The Lost City of Z: Solving the Mystery of a Vanished Civilization

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[@decodingtheunknown2373]

New Bespoke Post subscribers get 20% off their first box of awesome - go to bespokepost.com/unknown20 and enter code UNKNOWN20 at checkout. Thanks to Bespoke Post for sponsoring!

[@SirNecro]

Keen as Mustard is an advertising campaign, and a play on words. Yes, very very British. Keens is a large well known brand of dried mustard powder.

[@Zackaria_sMax]

2:33 Is this "Sneak Preek" legal?

[@AnimeShinigami13]

if they sent me live oysters, it better come with a fishbowl and instructions on how to keep them alive. Because having oysters in a fish bowl would be AWESOME!

[@samwamm85]

I've heard an almost identical story to Percy Faucet's life, but this was my grandpa Harry Wamm. I also have an uncle Brian and a cousin Percy. The odd thing is that Harry died in World War II in France, not got lost in the jungle.

[@bengowers6365]

Ooo

[@grimdarkgeek]

I’m an archaeologist and have done extensive work in Central America with the Maya civilization. I can tell you with 100% that we are still finding cities lost in the jungle. I am not even talking about LIDAR, I mean actual boots on the ground exploring.

[@NoMatureContent]

I wish there was more footage. It seems the same places are recorded over and over again and while they're cool. I've sen and heard about all of them a dozen times now. lol

[@AnnaKeppa]

So....SHOW US!

[@RECTALBURRITO]

Who do you work for?

[@EvotrekORIGINAL]

I'm not going to lie I didn't believe you at first, I thought you were a kid making stuff up. I checked out your channel and you obviously were not lying. Sorry I misjudged you and will not jump to conclusions any more. Take care man.

[@jdc0617]

Are yall hiring??

[@randallcraft4071]

Anacondas can get up to about 30 feet long, but if i am encountering a giant snake 30 feet and 60 feet sure as hell might look the same to me

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:45 - Mid roll ads 3:45 - Back to the video 4:35 - Chapter 1 - Who was percy fawcett 10:30 - Chapter 2 - Fawcett lost city 22:10 - Chapter 3 - Into the jungle never to be seen again 38:20 - Chapter 4 - Did we decode the mysteries 39:30 - Conclusion

[@sabrinafurlano9767]

Hey! There’s a whole English speaking nation across the pond that pronounces it “Zed”….. everyone just forgets Canada 🤪

[@mp51998]

Who?

[@wingerding]

​​@@mp51998 they said who...

[@overworkedcna412]

I've always been fascinated by this story. I love the idea of this fantastic mythical, deserted, ruinous city hiding in the jungle out there somewhere.

[@jamaljay8870]

Being from America shopping at Pound Town would be wild lol

[@OhSkyeLanta]

“Sir Percy sounds like the least prepared person to go into the jungle that I have ever heard of” Simon accidentally echoing the thought process of everyone not in Sir Percy’s class to ever study this story ever 😂😂😂❤❤❤ Edit: pointing this out bc of Simon’s change in tune of “wait he’s explored lots of places! He sounds like the perfect guy to do this!!” The difference was, in Sri Lanka and the other places he visited, those were mostly tamed and under British or other friendly country rule, and he never really went out so far that he couldn’t circle back to some form of shelter or friendly territory. When Percy went searching for Z, he was heading into completely unmapped and uncharted territory, well out of control of even local governments, forget about the European countries that pretended to own them. And even if disaster struck when they were still within returning distance to their last port of safety, the topography of the jungle can change in moments with mudslides, flooding from either the river or a flash flood from a sudden storm, storms knocking over trees, even large migrations of animals such as capybaras being scared due to a flood or storm or earthquake, have left swaths of the jungle completely unrecognizable. They may have turned around on the path only to find the path no longer there, or blocked by something insurmountable like a mudslide or flooded river. Their only choices would have been to stay and see if conditions improved there, or strike out dangerously into the jungle in hopes of finding a new way through. The Amazon Rainforest also doesn’t have a steady history of magnetism, so their compasses may have become massively unreliable in a short space of time, simply due to the geology they traveled over. I’m sure Ilze will cover most of this and probably much more, but Percy Fawcet was not really prepared, no matter what he or his contemporaries thought.

[@randallbesch2424]

Maybe there are deposits of magnetite near the surface.

