Mindless Thanatoast

[00:00:10] I'm really excited to talk today.

[00:00:14] Wow, you've been quiet all week and now you're excited to talk, huh?

[00:00:18] I mean, I'm excited to talk about some of the topics that I brought for our podcast.

[00:00:26] You are way far away.

[00:00:28] I'm way far away?

[00:00:30] Yes, you. But I like the echo. That was cool.

[00:00:33] Well, hey.

[00:00:39] Why was that?

[00:00:40] Do you see how like even during that you stayed the same volume but you kept moving forward and backward?

[00:00:47] So the audio levels just go like this.

[00:00:49] I am so bad at staying still. I just can't do it.

[00:00:52] That's going to be a real problem coming up in the future where the microphone has to be within like three inches of your face.

[00:00:58] Yeah, but like I will have my own space and I won't have to.

[00:01:02] That's not change how the microphone works.

[00:01:04] You know what? I'll figure it out.

[00:01:05] You will when the first episode has none of your audio. It's going to be great.

[00:01:11] Speaking of, this is Mindless Prattle.

[00:01:13] The show where we don't forget to do the intro.

[00:01:16] Ever.

[00:01:17] There's no we in that statement.

[00:01:19] Why don't you ever do the intro?

[00:01:21] Huh?

[00:01:21] Because then it would be done properly on time every time and someone needs to learn you.

[00:01:27] To learn me?

[00:01:28] Mm-hmm.

[00:01:28] Okay.

[00:01:29] I'll learn you a thing or two.

[00:01:31] Anyways, it's Mindless Prattle.

[00:01:33] I'm Ripley.

[00:01:33] There's no need to yell at me about it.

[00:01:35] I'm Ripley.

[00:01:36] That's Jordan.

[00:01:37] We're here to talk to you about stuff and things.

[00:01:40] What?

[00:01:41] Why are you looking at me like that?

[00:01:42] I was waiting for you to continue.

[00:01:43] Remember, you said that you are excited and then you left a long, empty pause.

[00:01:47] So I'm really excited.

[00:01:50] So the Sims is releasing a new game pack called The Sims Life and Death.

[00:01:56] And I haven't bought the last few packs because I'm like, you know what?

[00:01:59] EA's got enough of my money.

[00:02:00] It's not really adding anything gameplay-wise.

[00:02:03] This pack, I'm so fucking excited for.

[00:02:06] It's ridiculous.

[00:02:07] So you can play as the Grim Reaper.

[00:02:11] Or if your Sim dies, you can follow them to the afterlife as a ghost.

[00:02:15] And before, if your Sim was a ghost, they could just do things in the Sim world.

[00:02:19] But now there's a whole gameplay around the afterlife and going there.

[00:02:24] You can also get a pet crow.

[00:02:26] What is going to the afterlife, though?

[00:02:28] Like, do you go to a different town?

[00:02:31] Yeah, it's like a new world.

[00:02:35] Wow, just kick the microphone.

[00:02:38] It's a new world.

[00:02:40] So, like, obviously it hasn't come out yet.

[00:02:43] So I don't know exactly.

[00:02:44] But from the video of gameplay, it's like a completely different section of the game.

[00:02:50] So, like, it's special ghost stuff.

[00:02:51] Like, the video showed...

[00:02:53] Special ghost stuff.

[00:02:54] The video showed your ghost Sim, like, at a support group for the afterlife.

[00:03:00] Like, adjusting to the afterlife and stuff.

[00:03:02] So I think that'll be really cool.

[00:03:04] Because it's been a while since they've introduced, like, a big mechanic in the game like that.

[00:03:08] Yeah.

[00:03:08] But you can also get a pet crow, which I think is cool.

[00:03:11] I'd have a pet crow.

[00:03:13] You can get one in real life.

[00:03:14] Apparently they're not that hard to get.

[00:03:15] You just need to...

[00:03:16] Like, the hardest part, I would feel like, would be finding one.

[00:03:19] Then after that, you just give it gifts.

[00:03:20] And then soon it'll start giving you gifts.

[00:03:22] I love crows.

[00:03:23] They're really cool.

[00:03:24] And they talk to you.

[00:03:25] Like, Jordan makes fun of me.

[00:03:28] But there was a crow out to my job a few weeks ago.

[00:03:31] And I gave it some water.

[00:03:32] And then it kept, like, cawing at me.

[00:03:34] And I just talked back to it.

[00:03:36] And it would caw at me.

[00:03:37] But, like, I'm pretty sure he understood what I was saying.

[00:03:39] It was pretty cool to watch him respond to me.

[00:03:42] I was like, wow.

[00:03:43] Birds are really smart.

[00:03:44] Like, people don't think about it.

[00:03:46] But birds are really smart.

[00:03:48] I think ravens would be cooler.

[00:03:50] Quoth the raven never more.

[00:03:53] Ravens are just bigger crows.

[00:03:55] Are they really?

[00:03:56] I don't know the difference between a crow and a raven.

[00:03:59] I can't lie.

[00:04:00] Are we going to have to look it up?

[00:04:01] Yeah.

[00:04:01] I'll look it up for you.

[00:04:03] Raven versus crow.

[00:04:05] I would like a picture, please.

[00:04:07] I'm one of those people.

[00:04:09] Yeah.

[00:04:10] Ravens are just kind of bigger crows.

[00:04:13] I don't want a bigger one.

[00:04:15] Ravens travel in pairs.

[00:04:16] Is it true?

[00:04:17] True.

[00:04:19] Yeah.

[00:04:20] As opposed to crows who travel into groups.

[00:04:23] Opposed to crows.

[00:04:24] Opposed to crows.

[00:04:26] But also, like, they're bigger.

[00:04:27] They have a longer lifespan.

[00:04:29] Oh, that would be.

[00:04:30] Okay.

