>> This episode of The Modern Rogue
brought to you by your friends at NordVPN.
>> Go to nordvpn.com/rogue and get 77% off
your three year subscription.
>> And spell it right;
R-O-G-U-E.
Jason we failed, we failed very badly.
We did bad science and now we have to make up for it.
>> Do we?
>> Well...
>> Oh yeah, we nearly like blew up or something.
>> Yeah!
Okay, that was a real thing.
>> That was bad.
[gas hissing]
[fire whooshes]
[radio chirps]
>> Whoa!
>> Wait.
That was a moment.
[relaxed funk music]
>> Computer: Accelerated decomposition with lye.
>> Right at the outset, let's make it very, very clear.
We are not advocating any kind of criminal anything.
>> JASON: Nope!
>> What we are doing is we are testing
a pop culture myth, right?
>> Yeah, yeah!
>> A legend.
We're the legend testers.
>> Legend testers.
>> That's our new, let's take our promo shot.
>> That's good.
[epic music]
[laughs]
>> Nothing untoward is going--
>> [laughs]
>> Can we dissolve flesh? >> Flesh!
>> Thanks to "Breaking Bad",
it's pretty much a pop culture trope,
the idea of liquefying a carcass.
>> Now, usually in movies they use acid.
Acid is highly regulated because it can be used
in the production of bombs.
We don't want to do that, because it's also very dangerous.
We're going to use lye.
>> So lye, AKA caustic soda,
or sodium hydroxide. >> Sodium!
>> Yes.
>> Here we go.
>> Often used in the production of soaps!
>> Oh, that's right!
As a matter of fact, that moment from "Fight Club",
the chemical burn moment, he put lye on his hand, right?
>> That's right, a King of Random used some lye
to make some King of Random soap.
>> Also, I can imagine The Modern Rogue having a bit of land,
and you got a deer, or a wild boar that dies,
you probably want to burn the carcass
but if there's a burn ban or something,
you got to get rid of the body some way,
this is a way to essentially liquefy everything.
>> Yeah!
Maybe there's a chud on your land, or a --
>> A series of zombies!
>> Chupacabra!
>> There's so many legitimate uses!
>> You've got to get rid of zombie corpses right away,
super contagious.
>> Well, I got ribs.
>> Expired wildebeest.
>> [laughs] Expired wildebeest.
They didn't say wildebeest?
I think they meant it, though?
The butcher had a look of somebody who had wildebeest,
but this has flesh and bones.
>> Whoa, yeah.
This is pork butt, also expired.
Doesn't have to be expired
but we didn't want to waste good food.
>> And is there bones in pork butt?
Not sure... >> This is all flesh.
>> Both: Whoa!
>> That's a thing that just happened.
All right.
[meat clangs in pot]
>> We're just going full CSI on this.
>> [laughs]
Oh my god!
>> This is already the best episode ever!
>> [laughs] All right here, give me the knife.
So, we've got the remains in here,
well, we need water, right?
>> Yeah, let's fill that with water.
>> Here, I'm going to turn on the water.
>> All right.
>> BRIAN: Ready?
>> JASON: Ready.
[water spurts]
>> Oh wow, now that we've washed this
you do really see the different layers.
There's skin up top, and then the flesh underneath.
So we've got skin, we got bone, and we got meat.
>> JASON: We got bone?
Oh yeah, there is bone in here, OK.
>> BRIAN: Yeah.
Hey, let's light the fire. >> Let's light it up!
That way we can start heating it.
>> Here, let me do that. >> Oh yeah, here.
>> You could fill,
here you go. >> Yeah.
[water running]
[gas hissing] [flame spurts]
>> There it is.
[relaxed funk music]
[water running] [flame hissing]
So, the idea is,
this is eventually going to come to a boil, right?
>> Yeah, now you could use a pressurized cooker,
and get it up to about three hundred degrees,
and it'll go a lot faster.
Since we can't pressurize it, it won't get much above like,
what, two hundred and twelve degrees?
>> OK.
>> And it'll take a few more hours.
>> So, we're going to add the lye,
and then it's going to cook for a bit,
what's it going to look like when it's done?
