The Lost City of the Kalahari Desert: Fact or Fiction?

[@PositronWeaponD]

Every time that picture of Farini came up, I kept wondering why he was posing with a child who appeared to have hypertrichosis. I did a little digging and found out that the kid was another one of his adopted children, Krao Farini. She was from Laos, and she did in fact have hypertrichosis (abnormal hair growth all over the body. There are differing account as to how she ended up being adopted by Farini but I can’t imagine it was a nice time for her. As a showman, Farini advertised her as a “missing link” between apes and humans, which was a fairly common thing that circuses and sideshows did with people who had hypertrichosis. She spent several decades being exhibited, and when she died at either 49 or 50 from the flu, she asked that her body be cremated so that it wouldn’t be exhibited or gawked at after her death. Only tangentially related to the story, but I figured I’d share in case anyone else was curious about the little girl in the photo.

[@alfyb4512]

Thanks for that, I kept wondering about that picture!

[@stephaniecameron2594]

Thank you so much, it was very distracting as I kept wondering about it and missing chunks of the video😅 #adhd

[@goawayihavecommentstomake1488]

I was curious as to why a guy like him was hugging such a person- he didn’t seem like the type to adopt children totally benevolently.

[@PositronWeaponD]

@@goawayihavecommentstomake1488 I mean, it’s entirely possible that he did develop some fondness for his adopted children. Lulu’s story is also very interesting, as I later discovered. But clearly Krao was done with being stared at by the time she was older, as she wore a veil when she went out in public.

[@ImTheJoker4u]

Much appreciated 😁

[@linkesocke4533]

Fun fact: Airial archeology is a thing. People use airplanes to look for shipwrecks at sea. And you can even spot underground ruins or buried walls, because the part above the ruins looks different from the surrounding areas without ruins from the air. I saw a documentary about that years ago and it was quite interesting and cool.

[@KryssLaBryn]

There's even neater stuff you can do with it now too! I mean, just in the visible light spectrum you can see quite a lot, and there's people who go looking around on Google Maps for signs of old ruins etc, which is super cool, too! But also, it ends up that when you disturb the soil, like for digging fields and putting up buildings and things, the plants that end up taking over on that disturbed soil are different enough from the surrounding vegetation that if you know what to look for, you can spot it relatively easily. --And when I say "different from the surrounding vegetation," I don't mean that you suddenly get completely different species growing there; I mean you get different proportions of native plants than what you'd usually see. And because you've now got an area of ground that was all disturbed at once, and probably all abandoned at once, you end up with big homogeneous patches of fast-growing, sunlight-seeking plants, that you wouldn't usually see growing in a giant cluster like that. Like, I'm in northern BC, Canada, and our forests out here are generally firs and cedars, right? You know, evergreens. You picture the vast wilderness of British Columbia, and it's all just these dark green evergreen trees everywhere. But when they go in and log an area out (usually an entire hillside), the first thing that comes and colonizes the chewed-up, denuded ground is a tall, fushia flower called fireweed (as it's the first thing that grows after forest fires, as well). You can tell from miles away that the area's been clear-cut, because of the flowers growing there. And I mean, it typically starts having saplings springing up pretty quickly, too, and with the sudden access to more sunlight they grow pretty fast. But the thing is, what you get growing there first is *birches,* not firs, because the birches grow *much* faster than the firs do. And so you end up with these evergreen-covered mountains, with these occasional big patches of birches. You can *really* see them in the fall, of course, when the leaves change colour; and in the winter, when the bare branches leave just these giant, bare white patches in amongst all the other snow-covered, but forested, mountainsides. But you see a similar sort of thing happening even with the grasses. And it ends up that, once the ground has been disturbed like that, it *stays* different from the surrounding soil, and the plant cover *stays* different from the surrounding growth, literally for *centuries.* Millennia, even! And if you tweak that satellite data slightly, to be looking mainly at a particular spectrum (and it's driving me nuts that I can't remember what the technique is called, other than I think it starts with an L), you can see things like the outlines of the remains of buildings really, really clearly, *just by looking at the differences in the plants growing over them.* It's so cool!! :D

[@sandybarnes887]

@@KryssLaBryn Lidar

[@KryssLaBryn]

LIDAR? It must be LIDAR that I'm thinking of, because the word was in my head before Simon mentioned it; I just figured I'd gotten it mixed up with something else, lol. But yeah. TL;DR: LIDAR is really cool.

[@loke6664]

@@KryssLaBryn Lidar is indeed cool but it is not something you want to use to cover the entire Kalahari desert. It would take forever. It is possible there are some unknown ruins under the sand there but I doubt it is a huge unknown city. A village could disappear under the sand and it would be very hard to see from the air. We are finding new sites yearly, but far more of them are in jungles then desert. Honestly, I think the explorer likely found a couple of stone houses or maybe areas fenced in for cattle and made a hen out of a feather. I don't think he made the entire thing up but neither do I believe his entire story. He might also have looked on something that was a couple of houses and saw a natural stone formation, assuming it was parts of a huge city. The dude wasn't exactly a trained archaeologist and only spent a couple of days there with a couple of people so he couldn't make a huge survey or dig very much. A single house and some vaguely house looking natural formation could have easily tricked him. But hey, anyone with a couple of hours to waste and Google earth could in theory find a lost city, people have actually done that but in South America and I can't exactly prove there never been a city there. It is extremely unlikely but not entirely impossible. Sometimes cities hidden in sand have been found in the Sahara.