[00:04:31] I think a lot of people don't think about that when they get a bird.

[00:04:34] Some of them live, like, 30, 40 years.

[00:04:36] Yeah.

[00:04:37] So, like, if you aren't dedicated to taking care of a bird, don't get one.

[00:04:43] Mm-hmm.

[00:04:44] Their wingspans are different.

[00:04:45] Oh, my gosh.

[00:04:45] This is the worst.

[00:04:46] I don't want Pinterest.

[00:04:48] Get out of here.

[00:04:48] Yeah.

[00:04:49] Pinterest is the bane of the world.

[00:04:52] But anyways, you can have a pet crow.

[00:04:54] I think they're really cool.

[00:04:56] You can also do tarot readings.

[00:04:59] It's introducing the concept of tarot in the game.

[00:05:02] Or you can become a mortician and explore crypts or develop your thanatology skill.

[00:05:08] Which, do you know what thanatology is?

[00:05:09] Because I had to look it up.

[00:05:12] Mm-hmm.

[00:05:16] No.

[00:05:16] I was going to make a joke about the Avengers.

[00:05:20] Yeah.

[00:05:20] So, it actually makes the name Thanatos make a lot of sense.

[00:05:24] So, thanatology is the scientific study.

[00:05:28] Thanatos?

[00:05:28] Yeah.

[00:05:30] What?

[00:05:31] His name was Thanos.

[00:05:33] Oh.

[00:05:33] Well, you know, same origin.

[00:05:34] Thanatos.

[00:05:37] It's the scientific study of death and practices associated with death.

[00:05:42] But anyways, when you level up that skill, you'll get the ghost historian inspiration.

[00:05:46] So, like, do you think if his name was actually Thanatos, do you think they could have made the joke at the end after they beat him?

[00:05:53] Be like, ha, ha, ha, more like you're Thanatos.

[00:05:57] Thanatos.

[00:05:58] Okay.

[00:05:59] Here's why I was thinking that.

[00:06:00] Thanatos, an ancient Greek religion and mythology, is the personification of death.

[00:06:04] Thanatos was the son of Nyx, the goddess of night, and the brother of Hypnos, the god of sleep.

[00:06:10] So, that's where I got Thanatos from.

[00:06:12] I was like, I know I've heard that before.

[00:06:13] I was talking about the Avengers.

[00:06:15] Yeah.

[00:06:16] But, I mean, that makes sense.

[00:06:17] Thanatos.

[00:06:18] You're Thanatos.

[00:06:19] But, okay.

[00:06:21] So, the coolest part of the pack to me, though, is they're basically introducing the concept of reincarnation to the Sims.

[00:06:27] So, if your Sim dies and you choose not to go into the afterlife, you can use your Sim to create a new Sim and develop a broad family tree where you retain skills and things from the previous life.

[00:06:37] And it says you can become whatever you want in your Sim's next life.

[00:06:40] And I'm like, the Sims 4 dropped reincarnation.

[00:06:43] Which made me a little, made me feel a little weird because I was like, whoa, we invented this in a video game.

[00:06:48] I feel like this just gives me more proof that we're in a simulation.

[00:06:52] You know?

[00:06:53] What do you mean invent this in a video game?

[00:06:55] Whatever the fuck you want in a video game.

[00:06:57] Yeah.

[00:06:57] It's not a new concept.

[00:06:58] It's not a new thing for video games.

[00:07:00] I feel like reincarnation could be a real thing, though.

[00:07:03] Like, in real life.

[00:07:05] Okay.

[00:07:05] But to, like, memorize traits and things, that's just, like, evolution.

[00:07:09] Just combined evolution with reincarnation.

[00:07:11] I think it's cool because it'll give me more reason to actually play.

[00:07:14] Because I like to build a lot in design characters, but then I don't actually play.

[00:07:18] But I feel like it'd be cool if I had a really well-developed family tree and I could be like, oh, they got this trait from this person.

[00:07:24] And it just adds a new dynamic to the gameplay that I'm really excited for.

[00:07:27] And it will be completely bug-free and well-tested.

[00:07:30] No, that's why I'm not buying it yet.

[00:07:32] Because it comes out on the 31st of October.

[00:07:35] Which I think was a weird choice.

[00:07:37] Like, I feel like that would be a great, like, they could have released it a few days before Halloween or something, you know?

[00:07:43] So people could enjoy playing it for Halloween.

[00:07:45] But I don't like to buy packs that release because they are a buggy mess.

[00:07:50] And every time I've done that, I've been so disappointed.

[00:07:52] So you're saying since it's releasing on Halloween, you can't play it on Halloween?

[00:07:54] You have to wait until November?

[00:07:56] I don't know.

[00:07:57] I guess we'll see if I have a spare 40 bucks in a month or in a week.

[00:08:00] You don't.

[00:08:01] Well, if you want to buy me.

[00:08:03] Oh, no.

[00:08:06] I really want it.

[00:08:07] By the way, like, she introduced it to you as there's this new Sims pack coming out.

[00:08:11] It's so amazing.

[00:08:12] Blah, blah, blah.

[00:08:12] All these things, right?

[00:08:13] But the way she introduced it to me was she went, hey, you know how you should get me a Halloween present?

[00:08:20] No, I don't know that.

[00:08:22] Go on.

[00:08:22] You never made me a blue basket, but you could get me a video game.

[00:08:27] Hey, I celebrate Halloween all year long every time I scare you.

[00:08:32] Listen.

[00:08:33] But that was the thing.

[00:08:34] I have so many things to talk about, but that was the main thing where I was like, oh, my God, I want to talk about this.

[00:08:38] I'm very excited.

[00:08:39] Like, it's a good time for video games.

[00:08:42] Like, there's so much coming out right now.

[00:08:45] Video games have been on the rise for a while now.

