Dragons: Is There Anything to This? Or Just Total Fiction?

[@cicad2007]

Speaking of flying snakes: There are five recognized species of flying snakes, found from western India to the Indonesian archipelago. They are able to glide through the air as far as about 100 metres (300 feet) from the tops of trees by drawing up their ventral scales to make their underside concave. Flying snakes make an undulatory motion to increase their gliding distance and maintain their balance as they descend.

[@MsMorri]

That's what I was thinking, there are snakes fly (or glide) from trees and if a European saw one way back then, they might think it was a dragon.

[@bobSeigar]

Undulatory is a word I've needed for years and did not know. Thanks.

[@staytuned2L337]

Came here to say this!

[@TwoWholeWorms]

Oh well great, now paratrooping danger noodles is on my list of fears I didn't need.

[@staytuned2L337]

@@TwoWholeWorms 🐍 death from above

[@jaylinnell5251]

Quetzalcoatlus northropi, a giant pterodactyloid pterosaur, is as big as a small, multi-person airplane. As tall as a bloody giraffe when on the ground, it has a 40+ foot wingspan in the air. Quite possibly the largest flying animal in the entire fossil record.

[@colinmarshall6634]

That... actually sounds like a dragon.

[@MCsCreations]

Wonderfully terrifying.

[@u-neekusername4430]

I was just going to say that LOL! Bang on!

[@markkarasik2211]

😎I can just see one swooping down on a herd of cows and carrying one off to its nest full of hungry ostrich-sized chicks. We can sandwich Raquel Welch in a fur bikini in here somewhere I’m sure…

[@Areyousayingidontknowmyname]

I didn't even go with something that had a pulse. I just hit him with planes.

[@bradlevantis913]

I love that Ilze has reached the point where she knows exactly where Simon will go off script. Great script and editing as always.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

I love the little additional comments about him not liking this sorta stuff, has me cracking up 🤣

[@cleverusername9369]

I think she's the best of his writers at subtly making fun of him and getting him riled up.

[@zakf2929]

I love the fact it's technically 2 presenters hosting the show at any 1 time, but the second presenter has to show themselves through writing.

[@hughmortyproductions8562]

I think the whole "fire-breathing" thing is easily explained. I think it comes from venom. Clearly someone at some point described the effects of a snake (or "dragon") bite as "burning" and later people took it literally.

[@poolhall9632]

There's a beetle that shoots sulfuric acid from its butt so it's entirely possible that a reptile could have a similar function

[@Loralanthalas]

Fr

[@drewthomas7621]

Makes me think of any projectile venom stream being 'shot' at a threat or prey

[@MH-bw9zt]

So every major civilization got this wrong?

[@hughmortyproductions8562]

@@MH-bw9ztNo, one civilization got it wrong and everyone else thought it was a cool idea and copied it.

[@thomasdimlad8112]

I truly believe that dragons are how ancient people explained Dino fossils.

[@aff77141]

That's what most mythological creatures have been proven to be. Descriptions of animals that got wrung through 10 mistranslations, descriptions of extinct animals passed downn through generations, and attempts at reconstruction with fossils and bones that don't really make sense unless you know what you're doing

[@AM711]

"I can't think of any animal that's huge & flies" Dinosaurs!!

[@Shiny101]

They would've probably mentioned digging up giant bones

[@benblair2591]

What are you talking about "proven to be"? The most intellectually lazy thing someone can do is say "it's been proven" without providing any evidence

[@VashTheStampede2416]

Dragons were also used to explain natural phenomena such as earthquakes, as in the case of Troy.

[@selinesbeau]

"If you went to work every day and your previous day's work has been destroyed." As a cleaning lady..... I'm squinting angrily at you.

[@calebbean1384]

I've done cleaning work, yes 😂

[@RHCole]

...and Simon famously does not clean. He uses cleaning people.

[@davidmangle]

@@RHCole I suspect that he keeps them on long chains in the Blazement. I don't think "cleaning people" is the appropriate term. 😁

[@johnc.2876]

No no no no no, you get PAID!!! PAID!!!! You know money, cash, dinero, cheddar, Vietmanese Dong, Looneys or Tooneys, and ching ching to do your cleaning job. Just like I get paid every day to deliver mail to the same addresses. You are a plumber with a broom instead of a plunger. There is no shame in doing a job, and your anger at his remark is unwarranted. Now get on your knees and plunge!!!

[@RHCole]

@@davidmangle One of them was an assassin sent to take out our boy with the blaze. ...allegedly.

[@giuliabeviacqua7861]

Honestly, I love Ilse's writing! I love how she puts together all the highly unlikely theories and still come up with educational material. Oh and how she makes jabs at Simon.. that's priceless 🤣

[@jamesleate]

Imagine hydrogen filled lightweight crocodiles with special non-fossilising lightweight bone material. Hollow hydrogen filled soft bones inflated like a bouncy castle. A kind of crocodile jellyfish inflated with flammable gas. Sorry, this is what someone answered me with when I told them dragons weren't real. I couldn't disprove it so had to admit that it was theoretically possible however unlikely.

[@cyborgchicken3502]

@@jamesleate Trey The Explainer did a cool video explaining how scientifically and biologically a dragon might be able to exist in the real world.... Of course it'd be nothing like the fantasy version

[@seanmorgan2356]

During a trip to a museum of the Rockies with my family to see Tutankhamun, we of course went to see the Dinosaur Fossil exhibit. I looked a small dinosaur skull with lots of little horns, I turned to my younger brother and said, "you're a farmer in the middle ages. You're plowing the fields and you dig this up, what do you see?". He instantly said "a Dragon!".

[@rapturesrevenge]

Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana? I live 30min from MoR! Big Mike outside and Mort inside, yeah? Best museum ever.

[@nanoglitch6693]

If I were a farmer in middle ages Europe and I found a fossil from North America while plowing my field I would assume a dragon carried it there? Okay.

[@neko_my_cat]

@@nanoglitch6693 at one point in time America and europe weren't that far apart. you know, pangea.

[@cyborgchicken3502]

@@nanoglitch6693 and Dinosaurs also existed in Europe and all over the world ... I mean come on dude u don't have to take things that literally!

