Ask Ace - Everyday Questions with Surprising Answers

In this episode of Chris and Jen they ‘Ask Ace.’ Chris and Jen tackle a series of intriguing questions and everyday mysteries with help from Ace. The team breaks down the science, history, and surprising facts behind everyday items and long-held debates.

3 Pivotal Points:

• The Straw Manufacturing & Hole Debate: Ace explains that plastic straws are extruded through a single die, meaning topologically they contain only one continuous hole, sparking a lively debate on definitions.
• The Truth About GMO Fruits & Veggies: The group explores how genetic modification works at the DNA level, why crops are modified for pest resistance and higher yields, and why GMO foods are safe for human consumption.
• The Origin of the Woodchuck Tongue Twister: Ace shares the history of the famous "woodchuck" rhyme, tracing its roots to early speech therapy for "lead-tongued" speakers and a 1902 play, along with an MIT professor's calculation that a woodchuck could chuck about 700 pounds of wood.

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Intro and Outro Music

‘Vienna Beats’

By RadioPink, Blue Dots Sessions

Licensed under a Attribution Non-Commercial License

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Oh, you ready for the intro? The ask ace. Yeah, you ready? Oh, are we having real introduced first? Yeah, I wrote it.

unknown 0:12

Oh, of course.

SPEAKER_02 0:13

I'm sorry, wait, pause. But what? Are we doing ask Ace first? Is that what's happening?

SPEAKER_04 0:18

Yeah.

unknown 0:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

What do I need to do?

SPEAKER_04 0:21

Yeah, what do we need to do?

SPEAKER_02 0:22

Just show up?

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Just show up.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_10 0:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Here. This week on Ask Ace, where questions are asked and answers are given. How are plastic straws made? GMO fruits and veggies, good or bad? Woodchucks could chuck? Chris, you had all these great questions. I want to give you answers. What's your first question?

SPEAKER_04 0:43

We're starting with the straws.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

That was really good, but also just try to make a normal face when you do that.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

I don't have to because I can just do an Ask Ace cover.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_09 0:56

You're right.

SPEAKER_04 1:01

Use your normal face.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

What is that? Don't you guys know this is how I do all the intros for you guys? I sit up there in the room and I do this over and over and over until I get the one I like.

SPEAKER_07 1:12

He has his announcer voice, but it makes an announcer face, just like I'm making an announcer face without an announcer voice.

SPEAKER_04 1:20

Ask Ace. We're starting with straws, just to be clear. Because I really need us to land on a place here.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Okay, ask your question.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

Oh, I thought you were doing the intro.

SPEAKER_04 1:32

He did the intro. You told him to fix his face.

SPEAKER_02 1:35

Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I didn't realize you were doing the intro for your recording.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Yeah, but I like the expressions you guys made, so I'm gonna keep those.

SPEAKER_02 1:45

Okay, good. Love that for us.

SPEAKER_04 1:47

We did an episode on unanswerable questions. So where we really rotated on though was this idea of straws. One hole or two.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

That is not an answerable question. I'm sorry. It's not. Ace. And that was your question, by the way. So who misunderstood which assignment?

SPEAKER_04 2:09

The idea wasn't it was unanswerable questions.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:14

But I feel like I was confident in my my decision making if I better understood how straws were made.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

Oh, got it. Got it. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:24

So that's how it ended up on the ask ace list.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

It's like, don't come for me. I will Well, you were I mean, I don't know. I was triggered.

SPEAKER_10 2:38

I needed to defend. Wait a minute. I needed to defend my performance on the assignment. I totally got hooked.

SPEAKER_04 2:52

See that's what's gonna happen with the audience too. They're gonna just get hooked.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

Uh yes, get hooked. Get that could be like a new get hooked. No.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

She's like, if you come for the queen, best not miss. True story.

SPEAKER_08 3:10

All right, sorry, sorry.

SPEAKER_10 3:11

I apologize for get for getting hooked into my second ladder of the polyvagel theory, my amygdala hijack engage.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

She practices what she preaches. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 3:26

I really, I really did like felt like just immediate. I need to defend my performance here. Don't give me a C.

SPEAKER_04 3:35

It's so funny to see, because like how last week, whenever the receipt conversation and like as I was re-watching that clip, I was like, I was just so like nonchalant at like as if I didn't, as if I didn't care what was being said. Yet in my mind I was like, oh yes, I did. But that is not how I showed up.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

Yeah, you really because you're just so used to managing, I think, your reaction, whereas I don't manage my reaction. You just get it. But um I know I was I really I was like, I mean, you guys kind of went at each other, and then there was this comedic relief, and you just, you know, then eased right in. I said, yeah. Um, I mean, I think we went at each other because I was totally snarky at Chris and brought probably triggered him.

