Boo_ep600

[TRANSCRIPT]
0:00:00 Jethro: Hey, everybody. Look at this. 600 episodes. Who would have believed it?
0:00:03 Kat: Happy 600.
0:00:05 Jethro: Happy 600th to you.
0:00:06 Kat: Thank you, my love.
0:00:07 Jethro: Coming up on our 6th year anniversary in a few months. And I. I am just amazed that we’re still allowed to do this. Nobody has shut this down yet, but.
0:00:20 Kat: It is entirely because of you freaks. We love you so much, and we’re so appreciative of your support, because without you, there wouldn’t be a box of oddities. No, there would just be us sitting in the dark, telling each other weird shit.
0:00:36 Jethro: Which, by the way, we did for years prior to the podcast in the previous episode. Previously on the Box of Oddities. We said that we would celebrate the 600th episode by doing a little switcheroo.
0:00:50 Kat: Yeah. So for this very special blossom, I wrote JG’s story and he wrote mine, and we have no idea what we’re talking about.
0:01:01 Jethro: Right. So this ought to be really interesting, especially considering we just opened a couple of refreshing, hoppy beverages.
0:01:09 Kat: That’s correct.
0:01:10 Jethro: It’s the best way to get through this, I think. So neither of us have even proofread the other person’s story. No idea.
0:01:18 Kat: We don’t know anything about it. I have to assume, though, that I’m going to be talking about aliens.
0:01:24 Jethro: Why would you assume that?
0:01:25 Kat: Oh, my God, I am.
0:01:26 Jethro: That is so silly. It’s so funny that you would say that thing that you just said about aliens. Yeah, well, you just have to wait and see. Could be Bigfoot. You don’t know.
0:01:38 Kat: Could be the clams.
0:01:40 Jethro: We don’t know, Claire. Okay, we’ve emailed each other the story, and would you like me to begin?
0:01:45 Kat: Please.
0:01:46 Jethro: All right, I am opening the email. I’ve not read this before. It is not something I’ve proofread, so I’ll be probably mispronouncing everything. All right, the story that I have for you that Kat wrote.
0:02:00 Kat: All right, enough.
0:02:01 Jethro: Okay, here we go. So we’ve talked about Peto’s paradox before. It’s a super interesting concept in biology that refers to the observation that there’s no correlation between the size of an animal and its risk for developing cancer.
0:02:17 Kat: Oh, that sounds really interesting. I’d like to hear more about this.
0:02:20 Jethro: The paradox was named for Sir Richard Pito, a british epidemiologist. Typically, one would expect larger animals to have a higher risk of cancer because they have more cells, which does make sense, and therefore more opportunities for mutations to occur. However, this is not the case. For example, elephants are far, much larger than humans, yet they have a lower incidence of cancer. Scientists believe that Peto’s paradox can be explained by the presence of certain mechanisms in larger animals that help suppress the development of cancer.
0:02:59 Kat: Aha. I’m intrigued.
0:03:01 Jethro: I’m really loving your faux surprise reactions. These mechanisms may include enhanced dna repair mechanisms, more efficient tumor suppression genes, or better immune surveillance.
0:03:15 Kat: Wow.
0:03:18 Jethro: A while back, scientists discovered something fascinating about elephants. They found out that the elephants have a whopping 20 copies of a gene which is responsible for making a protein that acts like a vigilant copy editor. This protein checks the genetic material in cells as they multiply and eliminates any damaged cells that could potentially turn into cancer. This really is interesting.
0:03:43 Kat: I know.
0:03:44 Jethro: I thought you were going to make me say a bunch of weird shit.
0:03:46 Kat: Jesus. Wait.
0:03:48 Jethro: Humans, in comparison, have only one copy of this gene. Elephants, with their multiple copies, can essentially go through several rounds of, quote, copy editing, greatly reducing the chances of a damaged cell surviving and causing trouble. So why did elephants evolve to have 20 copies of this gene?
0:04:07 Kat: I don’t know. Why did they?