>> Allegedly, it will dissolve pretty much everything,
except for little pieces of the bone called bone shadows,
which we can just crush and throw away.
>> OK.
So, where did you get the lye?
>> I got it at a feed and farming supply store, here in town.
They asked for
my license, so... >> Oh wow!
>> So apparently it's a bit restricted.
>> They did take note,
it was like I was buying
pseudoephedrine or whatever
at the pharmacy. >> Yeah, sure.
>> I've heard that if an animal dies on your land,
we're going to actually liquefy it,
but if you just want the body to go away,
people will take lye and just toss it
all over the animal, yeah. >> Oh, really?
>> One thing that we should mention.
This is a stainless steel pot.
>> Oh, hey!
Let's talk about our failed experiment last week!
>> Yeah.
>> It was almost a really good episode.
>> It was almost the Hindenburg.
>> So, we grabbed a pot,
not really thinking about what it was made out of,
turns out lye reacts with aluminum.
>> And produces hydrogen, which is super flammable.
[hissing]
>> BRIAN: That seems scary.
>> Yeah, this is now dangerous.
>> BRIAN: Super dangerous.
>> JASON: Yes.
>> BRIAN: Holy... [radio chirps]
>> JASON: Utmost precaution.
>> BRIAN: Yeah, all of a sudden
this doesn't feel like overkill at all.
>> JASON: Yeah.
>> BRIAN: Jeez, Louise!
I'm suddenly a little bit scared of, like, splashing
and all that stuff.
>> JASON: Oh, yeah.
>> I don't even know if
that foam is coming up because of the heat.
All right, and...
[flame spurts] [sizzles]
Oh, see, that's the scary part.
>> JASON: Yeah, let's not do it on this.
[lye bubbles]
[pops]
What do you think the pot's made out of?
>> BRIAN: Metal?
>> JASON: Yeah.
>> BRIAN: Aluminum, why?
>> JASON: Lye reacts with aluminum.
>> BRIAN: Oh. [Radio chirps]
>> JASON: Hydrogen.
>> BRIAN: Oh. [Radio chirps]
So, that means it's eating through that?
[Jason mutters]
>> BRIAN: Oh. [Radio Chirps]
OK, great, so...
>> JASON: So, we're done. >> BRIAN: Yeah.
>> Well that was a tasty surprise.
>> Yeah, that could've been --
>> So, stainless steel, or you could
use a ceramic pot, >> Or glass.
that's what they do, or glass,
which is what they do in soap-making, right?
>> Correct.
>> How bad is lye?
I mean, I assume it's pretty bad.
>> We're being really careful, but if you get water on it,
it makes it worse, like that scene in "Fight Club".
>> Yeah.
>> You want to put vinegar on it, to neutralize it.
>> I got seventeen bottles of vinegar.
That's not even an exaggeration.
>> OK, that should be plenty. [Brian laughs]
Lye is a very powerful base, or an alkaline.
>> All right, I think this is full enough.
>> You think it's enough?
>> Yeah, you ready to add the lye?
>> I'm just afraid of some of it boiling off,
should we get a little bit more?
>> Well, we'll refill it, I mean...
>> OK.
Yeah, let's do it. >> Yeah.
[water gushes]
>> Together: Oh, well that,
>> That would've been nice.
>> Yeah, that's... >> OK, yeah.
>> It was a pleasant conversation, though.
[Jason laughs]
[relaxed synth music]
>> JASON: You shake it back and forth and it'll,
here you go.
>> BRIAN: So, last time, the moment we put this in,
we started seeing a reaction.
>> JASON: Yeah.
>> And we thought it was immediately eating the flesh,
but hopefully it won't do that giant,
billowing thing that we had before.
>> Yeah, and lye is what's in drain cleaner, in Drano,
so you know when you put the lye in the drain?
And then you add the water? >> And it starts eating
out the stuff in there?
>> And it foams up? >> Yeah.
>> That's the same thing we were seeing.
>> So there is a little bit of foam coming up.
>> But this isn't nearly as much foam as we had last time.
Not even remotely. >> Oh, no, no, no.
>> Now according to the legends, this is good.
Legend testers!