SPEAKER_04 4:30

I I didn't feel triggered. Well, I guess I did. Just didn't show up that way. Uh I said proceeds. Okay, so Strauss. I engaged you. I did. You did.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

I did.

SPEAKER_04 4:42

You pressed the button.

SPEAKER_02 4:44

I did.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

So Chris, I choose you. You snark. Snark's super effective.

SPEAKER_02 4:53

Um but Ace Ace was saying how funny it was to watch all of a sudden this like tension just disappear after we made each other laugh. There's probably something to that.

SPEAKER_04 5:05

I think he's been trying to tell us that for like a year and a half. Rough estimate. Rough estimate.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

Well, he's like, you guys don't never have like this tension between you two. And you you were a little edgy at each other. And then, and I was like, Yeah, I own that. Because I was like, uh I mean, are we talking about this? You didn't respond to me. I don't know why I came on so strong. I didn't mean to, but maybe subconsciously, I don't know. And uh Are we talking about what I suggested, or are we talking about something else?

SPEAKER_04 5:41

What you suggested?

SPEAKER_02 5:43

I just asked you like four or five times if you were good with this topic and you literally did not respond one single time.

SPEAKER_03 5:51

I'm gonna disagree.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Give me the receipts.

SPEAKER_04 5:58

Uh-huh. Speaking of, were you good with my proposal? Yes. Exclamation mark. This morning at 1053. Or last night at 1053, sorry.

unknown 6:11

What?

SPEAKER_03 6:12

Right under the Elmo fire. It's literally a receipt, too. That's the time that's the time stamp.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

And this is what it's saying. And he was like going through like what ChatGPT had referenced, and you were like, Oh, that's not really like that isn't the point of view. Like, you were kind of poo-pooing his ideas. Sure did. And then Chris is like, fine, I'll just be here for the conversation. And then you were like, Well, you didn't even respond to me when I texted you. And then Chris was like, I did too. And you're like, no, you did not. And then Chris is like, I don't, I have receipts. And then he goes, right here underneath fire elmo at 1053. And then Jen's face just melts into a I just love the way Ace Records.

SPEAKER_04 7:33

I'm sorry. He gets all the important parts, you know? Like the fire elmo. It's a very important part.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Yeah. I mean, clearly, I came in like you did not respond to me, even though you had.

SPEAKER_04 7:54

That's so gen.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

That's so gen. I'm I must have just been edgy and not like allowing myself to know that. And so it was showing up like undercurrent.

SPEAKER_04 8:06

And then I still love you knowing all of these things about you. I still love you. Not in spite of them. Not in the same way. I was just thinking. What do you mean you're still the whole you. The whole you.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

I love how this segment of Ask Ace is more about Chris and Jen's relationship, therapy, group therapy.

SPEAKER_04 8:33

Thanks, Ace. So call Ace with your issues too. Nope.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Just for us. I don't know. You could charge like $150 an hour for that.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

I'm a non-licensed counsel.

SPEAKER_04 8:49

Although that could be probably an interesting like dynamic to put people through, like having to record something together and fit like draw something out of a bucket and then and then have you just do a reenactment of the conversation and give it back to the couples therapy, but then you record it and then you have somebody edit it and pull out the best moments so you can really see yourself.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

You're gonna have to charge a hell of a lot more than 150 an hour because we're gonna need private security if we go down that road. People will come for you, even though it's what they said. Yeah. Look, um when I got the receipts, I was like, yeah, I that was on me, but not until that moment.

SPEAKER_04 9:33

I stand by fire elmo. But yes.

SPEAKER_02 9:38

Fire Elmo was about something else.

SPEAKER_04 9:41

I know, but I had to tell you like where it was in the conversation, and that's like that was the closest like identifier.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

Yes, it was it was. It was fire elmo.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Um I put the fire elmo in the chat.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Was it you? It wasn't me? I think I did it.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Oh, did you?

SPEAKER_02 10:00

Give me the receipts.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

I don't remember.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

Damn, am I about to be wrong again?

SPEAKER_04 10:06

I thought it was you too.

SPEAKER_02 10:07

It was me.

SPEAKER_00 10:11

You're probably right.

SPEAKER_02 10:12

I'm gonna deliver the receipt this time. It's gonna feel good. Oh, oh, it feels so good.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

I said, yeah, it's you.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

It doesn't feel good, actually. I don't know. I just feel difficult, but I don't want to believe that. How could you reframe that?