[@KryssLaBryn]

@@sandybarnes887 Ha, sorry; didn't even see your reply when I replied! My page hadn't reloaded cuz I was still watching it lol. And yes, you're right! Thanks! :)

[@ruanvanderwesthuizen7518]

Hi Simon and the team, thank you for taking the time to look at the Kalahari where i was born and raised. There are alot of ruins or abnormal rocks there that can be easily be mistaken for a “Lost City”

[@mta4562]

i'm a martian, and we get the same thing." look, an ancient city!'. our time is different. 5,000,000 years to you is early last week to us.

[@farinislostcity269]

There are thousands of human made rock formations across Southern Africa, ranging from the incredible Great Zimbabwe complex to simple rock circles used to protect livestock. None relate to Farini's ruins. Clement tried to show that Eierdop Koppies was Farini's ruins. In my book Farini's Lost City of the Kalahari - Fraud or Fact? I show that Farini's description of the Lost City is not close to the huge dolerite complex at Rietfontein. (I have been there). Also been on 13 searches for Farini's city as well.

[@nct948]

⁠@@farinislostcity269thanks for your input

[@pfadiva]

The size of Simon's brain is irrelevant as long as he keeps hiring excellent writers. He embodies my favorite boss' method: "hire smart people and stay out of their way."

[@jackjackson3447]

Small minded approach - if everyone else believes it, it must be true. That's how religion works too. :)

[@zufalllx]

Yeah, but he doesn't have to show how small it is all the time, does he?

[@MrROTD]

You mean Simons tiny brain.

[@johnsommerfeld1432]

@@zufalllx tyyyyy

[@Xhumed]

Tiny and smooth like a steel ball, and just as closed in.

[@StevenLockey]

Watching Simon look up the pronunciations and somehow managing to get even more confused is always the best bit :)

[@user-dg9pu4pe9d]

An episode set in Greenland or Iceland would go well.

[@willmfrank]

@@user-dg9pu4pe9d Or Wales. Wales would be a treat.

[@willmfrank]

And then getting even MORE confused when he discovers that it's not even the guy's real name...

[@abetacc]

best part is he kept saying it slightly off, then complained about how one should just pronounce it in ones own language, like they do in spanish, then proceeds to say the name correctly

[@SeanGilbertson]

‘I’ve been all over the world’ Also: ‘… Gillairmo.’

[@hjpngmw]

In the 1980s, my Latin and French teacher gave her students this advice: If you are unsure of how a word is pronounced, pronounce as if it's Latin. If the language has enough Latinate origins, no one will ever know the difference! I've used this advice for years and have rarely been corrected, either because no one else knows how to pronounce the word/name or it's an acceptable pronunciation for the spelling.

[@tamarinmangold1414]

Simon, as a South African, your pronunciations are giving me a good laugh! 🤣 Don't feel too bad, though, mate; South Africa does have eleven official languages and the Kalahari Desert extends into Namibia and Botswana.

[@raakbie3177]

Ja. That was a good laugh! 🤣🤣🤣

[@seiyuokamihimura5082]

Botswhatiftheydon'twantto?

[@KryssLaBryn]

@@seiyuokamihimura5082 Obviously named by the same crew who broke Canada's Northwest Territories into Nunavut, and Therestavut ;)

[@Merriwen]

Yes, it's making my teeth itch a little. 😆

[@ThatNerd-x2h]

Yay my fellow South African

[@ignitionfrn2223]

3:45 - Chapter 1 - An exicting prospect 7:40 - Chapter 2 - The expedition 11:15 - Chapter 3 - A great discovery 15:30 - Chapter 4 - The hunt for a lost city 41:10 - Chapter 5 - Ancient civilization in the desert - Chapter 6 -

[@lauriejones4507]

I've been waiting for you to show up! Now if you could do this on every episode on all of his channels...🧡👏👏

[@externaldriver]

Why does a fan need to do this? It seems like it should be part of publishing the video.

[@lauriejones4507]

@@externaldriver a question for the ages. This has always been the way. Make changes wise one.

[@angelitabecerra]

Lidar is the technology they're using to see below the trees to map the ground and detect possible archeological sites.

[@almitrahopkins1873]

He even said it before describing it.

[@farinislostcity269]

Having travelled extensively in the Kalahari (17 times), as well as on 13 searches for the Lost City, I can confirm that LIDAR would not be an effective search method. I discuss this and other methods in my book Finding Farini's Lost City - summary on YT.

[@nolananderson4782]

@@farinislostcity269 Gotta ask... Why would you devote so much time to trying to find it?

[@marcbeebee6969]

​@@nolananderson4782 why do people fly to the moon. Why did Columbus sail the world? Why did Walter röhrl fly a audi threw the woods and the desert?

[@yoursotruly]

I would suggest a LOST AND FOUND for ancient cities, the owners would appreciate getting them back and those finding them can put them in a box they can rummage through. Losing a city is bad enough but what if it's one of a pair? Half a civilization is kinda awkward. Milk cartons have their own mission but putting pictures of lost cities on wine bottles might get some results if it is on the inside bottom of the bottle. You probably don't need pictures, just say there are pictures and the wine drinkers will see them. We know these civilizations are real or they couldn't be lost, you can't lose a non-existent mitten, I learned that from a kitten in kindergarten where I learned everything I know. Personally, I think we should just throw them away if they're in the box for more than a year, nobody wants them back but I'm trying to help.

[@morkusmorkus6040]

LOL (at you, not with you).