[@OhSkyeLanta]

@@randallbesch2424 there have been heavy deposits found like that, yes! Something about when South America was being formed way back in Pangea time left the geology different from most places on the planet. There are theories, but as with most science it’s just guessing with lots of evidence. But the end result has been rare minerals being found much closer to the surface - or sometimes *on* the surface - than found anywhere else on the planet. The continent itself is fascinating and terrifying.

[@hackbeen7507]

When u just finish watching the mad trapper video and see the blue dot on another simon channel😂

[@1sophierachel1]

Commander George Dyott was my neighbor on Long Island. I never saw him, but his wife let us play roost all and baseball in her back yard. They lived in what was the converted barn of an old estate. She used to invite us in and show us all the artifacts he sent home. I remember lots of pictures and a stool made from an elephant foot. Commander Dyott was also an early aviation pioneer, his wife was apparently a north shore debutante, though to us she was just a strange old woman.

[@SugarandSarcasm]

That sounds pretty damn awesome

[@ARabidPie]

There have been some recent discoveries of ancient civilizations in the amazon that could substantiate this whole theory at least in spirit. It's very early in the research, but it's currently an exciting time to be an archeologist specializing in South America.

[@randallbesch2424]

White cities and use of Pteranotorns are engineered Teratorn giant birds with Pteranodon heads.

[@andrewostman3135]

We went camping last week and a tick got on me... I was so pissed. I was raised in upstate NY with the limes disease panic.... So anything tick has to Fing die

[@zombiemanjosh]

The birds burrowing in rock actually has some basis, it's some plant that has a chemical in it that softens the stone and makes it crumbly.

[@davidjackson9426]

The best friend was his Son’s best friend not Percy’s. The Son’s best friend was also starting crack by the time they reached dead horse camp (source letters he sent home to his Mum).

[@mikeharris5681]

So... starting crack... Seems like an odd thing to write home to mum about but hey, the past, where leaving your gin soaked wife dipping the baby's dummy in opium while you wander off on a crack fuelled jungle trek was the choice of every upstanding English man

[@wingerding]

Starting to crack? Or starting to use crack?

[@live4applause]

4:14 6:19 Is this British guy really laughing at the name Sir Percy like he’s never heard of King Arthur before? Wasn’t Sir Percival like one of the most famous knights of the Round Table?

[@randallbesch2424]

Percival means "destroyer" so nosh on that British guy.

[@LloxieFox]

Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar... we have multiple versions of our "Pound Land" here, heh.

[@Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay]

Can we have better audio compression on these please, so that when we're gently falling asleep to one we don't get suddenly jerked awake when Simon gets excited ?

[@ErikaKassen]

I was so excited for this episode! Percy Fawcett led quite an interesting life. Excellently written script as well.

[@bradlevantis913]

Ilza’s scripts are always so well written

[@sunny-sq6ci]

there are legit places in earth that no matter how advanced scanning tech becomes, are so hidden or buried that it would take an army to even start any search for lost archeological sites.

[@wingerding]

Like where? You're making a rather conclusive statement about a future you can't be aware of.

[@ajkleipass]

Whatever happened to them, I hope they died doing what they loved and were passionate about. And I hope that the family they left behind were able to take some solace in that knowledge.

[@gilgamesh101]

hmmm, well I love knocking one off now and again, but I sure hope it doesn't kill me one day! Would be kinda awkward too for any family member if they were the first to find me in that condition 😵‍💫 (pun intended)!

[@TrueLife..]

Ehhh whether they died of starvation and disease or were murdered by a tribe using melee weapons, one thing is highly likely; it was horrific and terrifying to the very end.

[@oxylepy2]

Simon pulling out Dollar Tree. Surprising, I thought Dollar General was more well known. And the Dollar Store is also the generic term which is even more widely used

[@mattball420]

Pound land sounds like somewhere your wife would ask you to take her after a few drinks

[@pakde8002]

Or the worst pick-up line ever. Hey babe, ever been to pound land?

[@tjm11015]

"There's a lot of forest in Brazil" ..."Congratulations Simon, you've earned an ice cream cone🍦. There you go, who's a big brain? Yes you are, who's my big brain boy 🧠?"

