How Dolphins Work! | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[Music]. and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh and. there's Chuck. Jerry's here, too. And. this is Stuff You Should Know where we. use a lot of upspeak. So, here we go. >> Was that your dolphin? >> Yeah. I hadn't practiced for a while, so. it was a little rusty.

>> Hey, can I just very quickly mention a. correction? >> Oh, sure. >> I'm freewheeling it here, but we got a. lot of emails from people that are uh um. in disbelief that we didn't know it's. chassis. >> Oh, I knew it was chassis. I used it. correctly. >> Oh, everyone said that we were saying. chassis and every time I said it, you. were like, "Yeah, >> I didn't. I was I just didn't correct. you.". >> Oh, well, I appreciate that. Sometimes you you don't like to be. corrected or else you're like I know I'm.

just saying it that way. So I just. didn't. >> Not to not to leave you out there. twisting or anything like that. >> Okay. Interesting. >> If you want maybe we can retake this. whole thing and I'll just I'll just take. it with you. How about that? >> No, that's all right. Uh anyway, I. didn't know it was pronounced chassis. Now that I I hear it, I've heard that. word. But I'm not a car guy, so I don't. know these things. >> Well, I feel really terrible. I mean, I. I feel terrible. I'm very sorry. Okay, I'll I'll correct you every single time. from now on. Okay, >> great.

>> Okay, I'll just bring the podcast to a. screeching halt and be like, "No, that. was wrong." Okay, >> that's really funny. What a twist, >> man. I'm sorry, Chuck. Uh, so, uh, we're. talking about Duffins. Is that how it's pronounced? >> I think so. >> Okay, that's how we should say it then. I'm pretty excited about this one, Chuck, because as everybody knows, dolphins are awesome. Uh, and we're going to talk about all. the reasons why they're awesome. That's. pretty much the the gist of this.

episode. >> Yeah. I mean, you know, dolphins are uh. marine mammals. I guess we should start. there. And that entails a whole host of. things that we're going to go over. It's. not it's not just some fish. Uh, but. they technically are citations. >> And that's a marine mammal along with uh. 80 other types of species including. whales. Uh, and if you think porpuses. are the same, it's it's in that same. species. So, relax. >> Right. And I just realized, Chuck, I.

don't have any of my notes here. So, I. could try to wing it or you can just. wait a second and I can go get my notes. >> Uh, go get your notes and I'll just. continue and and no one will be any the. wiser. >> and then you can fill me in when I get. back. >> Yeah, exactly. >> Okay. Uh there are 40 plus species of. dolphin and they are in the family of. oceanic dolphins or delinity and there's. also river dolphins. So I know. everyone's out there saying, "Hey, there's river dolphins out there." There. aren't many. There's four river uh not.

just four, but four um kinds of river. dolphins and each one is just one. species. So those are the river. dolphins. >> Yeah. I've always found that so weird. I. mean, I know that taxonomically you're. supposed to really kind of stick to it, but there's got to be a better way, you. know? >> Yeah, for sure. But we're I mean, we're. going to talk a little bit about other. kinds, but we're mainly going to be. talking about the bottl-nose. >> Mhm. >> Uh, of which there about 600,000 because. the bottl-nose dolphin is the one that. everyone is most familiar with and the. ones that are on TV and unfortunately in.

uh Dolphinarians. >> Uh, yeah. Where they keep dolphins as. hostages. >> Yeah. and make them perform tricks for. >> for dopes. >> It's crazy. Um, yeah. So, yeah, bottlene. dolphins. That's what everybody's. talking about. Uh, and that's what we're. going to talk about. And they, uh, I. think they're one of the more studied. ones, too, even though the common ones, there's so many more of them, but we. know that dolphins, bottl-nose dolphins,

and yeah, I think basically when we're. saying dolphins, unless we specify, we're talking about bottl-nose dolphins. How's that for some guard rails? >> Yeah, for sure. And also speaking of. guardrails, uh we might as well just go. ahead and say I know there'll be plenty. of kids listening because they love our. animal episodes. >> Oh yeah. >> And the dolphin episode gets a little, you know, >> a little blue. >> Uh not blue necessarily. It gets a. little sexy here and there. Uh but you. know, uh that's just the deal with. dolphins. >> Uh okay. So um so yeah. So I think that.

was a pretty good COA, man. because it. does get a little, you know, >> I mean, hey, we're I I feel like this is. all like scientific stuff. So, >> um, we should be able to handle it and. kids should be able to handle it, but if. there are any adults that are like, "What are you talking about?" Then, uh, do the little research first, >> right? Um, oh, so I think I was talking. about how bottl-nose dolphins are pretty. well studied and that we know that they. live for about 45 to 50 years. >> Yeah, pretty good. >> That's in the wild.

>> Yeah, of course. I know we've talked. about plenty of animals over the years. where they actually live longer in. captivity, usually because they're just. food for other larger animals. That's. not true with dolphins. Their lifespan. is usually much shorter. Uh and that's. controversial. We'll talk about that. later. But we know that in the wild, 50. years, that's a pretty pretty aged. dolphin if you think about it. >> No, agreed. That's a nice long life, I. think, for a a sea creature. >> Yeah. What more can they ask for? Stop. complaining, dolphins. There was one.

supposedly. uh that was 67 years old presumed dead. in 2017, right? >> But my friend, I like to think that that. dolphin is 75 right now. >> Nice. I think that's a great way to look. at things. >> Yeah. >> So, uh do you kind of see dolphins. closer to shore? Um sometimes they are. basically just out to sea. It depends on. the species. Um I think common common. dolphins stay fairly close to shore. bottl-nose will get right up on you. essentially.

