Underunderstood Wiki

Scots Wikipedia and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

· Adrianne Jeffries

Summary

Adrianne finds herself in a free association rabbit hole involving Wikipedia drama and kidney stones.

Show notes

Transcript

Adrianne: Hey, everyone.

John: Hey, Adrienne.

Billy: Hello.

Adrianne: Good morning.

Billy: Good morning.

John: Good morning. It’s so early.

Billy: What is this? Why are we here?

Adrianne: I went down… I went down a free association internet wormhole yesterday, and I wanted to share it with all of you.

John: That’s my favorite kinda wormhole.

Adrianne: Do you wanna know how the wormhole started?

John: Yeah.

Billy: Yeah, take us to the-

Adrianne: Okay.

Billy: … the, the tip of the worm.

Adrianne: Yesterday, there was a story going around about the Scots version of Wikipedia. Did you all see that?

John: Yes, I love this.

Billy: Oh, yes.

Adrianne: It’s madness. I… Basically, what happened was I googled the Wikipedia user’s Wikipedia handle, and then ended up on some articles where random… This is a very prolific Wikipedia contributor, so I just went into some random, um, offshoots.

Billy: I think we should back up, and you should explain the, uh, the context here.

Adrianne: The S- the Scots-

Billy: Yeah, ‘cause this did… Well, this was sort of a big story online, but also, this is gonna be a while after it happened, and also, at the same time, there was the Republican National Convention, there was, uh, civil unrest. The NBA and the MLB went on strike, and Hurricane Laura was hitting the coast, so there was a lot of things happening.

Adrianne: Right. Scots Wikipedia. So, Wikipedia has different language versions, and one of the ways to create articles… English Wikipedia is by far the biggest, so if you are a contributor to another language version of Wikipedia, you might copy the Wikipedia version of the article and translate it into your own language. So-

John: The English version of the article?

Adrianne: The English version, correct, because English Wikipedia just has more contributors and more articles. So, there is a version of Wikipedia in Scots, which is one of the official languages of Scotland. It’s a real language. And one of the administrators of the Scots Wikipedia and one of its biggest contributors… I don’t know the number of contributions offhand, but it was like 100,000, 200,000, something really up there… turned out to be someone who didn’t speak Scots- … and was just-

John: What?

Adrianne: … writing English with a Scottish accent, and looking up words-

John: What?

Adrianne: … on the English-Scots dictionary and substituting in individual words. And this person-

John: And if he couldn’t find a translation, he would just continue to use the English word?

Adrianne: He would just leave it in English, yeah.

John: So, it’s-

Adrianne: So, over the years-

John: How… How did this last for years?

Adrianne: I know. So, over the years, various people have complained about this, and you can see it. You know, Wikipedia has the Talk section of a page where people s- talk about proposed changes, and you can see that other people have said, “I’m a native Scots speaker, and this is not Scots. What are you doing?” And this, uh, Wikipedia editor, um, was, I guess, not listening to those people. This Wikipedia user says they began editing… They say that they’re 19 now, and that they began editing the Scots Wikipedia when they were 12. And they left a statement on the discussion page… Oh, let me see if I can find this… where they sounded really contrite. People did point out that they had ignored criticism in the past, but, um, after this recent scandal, they sounded really contrite, and they said they’re being harassed, and that they did most of these edits when they were 12, and they didn’t… They didn’t realize they were doing harm.

John: Wow.

Adrianne: And I think most people who are in this discussion, which includes a lot of Wikipedia contributors and also a lot of Scots speakers and linguists, they all sort of agree that this one person is not the real scary, concerning thing here. What’s concerning is that this went on for so long and Wikipedia is such a reference source for so many things, that it spread a lot of misinformation about this language for seven years, and that language… Machine learning, um, for language often relies on Wikipedia. A lot of machine learning uses-

Billy: Hmm.

Adrianne: … Wikipedia as training data.

Billy: Oh.

Adrianne: And so-

John: Oh, I didn’t know that.

Adrianne: Oh, yeah. I mean, f- so with any kind of machine learning, you’re always looking for tons and tons of data for the machine to chomp on and try to find patterns in- … but you need huge training sets. And one of the ways you get a huge training set of full sentences is Wikipedia, and the internet in general, but Wikipedia is thought to be… You know, there’s some quality control there because it has-

John: Right.

Adrianne: … so many people who in- volunteer their time to edit it. Anyway, this person, on their profile, says that they are 19, they’re from North Carolina, and they are furry, and, uh, an INTP, whatever that is for Myers-Briggs. Introvert.

John: Thinking, right? Isn’t that the T?

Billy: Uh, well-

Adrianne: What’s the N?