SPEAKER_00 10:31

I should have, I should have.

SPEAKER_04 10:32

Everyone else is difficult. Everyone else is easy.

SPEAKER_10 10:39

Yeah, you all are too easy. Be more difficult. Match my energy.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

It's not no, no.

SPEAKER_10 10:47

What do you mean no?

SPEAKER_01 10:49

This is there can only be one Jen, and Jen's energy is unique to her.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

What do you mean by that? Like t two of me would be too much?

SPEAKER_04 11:00

Two of you would be three much. I do.

SPEAKER_10 11:07

Because I'm already too much.

SPEAKER_04 11:14

Okay, so ask Ace. We don't feedback. We don't.

SPEAKER_08 11:22

I was I was told I was really direct two days ago.

SPEAKER_04 11:28

W would you rather me like hide my agenda or what I'm trying to say? Like what is the purpose of that feedback?

SPEAKER_02 11:37

I don't know that it was feedback. I think it was an observation.

SPEAKER_04 11:40

Um Okay. But an observation is different than like someone saying, Hey. And I said you know that you're direct.

SPEAKER_02 11:49

Um Well, it was in response to a recommendation I made, and I was told I was really direct. And I was like, I mean, I guess I do tend I guess I tend to be direct. And they were like, yes. And I was like, interesting, I gotta think about that because I don't think I'm off putting.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

You're off putting direct as off-putting to that person, maybe. And then I was like, they were gonna talk about, but it works for me.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Like you just do it. Okay, I'm gonna need you guys to say I'm not off-putting. Like, you're not off putting.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

That's what we've been saying. You're not listening to us.

SPEAKER_02 12:28

Moment needs a foundation.

SPEAKER_04 12:30

You are the one that I know attach to those two things.

SPEAKER_02 12:33

I know. It's all in here. It's like a lot. It's a lot.

SPEAKER_04 12:37

Oh, we're aware.

SPEAKER_02 12:38

Thanks for my therapy.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

And that's uh for Ask Case. All right. We'll see you guys next time. All right.

SPEAKER_02 12:50

Thank you for the therapy. So we're asked about straws.

SPEAKER_04 12:55

So we have continued this straw discussion debate.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

Well, there's so much good content in here. What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_05 13:06

Well, it's not going in the last lady section.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

An editor's journey. It'll be like a five-minute like little micro clip you put out, but not a short.

SPEAKER_04 13:24

A five-minute micro clip.

SPEAKER_09 13:27

Well, it's a micro. What what?

SPEAKER_04 13:32

That statement seems at odd. A five-minute micro clip.

SPEAKER_02 13:38

Yeah, well, compared to our episodes, which are like one plus hours, it's micro.

SPEAKER_04 13:43

Gotcha. Okay. That's the comparator. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Yeah, it's not a short. It's like bigger than that. But it's like a medium. Micro.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

Riverside calls them segments.

SPEAKER_04 14:01

Oh, sure. That works too.

SPEAKER_02 14:03

It's a segment. So you'll put that out as a series, an editor's journey. Um, I'm happy to do the intro for you. Chris and I will do it.

SPEAKER_04 14:13

It will never get recorded.

SPEAKER_02 14:15

An editor's journey. A day in the life.

SPEAKER_04 14:19

You could only be so lucky.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

And also tried. Tested. You've been tested. You've been tried. And you've come out on top.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

She's trying to do the night's tell at the end where they say, You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting.

SPEAKER_02 14:45

That one didn't work out. So I wasn't doing that one. I think I was th thinking of something else and combining them all together in my head. And then I was like, wait, we don't want to go down this journey of the nightsdale because it's found wanting. Okay, so let's go on with Ask Ace.

SPEAKER_09 15:11

For the sixth, seventh, eighth time, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 15:15

It seems like a real episode to me. Okay. Um, so we've continued this dialogue around straws. Two holes are one. And I feel like I am very much so at a tipping point. But to be able to feel confident in the decision in which I stand.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

It's the wrong tipping point.

SPEAKER_04 15:36

I felt like if I understood how straws are manufactured, that could help me feel more confident. They have two holes. So Ace, how are straws manufactured?