>> Um the place where Yumi and I used to. live kind of along the coast in our. backyard, dolphins would swim. There's. like a lagoon. >> And um now that I've I know a little. more about dolphins. I always assumed. they were bottl-nose, but now that I. know a little more, I think that they. were probably common dolphins. >> Well, there's a lot more. There's like. millions and millions of those and about. 600,000 bottl-nose. So just. statistically, you're probably right. >> Precisely. And then the other reason. that I think that is because they they. would basically put on a show chasing.

fish. They jump out of the water and. they chase the fish backwards. It was. really something to see. And apparently. the common dolphins are more acrobatic. than bottlnose. >> Okay. And they might have been playing. as we'll see. You never know. >> It's possible they might have been. teasing the poor fish. >> Uh if you are somewhere where you can. look up safely uh on the computer an. image, you should look up P A K I C T U. S. The I guess the Pacetus. Nailed it, Chuck. >> That is the common ancestor that. dolphins share that was around about 50.

million years ago. And if you look at it. and say, "Well, wait a minute, Chuck. This thing's walking around on four legs. with fur." Uh, that's because that's. where dolphins came from. It's pretty. remarkable when you look at it, it looks. like when you see the head of that. thing, you can see the dolphin in it, you know. >> Yeah. So dolphins are more closely. related to um hippopotami than they are. like sea lions or or otter or anything. like that that are also aquatic or. semi-aquatic. And it's because this this.

pacetus um basically moved to the water. little by little by little and it's one. of those rare evolutions. >> um where we have like a complete fossil. record from peacetus to dolphin. We know. all of the iterations it went through. over the tens and tens of millions of. years. But that's I mean that's where. dolphins came from. They were basically. these wolf-sized creatures. >> Yeah. And one of them I guess spent a. little extra time in the water and was.

like you guys this is fantastic. >> Mhm. >> Like you should come in here. We should. all just stay a little longer. And then. before you know it their legs turned. into flippers. I think it was like two. or three days. What's cool too is um. there as when dolphins are in the. embryionic stage, they actually start to. um develop limbs. >> Yeah. >> Before the genes kick in and well. actually kick off, I guess, and they. stop developing and then get absorbed, but they're like in a stage of of. development, they they start to grow.

limbs. So that's I that's pretty good. indication that that they used to be. land mammals. Yeah, they have vestigial. ears as we'll see too, but I'll just. just kind of tease that out. >> Right. And then the so the speciation. from land mammal to semi-aquatic mammal. to fully aquatic mammal, the dolphin, was complete when somebody mentioned. being wet to a dolphin. And the dolphin. said, "What is wet?". >> Really? >> Yeah. That was my that was my.

understanding from the National History. Museum. So, and like we said, you know, they're going to share some. characteristics with land mammals, but. they have a lot of really cool traits. And some of these are like you may know. And some of these are just I mean, if. you're wondering why people are obsessed. with dolphins, it's not just because. they go to a dolphin show and think. they're awesome. Or maybe that's why you. might be obsessed with them, uh, listener. But there there are so many. remarkable amazing facts about dolphins. >> They just kind of stack up. Like usually.

when we do animal episodes, they're like. one or two like fact of the episodes, but this is just riddled with them. >> Yeah. So, let's let's start. And also. big shout out thanks to Kyle for helping. us out with this one. >> Oh, Kyle. Okay. Thanks, mate. >> Or no, it's probably Keel now that I. think about it. >> I feel I feel terrible, Chuck. I'm so. sorry, man. >> So, that's okay. Uh, so they are. placental mammals, so they're going to. they're not going to lay eggs uh like. you might see a fish do in the water. They bear live young and it depends on.

the species, but their pregnancies are. going to be between about 10 and 18. months. Uh I don't think I mentioned. while you were gone that orcas are are. part of this uh group or species. >> Uh family. >> family. Okay. I knew it was one of them. >> They're actually dolphins. They're not. real whales. >> Yeah, exactly. So I think the orcas have. the longest gestation period of of about. 18 months. >> Mhm. Uh, but it's very cute because. they're going to nurse those calves. sometimes up to two years at a minimum. of six months. And those little babies.

stay with mama for up to five years. >> Yeah. Like toddlers. Isn't that. adorable? >> Yeah. >> One thing that I hadn't considered is. that so dolphins nurse underwater. >> Wait a minute. Do you think after your. child passes toddlerhood, they're just. sent out to the wild? >> That was my understanding from the. National History Museum again. >> Okay, good. Great. >> They're really misinforming me. apparently. Um, so one thing I hadn't. thought of as I was saying is that um. that a dolphin has to nurse underwater, which could be kind of hard. And then.

adding to the fact that they don't have. lips that they can kind of latch on to a. nipple with. Um, it's a puzzler. And it. turns out that the way that they nurse. is by rolling their tongue into. essentially a straw. >> Yeah. >> And that's what they latch on to. And. apparently we know that it's not the. tastiest milk as far as a human pallet. is concerned thanks to a scientist named. Lillian Eichelberger. who uh I guess on a dare drank some.

dolphin milk and was like it's fishy. oily. It lacks sweetness. No sir, I. don't like it. >> Yeah. And if you think that's a weird. thing to do while studying dolphins, just strap in because that's true. >> Things get much weirder. That was. >> 1940. Things got weird in the 70s as. we'll see. Uh, but it's got like a. milkshake consistency. Uh, which is why. I guess the straw shaped tongue kind of. fits, I guess. >> I guess so. >> Yeah. >> Um, so they have to swim. Obviously, they don't have to swim to survive. Uh,

because they breathe air. So, it's not. like they need air to pass across gills. to survive, >> right? Good point. >> But they do swim quite a bit. They're. known for it. Their bodies are actually. streamlined to help them swim even more. Um, one thing I also didn't know is that. the pectoral fins, the ones that stand. up off the back where you're like, "Shark." And then your friend says, "No, it's dolphin." You go, "Oh, a dolphin.". Um, they are they have no bone. I. believe they're just cartilage and those. are they use those to help to steer.