[@winoodlesnoodles1984]

Tip of the hat to Ilza for her spot on predictions on how Simon will react to things.

[@Aemirys]

I really do love how much Simon loves being a dad. Even if he goes a bit mental watching that Coco movie.

[@MasuelSkvorcov]

The crocodiles could have been a great inspiration for dragons. In the Czech Republic we have stories about the dragon of Brno. And that thing is actually 100% real. You can still see the dragons body today hanging from the ceiling in one of the Old city hall corridors. And yes, it’s actually a crocodile. That thing has been in possession of the city for at least 400 years inspiring peasants fantasies through the centuries.

[@maricuchisdelafuente]

A beast that can kill you by one bite and pythons snakes than fall from trees this things can bring terror to a small town

[@finalbreath15]

It's funny to see Simon questioning if he is being a good father by preventing his kid from eating chocolate when they won't eat their dinner in a video about whether or not dragons are real

[@slcpunk2740]

Simon is a terrible father ... to his KZbin children, he leaves us daily to be with his "real" family ... Pfft 🙄

[@nomaam-br549]

How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

[@pierre-samuelroux9364]

​@@slcpunk2740ok attention seeker

[@Wow-kf1bq]

I honestly feel like a fire-breathing lizard is more plausible than a tiny shrimp that can vaporize air with it's punches, but look where we are...

[@Ty-mf3vz]

air IS vapor.

[@bongwatercrocodile315]

Less like vaporize air because air is already a gas but more like ***vaporize atoms***

[@Loralanthalas]

Fire 700 degrees Those things that hang out in the water where the lava vapors arr ar the bottom of the ocean: 200. That was enough for me.

[@brs690]

Vaporize water? I'm assuming you're talking about mantis shrimp?

[@toddapplegate3988]

Scary

[@MrValentine101]

As a quick note, down here in the land of god's mistakes, the Eastern Water Dragons are actually super chill. You find them across parklands all of the time just vibing. I have the pleasure of seeing them all of the time thanks to work, and they are just cool little dudes.

[@willwells2794]

Florida or do you live on the Xanth side? (I'm nostalgic now, Im going to my library and read some Piers Anthony) watch out for the gap dragon!

[@robertabugelis3962]

This also could be the Canadian Goose. Lol

[@Dexodrill]

Dragons are awesome fantasy creatures. I love thinking about how they would fit into reality, but they are fantasy. Love this episode.

[@anegaute]

Have you heard of the Discworld dragon? If not, they are a lot of silly fun.

[@mathewhill5161]

I'd imagine someone far back in time seeing a volcano (from a safe distance) wouldn't take too much convincing to think there was some enormous creature in there causing all the heat and molten rock.

[@SpontaneousCMan]

There was actually a fascinating "what if" style documentary on animal planet a few years back that was about what if we did find dragon fossils and how would they work. The theory they put forth for fire breathing was a hydrogen bladder, it was interesting

[@Jaysin412]

Came to point that show out. Lol.

[@dustinboisvert7368]

Dragons: a fantasy made real. I believe that's the name of it but could be wrong

[@Lela-plants]

I loved that show. It really was well done.

[@grown.ass.nerd.]

I love that mockumentary! I was like 12 or 13 when it came out and I missed the first five minutes of the show which included the disclaimer, so I thought the whole thing was real! I was dumbfounded! Awestruck! Bamboozled! I couldn't figure out why no one else was talking about it, why no one else seemed interested in one of the greatest archeological finds of the millennium! Three days later, my dad brutally burst my bubble when he casually--cruelly--remarked at the dinner table, "can you believe some idiots actually thought that was real?" I was one of those idiots, and of course I was ashamed. But for three glorious days, I thought dragons were actually real, and it was beautiful.

[@dustinboisvert7368]

Also if I remember correctly it was Sir Patrick Stewart that narrated it

[@nannywhumpers5702]

I had a neighbor who had never seen or heard of a platypus. He's also never heard of a jackalope. I convinced him jackalope's existed based on the fact that platypus existed. He was a grown man of about 35 with 5 kids.

[@cleoldbagtraallsorts3380]

Lol. Well, I suppose the platypus, while real, sounds more fictional than that actually fictional jackalope!

[@harrietharlow9929]

@@cleoldbagtraallsorts3380 When a description of the platypus first got to Britain, scientists thought it was some kind of hoax. lol

[@M335h1]

😅 I'm appalled he at least didn't see candy mountain, LORD!

[@steve7189]

I used to think like Simon. That fiction was useless because clearly it isn’t real. Then as I got older and had children, reading them bedtime stories I realized fact stories are boring. That we, as a species are story tellers at heart. We love an interesting story no matter how far fetched. I realized these stories make life better. Most of us understand it’s fake however watching a show that has dragons and ufos, make for a getaway from our boring lives. So when I watch a show, movie, or hear a story being told. I will imagine that world at that moment does exist or had exist and think about what that would have been like had it been real. Watch the movie “Big Fish” that’s how we should all strive to be. Basically wonderful exaggerated story tellers. We live once and have 1 go around. Make it more… (interesting) add things to your story, your life will become more interesting

[@rj13bayne2]

"May your kids love Dungeons & Dragons" is such a perfectly written curse 🤣

[@theoneandonlyguyallikian1190]

I've never found it hard to accept that in the past people came across a bunch of dinosaur bones that looked more or less like the giant version of a lizard, figured "if there are bones there has to be an animal that goes with the bones" and use their imagination and that's where dragons came from

[@mordirit8727]

The biggest problem with this idea is the fact that "lizard looking" dino fossils are absurdly rare. Fossils usually take an absurd amount of effort into separating from the rock around them before they can even begin to be recognizable as bones. The two features of a fossil that can be more readily be recognized as such are the skull and vertebra, and honestly, this might be the reason why OG dragons were always just snakes until incredibly later.

[@Hollylivengood]

@@mordirit8727 They aren't all that rare. We've just dug so many up. It used to be common for people to find them, that's why there are all these "dragon " stories. I actually have a piece of a leg. An epiphysis, mostly calcified. It was just sticking out of the ground in a corn field.