[@asicdathens]

I have read his book in 1981. Based on what he wrote he appeared to be rather equipped to handle the jungle

[@squamish4244]

I wish the movie had included the crazy paranormal stuff...it wasn't a bad film, but this definitely would have made it more interesting.

[@BezoomyKoshka-ip4dz]

Did your buttler ever invite the doctor over for pancakes?

[@TheWatz05]

In the jungle you must wait until the dice read five or eight

[@tylerchrist3249]

And also search for a Robin Williams looking guy in a safari hat

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

Apparently, Fawcett rolled an Nat 1 on his Survival Check.

[@KarrierBag]

Oh look it is #SimonWhistler, I have not seen him put up a video for at least 10 minutes, I was getting very worried for him earlier, well 9 minutes ago....

[@OhSkyeLanta]

YAAAAAASSSS the Fawcets are some of my favorite historical cautionary tales *rubs hands together in glee* I love talking about white people underestimating the wilds of South America and dying horrible deaths brought on by their own stubbornness! Also Shadow of the Tomb Raider mentions their disappearance in some pickups and it just adds to the sense of “many have come before and none have succeeded.” That the newest Lara Croft games have been so good at 🥰

[@wonky_shoebox7514]

I so want some merch saying "The Past was the Worst" ❤

[@jennaxoxox4821]

There are Tshirts on one of his other channels. Brain blaze maybe.

[@badtouch7340]

Fawcetts navigator Henry Costin is my maternal grandfathers uncle

[@selkie76]

18:25 hmm... an idol from Dollar Tree? There has to be some obvious "idolatry" pun in there somewhere...

[@JenFoxworth]

There was also that movie 'Congo' that they also were looking for Z. It was something alright. Tim Curry was great in it!

[@Bluesit32]

I thought it was called, "The Lost City of Zinj".

[@JenFoxworth]

@@Bluesit32 it was, but it's close enough XD

[@mariakelly90210]

And Ernie Hudson, one of the OG Ghostbusters, played a British big game hunter with the last name of Kelly.

[@randallbesch2424]

@@mariakelly90210 the Great Black Hunter was a nice change. Strangely the story reminded me of the Lovecraft story about a hidden city run by gray apes.

[@Loralanthalas]

Happy Friday everyone! 🍸

[@1hiddenearth]

In all honesty...I'm surprised that Simon is aware of the Dollar Tree but I was more surprised that England has or had an equivalent store called the Pound Plant. That's priceless. 😏

[@better.better]

"Pound Land", I think. I've heard Evan Edinger mention it as well. "pound" as in "£", the British version of a "dollar"

[@1hiddenearth]

Ah...I thought he said plant... like a tree is a plant. That would make pound plant identical to a dollar tree. But now...ummm... Pound Land... is that the district in which one might find Pound Town? 🤔😏

[@Kylanoran]

To be fair to Sir Percy, dogs ARE better than people.

[@Luluthekitty23]

Is this a re upload? Or have I watched so many Simon Videos they're all blending?

[@kevinfoster1138]

Didn't Percy also take his oldest son with them on this trip for them both to never return. That's kinda sad.

[@StoneInMySandal]

Yeah. Both were never seen again.

[@pakde8002]

For some reason I thought his son died on an earlier trip but maybe that was just the movie version or dementia 😅

[@j.p.6932]

25:36 First time around I thought he said, “47”. I was like. “Hold up, there…” John Cena’s 46..

[@tboogz284]

KZbin ad volume causing jump scares on this one

[@bartfoster1311]

This last round of Inflation finally forced dollar tree to make everything $1.25 and they now have more expensive stuff up to $5.

[@pakde8002]

Really? I thought they did that years ago!

[@eadweard.]

Why is there a silhouette of a swaggering geezer every time a person's name appears? Was Sir Percy really a swaggering geezer?

[@Zackaria_sMax]

8:13 Simon "See's the point of the Second World War" Whistler

[@nicholasparreco914]

Do Shangri-la next.

[@cynthiaschultheis1660]

Pulma Punko has signs of engineering!!

[@mariakelly90210]

It's spelled "Puma Punko"

[@oubliette862]

Simon, turn your mike up guy. The ads have better audio than the content im attempting to watch.

[@dshafterh3897]

You know what name says gonna die in the jungle? Sir Simon Factboy, that dude is definitely dying from cholera.

[@casinodelonge]

Hmm, Simon disses Percy, who turns out to be so action packed, he makes Indiana Jones look like Dora the Explorer...