>> Yeah, for sure. It's like a little. steering unit. Uh, they have a layer of. blubber. Um, you associate blubber with. whales, but the the dolphin has blubber, too, which is going to provide a little. bit of buoyancy. uh if they haven't had. food in a while, you know, just like. humans do, they can sort of devour their. own fat. >> Mhm. >> Uh helps out with body heat. And then. besides that steering, they have uh two. horizontal flukes on the tail, so they. move vertically. So that's another great. way to tell a shark from a dolphin. Uh. aside from just opening your eyeballs.

cuz I think they look quite different. But uh the shark, you know, has that um. vertical uh tail that sort of goes from. side to side. the dolphins is. >> flipped and to me looks like a more. efficient system, but that's just a. guess. >> You'd think so. The sharks seem to do. pretty well for themselves, though. >> Yeah. And uh real quick in show. correction, I guess. Uh the dorsal fin. is the one on top, right? >> Uh yes. >> Yeah, that's for the stability. The the. steering comes from those little side. flippers, the petrol fins.

>> Yeah. Okay. I definitely got that wrong. sort of like reimagine it. Uh just. imagine a kid running around with their. arms sticking out like they're. pretending to fly. Except dolphins do it. for real and in the water. Those are the. big differences. >> That's right. Or or like a kid running. with their arms to the side like in the. terrifying new movie Weapons. >> Oh, don't tell me anything about it. >> That's funny that you always say that. even though I've never told you anything. about anything. >> Well, you just told me that. I just want. you to stop right there.

>> Yeah. Yeah. It's on the poster. >> Okay. All right. So, uh, yeah, I can't wait to see that. movie. I'm very excited. And you said to. see it in the theater, right? >> I mean, I recommend it. I was at a sold. out 10:30 a.m., so people are pretty. hyped about it. >> Uh, but it was also kind of neat. There. were at least 20 local Atlanta crew, >> as it turned out, because uh, when the. credits started rolling, they were all. hanging out and like clapping for each. other. >> Oh, neat. That's very supportive. Did. you know any of them? Uh, I did, but I. didn't know until afterward when Emily.

said that uh, my friend Stephanie worked. on it and I was like, "Oh, she might. have been one of those people.". >> That's very cool. Um, so yeah, I want to. see that movie. >> Yeah. Back to dolphins. >> Yeah. So, dolphins are also known for as. far as they swim, they kind of jump in. and out of the water and can go quite. fast doing that. It's called porposing, much to dolphin chagrin. >> Right. And it turns out it's not just. porpuses and dolphins that swim like. that. Penguins do, too. And I was like, "No way." This came from the National.

History Museum. So, I had to go double. check. And by God, I saw a video of. penguins swimming super fast, faster. than dolphins, and they were porposing. in and out of the water. It was really. something to see. >> I Have you not seen that before? >> Not that I know of. I mean, I forget. stuff, so it's possible, but it seemed. pretty shocking to me when I saw it. Uh, dolphins are also pretty good smellers. Uh, they have a blowhole. It's basically. like nostrils and it's above the frontal.

skull bones. >> and it it's kind of cool because it. connects right to their lungs. They're. not uh mouth breathers even though. apparently they did find a mouth. breathing Hector's dolphin which are. dolphins near New Zealand in 2015. >> Yeah. >> Uh, so I don't know what that says about. that guy, but he was a mouth breather. But that blow hole, like I said, is. connected directly to the lungs and they. can open it and close it with a nasal. plug. And they can fill that thing up. very, very fast. Like in a fraction of a.

second, they can fill up their lungs. >> through the blow hole. >> Um, they only breathe five or six times. a minute. And they can't stay under. water all day, but they can stay down. there for a few minutes at a time. >> Yeah, for sure. But if they stay down. there too long and they run out of air, they can drown. They are air breathing. mammals. >> Yeah. I mean, forget that. the saddest. thing I could imagine. >> Yeah. Which we'll get to that later. >> Yeah. >> And uh the blow hole also does a really. good job of expelling air because again. this is like it's like our mouth. breathing in and out except on the top.

of our head. >> So when they breathe out, especially. having been underwater for a little. while, they're breathing out uh warm air. into usually colder air because the sea. temperature is usually warmer than the. surface temperature. in a lot of cases. and it'll condense and that's what their. their spout is. It's. >> Yeah. >> Like you can see it. >> Yeah. It's pretty cool. And apparently. you can tell like different species. apart by the like kind of spout they. have, right? >> Yep. From what I understand. I couldn't,

but I think scientists can. >> Uh why don't you take the uni. hemispheric sleep because that's pretty. remarkable. And you haven't had a Wowee. >> Oh, thanks. Um also I have a correction. that I want to put in too. Okay. Okay. >> So, so we're talking about what dolphins. do is unihemismpheric sleep, which is. because they are in danger of predation. because they don't stop and like, you. know, follow the bottom of the ocean.

Um, they actually have to keep going. while they're sleeping. So, what they do. is shut down half of their brain and the. other half just kind of keeps an eye on. things. And then when the one brain uh. one side of the brain has had enough. sleep, it switches over to the other. hemisphere and then that one takes its. turn to sleep and the other one takes. over to kind of stand guard. >> Yeah, that sleeping with one eye open is. kind of an old like western trope, but. that's like so funny that dolphins. literally do that. >> Yeah, for sure. And that actually ties.

in, Chuck, you hemispheric sleep to our. Zizians episode because they were trying. to figure out how to do that themselves, which seems to be impossible for humans. from what I can tell. And by the way, stay tuned for listener mail because I. have a correction related to the Zizians. episode. So, this is like a correction. loused uh episode. Okay. >> All right. Should we take a break? >> Yes, I think so. >> Okay. We'll come back with. Correctionfest right after this.

