>> This episode of the Modern Rogue
brought to you by Skillshare.
>> Go to skillshr--
dot co-- >> [stammering] Skillsh-
>> Skl.sh/modernrogue5, to get two months free.
>> Yeah!
>> What's the most primitive weapon
that you would be skilled at, do you think?
>> Uh...
like a 386.
[laughs]
Took you a second.
[laughter]
>> That is primitive.
>> That's so old, nobody got it.
>> Right? VIC-20.
[deep synthetic rumble]
[electrical pop] [gentle vinyl static]
[rising chime]
>> All right Murphy, what is a atlatl?
And is that really how it's said?
>> I don't know if that's exactly how you pronounce it.
It is an Aztec word.
It also is often called a spear thrower.
One of the most ancient weapons
dating back to the upper Paleolithic era,
about 30,000 years ago.
>> So the idea, is everybody had spears,
and they were chucking them, and poking them,
stabbing them, and twirling them, >> Yeah.
>> and using them to lead parades.
And then somebody said,
"the problem is you can't throw them very far."
So they just took the idea of a sling
and they just added--
what does it do?
Make equivalently to your arm be longer?
>> Well, it gives you a little bit of leverage.
Right? >> Okay.
>> So you can just fling it like that.
You're supposed to throw it like a rock or a baseball,
which I was never good at.
You see variations on it,
where you use like a sling,
or a little wooden piece or something like that,
just to give you a little bit more,
and uh--
>> So where did we get this one?
>> That one comes from Amazon.
We've got one long spear.
I haven't even tried it, clearly.
So this should be
the pinnacle of comedy
>> Sure.
>> Can we talk about the guy on the,
the cover, on the box?
[laughs loudly]
I was just thinking about this dude!
I didn't want to mock him,
but that dude has grit! >> He's serious!
>> BRIAN: He's got a deer.
>> JASON: Yeah.
>> BRIAN: And tribal tats.
>> JASON: And it's a deer skull,
just in case you were unsure of where he landed,
on the deer argument.
>> Hold on what does his hat say?
>> Toby Keith.
[laughs] >> No, I don't know.
Feel like I shouldn't have provoked him.
>> This looks like a ...
>> That's good, you got it.
That's exactly how you're supposed to do it. >> Good, I'm glad I got it figured out.
>> Okay, we're going to assemble this projectile.
>> Nope.
>> No?
[overlapping "no"s] >> Oh yeah, that's not--
>> You can tell the complicated instructions
show three pieces going together.
>> Yeah, the pointy end
actually does go at the end not in the middle.
>> Should we wear eye protection, [unsure] is that a thing?
>> Probably. >> For throwing a spear?
>> Charlie McBadass on the box there
doesn't have eye protection.
[through laughter] >> Charlie McBadass!
Do you just want to try throwing the spear first,
and see how it was before the atlatl?
>> Yeah.
>> Nope.
[light laughter]
>> That's not how it works?
>> This is carbon fiber,
which I assume the Aztecs didn't have.
Okay, so I guess I'll just see how far I can throw it.
At first I'm going to do kind of a light--like a dart. >> Just a dart.
Try it, yeah try that.
>> All right, here we go.
♪ [whimsical beat]
>> JASON: Okay. >> BRIAN: 41 feet.
You want to try?
>> Yeah, let's give it a shot.
I love just ...
"Hey I found this weapon on the internet.
You want to make an episode?"
>> Oh, so you're doing the [stammers]
fisted grip? >> I'm going to--yeah. Okay.
♪ ♪
Wow! That was much better.
>> Cool! >> All right, here we go, hold on.
>> I think I pulled something,
something definitely right here that's gone awry.
>> 62 feet.
I want to try the fist ...
>> Try the fist.
♪ ♪
Yeah!
>> Wow, yeah.
>> That's good.
♪ ♪
>> 68 feet.
[skeptically] >> Ah ... hm,
that can't be right.
[laughs]
>> You want to try one more?
>> Sure.
>> BRIAN: For the world championship!
Wow.
I think we might be in trouble.
>> That was a pretty good arc.
>> Holy cow, new champion.
76.
[victorious grunt]
>> Take that ... buffalo!
Or whatever else I'm hunting. >> I--sorry?
So if this thing does atlatl-ize it,
seem like it will go a lot farther.