[@doctorlolchicken7478]

Amazing how fortune hunters who sell supposedly genuine artifacts tell of mysterious ruins they found in the jungle. The same people today write pseudo-archaeology and make documentaries for Discovery and Netflix.

[@btetschner]

@11:00 - Dumber and Dumber (1994) is such a great film.

[@timsawyer9231]

Brazil is amazing. I miss it.

[@Darren-sn4ki]

I watched the movie on Amazon prime and great film and I’m interested in the true story

[@maldaror7097]

Keen as mustard, heard it often.

[@nasaboy87]

19:32 I just hope they remembered the owls are not what they seem.

[@Mandrake42]

I'm pretty sure I found his bones in one of the Tomb Raider games.

[@symonew33]

34:06 that’s certainly a take

[@brianward7550]

The Scarlet pimpernel was named sir Percy

[@joshanderson8938]

Ok I know it's late but I gotta say, judging by the thumbnail, Simon could totally have been this guys stunt double. Js

[@onespecies-human344]

Didnt lydar find a bunch of huge lost citys in yhe amazon?

[@aceundead4750]

Encephalitis is less of a worry here in the states than lyme disease. Many of us outdoorsy types fear lyme disease because we like eating meat and one of the most common non harmful effects is a sudden dislike of meat. Also ticks are arachnids, not insects, but all are arthropods. You'll probably forget this if you read it Simon, but dont worry that's why we comment.

[@lexion2772]

"The Glove" sounds like a pr0n movie.

[@the3pista1c]

Pound land? You're telling me they passed up the name Pound Town?

[@raquellofstedt9713]

Siman, gt your TBE shots. I just got mine!

[@RealElongatedMuskrat]

I'm so sorry but I have to say it. Does anyone else think the glitch sound effect (when we cut to and from the ads) sounds like an echoey fart? I think it's a glitch or channel change noise, given the visual on the screen, but I can only hear a fart in a toilet bowl. I'm so sorry. It tickles me every time.

[@shaneviescas8251]

It's possible he suffered from an episode of PTSD and accidently assaulted a native to which they killed him for it

[@Userhfdryjjgddf]

Cmon man. Seriously where's your head

[@calebstone22]

King of Modern Hubris with average intelligence at best….Simon!!!!!

[@maddiethomas5892]

Well... we know that a family from Jerusalem traveled to the New World About 500 B.C. The family of a man named Lehi. We assumed they settled in Central America but they could have ended up in Brazil.

[@mariakelly90210]

You're a Mormon, aren't you?

[@Jnp366]

I could easily see finding a huge anaconda in the Amazon at this time maybe not 60 feet but 35 or 40 feet the largest ever found was 33 feet and this was at a time when there were few people in the Amazon it’s entirely possible

[@2024FingersCrossed]

Same, hate ticks.

[@WasabiSniffer]

I can’t be the only one thinking of that lost city in Congo that tim curry was looking for

[@mr.mcgurt2679]

Dipladoekus! Lol.

[@Burbankelly]

The movie kind of made me ponder the thought that Percy Fawcett may have had a little try of one of the Indians substances and gained an addiction. I say this because of how drawn he was to the jungle, as depicted in the movie. He abandoned his adoring wife and children for years at a time, and for what? Also, the movie made him seem irrational in his desire for the jungle and in a dreamy/warped sort of way. Then in the end, they hypothesized that he died of a substance…leading me to think his lust and drive for the substance led him to his and his sons death. I know that’s probably not what happened and probably not what the film producers and director meant…but it did cross my mind in a real way while watching it. His desire to be in the jungle was not normal and what he lost at home and in the end was not worth it. The ending was haunting and extremely sad. Just my two cents.

[@FelonyBellend]

My landlord when in my 20s, who i still live literally across the road from, is his grand daughter and has some ancient pottery and other memorabilia in her living room. Shes a cool old girl, used to join us with a bottle of gin during our epic house parties.