Billy: Uh…

John: Uh, intuitive?

Adrianne: What?

John: Isn’t that what this is?

Billy: Well, I’m just gonna say… I’m just gonna say, uh, Myers-Briggs should not be, like, a thing that you use for your identity.

John: Hard agree. Yeah.

Adrianne: A lot of people do.

Billy: Furry? Sure, yes.

Adrianne: I don’t think it should be used for anything.

John: Yes.

Adrianne: So, here is a quote from one of the people criticizing the situation. “The problem is that this person cannot speak Scots. I don’t mean this in a mean-spirited or gatekeeping way where they’re trying their best but are making a few mistakes. I mean, they don’t seem to have any knowledge of the language at all. This is going to sound incredibly hyperbolic and hysterical, but I think this person has possibly done more damage to the Scots language than anyone else in history. They engaged in cultural vandalism on a hitherto unprecedented scale.”

John: Wow.

Billy: So, the thing I don’t understand-

Adrianne: Yeah.

Billy: … is how did they get away with it for so long?

Adrianne: Right.

Billy: Is it just that-

John: That’s what I have… Yeah, that makes no sense to me.

Billy: Is it just that it’s, like, kind of a niche thing that, that no one was really l- looking at the Wikipedia, but, uh, it had an, still had a negative effect on, like, scholarly things, or-

John: Well, but people were, people were reporting it, right? Just nobody was doing anything?

Adrianne: People… Exactly, people were reporting it. I think it’s that Wikipedia is super niche. Like, there are not many people editing Wikipedia. It is the work of a small number of incredibly active people. And it’s not an easy community to break into. That’s part of the reason why it’s not a very diverse community. It’s like 87% of Wikipedia editors are male. They’re primarily located in rich countries in North America and Europe. It is a not very equitable or representative system, and that means anything that’s on the fringes, like, you’re gonna have a really well fleshed out article for things that are in the mainstream or that happen to hue to the interests of the group that are editing this thing. That’s why there’s tons of articles about anything to do with computer history, but not lots of articles about, like, women scientists or, uh, anything in a number of languages referred certain parts of the world. So, I think it’s just, like, a lo- you know, people… I think it did the most damage for people who don’t really know anything about Scots, you know? Wikipedia is the starting point for, “How do I break into learning about a thing?” So, the people who actually did know about Scots were like, “Wow, the Scots Wikipedia is really terrible.” That’s a fact about the world. There’s not a lot of good quality information about this language-

John: Oh, I see.

Adrianne: … that’s consistent, um, and they, and they didn’t… Even the people who knew how to comment on Wikipedia, you know, were not able to get to the point of being an admin of this entire language Wikipedia. This was their comment on this whole situation. “Honestly, I don’t mind if you revert all of my edits, delete my articles, and ban me from the Wiki for good. I’ve already found out that my contributions have angered countless people, and to me, that’s all the devastation I can be given after years of my thinking I was doing good. And yes, obsessively editing, I have OCD. I was only a 12-year-old kid when I started, and sometimes when you start something young, you can’t see that the habit you’ve developed is unhealthy and unhelpful as you get older. I don’t care about defending myself. I only wanna stop being harassed on my social medias and to stop my other friends who have nothing to do with the Wiki from being harassed as well.”

Billy: Hmm.

Adrianne: “Whether peace can be restored by Scowiki being kept like it is or extensively reformed to wipe my influence from it makes no difference to me now that I’ve done… now that I know that I’ve done no good anyway.”

Billy: Hmm. Okay. I mean, it makes sense, I guess. Yeah, I could see how doing something when you’re 12, you think like you’re contributing, and it’s really not helping anyone.

Adrianne: Now, now the discussion has moved to Wikipedia editors trying to figure out how to fix this-

Billy: Mm-hmm.

Adrianne: … wondering if they should roll back the entire Wikipedia to 2012 before this person started editing, but there have been legitimate contributions made in addition to what this person did. So, that’s a live issue.

John: Oh, what a nightmare.

Adrianne: Yep.

John: And if this person was the most prolific, uh, Wikipedia editor in Scotland in the first place, like, who’s gonna take up the mantle then?

Adrianne: I think it actually could be a good thing if they can say, “Hey, all Scots speakers, we’re calling all Scots speakers, all hands on deck. We gotta fix this Wikipedia. Everybody get in there.” And then it becomes a way of getting the actual experts to contribute and improves the thing which, like, if this kid hadn’t been editing, just it probably wouldn’t exist. It’s not like there were other people paying attention to it who got drowned out. It was that nobody was paying attention to it.

Billy: So, what was the rabbit hole you ended down?