[Music]. You should know. All right, we're back with uh more on. dolphins. No more corrections, I. promise. Um they have, and this is to me. another like fact of the show, they have. incredible eyesight. uh they see really. really well within about 150 ft. Uh and.

they do this because they have uh two. kind of slightly flattened eyeballs on, you know, the sides of their head. When. you look at a dolphin, they're kind of. on the sidesh. >> and they see from both simultaneously. and then like us with binocular vision, they stitch it together to see one. thing. >> But what that results in is a 300 degree. panoramic view. Nice. >> Where they can see basically anywhere. they want except right above them. >> Yeah, that's their one blind spot is. above them. And apparently if they're. trying to get a really good look at you,

they'll tilt their head down. >> Yeah. >> And try to look at you like that. It's. pretty cute. >> Yeah. >> So, um they actually do have really good. eyesight uh underwater and above water. And the the way that they can transition. from a fairly dark um environment to a. bright, you know, sunny environment is. because they have a double slit in their. pupils. So when their pupils are wide. open and say they're kind of d they've. they've dived deep and there's not a lot. of light so they're trying to capture.

all of it. It looks like they have two. tiny pupils. >> But then as they come up to the surface. and they uh get closer to the sun one of. their pupils or one of the slits closes. and it narrows so they don't take in. quite as much light. So they can see. pretty well. And they're apparently up. to 150 feet. They have just really great. eyesight from what we can tell. >> Yeah. And they, you know, it's important. that they can do that uh out of the. water because when they porpose and jump. out, they want to see everyone going, "Oh my god, Larry, look.".

>> Then they give them a little wink. >> Nice. Yeah. And it makes a ding sound. >> Uh they have teeth and uh they're not. like, you know, big scary shark teeth. They're kind of cone- shaped. >> Yeah. >> Um they eat fish, of course, uh. crustaceian, squid, and they use their. beak. It's also called a rostrm, but we. just call it a beak. >> And you know, they'll grip that prey and. they swallow it whole. Uh they and. they're smart enough to know, and we'll. get to how smart they are later, but. they're smart enough to know that they.

got to swallow this fish head first so. they don't catch those spines on their. throats. And if they come up against. like a catfish or something that's got. like really, you know, spiky spiny. things coming off their head, they'll. bite those heads off and eat the rest of. it. >> Yeah, I'll bet that's a sight to see. >> Yeah. Um, so they also have really good. hearing, uh, which makes sense because. they use echolocation, which we'll talk. about, but they, um, have ear canals. just like us, but they're totally. useless. They're vestigial. Um, they.

don't connect to anything. And in fact, they're plugged up with some pretty. serious ear wax that everybody just kind. of considered a curiosity of of whales. and dolphins that they have big ear. plugs of ear wax in their ear canals. that don't connect to anything. And. scientists realize like, oh, actually, they put down layer after layer. throughout their life and you can. examine an ear plug or a plug of ear wax. uh of a dolphin or a whale and pretty. closely estimate how old it is like. you're counting tree rings.

>> So cool. >> I think so, too. >> I love that. And they can also, you. know, get into that ear wax and and and. analyze it and see what kind of like. pollutants it was exposed to and stuff. like that. Maybe hormone fluctuations. Mhm. >> Uh so yeah, that that's pretty awesome. And that's like fairly recent, right? >> Uh yeah, I don't know exactly when, but. it is a fairly recent finding for sure. So um yeah, look for more talk about. dolphin ear wax in the future.

>> Uh they don't listen exactly like we do, but they they receive high frequency. sounds through, and this is a pretty. good band name, acoustic fats, >> uh in their lower jaw, and that's going. to vibrate through their skull. And they. have these, you know, I guess they're. unattached internal earbones. >> that pick up this uh this sound from the. acoustic fats. >> Yeah. So, they can hear sounds, but it's. also really useful for echolocation, too, where they send a a a click out and. then wait for it to bounce off something.

and come back. It's received through. that jawbone. >> Yeah. And apparently because the teeth. are so close to the nerves that transmit. this um this impulse, uh they think that. the the teeth might actually act as. amplifiers. And I wonder if that has to. do with the cone shape, too. >> Oh, maybe. So, >> maybe. >> Yeah. I mean, a cone is a very common. way to amplify a sound. >> It is like an old timey cheerleader. >> Yeah, totally. >> Uh yeah, I mean that's just another. amazing fact. They uh you know navies.

use sonar so it's uh and we'll get into. this a little bit more but you know. everyone has sort of heard the stories. about the damage that's done by you know. ships and navies and exploding things. underwater. Yeah. One of the largest. dolphin strandings took place because of. sonar. There was a big multinational. naval exercise in the Arabian Sea in. 2009. >> I remember that. Yeah. and 200 dolphins. just stranded themselves just trying to.

get away from the the horrible sound. So, >> yeah, we've talked about this before. It's a real issue that's just nothing's. being done about it. >> Yeah, it's uh yeah, there's a lot of. sadness in this episode for sure. >> Uh they do vocalize, you know, you just. rewind and listen to Josh at the. beginning if you want to hear exactly. what it sounds like. Don't bother going. to YouTube or anything. Uh they vocalize. with whistles and pops and brays. Um. they they make these sounds with. something called phonic lips and those.

are near the blowhole. >> That's a good one, too. >> Did you say band name? >> That's a good one. Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's Sonic Youth and Flaming. Lips got together for a super band. >> Nice. >> I just saw The Flaming Lips and they. were great. Hadn't seen them in years. >> Oh, yeah. >> Yeah. Really, really good. >> I've never seen them. I'm sure their. shows are pretty great. >> Yeah, it's pretty fun. Uh but they have. a larynx at the base of the blow hole. And that larynx is going to be able to. sort of uh move and modulate sound by. letting air kind of go through at. different rates of speed. >> Yeah. And then they also have something.

called a melon, which is a big mass of. fat in their forehead, which is pretty. Yeah. It's pretty um characteristic of. dolphins look, >> but that melon is actually able to focus. sound like a lens. It the little fatty. lump moves around. and they can move it, which is pretty cool. Like those people. who can move their forehead up and down, >> right? >> I think that's essentially what they're. doing. And it it it focuses the sound, including their uh echolocation. Um. >> yeah, and get this. Here's another fact.

of the episode. Uh I'll take this one. You can take the next one. >> Okay. >> They can use this to basically um name. each other. They can broadcast their. identity and their location to other. dolphins. >> because they have signature whistles. So. they come up with their own whistle. They make that sound and everyone knows. that's Josh over there. Josh the. dolphin. >> Yeah. Uh my my name sounds like. >> in dolphin. >> and and talk about what mommies do, too.

