110 - Alcohol: A Totally Scientific Experiment

Here we are, season finale! This has been crazy. 
First, let's talk about the episode. This episode was in the works since the show's conception. It was to be a fun episode where we get hammered and knock down every booze myth we come across, but, well, it was much more sobering than expected. If you watch the video, you can likely see my mood change from surprised to worried after I see myself blow a lower BAC than without charcoal in my mouth. It floored me, but then all the sense started falling into place. Think Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind, except dumb and less schizo.

My line of work involves removing impurities via activated carbon, including gases. My only hiccup in confirmation that there were no direct studies I could cite involving specifically exhaled breath and ethanol. But if carbon can adsorb gaseous or aerosol alcohols, breath isn't a stretch.

Now, we said this in the episode already, but trying to pull a fast one with activated charcoal is still a bad idea. Judging by muly repeat test, you could only get away with having a 0.09 or 0.08 BAC before the charcoal is negated. Not to mention, as you may have seen, the charcoal leaves you looking like you just gave the smog monster the night of it's life. Cops will suspect something and take you in anyway. Plus, it tastes fucking terrible. Trust me.

That being said, we're totally doing more video for future episodes. It was fun as hell. This season has been fun as hell. When I first thought about putting my less than radio-worthy voice on air, I never dreamed I would have such great partners to share the experience with. Greg and Josh are powerhouses, and this wouldn't work nearly as well without them. And the reception! Oh man, the reception! It's surreal that now hundreds of people have heard me talk about pissing my pants. What a life! Thank you to everyone that has tuned in. We have plenty more in store for you. I'd love to tell you immediately, but I'd be slapped by two people in particular. For now, keep a look out for some supplemental episodes, or check our our extremely friendly podcast family at darkmyths.org. So much greatness there.

All of you are amazing, see you soon.

-Ryan

108 - Body: Cracking Knuckles and Power Licking

The body. Another general topic we plan on revisiting because there are so many pervasive and offbeat myths about what we can and can't do with (or to) our bodies. Cracking knuckles was an obvious pick for this week – people constantly refer to it, and even more interestingly, most of these people often say something to the effect of, “I think cracking your knuckles is bad for them,” or, “I'm pretty sure that's not true.” They often follow up with some answer to what is happening when you crack your knuckles, but even then they are still going off vague memories or something they thought they heard.

People seem to get that there is this myth/debate, but we still (yes me included) do not bother looking it up and then doing what we all do best: making commentary on something we don't really get. In my opinion, this is the space where rumors/myths are born and most definitely propagated. Baldness, shaving, etc. also follow this concept. People have a notion that it may or may not be true, but still make claims or at least vague ones. It's really interesting to me.

Last little thing I want to touch on: The Blue Angel. This was one of those that at first I thought, “Really? I know we can be silly and/or obnoxious, but are we REALLY going to cover this?” But ultimately, I still laugh at fart jokes, so I caved. Fact of the matter is a lot of people know this myth and few have been idiotic enough to test it, so we felt it was time to set the record straight and let you watch other idiots try it so we all (your favorite Rumor Flies Guys and our lovely listeners) don't have to.

Anyway, hope this was some fun food for thought. Have a great week and thanks as always for listening!

-Greg