[@alanbarron6758]

BECAUSE THE AUDIENCE IM TALKING TO HAVE A BELIEF SYSTEM THATS NOT THEIR OWN ANYMORE

[@oIntelex]

1. Shrunken heads are not a myth, they're called tzanzas (es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzantza). Coming from Ecuador, where the Shuar tribe resides, I have seen them in museums with my very own eyes. I'm not exactly proud of this. 2. Theories have been advanced suggesting that Phoenicians fleeing the Roman invasion of Carthage during the Second Punic War managed to cross the Atlantic Ocean and land in Brazil. This is not too far fetched, as Magellan used the South Equatorial Current to evade the Spanish Armada when he was circumventing the North African Coast. This happened off the coast of Tenerife. Carthage was a commercial empire and it is feasible that their sailors were aware of the current. Archaeological artifacts have been found that could to back this claim, and there are indigenous tribes with European traits (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Phoenician_discovery_of_the_Americas). I can't remember the name of the tribe, and I couldn't find it on a quick search. Correction, I just found one, a youtube, a history hit network documentary, here's the link (kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnTbeIuvntmoaNE). This isn't the first I hear of this theory, but I take it with a pinch of salt. At any rate, if today's historians are still debating the issue, Fawcett might have been onto something. If not, then it still leaves a huge question regarding both the artifacts and the ethnic tribe. It's very easy to dismiss someone's lifework a century and a half later. From a contemporary perspective, Fawcett might have been a daring explorer, an unlucky one, but still one.

[@ForbiddenMagic]

The saddest part of the story is that his wife believed til her death he and her son were still alive, had found the city, were there soaking up the knowledge, and would return any day.

[@roetheboat1]

It may just be a matter of personal preference, but I honestly think it would be better to have that kind of hope/belief.

[@PandaNFriends23]

Being able to live in reality is something worth striving for.

[@randyvfromtheperch]

Indeed. The book The Lost City of Z (much better and more detailed than the movie) goes into much detail about how his wife died a pauper. Percy as well was extremely poor upon his final; expedition into the jungle.

[@squamish4244]

@@roetheboat1 It is - or was, before modern therapy - common for people to hold those beliefs about missing loved ones. I think it would be better for people like that to move on with their lives.

[@ifv2089]

Anyone watch the movies where she moves on and he comes back 😂

[@CliffCutterActual]

If anyone else had told me the British version of Dollar Tree was Poundland I wouldn't have believed them

[@woofbarkyap]

why not?

[@charisanna4914]

Don't forget Poundstretcher

[@liamevans7661]

​@@woofbarkyapbecause it sounds like a sex joke

[@TJay05]

@@liamevans7661 Kinda does, yeah... Weird choice xD

[@nigelfisher7344]

My favorite story of poundland is the woman who was arrested for shoplifting, to make matters worse and even more entertaining the only police car available to pick her up was the armed response unit

[@Chord_]

I just want to say, in case anyone's curious after watching this video, the movie "Lost City of Z" is simply incredible, and should be watched. Its ending is the most beautifully haunting thing I've ever seen.

[@sisterhoney61]

I read David Grann's book that the movie is based on. The book was published in 2009. It was very well written.

[@SabrinasWorkshop]

That is a great film, one of my favorites.

[@JaneTaylor-jd2qq]

youre right

[@ErikaKassen]

Absolutely love that movie

[@mailmanwilly]

Agreed. A slow burn but an excellent movie overall.

[@desmofan1864]

Speaking of dollar stores... I once had a dream of opening one in Canada and calling it "The Loonie Bin."

[@achillesrage5573]

Myself I believe those in the UK missed the mark pound land so easily could have been pound town

[@Narangarath]

I wonder how many people think you're just dissing Canadians? 😂

[@thanosallfather3006]

Is the term "loonie" a type of currency in Canada? Loonie Bin is just golden though 🤣😂

[@Juggler6987]

Gotta spend those loonies and toonies somewhere lmao

[@valolafson6035]

​@@thanosallfather3006 Loonies are the dollar coin.

[@kevingluys3063]

With the birds pecking through stone, parrots chip clay off of clifffaces and eat it for vitamins, he may have been describing that and wasn't close enough to see that it was just the softer clay built up on the exterior of the cliffs rather than the solid stone that gave the cliffs their structure

[@hdtripp6218]

There is also a bird that uses a certain leaf and mixes it with its saliva to make it acidic and places it on some stone cliffs and the acid breaks down the stone and allows it to peck into it and allows it to make a nest

[@kevingluys3063]

@@hdtripp6218 ooo! I never heard of that before! That also could be it

[@michaelmayhem350]

I know this city never existed but using lidar on a plane explorers have found lost cities and temples in central America so finding one in brasil is entirely possible.