SPEAKER_01 15:49

Okay, so straws are made from an industrial grade food-safe plastic. And what happens is they take these pellets of this plastic that are produced, and then they warm them to a certain temperature where the plastics meld into one another, and then they extrude them through a dye that allows the straw to be cut to a certain length. So as it comes out, it's cooled and the plastic rehardens and then it's cut at a particular size. So, like those bendy straws, they're made really long, and then they cut them, and then it goes into a separate process that then pushes those segments together. It like heats that one segment and squishes it together. It's how you get bendy straws. But the plastic comes through the die, it's like pushed through the die. And so there's only one hole that goes all the way through, and then they cut it. So that's how you get uh pressing.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

I don't know. If if you were to close up one end, it would still have one hole.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

I this is a weird argument to have. It still is only one hole if it's open on both sides.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

No. Um it it has an entry hole and an exit hole. Like a cup. A cup has one hole. And if you were to cut up a hole in the bottom of a cup, it would have two holes.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

Still have only one hole. So are you saying that donuts have two holes? Bagels have two holes.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

No.

SPEAKER_01 17:31

Why not? It is open on one side and open on the other side with bread and or whatever in between. There's so that goes through all the way, but you visualize it as only one hole.

SPEAKER_06 17:44

It's slanty. In a bagel, it's like slanty into the middle of the slanty thing is the inside of the straw.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

So there's only one entrance and exit.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

If you're this is like the inside of a bagel, this is the inside of a straw.

SPEAKER_01 17:59

This, this, this, I can get a straw that has the bendy parts, and that has little segments that go in and out. So what difference does that make? Your perception is because donuts are short, therefore it's only one home. I feel really strong. The straw is the same concept, just longer.

SPEAKER_02 18:21

Well, and I actually think this really this is not where we're going with Ask Ace, but I do think that this really underlines the problem between difficult conversations. Conversations where you disagree. You're using different definitions to define. Like I'm using the colloquial definition of a whole, and Ace is using the topological definition of a hole.

SPEAKER_04 18:52

I don't even know how to respond to that.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Okay. Under the colloquial definition, a straw has two holes an opening and an exit. Under the topological definition, it is a void through the middle of a continuous surface. So that is why Ace believes there is one hole, and I believe there are two holes.

SPEAKER_04 19:20

Well, you'd be wrong because a straw is a continuous surface.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

No, I'd be wrong under the topological definition and right under the colloquial definition.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

Aaron Powell But the that is not that is not a factual definition. That is something that's given meaning by society as opposed to having any scientific.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

And this is when you disagree with somebody, you go after the validity of their beliefs, their whole belief system, colloquial out. Science is in.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Dinosaurs did not exist.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

Science is in.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

So dinosaurs did not exist.

SPEAKER_04 20:00

Well, this has been a fascinating first episode of that space. Cause here I was just trying to feel more answer, but did you know they found a new dinosaur?

SPEAKER_01 20:14

I heard that, yes. They're not real, so why does it matter?

SPEAKER_02 20:17

Is it alive? Is it living? It's like a living dinosaur. I didn't read the article.

unknown 20:22

No.

SPEAKER_02 20:22

No. They found bones.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:26

Oh, they said something about it's like got feathers.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:32

How did they find the feathers if it's dead?

SPEAKER_01 20:35

So the feathers got pressed in the sediment and then the outline of the- I didn't read the story.

SPEAKER_02 20:40

I thought it was alive. They said alligators or crocodiles are dinosaurs. Komodo dragons.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Yeah, they're they can trace the lineage back to I'm just waiting for a living dinosaur to be produced. Chickens are can trace their lineage back to dinosaurs.

SPEAKER_02 21:00

Oh, chickens are pretty flimsy.

SPEAKER_04 21:03

Yep, they've survived.

SPEAKER_02 21:06

Well, we keep them surviving because we eat them. They're like a main food source.

SPEAKER_04 21:11

Alright, so we will add dinosaurs to ASCAC list as well.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

No, I know they're real. I went and saw it. You were with me. I cried. It was embarrassing.

SPEAKER_01 21:25

Alright. Do we just want to cut this short and then I can edit out the I'm sorry. Because you guys you don't feel well. You said you had a headache.

SPEAKER_02 21:35

I do have a headache.

SPEAKER_04 21:36

I'm Your Your um straw bending whole discussion just was too much. Beyond.

SPEAKER_02 21:48

I'm not like I'm not allowed to offer my I thought I was supposed to just show up and like.

SPEAKER_04 21:54

I really I really do think though that Jen's definition of The topological uh uh definition has cemented my belief that straws only have one hole.

SPEAKER_02 22:08

Okay, well I'm glad I gave you ammo to believe inaccurately.

SPEAKER_04 22:15

Now who's attacking whose beliefs now?

SPEAKER_02 22:17

If you were to close up one end of the straw, it would have one hole. So then if you open it up, it has two holes.

SPEAKER_04 22:30

You would have blocked the continuous hole that goes through a straw if you close one end.

