1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,400
Speaker 1: Welcome curious minds to the deep dive. Today, we're peeling

2
00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:08,199
back the layers of a mystery that, well, it's baffled

3
00:00:08,199 --> 00:00:13,320
scientists and captivated adventurers for decades. Now, imagine this a

4
00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,480
quiet research lab at Hewlett Packard. This is back in

5
00:00:16,519 --> 00:00:19,359
the nineteen seventies, right, and this wasn't just any lab.

6
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:24,640
It was a leading facility staffed by brilliant scientists, really

7
00:00:24,679 --> 00:00:27,559
renowned for their work with quartz technology, you know, the

8
00:00:27,719 --> 00:00:31,039
very material that underpins our modern digital world.

9
00:00:31,239 --> 00:00:33,560
Speaker 2: Mm hm hmm. They really knew their stuff when.

10
00:00:33,399 --> 00:00:36,439
Speaker 1: It came to crystals exactly. They'd handled thousands of crystals,

11
00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,520
understood their properties inside and out. But then they were

12
00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,200
confronted with an object unlike anything they had ever encountered.

13
00:00:42,679 --> 00:00:46,320
Speaker 2: And that was the Mitchell Hedges crystal skull precisely. What's

14
00:00:46,399 --> 00:00:49,840
truly fascinating here, I think, is how a single artifact

15
00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,079
could force these leading scientists, you know, masters of courts

16
00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:57,479
technology to question their fundamental assumptions about material properties, the

17
00:00:57,520 --> 00:00:59,280
limits of engineering everything.

18
00:00:59,439 --> 00:01:02,799
Speaker 1: Yeah, because when the skull was presented, it looked undeniably ancient.

19
00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:04,920
The estimate was over ten thousand years.

20
00:01:04,799 --> 00:01:05,959
Speaker 2: Old, right, That was the claim.

21
00:01:06,359 --> 00:01:09,799
Speaker 1: Yet its clarity was absolutely shocking. I mean, as clear

22
00:01:09,799 --> 00:01:12,959
and pure as if it had been polished yesterday, which.

23
00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:16,000
Speaker 2: Just doesn't happen naturally over that kind of timescale. It

24
00:01:16,079 --> 00:01:20,840
defied all conventional geological and physical expectations for an object

25
00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:21,879
of that supposed age.

26
00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,959
Speaker 1: Absolutely so these brilliant minds naturally decided to put it

27
00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:28,959
to the test. They carefully lowered the skull into a

28
00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:33,000
bath of benzyl alcohol and then illuminated it with polarized light. Okay,

29
00:01:33,359 --> 00:01:36,319
now for our listeners, this isn't just some fancy light show.

30
00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:41,760
This technique is typically used to detect internal stresses, growth patterns,

31
00:01:41,799 --> 00:01:43,400
inclusions within crystals.

32
00:01:43,439 --> 00:01:46,079
Speaker 2: Basically, it's how you look inside the material great to

33
00:01:46,159 --> 00:01:48,719
understand how it formed, how it was worked exactly.

34
00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:53,519
Speaker 1: And what they saw was well, utterly perplexing. And it's

35
00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,799
probably putting it mildly. This skull defied everything they knew

36
00:01:56,799 --> 00:02:00,799
about physics, geology, engineering, even optics.

37
00:02:00,159 --> 00:02:03,000
Speaker 2: And that creates a profound implication, doesn't it when an

38
00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,560
object just doesn't fit the known rules. The paradox for

39
00:02:05,599 --> 00:02:08,879
them was glaring the level of precision the technology required

40
00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,800
to create something like that. It simply didn't exist. Thousands

41
00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,639
of years ago, not according to our understanding of history.

42
00:02:16,199 --> 00:02:19,039
And here's the kicker that left them really scratching their heads.

43
00:02:19,479 --> 00:02:24,199
According to those very HP scientists, that specific technology still

44
00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,520
doesn't exist today but even now, not on Earth, not

45
00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:31,199
with our current conventional methods. Anyway, that was their assessment

46
00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:33,960
at the time. It wasn't just an anomaly. It was

47
00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:36,439
like a conceptual earthquake for them.

48
00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,039
Speaker 1: Wow. So it left them wondering, how could something so

49
00:02:40,199 --> 00:02:45,000
ancient be so technologically advanced if it even was ancient?

50
00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:47,039
Speaker 2: Exactly. That's the core question and.

51
00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,280
Speaker 1: That's the core of our deep dive today for you,

52
00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,479
our listener. We're going on an investigation into this profound paradox.

53
00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,479
What was this impossible object, where did it truly come from?

54
00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,360
Speaker 2: And maybe more importantly, what deeper truths might it real?

55
00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,199
Not just about the past, but about human knowledge, belief,

56
00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,719
and maybe even our own capability. Yeah, absolutely indeed, And

57
00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,879
this isn't just about the Mitchell Hedges skull famies as

58
00:03:10,879 --> 00:03:15,400
it is, it's about the incredible, multifaceted story of the

59
00:03:15,439 --> 00:03:19,800
crystal skulls plural. It's this sprawling narrative that reaches from

60
00:03:20,319 --> 00:03:24,560
well ancient myths and seemingly impossible artifacts right through to

61
00:03:24,759 --> 00:03:30,080
modern scientific investigation, and some truly surprising revelations about human potential.

62
00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,280
Speaker 1: That's right. We're going to explore the fantastical legends that

63
00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:37,759
spun up around them, these captivating tales of their alleged discovery, and.

64
00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:42,520
Speaker 2: The strange, often unsettling experiences reported by people who studied them,

65
00:03:42,759 --> 00:03:44,919
really weird stuff sometimes.

66
00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,759
Speaker 1: Definitely, and then we'll pivot. We'll look at the rigorous

67
00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,000
scientific findings that sought to uncover their true origins.

68
00:03:50,039 --> 00:03:52,680
Speaker 2: And it's important to say this journey isn't simply about

69
00:03:52,719 --> 00:03:54,560
debunking a myth, though that's part of it.

70
00:03:54,639 --> 00:03:55,680
Speaker 1: No, it's more nuanced.

71
00:03:55,759 --> 00:03:59,639
Speaker 2: It's about appreciating the enduring power of storytelling, the profound

72
00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,919
elure or of the unknown, and perhaps most importantly, the

73
00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,680
remarkable capabilities that exist within our own world, within humanity itself.

74
00:04:07,919 --> 00:04:11,319
Speaker 1: We're sifting through layers of mystery today, hopefully to find

75
00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,000
some truly surprising and I think maybe even empowering insights

76
00:04:15,039 --> 00:04:15,319
for you.

77
00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:16,240
Speaker 2: Let's dive in.

78
00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:20,319
Speaker 1: Okay, So to truly begin this incredible journey, we have

79
00:04:20,399 --> 00:04:24,000
to start with an origin story that is frankly completely

80
00:04:24,079 --> 00:04:26,279
out of this world. Uh, huh, We're not talking about

81
00:04:26,319 --> 00:04:31,160
ancient Earth. We're going way way back, maybe seventy thousand,

82
00:04:31,319 --> 00:04:33,920
eighty thousand years, to ancient Mars.

83
00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,560
Speaker 2: Yes, this is where the narrative takes a truly unexpected

84
00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,319
and for some, a pretty mind bending turn.

85
00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:41,079
Speaker 1: Right Mars.

86
00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:43,519
Speaker 2: The idea of a Martian connection might sound like pure

87
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,040
science fiction, but it was actually explored by your real,

88
00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:50,240
declassified government program, the CIA's Project Stargate.

89
00:04:50,319 --> 00:04:53,759
Speaker 1: Okay, Project Stargate, I've heard of that remote viewing right exactly.

90
00:04:53,399 --> 00:04:55,800
Speaker 2: For over twenty years, from the seventies up to nineteen

91
00:04:55,879 --> 00:04:59,600
ninety five. This highly controversial program focused on remote viewing,

92
00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:05,399
essentially attempting to perceive distant or unseen targets using well

93
00:05:05,639 --> 00:05:06,560
psychic ability, and.

94
00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,560
Speaker 1: They targeted the usual suspects Soviet Union, China.

95
00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:13,639
Speaker 2: Yeah, many targets were what you'd expect, the Soviets, China,

96
00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,160
various intelligence gathering locations in the Middle East. But one

97
00:05:17,199 --> 00:05:19,519
particular target truly stood out from the rest.

98
00:05:19,639 --> 00:05:21,199
Speaker 1: Let me guess, Mars.

99
00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:23,639
Speaker 2: Mars, but not Mars as it is today, you know,

100
00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,879
the barren red planet we see. The CIA was specifically

101
00:05:27,879 --> 00:05:31,439
interested in ancient Mars, long before its atmosphere vanished.

102
00:05:31,519 --> 00:05:32,639
Speaker 1: Okay, so how did they do that?

103
00:05:32,759 --> 00:05:35,000
Speaker 2: In nineteen eighty four, they gave one of their most

104
00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,240
talented psychics, a man named Joe mcmonagle, specific coordinates four

105
00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:41,800
point eight nine degrees north, nine point five to five

106
00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,439
degrees west, very precise, Yeah, and they instructed him to

107
00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,519
focus on what was there long long ago, seventy to

108
00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:50,399
eighty thousand years in the past.

109
00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:51,959
Speaker 1: And what did he see or what did he claim

110
00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:52,279
to see.

111
00:05:52,319 --> 00:05:56,040
Speaker 2: Well. Mcmonagal's vision, as it's recorded in the declassified documents,

112
00:05:56,399 --> 00:06:01,600
was incredibly detailed, vivid even. He describes seeing tall, slender.

113
00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,360
Speaker 1: Beings, aliums, martians.

114
00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,639
Speaker 2: Presumably beings with what appeared to be highly advanced technology.