[@phoenixjen8986]

Reminds me of how I tidy up at work: “if I don’t know what it’s for or where it lives, you’ve got a week to claim it. Otherwise I’m assuming we don’t need it anymore.” You gotta keep track of your cities as much as possible. They won’t do you a bit of good if you lose them.

[@KryssLaBryn]

Well, but it's much better to just, like, auction them off at an annual fundraiser, or even donate them to a thrift store, than to just throw them out. There's always *someone* who has a use for it, *whatever* it is. And we ought to be recycling *everything* as much as we can. Ditching them just because no one's claimed them is just irresponsible. Especially when we've got such a housing crisis. I mean, has anyone even *thought* about repurposing Machu Picchu, or Troy, or any of these other lost cities? Or even checking the lost and found for abandoned ones, as you say.

[@mta4562]

i aways pour my wine into a red solo cup (the tradition drinking vessel of my people - americans). i'd never see the picture. my uncle would, but he doesn't know east from west.

[@southron_d1349]

You realise you've just decided the title of Simon's new channel "Lost & Found: Ancient Cities". All those writers will leap at the chance to hurl more scripts at their hapless prisoner, Mr Whistler. (People think Simon has a dungeon of writers. It's the other way around.)

[@Kanakou_DX15]

Simon you've got a wonderful personality please never stop sprinkling it into these channels this and Brain Blaze are my two favourites

[@Kerosene.Dreams]

Have you watched Casual Criminalis?

[@externaldriver]

@@Kerosene.Dreams I second this. I don't really enjoy channels where he's totally scripted but you're missing out on one of the three good ones

[@Kerosene.Dreams]

@@externaldriver I totally agree. His older channels are much more stiff and I think he's kept it that way as to not lose the people that prefer them. But Casual Criminalist is so so good and he has so many channels now that are much less uptight and I certainly enjoy them. Iwo is just a drop in the bucket. But maybe this person doesn't like darker subjects like we do.

[@Syl_ven]

I’m studying archeology and paleontology in college. All my professors and other archaeologists hate Indiana Jones. And not just because that’s what everyone asks us about. He was basically a grave robber. He stole from a temple THAT STILL HAD NATIVE PEOPLE LIVING THERE 😂

[@bryangonzalez1398]

Not to mention just grabbing the artifacts and not a munsell book in sight. The closest I've come to being Indiana Jones on a dig was when I was shovel bumming on a highway expansion in Texas and had to watch out diaper bombs exploding from being in the sun.

[@terbear5120]

I have an archaeology degree and the first day of my first year class our professor basically said "If you think archaeology is like Indiana Jones, there's still time to get a full refund for this course and you might want to consider going into another program. Indiana Jones is a treasure hunter, not an archaeologist."

[@snorpenbass4196]

I mean...a lot of early archeology *was* robbing natives of their stuff. To the point where if, for example, the UK gave it back, the British Museum would be mostly empty apart from the dinosaur bits.

[@azazelreficulmefistofelicu7158]

@@snorpenbass4196 Are there dinosaurs in the British Museum? I thought the worldwide famous dinosaurs fossils were at the Natural History Museum.

[@PositronWeaponD]

And that’s without going into the fact that he almost certainly committed sexual acts with a minor. 😬

[@camithewitch5265]

For some reason, Simon suddenly realizing he's too old to be an acrobat or some other kind of athlete was so funny to me lmao

[@rodsprague369]

Dad, an anthropologist with a specialty in historic archeology, was always having to deal with people who thought they had found the remains of a lost civilization. Here in the inland Northwest, a common geological feature is columnar basalt. In it's most uniform formations, it looks like someone carefully built a structure out of upright hexagonal columns. The most striking examples of this are often in bedrock covered over with soil that needs to be removed in the process of building a highway or other large structure. One classic example of columnar basalt is The Giant’s Causeway in both Ireland and Scotland. The name came from the idea giants had built a causeway between Ireland and Scotland that had been destroyed by the Atlantic Ocean. The structure of the basalt is way too uniform for anyone unfamiliar with the geology of their formation to think it could be anything else but the work of industrious stonemasons. I can see how someone lost in the desert might think geological formations were intentionally constructed.

[@whyjnot420]

Personally I just have trouble getting people to understand the concept of 'buried soil' (archaeologists will know what I am talking about). It is hard enough getting people to understand this, which tends to be done by man. Getting people to understand the difference between geologic formations and archaeological features is like smashing your head into a wall over and over.

[@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski]

columnar basalt just blows people's minds so hard they forget that naturally forming crystals exist. mother nature can't possibly produce uniform geometric shapes. ive gone rounds with columnar basalt nuts.

[@phaedrapage4217]

I'm sure I would have trouble telling the differences since I'm not educated in geology or archeology but I would accept the assessment of someone who was.

[@trevorwilliams6362]

Woooooo! Learning about writers makes me happy! I love that Simon has been actively including writers into the content! ❤

[@piedpipecleaner8750]

I think a good video could be about the missing members of the Powell expedition of the grand canyon. Basically a bunch of guys in the mid 1800s went along the Colorado river through the grand canyon in order to map it, and 3 dudes abandoned the group a couple days before the end because they didn’t think they would make it. The main group survived but the ones who split were never heard from again and it’s debated what happened to them to this day.

[@Samcharleston24]

Fake story that came out around that time from a news paper

[@marcbeebee6969]

Are we sure the main group did not eat them?

[@mitcharcher7528]

Atlantis first appeared in Plato, where it was used as an allegory. There’s little evidence that anyone thought it was a real place for centuries after that. Aristotle, for example, thought it was fictional, merely a tool for teaching.