0:04:10 Jethro: In the case of elephants, specifically their balls. Elephant testicles are located inside of their bodies. As we know, often in mammals, testes will dangle outside the body. I know mine do. That’s not always true, especially when we lived in Maine in the wintertime. A few other outliers are manatees, cape golden moles and rock hiraxes.
0:04:48 Kat: I love them.
0:04:49 Jethro: Of course, nuts being outside the body leave them insanely vulnerable. A study over the course of eight years found that in the States, a total of 8030 patients had scrotal testicular injury, with 44.6% involved in blunt trauma. Why are you doing this to me?
0:05:09 Kat: Oh, that sounds awful.
0:05:11 Jethro: A penetrating mechanism occurred in 50.5% of the cases. Oh, and they’re scrotums with assault by a firearm, 75.8% being the most common.
0:05:25 Kat: That’s so weird. So what you’re saying is that damage to scrotums is most often caused by firearms.
0:05:31 Jethro: That’s weird. Apparently what I’m saying. Most had isolated scrotal or testicular trauma. 74.5% with 48.3% requiring scrotal or testicular operations.
0:05:46 Kat: Oh, yeah.
0:05:47 Jethro: Most commonly, repair of laceration. Patients involved in a motorcycle collision had higher risk of scrotal testicular trauma.
0:05:58 Kat: Oh, yeah, I can see how that would be really putting your balls at risk. Well, riding a motorcycle.
0:06:05 Jethro: Yeah, handlebars can be pointy.
0:06:07 Kat: Sure.
0:06:08 Jethro: Yeah. But good news. 90% of ruptured testes are successfully repaired when treated surgically within 72 hours. But I’ve seemed to gotten off on a tangent.
0:06:19 Kat: That’s true. You really did there.
0:06:21 Jethro: I did.
0:06:21 Kat: Weird.
0:06:22 Jethro: I veered into the ditch there. The agreed upon word on testicles is that sperm production requires a slightly lower temperature than the body’s core temperature to ensure optimal sperm development. By keeping the soft danglies outside the body in a scrotum, mammals can regulate their temperature more effectively. When you consider that elephants generally live in places with typically high temperatures. And elephants have a naturally high body temperature because the massive size relative to their surface area, their thick skin, and a blood heat exchange mechanism restricted to blood flow in their precious little ear flaps.
0:07:04 Jethro: I would never have said precious little ear flaps. Or in the case of african elephants, not so little ear flaps.
0:07:11 Kat: Still precious, though?
0:07:12 Jethro: Yeah, still precious.
0:07:14 Kat: I thought you might think so.
0:07:15 Jethro: Did you know that an african elephant’s ears can be up to 6ft, that’s 1.82 meters long and 4ft, 1.21 meters wide?
0:07:25 Kat: Wow.
0:07:27 Jethro: I’m shocked.
0:07:28 Kat: I know, me too.
0:07:30 Jethro: Anyway, this unusual setup in elephants affects the production of healthy sperm, since the testes are exposed to the same high body temperature, one theory suggests that having more of these copy editing proteins helps protect the hot sperm from damage.
0:07:48 Kat: Oh, because they’re up inside, near the kidneys. Got it.
0:07:51 Jethro: And who among us hasn’t wanted to keep the hot sperm from being damaged? In the animal kingdom, male gonads are internal. In birds and reptiles and fish and amphibians, the whole concept of a scrotum is unique to mammals. It wasn’t until marsupials came along that we first see the emergence of a scrotum. That’s fascinating, sweetie.
0:08:14 Kat: No, that’s fascinating, sweetie.
0:08:17 Jethro: Oh, yeah. And here’s a fun fact. In male marsupials today, the scrotum is located above the penis, which is the opposite arrangement compared to scrotal mammals like us. Now, let’s dive into the significance of these tp 53 genes. According to the study, the evolution of the multiple tp 53 genes in elephants wasn’t primarily about battling cancer. Instead, it seems these genes evolved to stabilize dna in the. Is that how you say it? Spermatogonia?
0:08:53 Kat: Listen, I don’t know. You should do some research before you start doing these.