[@johnmatthews4717]

read 1421

[@jlbay1]

@@johnmatthews4717 1421 is a fascinating book, but it’s pseudohistory. Menzies had no real back-up for his claims in any of his books which puts him in the realm of von Dan ïken minus the aliens. Though, it would make for an interesting DTU video topic!

[@roetheboat1]

@@jlbay1 Holy crap, I decided to look the book up on Google since I wasn't familiar with it. Here's the little blurb Wikipedia shows for the Google result: "His book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, is a work of sheer fiction presented as revisionist history."

[@jlbay1]

@@roetheboat1 when it was published, it was basically presented as new research and caused quite a stir. It’s lovely to read and imagine as true, but a fantasy nonetheless.

[@alexsetterington3142]

No sources just " ancient Chinese documents"

[@teeguy100]

Fawcett is the inspiration for Indiana Jones. I first read the New Yorker article on the book and then I got the book and read it. A great story of blind ambition and a cultural inability to see what was right in front of them . Fawcett had found the “City” but it was not paved with Gold & Marble so he couldn’t see it- even though he stood on its ground.

[@ostlandr]

Roy Chapman Andrews (after whom Protoceratops Andrewsi is named) is another candidate for the model for Indiana Jones.

[@murunbuchstanzangur]

John blashford-snell as well

[@doctorlolchicken7478]

This is about the 10th guy who is claimed to be the inspiration for Indiana Jones. Let’s face it, there were a ton of explorer types up until WW2, so he’s mostly likely inspired by all of them.

[@brandonmaynard9507]

​@@doctorlolchicken7478kinda like which serial killer Hannibal Lecter was based off of. Lol

[@garymaidman625]

Not necessarily, there are multiple explorers that Indiana Jones could be based off. Fawcett. Other candidates include Hiram Bingham, famous for being the first explorer to 'discover' Machu Picchu, Langdon Warner, an explorer and archaeologist that studied in East Asia, Roy Chapman Andrews, an explorer that travelled the globe under the employ of the New York Museum of Natural History and William Henry McGovern, an explorer and spy.

[@pmgn8444]

Very good video. Agree with the conclusion. And LIDAR mapping is showing all sorts of interesting stuff hidden in the Amazon.

[@ssfbob456]

Oh yeah, I think it was in 2016 that while using it they found out that what they thought was a small mountain was actually a massive pyramid

[@ZAV1944]

The First World War could easily be described as history's deadliest family feud as King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Tsar Nicolas II were all grandsons of Queen Victoria.

[@raquellofstedt9713]

Damn. Family. You could describe the mess in the middle East in the same way, albeit more theoretically. My own is no less volatile.

[@tamlandipper29]

While humourously meant and received, I recommend watching the Western Front Association talking about these sort of myths. It really does come down to the militarist obsession of old Germany, which took two world wars to extinguish. I feel that the deaths involved warrant keeping one hand on the truth, even if we joke. I'm not criticising you so much as the generation of historians who made ww1 out to be a pointless exercise for the Entente.

[@stephanieclark8327]

Erm Tsar Nicolas II was not a grandson of Queen Victoria. He was married to her granddaughter and was the maternal cousin another of her grandsons - King George V. He looked like King George V's twin because they both took after their maternal family.

[@OhSkyeLanta]

When the family you love is also starting wars with you ☠️ also ditching the Hapsburg last name in favor of Windsor to be less “German sounding” lol

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

And the ironic thing is, Victoria nudged her children and grandchildren into those positions to prevent war. Because who would attack their own cousin?

[@marcwhittle9810]

It is quite possible that Percy was held in captivity by Indigenous peoples in the Xingu area. This happened in my Amazonensis extended family. My father in law's cousin Helena Valero, both from Maribitana Rio Negro Brasil, was captured and held by the Yanomami for 25 years before she was eventually able to escape. There is a semi autobiography as well as a Wikipedia page on her life.

[@chunellemariavictoriaespan8752]

Dang...

[@pioneercynthia1]

Those Yanomami... I first read Chagnon's work in 1983. I'm so glad they're more well understood now.

