there's another interesting possibility about explanations that I wanted to 454 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:46,520 Speaker 1: come back to, which has to do with parasitic infections 455 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: in fish. So think back to that first example I 456 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 1: mentioned of the furry fish claim, the one from Olaf 457 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:57,240 Speaker 1: Davidson's reports of the shaggy trout of Iceland. Just to 458 00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 1: refresh here on what Davidson says about the one example 459 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,480 Speaker 1: hold that is reported in the newspaper nor Dury in 460 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,200 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty five, which he says must be an example 461 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: of a shaggy trout. He says that it's that it's 462 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,600 Speaker 1: lower jaw and its neck had reddish hair, forming a 463 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,960 Speaker 1: kind of beard, and there were also hairy patches on 464 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,160 Speaker 1: its side and hair on its fins, so there can 465 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,920 Speaker 1: be no doubt it was a shaggy trout. But then 466 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:24,480 Speaker 1: he also says it was unlike an ordinary trout in 467 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:27,760 Speaker 1: both shape and in color, but he doesn't explain much 468 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 1: more about what he means by that, so I'm not 469 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,359 Speaker 1: quite sure. I don't know if that means unlike in 470 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:34,959 Speaker 1: terms of just like these patches on it, or if 471 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,679 Speaker 1: it's also just like a differently shaped fish, and in 472 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,160 Speaker 1: which case it probably originally wasn't a trout, and I'm 473 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,879 Speaker 1: not sure what it was. But anyway, when raising the 474 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:46,840 Speaker 1: story in his book, Karl Schuker mentions one possible explanation, 475 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: which is, what if these stories are based on observations 476 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,640 Speaker 1: not of furry trout, but of trout that are suffering 477 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,480 Speaker 1: from some kind of infection, such as a fungus that 478 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,960 Speaker 1: covers their body with patches of mysilia. So there could 479 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 1: be a number of types of parasites and infections that 480 00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 1: could lead to this misimpression. But one type of infection 481 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: that I've seen uh singled out as a possible inspiration 482 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: for furry trout legends is an oama site called Saprolegnia 483 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:24,920 Speaker 1: or saprolegnia so. Oama sites are sometimes known as water molds. 484 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: They are a class of eukaryotic micro organisms that used 485 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: to be considered fungi, I believe due to their morphological 486 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:35,359 Speaker 1: similarities to fungus, but I think now they're understood to 487 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:38,679 Speaker 1: be a more separate branch of the tree of life. 488 00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:42,520 Speaker 1: But there are a number of different types of Oama 489 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:46,760 Speaker 1: sites that can form parasitic relationships with fish and shellfish, 490 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:51,160 Speaker 1: causing disease and eventually death in the hosts. And there's 491 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:55,199 Speaker 1: this genus called Saprolegnia in particular, which has been singled 492 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,160 Speaker 1: out as a possible source of these myths since when 493 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:02,040 Speaker 1: an adult fish is in act did it can display 494 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:06,359 Speaker 1: lesions or discolored patches on its skin, which in some 495 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,560 Speaker 1: cases do look kind of furry or even sometimes like 496 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:12,640 Speaker 1: cotton and rob I've just got a couple of pictures 497 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:14,480 Speaker 1: for you to look at. One is of a man 498 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:17,640 Speaker 1: holding up a salmon caught from a river that does 499 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: have these mold like patches appearing along it's its dorsal side. Yeah, 500 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:25,520 Speaker 1: it does look like there's something wrong with this fish, 501 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,679 Speaker 1: like something bad happened to a fish. And uh, the 502 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:31,200 Speaker 1: other pictures shared there does have more of a hair 503 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,160 Speaker 1: like quality to it. It looks like there's some kind 504 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: of whispery white sideburns and some whispery white hair on 505 