[00:08:47] But yeah.

[00:08:48] I mean, like the past month, like there's been a lot of like updates or new games coming out or announcements of revivals of games.

[00:08:55] So I think a majority of what that is, is the gaming industry moved away from like the few key large studios into a ton of like independent studios that are just starting on their own.

[00:09:07] Especially after, after war.

[00:09:11] After, I'm all over the place today.

[00:09:13] After blizzard and what was the other one?

[00:09:16] After him?

[00:09:16] No.

[00:09:18] Would you shut the hell up?

[00:09:20] Literally talking.

[00:09:22] You son of a bitch.

[00:09:25] I just want to say for the record, he never says stuff like that to me.

[00:09:30] Just in case you're like, why is he such a dick to her?

[00:09:33] No, no, no, no, no.

[00:09:33] He doesn't talk like that.

[00:09:35] Stop.

[00:09:39] Okay.

[00:09:40] Okay.

[00:09:40] Sorry.

[00:09:40] Anyway, some other major gaming studio.

[00:09:43] Remember, they had a bunch of layoffs because of their culture and everything like they had.

[00:09:51] It was like, I don't remember, but like a bunch of the overtime just wasn't getting paid out.

[00:09:57] And like, it's a big problem with big studios because they over promise like AAA games like Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed or something.

[00:10:06] And then they have to delay it.

[00:10:07] And fans get really upset.

[00:10:09] They're like, yeah, you're putting so much presser on the developers and testers and everything that they're just leaving instead of staying on.

[00:10:15] But so that has led to a lot of people leaving, say, Blizzard.

[00:10:19] Blizzard dropped a lot of people that used to work on like World of Warcraft and like things like that for them.

[00:10:25] And now they're all starting like their own individual series and things or like studios and things.

[00:10:32] I also think a big problem with the big gaming studios like AAA studios is there's no room for creativity anymore.

[00:10:38] Like they don't want to take a chance on a new game that's creative and like has new mechanics.

[00:10:45] Like they just want to push out like like the new Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is coming out.

[00:10:48] Franchises make way more money than anything else.

[00:10:51] But it's just it's kind of ruining the games industry because and that's I think that's why we're seeing the rise of so many indie studios because like like things like Stardew Valley and these upstarting games are amazing.

[00:11:02] If you had like a fantastic game idea and you pitched it to some large company, they're not going to take it.

[00:11:07] They're not going to risk it.

[00:11:08] They're going to fucking put all their money into making Call of Duty or The Sims or whatever.

[00:11:12] Or they'll let you make one game and then close down your studio and never let you touch it again.

[00:11:17] Well, the only thing that's like different about it, I'd say is if you're part of like the Xbox like games family, that group of studios, those you can those studios have more independence, but not fully.

[00:11:33] So like with who which studio was it that made that vampire game, the one that was terrible?

[00:11:40] Oh, anyway, it was.

[00:11:43] And it was supposed to be really good.

[00:11:45] The trailers were great.

[00:11:46] Everything was fun about it.

[00:11:48] Was it Bethesda?

[00:11:48] No, Bethesda did not make that.

[00:11:50] Arcane.

[00:11:51] Yeah.

[00:11:51] Arcane Austin and published by Bethesda Software.

[00:11:54] So yeah.

[00:11:55] But Arcane, they made what was the name of the game?

[00:11:57] Redfall.

[00:11:57] Redfall.

[00:11:58] I think it was Red something.

[00:11:59] But they made Redfall under the Microsoft like corporate thing under the Xbox Game Studios.

[00:12:06] But because it was so bad, Xbox like Game Studios was like, yeah, we're not going to give you more funding for that game.

[00:12:12] So you might want to start working on something else.

[00:12:14] They didn't like shut them down.

[00:12:15] They were like, yeah.

[00:12:16] And then they moved a bunch of people around.

[00:12:17] They're like, nah, we didn't like that.

[00:12:18] I feel like that game had a lot of potential.

[00:12:20] They just released it too early.

[00:12:22] And like is a buggy mess.

[00:12:24] And it was buggy.

[00:12:25] It didn't perform well.

[00:12:26] The servers were not adequate for like the multiplayer.

[00:12:31] And then I don't know who tested it, but that game when it first came out was the easiest fucking game.

[00:12:37] It was ridiculous.

[00:12:38] Yeah.

[00:12:38] Even I didn't have issues.

[00:12:40] And I'm not the greatest.

[00:12:41] We played on nightmare mode day one and we're just breezing through every mission.

[00:12:45] Oh my gosh.

[00:12:46] And now they've made it where like normal mode is pretty difficult.

[00:12:49] And so you, if you're just trying to play for fun, you need to play on easy.

[00:12:53] I'm like, you overcorrected the wrong direction on that.

[00:12:56] Yeah.

[00:12:56] It needs a lot more balance.

[00:12:57] It needed balance.

[00:12:58] It needed work.

[00:12:59] Anyway, I'm getting off traffic on that, but.

[00:13:02] Tripping.

[00:13:04] Speaking of Bethesda.

[00:13:05] But that's why I'm like on, what is it?

[00:13:09] On Steam, there's a lot more like small game studios that only have one or two games that they've made.

[00:13:16] And they're only like 10, 15, 20 bucks.

[00:13:18] Yeah.

[00:13:18] I'm like, cool.

[00:13:19] I'll buy that.

[00:13:19] You know, it's being Bethesda.

[00:13:21] Did you see what they said about the next Elder Scrolls game?

[00:13:24] No.

[00:13:25] Basically, they said that their marketing team was literally sobbing because they're so scared about releasing the next game because they think they can't live up to fan expectations.

[00:13:35] And it's just like six.

[00:13:36] Oh, no.

[00:13:37] Like, well, also, they've been building this shit up for years saying they're working on new technology.