[@Genesh12]

I JUST READ HELENA VALERO'S WIKIPEDIA PAGE. DO YOU KNOW IF SHE IS BURIED WITH THE YANOMAMI? DO YOU KNOW WHEN SHE DIED(I PRESUME SHE HAS DIED)?

[@marcwhittle9810]

@@Genesh12 I know she has died some number of years ago. Let me ask my wife and father in law (they are in Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira Rio Negro right now) and I'll see if I can get an answer for you.

[@wingerding]

​@@Genesh12 Relax

[@GIBBO4182]

Anyone else just watched the Casual Criminalist video?

[@Mama-eu1ss]

Wasn't that tapper's whittling skills exceptional!

[@Infodumptruck]

​@@Mama-eu1ssI heard he was a great shot as well

[@personzorz]

​@@InfodumptruckHE MURDERED AND CRIPPLED THEIR FRIENDS

[@that1wiki]

​@@personzorzbut he sure could whittle that wood!

[@terryenby2304]

Yup, lovely to have two of my favourites one after the other!

[@luanaclee2521]

I know you don't care, Simon, but you pretty much nailed the Portuguese pronunciations

[@nightwishlover8913]

Makes a change from screwing up English pronunciation...

[@dannahbanana11235]

I love that he got that right but pronounced encephalitis the way he did 😂

[@strachanjohnston2858]

i strongly disagree, joaõ de silva guimaraes... he butchered the poor mans name.

[@SugarandSarcasm]

@@strachanjohnston2858it was rather irritating when he did that tbh

[@Just4FC]

Sorry to say, but 60 feet anaconda sounds pretty realistic to me. I spent 2 years in the Amazon, and over 40 feet snakes wasn't uncommon, so not a far throw from 60 feet

[@rudra62]

El Dorado is a real place. In fact, there are several of them. There is El Dorado, Kansas; El Dorado, Arkansas; El Dorado, New Mexico.

[@wingerding]

That's like saying Atlantis is a real place because there is a town called Atlantis somewhere. No one talking about El Dorado in the mythical city sense is speaking of any place you mentioned and that's so obviously clear...come on man.

[@randallbesch2424]

@@wingerding the Eye of Africa fits Atlantis to a tee.

[@JamesThompson-zk1ht]

@wingerding I'm trying to decide which is more likely to have come first: (1) The empty place in one's psyche where a sense of humor should have been, leading this dingbat to assume that the OP was serious, and therefore seriously stupid; or (2) The hubris required for one's starting assumption to be that OP must be too stupid to have been joking, thus the failure to even consider the possibility. "That's like saying Atlantis is a real place because there is a town called Atlantis somewhere." Yes, that's exactly what this is like. I sincerely hope that it was not too much of a strain to come up with this analogy. You know what else that is like? That's like saying the Fountain Of Youth is a real place because there is a town called Fountain Of Youth somewhere. Etc, etc. Your complaint doesn't even make sense as written. "That's like saying Atlantis is a real place..." Well, assuming that there is in fact a town called Atlantis somewhere, Atlantis IS a real place, and saying so is a simple statement of fact. "No one talking about El Dorado in the mythical city sense is speaking of any place [OP] mentioned and that's so obviously clear." Apparently neither of these two statements are quite true. YOU, dingbat, are probably the only person to have read the OP to whom it was NOT clear, and who thought that OP was really referring strictly to the mythical city. The fact is that OP was implying a device that is a classic comedic technique, of exploiting the potential for ambiguity in some particular word or phrase. This depends for its effect on all concerned being aware of the fact that the speaker is deliberately mixing together the different meanings, in a form of play. This play, in turn, is fun, and when successful, the fun becomes funNY. Apologies for the pedantry, but all of this is so clear and obvious to those of us with a sense of humor that if some dingbat is so totally not getting it, we have to actually spell it out. What WAS obvious and clear to me was (1) that OP was making a joke (not a howler, but it did get a chuckle out of me), and (2) that the response from the resident dingbat indicated a personality so devoid of humor and so smug in its deficiency as to be absolutely insufferable to be around. If I may - "Come on, man" right back atcha.

[@bewilderedbytheworld]

As much as I enjoy the Decoding the Unknown stories, I admit I initially clicked on this to hear how Simon pronounced Z. But once again an interesting story, with great tangents. Amazing how well Simon can handle a cold read. I would love to see a future story about one of Canada's strange stories. We have at least two versions of Nessie, called Ogopogo and Manipogo. And there is also the story of Flintabity Flonatin. (I would love to hear Simon cold read those names) And those are just three examples.