0:08:56 Jethro: This ensures the production of strong and healthy sperms. Furthermore, scientists have discovered variations in the p 53 protein structure in elephants compared to other animals. This unique variation could potentially contribute to the protein’s increased efficiency in detecting and eliminating cancerous cells.
0:09:15 Kat: Wow.
0:09:16 Jethro: This is like breakthrough stuff. By taking a long, hard look at testicles, as I did today, as well as elephant genetic makeup. Researchers hope to gain insights into novel strategies for cancer prevention.
0:09:34 Kat: Wow.
0:09:34 Jethro: And treatment in humans. The findings from these studies may provide valuable knowledge that could lead to advancements in our understanding of cancer biology and therapeutic approaches. You know, I’ve got a thing about tattered scrotums. The whole motorcycle segment of the story.
0:09:56 Kat: That you wrote, does it make you want to drive a motorcycle less, do you think? Knowing that?
0:10:01 Jethro: Maybe a little bit, yeah. This is all to get me to not get another motorcycle, isn’t it? I’m going to develop a special type of armor, like a cod piece. A motorcycle cod piece. And I’m going to make a fortune off.
0:10:18 Kat: None of this is in your notes?
0:10:19 Jethro: Oh, I’m way past notes now.
0:10:21 Kat: I think it’s important that we note that you got your information today from the National Library of Medicine, Livesciencebiology UK, advances in diagnoses and management of genital injuries, and the National Trauma data Bank. Thank you, sweetie. That was really interesting.
0:10:41 Jethro: Glad you enjoyed it.
0:10:42 Kat: I did.
0:10:43 Jethro: And now that thing in the middle, it seems they really love their trees in Australia. In fact, recently, Melbourne gave some of its trees email addresses. Now, initially the idea was that if you were out and you discovered a tree that had a problem, you could send a report to the government alerting them of that. But instead, the trees receive love letters. It’s our 600th episode, and as we have been saying, you wrote my episode, I wrote yours.
0:11:22 Jethro: And we had mentioned it in the previous episode. Derek, who is one of our patrons, sent us a message and said, if it goes well or not, you should write each other’s episodes for each other. For every 100th episode. Well, we’ll see. Derek.
0:11:37 Kat: On the last episode, I talked about non human animals in politics and Valerie commented, Boston Curtis, not the first time a politician was an ass.
0:11:49 Jethro: Because he was a donkey.
0:11:51 Kat: Because he was a donkey. Sandy sent a message. My husband is a trucker and has gone on the road a lot. My kids all grew up and I find myself at home alone a lot. Neither my dog or my cat carry on. Very interesting conversation. Now I found you. Thank you for shocking me, making me laugh, teaching me about this great big world and making me feel not. Aww.
0:12:16 Jethro: Welcome to the freak family.
0:12:17 Kat: She then goes on to talk about Don Decker, the rain man, and how that happened in her hometown.
0:12:23 Jethro: Oh my God, it’s crazy. It’s a small world. Thanks, Sandy, curator at the boxofodies.com. If you want to reach out to us, we love hearing from you. I’ve been going through some of your things while you were listening in the other room. And I just have to ask, can I wear this? This is the box of oddities. All right, let me just take a sip of my refreshing, hoppy beverage, and I’m very curious to hear what story you’ve got for me today.
0:12:57 Kat: Okay. Right. Hello. I’m Kat walls. You probably know me as the co. You probably know me as the co host for the Webby award winning podcast the box of oddities, a podcast with over 26 million downloads. I love talking about that. This is a terrible idea. You may not know that I have a passion for surprise visitors.
0:13:31 Jethro: Yeah, it’s true.
0:13:33 Kat: That’s right. Just pop on over unannounced, and I might greet you with my collection of artisanal doorbells and fake dog I made from recycled plastic and bits of trash. Artisanal doorbells?
0:13:47 Jethro: Yeah. You’re a creative person and a collector at heart.
0:13:51 Kat: I call the dog trashy and the word moist. I love that word. It’s like a linguistic hug for your eardrums, isn’t it? But, hey, that’s enough about me before I start sounding like a dating profile gone rogue. Now, Jethro isn’t just a co host with the voice smoother than a dolphin’s forehead. He’s also.