That's another Wowee. >> Well, they found that they use baby. talk. They use higher frequency whistles. and essentially use baby talk with their. own calves, which is adorable. >> Yeah. Are we at echolocation finally? >> I think so. This is a pretty cool This. is This is the last fact. The rest of. the stuff we're gonna talk about is so. dry, you might as well just stop the. episode. >> No, not true. But you take this because. it's a Wowee. It's essentially just like. bats, right? >> It is. And they figured out that bats. and dolphins are essentially not at all.

related. So they they developed pretty. much identical forms of echolocation. independently. >> Yeah. >> Um it's that's an example of convergent. evolution. But what they do is they. produce these clicks. They use the melon. to focus those things like a laser and. um they can not only so they're bouncing. a sound wave off of something. It's. coming back and then it uh is translated. into a mental map. So essentially. they're seeing they're experiencing a. form of vision like we would think of it.

but they're doing it through through. sonar essentially their own form of. sonar. >> Yeah. >> And they it's like really really. accurate, right? >> Yeah. I mean, uh, they've done some. studies and they found that they were. able to distinguish different, uh, disc. sizes, uh, by as little as one/10enth of a. centimeter or 400ths of an inch, >> right? Which is very small. And I I. thought that was weird. 1/10enth of a. centimeter. I was like, that sounds. familiar. And then I realized it's a. millimeter. I don't know why anyone.

would put it like that. That's why you. have the metric system. >> Yeah. Well, we should ask Kyle. >> Isn't that bizarre? >> Yeah. Huh. So the their their. echolocation is quite quite amazing. Um. and I've seen also that they can they. can see internal organs in other. animals. That's how penetrative I guess. their their echolocation is and just how. nuanced it is. >> I know Predator is is heatbased, but I.

just that's what I think of. >> That's funny you say that. I watched. that two days ago. >> The OG. >> Yeah. And I was like, this is. >> definitely tied with um I guess Commando. for Schwarzenegger's best movie. >> I saw Predator, the original one, but I. didn't like follow up with the whole. Predator universe. >> No, I didn't either. I I just watched. the first one again. I was like, man, this is good. >> I think those new ones are supposed to. be good. The Prey and then that other.

one coming up. >> Oh, really? They're supposed to be good. >> That's what I heard. >> Isn't there like a Predator versus. Jason? Didn't it get to like off the as. off the rails as that? >> They do Predator versus Alien, I think. >> Yeah, for sure. >> I didn't see that either. And I love the. Alien universe, too. >> I guarantee Danny McBride's in that. >> Yeah. >> Uh, so dolphins are very social and and. that's one of the reasons also that. people love them because you often see. them swimming in in large pods and. >> seeming like they're having a good time.

together. It's because they basically. are. Um, pods can be as small as two or. up to a thousand, but generally they're. between 40 and 60. >> And they can form very longtime social. relationships. >> Yeah, there's different kinds of pods. There's like uh you know the pod pod, the original one. There's a bunch of. different dolphins that um some have. familial ties, some don't. There's. juvenile pods where they uh the kids. reach, I guess, the end of toddler stage. and they're like, "Go on, go form your.

own pod." So, a bunch of them about the. same age will form a pod together. There's bachelor pods, which is usually. two, sometimes three males that. essentially just form their own jam and. cruise around together. Um, sometimes. forming lifelong friendships. Um, and. all of them have their advantages, like. it's easier to hunt, that's easier to. defend against something trying to kill. you, it's easier to pass down knowledge. from one generation to another, which. we'll talk about in a second. Um, so. there's all sorts of advantages, but. because of their social nature, they do.

have a lot of traits that you're like, "Wow, that's really humanlike.". >> Yeah, for sure. Uh, this is uh I told. Emily about this one, and she was like, "Well, that's BS." Um, but this is uh. this is sometimes what happens. It's. it's fairly rare, but sometimes males. will team up and steal. >> a female dolphin from another pod and. basically, you know, keep her captive. and prevent her from returning. Uh, and. it it looks like what they think is. going on is like they have a situation.

where they need a female because uh. their long gestation period is uh and. lactation keeps them from being. available to breed for sometimes years. at a time. So, they're like, "We got to. breed. We're going to go take her and. keep her here.". >> Yeah. there's just high competition for. females. So, it's not the most tasteful. dolphin fact around. >> Um, so we'll follow that one up with a. more heartwarming one where they also um. are have been observed in plenty of. instances to to engage in altruistic.

behavior like social behavior where they. don't leave behind like sick or injured. friends. >> Yeah, go ahead. Tell them about that one. thing. I think this was in the mid 20. 2000 as I think whatever. There was a. group of 11 dolphins that essentially. swam together to form a raft with their. injured um companion in the middle. >> to keep them from from like sinking and. dying.

>> Wow. >> Yeah. And I mean that's that's pretty. amazing altruistic behavior. I I think. they've also seen other ones do that. too. It's not like this is a one-time. thing. So that's a pretty I mean there's. a lot of animals that are out there. like, "Oh, you're sick. Good luck dying. We're moving on." Um. >> Yeah. Or I'll eat you. >> Exactly. Yeah. Dolphins don't do that. They try to take care of their peeps. >> Amazing. Uh all right. I say we take our. second break. >> Oh, okay. >> And we come back with more on the. Amazing Dolphin right after this.

[Music]. So, Chuck, one of the great things about. dolphins is that we know that they play. It's not anthropomorphizing. It's it's they're playing. Um, juveniles. play with one another. They sometimes. play with their parents. Uh, they'll.

swim around in the head of another. dolphin and just kind of tease them. We. talked about them teasing fish earlier. What is that all about? >> Yeah. I mean, sometimes they've been. observed doing that. Like they'll go up. and not eat a fish, but they'll like get. the fish's tail in its mouth and being. like like kind of like I got your nose. and then they'll swim away and the fish. is like what just happened? >> Yeah. And then um swimming porposing in. the waves of ships that are traveling. fairly fast. They think essentially. that's for for thrills and kicks.