115
00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,920
He saw structures that looked remarkably like pyramids, though maybe

116
00:06:09,959 --> 00:06:11,399
more slender, more elegant than ours.

117
00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,079
Speaker 1: Interesting pyramids on Mars. That's a whole other.

118
00:06:14,079 --> 00:06:18,079
Speaker 2: Rabbit hole, isn't it. He also perceived very large people

119
00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:22,399
wearing some kind of strange, heavy clothes, almost like protective suits.

120
00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,000
It wasn't just a fleeting image. His account was quite specific,

121
00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:29,000
detailing an entire civilization.

122
00:06:28,639 --> 00:06:29,879
Speaker 1: And what kind of civilization.

123
00:06:30,079 --> 00:06:33,199
Speaker 2: He described magnificent crystal towers on the surface of Mars.

124
00:06:33,959 --> 00:06:38,120
But get this, these weren't just architectural wonders. He perceived

125
00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:40,120
them as giant computers.

126
00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:41,959
Speaker 1: Giant computers made of crystal.

127
00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:46,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, vast crystalline structures capable of storing and transmitting information

128
00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:50,160
across immense distances. Think about that, entire cities conceived as

129
00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:52,519
vast living data centers.

130
00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,879
Speaker 1: That's a revolutionary idea even now.

131
00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,959
Speaker 2: Absolutely, And it raises a crucial question, doesn't it. How

132
00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,800
does a society or even a government grapple with phenomena

133
00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,680
that seemed to defy all known scientific.

134
00:07:03,199 --> 00:07:05,639
Speaker 1: Principles like remote viewing ancient Mars.

135
00:07:05,759 --> 00:07:09,199
Speaker 2: Right, the very existence of Project Stargate, controversial as it was,

136
00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,319
shows a willingness, at least in some corners, to explore

137
00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:13,920
beyond conventional boundaries.

138
00:07:14,319 --> 00:07:17,560
Speaker 1: So what else did McMoneagle see about this Martian civilization?

139
00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,720
Speaker 2: His vision continued with a profound dilemma. They were facing.

140
00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:25,480
Their atmosphere was being irrevocably script away, likely by solar winds.

141
00:07:26,279 --> 00:07:29,360
It was an unavoidable fate they couldn't stop so extinction.

142
00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:31,759
They knew their civilization was facing extinction.

143
00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,600
Speaker 1: Yes, wow, okay, So if you're an advanced civilization on

144
00:07:35,639 --> 00:07:38,240
the brink of absolute annihilation. What do you do? How

145
00:07:38,319 --> 00:07:39,639
do you preserve your legacy?

146
00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,600
Speaker 2: According to this legend, the Martians came up with a drastic,

147
00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,959
maybe ingenious solution. They decided to preserve all their knowledge,

148
00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:52,759
their entire history, their very essence, in thirteen crystal skulls.

149
00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:54,959
Speaker 1: Thirteen. That number comes up a.

150
00:07:54,879 --> 00:07:57,319
Speaker 2: Lot in myths, it does. And each of these skulls

151
00:07:57,319 --> 00:08:01,120
supposedly had a specific symbolic purpose within this grand design.

152
00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,160
Twelve of them, it was said, contained the complete history

153
00:08:04,199 --> 00:08:07,079
and wisdom of a different world where intelligent life exists.

154
00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,519
Speaker 1: So twelve skulls for twelve planets, like a galactic library system.

155
00:08:11,319 --> 00:08:15,079
Speaker 2: Sort of, yeah, a repository of unique galactic civilization. And

156
00:08:15,079 --> 00:08:17,600
then there was the thirteenth skull, the Master School exactly.

157
00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,439
This one was truly unique, the ultimate connector the master Key.

158
00:08:22,279 --> 00:08:25,680
It supposedly contained the combined knowledge of every civilization in

159
00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:30,920
our galaxy, a singular, comprehensive repository linking all the others.

160
00:08:31,079 --> 00:08:34,519
Speaker 1: That's an incredible concept, a galactic archive in crystal.

161
00:08:34,279 --> 00:08:38,279
Speaker 2: It really is. And then the story, this incredible galactic saga,

162
00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,200
it transitions the Martians facing their end in a final

163
00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,519
act of preservation entrusted these incredibly powerful skulls to another

164
00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:51,200
advanced civilization, one whose technology and understanding of crystalline structures

165
00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:55,360
was nearly as sophisticated as their own, the Atlanteans Atlantis.

166
00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:57,799
Speaker 1: Of course, it always comes back to Atlantis, doesn't it.

167
00:08:57,799 --> 00:09:00,360
Speaker 2: It often does in these kinds of narratives. Lan As

168
00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:04,639
the high priests, supposedly deeply attuned to ancient knowledge, understood

169
00:09:04,639 --> 00:09:06,720
the immense power held within these artifacts.

170
00:09:06,759 --> 00:09:07,600
Speaker 1: So they knew what they had.

171
00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,320
Speaker 2: Oh yes, they meticulously built sacred temples for each skull,

172
00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:15,039
keeping them closely guarded, hidden from the uninitiated. They knew

173
00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,320
that in the wrong hands, such concentrated knowledge and energy

174
00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:22,080
could be catastrophic, world destroying potential if misused.

175
00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,279
Speaker 1: Makes sense. Power like that needs careful handling.

176
00:09:25,799 --> 00:09:31,440
Speaker 2: But history, or maybe legend, has a way of repeating itself. Atlantis, too,

177
00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,960
faced its own devastating extinction event, the Great Flood, the

178
00:09:36,039 --> 00:09:37,960
cataclysm that wiped out their continent.

179
00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,000
Speaker 1: So the cycle continues.

180
00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,159
Speaker 2: It seems so. Before their magnificent lands sank beneath the

181
00:09:43,159 --> 00:09:48,039
waves forever, the Atlantean priests, with foresight and desperation, transported

182
00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,519
the skulls. They scattered them to different hidden locations around

183
00:09:51,519 --> 00:09:54,200
the globe for safe keeping, awaiting a future.

184
00:09:53,879 --> 00:09:55,559
Speaker 1: Time scattered across the Earth, and.

185
00:09:55,519 --> 00:09:58,799
Speaker 2: According to ancient Maya legend, or at least certain lineages

186
00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,879
within the Maya tradition, the most powerful skull the thirteenth one,

187
00:10:02,919 --> 00:10:05,639
the Connector. Yeah, it was specifically entrusted to them.

188
00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:07,120
Speaker 1: The Maya got the master skull.

189
00:10:07,279 --> 00:10:09,720
Speaker 2: Okay. This Maya's skull was said to be truly exceptional,

190
00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:13,440
possessing extraordinary properties. You could communicate telepathically. Apparently.

191
00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:14,519
Speaker 1: I thought, wow.

192
00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,360
Speaker 2: It could supposedly answer any question asked of it, not

193
00:10:17,399 --> 00:10:21,039
just with simple answers, but with profound insights. It knew

194
00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:24,960
mankind's true origin, our purpose. It held the truth behind

195
00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:29,200
all the great mysteries of the Pyramids, Stonehenge, even Atlantis itself.

196
00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:31,440
Speaker 1: So it was like a cosmic search engine.

197
00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,000
Speaker 2: You could say that, the legend claimed, all you had

198
00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,440
to do was ask and it would reveal everything.

199
00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:39,480
Speaker 1: Here's where it gets really interesting. This isn't just a

200
00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:44,679
local myth. It's this galactic saga, a cosmic relay race

201
00:10:44,759 --> 00:10:49,840
of knowledge. It makes you wonder about humanity's enduring fascination

202
00:10:50,159 --> 00:10:53,639
with ancient wisdom and hidden powers, doesn't it?

203
00:10:53,639 --> 00:10:56,679
Speaker 2: It really does, and the grand prophecy surrounding these skulls

204
00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:01,039
the culmination of this Martian Atlantean legacy that when all

205
00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:04,360
thirteen were finally reunited, the power of the gods would

206
00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:08,080
be unleashed, revealing the ultimate fate of the entire human race.

207
00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:10,279
Speaker 1: Whoa heavy stuff.

208
00:11:10,039 --> 00:11:14,080
Speaker 2: But there was a crucier caveat a condition. This profound

209
00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,960
revelation would only happen when mankind was deemed worthy worthy.

210
00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,360
Speaker 1: How do you define worthy on a species level?

211
00:11:20,519 --> 00:11:22,799
Speaker 2: That's the million dollar question. Isn't it worthy of such

212
00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:25,720
immense truth and power? Presumably without misusing it?

213
00:11:25,799 --> 00:11:27,519
Speaker 1: So a test of maturity? Maybe?

214
00:11:27,639 --> 00:11:30,639
Speaker 2: Perhaps so. For twelve thousand long years, the legends say,

215
00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:34,399
these skulls remained hidden, patiently, awaiting the day when humanity

216
00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,279
had matured enough technologically and spiritually to be trusted.

217
00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:40,600
Speaker 1: Twelve thousand years is a long time to wait, a

218
00:11:40,759 --> 00:11:44,240
very long time, and then, supposedly, in January nineteen twenty four,

219
00:11:44,399 --> 00:11:46,480
that day arrived, or seemed to right.

220
00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:51,200
Speaker 2: We shift our scene dramatically now to the dense, dangerous

221
00:11:51,279 --> 00:11:54,759
jungles of British Honduras, which is now modern day Belize.

222
00:11:54,799 --> 00:11:57,840
Speaker 1: And you weren't kidding about dangerous. Describe this jungle.

223
00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,919
Speaker 2: It was a truly perilous environment, a wild, untamed wilderness

224
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,279
determined to keep his secrets, teeming with formidable natural guardians

225
00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:11,120
like what snakes? Venomous snakes, absolutely fair vipers, coral snakes

226
00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:15,559
camouflage perfectly. Their neurotoxins could kill within hours. But danger

227
00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:16,440
wasn't just on the ground.