0:14:14 Jethro: I love this. This is very nice.
0:14:16 Kat: He’s also a certified deity. His romantic prowess is so potent, even the greek gods are taking notes. Wow, we really took different paths with this.
0:14:29 Jethro: I’m a love God.
0:14:30 Kat: Apparently, even the greek gods are taking notes, or so it was written in ancient prophecy. Confession time. I am a believer in the extraterrestrial. Why, you ask, did I have a close encounter of the third kind, perhaps the subject of an abduction? I will tell you this much. There was this one time I woke up dazed in a cornfield wearing an ill fitting jumper. Although it was the wrong size, the intricate stitch patterns and seamless construction coupled with its even tension and fine gauge was way beyond our understanding and could not possibly have been made on earth.
0:15:10 Kat: We couldn’t duplicate it. Even now, with today’s advanced textile manufacturing technology.
0:15:17 Jethro: This is fascinating.
0:15:18 Kat: Yeah. So you tell me, abduction chic or just a fashion faux paw? I think you know what ancient alien theorists would say. Any hoozle? With this in mind, I present the following story. Wow. That was a lot.
0:15:37 Jethro: This is one of the best episodes you’ve ever written.
0:15:39 Kat: The Dolores Barrios incident. A visitor from Venus in the annals of ufology.
0:15:48 Jethro: Wow. A UFO story. I’m shocked.
0:15:51 Kat: And the word annals. Few cases have sparked as much intrigue and debate as the Dolores Barrios incident of 1954. It’s a story that, for believers in extraterrestrial visitation, offers tantalizing evidence of contact with otherworldly beings. Dolores Barrios, according to claims, was no ordinary visitor.
0:16:15 Jethro: No. What was different about her?
0:16:18 Kat: She was supposedly a woman from Venus. A mysterious visitor.
0:16:24 Jethro: Yeah.
0:16:24 Kat: During the weekend of August 6 and 719 54, a remarkable UFO convention was held at the summit of Mount Polymer, situated nearly 1800 meters above sea level.
0:16:36 Jethro: Wow, that’s high.
0:16:37 Kat: Yep. This event was particularly notable for its unique setting and enthusiastic attendance. The intrigue deepened after the first day when attendees noticed an intriguing woman accompanied by two men, one of whom wore glasses. Okay, yeah, I just thought you should have that tidbit that one of the men wore glasses.
0:17:00 Jethro: A bizarre little piece of information there, but, yeah, it helps paint the picture. Were they like those wraparound sunglasses, like Guy Fieri wears on the back of his head? Maybe.
0:17:12 Kat: I really and truly don’t know.
0:17:14 Jethro: Well, you didn’t research this very well, did you?
0:17:16 Kat: The woman stood out with her blonde hair and fair complexion. Yet her appearance was made more striking by her unusual dark black eyes. Additionally, she had a distinctive bone structure on her forehead and notable cranial development, features that sparked curiosity and speculation among the audience.
0:17:36 Jethro: Why, that’s curious.
0:17:38 Kat: Dressed in clothing that seemed both elegant and out of place, her calm demeanor and the confident way she carried herself were in stark contrast with her unfamiliarity with the surroundings.
0:17:51 Jethro: This is fascinating, sweetie.
0:17:53 Kat: Yeah. Dolores was said to have interacted with several people. These interactions are where much of what is known about her originated.
0:18:02 Jethro: I love the fact that somebody on Venus was named Dolores.
0:18:08 Kat: Yeah, that is interesting.
0:18:11 Jethro: Yeah, we’re not so different after all.
0:18:14 Kat: She spoke in a soft, yet clear voice and displayed a level of knowledge about the world that seemed beyond what a typical visitor would possess. Some locals reported feeling an immediate sense of ease and fascination while talking to her. Despite the oddity of the situation, she reportedly spoke of Venus not as a distant, inhospitable planet, but as a place with its own civilization.
0:18:39 Jethro: Yeah. Wow.