>> Yeah. >> That's so cool. >> Yeah, it's pretty cool. There are also. gay dolphin behaviors as well where. those male friends for life in the. bachelor pod still they'll have sex. >> I mean, isn't that the whole point of. the bachelor pod? >> I think so. >> You know. >> Yeah. That and playing video games. together afterward. >> Yeah, exactly. Uh yeah, I mean they they. this is where, you know, it gets a. little sexy, but they um basically on a. a daily basis, they've observed dolphins.

exhibiting uh what's called. nonconceptive sexual behavior. So. they're not trying to reproduce. They're. getting together and having a good time. for the fun of it. >> Yeah. And that uh NCSB. for the churchgoers, um that also. includes masturbation. Apparently, captive dolphins do that every day, which makes sense because they've got. nothing else to do, so they're just kind. of bored. But they will use walls, uh. other dolphins, they'll use uh trainers.

sometimes for stimulation. Um and yeah, and that actually happens. >> Yeah, I I saw too they might lean up. against a washing machine from time to. time. >> Pretty good. Is that real? Is that just. a trope or is that real? >> I'm sure it's happened. Hm. Uh, all right. Let's talk. Let's clean. this thing up. Well, actually, we can't. clean it up because we're about to talk. about something else like that. Uh, we're talking about dolphins. intelligence. And we know they're smart.

Um, and a lot of that comes from a guy. named Dr. John C. Liy in the 1960s who. really put dolphins on the map in a. bigger way by saying that they're. probably as intelligent as we are. Um he. did some pretty awful experience uh. experiments like injecting them with. LSD. Uh he mapped um unsedated dolphins. cerebral cortex with probes. >> Uh and he was involved in a very. infamous experiment in 1963. I said it.

was the 70s. It was the 60s. Mhm. >> When he got a woman named Margaret. Howell Love it and paired her with a. dolphin named Peter in a flooded. apartment so they could live together. and uh learn more about each other. >> Yeah. So Lily was obsessed with the idea. that dolphins could learn English, not. just to understand it, but to speak it. >> because sometimes apparently they'll. mimic uh people people speaking a little.

bit with one of their squeaks. Mhm. >> Uh, so he's like, "They clearly want to. communicate. That's why he injected him. with LSD. That's why he had Peter live. with Margaret." Um, and she was supposed. to teach him how to say, "Hello, Margaret." But apparently though, the. lessons would get interrupted because. Peter was rather Randy Dolphin. >> He was captive after all. So Margaret. How love it became known as the woman. who would manually.

satisfy. >> relief. >> Yeah. >> And she was like, "Yes, I realize this. is a very odd behavior." And uh. apparently Hustler picked this up and. wrote all about it. >> This crazy this crazy thing that was. going on. Um, and she was like, "Look, I'm trying to actually interact with the. dolphin, teach the dolphin this, and and. Peter just can't focus on anything. else." So, it's like an itch. You. scratch it and then you move on. And of. course, that's what everybody talked. about. But. >> right,

>> eventually the the funding dried up and. um. Peter was essentially just kicked out of. the apartment, separated from Margaret. who he' essentially adopted as either a. a pod member or his girlfriend or. something. He had a very strong. attachment to her and they just ripped. him away from her and it did not go very. well. >> No, he he did not say so long and thanks. for all the fish. He very sadly appeared. to have taken his own life. He just kind. of sunk himself to the bottom and didn't.

breathe anymore. >> Yeah. How sad is that? >> Oh, dude. I mean, you put this dolphin. in an apartment with this woman and then. that happens. >> Yeah. >> And then he seemingly kills himself. >> Yeah. >> God. >> Yeah. I mean, if you ever see a dolphin. in captivity, it's it's a really. horrible thing to see. Um especially if. it's like just indoors. It's it's just it's worse than than. other animals. I think and I don't think. any animal should be kept in captivity,

but dolphins seem to be it's just worse, you know. >> Yeah. I mean, to me, when you're talking. about an ocean dwelling species, uh. that's it's a big area, you know. >> Yeah. >> But they are smart. Um sort of a long. way of getting around to saying we know. they're super smart. We've seen their uh. vocalizations and their social. relationships and how they can learn and. mimic things. Um, but you know, saying. like they're as smart as as humans. It's. just a weird uh people should stop. comparing animals to humans like that.

>> Yeah, that's a great point, Chuck. I. mean, they're their own thing. Let's. understand them on their own terms. >> Exactly. Meet them where they're at, as. they say. >> And we do know they use tools. There is. just uh there's some dolphins that have. been shown to basically attach a sponge. to their um rostrm, their beaker, their. schnoz um when they're hunting for food. or foraging for food on the the sea. floor to basically cushion it. Isn't. that neat? >> Yeah, it's amazing. Like a little. bumper. >> Yeah. But even more amazing than that is.

that not all dolphins do that. Some. groups do that and that they learn it. from the other members of their pod, which is a cut and dried version of. culture that fits essentially all of the. boxes for culture. And culture is very. rare in the animal kingdom and dolphins. seem to display it at least through the. sponge tool use. >> Yeah, for sure. Uh so this is sort of. the the saddest part of the episode is. when we talk about captive dolphins and. kind of what's. uh how humans have kind of screwed it.

all up as usual. But um there have there. has been dolphin entertainment for a. long time since the 19th century. But uh. things really grew after the TV show. Flipper in the 1960s. Uh there were. three dolphinariums before that and by. 2009 there were hundred all over the. world. And while trade is illegal in the. US, Mexico and Europe uh they are. captured um at different you know places. in the world and we're going to talk. about some specifically um like Japan. and Taiwan. But uh the rate of mortality.

is disputed. If you want to look at. SeaWorld's research, they're going to. say it's really not that different. If. you're going to look at research by. people who used to work at SeaWorld and. don't anymore, they'll say, "No, male. orcas live uh 15 years less in captivity. and females as much as 30." So, just I. think that speaks for itself. >> And there was also a 1988 study, Chuck, in the journal um Marine Mammal Science, and it found that about half of captive. dolphins die within 90 days of being. captured. So, this is not they're just.