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 1: the top of the fish's head. Yeah, and there are 506 00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: other types of infections. One problem is if you're just 507 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 1: like doing an image search for this, you can't always 508 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 1: be sure what type of infection you're looking at. Because 509 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,080 Speaker 1: there's another thing that I think is a more bacterial 510 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 1: infection called cotton wool disease in fish that also kind 511 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 1: of looks like cotton sprouting out on on these fish. 512 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 1: But that's a different organism causing it. But anyway, just 513 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:05,880 Speaker 1: to learn more about saparolegnia, I was looking at a 514 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:10,440 Speaker 1: book by Kurt Lemore and Sophien Commune, who are researchers 515 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,200 Speaker 1: at the University of Tennessee. Both of them I believe 516 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:19,240 Speaker 1: called um Oamacite Genetics and Genomics, Diversity Interactions and research tools, 517 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:22,880 Speaker 1: And this is an academic book about uh these types 518 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:26,280 Speaker 1: of parasites and micro organisms, and there's a part of 519 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 1: this about Saparolegnia in particular. So this species is Saparolegnia parasitica, 520 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:36,560 Speaker 1: which the author's claim is a devastating pathogen on freshwater 521 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,960 Speaker 1: fish species, which has contributed to significant damage in global 522 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,640 Speaker 1: fish farming. And in the past, this and some other 523 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: fish related related fish pathogens were controlled by anti microbial 524 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: that Originally I think it was actually a die. The 525 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,400 Speaker 1: dye is called malachite green, but it was found to 526 00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 1: have these alleged anti microbial properties. But then this use 527 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: was scaled back after concerns arose about possible carcinogenic effects 528 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 1: on the fish and on consumers of the fish that 529 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:11,560 Speaker 1: were treated with this die. So as of the time 530 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:13,920 Speaker 1: this book was written or published in two thousand nine, 531 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:18,000 Speaker 1: the the this was still a problem with the freshwater fisheries, 532 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,920 Speaker 1: I think, especially with with fish farming. But in the 533 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:24,640 Speaker 1: case of fur that forms on the skin of the 534 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 1: infected fish, this would actually not be hair, but it 535 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:32,120 Speaker 1: would be my celia or the part of the microbial 536 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,680 Speaker 1: colony that begins as these little hype often seen in 537 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:39,920 Speaker 1: fungus that forms these hair like branches which can spread 538 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 1: out in in these patches on the skin. I think 539 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:46,320 Speaker 1: they often begin originally at like a like a wound 540 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:48,440 Speaker 1: or maybe some kind of opening in the skin. I 541 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:50,880 Speaker 1: think they can attack the gills or they can attack 542 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:55,440 Speaker 1: a wound, But then once they have established a colony 543 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 1: within the skin, they can kind of spread out from there, 544 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:00,280 Speaker 1: and it's bad for the fish. Obviously, they will will 545 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 1: from the outer layer from the skin UH, and the 546 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: and the scales begin to invade down further into the 547 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 1: muscle tissue, which can eventually kill the fish over time. 548 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:12,600 Speaker 1: But on the other hand, I think we wouldn't want 549 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: to be too bullish about attributing all of these stories 550 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:21,320 Speaker 1: of furry fish to observations of infections of this kind 551 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:25,560 Speaker 1: UH for one reason, because the while these infections can 552 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 1: form patches on fish that look strange, and sometimes these 553 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 1: patches in certain types of parasites can look kind of 554 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:37,440 Speaker 1: hairy or cottony or wooly, they don't form coats of 555 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,840 Speaker 1: fur that surround the full fish as described in some 556 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 1: of these legends. Yeah, we'd be talking something that would 557 