[00:13:41] And it's like Skyrim released in like what?

[00:13:43] 2011.

[00:13:44] 2011?

[00:13:45] That or I thought it was 2012.

[00:13:47] I don't know.

[00:13:48] Yeah.

[00:13:48] You know, it's been like over 10 years at this point.

[00:13:53] Yeah.

[00:13:54] 2011.

[00:13:54] You're right.

[00:13:55] Hey, I was close.

[00:13:56] November 2011.

[00:13:56] It was fine.

[00:13:58] But, you know, it just it's been so long and it was such a great game.

[00:14:04] I mean, the previous Elder Scrolls games, I'm told were a little bit more developed like quest wise and stuff.

[00:14:08] But people love Skyrim and they would pay so much money for another one.

[00:14:12] But Bethesda is just like, it won't be perfect and it'll piss people off.

[00:14:16] Well, just fucking do it.

[00:14:17] You could have released one in 2021.

[00:14:19] But like, hey, here's something to combat depression during COVID.

[00:14:23] Yeah.

[00:14:24] Play some Skyrim 2.

[00:14:26] Like it's.

[00:14:26] I would play Skyrim 2.

[00:14:28] Right.

[00:14:29] Like speaking of like loneliness and depression, you know, that the Japan has.

[00:14:38] A problem with loneliness.

[00:14:41] Oh, yeah.

[00:14:41] And people being alone.

[00:14:46] Apparently it got way worse during the pandemic when they had people like quarantine.

[00:14:50] And like, I think they said almost like 30 something percent of people are now were like single and living alone and were lonely.

[00:14:59] And apparently got so bad in Japan that they had to appoint a minister of loneliness.

[00:15:04] I feel like I did see that a while ago.

[00:15:06] Did you see that?

[00:15:07] Yeah.

[00:15:07] So they had to appoint a minister of loneliness who's basically.

[00:15:12] Well, they've had several now.

[00:15:14] But their basic job was to like create programs to get people to interact with each other and combat like mental illness.

[00:15:20] Stress and anxiety and depression.

[00:15:22] Okay.

[00:15:22] So there's a few different issues with Japan.

[00:15:25] I feel like Japan has become very romanticized in American culture because of like anime and stuff like that.

[00:15:31] But Japan is really xenophobic.

[00:15:34] They have a shrinking population.

[00:15:37] Most of our population is like older.

[00:15:39] Oh, yeah.

[00:15:40] So they have a shrinking population.

[00:15:41] There's not as many people to like date and marry.

[00:15:44] But they're also really xenophobic.

[00:15:46] So they don't let a lot of people emigrate there.

[00:15:48] They don't like outsiders.

[00:15:49] They don't like people who don't look Japanese or don't speak Japanese.

[00:15:54] They're very, you know, just insulated.

[00:15:57] And I think that's going to cause a lot of problems for their country down the road because they literally cannot maintain their population.

[00:16:03] So it makes sense that there's a loneliness epidemic.

[00:16:07] And it's just hopefully they figure out a solution.

[00:16:10] That's what their minister is for.

[00:16:12] Yes, I'm sure the minister of loneliness will work.

[00:16:14] The minister of loneliness.

[00:16:16] No.

[00:16:18] Okay.

[00:16:18] I also kind of had a little thing about like stress and loneliness, but I saw this study.

[00:16:23] I was thinking about mobile gaming because I was like, why are so many companies like pushing mobile games?

[00:16:28] Like you should.

[00:16:29] We talked about before.

[00:16:31] It's money.

[00:16:31] Well, but also I was like, what are the stats on that?

[00:16:34] Like how many people are actually mobile gamers?

[00:16:36] Like I know I like to play games on mobile, like my little fashion games and stuff like that.

[00:16:42] Life makeover.

[00:16:43] I really enjoy that.

[00:16:44] But 79% of all gamers play on their phones, but only 35% play exclusively on mobile.

[00:16:50] And I saw a stat that said stress is the biggest indicator of people who play mobile games.

[00:16:57] 65% of people play game like mobile games when they're stressed out, which was 20 points higher than the general population.

[00:17:04] I was like, that's such an interesting thing.

[00:17:05] Like instead of doom scrolling, people are like doom playing video games, you know?

[00:17:10] Yeah.

[00:17:11] Well, no, I remember we talked about it.

[00:17:12] It's why are so many people playing games?

[00:17:14] Because they're addictive.

[00:17:15] They're cheaper.

[00:17:16] A lot of them will start off free and then be like, oh, you want this power up?

[00:17:19] It's 99 cents.

[00:17:20] Oh, yeah.

[00:17:20] And then you pay for a power up.

[00:17:21] Gets me every time.

[00:17:22] You pay for another one the next day.

[00:17:23] And you're like, oh, it's only like a dollar a day.

[00:17:25] And you're like, yeah, you're spending $30 a month on it.

[00:17:27] That's close to the price of just paying for like Netflix and watching it.

[00:17:33] But also, you can't function very well in this society nowadays without a phone.

[00:17:38] You can function without an Xbox or a computer or a PlayStation.

[00:17:42] So when you got the phone and you're like, well, this is my source of entertainment.

[00:17:45] And you put games on there like Candy Crush's annual revenue.

[00:17:51] It fucking dwarfs a lot of AAA game studios.

[00:17:56] I got to see what crazy.

[00:17:57] I really want to see what Life Makeover is making.

[00:18:00] Like if you don't know what Life Makeover is, it's a game.

[00:18:03] That's good.

[00:18:04] That's good.

[00:18:05] It's a game where you have like your own avatar that you can dress up and stuff.

[00:18:08] Like it's primarily about fashion.

[00:18:09] But then you can also build a house like in The Sims.

[00:18:13] You can have pets like it's crazy.

[00:18:17] You were saying Candy Crush revenue?

