S1 Ep16: Clockwork Computer, Ice Age Americans, and Big Foot

Episode 16: Clockwork Computers, Ice Age Americans and Big Foot

In this episode Tracey discusses a new sighting of Bigfoot in Colorado, why Sasquatch is interesting to a cultural historian and could such a creature possibly exist, while Ashley is shocked to discover that new entry requirements for Americans traveling abroad are close to what America has been doing to its own visitors. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff this week is a collection of ancient footprints in White Sands, New Mexico that date to the Last Glacial Maximum, 21k and 23k years ago. Ashley’s Piece of Stuff is the remarkable Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek computer for calculating the movement of stars and the dates of the Olympic Games.

Ashley’s Stuff in the News:

Allison Pohle, “Trips to Europe Will Require a New Step for American Travelers,” Wall Street Journal, October 20, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/european-travel-authorization-delayed-etias-passports-982e7511.

Tracey’s Stuff in the News:

Dac Collins, “Watch: Is this the best Bigfoot Sighting Yet or just a Bowhunter in a Ghillie Suit?” Outdoor Life, October 11, 2023. https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/colorado-bigfoot-train-video/

Noah Brode, “US Belief in Sasquatch has risen since 2020,” Civic Science, August 2, 2022. https://civicscience.com/u-s-belief-in-sasquatch-has-risen-since-2020/

Native Languages of America, “Native American Bigfoot Figures of Myth and Legend,” accessed November 20, 2023 https://www.native-languages.org/legends-bigfoot.htm#google_vignette

Ben Crair, “Why do so many people still want to believe in Bigfoot?” Smithsonian Magazine 2018
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-so-many-people-still-believe-in-bigfoot-180970045/

“Density-dependent factor,” Britannica. Com, accessed Nov 20, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/science/density-dependent-factor

Cecil Adams, “Could Bigfoot exist in America?” Washington City Paper, December 26th, 2014. https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/201481/could-bigfoot-exist-in-north-america-the-latest-updates-in/


Ashley’s Piece of Stuff:

Edmunds, Michael "Antikythera Mechanism." Encyclopedia Britannica. October 13, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Antikythera-mechanism.
Freeth, Tony. “An Ancient Greek Astronomical Calculation Machine Reveals New Secrets.”
Scientific American. January 1, 2022. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/an-ancient-greek-astronomical-calculation-machine-reveals-new-secrets/.
Freeth, Tony et al. “A Model of the Cosmos in the ancient Greek Antikythera Mechanism.” Scientific Reports 11, no. 5821 (2021). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84310-w#citeas.
McGreevy, Nora. “Scientists May Have Discovered How the Ancient Greeks’ ‘First Computer’ Tracked the Cosmos.” Smithsonian Magazine. March 17, 2021. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-research-illuminates-how-antikythera-mechanism-first-computer-may-have-functioned-180977257/.
Chrysopoulos, Philip. “The Antikythera Mechanism Secret Solved.” Greek Reporter. September 15, 2022. https://greekreporter.com/2022/09/15/antikythera-mechanism-secret/.
Marchant, Jo. “Decoding the Antikythera Mechanism, the First Computer.” Smithsonian Magazine. February, 2015. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/decoding-antikythera-mechanism-first-computer-180953979/.
Sample, Ian. “Scientists May Have Solved Ancient Mystery of ‘First Computer.’” The Guardian. March 12, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/mar/12/scientists-move-closer-to-solving-mystery-of-antikythera-mechanism.
“Scientists Unlock Mysteries of World’s Oldest ‘Computer.’” BBC News. March 12, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56377567.

The article Tracey’s mentioned about clockwork birds is:
Jimmy Stoop, “A Brief History of Robotic Bird,” Smithsonian Magazine, May 22, 2013.


Tracey’s Piece of Stuff:

J. S. Pigati, et. al., “Independent age estimates resolve the controversy of ancient human footprints at White Sands,” Science, October 5, 2023. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh5007

Matthew Bennet et al, “Evidence of Humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum,” Science, September 23, 202.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abg7586

Carolyn Y. Johnson, “Ancient Footprints upend timeline of human’s arrival in North America,” The Washington Post, October 5, 2023.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2023/10/05/oldest-human-footprint-americas-white-sands/