SPEAKER_02 22:37

Then everything only has a continuous hole. What goes in must come out.

SPEAKER_04 22:47

So a Danish was heading.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

A Danish has a hole.

SPEAKER_04 22:52

A Danish? A Danish.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

I really think if we just take it back to you can't compare a bagel, because a bagel goes like this. And there's just a lot of things.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

Why does that have anything to do with it still? Why does the angle matter?

SPEAKER_02 23:04

There's not like mass in between. Space is in between.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

There is mass. The sides of it.

SPEAKER_02 23:08

No, it's like angly.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

You know, isn't that but isn't that still on the outside? Let's push down in the middle.

SPEAKER_02 23:15

Yeah, a Danish has two holes.

SPEAKER_01 23:18

No, a Danish is putting it on the bottom.

SPEAKER_10 23:20

A Danish doesn't.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

Do it only has one hole, right?

SPEAKER_04 23:24

I was about to come unglued. So it has one hole.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

So what does the donut have? If a Danish has one hole to put the fill in, what does the bagel have? Or a donut?

SPEAKER_09 23:38

It has one hole because it's because it's this.

SPEAKER_04 23:45

It all goes back to if it if you can use your hands to describe.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

I think what we're back to is this is still an unanswerable question, and that's good. It's not good fodder for ASCAIS. I think what is good fodder for us is a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 24:02

Well, the question wasn't even about that. It was about how straws are made.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

That is not how Mr. Lee set it up.

SPEAKER_04 24:10

Well, that that's that's how we got to trying to better understand how straws are made because we started with that conversation.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

I mean, you guys are just wrong. You're wrong.

SPEAKER_04 24:22

See, she's attacking us. She's lashing out. Typical difficult conversation language.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

All right, that's the second one real quick, just so I can have it.

SPEAKER_04 24:35

Oh, second one? Do we Okay, hold on. Let me see what the second one is. I'll rush through it.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Chris is like, are you sure Jen? Jen's not Jen's not ready for this.

SPEAKER_04 24:44

So we had recently been watching this uh documentary, and in the documentary it talks about how um there are actually not many genetically modified fruits um that are out there, and that they're actually not bad for us. So I know it's a documentary, but you can't just believe anything on surface level, right? Like you gotta do your research.

SPEAKER_09 25:07

You gotta do your research. Yeah, I really am curious about this.

SPEAKER_04 25:10

This seems like a perfect thing for Ace. He can get to the bottom of this case.

SPEAKER_02 25:14

Yeah. Should we be eating GMO foods?

SPEAKER_04 25:23

Did we not set it up correctly? That's not what I was getting.

SPEAKER_07 25:26

Sorry.

SPEAKER_04 25:26

I feel like giving medical advice.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Uh the GMO fruits that are available are perfectly fine. Like they are acceptable, consumable food. And if we actually think about it in more long-term like understanding of how humans have affected the world, there are a lot of modified crops and or fruits and vegetables that we consume all the time. The only difference is that humans have gotten to the point where we understand the science behind DNA and we're getting more at the genetic level of modification for fruits. So as long as we're modifying it into a soluble, consumable product, you we'll be fine. So when we look at different fruits and vegetables over the years, like the lemon wasn't even a thing until we crossbred them and created what we know as the lemon today. And so now we're doing it more at the genetic level.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

Is that like is that is that like a form of genetic modification if you cross-breed something and the genes intermix and right.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

As long as they're in the same um species of product, you can cross-breed them so that what they give birth to is genetically modified into something else. The difference is with these new fruits and vegetables, there are a couple of vegetables out on the market right now. They are going down to the like sequencing part of the fruit and bringing in other sequences to cross-breed the genetic makeup of the fruit. The human body will look at a higher level, which is the solubility, is what I read, which is where the body breaks it down in the stomach acid. So at the genetic level, our human body doesn't really care that much. We're worried about a higher level of digestibility and vitamins and things like that, which is still available, still present, still the same as an apple that you pick. But if we think about the apple that we eat today is nowhere near the crab apples that existed way back in the day because we've crossbred them with other things throughout time to get the modified apple that we eat. So this is just happening at the DNA level of the fruit.

SPEAKER_02 27:54

Sometimes crossbreeding happens like accidentally, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Yes. And so you'll run into that where something has blown into something else and they've grown together. And that happens all the time as well. This is the exact same argument that we've had for years because our crops are genetically modified. They've been modifying our grains since the 1980s, I believe, somewhere back in like the late 80s, early 90s, where at the gene level, they made it so that insects don't like to eat certain grains. And so that's how we've made crops grow better, grow longer in the season, contain more nutrients, the crop fields are more dense and able to take more soil nutrients and produce a hardier crop. So like the wheat that we produce today is so much heavier and fatter than it was just like three three decades ago.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

So, like, is it is this like non-GMO club sort of like the anti-vaxxers? Like, hey.