[00:18:20] Yeah.

[00:18:20] So the revenue of Candy Crush in the second quarter of 2024 was $260 million.

[00:18:27] I don't know how to do math, but this says that Life Makeover makes about $200k a month.

[00:18:33] Okay.

[00:18:34] So they make $600,000 a quarter.

[00:18:37] Damn, that's a Candy Crush is crushing it.

[00:18:40] Do you see how they dwarf everything?

[00:18:43] Like $260 million per quarter.

[00:18:49] Now to contrast that, say like the new Call of Duty is coming out, right?

[00:18:52] And it's $70.

[00:18:55] So if you have $260 million and you take that divided by 70, they'd have to sell 3.7 million copies of Call of Duty to get the same revenue.

[00:19:07] And that's not including like in-game purchases either.

[00:19:11] No, you would have to sell just the base game.

[00:19:13] You'd have to sell 3.7 million every quarter to keep up with Candy Crush.

[00:19:17] And this is below its all-time high.

[00:19:20] It's low for Candy Crush is $260 million in a quarter.

[00:19:24] I had to delete Candy Crush.

[00:19:24] It's too addicting.

[00:19:25] That's what I'm saying.

[00:19:26] I was like in the really high levels and I would get so pissed off.

[00:19:29] I'd be like, I just need to buy one power up to pass this level.

[00:19:32] I've been stuck on it for months, you know?

[00:19:34] And that's how they get you.

[00:19:35] I had to delete that one.

[00:19:36] It was dangerous.

[00:19:37] Full-time high was $267 million in three months of 2023.

[00:19:44] Its lowest was $109 million.

[00:19:47] That's still making $30 million a month for Candy Crush.

[00:19:52] That's crazy to me.

[00:19:54] People are just, here's a dollar.

[00:19:57] Here's a dollar here.

[00:19:58] Here's a dollar there.

[00:20:00] But yeah, that was just about like, I thought it would connect to the loneliness thing.

[00:20:03] But I have some, I don't know, mixed news as well.

[00:20:08] Do you remember the Stanford Prison Experiment?

[00:20:10] Yeah, I was there.

[00:20:12] Oh, I mean, I was, no, I didn't participate.

[00:20:15] For those of you who don't know, the Stanford Prison Experiment was a highly controversial

[00:20:18] experiment where they put a bunch of people in a prison, told half of them their guards,

[00:20:22] half of them their prisoners, and just left them the fuck alone to see what they would do.

[00:20:26] It was really horrible, terrible.

[00:20:28] There's a reason why we don't do experiments like that anymore.

[00:20:31] But the guy behind the Stanford Prison Experiment, Philip Zimbardo, died recently at 91 years old.

[00:20:41] Okay.

[00:20:41] And I was just like, ha, take that, Philip Zimbardo.

[00:20:44] Oh, okay, that was it?

[00:20:45] You were just glad he died?

[00:20:47] That's cool.

[00:20:49] There's not many times where I'm like, happy this person died.

[00:20:52] You're going to be like, yeah, no one came to the funeral.

[00:20:55] Or like, yeah, there was a protest outside when he died.

[00:20:57] Or like, yeah, he was trying to propose another experiment.

[00:21:00] No, you're just like, he died.

[00:21:01] End of story.

[00:21:02] The government was just approving some crazy shit back then because of like, the Red Scare

[00:21:07] and all these things going on with different wars over the years, that they would just throw

[00:21:11] money at whatever experiment trying to get a leg up on other countries.

[00:21:14] And it's like, oh yeah, no.

[00:21:16] Even his colleagues were like, this was a terrible idea.

[00:21:18] Why would you do that?

[00:21:19] Oh yeah, they proposed $200 million to build a super collider here in the US.

[00:21:27] And it was going to span from like Texas to...

[00:21:30] What's a super collider?

[00:21:30] We'll get there.

[00:21:31] It was going to span for like across several states, like 200 miles or something like that

[00:21:35] in diameter, right?

[00:21:37] Which would very much put a...

[00:21:41] It would make the one that's in Switzerland look a little bit smaller, right?

[00:21:47] It was bigger.

[00:21:48] And they approved the funding.

[00:21:50] They did all this, right?

[00:21:51] Well, then the Cold War came to an end.

[00:21:56] And everyone went, oh, we don't need science and technology to beat them anymore.

[00:22:00] We don't need that.

[00:22:02] So we're just not going to fund it anymore.

[00:22:03] And they stopped the funding.

[00:22:04] And then a few years later, they were like, well, what is...

[00:22:08] One of the quotes that was from the hearing about the budget was they asked them, why

[00:22:15] should we give you $200 million to build this?

[00:22:18] What will you discover?

[00:22:20] And I go, oh, well, we'll discover the Higgs boson, right?

[00:22:24] And then the committee asked, will the Higgs boson get us closer to understanding?

[00:22:30] It was like God or reality or some shit like that.

[00:22:33] Okay, that's a high goal.

[00:22:34] Right.

[00:22:35] And they were like, it'd be scientifically very important.

[00:22:38] And they're like, we can't just fight by it.

[00:22:40] And you're like, okay, whatever excuse you need.

[00:22:42] It was right as the Cold War ended.

[00:22:43] And they're like, sure.

[00:22:44] You know what?

[00:22:44] I just...

[00:22:45] We really need to start funding stuff like that again, because so many of our daily

[00:22:49] things that are amazing came from funding NASA and stuff.

[00:22:54] Weren't pens made like that?

[00:22:57] Pens?

[00:22:57] Ballpoint pens.

[00:22:59] And yeah, a lot of pens are made based off of NASA's designs.

[00:23:03] Runways are grooved because of NASA.

[00:23:06] Highways.

[00:23:06] Highways are grooved because of NASA.

[00:23:09] That's really cool.