[@mordirit8727]

@@Hollylivengood kind of my point though: you have an epiphysis. How many people 4 thousand years ago would be able to look at that, stroke their chins and say "I know for a fact this is a bone, and it is a lizard's bone while at that"? Like I said, skulls and spines might be recognizeable, but how often does a fossil get preserved in such a way that those features are perfectly kept? Most fossils look like a jumble of slightly darker stone from every angle until someone who knows what they're doing puts it all together

[@Hollylivengood]

@mordirit8727 Everyone 4,000 years ago would know it's a bone. They hunted every other day or so. They didn't buy their meat pre-cut, they butshard it and sliced and diced it themselves, and sorted all the bones for what they could use it for. If there was one certain knowledge that Era had, it was the bones and body parts of every animal in their neighborhood. Even hunters today will do that, finding a collection of strange bones is a topic of conversation for guys like that today. FOR SURE it would have been then. You see that cheak bone over by Ugs place? Hell yeah, biggest one I ever sawd, nothin I ever seen like it. Bet it was a dragon like my cousins seed last year. Hey 'em bones is hard as rock, let's go break 'em up and make knives out of 'm....

[@mordirit8727]

@@Hollylivengood yes, and many legends came from that. What I meant, trying to line it up for the third time, is that bones _easily recognizable as _*_lizard like_* would be rare. Everyone four thousand years ago recognized mammoth skulls as skulls. They just had zero idea it was from a mammoth, that’s where cyclops come from. The fossil you have would surely create some legends of a big monster, but there’s no way it’d have been instantly seen as the leg of a lizard-like creature. Fossils that specifically have that idea are not as common, which is what I’ve been saying

[@anonymousrex5207]

I can only imagine when Simon's kids go through their "rebellious" stage by binge watching Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, then going out with their friends LARPing and playing in Magic the Gathering or D&D tournaments... so much to look forward to.

[@NoFace.Albion]

And gorges themselves on chocolate without eating a proper meal

[@EfftupSmith]

@@NoFace.Albion and going to church religiously.

[@kraanz]

Yep, I'm starting to think Simon hates everything that requires a bit of imagination.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

9:15 - Chapter 1 - A dragon in every culture 20:00 - Chapter 2 - Eastern dragons 24:20 - Chapter 3 - Where did the stories originate 24:50 - Chapter 3.1 - Humans & dinosaurs co existed 38:40 - Chapter 3.2 - A combination of predators 45:00 - Chapter 3.3 - Dinosaurs again 52:15 - Chapter 3.4 - Dragons were in fact real 1:00:50 - Chapter 4 - Are flying dragons impossible ? 1:04:05 - Chapter 5 - Real dragons 1:06:30 - Conclusion

[@cantsay]

You are a legend. This should be pinned at the top

[@inomad1313]

@@cantsay Agreed. Why is this not pinned?

[@grabbity]

Thank you so much. These long form videos generally need to be split up for me to finish and these are so helpful. I have no idea why they aren't provided by more channels.

[@HawkSlam]

I’m just replying to push this comment further up 😎

[@fukuokainternationaldemocr1974]

A deeper look kzbin.info/www/bejne/maingadnepmSeck

[@1003JustinLaw]

As a major fantasy lover, let me just say... Good on you Simon for sticking to your guns. Like what you want to like and let other people like what they like. You're not telling people to stop liking fantasy, and you're not saying people who like fantasy are bells, so you're still good in my book.

[@jenniferm6286]

So happy to hear Simon echo my fears about Australia… I’m always telling my friend I would never want to travel there because everything is freaking deadly!

[@RainbowTheSnail]

Fossils being the origins for dragons and other mythical creatures makes a lot of sense and was the theory I have always thought most likely.

[@GreenGoblinDK]

Been thinking the same. It makes a lot of sense plus did ancient people understand they were fossiles and not actual bones. A creature with bones of rock. How was the rest of the creature.

[@sophdog2564]

I think it's a combination of things fossils for sure (fun fact! The suspected origins for cyclops myths is elephant skulls because the hole for the trunk looked like an eye socket) but also thinks like lizards that spit acid and squirt blood out of their eyes could definitely contribute to some of the powers they supposedly had.

[@marcm.]

Okay hear me out, what is an instinctual memory that has survived since our little furry ancestors existed? And therefore the sizes are relative... Yes I think that your idea is significantly more likely but, I would love it if both the creationist and evolutionist, somehow got it both right and wrong at the same time, together))) just to be clear I'm on the more scientific side of this debate, but I like the idea😊

[@mikegoodwin2386]

That's me. Without any serious research on the subject, I always figured someone discovered dinosaur fossils and called them dragons. From there the stories grew.

[@tankeater]

WORDS CHANGE OVER TIME... Can you think of a flying "creature", with armor, you can hear coming, that can shoot fire??? LMFFFAAAOOO

[@terryenby2304]

As a kid I always figured that dragon stories came from the discovery of huge (fossilised) dinosaur bones. If there weren’t any scientists to explain them yet, they could have made stories of the creatures to make sense of them?

[@granatmof]

There's a story of a Chinese herbalist who sold "ground up dragon bones". Researchers followed the herbalist to his source and discovered a collection of dinosaur fossils.

[@rachelhansen2417]

That’s always been my assumption

[@Loralanthalas]

It always made since to me. Still don't know why dinosaurs aren't just renamed dragons.

[@LoneStarCarper]

I want them to be real if they have Sean Connery’s voice

[@D_Chess]

A spectacle laden Green Dragon with Simon's voice saying, "This is bullocks!! None of this is real!!"

[@definitelylewis7507]

John Hurts will do.

[@mastathrash5609]

Instead we got Simon reading parts of Arthurian legends. Which I'm perfectly happy with as well.

[@killielila]

aww Dragon heart

[@LoneStarCarper]

@@killielila I had to go see where I could stream it hard to believe that came out in 1996

[@jacobkeegan721]

Simon: "Show me something that BIG that can FLY!!!... Only small animals can fly!" Quetzalcoatlus: Am I a joke to you?... XD

[@dantemoose420]

I love how he deadass described the chemical process shit like bombardier beetles and red fire ants use to spray their acidic attacks, then straight up shits I'm thenpossibility it could work.