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:50,280 Speaker 1: be loosely describable as patches of fur, patches of weird 558 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: hair on a fish, which is it's different than a 559 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:56,520 Speaker 1: shaggy fish, right, And so I think this explanation can 560 00:31:56,560 --> 00:32:01,160 Speaker 1: actually go too far and become a misconception of a zone. So, 561 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:04,480 Speaker 1: for example, I was looking at modern allegations of furry fish, 562 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:06,960 Speaker 1: which do still exist. I think I was reading one 563 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:10,120 Speaker 1: story about a some people who were claiming that a 564 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:12,960 Speaker 1: bunch of furry fish were created in a river when 565 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,520 Speaker 1: there had been an accident and a bunch of hair 566 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:20,240 Speaker 1: tonic was spilled into the river. So yuck, yuck. Yeah. 567 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,720 Speaker 1: But anyway, so this one example is something I found 568 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:27,600 Speaker 1: documented on Snopes in an article by Dan Evan from 569 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 1: May of And this actually was not surprisingly from a 570 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,600 Speaker 1: chain email, but a photo and report that was posted 571 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:39,000 Speaker 1: to a Wisconsin local news website. And so it's got 572 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,280 Speaker 1: a photo of a guy dressed up, you know, like 573 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:44,160 Speaker 1: he's out fishing in the cold, and he is holding 574 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,400 Speaker 1: a fish that is completely covered in white fur. It 575 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: looks like a it's got a fish head, but then 576 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:53,479 Speaker 1: the rest of it is just like a polar bear's arm. Yeah, 577 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:55,760 Speaker 1: and well, yeah, I don't know what exactly is going 578 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,200 Speaker 1: on here, but um, it's an image that makes me suspicious. 579 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,520 Speaker 1: This looks like a This fish should be mounted on 580 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,360 Speaker 1: a wall and when there's movement in the room, it 581 00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 1: should move and sing. Um, there's something it just it 582 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:13,640 Speaker 1: has a look of fake grey to me, which is 583 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:16,320 Speaker 1: not to say it's not legitimate, but it has the 584 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:19,160 Speaker 1: look of fake gray for sure. It's the Christmas edition 585 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:22,840 Speaker 1: of the Billy Bass. It sings Christmas carols? Yeah, no, 586 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:24,240 Speaker 1: what is it? What would it be if it was 587 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:26,400 Speaker 1: the Billy Bass, it wouldn't be like classic carols. It 588 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:28,920 Speaker 1: would be Santa Claus is coming too town. What did 589 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:31,480 Speaker 1: Billy did Billy Bass sing Christmas songs? No? No, no, 590 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 1: I'm saying if there were a Christmas version of the 591 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 1: Big Mouth Billy Bass, what did the Big Mouth Billy 592 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:40,160 Speaker 1: Bass actually sing? This is again a robotic fake trout 593 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:42,480 Speaker 1: that you would buy off the TV. Yeah, these things 594 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: were great, truly remarkable achievement of culture. Um. They sang 595 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:50,840 Speaker 1: take Me to the River that song they sang. I 596 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:54,239 Speaker 1: think one saying Y M C A. And that's all 597 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:56,440 Speaker 1: I remember. There may have been others. Okay, did you 598 00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:58,040 Speaker 1: have one? Are you just remembering the t the TV? 599 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:01,600 Speaker 1: You never had one? No, okay, well, call out to listeners. 600 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:03,320 Speaker 1: Do you have one on the wall of your house 601 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:07,080 Speaker 1: right now? Inside We're out? Doesn't matter what does it 602 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:09,560 Speaker 1: still work or is it? Is it dying now? Or 603 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:13,160 Speaker 1: as electronics sing this warped, sad, slowed down version of 604 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:16,080 Speaker 1: the song. Oh man, that would that would be great. Okay, 605 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:18,719 Speaker 1: I'm quitting the show. My career from now on is 606 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:21,400 Speaker 1: I'm going to be a DJ. I'm gonna make beats 607 00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:25,520 Speaker 1: entirely out of samples from dying big mouth billy basses 608 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:32,680 Speaker 1: to anyway anyway, Okay, back to so, back to the 609 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:36,239 Speaker 1: this image of what looks like a Christmas themed uh 610 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:40,359 Speaker 1: billy bass. So the allegation accompanying this photograph originally, this 611 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:43,759 Speaker 1: is documented in that Snopes article goes like this says, 612 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,719 Speaker 1: wanted to share rather remarkable catch I had this afternoon. 