[00:23:10] A lot of experimental things are because of that.

[00:23:13] We got MRIs because of...

[00:23:16] Really?

[00:23:17] Yeah.

[00:23:18] Scientists were trying to discover a new way to look at particles.

[00:23:21] And then they basically discovered that if you do the resonance with the magnets, then

[00:23:27] you can see certain types of things.

[00:23:29] And they applied it to science.

[00:23:31] And then it stopped getting funding by the government because they were like, oh, no,

[00:23:34] we can't use this to kill Russians.

[00:23:37] And then that's pretty much how all those...

[00:23:39] We need funding.

[00:23:40] They're like, here you go.

[00:23:41] Build things.

[00:23:42] And then they're like, here's what it does.

[00:23:43] And they're like, that's not going to help us beat the Russians by...

[00:23:45] What?

[00:23:45] It doesn't murder people?

[00:23:46] This is the worst.

[00:23:47] Yeah.

[00:23:48] That's basically what it was.

[00:23:49] That doesn't help us win the Cold War.

[00:23:52] See you later.

[00:23:53] Okay.

[00:23:55] I feel like I've talked a lot.

[00:23:57] But if you want to talk about things, you just let me know.

[00:24:00] But...

[00:24:00] Is that how conversations work?

[00:24:02] I saw this video on TikTok and I was like, I don't think Jordan would ever do that.

[00:24:05] But if I were to ask you, hey, would you make me a coffee?

[00:24:09] If I were to say, hey, would you make me a coffee?

[00:24:11] How...

[00:24:12] Like, what would you respond?

[00:24:13] I mean, I...

[00:24:14] How?

[00:24:15] Why?

[00:24:16] That's my first thought is you'd be like, okay, how?

[00:24:19] Hey, make me coffee.

[00:24:19] But okay.

[00:24:20] And then you'd be like, why is there grounds in the coffee?

[00:24:22] Be like, because that's what the coffee did.

[00:24:24] I don't know.

[00:24:25] I feel like so many men just, like, hate women.

[00:24:30] Like, even the ones they're married to, like, they hate the women in their lives.

[00:24:33] So, like, this woman, she was, like, just doing a fun thing.

[00:24:37] Like, oh, hey, baby, will you make me a coffee?

[00:24:39] I'm really tired.

[00:24:41] And he's just sitting there and he starts, like, just getting mad and be like, why would

[00:24:45] I make you a coffee?

[00:24:46] Why would I do that for you?

[00:24:47] You can make yourself a coffee.

[00:24:48] Like, just get all that shit in.

[00:24:50] And it's like...

[00:24:51] Now, that's not to say that I wouldn't make fun of you.

[00:24:53] Because I would.

[00:24:54] I'd be like, tired?

[00:24:55] You didn't even work today.

[00:24:56] But it'd be like, wow, the grinder was gone, you know?

[00:24:58] But you would be joking.

[00:25:00] This man just genuinely was like, I wouldn't do something for you.

[00:25:03] And it just, it makes me think a lot about, like I said, people just hate their partners.

[00:25:07] But also, like, have you ever heard the concept, like, of bids for attention?

[00:25:13] Yes.

[00:25:15] Yeah.

[00:25:15] So, for the audience that doesn't know.

[00:25:18] Like, in a relationship, the bids for attention are things like, if I were to say to Jordan,

[00:25:22] hey, look at that bird.

[00:25:24] Like, he should look at the bird and be like, oh yeah, that's a nice bird.

[00:25:27] But if I were to, like, be like, oh, look at the bird.

[00:25:29] And he'd be like, why would I look at a bird?

[00:25:31] Like, I'm not going to do that.

[00:25:32] He's denying my bid for attention.

[00:25:34] And those are things that, like, kill relationships, honestly.

[00:25:36] Like, if you were like, oh, hey, come look at this thing in my video game.

[00:25:39] And I was just like, no, fuck your game.

[00:25:41] Like, I don't give a shit.

[00:25:42] You'd be like, wow, you fucking hate me.

[00:25:44] Yeah, that's what happens every day when the cameras are off.

[00:25:46] That's not true.

[00:25:50] That's not true.

[00:25:53] You're the worst sometimes, you know?

[00:25:57] But, yeah, I just, I watched that video and it just kind of made me sad.

[00:26:01] Like, I see those all the time where they'll be sitting together.

[00:26:04] And it's like the one where, like, the woman, like, serves food aggressively.

[00:26:09] Oh, yeah.

[00:26:09] I don't like those ones.

[00:26:10] But there's ones that are joking where, like, guys, did you show me one where the woman cut out the middle of the sandwich?

[00:26:17] Yeah, yeah.

[00:26:18] And then gave it, like, the middle of the sandwich and he ate it and he's like, what the fuck?

[00:26:21] Yeah.

[00:26:23] I feel like, like, you have to react with humor with things like that.

[00:26:27] And I think I see a lot of these videos.

[00:26:29] And obviously there's that red flag guy who will, you know, make the videos like, this is a red flag.

[00:26:34] What the hell is that?

[00:26:35] What is what?

[00:26:36] That's a cat, man.

[00:26:38] Over here.

[00:26:39] Sorry.

[00:26:42] But I'll just see videos like that.

[00:26:43] And I was like, why are you with that person if you hate them?

[00:26:47] Like, it's such an overreaction.

[00:26:50] Or I saw one where I think I told you, but I didn't show you.

[00:26:53] I'll show you later.

[00:26:54] But it's these series where they were like, oh, pick up your husband and put him on the counter and see how he reacts.

[00:27:00] And like most of the guys are like, oh, you know.

[00:27:02] And there's this one guy who got so fucking angry.

[00:27:05] He starts, like, screaming at his wife and, like, shoving her, like, super aggressively.

[00:27:10] Yeah.