[@Moondragonical]

Simon suddenly remembering that dragons can fly is exactly the kind of content I'm here for.

[@fiction-]

I'm a creative writer, so mythology is fascinating to me simply because humans telling stories has been a thing since humans could communicate and seeing how those stories evolved over time is neat :p Edit: I finally thought of a fantasy series that Simon might actually like! Banewrecker/Godslayer by Jacqueline Carey. I loved it because it was Lord of the Rings but from the villains perspective and no one was evil, but everyone was stupid lol

[@QBCPerdition]

My favorite dragons are in the Dragonriders of Pern series. They were genetically modified by humans a long time in the past of the main stories. They chewed a special type of phosphine-bearing rocks and stored it in a special stomach. The chemicals in this stomach mixed with the phosphine to make a liquid that would ignite when exposed to oxygen. They then had to expel the remains of the rocks via regurgitation. As close as I've ever read to making them realistic.

[@theyarereal1933]

The pern books are amazing…

[@the-chillian]

Since the Pern books are science fiction rather than fantasy, Simon might even enjoy them. Well, apart from the fact Pern dragons are sentient, telepathic, and go "between".

[@trishapellis]

The Age of Fire books come close too. It's written from the point of view of the dragons themselves, and has tidbits such as "dragons gather and defend hoards because they need metal for their scales to grow in correctly, they produce a special kind of saliva/slime when they see gold that helps them digest it, they can substitute raw ore but they don't like the flavor" and "they know they have a bladder where products from their digested food are stored but they don't know the exact chemistry involved", and also "especially male dragons produce pheromones that cause aggression in other nearby male dragons, so a society of dragons where they live close together requires a special type of incense that suppresses the smell of those pheromones so they can live peacefully". This is over the course of several books, and obviously not told to the reader in this way. It's more like one older dragon going "Oh, this young male dragon is getting all uppity, we've got to put some incense on the burners". There's one dragon there who's kind of impaired and can't breathe fire as such, but he can produce the digestion-derived liquid, and he can also make sparks. So at one point (SPOILER) he kills a dragonslayer, a guy who's built his armor and gear in such a crafty way that dragons have not been able to kill him back so far, and basically drenches him in the liquid, having it soak into his armor, and then gives it a spark... I like these books quite a lot.

[@AzhreiVep]

@@trishapellis Age of Fire is pretty damn good, all told. The last book went off in some _weird_ directions I could have done without, though. The sequel series is shaping up to be pretty good too, but sadly focused on one of those filthy _hominids_ instead of a dragon, as is good and just.

[@TGBloke]

There's actually a more realistic take on it. There is a documentary called "Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real", and it is amazing. - If you can find it, it's well worth the time.

[@ElysetheEevee]

That documentary based on "what if dragons existed" came up with some interesting scientifically-based ideas on how dragons could've breathed fire. Chemical reactions, a special bladder, ingesting specific minerals, that kind of thing. I find it interesting speculating on stuff like that. I mean, hell, Merpeople are somewhat feasible: more so than many other cryptids and fantastic creatures. Edit: lol nobody tell Simon about the biggest pterasaurs like Hatzegopteryx haha.

[@cascadianrangers728]

Pyrophoric breath

[@VaderPopsVicodin10]

Always loved Dragons..how they're apart of different cultures and all. I prefer the English/European folklore dragons myself. They've never existed in real life, but I think their existence would be plausible as extinct creatures, too. They're just fascinating.

[@worryworm]

Thank you Ilza for mentioning Neil Gaiman. A wonderful storyteller I think even Simon might enjoy. And, yes Simon, he does childrens picture books as well.

[@louiscyphre833]

You're on the same page as me sir or madam. Gaiman's talent is ageless & timeless

[@--enyo--]

No offence to Neil but I bet Simon would still hate them. 😂

[@pweddy1]

The term dinosaur was coined in 1841 by Sir Richard Owens. He had crates of bones labeled “Dragons.” The term Dragon was simply used until the invention of the term dinosaur.

[@piperjaycie]

Would love to see Simon watch Once Upon A Time and do reaction videos or reviews of it. I think his brain would implode and he would end up in the blazement weeping in the corner while a perplexed Danny just stares at him while occasionally flicking bits of magic spoon at him in an attempt to fix him or cheer him up!

[@theUglyGypsy]

I like fantasy and that show was garbage. Lol

[@ZukiraPhaera]

I could picture that.

[@haleyw5677]

@@theUglyGypsy i was absolutely obsessed with it when I was in early middle school and so was everyone else in my class. Even remembering it makes me cringe sometmimes

[@killielila]

aww yes !!

[@emmapimer5162]

chronic whistlerverse fan lol

[@MattsCrazyArt]

Most podcasts move slow enough that I sometimes speed up the time. With this guy, I wish I could slow it like 10%

[@goodpie2772]

The extent to which simon is completely unable to grasp the concept of suspension of disbelief is just astonishing.

[@MCsCreations]

The fact that so many ancient cultures believed in similar things like dragons, even with all the differences, should say something about humans.

[@emmapimer5162]

yeah, I agree that things like this (similarities between cultures) say more about people than like “people all saw the flying monster it’s real!!!” like, how pretty much EVERY society has religion

[@dangreene3895]

Yes that is true , kind of like so many cultures talk of a great flood , maybe modern man is not near as smart as they think they are.

[@geromelegnome5446]

@@dangreene3895 if these subjects really interest you then I'd recommend Joe Rogan podcast episodes with Graham Hancock who talk's at length about the things you have mentioned... Also a KZbin channel called Bright Insight!!!

[@peterschroeder3087]

@@dangreene3895OR maybe just YOU aren’t as smart as YOU believe YOU are ! 😂🤣🤣

[@dangreene3895]

@@peterschroeder3087Oh ok thanks there Genius

[@zach8811]

one thing to consider is that birds have a spongy hollow type of bone that allow them to fly easier, it’s reasonable to think that for something as large as a dragon to be able to fly, it too would have needed to have hollow bones. These hollow type bones tend to just break down over time and not fossilize which could explain the lack of fossil records

[@QBCPerdition]

Interesting...though we do find fossils of birds, so...

