Harvey here for Bad Things in History. We beg for that like & subscribe at the end,
but if you’ve been watching some of our videos, I’d love it if you dropped a comment about something
you like or dislike about how we do things. It helps us improve. Now on with the show.
--------------------------------------- Are you feeling relieved that you survived
2020? Are you hopeful that the new year will result in a greater sense of safety
and security for you and your family? We hope you are accustomed to the sensation
of bitter disappointment. Reality is always ready to show humanity that our position on planet Earth
is precarious and quite temporary. But don’t give up hope and sink into
despair. There is always a chance that you will survive today’s disasters. It
also helps if you try not to worry about future generations because they are probably doomed.
Let’s start with some good news. A group of hikers in Russia died horribly in 1959. But the mystery
of their deaths might finally be understood. --------------------------------------
In January of 1959, a group of seven women and two men were walking through the Ural Mountains in
Russia. After a full day of hiking, they placed their tents at the base of a small slope. A
blizzard that night dropped the temperature to -19 degrees Fahrenheit, or -25 degrees Celsius.
The hikers never made it to their destination. It took nearly a month
for investigators to find all of them.� Their bodies were scattered all over the
mountain. And it wasn’t clear why they died. Some of the deceased were half
dressed. Others had broken bones and crushed skulls. A few were missing their eyes. And at
least one woman no longer had a tongue. It was assumed some of the damage was caused
by wild animals looking for a meal. But the rest of the injuries couldn’t be explained. And
nobody understood why there were people outside in a blizzard who weren’t wearing clothes.
The official conclusion at the time was the hikers died of hypothermia after being driven
out into the cold because of a “compelling natural force”. This became known as the
Dyatlov Pass Incident and has fueled conspiracy theories for the past 60 years.
A recent study led by Johan Gaume from the Avalanche Simulation Laboratory at
the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology offers some solutions to this mystery.
The possibility of an avalanche was suggested in 1959 to explain some of the wounds hikers
experienced. At the time this was dismissed because it was thought an avalanche didn’t
happen as rescuers didn’t see any sign of it. The researchers state that the most likely cause
was a slab avalanche. These happen when one layer of snow slides on top of another layer beneath it.�
In the case of Dyatlov Pass, they think that the snow on the ledge above the hikers broke
loose and fell directly on top of them. This is why they had crushed skulls,
broken bones, and other injuries that are more commonly seen in vehicle accidents.
Johan also explained why some of the victims were not wearing clothes.�
She thinks that the avalanche didn’t injure and kill everyone.�
The hikers that were not hurt grabbed their injured friends and pulled them to safety.
Unfortunately, this happened during a blizzard.� All they could do was try to survive the night
with no clothes while being exposed to the cold. � But survival was impossible, so they all died.
Since none of the hikers survived the truth will never be known for sure.�
Over the years some people have suggested that aliens killed the hikers. By comparison,
a slab avalanche seems more plausible. --------------------------------
When you are walking outside and see trash, what do you do? Are you the kind of person that picks
it up? Do you just ignore it and keep walking? Or do you like to add your own trash to the pile?
Whether you are caring and helpful or a horrible human being, the US National Park Service
wants you to know that something which
might appear to be trash really isn’t. ------------------------------------
Sea whips are a type of coral that live in areas on the east side of the Atlantic
Ocean. They are found all over the world, including the Gulf of Mexico.
Sea whips are usually very bright and colorful. Purple, red, and yellow varieties are
common. Another strange feature of this animal is that it resembles knotted pieces of rope.
Rebekah Claussen, a guide with the National Park Service, found some of
these “rope balls” on the beach on Padre Island in the Gulf of Mexico. She took pictures and
posted them on her Facebook page on February 1. The post received numerous comments from visitors
saying they saw these during a visit and thought it was trash. Apparently, visitors who didn’t
know about sea whips were collecting them from the beach and depositing their remains in the trash.
Rebekah, along with the rest of the Park Service,
wanted to get the message out that these dead creatures are not trash. Instead of picking them
up they want visitors to leave them alone.� Eventually the dead coral will decompose.�
Ultimately this helps the island’s ecosystem. If you want to pick up trash they don’t mind.�
But leave the brightly colored rope alone. ---------------------------------------
There are two things that all animals on Earth have in common. They eat,
and they poop. Get busy defecating or get busy dying as the saying goes.��
This might be a bad thing if you have animals living in your house.�
But in the ocean, it seems that life might depend on the availability of feces.