[00:27:11] I saw a meme video of it.

[00:27:13] There's this, I can't remember what her name is, but I think it's, like, Madison Humphrey or something on TikTok.

[00:27:18] And she and her, I don't know if he's her husband or boyfriend or what, but she and her partner, like, make videos, copying other videos, like a meme.

[00:27:26] Right, right.

[00:27:26] You know?

[00:27:27] And they did that one.

[00:27:28] And he couldn't even push her.

[00:27:29] Like, he was trying to copy the video, but he still, like, was like, no, I can't do it, you know?

[00:27:34] And I feel like that's how it should be with your partner.

[00:27:37] Yeah.

[00:27:37] Unless there's a fairy there and they're like, you got to hit her as hard as you can and I'll give you this money.

[00:27:42] And you'd be like, how much money?

[00:27:43] How much money would it take for you to punch me?

[00:27:46] Punch you where?

[00:27:47] In the face.

[00:27:47] In the face?

[00:27:48] Mm-hmm.

[00:27:48] What part of the face?

[00:27:49] Without killing me.

[00:27:50] What part of the face?

[00:27:53] Like, cheek.

[00:27:54] Oh, cheek?

[00:27:54] That's easy.

[00:27:57] How much money?

[00:27:58] How much money you got?

[00:27:59] No, like, how much would it take for you to agree to that?

[00:28:02] Oh, I don't know.

[00:28:03] How much do we need?

[00:28:05] All of it.

[00:28:06] All of the money?

[00:28:07] That's what you would...

[00:28:09] How much would it take for, like, if you heard the offer, you'd be like, you better take that offer and punch me.

[00:28:13] Like, what would that price point be?

[00:28:15] Five million starting.

[00:28:16] Five million to punch you?

[00:28:18] You wouldn't take a million dollars for me to punch you?

[00:28:20] No.

[00:28:20] Why?

[00:28:21] Because after taxes, a million dollars is like nothing.

[00:28:23] You mean like nothing?

[00:28:25] What is a million dollars after taxes?

[00:28:30] I don't know, probably like 900,000.

[00:28:31] I don't know how taxes work.

[00:28:32] Okay, even if it's 500,000, that's $500,000 more than you have now.

[00:28:37] What are you talking about?

[00:28:40] 500,000?

[00:28:41] You buy a house.

[00:28:45] What do you mean that's nothing?

[00:28:48] I might throw up.

[00:28:49] You might...

[00:28:50] What are you doing?

[00:28:51] What do you mean you might throw up?

[00:28:53] I had coffee on an empty stomach.

[00:28:55] Maybe that was the problem.

[00:28:56] It's coffee.

[00:28:57] It's not...

[00:29:01] Stop laughing at me.

[00:29:03] I'm concerned.

[00:29:04] I'm concerned.

[00:29:06] I'm concerned for our carpet.

[00:29:10] Don't be a cat.

[00:29:11] Throw up on the top.

[00:29:12] Okay, let me get you to the bathroom real quick.

[00:29:13] Yeah, you do that.

[00:29:14] I'll be...

[00:29:15] You can pause it or whatever.

[00:29:19] Why did you keep laughing?

[00:29:21] From the other day?

[00:29:23] Yes.

[00:29:24] I made a mistake, you poo.

[00:29:26] Oh, man.

[00:29:28] She made a mistake and pooed.

[00:29:29] That's...

[00:29:30] Oh, my God.

[00:29:30] That's not what I meant.

[00:29:31] What are you talking about?

[00:29:33] I drank too much the other day on accident.

[00:29:37] And I shouldn't have.

[00:29:41] That's why I don't drink.

[00:29:42] That was a good southern apology you got there.

[00:29:43] That's why I don't drink.

[00:29:46] Anyway.

[00:29:51] Have you...

[00:29:53] Stop laughing at me.

[00:29:55] I was looking up conspiracy theories.

[00:29:57] Conspiracy theories?

[00:29:58] Why you were gone.

[00:29:59] I love a good conspiracy.

[00:30:02] And one of them was...

[00:30:06] Is the ice plant theory.

[00:30:07] So, like...

[00:30:08] Oh, yeah.

[00:30:09] It's based off of...

[00:30:11] You've heard of it?

[00:30:11] No, you just...

[00:30:12] The other day, that's what you...

[00:30:14] You asked me to remind you of something, and I couldn't remember.

[00:30:17] Shut up.

[00:30:17] It's based off of...

[00:30:19] The flat earth.

[00:30:22] And it's...

[00:30:22] What?

[00:30:23] Yeah.

[00:30:24] It's based off of...

[00:30:25] Bait off of...

[00:30:25] You're great at talking today.

[00:30:27] Dude, I'm all over the place.

[00:30:29] It's based off the flat earth theory.

[00:30:30] So, like...

[00:30:31] We can put the pictures up, or more precisely, Ripley will.

[00:30:36] Probably.

[00:30:37] This picture, right?

[00:30:38] This is what flat earth...

[00:30:40] One of the flat earth theories is.

[00:30:41] Is the...

[00:30:42] All the continents in the middle, surrounded by the water.

[00:30:45] And on the outside of the flat earth is a ring of ice.

[00:30:50] Well, someone...

[00:30:51] It's literally a circle in the picture.

[00:30:52] Yeah.

[00:30:53] No, it's flat.

[00:30:53] It's two-dimensional.

[00:30:54] Okay.

[00:30:55] Anyway.

[00:30:56] Earth is flat.

[00:30:56] So, they took this, and they went...

[00:30:59] Someone else was like, oh, no, no, no, no.

[00:31:01] The earth is not flat.

[00:31:02] The earth is part of a giant ice planet.

[00:31:06] And this is just the part that's thought out.

[00:31:09] This is what the...

[00:31:11] This is what the planet really looks like.