228
00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:16,960
Speaker 1: What else?

229
00:12:17,039 --> 00:12:20,919
Speaker 2: Predatory jaguars attacks from above, powerful jaws capable of crushing

230
00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,320
a human skull with one bite. Then you have malaria

231
00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:28,679
carrying mosquitoes buzzing incessantly, scorpions, fire ants, nasty parasites, even

232
00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,279
flesh eating botflies. It was hostile territories.

233
00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:33,960
Speaker 1: Sounds absolutely dreadful. Why would anyone go there?

234
00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:36,960
Speaker 2: Few explorers dared to venture that deep into what was

235
00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:41,840
still largely uncharted Maya territory. Even fewer emerged unscathed. But

236
00:12:41,919 --> 00:12:43,000
someone did dare.

237
00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:49,480
Speaker 1: And into this wild, untamed wilderness. Steps Frederick Mitchell Hedges.

238
00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,600
Speaker 2: The man himself. But he wasn't just an explorer. He

239
00:12:52,639 --> 00:12:55,759
was an adventurer, a larger than life character who seemed

240
00:12:55,799 --> 00:12:58,320
to believe he was living out his own epic novel.

241
00:12:58,399 --> 00:12:59,519
Speaker 1: What was his philosophy?

242
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,080
Speaker 2: I firmly believed true discoveries weren't made in dusty libraries.

243
00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:05,679
They were made in the field, in the dirt, with

244
00:13:05,799 --> 00:13:10,440
grit and daring. His autobiography Danger Mayale really sums up

245
00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:15,799
his persona filled with incredible, often unbelievable exploits. Unbelievable how

246
00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:20,080
well Minchell Hedges cultivated this grand reputation. Stories of his exploits,

247
00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,519
many self promoted dramatically embellished, made him a celebrity back

248
00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:25,759
in England, Like what kind of stories he claimed to

249
00:13:25,799 --> 00:13:28,440
have been a spy in World War One, a sausher

250
00:13:28,519 --> 00:13:30,759
An escape artist captured by dangerous tribes.

251
00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:33,240
Speaker 1: Seriously, oh yeah.

252
00:13:32,799 --> 00:13:36,519
Speaker 2: Claims he thought deadly animals bare handed discovered ancient ruins

253
00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:42,120
buried treasure. He truly embodied that swashbuckling adventurer archetype. Almost

254
00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:43,399
too perfectly. You might say.

255
00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:45,039
Speaker 1: He sounds like a character straight out of a pulp

256
00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:48,480
fiction novel, or maybe maybe even a certain archaeologists adventurer

257
00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:49,240
we all know and love.

258
00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:53,120
Speaker 2: There are definite parallels drawn. Yes, and funnily enough, a

259
00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:55,720
lot of the lore from the fourth Indiana John's movie

260
00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:58,399
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was actually based on this

261
00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:00,279
very legend we're discussing today.

262
00:14:00,159 --> 00:14:03,559
Speaker 1: No kidding. So Indy Owes something to Mitchell Hedges, or

263
00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:05,440
at least the myth around him in a way.

264
00:14:06,039 --> 00:14:11,000
Speaker 2: Mitchell Hedges was obsessed with lost cities ancient civilizations, especially

265
00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:16,600
the Maya. He was captivated by how their sophisticated knowledge math, astronomy,

266
00:14:16,799 --> 00:14:19,840
architecture seemed to appear almost suddenly in the historical record

267
00:14:20,399 --> 00:14:23,480
from nowhere exactly. It prompted him to speculate that an

268
00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:28,480
advanced culture, maybe Atlantean survivors, or even as local legends hinted,

269
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,080
star people, star people, Yeah, that they had aided the

270
00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:33,480
Maya in their rapid development.

271
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,399
Speaker 1: Okay, star people, where did that idea come from?

272
00:14:36,559 --> 00:14:39,759
Speaker 2: Local workers descendants of the Maya in British Honduras told

273
00:14:39,799 --> 00:14:43,759
Mitchell Hedges stories about mysterious beings who appeared suddenly from

274
00:14:43,799 --> 00:14:47,720
the sky, shared immense knowledge, and then just vanished. Some

275
00:14:47,759 --> 00:14:50,960
of these descendants believed these beings were indeed from Atlantis,

276
00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:56,240
a belief Mitchell Hedges wholeheartedly embraced. He actively sought to

277
00:14:56,279 --> 00:14:56,639
prove it.

278
00:14:57,039 --> 00:14:58,480
Speaker 1: So he went looking for evidence.

279
00:14:58,679 --> 00:15:02,000
Speaker 2: Yes, with the these theories burning in his mind, he

280
00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:04,759
hired local guides to lead him deep into the jungle.

281
00:15:05,279 --> 00:15:08,120
He promised to find a lost city, something that could

282
00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:12,120
finally provide concrete proof of his grand theories, maybe even

283
00:15:12,159 --> 00:15:13,840
find that legendary thirteenth skull.

284
00:15:14,039 --> 00:15:15,720
Speaker 1: Must have been a tough journey.

285
00:15:15,639 --> 00:15:20,799
Speaker 2: Slow, painstaking work through that dense, suffocating jungle, relentless heath

286
00:15:20,879 --> 00:15:24,240
and humidity. But then, after weeks of hacking through foliage,

287
00:15:24,399 --> 00:15:27,360
Mitchell Hedges spouted it, a tiny break in the canopy

288
00:15:27,399 --> 00:15:30,600
above a sign. He signed his team to stop. Crouched down,

289
00:15:30,679 --> 00:15:34,360
started digging. About six inches down, his shovel hit something solid.

290
00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:37,200
He called for help. Within minutes they cleared the soil

291
00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:40,720
revealed a gleaming white stone. If he found it, he

292
00:15:40,759 --> 00:15:43,120
thought the legend was true. He believed he had found

293
00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:45,840
an ancient lost city. He had no idea he was

294
00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,799
about to discover something or so the story goes much

295
00:15:48,919 --> 00:15:50,480
much older and more significant.

296
00:15:50,559 --> 00:15:51,519
Speaker 1: What was the city like?

297
00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,679
Speaker 2: Mitchell Hedges and his team spent weeks clearing the site.

298
00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:59,080
The ancient Maya city they uncovered was truly unlike anything

299
00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:03,360
he had seen before, definitely not typical Maya construction. The

300
00:16:03,399 --> 00:16:08,200
colossal stones were perfectly cut, fitted together without mortar, reminiscent

301
00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,000
of ancient Egyptian sites, which only fueled his Atlantean theories.

302
00:16:12,039 --> 00:16:13,399
Speaker 1: What kind of structures they found?

303
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:18,039
Speaker 2: Remains of homes, markets, temples, and amphitheater and at the

304
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:21,879
center a great pyramid unlike any other in meso America.

305
00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:24,679
These were the ruins of Lubantun.

306
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:26,120
Speaker 1: Lubontun, what does that mean?

307
00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,679
Speaker 2: Place the fallen stones? A name that certainly makes you wonder,

308
00:16:29,759 --> 00:16:32,960
as Mitchell Hedges did, where such perfectly cut stones might

309
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:33,879
have fallen From.

310
00:16:33,679 --> 00:16:35,279
Speaker 1: Good point, he must have been thrilled.

311
00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:39,080
Speaker 2: Oh, he meticulously documented everything in his field journal, The

312
00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:43,039
position of each stone, building alignments convinced he was compiling

313
00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,559
proof of a global advanced civilization in.

314
00:16:45,519 --> 00:16:47,080
Speaker 1: The pyramid anything special.

315
00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:49,759
Speaker 2: There After clearing heavy debris from the very top of

316
00:16:49,799 --> 00:16:55,080
that central pyramid, a small dark opening was revealed. Peering

317
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:59,240
down about forty feet below, they saw a distinct glint,

318
00:16:59,679 --> 00:17:02,279
a flat flash of light, like something glowing in the

319
00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,599
darkness of the temple chamber. That was the thought. Mitchell

320
00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:08,799
Hedges measured the opening far too small for him to

321
00:17:08,799 --> 00:17:11,599
fit through. He needed one of the younger, thinner men.

322
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:16,240
They go. They all flatly refused, their faces contorted with fear.

323
00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:19,119
They were convinced entering that sacred temple would bring a

324
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:23,200
terrible curse. They insisted whatever was inside should remain undisturbed.

325
00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:24,680
Ancient magic, they said.

326
00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:26,920
Speaker 1: But Mitchell Hedges didn't buy it, not at all.

327
00:17:27,039 --> 00:17:30,720
Speaker 2: He called it superstitious hocus pocus. He looked at their

328
00:17:30,799 --> 00:17:35,079
terrified faces, their earlier excitement gone, and apparently dramatically asked,

329
00:17:35,519 --> 00:17:38,440
does nobody have the courage to make the greatest discovery

330
00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:42,960
in history? Silence fixed, silence broken only by jungle sounds,

331
00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,279
and then from the back, a soft, unwavering voice responded,

332
00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:46,960
I'll do it.

333
00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:47,720
Speaker 1: Who was it?

334
00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,480
Speaker 2: Mitchell Hedge's seventeen year old daughter, Anna.

335
00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:51,799
Speaker 1: His daughter? She was there?

336
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,799
Speaker 2: Oh? Yes, Anna had been her father's fearless traveling companions

337
00:17:55,799 --> 00:17:59,440
since she was just ten, accompanied to him on perilous expeditions.

338
00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:02,799
She was every bit as daring, maybe just as reckless,

339
00:18:02,839 --> 00:18:03,359
as he was.

340
00:18:03,519 --> 00:18:05,400
Speaker 1: Wow, so Anna volunteered.

341
00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,799
Speaker 2: She crouched over the small dark opening, scanned the cavern below,

342
00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:14,440
determined to gaze. A few seconds later, turned around and

343
00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:16,519
calmly said, fetch me the rope.

