[Hank] Hello and welcome to the SciShow Talk Show.
Today I'm here with my special guest, Michael Aranda.
[Michael] I don't know which camera I'm waving at so...
[H] That one.
Today, we are going to be talking about an interesting little bit of science peculiarity
and also, we are going to meet the coolest animal that has ever existed ever.
[M] I'm ready.
[H] So the first segment that we're gonna do here at, uh, SciShow Talk Show is going to be
a little thing we like to call Stump Hank.
So Michael Aranda is going to attempt to stump me with a piece of science knowledge
that he has, that he doesn't think that I necessarily have.
[M] Okay, so, when I was in junior high, I had this friend, named Jay Chan, and -
[H] His name was just "J hyphen Chan"?
[M] His last name was Chan. Jay, the first name, Chan. We called him Jay Chan the science man, actually.
So he was just really knowledgeable about a lot of things that were uncommon for seventh graders to know.
[H]Sounds great. [M] Yes, so we were like, "oh he's really smart, especially science, so he's Jay Chan the science man."
(Hank laughs)
[M] Uh, anyway, he came in one day and was like, "I know how we can communicate faster than the speed of light.
If we build a really long pole between, say, the Earth and the Moon,
and we move that pole in Morse code, then the person on the other end, on the Moon, would be
reading that Morse code-" [H] Getting the information. [M] "Getting the information, faster than it would take us to
move light between here and the Moon." I don't know how long it takes for that to happen, but
that was his claim, so my question for you Hank Green, is, uh, would that work?
[H] Well, I can tell you that it's impractical. (both laughing) [M] It would cost a lot money. [H] That- that's a pretty serious pole.
and also it would be difficult to, as the Earth rotated, and as the Moon rotated and revolved around us
it would be very difficult to keep the pole in any sort of like, useful orientation
but, I can't tell you whether or not that would work. My gut says it wouldn't but I don't know why. [M] It wouldn't work.
And the reason is - [H] So I got it right? [M] You got it right, you got it right.
[H] I got the yes or no right!
[M] It wouldn't work because anything that you do to one end of the pole would travel through the pole at the speed of sound
of that material. Like, anything we do to the air here, moving it with our voices, with our vocal chords
is moving through, the air - [H] At the speed of sound in air. [M] Of air.
Yeah, so if our pole was made of steel in between here and the Moon, the speed of sound in steel is about
6000 meters per second. So that's how fast-
[H] That's faster than through air. [M] Um, kind of like water has a...
Sound can travel better through water than it can through air because it's...it's more solid.
[H] But it - so it can travel faster through steel? Because - and that's why
you can listen to the railroad tracks to hear if the train is coming before you hear it in the air.
[M] Right. It would travel from one end of the pole to the other-
[H] So you're saying that if I move this - this desk, if I push the desk, that the speed at which that end moves,
that end moves slightly AFTER I push it?
[M] Yes. You're - you're causing a reaction at the speed of sound of wood through this wood.
[H] Woah.
[M] Woah.
[H] That doesn't seem like truth... but it apparently is.
[M] I'm not a scientist, so maybe I'm making all of this up.
(table thuds)
(Hank laughs)
[H] So, now we are going to invite our friend Jessie from Animal Wonders to join us. I'm gonna move over here and she is going to show us
the craziest thing ever.
[M] Oooh, that's a...that's a big thing.
(Cute creature noises) [H] Hi, it's nice to meet - wow, you are covered in death.
Here we are with Animal Wonders. This is a prehensile-tailed porcupine named Kemo?
(More porcupine noises) [Jessie] Kemosabe, Kemo for short! [H] Okay...
(Jessie laughs) (Adorable porcupine call)
[J] Let's just listen to him! (Loud porcupine scream)
[M] Way bigger than I thought porcupines were. (Jessie laughs)
And it's nose is really weird. [H] Yeah, so, why is it's nose so weird?
(Jessie giggles)
[J] So, he is not like we would see in North America, he's not a North American Porcupine, so he's gonna have
some different features. That nose is used to smell.
And you can see him smelling around - would you like a banana, buddy?
(More adorable noises)
Yes. Yes I would.
[M] It's got little... human hands...
[J] Yeah. (Jessie laughs) [H] And it also seems to be talking as if it is a baby.