SPEAKER_01 28:58

I think that what it is is as humans advance, we have this longing for like how things used to be. And so we put up barriers between us and progress because we sit there and think, oh, well, when they advance, they take away the humanity. You know, there's less farmers out there tilling the soil, and like we haven't tilled soil with you know, hand tools since like you know, the turn of the century. So it's like this image that people put in place. They think, oh, healthy means that somebody sweat over this and then gave it to me.

SPEAKER_02 29:33

Oh no, I saw somebody sweat over making biscuits once, and that place is closed now.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

But you'll see this image of like people going to farmers markets and they see these big beautiful fruits and vegetables, and they're like, Oh, these are so much better than everything else. But the concept is different, right? Like that person created that and they hand worked the crop, and so they produce micro amounts of food, and so yes, it is better. It's like when you go to buy a wine, the mass producers of wine don't taste nearly as good as somebody who has a smaller production process and they hand pick everything and they hand process everything. So the thing about the fruits and the vegetables is when we genetically modify them, what we also are doing are creating things that are pest proof, that are easier to grow in bad conditions, that are like healthier even, you know, cuts down on some of the sugars, you know, or our body can process it better, it's hardier. In a lot of cases, we're doing this so that more people around the world can be fed on less land. Because as humanity continues to grow, the land that we farm on is being turned into things like data centers and you know, like housing and you know, just more and more construction takes up more and more of the land that we would have, you know, irrigated, grew crops, grew fruits, grew grains, whatever. But now we have to be able to produce all that food that keeps humanity alive and less and less acreage.

SPEAKER_02 31:15

You know, I'm waiting for them to put the data centers like on the moon.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

Well, that's what Elon's doing with his uh what is his rocket company called? I forget the stupid name.

SPEAKER_02 31:27

Um Star for Star No Starlink.

SPEAKER_01 31:32

Well, no, that's the satellite. That's a satellite. But he is that's their goal is to put it in space, which is crazy. But yes, GMO fruits and veggies are fine, your body will break them down, it doesn't have anything to do with the DNA, you're not gonna get cancer from it. Like that's maybe where it works.

SPEAKER_02 31:53

This is it, like for me, this concept of other people getting in and controlling the makeup of something versus nature controlling it doesn't always mean it it's better or worse. You know, like poison IV is made by nature and it's poisonous to us. But it's like this the feeling of vulnerability that you're at somebody else's mercy. And then like I think as we question ethics in general, especially when people are greedy, um, then you wonder like what where is the ethical code and who's policing that, and will it be as good for you if they've modified it, or is it just about the almighty dollar? I w I think that might be where the tension comes from.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

But I'm just saying the fruits and vegetables themselves are not harmful.

SPEAKER_02 32:41

So don't don't spend my extra money on the non-GMO.

unknown 32:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:45

Well, and that was the other thing that the doctor was saying.

SPEAKER_01 32:49

If you like it because it's visually appealing, it makes you want to eat it, it makes you want to consume it because it looks better, or to your perception, it's healthier or it's more natural. Like, I think we could always encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables. So if that would get you to eat them, then sure. But otherwise, nutritionally in the body, it doesn't care.

SPEAKER_02 33:12

It doesn't care. It's good to know. That's interesting. Is that the same for like meats?

SPEAKER_01 33:20

Yeah. Actually, lab grown meat has shown to be more healthy, less fatty, and more capable of giving you a denser protein pack inside of the same cut of meat.

SPEAKER_02 33:32

Here's the ethical question that I have. Would I feel better about lab grown meat or worse about lab grown meat?

SPEAKER_01 33:39

There is a discussion going on in the vegetarian, vegan.

SPEAKER_02 33:43

Do I feel better about lab grown meat? Does it ever breathe?

SPEAKER_01 33:46

No, that's not how that works.