344
00:18:16,759 --> 00:18:17,599
Speaker 1: What day was this?

345
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,799
Speaker 2: It was supposedly her seventeenth birthday in nineteen twenty four,

346
00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:25,279
a date she would later emphasize repeatedly, I'm maybe adding to.

347
00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:27,640
Speaker 1: The dramatic flare, right, So they lowered her down.

348
00:18:27,599 --> 00:18:30,400
Speaker 2: Carefully lowered her into the black void. When she reached

349
00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:32,839
the chamber floor, she approached the altar where the glint

350
00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:36,359
was seen, fell to her knees and began digging with

351
00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,240
her bare hands, feeling around in the ancient dust. Must

352
00:18:39,279 --> 00:18:42,920
have been tense, breathless minutes passed, Then she tugged twice

353
00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:45,880
on the rope, the signal to come back up. When

354
00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:49,079
Anna finally emerged back into the jungle sunlight, she has

355
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:53,039
something carefully wrapped in her shirt. She unwrapped it, handed

356
00:18:53,079 --> 00:18:56,400
it to her father, a flawless human skull carved from

357
00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:01,079
his single, impossibly pure piece of quartz crystal, absolutely perfect,

358
00:19:01,279 --> 00:19:02,279
glimmering in the sun.

359
00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:03,440
Speaker 1: What did the workers do?

360
00:19:03,799 --> 00:19:06,720
Speaker 2: Mitchell Hedges held it high. There was a moment of stunned,

361
00:19:06,759 --> 00:19:09,759
almost reverent silence from the Maya workers. Then they just

362
00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:15,240
erupted joy awe, maybe fear too. An elder stepped forward,

363
00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:19,079
eyes wide, confirmed its ancient status, thousands of years old,

364
00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:21,559
he claimed, and then he shared a chilling legend. What

365
00:19:21,759 --> 00:19:26,599
ledgend passed down through generations, high priests could will someone

366
00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:31,200
to death using that skull, such was its inherent dark power.

367
00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,000
Speaker 1: Will someone to death? Yikes?

368
00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:36,400
Speaker 2: From then on. Mitchell Hedges, ever, the showman, immediately dubbed

369
00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:37,359
it the skull of Doom.

370
00:19:37,759 --> 00:19:40,799
Speaker 1: The skull of Doom quite a name. So what does

371
00:19:40,799 --> 00:19:42,720
this all mean? It's a story straight out of an

372
00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:46,279
adventure novel, right, The daring daughter, the cursed temple, the

373
00:19:46,319 --> 00:19:48,400
miraculous fine, the ancient prophecy.

374
00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,759
Speaker 2: It's got all the classic irresistible.

375
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:53,400
Speaker 1: Elements, it really does. Mitchell Hedges return to London, carefully

376
00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:55,599
packed the skull away and surprisingly didn't show it to

377
00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,200
anyone or even discuss it publicly for almost thirty years.

378
00:19:58,519 --> 00:20:01,960
Speaker 2: Oh, isn't it to dramatic discovery? He only mentioned it

379
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,200
one more time in writing before he died in nineteen

380
00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,839
fifty nine. Very odd, and the sheer perfection of that

381
00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:12,440
discovery narrative, almost too neat, makes you wonder how much

382
00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:15,480
of what we want to believe actually shapes the stories

383
00:20:15,519 --> 00:20:20,079
we tell, even influences how we perceive evidence. It's a

384
00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:22,519
recurring theme with artifacts like this.

385
00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,240
Speaker 1: That's a good point. So what happened after he died?

386
00:20:25,519 --> 00:20:28,200
Speaker 2: When Anna inherited the skull in nineteen fifty nine. She

387
00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:31,240
claimed she finally understood why her father kept it hidden.

388
00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,559
The crystal skull, she said, started talking to her, talking

389
00:20:35,759 --> 00:20:39,079
like voices, and not just talking, it was singing, singing.

390
00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:43,319
Speaker 1: Okay, that's quite a claim. An inanimate object communicated.

391
00:20:42,799 --> 00:20:47,599
Speaker 2: Absolutely so naturally. Animental Hedges contacted Frank Doreland in nineteen

392
00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,839
sixty three. He's an art restorer, a crystal expert, had

393
00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,200
a reputation for working with unusual materials.

394
00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:54,839
Speaker 1: She wanted him to analyze.

395
00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:58,160
Speaker 2: It, exactly, analyze the skull determined secrets. He of course

396
00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,279
said yes, intrigued by the repetation of the skull of Doom,

397
00:21:01,839 --> 00:21:04,440
and as soon as Frank received it, he immediately noticed

398
00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,599
something strange himself. He claimed the skull would emit this

399
00:21:07,799 --> 00:21:09,759
low resonant singing sound.

400
00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:10,079
Speaker 1: He hear.

401
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,599
Speaker 2: That's too, so, he claimed, And soon even more peculiar things,

402
00:21:13,599 --> 00:21:16,559
according to Dorelyn and his wife, started to occur neck

403
00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,440
what whenever the skull was out of his protective vault.

404
00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,759
They claimed they could hear soft, disembodied voices, ethereal music

405
00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:27,160
like whispers and humming, seemingly coming from the crystal.

406
00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,079
Speaker 1: Itself, whispers and music.

407
00:21:29,279 --> 00:21:33,000
Speaker 2: Okay, Then there was the phenomenon of smells. Some people

408
00:21:33,039 --> 00:21:36,079
reported the sweet, fresh scent of apple blossoms near it.

409
00:21:36,519 --> 00:21:41,200
Others described a pungent, athytic smell like vinegar, different sense

410
00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,400
for different people at different times.

411
00:21:43,519 --> 00:21:46,319
Speaker 1: Frank Dorlen's experiences sound like something straight out of a

412
00:21:46,319 --> 00:21:51,759
suspense thriller or maybe a ghost story. Whispers, smells, visions.

413
00:21:52,599 --> 00:21:54,400
It certainly added to the mystique, didn't it.

414
00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,279
Speaker 2: It absolutely fueled the legend. He studied the skull for

415
00:21:57,319 --> 00:22:01,799
six years, particulously documenting every range occurrence. He claimed the

416
00:22:01,799 --> 00:22:05,200
skull channeled light through its perfectly carved eye sockets, making

417
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:06,799
them glow with an internal light.

418
00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:09,559
Speaker 1: Glowing eyes. Seriously, that was the claim.

419
00:22:10,319 --> 00:22:14,759
Speaker 2: Different people apparently experienced different physiological effects too. Some felt

420
00:22:14,839 --> 00:22:20,720
overwhelming thirst, other's unusual warmth or chills, and the sense persisted.

421
00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:24,519
But perhaps most dramatically, some, when looking intently through the

422
00:22:24,559 --> 00:22:28,799
skull's left eye, claimed to see vivid visions ancient temples

423
00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:32,759
ruins played out like little movie scenes inside the crystal.

424
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:33,880
Speaker 1: Visions in the skull's eye.

425
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:37,799
Speaker 2: That's wild, And one night Dorlan even recounted hearing unsettling

426
00:22:37,839 --> 00:22:42,440
movement downstairs, faint bells, chimes, whispers, went down to find

427
00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:47,039
objects scattered everywhere, and the skull itself supposedly perfectly positioned

428
00:22:47,079 --> 00:22:50,480
to capture the sunrise, staring at him with bright orange eyes.

429
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,920
Speaker 1: Okay, that's getting into Poltergeists territory.

430
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,720
Speaker 2: It really is, and this period highlights that human tendency

431
00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,920
doesn't it to attribute unusual phenomena to unknown, often supernatural force,

432
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,920
especially when faced with an object that seems to defy explanation.

433
00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,440
The desire to understand, even to believe in, the extraordinary,

434
00:23:07,839 --> 00:23:09,079
can be very powerful.

435
00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:11,480
Speaker 1: So did Dorelyn think it was magic cursed?

436
00:23:11,799 --> 00:23:16,799
Speaker 2: Interestingly, No, despite all these seemingly magical experiences, Dorelyn didn't

437
00:23:16,839 --> 00:23:20,240
actually believe the skull was enchanted or supernatural in that sense.

438
00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:25,680
He theorized it was an incredibly sophisticated machine. A machine

439
00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:29,759
he believed the crystal somehow interacted with human thought, with

440
00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:34,319
consciousness through something he called crystallography, the idea that crystal

441
00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:38,559
structures could be influenced by and maybe influence the human mind.

442
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,039
Speaker 1: Crystallography. Okay, so he wanted proof, yes.

443
00:23:42,559 --> 00:23:45,319
Speaker 2: To prove his theory, he confidently took the skull back

444
00:23:45,319 --> 00:23:49,480
to Hewlett, Packard's crystal lab. He believed their unparallel expertise

445
00:23:49,519 --> 00:23:52,640
in courts would validate his claims about its unique machine

446
00:23:52,759 --> 00:23:53,480
like properties.

447
00:23:53,839 --> 00:23:56,839
Speaker 1: Back to HP. Imagine being those scientists again. They spent

448
00:23:56,839 --> 00:23:58,799
their careers perfecting courts tech.

449
00:23:58,759 --> 00:24:02,039
Speaker 2: And Dorelyn brings this thing clumbing. It interacts with minds.

450
00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,799
They assigned their top people to it, the absolute best

451
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:06,119
minds in crystal engineering.

452
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:07,440
Speaker 1: And what do they find this time?

453
00:24:07,599 --> 00:24:11,480
Speaker 2: Every test they conducted, every angle they pursued, it led

454
00:24:11,519 --> 00:24:14,559
them back to the same bewildering conclusion. One they just

455
00:24:14,599 --> 00:24:17,400
couldn't wrap their heads around. Even with all their expertise,

456
00:24:17,799 --> 00:24:21,559
Their assessment remained this object should not exist.