>> This will take, probably about five hours.
I'm expecting maybe a little bit less
because we don't have that much meat in there.
>> Well, given that we have
a lot of surface area on those ribs,
because everything's cut into pieces, right?
Whereas, if you had an entire, let's say pig's head,
you've got so much flesh on the inside,
and you only have so much
exposed surface area. >> Right.
>> So all of this, it feels like,
I mean, obviously the ribs will go first,
because that's the most surface area.
>> Yeah.
>> And then the butt will go next.
>> I think that's sound, yeah.
>> Do we want to stir this?
Let me get a stick.
>> JASON: Be honest, you just want to poke it.
>> Double double, toil and trouble,
pork butt liquefy!
Monetization, double!
>> [laughs]
>> Is that steam from the heat, or from the caustic soda?
>> Probably the heat, right?
What? Eh, all right.
Man, the difference between this is
night and day. >> Yeah!
I'm not terrified! >> Yeah.
I'm not terrified, and there's not currently giant flames.
>> Yeah.
>> We have weird jobs.
We have very weird jobs.
>> [laughs] Yeah.
Yes, we do.
>> Hey, boiling!
>> JASON: We have boil!
>> BRIAN: It's green.
Should it be green?
>> JASON: Probably not.
We should probably have eye protection, what with the
boiling caustic soda. >> Yeah.
[relaxed synth]
>> BRIAN: Oh god, that smell!
OK, all right.
[lid clangs] [Jason laughs]
It's starting to bubble up, it's doing the bubble up thing.
>> OK.
>> Oh, jeez!
>> Oh, what?
>> It's doing the thing!
Quick, here, >> Do we need to turn it down?
grab the fire extinguisher!
>> All right, all right, hang on.
>> Grab the fire extinguisher, ready?
[torch blows]
Oh, hey!
I don't think it's hydrogen!
>> [laughs triumphantly] So, we are going to have to watch this?
>> Yeah, it's not boiling over anymore.
It's at equilibrium.
I guess whatever breeze is blowing away that stuff,
it's not bubbling over.
>> All right.
>> Here, so we're about, what, fifteen, twenty minutes in?
Do you want to see if anything's happened already?
>> It's working.
>> Yeah?
>> It's definitely working.
>> You can see, it's getting like, what, white?
>> No, the rib bones are poking through now,
like almost all of them.
>> Isn't that what happens when you cook?
>> No, like the sides of the bones!
Not just the ends are poking out, but the sides,
where the flesh has been --
>> So, it's definitely dissolving.
>> I think so.
>> OK, all right, well we'll just keep going.
>> OK.
>> We'll just let it boil for a long time.
[hissing] [Jason laughs]
>> BRIAN: Did you catch a view of something?
>> JASON: Yeah, just watch for a second.
>> BRIAN: Oh god, the bones! >> JASON: Right?
>> JASON: Yeah.
>> BRIAN: Whoa!
[Jason laughs]
>> All right, so we're about at the two hour mark.
It looks like we lost a lot of water, and we now have
this fantastic, sludge, yeah. >> Slurry, yeah.
>> It looks real gross.
>> What do you feel when you poke around in there?
>> Not a lot of big chunks.
There's still definitely pieces floating in there,
but it's doing it's job. >> Here, hold on.
Be super careful. >> Will it dissolve plastic?
Oh, yeah, probably?
Right?
>> All right.
Look at that!
Is that bone?
>> In there?
Yeah!
>> Those are bones!
>> JASON: Yeah, the bones are breaking apart,
it's working.
>> Holy cow is that working!
>> JASON: Oh man, it's soft.
>> BRIAN: Really?
>> JASON: Look at it.
>> BRIAN: Oh my god!
>> JASON: That's bone.
>> This is...look at that.
Do I just let it keep going?
>> I think we give it like
thirty, forty-five more minutes, so --
>> So, at two hours, it's pretty much gone.
You could pulverize
everything left over. >> Yeah.
[gas hisses]
All right, we're at two-and-a-half hours,
I'm calling it.
>> We done?
>> Yeah!
So, already, that's all just
the liquid slurry. >> Yeah.
>> We had nine pounds of flesh, skin, and bones in here.