SPEAKER_04 33:49

We're adding that to the ask case list because I've got to how is lab-grown meat? I can tell you.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

So protein, so protein sludge, which is basically like a production of viable proteins, are then injected with other chemicals that create a lattice work that grows this meat into a functioning. No, it's not living. It is, I mean, it's no more living than say like a crystal. So, you know, you can grow crystals, right? You've heard of this concept where they did that as in elementary school. Right, and it just keeps growing on top of itself. That's what these protein blocks do, is these protein blocks just keep growing on top of one another due to the influx of like sugars and um I can't remember everything that went into it, but it's like all the different building blocks that the human body needs, you know, like carbs, sugars, you know, all these things that help you continue to grow and then you know, like get taller and stuff like that. And these proteins take it and they break it down and then they grow bigger and they break down the next one. But it's not like a living thing. It's not consciously doing it. It's just a thing that happens as a byproduct of is this like the what is the the um like the fake burgers and stuff?

SPEAKER_02 35:15

The what is that called?

SPEAKER_01 35:16

No, those are produced by other means. Normally there are other Yeah, like it's some other type of protein that has been broken down such a way that added additives and flavorings have then created this prospect of meat flavoring.

SPEAKER_02 35:34

Interesting.

SPEAKER_04 35:37

Like I can't believe it's a lot of people. That question was going to lead to lab grown meat.

SPEAKER_02 35:43

Well, you know, I really struggle with like the the cute little cow I want to hug, and then eating that steak just becomes less appealing.

SPEAKER_01 35:57

Lab grown meat is very close to the concept of sourdough bread. So when you think about sourdough bread, there's like this starter that you then add more flour and sugar and water to, and it grows, and then you add more, and then you take a piece off, and then you set it to the side, you know, and you make sourdough bread. That's the same concept for lab grown meat. There's this like protein that then you add the things to, the carbs and the sugars and the waters, and it grows itself, and then you you know you cut off a piece and then you make more and more and more. So the concept is there's gonna come a time when cattle, which is one of the most labor-intensive, energy intensive bad for the environment with the methane and the is gonna become more and more scarce. And so what they're saying is we need to find a way to continue to have enough protein in human diets so that we don't lose our body structure because the human body really depends on a large amount of protein in order to be.

SPEAKER_02 37:01

It's why we have canines. The the vegetarian uh Homo sapien or ho whatever they're called, the other form of us. Uh uh that the there was a vegetarian one and they they died off.

SPEAKER_01 37:19

Well, because they're not able to have like twitchy fiber muscles. So like when you think about quick reflexes and things like that, those are associated with having a lot of protein in your brain.

SPEAKER_02 37:29

Oh, so when I don't eat enough meat, I'm not as speedy.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

Yeah, you're you're more lethargic, you feel less capable, your brain doesn't function, you feel like you're in a fog. That's why sometimes if you're not eating enough protein.

SPEAKER_02 37:42

If I don't eat protein.

SPEAKER_01 37:43

Right. Well, I mean, it doesn't have to be meat. It can be any form of protein.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

It's really hard to get uh the right amount of protein with in the same number of calories, it's almost impossible. Yeah. Without meat. Yeah. Well, uh we should go to one of these lab uh meat, lab grown meat places in our little bite lab coats and have a sludge that he speaks of.

SPEAKER_04 38:10

Have a tour.

SPEAKER_01 38:12

I mean you look at sourdough bread and you don't go, oh, uh I wish never super nasty.

SPEAKER_02 38:18

I would call that starter a sludge for sure. I have seen some of those videos on the internet. If you don't care for it, right, it gets mad. And often people give them names.

SPEAKER_01 38:29

All right, let's do the last one real quick.

SPEAKER_04 38:32

Um, okay, last one, uh, which was okay. Where did I oh so I was watching a TV show and they used the um that tongue twister about if wood chucks could chuck wood, how much wood could it wood chuck that thing. Um which I then like quickly googled, like why why is this a tongue twister? Like, where did this come from? And I wasn't really satisfied with the responses I was getting. So I'm asking Ace.

SPEAKER_02 39:08

What is the origin of the woodchuck could chuck tongue twister?

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:13

So I think where did it come from?

SPEAKER_01 39:15

As far back as I can find in the Germanic countries, there was a like way that people would speak about these little rodent creatures that would go out in the woods and build little barriers and things in the rivers, and then they said, like, oh, that animal can chew on things, and it m pulls these logs into barricade rivers and streams in order to create little spaces for them to live. And so that's where it originated from from some of the people that do this research, and then as it became the English language, this was kept as like an old way of loosening your tongue. And it wasn't this exact way to say this because it's old English, it's like a different kind of phrasing, and it wasn't until in America where we had kind of a homogenous group of people that the language became more and more specific. It was like a way to loosen the tongue of people that were like, how did they phrase it? It was like lead-tongued people. So those are people that are that were considered that we would consider them probably on the spectrum. Like they would have Asperger's or they would have some type of speaking issue that they didn't feel like you communicated well enough. So they had these books that these kids would have to read, normally for affluent families, that would help loosen their time.