[@SassyGirl822006]

One word: azhdarchids

[@stevem.o.1185]

Pterosaurs didn't have hollow bones. Their bones were just paper-thin. Which is kind of bad evolutionarily; if they bumped into a tree, they were done. They were basically like that fish guy from spongebob that broke a bone every minute and had a heart attack every night. But flight is just that OP of an ability that evolution had to give it a try.

[@SassyGirl822006]

@@stevem.o.1185 my point was more that extremely delicate bones do get preserved. So the original poster can't lean on that as a reason for lack of fossils. And more to the point, azhdarchids are pretty close to what people these days consider to be dragon sized.

[@trishapellis]

@@SassyGirl822006 Curious Archive has a video of speculative biology that focuses on how dragons could exist right now, and be descendants of the azhdarchids. It's called 'The Dragon Journals' (because he has several videos about dragons, using various different sources).

[@gabbyn978]

If you are having issues with fantasy, I recommend the books of Terry Prattchet, especially those set in the world of the Discworld. His stories are highly entertaining, and he breaks nearly every rule in the Dungeons and Dragons book, while still adhering to the tropes, yet turns them upside down. It is absolutely hilarious and at the same times gives you a good overview of all these fantasy clichés that dominate the D&D genre. And: I love DEATH (the character)

[@garymaidman625]

Stephen King's the Dark Tower series is also a good shout-out. Especially being he isn't a 'fantasy' writer.

[@DaiElsan]

I have them all. Met Terry three times. He, Stephen Briggs, and the cover artist (forgot his name atm) attended our opening night of Carpe Jugulum. What a fantastic human being he was. Taken way to early. Sadly missed.

[@mariakelly90210]

Rest In Peace, Sir Terry.

[@ceilingsintheireyes6288]

“I Don’t like mythology or fantasy” Is it even possible to use those words in a sentence together like that?

[@kreiner1]

Every now and again, a movie can drop a profound line. In Men in Black, K talks about all the things we have known. The world is flat, etc. I am really curious about what we will know tomorrow. There is much we don't know, but one day, we will. And in 100 years, they are going to wonder how we believe the things we did. And Simon's grandkids, we tell how we believed these things because we just didn't know and tried to explain our world. And we all know there will still be people who think the earth is only 6000 years old. 😮😅

[@ssokolow]

Re: the Ta Praohm Stegosaur, TREY the Explainer's "Is this a Stegosaurus?" video is short, a good watch, and goes into detail on exactly WHY it's most likely a rhino. He also pointed out in his second video on globsters (mystery ocean carcasses) that, for centuries, people were interpreting baleen whale skeletons as "sea swine" because the lower jaws looked like tusks and he did some fascinating videos on Leviathan and Mokele-Mbembe and what the former can tell us about the pre-history of religion.

[@gaaraattithunder]

I think we need a mythology channel just to watch Simon lose his entire mind the entire time

[@moondancer4660]

I think if he hates it so much he shouldn't do it.

[@ssfbob456]

​@Moon Dancer He doesn't hate it, he just has no interest.

[@barbararajska3570]

to the point where he claims to be going to hell , which he does not believe in :D

[@darlenefraser3022]

Absolutely!

[@josephkoester3217]

Dragongraphics

[@erikkornfeld785]

This is a very cathartic video as Simon says things like "Flying snakes aren't possible!" Then learns that flying snakes exist.

[@EvelyntMild]

I've heard Simon say he didn't like fantasy in several videos, but I now 100% believe him. Discworld is the best of best fantasy, written by a grandmaster of literature. Fair play Simon. Thanks for trying.

[@amandag5072]

I've never managed to get on with the Discworld books. I found them too silly.

[@acethesupervillain348]

"Today we've replaced dragons with science" No we haven't. We've replaced them with bigfoots and chupacabras and UFOs.

[@morganfae3690]

24 min in. This is amazing. Simon reading about things he finds rediculouse is the greatest thing ever. More please!

[@Justin-og5df]

I agree, we should make this the most upvoted video on the channel and demand a 2 hour sequel just to drive Simon mad 😃

[@WasabiSniffer]

Honestly I just love watching Simon being forced to read something as he’s yelling and screaming about how nothing’s real.

[@morganfae3690]

@@WasabiSniffer it really is the best!

[@morganfae3690]

@@Justin-og5df lets petition to have him watch Game of Thrones!

[@ella17734]

@@Justin-og5df YESSSSSSS!

[@colingunn5227]

As the father of a 3year old I can definitely relate to Simon's rant about having to endure cocomelon and other obnoxious things

[@patrickwilliams6143]

#BringBackButtonMoonAndPlaySchool

[@teaspoonsofpeanutbutter6425]

Cocomelon is the WORST. I thought teletubbies and I the night garden were bad.. what eve happened to count duckula and playdays?!

[@lukasmakarios4998]

Teletubbies!

[@MichellePaulette79]

Baby shark duh do doo

[@christopherlee5584]

Mine was Barney and Care Bears.... Lord save me!

[@vihuynh634]

Speaking of work and wanting your work to make a form of progress each day Simon, my job is in addiction rehabilitation. I see the same patients day in day out. I hope to never see them again when they leave our facility. If they are out there it means that they have a chance of getting better but most, come back and they come back worse. Usually requiring more medical interventions than before. Yet, every day here I am, giving out the same advice and treatment as the days prior. Its like building sand castles on an endless beach for me. Each person and each visit is a new experience, a chance to build again knowing that it may not last but you do it anyways it hoping this time the foundation will be enough to sustain the waves of addiction. Sometimes work is as such. An ephemeral sand castle.

[@robertalpy]

A komodo dragon has the most infectious bite on earth I think. They bite once,retreat and wait for their prey to succumb to infection and be weakened, before returning to eat them alive. I don't think that it's impossible that a reprile that spit infectious saliva or even acid may have existed once.