0:18:40 Kat: Dolores is said to have displayed a deep understanding of various scientific and technological concepts that were advanced for the time. She talked about propulsion systems and energy sources that were not yet known or were in the nascent stages of development on Earth. Her descriptions hinted at a civilization that had far surpassed human achievements. While she was vague about the specific reasons for her visit, of course.
0:19:08 Jethro: I mean, you can’t reveal too much, right?
0:19:10 Kat: Dolores implied that it was part of a broader mission of observation and peaceful exploration. She suggested that beings from Venus were interested in Earth and its inhabitants, observing human progress and challenges faced by humanity.
0:19:26 Jethro: I think it’s really thoughtful of her to travel from Venus to this one particular UFO convention on a mountain.
0:19:34 Kat: Yeah, it seems weird, doesn’t it?
0:19:36 Jethro: It’s not weird. I think it’s just thoughtful. She decided to go there because people would appreciate her more. Dolores.
0:19:44 Kat: That’s my mom’s name.
0:19:45 Jethro: Yeah.
0:19:46 Kat: Spelled different, though. Probably because she’s from Venus.
0:19:49 Jethro: Your mom’s from Venus? Wow.
0:19:55 Kat: In her interactions, Dolores often shared philosophical views that reflected a deep connection with the universe and its workings. She spoke of the interconnectedness of all life forms, regardless of their planetary origin, and emphasized the importance of living in harmony with the cosmos.
0:20:12 Jethro: I can get on board with all of that.
0:20:14 Kat: In the midst of this 1954 UFO convention at Mount Polymer, the presence of these three mysterious individuals added a layer of intrigue, which is a word that I have noticed that I’ve used, like, four times.
0:20:28 Jethro: Yeah. What’s wrong with that?
0:20:30 Kat: It’s weird. Joe Martins, a reporter for O Crusario, a leading south american magazine, that even though I’m living in South America, I have not heard of, one of the biggest was in attendance and took a keen interest in these enigmatic figures. Martins, which, interestingly, looks a lot like Martians, sensing a uniqueness of the situation, approached the trio for an interview. He specifically noticed the striking woman whose appearance he thought resembled the figure in a painting by George Adamaski, a prominent UFO ologist at the time.
0:21:06 Jethro: Yeah, he was an abductee in one of the founders and coordinators for this particular event.
0:21:14 Kat: Oh, wow. Another weird coincidence.
0:21:17 Jethro: So weird.
0:21:18 Kat: When Martins asked to take their photographs, they declined, seemingly uncomfortable with the attention, which is weird for a group of people that claim they are from Venus.
0:21:29 Jethro: Well, you got to blend in. You can’t be too over the top when you’re otherworldly. You have to be subtle in your otherworldliness.
0:21:37 Kat: The next day, Martinez seized an unexpected opportunity to photograph the woman. As their meeting was concluding, he quickly managed to capture images of her two companions as well. This act of candid photography startled the trio, who promptly retreated into the nearby woods. Adding to the enigma, some attendees later claimed to have seen a UFO departing from the area shortly after the trio’s hasty exit. However, no photographic evidence of this alleged UFO sighting was captured.
0:22:09 Jethro: Totally understandable. You would be stunned to see them run into the forest, and then a UFO come up, shoots up. Yeah.
0:22:20 Kat: The incident involving the beautiful woman and her two companions became a topic of intense discussion and debate. The lack of photographic evidence, or, one might say, evidence of any kind to support any of this, contrasted with Martine’s successful, albeit unauthorized, photographs of the individuals, rude, by the way, only added to the intrigue and mystery surrounding their appearance at the convention.
0:22:51 Kat: Several of these aspects of barrios’story lent it a veneer of credibility. Here we go. One, physical appearance. Witnesses described barrios as having a distinct, almost otherworldly appearance.
0:23:07 Jethro: Like a bonehead. She had bones on her head.
0:23:10 Kat: Yeah, she looked weird. Therefore, she is probably from Venus.
0:23:14 Jethro: Of course.
