Open Lines

Hosted byIan Punnett

Open Lines

About the show

Ian Punnett (Twitter) hosted an evening of Open Lines. Joe in Mississippi told Ian about The Doors playing his high school in 1967. "I actually have two unpublished photos of Jim Morrison, and then one of Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek singing at the high school," he said. Joe also recounted the story of picking up a load of crated fighter jet seats (according to the bill of lading) going to Homey Airport in Hiko, Nevada, also known as Area 51. When Joe arrived to Las Vegas he was redirected to Creech Air Force Base instead. "I never actually physically saw the six seats but they were about 2,800 pounds apiece, and they were crated... and they had to be tarped also," he recalled, suggesting they could have been anything.

Annie from Alabama phoned in to announce her support for outlawing a class of chemicals known as sulfites which can be found in some foods either naturally or as additives. "Sulfites have killed a lot of people," she said. According to Annie, sulfites can cause asthma bronchoconstriction, anaphalactic shock, and even death. Millions are disabled from sulfites, she added. Annie claimed to have racked up over a million dollars of medical bills after contracting a sulfite-caused illness from eating grapes. Josiah in Spokane, Washington, talked about a human-like creature called The Rake. If you go to the area where it has been sighted, you can hear its screeching sound as a warning to keep away from its territory, he explained. It comes out of sewers at night to feed on deer and small animals, Josiah added.

Slimiest Creatures

In the first hour, author and self-professed slime expert Nick Caruso discussed Earth's slimiest creatures and the purpose of slime in nature. An animal most would not think of as slimy, opossums, made Caruso's list. They're not always slimy, but when they play dead slimy, foul-smelling substances are secreted from their saliva and anal glands to make them less appealing to prey, he explained. Hippos produce a slimy pink sweat that helps protect them from infections and prevent UV damage, Caruso continued. Most aquatic organism have some type of slime to help them maneuver through the water or protect them from drying out, he added. Caruso also reported on the parchment worm which can spray a slimy bioluminescent mucus at its attackers, and velvet worms which use a gooey substance to incapacitate their food sources. "[Velvet worms] have these slime canons on their face... they shoot this slimy sticky thread on their prey and it just immobilizes them completely," he said.

News segment guests: Tim Binnall; Ryan Winters from the band Pistol Beauty

Bumper Music