457
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:24,839
Speaker 1: Still, what specifically did the tests show?

458
00:24:25,079 --> 00:24:28,640
Speaker 2: Well, their initial tests were thorough. They confirmed again that

459
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:31,759
the skull and its detachable jaw came from a single

460
00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:36,240
monolithic piece of quartz crystal, which is already incredibly difficult

461
00:24:36,279 --> 00:24:37,319
without modern tools.

462
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:39,759
Speaker 1: Right, we covered that, But what was even.

463
00:24:39,599 --> 00:24:41,880
Speaker 2: More baffling was that the courts had been cut against

464
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,440
its natural axis. Think of it like carving wood against

465
00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:48,559
the grain. It's extraordinarily difficult, usually causes the material to

466
00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:49,680
splinter or shatter.

467
00:24:49,839 --> 00:24:50,920
Speaker 1: So how is it done?

468
00:24:51,319 --> 00:24:55,480
Speaker 2: They deemed it almost impossible with any known conventional technology

469
00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,680
of the time, or frankly, with any traditional stone cutting

470
00:24:58,720 --> 00:24:59,640
techniques even now.

471
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:02,720
Speaker 1: Surface did they find tool marks this time?

472
00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,640
Speaker 2: That's the other mystery. When viewed under a high powered microscope,

473
00:25:06,799 --> 00:25:11,400
the skull's surface was perfectly smooth, almost unnaturally so. No

474
00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:15,799
discernible tool marks, no microscopic scratches or imperfections that would

475
00:25:15,799 --> 00:25:18,160
indicate how it was shaped, none at all, None they

476
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,680
could detect. The only explanations the HP scientists could offer

477
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:26,079
were well pretty extreme. Either over a century of continuous

478
00:25:26,079 --> 00:25:27,799
polishing with water and sand, a.

479
00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:30,720
Speaker 1: Century of polishing that sounds absurd.

480
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:35,160
Speaker 2: A monumental, almost absurd undertaking for one artifact, yes, or

481
00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:39,880
the more unsettling possibility it was made with technology we

482
00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:44,599
don't understand. A phrase that coming from leading experts carries immense.

483
00:25:44,279 --> 00:25:46,400
Speaker 1: Weight technology we don't understand. Wow.

484
00:25:46,799 --> 00:25:51,400
Speaker 2: Furthermore, the skull's intricate internal structure suggested deliberate advanced engineering.

485
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,039
The cranium, for instance, contained what they described as intricate

486
00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:58,599
ribbon prisms and light tunnels. The eye sockets were precisely

487
00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,759
crafted lenses deg to focus and manipulate lights.

488
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,039
Speaker 1: So it wasn't just carved, It was engineered internally.

489
00:26:04,319 --> 00:26:07,279
Speaker 2: That's what it looked like. This wasn't an accidental formation

490
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:11,880
or a simple carving. It pointed towards deliberate engineering, maybe

491
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:16,279
even molecular alteration of the crystal. Modern techniques like using

492
00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:21,599
femtosecond lasers can create nanostructures inside crystal now.

493
00:26:21,559 --> 00:26:23,160
Speaker 1: But not back then exactly.

494
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:25,799
Speaker 2: We're only just mastering that kind of thing, let alone

495
00:26:25,799 --> 00:26:29,480
achieving it potentially thousands of years ago. The scientific conundrum

496
00:26:29,519 --> 00:26:33,480
was profound. How could this object exist with such precision,

497
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,880
such properties, without the tools and knowledge we consider prerequisites.

498
00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:42,240
Speaker 1: Imagine the sheer cognitive dissonance for those scientists trying to

499
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,079
grapple with something that literally shouldn't be possible according to

500
00:26:45,079 --> 00:26:48,640
their own physics and engineering principles. It's a true enigma,

501
00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:50,759
a challenge to the established paradigm.

502
00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:56,279
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and when Healtt Packard, a reputable scientific institution, publicized

503
00:26:56,319 --> 00:27:01,200
these baffling, inconclusive findings, while it naturally fueled White iidespread public.

504
00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:02,720
Speaker 1: Speculation, people must have gone wild.

505
00:27:03,079 --> 00:27:07,039
Speaker 2: They did. People started to genuinely wonder if the ancient

506
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:10,680
legend of the thirteen crystal skulls was actually true, and

507
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:14,839
if maybe, just maybe mankind was now worthy that more

508
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:18,319
skulls were out there, waiting to be found, destined to reunite.

509
00:27:18,599 --> 00:27:20,920
Speaker 1: So the HP tests kicked off a new search.

510
00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:27,640
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, this publicity ignited a widespread, almost frantic search. Researchers, enthusiasts,

511
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:31,440
even some governments started contacting museums worldwide asking if they

512
00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,440
had any ancient crystal skulls of their collections, maybe tucked

513
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:38,279
away in storage, and did they Surprisingly, yes, they found more.

514
00:27:38,799 --> 00:27:42,240
In nineteen ninety two, a mysterious, unmarked package arrived at

515
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:47,480
the Smithsonian Institution no return address, inside a substantial crystal

516
00:27:47,519 --> 00:27:50,680
skull weighing a hefty thirty one pounds thirty one pounds

517
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,400
and anonymous hotly anonymous. This skull, later dubbed the Peris

518
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:58,000
Skull due to its eventual identification, sparked doctor Jane Walsh's

519
00:27:58,039 --> 00:28:01,519
extensive and rigorous investigation into the whole crystal skull phenomenon.

520
00:28:01,559 --> 00:28:03,680
Speaker 1: Doctor Jane Walsh at the Smithsonian, Okay, so she took

521
00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:04,000
a lead.

522
00:28:04,319 --> 00:28:07,640
Speaker 2: She did, and her research quickly revealed that this Smithsonian

523
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:10,920
skull wasn't unique, nor was the Mitchell Hedges skull the

524
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,799
first one known she hadn'covered two other skulls that had

525
00:28:13,839 --> 00:28:16,559
appeared even before Mitchell Hedges made his famous.

526
00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:18,119
Speaker 1: Find earlier ones where.

527
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,920
Speaker 2: In eighteen seventy eight an Aztec crystal skull appeared at

528
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,079
the museat U Kai Branley in Paris, and another showed

529
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,920
up at the British Museum in London in eighteen ninety.

530
00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:30,680
Speaker 1: Seven, Paris and London before Mitchell Hedges.

531
00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:34,160
Speaker 2: Exactly, and the common thread connecting these earlier discoveries, the

532
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:37,480
thread that began to unravel the whole mystery a rather

533
00:28:37,599 --> 00:28:39,640
notorious figure named Eugene Bobon.

534
00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:42,160
Speaker 1: Eugene Bobon, who was he Beobon.

535
00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,880
Speaker 2: Was a fascinating character, a French archaeologist who, perhaps seeing

536
00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:49,799
more profit and trade, transformed into a shrewd antiquities dealer.

537
00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,759
Speaker 1: An archaeologist turned Dealeray the Napoleon.

538
00:28:52,319 --> 00:28:54,400
Speaker 2: The third had sent him to Mexico back in eighteen

539
00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,400
fifty seven to collect artifacts for France, but it seems

540
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,559
Bobon collected quite a few for himself too, coognizing their

541
00:29:00,599 --> 00:29:02,000
potential market value.

542
00:29:01,799 --> 00:29:04,680
Speaker 1: Ah helping himself to the goods, seems like it.

543
00:29:05,759 --> 00:29:08,680
Speaker 2: Bobon eventually opened a shop in France in eighteen sixty nine,

544
00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,720
and there he sold a crystal skull to a French explorer.

545
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:15,920
This was the first publicly displayed one, now known as

546
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:16,720
the Paris.

547
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,759
Speaker 1: Skull, the one Walsh ended up studying the.

548
00:29:18,799 --> 00:29:22,079
Speaker 2: Very same Ten years later he sold another one to Tiffany's,

549
00:29:22,119 --> 00:29:25,440
the famous American jewelry company. That one eventually made its

550
00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:27,799
way into the British Museum and became known as the

551
00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:28,559
London Skull.

552
00:29:29,039 --> 00:29:32,279
Speaker 1: So Boben is the source for these earlier skulls.

553
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:33,440
Speaker 2: He's the common link.

554
00:29:33,599 --> 00:29:36,279
Speaker 1: The scientific detective work here is just as compelling as

555
00:29:36,319 --> 00:29:39,079
the myth itself. It's like a historical hood unit, where

556
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:42,240
the tools, or lack thereof, tell the story. So doctor

557
00:29:42,279 --> 00:29:43,960
Walsh and her colleague.

558
00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:46,880
Speaker 2: British scientist Margaret Sachs, they teamed up, armed with modern

559
00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:51,160
forensic analysis, electron microscopes the works. They set about meticulously

560
00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,119
examining these skulls, the Paris one, the British Museum one,

561
00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:55,599
the mysterious Smithsonian one.

562
00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,000
Speaker 1: And what can an electron microscope show you on a

563
00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:58,640
crystal skull?

564
00:29:58,839 --> 00:30:01,559
Speaker 2: He uses a beam of elect trons to magnify objects

565
00:30:01,599 --> 00:30:06,200
millions of times. You can see incredibly fine details microscopic scratches,

566
00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:10,559
tool marks, things invisible to the naked eye, evidence of

567
00:30:10,599 --> 00:30:11,400
how it was made.

568
00:30:11,799 --> 00:30:12,920
Speaker 1: And did they find anything?

569
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,680
Speaker 2: Oh? Yes, their critical discovery was truly the smoking gun.

570
00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:22,759
Under that powerful magnification, they found definitive, unambiguous marks from

571
00:30:23,279 --> 00:30:25,519
grinding wheels on all of.

572
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:28,319
Speaker 1: Them, grinding wheel like modern grinding wheels exactly.