[@lexand_ecarg]

Apparently wizards also 😅

[@Perzyn]

I was looking for that comment. Us looking for Atlantis is like future archeologists trying to find the ancient city of Wakanada.

[@nicholasreyling1278]

SANTORINI

[@snorpenbass4196]

The most likely explanation is that there were plenty of accounts of lost cities - to time, to natural disasters, whatever - and Plato cobbled it together a bit, stuck a Hellene morality tale to it (the gods are jealous bastards) and hey presto, "Atlantis".

[@TheRacoonGhost]

It also wasn't the first invented City/Civilization he'd used in that way.

[@johanneskaiser8188]

I'm an archaeologist and I've got a hat. Invaluable when out during summer, as anyone can readily appreciate. No whip though, it's impractical and the colleagues will question your motives.

[@Absol152]

A Haiku for the Fact Boi: Fact Boi KZbin videos; Simon reads the facts for us, I am learning here.

[@lisahoshowsky4251]

I definitely think “Atlantis” exists or at least the city is was based off of but definitely not as a mythical magical place. There’s a lot of evidence for “advanced” (advanced for their time but not magical) civilizations that were broken apart and their citizens scattered due to natural disasters. Take Troy for example, it was fully believed to be a mythical city and yet they actually found it and a lot of the story elements match up in a realistic way to the city. There’s often the kernel of truth and that’s what we should be looking for.

[@snorpenbass4196]

Yeah. Like, did a city called "Atlantis" ever exist? probably not. Did Plato and his bunch hear old half-forgotten traveling merchant stories about places like Catal Hüyük or such like? Maaaaaaybe. Or it was based on other lost civilizations at the time. And then they put in a Hellene morality tale (don't piss off the gods) and lo, Atlantis was born.

[@fukkitful]

The Eye of Africa does fit the description.

[@VadulTharys]

@@fukkitful Shockingly near perfect match not just in how it is laid out but the surrounding terrain and location.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

​@@VadulTharys Might be some tales about the "ruins of a lost city" the Greek heard from Phoenician traders who heard it from Berber nomads. There are 8000-15000 year old sediments and paleolithic stone tools, which might spark the idea of ancient occupation. And along the way the stories got more and more elaborate.

[@TheRacoonGhost]

thats doubtful at best, Plato had a history of inventing fictional places and cultures to use in his philosophical arguments. and while there are undoubtedly cities that have sunken beneath the sea like Pavlopetri, Atlantis (as described) never existed. (the similarities with the eye of Sahara is just as much of a coincidence as the correlation between hot-tub drownings and nick cage movies)

[@TheAntiburglar]

Atlantis is one of the most famously MADE UP stories in history. Plato, the author of the two dialogues in which Atlantis is first mentioned, was using the tale to make a point about empire as it related to contemporary politics of his day. Contained in the dialogues are not only a "detailed" description of 8,000 year old Atlantis, but also an EQUALLY "detailed" description of 9,000 year old Athens, which didn't exist at the time. So yeah, it's not real.

[@mwolkove]

I'm always surprised that people read really old stories, and don't consider the possibility that they're intended as fiction.

[@KryssLaBryn]

Well, especially since (at least in the translation I read) he *very explicitly states* that he's postulating the place as a thought experiment! I mean, he's giving such a detailed description of it because none of them have heard of it before, because he *literally just made the whole thing up right then.*

[@snorpenbass4196]

I think he based it off vague accounts of real places - but most of those we've already found, and anything we may not have is very likely just on the level of Ur or Catal Hüyük or something. Stuck a Hellene morality tale to it, added magic and stuff, and hey presto.

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

This is also basically how Scientology started. Someone wrote a fiction book and a cult formed around it, which is the opposite of how a religion is normally formed. Lol

[@michaeldearden876]

“Can’t we get some unique names in here!?” Five minutes later. “What’s with these weird names in here!?”

[@jefffoy530]

Hey Ilze. Welcome to the team. Appreciate your work!!

[@Kasaaz]

I do love whenever Simon starts to break out his Australian accent, he then pulls back thinking he shouldn't. But then if he doesn't say Melbourne in a perfect Australian accent, he never hears the end of it.

[@alwayscensored6871]

No wonder he has trouble with names, we Ozzie's don't speak proper English anyway.

[@Smiler121]

Have to admire the humility in the way you give full credit to your writers for their contribution to making you look extra smart, Merry Christmas Simon 🎅

[@singingsam40]

I know I'm late to the party, but just wanted to add a bit of info on Farini's name. Guillermo is a direct translation (from Italian and Spanish) of the name William (hence the guy's choice) and Farini is an Italian surname, associated with a powerful and militarily 'heroic' family. As someone who wanted to be taken seriously as an intrepid explorer, (regardless of whether he was or not), his name change was probably designed to create an air of respectability and mystery. Edit: Farinelli was the stage name of a famous castrato singer in the 18th century, which would probably appeal to Hunt/Farini's showbiz aspirations ...

[@MeeraReads]

He basically named himself William the Conqueror lol

[@helenwood8482]

The TV series was Expedition Unknown and dedicated a single episode to each mystery explored. Josh Gates has debunked a lot of legends. I think you would respect him.

[@shinjukucalling763]

0%. His entire career is a free vacation all over the world looking for nonsense, finding nothing.

[@nathannewman3968]

Only the Ghost Adventures crew exceeds Josh Gates in almost catching monsters and ghosts.

