Like a Dirty Rotten Whale
4/22/202639 min
We’re cleaning out the proverbial fridge, but instead of old food, it’s fantastic and forgotten questions from the Outside/Inbox. Conversation topics include Taylor’s humiliatingly old headlamp, the olfactory experience of a dead whale and, of course, the answers to the following queries… Why do dogs like to roll in dead stuff? Do humans have a mating season? Why do so many deer collisions happen in November? When did headlamps start to have red light? I live next to a highway. What can I do about the noise pollution? In the final Lord of the Rings movie, there’s a crust that forms on top of the lava that the ring is thrown onto. Is that legit? Featuring Christopher Schell, Eric Nystrom, and Erica Walker. Thanks to our listeners who called in: Dusty, Kyle, Claire, Amanda, Gretchen, Zach, and Sabrina. We’re looking for new submissions to the Outside/Inbox! Send us those questions by recording yourself on a voice memo, and emailing that to us at outsidein@nhpr.org. Or you can call our hotline: 1-844-GO-OTTER. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram and BlueSky, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS If you want to learn more about noise pollution listen to our episode “Shhhh! It’s the sound and silence episode.” Check out for yourself what those clunky old mining headlamps used to look like. CREDITS Produced by Marina Henke, Felix Poon, and Nate Hegyi. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsNate Hegyi· Host0:01
From NHPR, this is Outside In, a show where curiosity and the natural world collide. I am Nate Heggie, here with the whole fricking team. Well, almost the entire team.
Taylor Quimby· Host0:10
Aw.
Nate Hegyi· Host0:11
Justine, we'll see you soon. But we got Marina Henke.
Marina Henke· Host0:14
Hello.
Nate Hegyi· Host0:15
Taylor Quimby.
Taylor Quimby· Host0:16
Here.
Nate Hegyi· Host0:16
And the magical, mysterious Felix Poon.
Felix Poon· Host0:19
I am here.
Taylor Quimby· Host0:20
[laughs] I wish there was a podcast version of, like, running onto the field and g- like, bursting through the paper archway, you know?
Nate Hegyi· Host0:27
I, I wish that as well. Instead we're just, like, sitting here drinking coffee.
Taylor Quimby· Host0:30
It is coffee o'clock.
Marina Henke· Host0:31
Well, for you it's always coffee o'clock, Taylor.
Taylor Quimby· Host0:33
And Nate, it's, like, 3:00 AM or something.
Nate Hegyi· Host0:35
[laughs] [laughs] It is still dark outside.
Marina Henke· Host0:38
Oh my God.
Felix Poon· Host0:39
Is it really? No, it's not actually dark out.
Nate Hegyi· Host0:41
Yeah, it's 8:00 in the morning.
Taylor Quimby· Host0:42
8:00 in the morning in Alaska. What, how many hours of daylight you getting these days?
Nate Hegyi· Host0:45
We're doing well. We get 8:30 to 3:45 right now. But remember, in the summertime it's, like, 3:00 AM to 11:00 PM.
Felix Poon· Host0:53
But that's, like, not good. How do you fall asleep?
Nate Hegyi· Host0:56
I can sleep with light out. It's pretty easy.
Taylor Quimby· Host0:57
You know what's weird? I love to nap in sunlight like a cat or a dog. But at night I like it dark. Why is that, do you think?
Nate Hegyi· Host1:05
Is this one of our questions?
Taylor Quimby· Host1:07
No, no. But I, I'm saying, like, the sunlight, it's not just tra- like, I, like, I get sleepier in sunlight if it's a nap.
Nate Hegyi· Host1:13
Taylor, you get s- you get sleepy anywhere and everywhere. [laughs] You get sleepy driving cars, if I remember correctly.
Felix Poon· Host1:19
That's because cars, like, are like a massage chair.
Taylor Quimby· Host1:22
What are you driving?
Nate Hegyi· Host1:23
[laughs] Well, are you... When you're driving, are you cruise controlling it?
Taylor Quimby· Host1:26
Oh, I, I go back and forth. Kinda depends what traffic's like.
Nate Hegyi· Host1:28
Because I had to take a, I had to