573
00:30:28,799 --> 00:30:33,759
Speaker 2: These weren't ancient, unexplainable marks from primitive tools. Crucially, these

574
00:30:33,799 --> 00:30:38,599
specific pattern striations grooves perfectly matched the unique cutting techniques

575
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:40,440
used on stones from meat or Oberstein.

576
00:30:40,559 --> 00:30:42,920
Speaker 1: Eider Oberstein, Where's that a small.

577
00:30:42,599 --> 00:30:45,960
Speaker 2: German village famous for its precision gem cutters and its

578
00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,960
state of the art grinding wheels since the late nineteenth century.

579
00:30:48,759 --> 00:30:50,880
Speaker 1: Germany, not Mexico or Central America.

580
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:53,279
Speaker 2: Not only that, but further tests on the courts itself

581
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:55,759
showed the material wasn't from Central America at all. It

582
00:30:55,799 --> 00:30:57,359
was from Brazil or Madagascar.

583
00:30:57,519 --> 00:30:59,240
Speaker 1: Brazil or Madagascar and.

584
00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:02,319
Speaker 2: Guess what I'd or overseen had received large shipments of

585
00:31:02,359 --> 00:31:06,400
Brazilian courts right around that time, specifically between eighteen seventy

586
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:07,240
and eighteen ninety.

587
00:31:07,359 --> 00:31:09,720
Speaker 1: Wow, that's pretty conclusive.

588
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,359
Speaker 2: It lined up perfectly. So the puzzle pieces started falling

589
00:31:13,359 --> 00:31:17,200
into place with stunning clarity. Both of Bobin's skulls, the

590
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:19,480
ones he sold in the late nineteenth century, were now

591
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:24,079
definitively confirmed manufactured in Germany between eighteen seventy and eighteen ninety.

592
00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:27,440
Speaker 1: Okay, so Bobin's skulls were fakes. What about the Smithsonian one,

593
00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:28,480
the anonymous package.

594
00:31:28,519 --> 00:31:31,839
Speaker 2: It had identical grinding patterns, and it was hydration dated

595
00:31:32,079 --> 00:31:34,880
that the method estimating age based on how much water

596
00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:37,799
the surface is absorbed over time to the exact same

597
00:31:37,839 --> 00:31:39,920
period eighteen seventy eighteen ninety.

598
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:41,680
Speaker 1: Incredible, The science nailed it down.

599
00:31:41,759 --> 00:31:46,599
Speaker 2: The truth was laid bare. Three supposedly ancient mystical skulls

600
00:31:46,799 --> 00:31:52,640
were unequivocally exposed as sophisticated forgeries, modern reproductions made in Germany,

601
00:31:52,759 --> 00:31:56,920
then deceptively sold by Eugene Boben as authentic Mexican artifacts.

602
00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:59,839
Speaker 1: The world must have been stunned. The legend just crumbled.

603
00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,039
Speaker 2: It did, and it raises that important question again, what

604
00:32:03,039 --> 00:32:06,319
does it mean when science, with its rigorous method can

605
00:32:06,359 --> 00:32:10,319
so definitively challenge a widely held, almost revered belief. It

606
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:14,960
just underscores the critical importance of skeptical inquiry. Robust methodology

607
00:32:15,319 --> 00:32:19,359
when evaluating extraordinary claims, no matter how appealing the story is.

608
00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:22,559
Speaker 1: So three skulls down, what about the most famous one,

609
00:32:22,599 --> 00:32:24,960
the Mitchell Hedges skull of Doom.

610
00:32:25,079 --> 00:32:27,599
Speaker 2: Naturally, after the truth about the others hit the media,

611
00:32:27,759 --> 00:32:31,000
everyone wanted Anna Mitchell Hedges to allow her skull to

612
00:32:31,079 --> 00:32:32,240
undergo the same tests.

613
00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:33,000
Speaker 1: Did she agree?

614
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:36,640
Speaker 2: No, Anna, fiercely protective of her father's legacy and her

615
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:41,440
dramatic story, steadfastly refused. She guarded her secret, her narrative

616
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:43,920
right up until her death in two thousand.

617
00:32:43,599 --> 00:32:46,440
Speaker 1: And seven, so she never let it be tested.

618
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:49,119
Speaker 2: Not by Walsh's team. No. However, when Anna passed away,

619
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:52,559
her husband Bill Holman, inherited the skull okay, and in

620
00:32:52,599 --> 00:32:55,720
two thousand and eight, maybe confident in its authenticity or

621
00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:58,400
maybe just wanting to put the matter to rest, Holman

622
00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:02,119
made a big decision. Bravely walked into the Smithsonian carrying

623
00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:05,559
the infamous skull of dooone to face doctor Jane Walsh

624
00:33:05,559 --> 00:33:06,039
in her team.

625
00:33:06,079 --> 00:33:08,119
Speaker 1: He brought it in. What happened well.

626
00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:09,960
Speaker 2: As it turns out, it didn't take the scientists much

627
00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:12,599
time at all to reach the inevitable conclusion.

628
00:33:12,119 --> 00:33:14,200
Speaker 1: It was a fake too, the Mitchell.

629
00:33:13,839 --> 00:33:18,039
Speaker 2: Hedges crystal skull was also conclusively proven to be man made,

630
00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,240
bearing the identical telltale tool marks found on the other

631
00:33:21,839 --> 00:33:25,440
confirmed forged skulls from Idar Oberstein oh Man.

632
00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:28,839
Speaker 1: The final nail in the coffin for the legend.

633
00:33:28,599 --> 00:33:33,599
Speaker 2: Pretty much the entire fantastical narrative. Anna had meticulously constructed,

634
00:33:33,599 --> 00:33:37,480
the jungle adventure, the miraculous birthday discovery, all of it

635
00:33:37,519 --> 00:33:40,000
began to crumble under the weight of scientific evidence.

636
00:33:40,359 --> 00:33:43,039
Speaker 1: So what was the real story with Frederick, Mitchell Hedges

637
00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:43,640
and Anna.

638
00:33:44,079 --> 00:33:47,559
Speaker 2: Well. While Frederick was undeniably an adventurer a prolific writer,

639
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:51,200
his adventures, it became clear, were wildly exaggerated, off and

640
00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:55,519
outright fiction. Anna, it seems, took after him, inherited his

641
00:33:55,559 --> 00:33:58,960
flare for the dramatic. Her discovery story was a complete fabrication,

642
00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,200
woven from whole cle loss. So she claimed to find

643
00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,640
the skull in Lubenton in nineteen twenty four on her

644
00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:08,119
seventeenth birthday, but historical records showed she wasn't even in

645
00:34:08,199 --> 00:34:09,039
Lubenton that year.

646
00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:10,559
Speaker 1: She wasn't there nope.

647
00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:14,199
Speaker 2: Furthermore, her father didn't discover Lubentune either. The site was

648
00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:17,719
actually found and excavated by a different archaeologist, doctor Thomas Gohne,

649
00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:19,079
way back in nineteen oh three.

650
00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:20,840
Speaker 1: Wow. So the whole foundation of the.

651
00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:23,800
Speaker 2: Story was wrong completely, And her dates for finding the

652
00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:28,000
skull kept shifting too, Sometimes nineteen twenty four, sometimes twenty five,

653
00:34:28,039 --> 00:34:29,960
twenty six, twenty seven, even twenty eight.

654
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,039
Speaker 1: But always on her seventeenth birthday.

655
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:36,039
Speaker 2: Always her seventeenth birthday, a detail that clearly became part

656
00:34:36,079 --> 00:34:39,199
of her evolving narrative, not a concrete memory. You'd think

657
00:34:39,199 --> 00:34:42,239
she'd remember the actual year she made such an incredible find.

658
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:44,880
Speaker 1: Good point. So if she didn't find it, how did

659
00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:45,360
they get it?

660
00:34:45,519 --> 00:34:48,840
Speaker 2: The actual acquisition was far more mundane. Truth is often

661
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,360
less dramatic than fictional. He usually is Frederick Mitchell Hedges

662
00:34:52,519 --> 00:34:55,039
acquired it in nineteen forty three. He bought it from

663
00:34:55,079 --> 00:34:56,760
Sotheby's auction house in London.

664
00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:59,199
Speaker 1: He bought it at an auction.

665
00:34:59,079 --> 00:35:02,119
Speaker 2: YEP, which lanes why neither he nor Anna ever mentioned

666
00:35:02,119 --> 00:35:04,840
the skull in the nineteen twenties or thirties. They simply

667
00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:05,880
didn't own it yet that.

668
00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:08,239
Speaker 1: Makes perfect sense. Who sold it at Sawbebiest.

669
00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:11,039
Speaker 2: The seller was a man named Sidney Burnie of London.

670
00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:13,280
And guess who he claimed he got it from.

671
00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:15,480
Speaker 1: Let me guess Eugene Boben.

672
00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:18,880
Speaker 2: A collection once owned by none other than Eugene Bobon.

673
00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:23,719
It finally closed the loop, definitively tying the Mitchell Hedges

674
00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:27,159
Skull to the same fraudulent origins as the others, a

675
00:35:27,199 --> 00:35:28,800
century long chain of deceit.

676
00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:32,119
Speaker 1: Unbelievable. It all traces back to Bobon and the German

677
00:35:32,199 --> 00:35:33,440
gem cutters, it seems so.

678
00:35:34,159 --> 00:35:36,519
Speaker 2: And if that wasn't enough, it looks like Mitchell Hedges

679
00:35:36,559 --> 00:35:38,840
might have even borrowed elements for his story.

680
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:40,199
Speaker 1: Borrowed from where from?

681
00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:43,599
Speaker 2: A nineteen thirty six novel by Jack McLaren called The

682
00:35:43,639 --> 00:35:45,440
Crystal Skull a novel?

683
00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:47,039
Speaker 1: Seriously, Yeah.