613 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:51,880 Speaker 1: I was fishing in the Minominee River while some trout 614 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:54,239 Speaker 1: were packed into a bottleneck. I caught a few, and 615 00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:56,680 Speaker 1: nothing was out of the ordinary until I reeled this 616 00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:59,960 Speaker 1: one in. I've never seen anything like it. I contact 617 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:02,880 Speaker 1: did a local wildlife official and they referred to it 618 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:06,040 Speaker 1: as a rare, furbearing trout. They went on to explain 619 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:11,279 Speaker 1: that this was an extreme case of saprolegnia or cotton mold. Apparently, 620 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,440 Speaker 1: old Great Lakes legends spoke of these as a uniquely 621 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:17,800 Speaker 1: evolved trout species that existed only in the deepest, coldest 622 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:20,880 Speaker 1: parts of the lake and needed the fur to stay warm. 623 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:24,360 Speaker 1: I doubt it will make my Cabella's non traditional mount wall, 624 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,640 Speaker 1: but I'm still excited to reel in a genuine Wisconsin legend. 625 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,160 Speaker 1: You have my permission to share and use this photo 626 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:32,359 Speaker 1: in any form if you'd like. Uh, and then uh 627 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:34,919 Speaker 1: the person gives their credits. I don't want to say 628 00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:37,399 Speaker 1: this in case this is not actually the person who 629 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:40,680 Speaker 1: did the hoax. Uh So so okay, so you look 630 00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:42,640 Speaker 1: that up if you want to know who to track 631 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:46,760 Speaker 1: it down to. But um, but you got one on us. Okay, 632 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:50,239 Speaker 1: this is definitely not actually a furry trout, and it's 633 00:35:50,239 --> 00:35:54,400 Speaker 1: also definitely not actually a case of saprolegnia because the 634 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:56,759 Speaker 1: the fur just does not grow like that. Having looked 635 00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:58,520 Speaker 1: at a lot of images, now I can tell by 636 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:02,440 Speaker 1: looking at it. Uh, the this this is a deliberate hoax. Now, 637 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:04,839 Speaker 1: I guess it could be a situation where we don't 638 00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:08,640 Speaker 1: know who the perpetrator of the hoax might be could 639 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:11,440 Speaker 1: be someone could have made such a fish us you know, 640 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:14,520 Speaker 1: manufactured such a specimen and throwing it into the water, 641 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:17,759 Speaker 1: and then it's uh, you know, acquired by someone else, 642 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:21,240 Speaker 1: always a possibility. Just seating the world with with beauty. 643 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 1: I don't know if this is this is that would 644 00:36:24,239 --> 00:36:26,600 Speaker 1: be beauty. I mean, I'm all for catch and release, 645 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:29,600 Speaker 1: but not like this, not like this, Yes, not like this, 646 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,560 Speaker 1: I I agree, but so yeah, so I think this 647 00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:35,080 Speaker 1: is actually going a little too far with the possible 648 00:36:35,120 --> 00:36:38,120 Speaker 1: explanation for the origins of these legends based in these 649 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:42,479 Speaker 1: parasitic infections, because it's it's trying to reconcile two things 650 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:45,279 Speaker 1: that are just very different. One is that people when 651 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:47,880 Speaker 1: they hear a story about a furry trout or imagining 652 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:51,600 Speaker 1: a trout covered in fur like a mammal. And then 653 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:54,400 Speaker 1: on the other hand, you've got this possible explanation that 654 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:57,960 Speaker 1: is real science, but it is something that can explain 655 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:02,080 Speaker 1: weird looking blotches and matches on a fish that can 656 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:05,160 Speaker 1: in some cases have kind of like furree hype or 657 00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:08,200 Speaker 1: mys celia growing out of them. Huh yeah, yeah, I 658 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:10,920 Speaker 1: can see how that would work well, well, they're just 659 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:13,359 Speaker 1: not the same. So you would have to imagine there's 660 