Episode 62: The Ruins (2008)

We’re continuing spooky month with The Ruins (2008), which we reasonably assumed was about archaeology. Turns out the actual Maya ruins on which the movie takes place are really incidental to the plot, which is centred on the least scary thing we can imagine. Here’s a list of things scarier than the monster in this movie: caterpillars; the X-Men franchise; poison ivy; AI-written books. Anyway, enjoy the episode.

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In this episode:

Maya architecture: https://www.worldhistory.org/Maya_Architecture/

“Nesting doll” structure of Maya pyramids: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38008546

Maya cities discovered with lidar: https://www.livescience.com/lidar-maya-civilization-guatemala

Septicemia is blood infection, not bone infection: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/septicemia

“Is there a doctor?” meme: https://imgflip.com/meme/165098350/Is-there-a-doctor-around

Beware the Higad caterpillar!: http://avrotor.blogspot.com/2016/01/beware-of-spiny-caterpillar-higad.html

The Russian sleep Experiment: Creepypasta: https://www.creepypasta.com/the-russian-sleep-experiment/

AI is writing books about foraging: https://civileats.com/2023/10/10/ai-is-writing-books-about-foraging-what-could-go-wrong/

Water Hemlock – the deadliest plant in North America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicuta

Edibility test for wild plants: https://www.backpacker.com/skills/universal-edibility-test/

Safe plants for survival situations: https://www.sunnysports.com/blog/common-wild-plants-can-eat-survival/

Nettle beer recipe: https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/nettle-beer-recipe

XKCD on Brassica: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2827:_Brassica