Oops! All Snake Stories | Greeking Out Podcast | NEW | S12 E1 | ‪@natgeokids‬

Key Concepts

• Ectothermic: Organisms that rely on external sources of heat to regulate their body temperature.
• Cloacal Popping: A defensive mechanism used by certain snakes (e.g., Sonoran coral snakes, Chihuahuan hook-nosed snakes) involving a loud popping noise and unpleasant odor, essentially a "defensive fart."
• Nahuatl: The language spoken by the Aztecs, from which English words like avocado, chocolate, and tomato are derived.
• Mictlan: The underworld in Aztec mythology, consisting of nine levels and ruled by Mictlantecuhtli.
• Quetzalcoatl: An Aztec creator god, often depicted as a feathered serpent, responsible for creating the cosmos and, in this story, bringing humans back to the mortal realm.
• Nüwa: A Chinese goddess, part human and part snake, credited with creating animals and humans, and later repairing the world after a catastrophic war.
• Mount Buzhou: A mythical mountain in Chinese mythology said to be a pillar holding up the sky.
• Chinese Year of the Snake: The thematic inspiration for this episode's focus on snakes.

Introduction and Episode Format Shift

This episode of "Greeking Out," rebranded as "Greeking or Snaking Out" for the occasion, marks the beginning of its 12th season. In a departure from the usual format where the host, Kenny Curtis, tells the story and the Oracle of Wi-Fi (Tory Kerr) provides facts, the Oracle takes on the role of primary storyteller for the first segment. This change was prompted by audience requests, and the Oracle is even equipped with a special voice module to speak at two times speed. The episode's overarching theme is snakes, in honor of the Chinese Year of the Snake.

The Oracle's Story: Steve the Sonoran Coral Snake

The Oracle's narrative begins with a heroic Sonoran coral snake named Steve.

• Snake Biology: Steve is described as ectothermic, meaning he relies on external heat sources like the sun to move.
• Unique Defense Mechanism: When frightened, Steve and other Sonoran coral snakes, along with Chihuahuan hook-nosed snakes, produce a cloacal popping sound, which is essentially a "defensive fart." This loud noise startles predators and is accompanied by an unpleasant odor, making the snake a less appealing meal. Sonoran coral snakes are also venomous, but the cloacal popping is highlighted as particularly unique.
• Snake Danger Ranking: Steve, in his inner life, contemplates which snake is the most dangerous.
  • Out of over 3,000 snake species, only 15% are venomous. Of those, only one-third (approximately 450 species) can kill or seriously harm a human.
  • The Inland Taipan possesses the most destructive venom, capable of paralyzing muscles and stopping human breathing.
  • The King Cobra is the largest venomous snake, typically growing 10-13 feet (3-4 meters).
  • The Indian Saw-Scaled Viper is responsible for more human deaths than all other snake species combined and can make a warning sound by rubbing its scales.
  • Non-venomous snakes like pythons are also dangerous, constricting prey to death before swallowing.
• Oracle's Storytelling Style: The Oracle's story is heavily fact-based, leading the host to question its plot. The Oracle asserts that "knowledge is its own reward," and the "satisfying conclusion" is learning about snakes.

The Host's First Story: Quetzalcoatl and the Creation of Humans (Aztec Mythology)

The host takes over, promising a story with a plot, set in the Aztec civilization.

• Aztec Context: The Aztecs (also known as the Mexica, from whom Mexico gets its name) were a Central American civilization, speaking Nahuatl. English words like avocado, chocolate, and tomato originate from Nahuatl.
• Divine Dissatisfaction: Aztec gods had attempted to create the world five times, each time destroying it due to dissatisfaction with human behavior. On the fifth attempt, they decided to omit humans.
• Quetzalcoatl's Quest: Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent creator god, missed humans despite their flaws. He decided to bring them back by retrieving the bones of the original humans from Mictlan, the Aztec underworld ruled by Mictlantecuhtli.
• Mictlantecuhtli's Trickery: Mictlantecuhtli, annoyed by Quetzalcoatl's "fun" creation activities, tried to make the quest difficult. He gave Quetzalcoatl a conch shell with no holes, preventing it from making sound, to call the bones.
• Quetzalcoatl's Ingenuity: Quetzalcoatl called upon underworld worms to drill holes in the shell and added bees inside to create a delightful humming sound. This sound lured the bones from their resting places.
• Smuggling and Sabotage: Quetzalcoatl attempted to trick Mictlantecuhtli by pretending he hadn't found the bones, hiding them in his jacket. Mictlantecuhtli, suspicious, ordered his minions to dig a pit and sent a Montezuma quail to distract Quetzalcoatl. The quail's "unpredictable and tricky behavior" (earning it the nickname "fool's quail") led to Quetzalcoatl falling into the pit, scattering and breaking the bones.
• Re-creation of Humanity: Undeterred, Quetzalcoatl gathered the broken bones, ground them up, mixed them with maize (corn) and his own blood, and cast a spell. This created a new generation of humans of "all different shapes and sizes," explaining human diversity. This process is compared to a Greek myth where humans are made from the remains of giants and divine elements.
• Flying Snakes Interlude: The host briefly discusses real-world flying snakes (five types in South and Southeast Asia) that glide by flattening their bodies into a concave C-shape and wiggling in an S-shape. They are mildly venomous but generally not harmful to humans.

The Host's Second Story: Nüwa and the Repair of the World (Chinese Mythology)

The host continues with another creation story, this time from China, featuring a snake goddess.

• Nüwa's Appearance and Creations: Nüwa is a goddess with the body of a serpent and the torso and head of a human. She created animals and humans because she found the Earth beautiful but lonely.
  • Her first creation was chickens, which the Oracle defends as intelligent creatures capable of remembering faces, empathy, and simple math (e.g., chicks adding/subtracting numbers smaller than five).
  • She then created dogs, sheep, pigs, cows, and horses, before finally making humans from clay, a common motif in various mythologies.
• The War of Gods and Catastrophe: Nüwa protected humans until a war erupted between Gong Gong, the god of water, and Zhu Rong, the god of fire, vying for power. Their battle escalated to Earth, causing destruction and flooding.
  • In a desperate act, Gong Gong headbutted Mount Buzhou, a pillar holding up the sky. This caused the sky to fall, the Earth to crack and flood, and dragons and snakes to emerge and devour people (a detail the Oracle disapproves of, given the pro-snake theme).
• Nüwa's Repair of the World: Nüwa, as the hero and defender of humanity, undertook the monumental task of fixing the world.
  • Repairing the Sky: She collected five large colored stones from rivers, melted them into a sticky, glue-like substance, and used it to patch the sky and close the hole. (Alternate versions mention her killing a dragon or using a giant turtle's legs as pillars).
  • Stopping the Flood: She gathered reeds from around the world, burned them in a giant bonfire, and used the ash to stop the flood from spreading.
• Lingering Effects: Although Nüwa fixed everything, some people believe the sky remains slightly uneven, which they attribute to the sun and stars setting in the west. The Oracle accepts this justification if it promotes the wonder of snakes.

Conclusion and Episode Reflection

The episode concludes with the host and Oracle reflecting on the stories. The Oracle, despite the host's stories featuring snake heroes and traditional plot structures, still believes her "farting snake" story was superior. The host humorously mentions the Texas rat snake as another "farting snake" species. The episode wraps up, thanking listeners for joining the special "snaking out" edition and promising the return of "Greeking Out" next week.