[@willmfrank]

@@nathannewman3968 Josh actually stated in one episode of "Destination: Truth" that "Nobody's better at almost catching monsters than us."

[@nathannewman3968]

@@willmfrank I guess that was a bit of a cheap shot on my part. To be honest, I liked Josh Gates and his shows. He never took the ghost/monster hunting bit seriously (as you pointed out). And the episodes were always entertaining. I've read he is also a big advocate for archeological field work and exploration. Hard science; not pseudo-science. I can say without any shame, I'm also a bit jealous of him. He got to see a lot of the world with his friends while a network foot the bills. Good on him!

[@willmfrank]

@@nathannewman3968 Now that I've had a few hours to think about it, I believe what he actually said was "almost finding monsters," but whatever he said, it was very similar to your comment -- except for the "Ghost Adventures" part. There's an episode of "The Modern Rogue" in which Brian and Jason tear holes in the ghost-hunting TV show industry; it's well worth a watch. Cheers. 🙂

[@visx1792]

Simon and the gang come through with another educational, but minimal attention-requiring background awesomeness. Thanks guys!

[@huwday1131]

LiDAR definitely works for mapping terrain under a forest. When the laser beam hits the ground, it's about as wide as a dinner plate. The device will register a hit from every single thing in that column, from the top-most leaf to the ground. If there's even the slightest gap, the LiDAR will find it. One of my first jobs was creating digital terrain models from last-return LiDAR data. The Environment Agency (UK) used it for flood risk assessments.

[@christiangrantz6906]

Herodotus very rarely said that what he was reporting was true, so much as it's what people told him. And also his track record is actually very good. Even some of his most ridiculous stories are evidently understandable results of several layers of translation

[@marilouba]

I think we should start calling Herodotus a recorder of histories from around the known world, rather than a historian. That would actually help with this unfair bashing of his legacy as an ancient person who really helped putting some context on how people back then thought and perceived their surroundings.

[@PalmelaHanderson]

This is by far turning into my favorite fact boy channel

[@juliairzyk]

I love how of all the things this man did, Simon is hyper focused on the flip movie theater seats.

[@unclescipio3136]

You have a definite point about the lack of imagination in names on the part of European explorers in South Africa. Gee, let's build a town on this cape. What shall we call it? Hey, there's a mountain with a completely flat top. Looks kinda like a table. No idea what we're going to call that. On the other hand, there is a farm called Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein, which means 'Two buffaloes shot dead with one bullet fountain'. Some imagination there, even if the dude was a total damned liar (if you've seen a Cape Buffalo, you'll realise that nobody is shooting two of those dead with one shot unless it's coming out of a bloody Howitzer).

[@lelaniadam]

Well Done team! ✨This was so entertaining to watch as an Afrikaans-speaking South African. Somebody should tell Simon that South Africa has really good craft rum producers, Whistler's in the Free State, ideal as a keepsake to take back home when you visit RSA again.

[@SamGarrett]

Hi I also speak Spanish and I have an explanation: two Ls in different Spanish dialects can either be an English Y or soft English J sound. I've heard both. Both are correct. Your original pronunciation was correct. And I agree that people who get up in arms about pronunciations of foreign words/names are actually the worst

[@MadTheDJ]

Bowmanville, represent! 🇨🇦 My hometown, born and raised. As a long time fan of Simon's various channels, imagine my surprise and delight when my town gets a cool name drop here. Made my day, sir, thank you!

[@Graham.R.Naughtcy]

Ruby Soho by Rancid... but knowing Simon, he is probably referencing Missing Persons (blah)

[@stephaniewindschitl9204]

Simon's next channel: Bold Beatnik. Nothing but Simon reading poetry.

[@whoever6458]

I think the definition of "city" is pretty variable too. Having personally been to Machu Picchu, I definitely wouldn't call it a city at all because it's more like the size of one of those little mountain towns that you come across along the highway here in the US. What makes it spectacular, other than the magnificent view from the top of the mountain, is how they cut a number of shelves in the hillside so that they'd have level fields to grow their crops and how they brought really huge rocks from far away and from a lower elevation, then shaped carefully so that they fit together to build their various buildings. The way they channeled the water from the spring through their little town is quite exquisite too. My mom and I just so happened to have one of those camping bottles that filter water that you find in the wild so we actually drank from that water. It was probably the best tasting water I have ever had and, despite the day being rather warm, the water was ice cold. So I think the technologies they managed to come up with to make that little town on the top of the mountain are what make the place truly amazing. Oh and they also lined their buildings up very precisely with the sun so they could tell the seasons, which makes a lot of sense considering they had a religion in which they worshipped the sun. In any case, it's definitely worth going to see if you ever get the chance.

[@whoever6458]

I also happened to pet wild llamas while I was there and they didn't spit on me or anything. It was somewhat intimidating when I got next to them and the whole flock ran over when I started petting one of them. They didn't seem as huge as they are from far away or even when I was just next to one of them. I was actually the least worried about them spitting on me since they surely could have kicked my ass just because of their sheer size!

[@iamnotaconcept]

sidebar on diamonds- I knew a gal who went to college for gemology(HOW COOL IS THAT FIRST OFF), and she told me that diamonds naturally over time lose color, clarity, size(chips, not shrinking, this isn't ONE OF THOSE COMMENTS SIMON), and shape! She recommends to ALL her friends to get a white saphire. They are extremely inexpensive, harder than diamonds, hold their clarity, and no small children are dying to harvest them(they are mostly lab-created, hence the clarity being better, much like a lab-created diamonds having better clarity than natural ones). WOW WHAT A LOT OF PARENTHESIS for this silly comment.