>> What's the worst that could happen?
>> I assume this goes in here like a hook.
>> Yep, here, there is--
>> The velcro goes on the velcro.
>> You've got to see the diagram though.
He's got a mullet!
>> Oh my god!
>> And like a ...
>> It's Danny McBride.
>> JASON: [surprised] It is Danny McBride!
>> BRIAN: It's Danny McBride, pitching.
>> JASON: And look at that badass tribal tattoo he's got.
>> BRIAN: Oh, this is amazing!
You do realize we cannot mock that which we are.
Like, we are guys who bought an atlatl to play with it.
>> JASON: That's absolutely true.
>> So you can see, there's your form, right?
>> Okay, I'm just going to mildly throw it
because I don't want to ruin anything.
>> Okay.
>> ♪ We'll put a boot in your [chirp]. ♪
I don't even know if that went farther than yours.
>> I don't think it did.
>> First attempt,
oh my god!
78!
>> Really? >> Let's see if you can take it.
>> All right.
>> If you aim it off that way ...
>> Oh and you've got the little velcro on here. >> Yeah.
>> Okay.
Am I doing that right? Am I holding it right?
>> BRIAN: Yep. I mean look, let's see.
Tribal tattoo, check.
He's wearing cargo pants, too.
>> Here we go. >> So he's like this.
[imitating the whoosh of the throw] >> Okay.
♪ ♪
>> BRIAN: Whoa!
Okay.
[triumphant laugh from Jason]
[derisive laugh]
>> BRIAN: All right, that pretty amazing. >> JASON: That was pretty rad!
>> BRIAN: How far do you think that is?
>> JASON: Oh man, that got to be ...
94?
>> BRIAN: 94?
>> JASON: 94. We'll play Price is Right with it.
♪ ♪
>> 138!
>> Wow! I was way off. [laughter]
>> And it landed
just two inches before the concrete.
>> JASON: Oh wow.
>> So I feel like we should inspect it
for breakage.
>> Okay, yeah. >> Because you shouldn't fire broken arrows.
Okay this seems good.
This time I'm going to really let it fly.
>> Go for it, go for it.
♪ [optimistic chillhop beat swells]
[the arrow punches out of the atlatl and reverberates]
♪ [the chillhop beat affirms your decision to watch Modern Rogue today, it just fills you with that warmth of spending this lazy evening with your chosen family]
♪ [music concludes to a quiet outro]
164 feet.
>> Holy cow!
>> JASON: That's more than double our handheld distance.
>> Yeah and I got to tell you, it's so far over there,
I can't even conceive of me being able
to throw it that far.
Like I can't even imagine that happening.
>> No the leverage is definitely effective.
Way to go primitive technology.
I'm going to give it one more.
>> Okay.
>> We're going to see if we can hit
one of the party goers across the street.
[laughs]
>> All of a sudden you bionic man it.
[imitating the only noise people remember from The Six Million Dollar Man]
>> JASON: Oh, height instead.
>> BRIAN: Aw, that's shorter for sure.
>> JASON: That is shorter.
>> Dude, not bad!
>> 140.
>> Nice!
>> Yeah, it probably has to do a little bit with
how you bend your arm, when you release,
what your starting angle is.
>> Sure, sure.
>> You want to go this one? >> You want to try it again?
>> Okay.
>> And then this time maybe even get
a couple of steps like down here, and then
[imitated throwing noise]
>> Okay.
I'm going to start way down here
and see if I can't get as high and get more straight.
>> BRIAN: Wow!
>> JASON: Ah! >> BRIAN: Oh you got nailed by the tree.
>> JASON: Yeah, I got in the tree again.
>> BRIAN: You landed in the campfire.
>> JASON: Perfect.
>> 140,
145.
>> All right. >> Are we calling this the last one?
>> Last one. Yeah,
easily twice the distance.
>> Yeah, and--
>> Basic physics are remarkable!
>> So picture this, a whole bunch of us,
we all have these, and there is a herd
of wildebeests or whatever out there.
We're not going to be able to run to it in time.
We can't throw to it in time.
But if we all threw these,
a couple of them are going to get dinged twice
and now they're injured prey for us to capture.
We are going to have to ask Patreon
to deliver some wildebeest money to us.