not a species or a family or a type of. animal that should be held in captivity. and and yet they are. Um, SeaWorld very. famously in 2016 said that they were no. longer going to breed orcas, >> but that they weren't about to retire. the orcas that they still had left. >> Yeah. >> Um, that was largely thanks to the. documentary Blackfish, which if you've. never seen that, go watch it right now. >> Yeah. Really good But they still have. captive breeding programs for their. dolphins and those don't seem to be.

going anywhere either. >> Yeah. Some people, you know, make an. argument that, you know, studying these. uh things in captivity is like how we. how we learn about them, which is. obviously true to a certain degree, but. >> um dolphin experts will say, "Hey, you're not learning about their real. habitat if you're studying a dolphin in. captivity because they're in captivity. like their behaviors change like you. know all kinds of things are different. because they're swimming around in a. pool rather than the ocean. >> Yeah. Like imagine putting a human into.

solitary confinement long enough for. them to become totally insane. and studying their behavior and. extrapolating it onto the rest of. humanity. That's essentially what the. critics are saying that people who study. animals in captivity are doing. It's. tough to disagree with that as far as. I'm concerned. >> Yeah. Uh they're also used by um the US. Navy. They're the second largest holder. of marine mammals in the United States. behind SeaWorld. >> Yeah. >> Uh they started this program, the marine. mammal program for the Navy in 1959.

And by the 1980s, they had over a. hundred dolphins. I think that number. has ticked down to like the mid70sish. now. Mhm. Uh but you know, if you've. heard stories of like dolphins used in. war with like lasers on their head, they. don't have lasers on their head, but. there have been some verified reports. that dolphins have uh like blow guns on. their head. >> Oh, was that verified? I know that. there's certainly rumors. >> Well, not verified as in like the US. Navy verified it, but I think there have.

been people that are like, "No, this is. happening." And they've observed it in. the Soviet uh space as well. Well, for. the for the most part, what they're used. is to either identify mines, like find. and identify mines because their. echolocation can can detect the void. inside the casing of a mine that's. buried under mud. um and they'll go tag. it essentially or they'll look for um. swimmers or divers who are trying to um. sabotage like a ship or something and. they'll go up and basically bump them.

and put a a tracker on that diver and. then let the uh the Navy people take. over and track that person. Um so the. Navy's like no no no no dolphin has ever. killed a person in combat. It just has. never happened. Um, but there is one. recorded instance of a dolphin killing a. human. And from what I can tell, it. sounds. just. >> Yeah, this was in 1994. There was a.

dolphin near S. Paulo, Brazil that was. named uh Tia, and he's he was very uh. friendly and gregarious and was well. known around the area for like hanging. out with people and um had a lot of bad. human interactions as a result of that. Uh this guy was harassing him. apparently. Um there were also there was. also a case where he injured 29. swimmers. They were trying to ride him. and put popsicle sticks in his blow. hole. >> Uh this guy was harassing him and he and. he basically nosed him in the abdomen. and the guy died from internal bleeding.

>> Yeah. Like Tia, he wasn't a naval um uh. dolphin by the way. He was just this is. just the one example of somebody of a. dolphin killing a person. But yeah, he. he was very very friendly and he had to. put up with a lot of crud. But he would. he would dish it back out if you pushed. him past the past the point of no. return. Um he apparently after the guy. died he Tia has left and they haven't. seen him since he fled the he fled the. interview. >> Yeah, he's fleeing the interview.

>> Uh dolphin watching is also, you know, you might think like, hey, that's a. pretty innocuous thing to ride around a. boat and look at these things, >> right? Uh there are companies that. supposedly do it responsibly, but that's. after like, you know, we had to get. involved and say, "Hey, you can't feed. them." That happened in the early 1990s. >> Uh like they're getting hit by boats cuz. they're trying to like say, "Hey, you. want to see some dolphins? Let's chum. the water or whatever." Uh or not chum. or whatever they use. And um they put. like time limits and distance limits. If.

those are followed, then you know that's. better. But um any kind of boat activity. like that is just going to disturb their. normal activity and and if you're if. there are too many boats around these. dolphins will just be like all right I. got to relocate somewhere maybe far away. and maybe they're not even able to do. that safely you know. >> Yeah. Uh yeah in in that sense. there it's still not enough regulation. or protection of the dolphins. uh you. can make a a pretty good case that the.

United States has some good laws in. place that do protect dolphins. There's. one uh that was passed in 1972, the. Marine Mammal Protection Act. And among. other things, it basically said you're. not allowed to eat dolphin in the United. States. Um they used to hunt dolphin and. eat dolphin and apparently uh people who. have eaten dolphin are like, "That's. pretty good." But you can't do that in. the US anymore. Not since the swinging. 70s. And some people are like, "Well, you're eating dolphin when you when you. eat canned tuna." That seems to be quite.

untrue. There's. >> people say that. >> Yeah. There's a canned tuna that says. it's dolphin safe. That doesn't mean. that dolphins aren't being caught in by. catch. It means that there's no dolphin. in your tuna. Uh but there are types of. tuna fishing that um that are much safer. for dolphins than others. So if you care. about that and you love cantuna, look. for a cantuna that says it's either pole. caught, pull in line caught, troll.

caught, >> free school or school caught, or fad. free. Any of those are much less likely. to accidentally catch and kill um. dolphins when they're fishing for tuna. >> That's right. Uh I always thought tuna. was chicken of the sea. No. Did you ever. see that episode of uh Jessica Simpson. and Nicholas? >> Nope. >> There was It was insane. Like I saw that. one and like. >> what? I don't even know what you're.

talking about. >> Oh, she was confused. She was eating a. can of tuna. Chicken of the sea tuna. And she's like, "I thought it was. chicken.". >> But then he's like, "No, you know it's. tuna." She's like, "No, I know it's. tuna, but I thought it was chicken." And. it just like you're you'll start. bleeding out of your ear if you try to. follow it too closely. >> H interesting. >> That was something. That show was. actually surprisingly good. >> You watched it? >> Yeah, back in the day. >> That surprises me. >> It surprises me too now that I think. about it. >> Yeah. Josh of Now wouldn't watch that, right? >> Probably not. No.