SPEAKER_02 40:47

This was uh what you're saying is this is a form of speech therapy.

SPEAKER_01 40:51

Yeah, it was like a form of speech therapy. There was a whole bunch of these at the time because they saw these people that had disabilities, you know. Back then they didn't like have the concept that this person, you know, has, you know, uh uh some type of uh speech impediment because of a cognitive issue. They just thought that these people had lead tongues was the phrase that I kept reading over and over, where they couldn't like twist their tongues correctly. So they thought by putting together these specific ways of saying things that it would allow them to then speak more eloquently, like you know, the upper crust was expected to do.

SPEAKER_02 41:30

Oh well, I struggle with how much wood could a chuck would how much wood could a wood chuck chuck if it would chuck could chuck wood.

SPEAKER_01 41:38

So the way we know it today really came about at the turn of the 19th century. So about 1902, Robert Davis in a play called The Runaway wrote a song that kind of really had this exact phrasing, and it caught on better than the play did. Like there were people walking the streets talking about this, and so that phrasing that we use for could a woodchuck, you know, if a woodchuck I can't remember how it goes exactly, but how much wood would chuck chuck chuck. Chuck Chuck if it would chuck to chuckwood. It was part of this play, and so then it caught on with society because they thought it was a fun play on words.

SPEAKER_02 42:14

That's a that's a groundhog, by the way, a woodchuck.

SPEAKER_01 42:17

But an MIT professor came out and he did the math based on body size and like what a day would look like for a woodchuck, and it's about 700 pounds.

SPEAKER_02 42:30

So if uh What's 700 pounds?

SPEAKER_01 42:33

If a wood chuck chuck wood wood, how much chuck could chuck is about 700 pounds.

SPEAKER_02 42:40

Wait, but a wood chuck does chuck wood, yes? A groundhog? Do they have a big thing? Uh it's not the same concept.

SPEAKER_01 42:46

Yeah. It drags in. But yeah, in a day about 700 pounds. Is what they say.

SPEAKER_04 42:54

Could you imagine what that little creature would look like if it did chuck wood? Like total gym bro.

SPEAKER_02 43:00

What does chucking wood mean?

SPEAKER_01 43:02

Like throw. Like think about like underhanded, like you kinda like.

SPEAKER_02 43:06

I always thought about it kind of, I guess, like a like I think about a beaver, like like chewing down trees.

SPEAKER_01 43:14

Yeah, I mean, like chopping down trees, like chucking, I don't know. The original part of it came from like Germanic understanding of how these creatures did what they did. And so it was this understanding that these creatures are literally picking up this wood that they've gnawed on and throwing it into the river.

SPEAKER_02 43:32

So when you say 700 pounds, does that mean like 700 pounds in a day piece by piece, or does that mean 700 pounds is like their bench pressing weight?

SPEAKER_01 43:43

I didn't see how he he just was saying like here's the math on it. I don't he just said based on the size of the creature and the capabilities of it, the What's the equation? I don't know. I didn't I didn't read the I I didn't know I was supposed to be here with math.

SPEAKER_04 43:59

This is the tough part about working with Jen unscripted, is that she asks the very detailed questions and I mean I just thought like people always want to know the answer, and that guy did the math.

SPEAKER_02 44:09

So Okay, well put the equation up and then I'll get to read it.

SPEAKER_04 44:13

Well, maybe that that's a that's a gen, a gen jab session, you know? Not an ass case session.

SPEAKER_02 44:20

No, I don't think so. I'm not gonna go find that answer. But uh curiosity will linger. I'll get distracted about 16 times before I go hunt the answer down to that.

SPEAKER_04 44:33

Um You'll find all the other facts about a woodchuck, but you won't have figured out the woodchuck formula.

SPEAKER_02 44:39

I mean, I know that a woodchuck is a groundhog because of our uh podcast, actually.

SPEAKER_04 44:45

Yeah, and this kind of feels like it took the same direction, if I'm being honest. Better production though. That's true. So true.

SPEAKER_02 44:55

In this case, I mean it's a whole separate series. So that's right. They'll they'll go on as segments.

SPEAKER_01 45:03

So if you have a question and you want to ask Ace, please contact us at connect at Chris and Jenitm.com.

SPEAKER_04 45:14

Thanks, Ace. I'm so well informed. Straws have one hole.

SPEAKER_02 45:21

He is gonna be Okay, first of all, y'all hooked me and know what you were doing. Let's not be crazy. Not at all.