>> Yeah, that's how we know we have made it.
>> JASON: Oh!
[pitched down and slowed sounds]
[pitched down and slowed sounds] [feet stepping on grass]
[pitched down and slowed sounds]
[pitched down and slowed sounds] [arrow snapping as it flexes back and forth]
♪ [jazz music] [airy piano riffs, and gentle upbeat percussion]
♪ [that kind of vibe that lets you know that shenanigans are abound]
>> JASON: Oh no!
>> BRIAN: I hit two trees!
>> You still might have the farthest distance there.
>> All right.
>> Here, you want to walk it together?
>> Yep.
>> Man, if you had not hit those trees.
>> Oh, it would have gone easily another
20, 25, 30 feet. >> Yeah, because you had such a good angle.
>> Yeah.
Oh, not even close.
>> Oh, okay.
>> BRIAN: Yeah, we're at 150, 153.
[groans disappointedly]
>> Still. Yeah, had you not hit those trees,
that was a really good angle, good distance.
I would say that if we had an appropriate area here.
>> It would have gone another 20 or 30 for sure.
>> We could probably hit 200 easy.
>> And we are not good, we are not talented. >> Oh yeah, no.
Our form is all wrong I'm sure.
>> Well and we're also--already
you can tell we're getting tired.
>> Exactly.
>> But man, the claim that this thing can shoot
two to three times as far as a hurled spear?
>> Totally true. >> 100% legit.
And you can tell it is more accurate
because it just flings all straight forward.
>> I think we need to get a couple of these,
go out to the dry pond and get some targets,
like some mannequins.
>> Oh, yes!
>> What if we could find like, mannequins of like
Woolly mammoth. Woolly mammothquins.
>> We could get two people wearing
suits of armor and have them dress up like a pony,
like Mr. Snuffleupagus, and he just kind of goes around there.
>> I love it, yes.
>> All right, done.
All right, let's play a game.
I'm going to pick a class at random
and you're going to try to, with a straight face,
act like you know who the better
expert than the folks at Skillshare are.
You ready?
Photo editing, cinematic styles and Adobe Camera Raw.
>> Oh yeah, John McKenzie.
He actually has some videos up. [oppressive buzzer]
He worked with [struggling to find the name] Terrence Malick on Tree of Life.
Yeah, no, he's got some great videos.
>> Creative nonfiction, write truths with style.
>> Oh, Michael Kamen.
[oppressive buzzer] He is a New York Times best seller,
writes military fiction with kind of an urban fantasy twist.
Really, really compelling.
[confused] >> What is happening?
Illustrating with ink, techniques for brush and pen.
>> Oh, yeah!
She actually studied under an artist [oppressive buzzer]
in Marrakesh, in Morocco.
Belinda Macfjöd, I think it is or something like that.
I'm mispronouncing it but
yeah, really good. >> Trap music production, drums, basslines and melodies?
>> That's me.
[outrageous laughter]
>> That's me right there.
You know I'm into trap music man.
>> I know that almost certainly you are full of bull [chirp]
and I know that the real experts
are all part of the Skillshare community.
And if you want to cut through all the B.S.
If you want people at the top of their games,
go to skl.sh/modernrogue5.
Get two free months and I'll tell you what man.
A modern rogue is somebody who is
constantly improving themselves. >> Yes.
>> So I say we do a special giveaway.
We take a prop from one of the Modern Rogue episodes
and we'll do a raffle.
Email us at modernrogueshow@gmail.com
with a screenshot of your sign up
using our code and we will enter you into a raffle.
And then somebody can have an actual
piece of Modern Rogue history.
How do you like that?
>> Oh, that's a brilliant idea.
Hopefully it'll be something that won't hurt anyone.
>> Were any of those real names?
>> Uh, no.
Not that I'm aware of.
I hope not!
[laughing]
But my new album drops next month.
Its actually, I'm really kind of redefining Trap music so--
-- CC BY REV -- ** MODIFIED BY BIZARRE MAGIC **
[notably quieter] >> What does that mean?
>> Uh, that means that there are a lot of "experts"
on the internet, not the Modern Rogue
because we know we're not experts.
But they are just taking their own poop
and filling it full in the bath tub.
Just shovel it in there and just say "here!"
>> I think what you're trying to say-- >> Look out!
Look out!