[@mariakelly90210]

There was a great fight scene in the Daniel Craig James Bond movie Skyfall that involved a couple of Kimodo Dragons.

[@SleepyKyju]

Fun fact, I adopted a very handsome blue and gold macaw named Merlin. I'd heard the name around but never seen any movies or any association with wizards. I've worked with him a ton and he's now quite friendly and personable. Very gentle. Steps up for toddlers and frail elderly alike. I take him and a couple of my other birds to public events with our rescue. Every time I introduce him someone's like, OH LIKE THE WIZARD! And I'm like, YEAH I FUCKING GUESS? finally one day I just looked it up. I wonder what rock I've been under.

[@SuperDoNotWant]

If you read "Guards! Guards!" by Terry Pratchett you would have a fair idea about how dragons breath fire, and it goes about as well as you'd imagine.

[@RHCole]

We need a BB where Simon reacts to a discworld audiobook (I suggest 'Making Money') ...or one of the Sky adaptations. Perhaps Going Postal.

[@donaldwert7137]

Severe acid reflux?

[@stillmagic714]

@@donaldwert7137 basically! "No wonder dragons were always ill. They relied on permanent stomach trouble for supplies of fuel. Most of their brain power was taken up with controlling the complexities of then-digestion, which could distill flame-producing fuels from the most unlikely ingredients. They could even rearrange their internal plumbing overnight to deal with difficult processes. They lived on a chemical knife-edge the whole time. One misplaced hiccup and they were geography."--Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett

[@donaldwert7137]

@@stillmagic714 Thanks for the quote! That's one of his stories I haven't read.

[@TheStevewhelan]

Coincidentally, I just finished listening to the audiobook of "G! G!" read by Nigel Planer this very afternoon! Long Live Errol!

[@nameless646]

I've always just assumed that the legend of dragons came from someone discovering a dinosaur fossil a really really long time ago and believed there to be something divine about it, with dinosaurs being extinct and grand, invoking the imagination, etc.

[@fairygrl999]

that does indeed make the most sense, maybe they found a Pterodactyl fossil or somethin

[@tankeater]

WORDS CHANGE OVER TIME... Can you think of a flying "creature", with armor, you can hear coming, that can shoot fire??? LMFFFAAAOOO

[@--enyo--]

Yeah, same. Or just word of mouth and bad drawings of animals from overseas.

[@DougDastardly]

Though there are models and carvings of people riding Triceratops and of Dinosaur like creatures (Stegasaur and Diplodocus) on Aztec or Mayan buildings. How did they know what dinosaurs looked like? I think Dragons may have been the name given to surviving dinosaurs in our history because of those. Otherwise I'd agree with you.

[@David_K_Booth]

@@DougDastardly [citation needed]

[@matthewgilbert9881]

Hilarious that immediately after Simon said we didn’t just always make stuff up( 38:32 ), an ad started talking about an ancient Himalayan ice fat burning technique.

[@gooma7942]

Surprised to hear Simon doesn’t have any appreciation for mythology. I think it’s quite fascinating and a nice window into what the people of the time felt or how they responded to the world around them.

[@BunnyDanger]

I too am a skeptic, but.. Large pterosaurs flew. Quetzalcoatlus was HUGE.

[@nickschulte3915]

Only a minute into this video. My thought about dragons has always been that the myths around dragons stems from found dinosaur bones. Same with other mythical creatures

[@OffRampTourist]

Giants too. Mammoth bones.

[@nickschulte3915]

@@OffRampTourist yup. And I seem to recall some article/post about this theory. Like scientists rearranged the fossils to make a cyclops, or something. It’s just always seemed the most logical answer to explain mythical creatures.

[@jonkienlen7332]

you would think that a ceasor or a egyiptian king would of kept a dinosaur skull in his man cave,but to my understanding no large dinosaur fossils were found until the 1800's

[@nickschulte3915]

@@jonkienlen7332 I’m not sure. I’ve heard the term dinosaur didn’t appear until the 1800s, but I find it hard to believe that any civilization advanced enough to dig and mine, Rome, Egypt, China, etc, wouldn’t have found fossils of dinosaurs and other large animals

[@AnthonyCarlyle]

I think the whole fire breathing part is due to the flesh eating bacteria found in komodo dragons mouth. Could be something similar in other reptiles. Also I think I remember hearing about some lizards that collect shinies for their homes like crows do. Finding some den full of shinies then getting bit by some Hella fast lizard that makes your skin melt off seems dragon enough.

[@trishapellis]

Well... Komodo dragons only live on the Galapagos islands, some of the most remote and inhospitable islands on Earth, and dragon mythology has existed in many places before at least Eurasians found those islands. The evidence I can find about lizards stealing shiny things is very anecdotal, mainly among people who own pet lizards, and the lizards tend to immediately try to eat the item, not put it somewhere else (bearded lizards apparently have a thing for eating silvery-looking objects like nuts and bolts). I cannot find any information about a magpie-like species of lizards where many individuals of the same species are known to not just be attracted to shiny objects but hoard them somewhere. So I'm afraid your idea doesn't hold much water in real life. However, I now have a new creature for my imaginary worlds, so thank you.

[@AnthonyCarlyle]

@@trishapellis thank you for taking a closer look at the idea and doing some fact checking!

[@jasonagodfrey]

@@AnthonyCarlyle They live in Indonesia, one of the islands being Komodo. The Galapagos are near the Americas and are home to giant tortoises bearing the same name. Humans inhabit Komodo Island.

[@cleoldbagtraallsorts3380]

They also have yellowish tongues, perhaps the origin the fire breathing.

[@ThePittsburghToddy]

I had an iguana as a pet. Everything was copacetic until it went into it’s mating season when it went batshit crazy, destroyed my apartment, and mounted my thigh in the middle of the night. It took close to an hour to get it off me.

[@shaneabel8716]

Simon - I love it when you run across something horrible that you didn't know. There's the quiet little "Wot...?" Followed by the inevitable rant about why no one ever told you about this.... 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@patriciaaturner289]

In recent years, Disney has embraced Asian dragons. Mulan has as her companion the Fa family dragon, called Mu-shu, and in Raya and the Last Dragon, the dragon Sisu must aid Raya on her quest to save the entire race of dragons.