[@pamelamays4186]

Farini definitely deserves his own Biographics episode.

[@farinislostcity269]

Farini was an incredible character - the best biography was written by Shane Peacock. In 1999, Great North produced a one hour documentary (The Canadians - History Channel and CA Fed funding) but I can't find it anywhere. Have a copy but it is copyrighted. I was interviewed as I have been on 13 searches for the Lost City. Now have a couple of books out on the topic. If you want a summary of Farini's nature, I provide that in Farini's Lost City of the Kalahari - Fraud or Fact? Short vid on YT as well. Clement - and Simon's video is disparaging about Farini. However, he was a visionary and far ahead of his time regarding workplace safety and philanthropy.

[@aadvising5259]

Of all the staff on all the shows - Jenn - chefs kiss - writer writes funny, Simon ADHD’s all over it - but Jenn ahhh the cherries on all the Sundays!

[@bobfg3130]

Fun fact: Patents only last 20 years. Maybe in some countries might be 25. Also, most inventors probably haven't made too much if any money at all off of their inventions. Often companies either don't buy the patents and develop products based on them and launch them immediately after the patents expires or don't pay too much for the patent. Or they just infringe the patent and sell the product anyway and use the lawyers to drag the lawsuit. Or the inventors are working for a company and the company gets the patent.

[@lukelee5385]

20 years is a really long time though, I’d imagine a “70 years after the creator’s death” style would probably kill more inventions.

[@bobfg3130]

@@lukelee5385 It's 20 years.

[@bob8mybobbob]

It is entirely plausible that someone could mistake natural geology for the remains of an old city. And even more possible someone could think they saw an old city, get closer and realize it was just some cool rocks, but have that spark an idea to say you found a city to help sell your book knowing how hard it would be to prove you wrong.

[@lostsoldier212]

Latino here...Simon, I love that you destroy our language with your pronunciation, but do have respect for the language and the speakers. Keep pronouncing it the way you do, it's ok. 😀

[@jorgelotr3752]

35:51 the worst part about those people is that if someone comes and heals all of their ills, but it's someone they don't like, then it's the work of the devil. A lot of people throughout History preached about the love of God that manifested itself through gruesome death and untold suffering; that's what I call an abusive relationship.

[@morkusmorkus6040]

Perhaps a video about Lasseters Reef would be a good one. I read a book by Warren Brown a few years ago and it was a super interesting tale. Its a similar story to this except a phantom gold reef in the Australian outback instead of a city in Africa.

[@ScoobyDoo-nq6zu]

I remember hearing a story back in the 90s about bhp finding a gold deposit that they poured a crap load of concrete over because they were not ready mine it at that time and to stop anyone stealing it and when I say a crap load I talking about hectares of concrete

[@dominicvandermerwe2092]

As a south african we only use tuck shop for school as well. ENGEN garages(petrol stations) [pronounced like an engine btw], Engen has a franchise grocery store, named "Tuckshop"

[@hereticpariah6_66]

On the subject of diamonds.... Around 1975 or so, i clearly remember seeing a National Geographic magazine (it could've been from any year prior to '75) that had an article about diamond mining. In the article, they had a picture of a guy standing next to a pile of yellow diamonds in a small field. Behind and around him, there were many _other_ piles of colored diamonds. The pile _he_ was standing by was well above his ankle, was easily 2.5 foot (76 cm..? I'm American, so i dunno..) across and the others appeared to be about the same height/diameter. These were described in the caption as being worthless. *Now* jewelry stores will sell you the poop-colored ones as _"chocolate diamonds,"_ the piss-colored ones as.... i dunno.. *"piss-diamonds:"* who knows. I think they should give you a handful of colored diamonds for *free* when you buy 2 or more carats' worth of "real" diamond...

[@bobfg3130]

Yellow diamonds.

[@j-bob_oreo]

canary diamond

[@phaedrapage4217]

Piss diamond 😂

[@MountainCry]

Anxiously awaiting Simon's newest channel where he just reads poetry for 15-20 minutes.

[@JohnSuave]

I'm fully on board for this.

[@MountainCry]

@@JohnSuave Ditto. Consider that subscribe button already smashed.

[@mynameisntJon]

I've been to the kalahari dessert a couple of times. Breathtakingly beautiful place full of the hardiest life on the planet. But incredibly dry and hot. No one but the Khoi people could hope to conquer it. And yes, the place is littered with diamonds. No idea why anyone would pay any money for a very common rock...

[@blackhat4206]

Artificial scarcity.

[@resileaf9501]

As Simon said, one company controls almost all the natural diamond in the world, and makes *violently* sure nobody else can mine it. Favor getting synthetic diamonds. They don't look any different and will not fund a criminal empire.

[@mynameisntJon]

@@resileaf9501 Or just cut down on the bling.

[@jorgelotr3752]

Not even the San people? I tough that at least part of them also lived in the desert (the rest live at the delta of the Okavango).

[@mynameisntJon]

@@jorgelotr3752 Khoi, San, and all the different meanings depending on who you ask, it is an absolute certainty that I will unintentionally offend someone if I continue this discussion.

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

What we may be failing to take into account is that sand moves. Storms, etc.