684
00:35:47,119 --> 00:35:49,920
Speaker 2: The book was about a scientist who finds a crystal

685
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:52,960
skull that has telepathic powers and can show visions of

686
00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:57,119
the future, a striking parallel to the legend he later propagated.

687
00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,320
Speaker 1: That's that's almost comical, life imitating art, which was then

688
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:01,599
presented as life.

689
00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:02,079
Speaker 2: Something like that.

690
00:36:02,159 --> 00:36:04,360
Speaker 1: What about Frank Dorlin, the guy with the singing skull

691
00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:05,800
and visions? Did he ever backtrack?

692
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:10,320
Speaker 2: He did? Dorland eventually admitted to fabricating those sensational supernatural

693
00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:14,440
aspects himself, the magic voices, the poulter diced, the glowing eyes.

694
00:36:14,519 --> 00:36:17,840
He made it all up, good question, Maybe for attention,

695
00:36:18,079 --> 00:36:22,760
maybe to enhance the mystique. Ironically, his admission actually annoyed Anna,

696
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:24,800
led to a falling out between them.

697
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:26,960
Speaker 1: Why would she be annoyed if it helped the legend?

698
00:36:27,559 --> 00:36:32,400
Speaker 2: Because his increasingly outlandish stories were apparently making potential buyers

699
00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:35,960
for the skull uncomfortable, hindering her attempts to sell it.

700
00:36:36,039 --> 00:36:39,440
Later on, he wanted to sell, she wanted to keep

701
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:43,119
the legend pure. Maybe their interests diverged.

702
00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,679
Speaker 1: Money complicates everything, And just to be clear, HP's.

703
00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:50,000
Speaker 2: Tests right, let's clarify that. Yeah, Hewlett Packer did test

704
00:36:50,039 --> 00:36:52,199
the skull, as we mentioned, they did confirm it was

705
00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:54,480
a single piece of quartz and noted the difficulty of

706
00:36:54,519 --> 00:36:57,519
its manufacture cutting against the axis, no tool marks, etc.

707
00:36:58,199 --> 00:37:02,000
But the categorically refused to test anything supernatural or validate

708
00:37:02,039 --> 00:37:05,199
any of dore Lyn's more fantastic claims about voices or visions.

709
00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,800
Their official statements were carefully worded, focusing only on the

710
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:09,960
physical properties, so.

711
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:12,000
Speaker 1: The public kind of filled in the blanks heard what

712
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:13,440
they wanted to hear exactly.

713
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,400
Speaker 2: The public, eager for a mystery, ran with the inconclusive

714
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:20,920
parts and the should not exist angle, ignoring the lack

715
00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:23,159
of confirmation for the supernatural.

716
00:37:22,559 --> 00:37:24,840
Speaker 1: Stuff got it. So the final word from.

717
00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:28,880
Speaker 2: Science, the final definitive word from rigorous scientific investigation, is

718
00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:32,920
this the Maya legend of the thirteen crystal skulls as

719
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:34,599
we know it is firmly debunked.

720
00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:36,280
Speaker 1: No such legend existed.

721
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:39,559
Speaker 2: Neither the Maya, nor the Aztec, nor any other Mesoamerican

722
00:37:39,599 --> 00:37:42,920
civilization had any such legend of thirteen prophetic skulls from

723
00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:46,119
space or Atlantis. They certainly worked with quartz and other

724
00:37:46,159 --> 00:37:49,039
stones culturally, but not this specific myth.

725
00:37:49,599 --> 00:37:51,159
Speaker 1: So where did the myth come from?

726
00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:53,800
Speaker 2: It was, in fact almost entirely created by the New

727
00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:56,840
Age movement of the nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties. They

728
00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:00,480
were eager for spiritual mysterious artifacts to elevate their beliefs,

729
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:02,639
and the skulls fit the bill perfectly.

730
00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:05,199
Speaker 1: So a modern myth attached to nineteenth century object.

731
00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:09,239
Speaker 2: Precisely, this captivating, intricate legend managed to fool people and

732
00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:11,519
persistent popular culture for a full century.

733
00:38:11,559 --> 00:38:14,880
Speaker 1: This is a powerful lesson, isn't it How myths can persist,

734
00:38:15,039 --> 00:38:18,280
sometimes for a century or more, even when evidence starts

735
00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:22,400
mounting against them. It highlights that fascinating blend of genuine

736
00:38:22,519 --> 00:38:27,519
human fascination, our desire for profound stories, and well outright

737
00:38:27,519 --> 00:38:29,800
fabrication that fuels these enduring legends.

738
00:38:29,880 --> 00:38:30,440
Speaker 2: It really does.

739
00:38:30,559 --> 00:38:34,199
Speaker 1: But here's the kicker, and this is truly exciting. Even

740
00:38:34,239 --> 00:38:36,280
though the legend of the crystal skulls turned out to

741
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:39,480
be a hoax, a magnificent story, but a hoax. Nonetheless,

742
00:38:40,159 --> 00:38:43,719
the time and effort spent investigating them were absolutely not wasted.

743
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:47,800
So because quartz crystal itself, the very material of these

744
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:52,400
fabled artifacts, possesses truly astounding properties, making it, in a

745
00:38:52,559 --> 00:38:55,800
very real scientific sense, as close to a magic material

746
00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:56,440
as we can get.

747
00:38:56,599 --> 00:38:59,079
Speaker 2: Ah, So the materials where the real wonder lies.

748
00:38:59,199 --> 00:39:03,320
Speaker 1: Exactly. What's truly fascinating here is how science, by rigorously

749
00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:08,280
debunking one captivating story, often inadvertently opens doors to much deeper,

750
00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:11,239
more profound truths about the natural world and our own

751
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:12,599
technological capabilities.

752
00:39:12,679 --> 00:39:15,360
Speaker 2: Okay, tell me about quartz. What makes it so special? Scientifically?

753
00:39:15,599 --> 00:39:19,639
Speaker 1: Well, crystals, for instance, are remarkable at manipulating light. They

754
00:39:19,679 --> 00:39:24,599
can manipulate light frequencies with incredible precision, splitting them, combining them,

755
00:39:24,719 --> 00:39:29,079
focusing them. This property by refringents is fundamental to how

756
00:39:29,159 --> 00:39:29,800
lasers work.

757
00:39:30,079 --> 00:39:32,000
Speaker 2: Right. Lasers rely on crystals.

758
00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:35,880
Speaker 1: Essential components in those powerful beams of light used everywhere

759
00:39:36,159 --> 00:39:38,280
from fiber optics to medical surgery.

760
00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:39,000
Speaker 2: Okay, what else?

761
00:39:39,119 --> 00:39:42,360
Speaker 1: Okay, so the skulls weren't alien tech, but the material

762
00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:46,199
they're made from. This is where the real wonder truly begins.

763
00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:48,840
It's like the real world is even more incredible than

764
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:53,480
the myth. Crystals, particularly quartz, can generate electricity when you

765
00:39:53,519 --> 00:39:56,079
put mechanical stress on them. That's the piece of electric.

766
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,880
Speaker 2: Effect us to electric like in watches and lighters exactly.

767
00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:02,800
Speaker 1: It's why quartz crystal in watches, those clicky igniters, and lighters,

768
00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:06,920
even microphones. But not only can they generate electricity, certain

769
00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:10,039
crystals can store it more efficiently than even our best

770
00:40:10,119 --> 00:40:14,000
batteries rather than batteries potentially, yes, and some crystals can

771
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:18,920
conduct electricity with perfect efficiency at extremely low temperatures, bordering

772
00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:21,440
on what's called zero point energy territory.

773
00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:25,599
Speaker 2: Zero point energy that's theoretical, right, tapping energy from the

774
00:40:25,679 --> 00:40:26,440
vacuum of space.

775
00:40:26,599 --> 00:40:30,800
Speaker 1: Highly theoretical, yes, but the potential implications if harnessed are

776
00:40:31,159 --> 00:40:32,239
well world changing.

777
00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:35,039
Speaker 2: Okay, what else can crystals do? This is fascinating.

778
00:40:35,159 --> 00:40:38,679
Speaker 1: Beyond energy, crystals are crucial in cutting edge fields like

779
00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:42,320
quantum computing because they can entangle particles.

780
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:45,360
Speaker 2: Quantum entangle that that weird linkage between particles.

781
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:49,079
Speaker 1: Right, exactly, that bizarre phenomenon where particles become linked sharing

782
00:40:49,119 --> 00:40:52,599
the same state no matter how far apart they are. Crystals,

783
00:40:52,719 --> 00:40:56,599
with their precise atomic lattice, help create and manipulate the

784
00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,880
entangled photons needed for carantum information.

785
00:41:00,119 --> 00:41:01,360
Speaker 2: Key to future computing.

786
00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:05,719
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and scientists are also actively using crystals to create

787
00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:09,840
self healing materials. Self healing like materials that fix themselves.

788
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:13,000
Speaker 2: Imagine a cracked phone screen or a damaged airplane wing

789
00:41:13,719 --> 00:41:17,760
just repairing itself. They embed tiny crystals that respond to

790
00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:21,159
damage by releasing healing agents or reforming their structure.

791
00:41:21,239 --> 00:41:22,719
Speaker 1: That sounds like science fiction.

792
00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:26,400
Speaker 2: It's cutting edge research in some theories, really pushing the

793
00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:29,599
boundaries of physics, even suggest crystals could be key to

794
00:41:29,639 --> 00:41:31,840
breakthroughs like teliportation.

795
00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:33,320
Speaker 1: Tetleportation seriously, or.

796
00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:36,639
Speaker 2: Even understanding the secret to consciousness itself. Now, a lot

797
00:41:36,639 --> 00:41:39,400
of this is still theoretical or in early stages, but

798
00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:41,639
the immense potential is undeniable.