Adrianne: Right. Well, so the, the story that I was coming with today is completely different from this. Maybe it is, um, less intriguing. But, uh, I just was searching this person’s contributions, and I found that they were a contributor to the Wikipedia page for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which is a roller coaster in the Disney family at several parks, including Disney World, the Magic Kingdom.

John: Now you’re talking my language.

Billy: Ah.

Adrianne: I was gonna guess that it was a Bruce Springsteen record. Um, so f- I wanna kick it off by saying, what are the reasons that people go to Disney World?

John: Ites- uh, wh- what are the reasons anyone wouldn’t go to Disney World? Come on.

Adrianne: Can you be more specific?

John: Uh, it’s, it’s fun as hell. Y- you go there… I don’t know what you’re getting at. Uh-

Adrianne: Why do people ride roller coasters?

John: … I… Oh.

Adrianne: Maybe that’s a better question.

John: For fun?

Adrianne: I personally-

Billy: Uh-

Adrianne: I personally do not like roller coasters, so I- please explain to me-

Billy: Mm-hmm.

Adrianne: … why people ride roller coasters.

Billy: I love roller coasters. The reason, the thing I like about roller coasters is that, uh, it’s like, it, it’s the physical version of- … just, like, suspending your cynicism-… uh, and we use, like, like, letting your mind turn off and just enjoying something purely for what it is. It’s, like, very meditative for me because you get to experience something thrilling, but you don’t have to actively think about any potential consequences. You get to feel the pure physical joy of things that would otherwise be bad, like falling from the sky.

Adrianne: That’s a lovely answer.

Billy: Thank you.

John: Yeah, I think I would agree with Billy. There’s also the element of just, like, uh, speed that I don’t think you can, right, safely get in other ways.

Billy: Yeah, that feeling of your stomach, like, dropping.

John: It makes me worry that if I ever got on a motorcycle, I would really like it.

Billy: Yeah, I th- the motorcycle thing is a good point because I- I, uh, I- I got a scooter once, um, when I was planning to move to a part of Philadelphia that was further from where I was going to school and would, like, need a way to get there. And I got the scooter, started doing the- the- the classes. You have to take, like, full motorcycle classes to get a license to be able to drive it, and I just ended up being completely terrified. Once I had to go through the classes, once my brain started going through all of the things that could go wrong and all the things- … you have to actually think about, I was like, “Wow, this is… this is a terrible idea. Why would I do this?” But actually riding on it was great, felt great before I thought about those things.

John: Yeah.

Billy: So what’s cool about theme park rides is like, it’s someone else’s job to think about them and as long as it’s, like, a, uh, reputable establishment like Disney World, y- you could usually safely assume that someone’s got that handled and you can just enjoy the ride.

Adrianne: Has anyone ever heard of people riding rollercoasters for medical reasons?

John: Oh.

Billy: Huh.

John: I don’t think I have.

Billy: Wha- I’m trying to think what the medical reasons would be. Maybe, like, uh, muscle tension or something?

Adrianne: So, I came across this sub-genre of people talking about rollercoasters, and this rollercoaster specifically, as a treatment for kidney stones.

John: Oh my God.

Billy: What?

John: I- how?

Adrianne: Uh, I’m just gonna play.

Billy: Yeah, how does that work?

John: Just shake him loose? Just gravity? Like, what? Well, this, this is, this is of course the famous Disney rollercoaster where they shower you in cranberry juice, so I can see how- … this could be helpful.

Billy: Wait, what?

John: I’m not kidding.

Billy: Oh.

John: What, Billy? In what world?

Adrianne: All right, so I’m gonna present and play a couple YouTube videos.

John: Wait, do you pass them on the ride?

Adrianne: Just patience.

Playback: Hey, friends. Today I am at the Magic Kingdom because I have kidney stones. Let’s go do this.

John: He must be in so much pain.

Playback: The reason I say I’m here because I have kidney stones is because it is a scientifically proven fact that riding Big Thunder Mountain can help you pass small kidney stones. They actually-

Billy: Test?

Playback: … did tests about it. Like, they actually came to Disney and actually rode Big Thunder Mountain-

John: What the hell?

Playback: … with kind of, like, a fake kidney that had stones lodged inside of it and they found out that, because of all the turns and the twists, it actually helps loosen those stones so they- they’re easier to pass.

John: There has to be a cheaper way to do this.

Playback: And even the doctor in the ER I went to go see suggested it and said that it’s a very fun way to actually pass a kidney stone. So we’re gonna ride Big Thunder Mountain and we’re gonna see what happens. Maybe it’ll help me, I don’t know. But, I mean, we’re riding Big Thunder Mountain, so that’s that. I mean, it’s a win-win.