[@starrywizdom]

*Flintabbatey Flonatin. Wholeheartedly agree with your comment.

[@jlbay1]

Funnily, when my young niece and nephews (12,9, & 7) were recently asked what they thought the outline of Nessie on my Jeep Compass was, they all confidently replied “Ogopogo!” 😂

[@oxylepy2]

Simon is super experienced with cold reads. Top Tenz was probably generally a cold read because after a while Simon just stopped giving a fuck

[@alexsetterington3142]

I absolutely despise the tangents and won't watch anything with Simon because of them. I made this exception for a reminder of the Fawcett stort

[@LeoDomitrix]

"Brazil is massive, there's a lot of forest in Brazil" ----- Simon, and me at age 5

[@EonEsper-Kriz]

OMG if there was a store in Britain called, "Pound Town," that would be... just perfect, heheheh. 🤭

[@eadweard.]

Well there is, essentially: Pound Land.

[@woofbarkyap]

Lots of Americans saying that on this thread. UK here, not getting the joke...?

[@AdamOBrien29]

Kevin sent me, thank you Ilsa :)

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

So would you say youre _Kevin sent?_

[@AdamOBrien29]

@@Im-Not-a-Dog Kevin is a place on Earth with his scripts

[@Curiosity-NZ]

I have a copy of the book called Exploration Fawcett written by his son Brian Fawcett using his fathers notes. A very interesting book and well worth getting a copy of this for those who are interested his work.

[@ku8721]

"Sir Percy Fawcett sounds like the least equipped person to go into the jungle" *Percy Jackson has entered the chat*

[@bechaupt865]

I am suprised that Simon, as British born, is unaware of Keen's mustard. Keen's opened the first mustard factory in London.

[@frankshailes3205]

Unfortunately not the origin of the phrase. The phrase 'as keen as mustard' is known from 1672, the century before the company was formed. As it says on their early tins - "Keen's Mustard - First manufactured in the reign of George 2nd AD 1742." The 1672 citation comes from the pen of the English schoolmaster William Walker in his Paroemiologie Anglo-Latina: As keen as mustard

[@SaraLittleWren]

I love learning about how/ where phrases originate

[@woofbarkyap]

Although that isn't the original of the phrase, I am also British and constantly astonished by the gaps in his awareness, even allowing for his age. On one vid he joked he was raised in a cult and whilst it's not really something we have here in the same way as the US, I could believe it. He reminds me sometimes of my mother's cousin who was brought up in a convent and emerged aged 18 with zero experience of popular culture, music of any sort beyond hymns and even local geography let alone global. She was elderly when I was a child but the gaps in her knowledge were still glaring.

[@piperjaycie]

I’m going to take a shot every time Simon says Percy!!!🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🥴🥴🤢😳🤢🥴

[@RHCole]

This one should be good, because there IS a lost civilization in the amazon whose remains they found recently... First true(ish) story on DtU?

[@alexschild5389]

JFK one was genuinely convincing. So was the one on MLK Jr.

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

The MLK one was crazy. They cut down bushes and trees just to discredit witness testimony. They literally tried to retcon reality and got away with it.

[@RHCole]

​​​@@alexschild5389Yeah, but Fawcett was probably 100% correct on everything but the white natives (edit: and the Atlantis crap LOL), which is a far cry from "well, that makes you think, don't it?" 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@stuartpenketh8141]

​​​@@RHCole Yeah but even genius's had outlandish ideas or ideas we now know to be crap. Newton thought he could turn lead into gold. He still was a brilliant scientist, but doesn't mean they were amd will be right on all their beliefs. They will always and so will every generation belief stuff that is 'common knowledge' or taken for granted. Doesn't make them any less a man/woman for that. For what it's worth a lot of indigenous tribes in South America speak of a pale race that built cities. If you were of on enquiring mind back in the late 19th early 20th century, wouldn't you have likely concluded that some atlatntian race had travelled there.

[@pentalarclikesit822]

Always reminds me of a Dollar Tree ripoff that was near where I used to live where the sign said, "All items 99 cents and up or less." So, in other words, any price possible.

[@alexandercorey850]

Today I learned that Brazil is foresty. Thank you factboi. Never change😂