[M] Do they talk like that in the wild? (More noises from the adorable ball of death)
[J] They wouldn't be as vocal, um, it'd be kind of dangerous to kind of call out, "Hey, here I am!"
[H] Yeah. [J] Um, he's doing this - this is his way of
communicating with us, saying "Hey, I'm a little grouchy."
[H] "But also this banana is delicious." [J] Exactly. Both of them at the same time. (all laugh)
[H] Wow, you are a person. You are a person covered in spines. (Jessie giggles)
Look at your little...opposable thumbs... [J] He has no thumbs.
[H] No, he just has an opposable pad. [J] He's got a little pad right there, yep.
So, he's going to have hands like this. Kinda like this. [H] Right.
[J] And those claws are going to help him eat and if you can see how he's standing -
I don't know if you can catch that, but, it's kinda like a penguin. (more adorable noises)
Instead of feet facing forward like this, they turn like this so... he lives up in a tree. So that's gonna be really helpful.
[H] Right. [J] He's just gonna clamp right on to that tree like that
instead of having to turn his feet and do it, so it's just kinda built in... the most comfortable way to be.
And you can see he also is missing that - he has that little nubbin on his back feet as well.
Take a look at his tail. It's why he's called a prehensile-tailed porcupine, 'cuz that tail can actually grab onto
branches and he can actually hang completely by that tail if he would like. Would you like another banan -
Oh, I know. I know. That was fast. [Hank gasps]
[H] What a little dance. Um, I just want to say that if a spaceship landed and this thing came off,
and started talking to me, like, completely intelligently I would - I would buy that it was an intelligent form of life.
More intelligent, probably, than humans. (Jessie laughs)
[J] Alright, I'll trust you on that one. [H] I... just... it... totally looks to me...
I have not ever seen anything like that and I am surprised that it is native to Earth.
[J] He is pretty neat, isn't he? (All laugh)
[M] So what happens if one of those spines gets in my body?
[J] Um, well, if it was YOUR body you'd be fine because you have opposable thumbs and you can pull it out.
Now, if you're, say, a jag - uh, a leopard, that would be pretty hard - or, sorry, a jaguar. Jaguar, yep, would be
down in South America, where he's from, um, that'd be pretty hard, especially if it's on your face.
If you try to take a bite or even smell him and he got you with a quill, you're gonna have a quill maybe in your cheek.
You don't have opposable thumbs, you can't get it out. It's going to go down deeper and deeper every single day.
It's gonna be barbed at the very tip of it, sort of like a Christmas tree, so it can go in but it can't come out.
[J] So it can be dangerous. [H] I've been porcupine-quilled before. [M] Woah. We're cool. We're cool.
(Jessie laughs)
[H] I love his dance where he's like "Get away!" [J] Yes, that's exactly what he's saying,
"I am big and scary, get away!" [H] The noise is really exceptional. [J] It is, it is.
[H] He's been doing it, we've been - we've been shooting for a while and he's been over there in the corner,
just making that noise. (More noises of cuteness)
[J] He does talk, he does talk quite a bit and that is... it's - he would make that noise -
any prehensile-tailed porcupine would be capable of making that noise. Kemosabe's an individual,
so he just... this is him.
(Michael attempts to commune with the beast)
[H] Oooh. Don't... try and talk to the porcupine, Michael. (Hank and Jessie laugh)
"I'm uncomfortable, too."
(LOUD PORCUPINE WAIL OF HORROR)
[J] I know... (Jessie giggles)
No? Okay, no to grapes! Alright...
[H] "No, bananas, woman, bananas!" (All laugh) "Don't you know this by now?"
[J] Do you wanna go back, buddy? [H] Yeah, let's go back.
Kemosabe, it has been a pleasure to meet you. Do you wanna go - yeah. "I wanna get back in there."
[M] Bye. See you later. [J] Watch your tail!
[H] Oh, that's better.
(Hank attempts communication with the ball of spikes) [J] All better.
[H] Well, that was wonderful. And astounding. [J] Thank you.
(Jessie giggles) [H] Thank you so much for coming in and sharing with us.
[J] Thank you for having us, this is a lot of fun.
(Michael laughs) [M] Night, everybody!