[@whyjnot420]

For 99 per cent of the tenure of humans on earth, nobody could read or write. The great invention had not yet been made. Except for first-hand experience, almost everything we knew was passed on by word of mouth. As in the game of 'Chinese Whispers', over tens and hundreds of generations, information would slowly be distorted and lost. From The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan

[@WhatWhy42]

Your analysis of The Curse of Oak Island was 100% on point

[@loicbazin1053]

I really like this type of story. Not creepy (I do enjoy creepy sometimes), but super interesting. As a historian this story is very interesting and brings up a lot of questions.

[@mgjbutler]

I love your video content and your rambles/sense of humor. It's a brilliant combination. So glad I found your channel.

[@MikkellTheImmortal]

I also have a friend who is an archaeologist, he said you get your hat and whip when they give you your PhD

[@terrehonbowden3472]

Script length: 30 minutes. Add Simon's side comments and free range meanderings, video now 43 minutes and change. We love it.

[@agrid2608]

20:45 Yes, LIDAR is the technology they used to find ruins of an ancient stone city South of modern-day Johannesburg, named Kweneng.

[@nicholasreyling1278]

You can find thousands of ruins like that in south africa connecting with Adams calender theory but most. Are visable in air durring dry season

[@codypickell9299]

After finds like the Tepe sites in Turkey, and the fact that the Giza plateau was practically buried, on top of the fact that the Kalahari desert used to be a rainforest around the same time the Tepe sites were built, or possibly buried, why is it so impossible that there's a lost city buried under the sand somewhere in such an immense, mostly unexplored desert? Or am I just hopeful? Lol

[@MichaelMikeTheRussianBot]

I looked at the aerial view of the areas you were talking about, w/ satellite view, both 2D & 3D. While it's not heavily populated, it is pretty thoroughly covered with scattering of farms and roads. For comparisons' sake, I looked at New Mexico & southern Colorado. Pretty similar road density. Seems as though any lost city would have been found.

[@farinislostcity269]

I have done the research and show that Farini's Lost City is in an area of the Kalahari that has been isolated for almost all time. I call it the Desolate Corner. It is still extremely difficult to go there by land or air - will need special permits. See Finding Farini's Lost City on YT.

[@savetheneighbors]

Been binging geographics and biographics videos for a few weeks and this came up on auto play. The laid back format took me by surprise a bit, but it’s a treat!

[@kyidyl]

You should have just called the unnamed diamond company de cerveza. 😂 Also, yes, out of Africa is the accepted theory and Atlantis was 100% made up.

[@dwatt92323]

I think Atlantis was loosely based on the eye of the Sahara or else that's one massive coincidence

[@kyidyl]

@@dwatt92323 I mean I'm not sure what heroditus saw that inspired him. Some people think it was the Minoans. Not sure why the eye would tho. Maybe cause it's circular? Who knows, lol. I write fiction and I get inspired buy all kinds of things.

[@dwatt92323]

@@kyidyl the eye of the Sahara is pretty much a exactly as he describes Atlantis but the water isn't there anymore...add in advanced tech and voila

[@kyidyl]

@@dwatt92323 it's a natural formation tho. Tbh I'm not sure he could even have gotten out there to see it. It's pretty remote. 🤷‍♀️

[@davidwright7193]

@@dwatt92323 The best bet for a model for Atlantis is Thera/Santorini. There was a large Minoan city there which has been partially excavated from under a few 10’s of meters of volcanic ash. Before the eruption of 1600ish BC the caldera had a central island which may have also had a city on it very similar to the Plato’s description of Atlantis. It was “advanced” compared to mycnene Greece but not compared to an Iron Age village.

[@garykelley9027]

That can be added to a long list of natural rock formations that because we have such pattern recognition we mistake for man made things, like these "underwater stairs" somewhere etc.

[@stevinharper3551]

I enjoy when he gets side tracked you never know what he'll talk about for a lil

[@bloodandempire]

Omfg I'm dying cause I got to hear Simon try to say Macchu picchu without having to replay the geographic about it again 😂😭💀

[@TDCflyer]

There are a lot of large pyramids in Egypt and other northern parts of Africa that are *not* part of the famous group of pyramids near Cairo. For the longest time no one knew how many were there and where to find them. They are massive and they, too, were at some time "lost". Maybe there are still some waiting to be rediscovered. So, why shouldn't we have lost the odd city every now and then, just take a walk and discover some, why not....

[@erickbrown4520]

Ruby Soho, by Rancid. "Destination unknown" features prominently in the chorus

[@whyjnot420]

Herodotus is not the "father of history" he is the father of travel writing.

[@arthurb6200]

I live in South Africa (and I’m assuming Ilze does too?), this was a great video!

[@jackpugh4168]

Simon goes to the country where his grandmother lives, but doesn't visit her, in fact avoids the entire city. Classic.

[@JanaSteyn-wh1mg]

And then goes to a terrible place like Cape Town...😂😂😂

[@kennbmondo]

Was a little down and came across this 'new' channel featuring Simon.... thank you for the smiles.

[@zeusathena26]

You've covered my 2 recommendations on a different channel, but I'd love to see how this channel covers these two. H.H. Holmes, & his possible connection to Jack the Ripper. Jack is also a story I'd like to hear on this channel! Thanks!

[@GrievousReborn]

If Simon were to ever make those videos they would end up being on his Casual Criminalist Channel not here. Especially H.H. Holmes Jack the Ripper might end up on this channel.

[@corey57255]

All legends or myths aside, Africa is so enormous there are countless archaeological discoveries yet to be made.

[@dp6447]

Simon you should do the Lost City of the Monkey God in Honduras! There was an expedition and a book by Douglas Preston back around 2015 but there is so much myth and legend around it, it seems like a good fit for the channel if you need ideas!