[@mercuryvincent6796]

At this point, I'm more invested in Simon's rantings than the actual script 😂

[@mellie4174]

Same!

[@sirnonapplicable]

That's why we're here

[@nickholt752]

I can't stand it but I guess we're just different that way

[@justme2848]

There is a bird called a golden pheasant. I just learned about this rare Bird and after watching this googled where they're from. Apparently they are from Western China and prefer to live in the forests in the mountainous regions. And they kind of really do look golden and they fly. I'm sure in the past they were much more numerous but living so high up may have only been seen from afar.

[@garymaidman625]

They're not very big though. They have been introduced into Italy and I've seen them in Italy in the wild on the side of the road, they are about the size of a small goose.

[@cleoldbagtraallsorts3380]

You can find them in rural areas in England, they were introduced from China. They have yellow heads and coppery brown bodies. They are not very big and not that common, but you do see them from time to time. They are not as rare as birds like the Stone Curlew.

[@Windikite]

I'm definitely right there with you on DS9, after coming from TNG it just didn't grab me at all at first. Ended up watching it with my mom just to hang out together and realized I was actually enjoying it a lot by the second season.

[@lazylazerrsp8781]

I would like to add to this video with a theory I commonly repeat when it comes to historical deep dives on mythology but with a focus on dragons this time. I like to think the reason 'dragons' of all forms are so prevalent around the world developing independently, is that they combine predators with natural phenomena. Imagine you hear of a reptile that is big enough to snatch small children and also has the ability to spit acid. Now imagine you don't just hear, but also bear witness to a distant earth shaking noise followed by billows of smoke and fire raining from the skies. Any storyteller worth their chops would connect the two, and come up with a giant fire breathing lizard whose roar can be heard for days worth of journeys. The giant lizards that spit acid? They're the babies of even bigger much scarier versions. Where the young spit liquids at you that burn your skin, the adults spit molten liquids that melt your bones and burn the lands to ash. Where the 'small' predators blow out noxious fumes, the biggest ones breathe out entire clouds that can choke entire plains. That thunderstorm without lightning you hear? That's actually flying version that are roaring and growling. Do you feel the earth jolting/quaking? That's a massive dragon waking from their slumber deep within the earth, roaring so loud the ground vibrates causing vast amounts of damage. That river you see winding back and forth? That's the trail of a massive serpent dragon. That typhoon/hurricane? That's the wake of a dragon traveling over/inside the ocean. Honestly as scary as a dragon would be, it'd be a whole lot more believable and less existentially terrifying to ancient people than "nature caused that is entirely unpredictable and unpreventable". What's scarier: a giant mythological being of untold power and destruction who act based on their mood you might be able to mollify through sacrifice and ritual, or supervolcanoes that can end the world and the tectonic plates move freely which one day culminates in entire swathes of land forming or disappearing regardless of what's in the way? It just makes sense to create hobbled together pieces that represent the unknowable nature of the world, who are divine beings that either coexist with the established religions or exist as monsters that show up when they feel like and interject in grandiose tales. I wouldn't be surprised if the origin of all apocalyptic events like Ragnarok or the rapture actually stems from someone who witnessed a volcanic eruption and came to the valid conclusion that someday a much larger version will happen and the end will come in the form of the entire world going up in flames with the sun blotted out the sky( or 'eaten') by darkness(smoke) so vast it might as well be an ungodly figure there to destroy the world.

[@JFGreen13]

I love how the writers just rip on Simon! He is such a great sport about it!!

[@TheMoonShepard]

If they're anything like Toothless or Sean Connery, then I'd definitely want that to be real

[@omegatired]

Yes! Toothless! ❤

[@mariakelly90210]

I'd rather have Dragon. Fire Breathing Dragon.

[@rodepet]

Learning about how the stories about dragons evolved sounds really interesting! Not because it's about dragons but it shows how people thought and how that changed. It's evolutionary psychology! And dragons are pretty.

[@rodepet]

It's also interesting to see how people viewed the world they lived in and how it shaped them and at the same time that influences how they would shape their world.

[@tankeater]

@@rodepet WORDS CHANGE OVER TIME... Can you think of a flying "creature", with armor, you can hear coming, that can shoot fire??? LMFFFAAAOOO

[@pamelamays4186]

When my oldest daughter was in middle school she totally believed that dragons were real. She had a really cool book about dragons from around the world. The book had some fabulous illustrations of the dragons.

[@tzvikrasner6073]

That wouldn't be Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, would it?

[@dimadobrik4516]

What an interesting story

[@trishapellis]

@@tzvikrasner6073 Possibly the Dragon Journals, though those books imagine dragons as smaller creatures that have evolved to hide in natural spaces and be descended from pterodactyls. They're beautiful too.

[@erniemiller1953]

I believe the dragon is based on real dinosaurs, but the breathing fire part was to increase the teller's desire to amp the anxiety of the listener, much like a kid will tell mom he saw a person...and then said he was wielding a sword...and then the sword was on fire...and that he burnt the neighbor's house down. The truth being that the kid saw a man, but mom replied "That's nice, dear." and the kid amped it up because he hadn't gotten her attention.

[@kwisin1337]

Thats our job as dads Simon, you did the right thing, but on the same point, she did the right thing too. It's a hard balance. You are going to be a great dad, man. Keep it up.

[@Jaysin412]

There were dinosaurs the size of a t-Rex that could fly, qetzocoatlas or something like that. Air and bone densities were different back then, but I mean, technically, those were the size of "dragons"

[@stephanieclark8327]

In Llandudno some of the shops have little points on their roofs, kinda like a little arrow head. When I was seven I asked my Gramps why they had those points, he told me that Wales was filled with dragons and they hide in the day by merging into the roofs to sleep and those little points were the end of their tails. I was so disappointed to learn later that he just made this up because he didn't want to say 'I don't know'

[@DaiElsan]

But what a story. You'll never forget it. Disappointed you may be, but at the first opportunity, you'll pass it on to the next generation.

[@bryanergau6682]

Your grandpa was cool.