0:23:15 Kat: Two, knowledge of Earth. Barrios reportedly demonstrated an understanding of Earth and its cultures that seemed beyond what a normal outsider would possess.
0:23:26 Jethro: Right. She’s from Venus.
0:23:29 Kat: How is her knowing stuff about Earth? She had to be evidence that she’s not from here.
0:23:36 Jethro: Her name’s Dolores. She’s from Venus. I get the feeling you’re mocking this story.
0:23:44 Kat: Number three, technological insights. Some accounts suggest she offered insights into advanced technology, hinting at a civilization far beyond Earth’s capabilities. Now, as with many UFO cases, the story of Dolores Barrios was met with skepticism. But those people are idiots.
0:24:07 Jethro: Exactly.
0:24:08 Kat: Believers. Believers argued that her detailed knowledge of earthly affairs and advanced technological concepts were not easily dismissible. One of the most challenging aspects of barrios’claim was the environment of Venus itself. Known for its extreme temperatures and hostile atmosphere, Venus seemed an unlikely home for human like life.
0:24:35 Jethro: Yeah, that’s what I would say.
0:24:37 Kat: Yet some theorists propose that an advanced civilization could indeed have developed technology to overcome these challenges, as Dolores claimed. Or that life on Venus might have evolved in ways incomprehensible to humans.
0:24:53 Jethro: Well, you just said in a recent episode, we can’t assume every life form on every planet is carbon based. Maybe they’re asbestos based.
0:25:05 Kat: Yeah, which would be how they could handle the temperature, pressure. Yes, and the diamond rain.
0:25:11 Jethro: Right. The diamond market on Venus is in the shitter, by the way.
0:25:15 Kat: Was that Venus diamond rain on Venus, or was that Uranus?
0:25:19 Jethro: I would love it.
0:25:20 Kat: No. No.
0:25:23 Jethro: Did you know there were rings around Uranus? It’s true. It’s a scientific fact.
0:25:30 Kat: For UFO enthusiasts and believers in extraterrestrial life, Dolores’visit remains a compelling piece of evidence.
0:25:37 Jethro: Yeah, it is.
0:25:38 Kat: In the larger story of UFO sightings and alien encounter claims, I can see that it challenges us to consider the vast possibilities of the universe and our place within it. And to finally admit that aliens are real.
0:25:53 Jethro: I’m glad you finally have come to your senses.
0:25:56 Kat: And that’s all I have for today.
0:25:58 Jethro: Okay. All right. That sounds like your sources might have been medium magazine, univision and historicmysteries.com.
0:26:08 Kat: Sounds about right. Yeah.
0:26:10 Jethro: Wow. Fascinating, sweetie. Wow.
0:26:13 Kat: Yeah, I thought so.
0:26:14 Jethro: A Venetian named Dolores. That’s fascinating. Tell me more about how I’m a love God. I enjoyed that part the most.
0:26:24 Kat: Yeah. More than discussing testicular injuries?
0:26:28 Jethro: Yeah. I’ve moved blunt way beyond. Way beyond puncturing. Yeah, way beyond.
0:26:34 Kat: Sure.
0:26:35 Jethro: Well, that was fun. Yeah. And by the way, the part about Kat making a fake dog out of recycled plastic bottles and bits of trash is true.
0:26:49 Kat: Listen, grief manifests in weird ways.
0:26:52 Jethro: It does. We’ll post pictures of it.
0:26:55 Kat: I did make a dog named.
0:26:57 Jethro: Yep. And it’s made out of a giant water bottle in little, smaller coke bottles and, like, ears and googly eyes. And she moves it around the apartment. She put it next to my bed before I woke up and she said, sweetie. She nudged me. Sweetie, trashy needs to go out. This is the life I live. Thanks for hanging out with us, you guys.
0:27:25 Kat: Should we do it the other way around, do you think?
0:27:28 Jethro: Yeah, that makes sense. Go ahead.
0:27:30 Kat: Thanks for hanging out with us, you guys. We love you and we’ll see you next time.
0:27:35 Jethro: Until then, keep flying that freak flag.
0:27:38 Kat: And fly it proudly, you beautiful freaks.