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:16,840 Speaker 1: a process in between of like a sort of exaggerating 661 00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:21,799 Speaker 1: or extrapolating an original observation into something totally different. I 662 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:25,120 Speaker 1: like the tidbit to of the legend being that this 663 00:37:25,239 --> 00:37:28,040 Speaker 1: is how the fish of the deep stay warm, which 664 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:30,080 Speaker 1: I think is also kind of kind of telling in 665 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:34,160 Speaker 1: all of this, because obviously fish do not need fur 666 00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:38,560 Speaker 1: coats to to operate in cold waters, right. We have 667 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:41,360 Speaker 1: too many examples of a fish that do just fine 668 00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:45,160 Speaker 1: and they have no fur. But as mammals, you know, 669 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:48,279 Speaker 1: we we know that that the the other mammals in 670 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:51,960 Speaker 1: our world to survive in winter, they frequently do require 671 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:55,080 Speaker 1: fur coats, and then we require fur coats made of 672 00:37:55,160 --> 00:37:58,480 Speaker 1: them in order for us to survive. And so you know, 673 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:00,799 Speaker 1: we get into sort of an abstra act, you know, 674 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:04,719 Speaker 1: comparison of of rather different physiologies here. Oh yeah, and 675 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:08,640 Speaker 1: it also ignores several things like would fur actually keep 676 00:38:08,719 --> 00:38:12,719 Speaker 1: you warm if it was wet? No, I don't think 677 00:38:12,719 --> 00:38:16,080 Speaker 1: it would. In fact, marine mammals that need to keep 678 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:19,439 Speaker 1: their bodies warm in very very cold water, are they 679 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:22,480 Speaker 1: covered in fur? No? They actually lost there? For these 680 00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:25,440 Speaker 1: are evolved from creatures that used to have for and 681 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:29,160 Speaker 1: they adapted to deep, deep water and extreme cold temperatures 682 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:32,400 Speaker 1: in part by losing their fur and having other adaptations 683 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:35,480 Speaker 1: in their body to help maintain their internal temperature. But 684 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:38,640 Speaker 1: could they require fur coats if they leave the water 685 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:41,600 Speaker 1: to go about their business on the land? Ah, there 686 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:45,360 Speaker 1: you go. Maybe have some wizard sells them such a coat. Okay, 687 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:48,240 Speaker 1: you bring it back around. This is a tricky fish wizard. 688 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:51,600 Speaker 1: All right. Well, maybe we need to call part one there, 689 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:53,880 Speaker 1: but we will be back with so much more furry 690 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:56,760 Speaker 1: fish next time. Yeah. Yeah, we're gonna go to some 691 00:38:56,760 --> 00:39:00,800 Speaker 1: some really interesting places. Well, even ask the question, is 692 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:05,440 Speaker 1: an otter of fish? The answer may surprise you. In 693 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:07,879 Speaker 1: the meantime, if you would like to check out other 694 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:09,919 Speaker 1: episodes of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, we have core 695 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:12,520 Speaker 1: episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the Stuff to Blow 696 00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:16,160 Speaker 1: your Mind podcast feed, you'll find Artifact episodes on Wednesday, 697 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:19,239 Speaker 1: Little Listener Mail on Monday. On the weekends, we have 698 00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:21,520 Speaker 1: a Vault episode that's a rerunning on Friday, we do 699 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:23,719 Speaker 1: a little Weird How Cinema. That's just our way of 700 00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:26,240 Speaker 1: closing out the week by setting most of the science 701 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:29,360 Speaker 1: aside and just looking at a weird film. Huge thanks 702 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:32,720 Speaker 1: as always to our excellent audio producer Seth Nicholas Johnson. 703 00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:34,719 Speaker 1: If you would like to get in touch with us 704 00:39:34,719 --> 00:39:37,360 Speaker 1: with feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest 705 00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:39,719 Speaker 1: a topic for the future, just to say hello, you 706 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:42,839 Speaker 1: can email us at contact and Stuff to Blow Your 707 00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:53,040 Speaker 1: Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind. It's production 708 00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:55,799 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts for My heart Radio, 709 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:58,880 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're 710 00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:11,879 Speaker 1: listening to your favorite show, I Don't Be fourt