[00:31:15] A giant ball of ice.

[00:31:17] And earth is just a tiny flat hole surrounded by a giant ice wall.

[00:31:23] And there's multiple other planets on the ice planet that they just don't want you to know about.

[00:31:29] You know what?

[00:31:30] What I always love about these conspiracies are always like, they.

[00:31:34] Who is they?

[00:31:35] They don't want you to know this.

[00:31:37] The government.

[00:31:37] Which government?

[00:31:39] Like...

[00:31:39] I like how it says possibly hollow.

[00:31:42] Like, we don't know what the earth's core is made of.

[00:31:45] Yes.

[00:31:46] Scientists are all lying to you for their own benefit.

[00:31:49] That's how that is.

[00:31:51] The great ice ball.

[00:31:52] The real shape of our planet is just a giant ball of ice that has other planets on it.

[00:31:59] That is just...

[00:32:01] My favorite part of, like, just the flat earth by itself is the flat earth society spent millions of dollars hiring, like, their own independent scientists and studies and devices that they tested.

[00:32:13] And all of the tests came out with the earth is not flat.

[00:32:19] And they went, well, clearly we messed up somewhere.

[00:32:21] And then just didn't do any more experiments.

[00:32:23] Like, just stopped.

[00:32:24] And, like, all of your experiments came out to say you're wrong.

[00:32:27] And you went, no, I don't believe this.

[00:32:30] As they say, denial is not just a river in Egypt.

[00:32:37] The one that gets me is, like, people who think we faked the moon landing.

[00:32:41] That's fun.

[00:32:42] Oh, yeah.

[00:32:43] I saw that the other day.

[00:32:44] People were like, well, if we fake the moon landing, how come I can't see pictures of the flags on the moon?

[00:32:51] Someone was like, do you realize that, like, the resolution of Google Earth is, like, one pixel in Google Earth is, like, a square meter on the ground, right?

[00:33:04] So anything that's smaller than a meter, like, one square meter in size, you won't be able to discern it very well from space, right?

[00:33:11] Or from the satellites.

[00:33:13] Well, even if you could.

[00:33:14] These, well, no.

[00:33:15] And the satellites that are using Google Earth are about 10 miles from Earth.

[00:33:21] And they can only see a meter in diameter.

[00:33:23] The satellites that are looking at the moon are hundreds of thousands of miles away.

[00:33:29] And they can see, like, a square, like, kilometer with the pixel.

[00:33:34] And you're like, you can tell.

[00:33:35] You can see the shadows of the flags in certain images when the sun lines up correctly.

[00:33:41] But no, you're not going to be able to see, like, the colors or the actual flag itself on the moon.

[00:33:48] You're like, by the way, there's six flags on the moon.

[00:33:50] Also, you can't see them because they get bleached over time.

[00:33:53] So they're just, like, white.

[00:33:54] That's true.

[00:33:54] Most of them are white by now.

[00:33:55] But you can see the shadows.

[00:33:57] You can see that.

[00:33:58] But you're not going to be able to see the flag itself, like, on fucking, like, a Google Earth car was driving by it.

[00:34:02] Like, what are you, Google moon?

[00:34:05] See, my dad's a big believer in the aliens, which I think aliens make sense.

[00:34:11] But he thinks that all the great technological advancements in human history have occurred because of aliens.

[00:34:17] No, they occur because of the Atlanteans.

[00:34:21] Then Atlantis got wiped out by their own hubris.

[00:34:24] And then now we're just finding remnants and we got reset.

[00:34:27] That is the plot line to one of my favorite romance novels.

[00:34:32] A great flood wiped out Atlantis and the advanced civilization that was there.

[00:34:37] And now we are left with trash.

[00:34:40] Well, one reason he said things like that is, I guess, like, we went from, like, only being able to contain a certain amount of data on a chip to containing so much data on a chip in a year.

[00:34:50] And all this stuff where he's like, it was just so fast.

[00:34:52] I'm like, how come people have to blame aliens for everything?

[00:34:55] It can't be, oh, humans are really smart and cool.

[00:34:57] Do you know why technology advanced so quickly in the 50s and 60s and 70s?

[00:35:04] It's called the Cold War.

[00:35:06] We were funneling millions and millions of dollars into science and technology to outpace the Soviets.

[00:35:15] That is why we make advancements.

[00:35:19] Don't worry about that.

[00:35:20] It's early voting in Texas.

[00:35:23] I don't know where else you're voting for.

[00:35:25] A lot of other states have already started.

[00:35:26] Yes.

[00:35:27] But if you haven't, go out and vote.

[00:35:28] It's voting season and it's one of the big ones.

[00:35:32] It's every four years we get to vote on who gets to stand up front in the country.

[00:35:37] And if you think your vote doesn't matter, it does.

[00:35:40] It does.

[00:35:41] No, it does.

[00:35:41] Because if everybody thinks their vote doesn't matter and they don't vote, then of course we're going to lose.

[00:35:45] That's hundreds of thousands of people.

[00:35:47] So go out, vote.

[00:35:49] We can be the change you want to see in the world, right?

[00:35:53] I like that you're only talking to one demographic.

[00:35:57] You said, if you don't vote, we lose.

[00:36:00] No, if you don't vote, the people that you want to vote for might lose.

[00:36:06] You can vote for whoever you want, they might lose.

[00:36:08] Some people should lose.

[00:36:09] But that's a topic for another day.

[00:36:11] This has been an episode of Mindless Prattle.

[00:36:14] That's Jordan.

[00:36:15] I'm Ripley.

[00:36:16] We are working on upgrading our sound system and everything and getting video on the podcast.

[00:36:22] So hopefully you'll get to see that in the next few weeks.

[00:36:24] And we will see you next time.

[00:36:27] Bye.

[00:36:27] Bye.

[00:36:28] Bye.