[@chrischicoine18]

Is the monkey god that thing he is holding in this video

[@alexandrialucius8351]

Great one Ilza. Very interesting.

[@busydadscooking001]

I love how after all the ranting about Guillermo pronunciation, and the incorrect guide from the pronunciation robot, Simon somehow starts saying it correctly anyway after the rant is done :D

[@dwatt92323]

I was just about to comment this... how is that even possible?

[@MeeraReads]

The robot got it right, it just said the name robotically in 3 different dialects. Spanish is the official language of like 20 countries and they all have their own take on it

[@karnovtalonhawk9708]

dude love the work you and your crew do. looking into more of your channels and find them all worthwhile. your out right even coverage and honest reviews make it so much more relatable. you seem like the type of guy if i met at a pub would end up talking with about all the things in the world before getting kicked out at closing time. cheers

[@mwolkove]

There was someone taking pictures of everything EXCEPT the ruined city?

[@jaysonl]

I think the song you're thinking of is "Ruby Soho" by Rancid.

[@m050181]

At least 25% of this video is Simon exhaling loudly from his nose

[@mattl9299]

@EditorJen - your memes and extras are legendary 🙌🏼 Quick request, though - when Simon lists out places ('he claimed to have reached X via Y, but it sounds like he went via the Z river and never made it further than Q'), can we PLEASE have something approaching a map to follow?! Totally get that the whole point is Farini sucked at maps, but... 🤯😵‍💫

[@kgrach]

I think I watch these for Simon's ADHD.

[@MissBlueEyeliner]

Fact Boi has a really “silly-billy” vibe going on in this one and I’m loving it 🥰

[@randallcraft4071]

How Bizarre that simon wants to listen to some song that says "Destination unknown while we pull in for some gas"

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

This is the 17th topic suggestion that they have used overall his channels!

[@ThePittsburghToddy]

The video clip with the desert landscape shows saguaro cacti which grow exclusively in the Sonoran desert located in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

[@sirandrelefaedelinoge]

Who cares?

[@jeromebirth2693]

@@sirandrelefaedelinoge You care or you would not of posted here. lol

[@M_MTsc]

Your incorrect pronunciation of our South African place names made me smile. Love your work.

[@LelomsSunshine]

Had he looked- I think- 500 kms east, he'd have found Mapungupwe, aka The Cradle of Humankind, a recently discovered ancient lost city of South Africa. They found moulded gold artifacts in the city ruins. But the powers that be had other plans and South Africans found it, thankfully.

[@davidwright7193]

Mapungupwe isn’t ancient (it was occupied ~1050-1250AD), isn’t recently discovered (first excavated ~1933) and isn’t anything to do with the Cradle of Mankind (a set of prehistoric sites containing early hominid remains North west of Jo’burg in the rand rather than NW on the Botswana/Zimbabwe/SA tri-point). But apart from that not bad.

[@Nobodyinhere666]

Destination unknown.. is Ruby Soho from the band Rancid!! Good call Simon!!

[@SuperMadsr]

Simon you made me laugh when you read all those place names. I am from South Africa. BTW do not blame you for getting them wrong. They are hard names.

[@scottnunnemaker5209]

I like how Simon talks about the new technology helping archaeologists find Mayan cities and then immediately goes, “it’s not lidar” when it totally is

[@brianmulholland2467]

For Simon's benefit - how we get from Richard to Dick: Step 1 - Shorten to Rick. Step 2 - In the early 20th century, there was a fad that regarded soft consonants at the start of male names as being insufficiently manly. So they tended to replace the leading consonant with a hard one. Robert becomes Rob becomes Bob because R is a soft sound and B is a harder one. William becomes Will becomes Bill. And yes, Richard becomes Rick becomes Dick in an unfortunate choice. My father's name was Richard. And he tended to go by Dick. And he didn't think it weird or giggle-worthy. When I was mad at him, I often called him Dick in a sort of passive-aggressive flipping of the bird. If he ever noticed, he never indicated that he did. It's hard to know because he absolutely was the kind of person who might not notice, but he also was the kind of person who might just internally roll metaphorical eyes and not care and let me get away with it. I never did ask him before he passed.

[@georgecrompton8663]

I love how Atlantis and wizards are a deal breaker.

[@alwayscensored6871]

Going to have to make a few revisions when those alien arks filled with our history show up.

[@wabisabi6875]

Cool stuff. I grew up in northern Illinois very near the excavation for an east/west highway (from Chicago to Rock Island), which had exposed several feet of what was once at the bottom of the great inland sea. It was all sandstone, fractured in such a way that it was very easy to imagine it being the walls of an ancient city.

[@nancypine9952]

I want Simon's next channel to be called, "Simon Says," and it will consist of a few random sentences from the writers and Simon will simply go off on long tangents.

[@hughmortyproductions8562]

8:10 Jan becomes Honza because it comes from the German "Johannes" which is shortened to Hans.

[@MrsMonkey95]

I know I‘m late, my brothers name is Jan. It is dutch for the german name „Hans“ so it being pronounced as „Honsa“ in your country makes perfect sense to me hahah

[@joanhuffman2166]

Mr. Whistler, your name in Spanish is Simon Silva. (see-mohn seel-vah) Silva means whistle and is already a family name.

[@dashieadventures2113]

As a South African watching this episode I am laughing way too hard at Simon trying to pronounce things. Love the Vids! keep it going.