------------------------------------ Sea cucumbers live in the ocean and are
usually found on the ocean floor. They are ancient and simple animals. A sea cucumber is mostly a
long tube of leathery skin with tentacles. Of course, they also have a hole that can be used
to eject waste. And they use it a lot. In environments with coral, sea cucumbers
are the ocean equivalent of earthworms. They travel around eating material from
the ocean floor. Their bodies break down organic matter then return some of it. �
Animals living in the environment are then able to use those nutrients to grow and reproduce.
A study published on February 2 took the time to find out just how much waste these
animals produce. The researchers focused on the southern end of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
First, they used drones to collect video footage around the edge of the lagoon.�
By counting the number of sea cucumbers that were caught on camera
they were able to estimate that around three million live in the area.
Then they tested sea cucumbers in the lab to see just how much they poop.�
A single animal will produce an average of 30.8 pounds of droppings per year.
Furthermore, sea cucumber waste doesn’t just feed the coral.�
It also reduces acidity in the water which in turn helps the coral grow.
Unfortunately, humans have hunted several species of sea cucumber to the brink of
extinction. They are used for food in some places. And a few cultures
insist sea cucumbers have medicinal properties. One thing is clear. If sea cucumbers quit filling
the oceans with poop then the coral will die. Do you feel as though your life is spiraling out
of control? Well, reality is harsh. And so is our history quiz! Today we are going to see how
well you know the history of cannibalism. In 1874 a group of travelers in the San Juan
mountains were killed and eaten. Who was the man that murdered them and consumed their flesh?
Was it Timothy Evans? How about Alferd Packer?
Or maybe it was Joseph McCarthy? Take a few moments to think about it.
The correct answer is Alferd Packer. He was a wilderness guide who took a party of five
men into the mountains. He murdered them and then survived by eating their remains.
If you want to learn more about this horrible event, then please watch our episode called
The Colorado Cannibal. ------------------------
Perhaps animals defecating in the ocean didn’t bother you. You don’t
live on a coral reef after all. But what if you were dying of cancer
and the only way to save yourself was to undergo a poop transplant? Would you let
a doctor insert a stranger’s droppings into your gut if it meant you could survive?
-------------------------- Cancer is a horrible disease. Despite
advances in medical technology, it can be just as deadly today as it was in the distant past.
Thankfully, recent discoveries have offered some hope. Some cancers can be treated with
immunotherapy. Immunotherapies are designed to teach the immune
system how to fight this deadly condition.�� Unfortunately, it still can’t offer a definitive
cure. A recent study of patients with advanced skin cancer showed that only 40 percent of them
responded favorably to immunotherapy. The other 60 percent didn’t receive any benefit.
Scientists wanted to know why some people responded to treatment while
others did not. They now think it is related to microorganisms in the gut.
To test this theory, they took stool samples from patients that responded well to immunotherapy.�
Then doctors transplanted their feces and microbes into the guts of
fifteen patients that did not respond to the treatment previously.
After the transplant six patients began responding to the therapy.�
For the next year either their disease lessened or did not progress. Unfortunately,
nine of the patients still didn’t improve. The research helped prove that gut microbes do
play a role in the immune response. More work is required to figure out how to
make this treatment work for everyone. ---------------------------------------
Do you own property? Is any of it near the ocean?��
Would you become really annoyed if you had to live underwater?
If so, then it might be a good idea to sell while you can.�
------------------------------------- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
or the IPCC, is a United Nations scientific body that keeps track of climate data.�
In 2019 they said that the oceans would rise globally at least two feet by the year 2100,
but not more than 3.6 feet. They reached this conclusion
by using computer generated climate models.� The data used to generate this model comes
from a variety of sources, such as data on greenhouse gas emissions.
A new study tried to project sea level rise with a model that only
used historical data. A paper explaining the results was published on February 2.
The paper claimed that when IPCC models were compared with its historical models,
the IPCC models usually predicted sea levels that were below what Earth experienced. The
conclusion is that the ocean might rise sooner than expected, and much more than anticipated.
The IPCC responded that it does take historical data into account
and their models are accurate. � At least one oceanographer stated
that most experts think the IPCC is too optimistic in most of its projections.
Both groups agree that sea levels will rise significantly in the next century. The only
disagreements are how fast and how much. ---------------------------------------
Avalanches, trash, poop, cancer and climate change. These are just a few of the
unpleasant things that plague humanity. � Can our species survive its ongoing battle
with Earth and its non-human inhabitants? Science and technology keep moving forward.�
But the horrible nature of reality confirms that we are in a race against the forces of nature.�
It is a conflict for which victory might be worse than defeat.
What should you do about it? Should you cower in fear and misery for the rest of your life?�
Or should you stand up and fight against the forces that would destroy humanity?
We think you should like this video and subscribe to our channel.�
It won’t fix everything wrong with the world. But it makes us happy at least.
Thank you for watching Bad Things in History.