>> Yeah, dude, and only sixteen ounces of lye.
>> Why don't you set that down?
>> Are you sure?
Are you worried
about splashing? >> No, I'm not, I'm not.
Yeah.
Here, I'm going to hold this here.
>> JASON: OK.
>> BRIAN: Let's just pour out the sludge parts.
>> JASON: There we go.
>> BRIAN: Whoa!
[liquid sloshes]
>> JASON: That's real gross.
>> BRIAN: That's all pure liquid.
It's all gone!
We liquified flesh.
[soft piano music]
Oh man!
>> OK!
>> So, a hundred percent, >> Well --
>> A hundred percent of the flesh is gone,
and we only have bones, and what we do have...
I can't even pick it up.
>> Yeah, most of the bones are super brittle and powdery.
We do have this one.
>> Can you...whoa!
Oh my god!
>> So check this, it's very hot.
Yeah, it's not completely -- >> So, that definitely
would have been gone in another hour or two.
>> Yeah, it's not completely coming apart,
I can't break it, but the ends of it are
very brittle. >> But all of this stuff,
It's very hot.
>> Like, all of these bones, oh it is hot,
boiling things, they're hot.
>> Yeah, who would've thought, right?
>> We figured it out, science, we did it.
>> I thought we turned off the fire, it's not hot anymore.
>> [laughs]
>> BRIAN: All right, look at this piece of bone,
right here.
>> [laughs]
>> BRIAN: Right?
>> JASON: It's just mush!
>> BRIAN: Here, let me get another one.
So, bone fragment, just like that, it's gone.
>> I think they call those bone shadows.
Like, just little calcium deposits
that can be crushed into powder.
[soft synth music]
>> BRIAN: Oh!
>> JASON: [laughs]
>> BRIAN: Oh, that's wild.
>> This is really one of our only hold-outs here.
>> And it definitely would have gone
by the time we were finished.
>> JASON: If we had left it another hour or so,
this would've been gone, too.
>> Let's pour the nasty stuff back in.
>> You got it?
>> I'm scared of splashies, but...
>> It's OK, go for it.
[liquid splashes]
Everything all right?
>> Yep.
Just those bone shadows.
So, let's talk about disposal of lye,
because that's some nasty stuff.
>> Technically, lye is what's in drain cleaner,
so this is safe to pour it down the drain,
unless, you have a septic system.
>> Right, because it's going to mess up the bacteria system,
whatever their ecosystem underground is,
so in this case, what we'll do is,
we'll use the vinegar to neutralize all this.
>> Yeah, just to be safe.
>> BRIAN: Vinegar smells grosser.
[vinegar sloshes]
>> JASON: Eugh!
>> [laughs]
>> It really does! >> Something about that combo.
>> JASON: Yeah, keep it going.
Take just a little swig.
>> Oh god, you know me, oh god! >> I know! [laughs]
>> No.
[vinegar sloshes]
[coughs]
>> [laughs]
Is it getting to you? >> It's the worst smell!
This is the worst part?
It is pretty bad.
>> Oh!
Now that we tested this legend, it's...
>> Tested.
>> [laughs] We can't use that word!
>> Oh we can't do that, either. >> Goddammit, god.
>> It's accurate.
>> Accurate!
>> Accuracy provers!
>> Accuracy...no.
>> They really made it hard on us.
>> We got to workshop that. >> Yeah.
>> And by the way, if you guys want to help us workshop it,
head on over to patreon.com/modernrogue,
we are hanging out and we are sending out
all of these lenses,
these evaporating videos, of behind the scenes stuff,
and in fact, the patrons got to hear
all about the unexpected fires last week,
so why don't you be cool like those folks?
>> Patron only videos and pictures as well as
hanging out with us
in the discord chat. >> Oh yeah!
>> Or get your name in the video.
Also, exclusive t-shirts,
there's a lot of benefits! >> There's a lot of stuff.
I'm all of a sudden really excited.
>> And it's getting better.
>> Yeah.
Love you, patrons.
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[flame hisses]
[soft synth music]
[quiet static] [wind whistles]
>> Can you see those bones?
>> Eugh!