[@bryanergau6682]

@retsaM innavoiG Yaou really went out of your way to be a dick on that one. Coulda just kept it moving.....

[@bryanergau6682]

@retsaM innavoiG We should hang out.

[@Michelle-xz7pl]

Fantastic episode as usual. I have to admit I love your writers, even when dealing with things spanning from the silly to the horrible, they manage to do so with grace, humour and intelligence.

[@daviddaspit4166]

Dragonriders of Pern (science fiction) goes a way in explaining how dragons could fly and breathe fire. In that series, they were genetically modified from much smaller flying lizards on an alien world.

[@coryalexander6382]

Simmon: Don't get into cars with or accept candy from strangers! My Uber Driver: Want a mint?

[@askinperson2839]

Simon admitting he hates a script's topic is so weirdly authentic. Keep it up

[@GrievousReborn]

I wish he would only say it one time in the video it drives me nuts how he has to constantly reiterate it's not real when I already know it's not real

[@chrisjb241]

Such a shame Simon can't get into DS9 I feel bad for him missing out on an amazing show

[@hoonplay]

I love this channel because it makes you do over 1hour videos on topics you dislike lol. Love it.

[@thalastianjorus]

Good time to mention that it would be fairly easy for an animal to evolve with the ability to spit actual flame?

[@LuKaZz420]

I saw the gliding lizard in Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, back in the mid-2000s on holiday there. I didn't see them fly for long, only saw two, going from tree to tree. Still one of them went from high on the tree to a low branch on another tree that was easily 8 or 10 metres away. It was awesome. Wasted a whole Kodak film trying to get them flying, just blurry photos. I had them while they were chilling on the trees though.

[@Baldevi]

Actually Simon, there are snakes that can fly. They actually glide, flattening their ribs so they sail from treetops to new trees. No wings required! The wriggle when mid air too, but I believe they are non-aggressive to humans, like most snakes not in Australia.

[@resileaf9501]

It's really interesting to see how much Simon's lack of interest in fantasy stuff has impacted his knowledge of things that more nerdy people would take for granted. Like the first thing about Merlin he thinks of is that animated movie, or forgetting that dragons have wings. Or more generally, his complete genre blindness about anime. It's fun to see how much our types of knowledge differ. Unrelatedly, RIP mythographics.

[@samiam2088]

Has anyone else noticed that dragons look A LOT like dinosaurs? Maybe people were finding dino fossils and madeup dragons around them?

[@molybdomancer195]

Young Earth creationists try to say dragons were dinosaurs and they lived at the same time as people in ancient history and were even on the Ark 😮

[@omega1231]

It is very possible that some if not most ancient stories about dragons originated from a fossil, but dragons were also just purely mythological creatures in some cultures, much like spirits rather than a physical creature.

[@Dan19870]

When I heard Simon's comments about DS9, I literally shouted "YOU WERE MENT TO BE THE CHOSEN ONE" a reference I'm almost certain Simon will not get. Look, the best way to get into DS9 is to watch the first two episodes Emissary I & II, then skip along to the end of season 2.

[@mariakelly90210]

And since Simon's a Spy Buff, he might enjoy the James Bond spoof episode Our Man Bashir.

[@fablefortitude5760]

Birds are the descendants of dinosaurs. Birds have hollow bones which don’t fossilize. So Dragons had hollow bones that kept them light enough to sustain fight. Hollow bones, no fossils. This is the explanation I’ve always loved.

[@Jackie-lynn-fretz]

Well Simon when it comes to the mermaid reproductive system it is a well-known fact that the female finds a nice quiet place and drops her eggs at which time a male or “merman“ will come by and fertilize the eggs lol

[@EdwardCullen667]

Haha! As a fluent welsh speaker I totally agree 😂 And yes, the “out of office” sign is genuinely hilarious. Made its rounds with us welshies and it’s incredible! Great vid Simon 👏

[@lukematney7062]

As someone with a toddler myself, I appreciate Simon's frustration with children's TV. Particularly cocomelon.

[@emilywalker3352]

What is Cocomelon? It sounds like a horrible drink from Starbucks

[@lukematney7062]

@@emilywalker3352 it's a TV program for kids. Particularly toddlers under 4.

[@emilywalker3352]

@@lukematney7062 l’m sorry

[@brightmodelengineering8399]

My wife was Chinese and I asked her how Chinese dragons could fly, she told me quite seriously that they swim through the air. In another incident I told her about Scottish haggises and they having two legs longer so they could run around mountains without falling off hehe. She listened intently full of belief. A few weeks later I asked when we go to China next where will be the best place to see living dragons. She took on a serious face and told me in the same tone as you'd tell a child the Easter bunny isn't real that it won't be possible as dragons aren't real. I pondered this fact for a moment and then said neither are haggis. I can now confirm a wok across the side of the head hurts!

[@ankhera]

When Simon said "Name one thing that big that can fly" my immediate thought was "aeroplane".

[@skyseymour3952]

I don't believe in Dragons, but I find it funny that Simon thinks the breathing fire part is outrageous when things like the bombardier beetle exist

[@thematey3592]

Good comment. The bombardier beetle is so radical that if you didn't know it was actually real you would think it's too far fetched to exist.

[@dandi5723]

Sometimes I wonder if Simon is one of the humans who doesn''t have an internal monologue or brain pictures lol. He's so logical, it's equal parts refreshing and scary 😅

[@nukabat5386]

A book called A Flight of Dragons by Peter Dickinson does a good breakdown of how a dragon would breath fire and fly despite the mass to wing ratio.

[@kaydenmackay5294]

"Humans are smart, thats what we do 😊" casually ignoring that you could snipe it from a hundred metres out if you're suddenly allowed to go modern. I was thinking more like lamb bait and a big weighted steel/iron pike to drive down onto its face, or dig a damn pit and stick spikes in it, cmon Simon these are the ideas that keep you in the tribe

[@thomaspalagyi7241]

Hey Simon, sup bro. I want your content a lot, I even remember the first few episodes you did. Anyway, I hate to be a pain in the arse but the release date of these videos messes me up because I assume they are very current. Other than that I like the majority of what you produce