>> Josh of your Yeah, for sure. >> Hey, I watched uh Brett Michael's Rock. of Love. That was That's my one reality. TV show, Scar. >> Okay. That's not That's Yeah, I was. going to say it's not too bad. It's. pretty bad. >> It was pretty bad. But that's your. That's your boy. >> Oh, yeah. He's one of them. The whole. crew is my boys. >> Yeah, CC the gang. >> That's right. >> Bobby Dolph and Ricky Rocket. I got it. >> Nice work, Chuck. >> Uh, dolphin hunting though still happens. uh in uh other places around the world.

We promised to talk about it a little. bit, but there are drive hunts uh very. infamous ones that happen in uh Taigi, Japan, and the Pharaoh Islands. And. there's another great documentary from. 2009 called The Cove uh about the. Japanese hunt. And it's awful to watch. But they round up just thousands and. thousands of dolphins and corral them. and sell some to doarians and slaughter. the rest. >> You've seen it? I I I don't think I. could see it, man. >> Yeah, don't bother. You know the deal.

>> There's also another documentary from. Netflix called Sea Spiracy. Not the best. name ever, but it's about the Ginda. Drop, which is a annual dolphin hunt in. the Pharaoh Islands off of Denmark. And. it's essentially the same thing. They're. driven uh into a a corral and then. killed killed by knife. And I think in. 2021,400. dolphins were killed in the ginder drop. uh that year, which was a record with. knives. >> Jeez.

>> I know. >> Uh we did talk about by catch a little. bit. Um there was a study in 2020 that. found that 50 uh since 1950 over 80% of. Indian Ocean dolphins u may have been. killed as by catch. 80%. >> Yeah. uh with about 80,000 total. citations caught each year. >> Yeah. >> And then there's ghost fishing which we. we did an episode on and that's you know. when uh just the fishing industry as a. whole um ends up killing uh you know. animals in the ocean, ship strike and. predation and uh starvation and getting.

caught up in in nets and lines and all. that awful stuff. >> Yeah. When they abandon their old. fishing gear they can't use anymore and. it just floats around and can kill. animals in the sea for hundreds of. years. That's nuts. >> Uh, we should end this on a high note. Um, Chuck, so just a reminder that. dolphin moms use whistles to baby talk. with their dolphin calves. >> That's right. And they play with each. other. >> Yeah, for sure. Uh, that's it for. dolphins, everybody. Hopefully you like.

this one. We loved it. Uh, we might just. do it again. Who knows? Uh, but in the. meantime, while we figure that out, it's. time for listener mail. Uh this is a uh you remember the. Volkswagen episode and the lemon ad? We. weren't sure exactly what that was all. about. >> Oh yeah, >> we heard from a lot of people. This is. from Lori, and I'm trusting Lori because. Lori is an advertising copywriter. >> Oh, good. >> Uh she says, "Hey guys, uh confusion. about the famous VW lemon ad created by.

Bill Burnbach at DDB. Uh the body copy. is about VW's um preoccupation with. every detail. Each bug goes through a. rigorous inspection process. 189 checkpoints if there's any issue at. all. No matter how small, the car. doesn't leave the factory. So, the car. in this adh has a scratch on the glove. compartment. So, it's a lemon. Apparently, there was fine print in the. ad that explain this. Uh, one more thing. though, guys. All good ad campaigns. begin with an insight, a simple. sentence, a nugget of emotional truth.

that determines how the brand speaks to. consumers and how consumers relate to. the brand. The insight for the VW. Beetle. You don't buy a beetle, you. adopt it. >> Oh, wow. That's neat. >> We just got Don Draper by Lori. >> Yeah, we did. Way to go, Lori. That's. That was a really great email. That's. Hats off to you. >> Yeah. And Lori is a BW Beetle owner as. well, so uh she ticks all the boxes. >> for sure. Uh I trust Lori. That's a new. stuff you should know t-shirt. >> Agreed. Uh, also Chuck, I want to take a.

second to put in a correction which I. think we mentioned before from the. Zizian episode. >> Uhhuh. >> So in it I talked about Eleazar Yukowski. who is kind of like his machine. intelligence research institute was kind. of at the center of the Zizians. Like. that's where they all met. >> Yeah. >> And the machine intelligence research. institute is trying to figure out how to. create an artificial intelligence that. is friendly to humans that's aligned. with human goals and doesn't wipe us. out. And I said that Eleazar had. basically thrown in the towel and was.

like, "This is not we it's too late. We're not going to make it." We got an. email from uh Malow Borggan, who was the. CEO of the of Meri, and he said, "Hey, you you got it a little wrong. Eleazar's. book um that's coming out. It's called. If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies." Is. not about throwing in the towel. It's. saying like we're right there on the. edge and but there's still time. we can. still figure out how to make an AI, a. super intelligent AI that doesn't wipe.

out humanity and here's how and let's. get busy now. It's kind of like a a a. call to arms to get humanity in action. So, I definitely flub that one and and a. huge thank you to Malow for letting us. know, but also letting us know really. gently. >> Yeah, he's really nice about it. >> Yeah. So, uh the book uh If anyone. builds it, everyone dies. It's by. Eleazar Yukowski who is an amazing. thinker and uh his collaborator Nate. Sorz comes out September 16th if you.

want to go buy it. >> Fantastic. >> Fantastic. Uh and if you want to get in. touch with us like Malow or Lori, you. can send us an email too. Send it off to. stuffodcast@ iheartradio.com. [Music]. Stuff you should know is a production of. iheartradio. For more podcasts, iHeart. Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple. Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your. favorite shows. [Music].