799
00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:44,480
Speaker 1: Okay, mind blown. But you said there was one property

800
00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:46,480
that connects back to the original legend.

801
00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:50,159
Speaker 2: Ah, yes, the ultimate property maybe, and one we are

802
00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:53,679
using right now increasingly so. It finds an astonishing parallel

803
00:41:53,679 --> 00:41:56,599
with those initial Martian and Atlantean legends.

804
00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:01,599
Speaker 1: Data story, data storage in crystals, those Martian computer towers.

805
00:42:01,639 --> 00:42:06,079
Speaker 2: Precisely, if you were an advanced civilization facing extinction wanting

806
00:42:06,119 --> 00:42:09,840
to preserve all your knowledge, your entire history forever, encoding

807
00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:12,760
that knowledge onto crystal would truly be the ultimate solution.

808
00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:14,000
Speaker 1: Why is crystal? Why not?

809
00:42:14,199 --> 00:42:19,199
Speaker 2: You know, hard drives durability. Crystal, specifically, quartz is harder

810
00:42:19,239 --> 00:42:23,199
than steel. It can survive extreme heat, immense pressure, corrosive

811
00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:26,280
environments that would destroy traditional storage media in no time.

812
00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:27,400
Speaker 1: How long could data last?

813
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:31,199
Speaker 2: Data is stored on crystal using Wadern techniques can literally

814
00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:33,440
last for over thirteen billion years.

815
00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:36,159
Speaker 1: Thirteen billion that's older than the Earth.

816
00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:42,920
Speaker 2: Effectively geological timescales outliving civilizations, planets, maybe even stars. Imagine

817
00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:45,639
the longevity of that information enduring across.

818
00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:48,719
Speaker 1: Eyon's Okay, that's durable. What about capacity? Can it hold much?

819
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:52,320
Speaker 2: The capacity is immense, almost unfathomable. Scientists have already made

820
00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:58,119
incredible strides. Get this. They've successfully encoded the entire human genome.

821
00:42:57,880 --> 00:42:59,920
Speaker 1: All three billion based pairs, all.

822
00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:02,239
Speaker 2: Of it onto a tiny crystal smaller than a quarter

823
00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:05,800
How do they even do that? They use focused femtosecond lasers,

824
00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:09,280
these fire pulses lasting mere quadrillions of a second to

825
00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:13,199
create microscopic layers of nanostructures inside the crystal. Think of

826
00:43:13,199 --> 00:43:15,400
it like a truly five D hard drive. Five D

827
00:43:15,639 --> 00:43:19,199
data encoded not just on a surface, but in multiple dimensions, depth,

828
00:43:19,519 --> 00:43:23,320
orientation of the nanostructures, polarization of light passing through it

829
00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:25,280
packs information incredibly densely.

830
00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:27,519
Speaker 1: Okay, that's incredible. So let's take that a step further,

831
00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:32,119
our mythical thirty pound crystal skull. If that were real

832
00:43:32,679 --> 00:43:36,039
and could store data this way, how much could it hold?

833
00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:40,880
Speaker 2: Hypothetically, if a thirty pound crystal skull could store data

834
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:46,119
using these advanced techniques, it could hold exabtes of information eggszapites.

835
00:43:46,159 --> 00:43:47,519
Speaker 1: That sounds like a lot. Put that in.

836
00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:49,920
Speaker 2: Perspective for us Okay, try to grasp this scale. On

837
00:43:50,119 --> 00:43:52,320
just one of those skulls. You could store the full

838
00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:55,719
text of every single book ever written in human history,

839
00:43:56,079 --> 00:44:00,000
from ancient scrolls to every novel published yesterday, and still

840
00:44:00,159 --> 00:44:00,880
room to spare.

841
00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:04,119
Speaker 1: Every book ever written. Wow, okay, what else?

842
00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:07,880
Speaker 2: Then? You could add every single scientific paper, every journal,

843
00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:11,280
every research study ever conducted by humanity, from the first

844
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:15,079
observations to cutting edge quantum physics, and still have room.

845
00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:15,960
Speaker 1: Keep going.

846
00:44:16,239 --> 00:44:20,280
Speaker 2: Then, include every letter, every historical manuscript, every record that

847
00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:24,599
has ever existed, ancient tablets, digital archives, everything, and still

848
00:44:24,639 --> 00:44:27,159
have room for every single photo or video ever taken

849
00:44:27,199 --> 00:44:28,000
by human beings.

850
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:31,000
Speaker 1: Photos and videos too, the entire visual record.

851
00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:33,440
Speaker 2: Everything captured, and if you could somehow digitize it, you

852
00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:36,559
would still have room for every song, every song, every

853
00:44:36,559 --> 00:44:40,239
symphony composed, every piece of music humanity is ever created.

854
00:44:40,039 --> 00:44:43,599
Speaker 1: Music, books, dot science, dot hisstory, dot photos, dot videos.

855
00:44:43,679 --> 00:44:46,440
Speaker 2: What's left after all of that? You would still have

856
00:44:46,559 --> 00:44:50,360
room in that single thirty pound crystal skull for every

857
00:44:50,519 --> 00:44:54,440
single word spoken in every conversation by every human who

858
00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:56,880
has ever lived on this planet, from the dawn of

859
00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:58,280
language to today.

860
00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:03,239
Speaker 1: Wait, every conversation, And that's impossible to even comprehend.

861
00:45:02,719 --> 00:45:04,840
Speaker 2: The storage potential is astronomical.

862
00:45:05,119 --> 00:45:09,280
Speaker 1: Imagine having all of human knowledge, art, all our collective

863
00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:12,639
conversation stored in something you could literally hold in your hands.

864
00:45:13,039 --> 00:45:17,079
That's an almost unimaginable leap in information preservation. It shows

865
00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:19,639
the very real, tangible future of data.

866
00:45:19,920 --> 00:45:20,519
Speaker 2: It really does.

867
00:45:20,639 --> 00:45:22,679
Speaker 1: So, as we wrap up the steep dive the legend

868
00:45:22,679 --> 00:45:25,960
of the Crystal skulls, While it was ultimately debunked by science,

869
00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:29,599
it should serve as a powerful, maybe inspiring reminder, a

870
00:45:29,679 --> 00:45:34,360
reminder of what that wisdom, profound insight, groundbreaking technical innovation.

871
00:45:34,880 --> 00:45:37,519
They don't need to come from a lost civilization from

872
00:45:37,519 --> 00:45:38,719
outer space, right.

873
00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:41,719
Speaker 2: The profound insight here is that the human race is

874
00:45:41,760 --> 00:45:45,639
inherently capable of achieving everything described in that legend, and

875
00:45:46,159 --> 00:45:50,119
vastly unimaginably more. We haven't even scratched the surface of

876
00:45:50,119 --> 00:45:53,920
our own potential, our collective ingenuity, our capacity for discovery.

877
00:45:54,039 --> 00:45:56,639
Speaker 1: That's right. I have no doubt that one day humanity

878
00:45:56,679 --> 00:45:59,800
will unlock power and technology far beyond what we can

879
00:45:59,840 --> 00:46:04,719
eat even properly imagined today. Interstellar travel, anti gravity, maybe

880
00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:10,159
even telepathic communication, teleportation, instant access to all human knowledge.

881
00:46:10,199 --> 00:46:12,679
Speaker 2: These aren't just science fiction fantasies anymore, are they? They

882
00:46:12,719 --> 00:46:16,199
feel closer within our grasp, within our intellectual and creative

883
00:46:16,199 --> 00:46:20,519
evolution exactly. But this immense power, of this profound understanding,

884
00:46:20,920 --> 00:46:23,760
it won't come from an ancient skull supposedly from Mars

885
00:46:23,840 --> 00:46:26,719
or some hidden Atlantean artifact. It will come from a

886
00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:30,880
machine far more advanced, a machine that's constantly learning, adapting,

887
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:32,000
endlessly evolving.

888
00:46:32,039 --> 00:46:33,159
Speaker 1: And that machine, the.

889
00:46:33,119 --> 00:46:36,639
Speaker 2: Skull sitting on your shoulders, the human mind itself. If

890
00:46:36,679 --> 00:46:39,559
we connect this to the bigger picture, it really encourages

891
00:46:39,639 --> 00:46:43,800
us to look inward for solutions, for discoveries, to harness

892
00:46:43,800 --> 00:46:47,199
our own incredible potential, rather than always looking outward to

893
00:46:47,519 --> 00:46:51,599
external mythical sources. The greatest mysteries and their most profound

894
00:46:51,639 --> 00:46:53,840
answers often reside right within us.

895
00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:57,639
Speaker 1: So the real magic wasn't in ancient artifacts or alien visits,

896
00:46:57,760 --> 00:47:01,679
but in the boundless power of human ingenuity, relentless curiosity,

897
00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:06,119
and our incredible capacity to imagine and then crucially to create.

898
00:47:06,679 --> 00:47:08,599
What an incredible journey we've been on today.

899
00:47:08,639 --> 00:47:11,480
Speaker 2: It really has been from Mars to Atlantis, to the

900
00:47:11,559 --> 00:47:14,320
jungles of Blize and finally into the lab and the

901
00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:16,920
potential of the human mind absolutely, and that leads us

902
00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:19,440
with this final thought to ponder for you, our listener,

903
00:47:19,960 --> 00:47:23,840
if we can now scientifically imagine storing all of human knowledge, art,

904
00:47:23,880 --> 00:47:27,679
and conversation on a mere crystal, what does that imply

905
00:47:27,840 --> 00:47:30,679
about the unwritten knowledge, the yet to be discovered truths,

906
00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:34,320
the untapped creative potential that resides right now in our

907
00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:35,400
collective consciousness.

908
00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:38,519
Speaker 1: What secrets, what breakthroughs might your skull unlock in the

909
00:47:38,519 --> 00:47:39,400
coming centuries