Adrianne: Okay. And, uh, here’s this guy.

Playback: Big Thunder Mountain- … and the legend of the kidney stone. Mr. Cheesy Pop. Hey everyone, it’s Max. If you’ve been following along with me, guys, you know that I had a kidney stone. What you didn’t know is that the doctor told me- … that there was another one. And I woke up this morning and I was like, “Oh, gosh, it’s coming.” Here it goes. So here we go. We’re getting in, last row, Big Thunder Mountain. Oh, gosh. My pain is actually down here.

John: Yeah, wait. He’s… yeah, he-

Playback: That, that kidney, the right kidney. So I’m-

John: Oh my God.

Playback: … sitting on this side because this is the side that all the, the force will be t- rocking and shaking everything in my body.

John: Oh my God, it’s gonna hurt so much.

Playback: Let’s see if it really is the wildest ride in the wilderness.

John: Oh.

Playback: Here we go. Oh, gosh. Okay, it’s happening, it’s happening. No, it’s not out yet. Oh!

John: Wait, don’t… uh-

Playback: Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh.

Adrianne: Okay, so he-

John: Can we pause for a second? Can I ask him just a quick question?

Adrianne: Yeah.

John: Is he wearing a diaper? Or is he just peeing on Big Thunder Mountain?

Adrianne: He doesn’t say that. He does, he goes to the bathroom afterward and, uh-

John: Okay.

Adrianne: … and, uh, he… I’ll just get it. Uh, where is it?

Playback: I just don’t know what the research says about the amount of time that it actually takes for- … it to now pass through my entire… Hmm, I don’t wanna get too detailed. Wanna go again?

John: He sh- he should’ve read up about that.

Adrianne: Okay, so he- he went to the bathroom.

Playback: All right, I am feeling a little better. I feel like it jostled around…. or moved to a better location in my kidney. This is the weirdest video ever. Sit down.

Adrianne: Okay, so that’s that guy. And here, here’s another-

John: Did he pass it?

Adrianne: Not at the end of that video.

John: Oh my God.

Playback: I heard there is a little rumor that if you have kidney stones, bi- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will get rid of your kidney stones. But what is going on everybody? Welcome back to another daily vlog. If you guys are new on here, please go ahead and smash that subscribe button, thumb this video up, ring the bell, and become part of the one and only Notification Squad. Now-

John: Shoot.

Playback: … all I have to do is pass my kidney stones. I don’t really know, um, if it’s gonna be painful or not, but we’re gonna see if, um, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad helps me get rid-

John: .

Playback: … of these kidney stones. And I heard that was a rumor. I did snag a fast pass for Big Thunder, which is, uh, pretty rare.

John: It’s called that for a reason.

Playback: Really hard to get.

Adrianne: Yeah.

Playback: I did get it for about 10 minutes. We’re gonna head on over there very, very soon.

Adrianne: Okay, so there’s that guy. So you remember, you remember this guy, Mr. Cheesy Pop?

Billy: Yeah.

Adrianne: So, uh, I c- I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to find it in the video, but I’ll try. He, he says basically…

Playback: Uh, anyway, so I wanted to give you guys an update. Did not pass the stone, so Big Thunder did not work. I’ve been hearing from a lot of you that I need to actually go on the Big Thunder in Disney World, and that’s the one that’s gonna do it- … ‘cause our track here is too smooth. Well, good thing I’m going to Disney World real soon. But also, I hope I don’t have it in a few days, ‘cause that, that would be unfortunate.

Billy: Wait, so he’s in Disneyland and he’s planning to go to Disney World in two days just by coincidence and…

Adrianne: He’s a Disney YouTuber.

Billy: Got it.

Playback: So it’s lucky timing. As you guys know, I had-

Billy: Or not.

Playback: … a kidney stone, I went on it at Disneyland.

Billy: Yeah.

Playback: And everyone was like, “Oh no, Max, you gotta go on the one at Disney World.” Well, there it is, and we’re gonna go on it. And let’s see, once and for all, if this thing leaves my kidney.

John: Could it also have been the plane trip?

Playback: I can’t believe I’m doing this again. It’s just so absurd. So I will do the same thing as last time. I will get the last row and we will see. Whoo! Hey, oh! You know what? It’s a little bumpy already. Oh, oh, oh. Whoa. Wow. It’s a little more bumpy already.

John: And now he’s alone, also.

Adrianne: He’s so excited.

Playback: All right, let’s do this. Whoo-hoo!

John: Imagine getting on a roller coaster and you’re gonna have a good time, and then you realize the guy behind you is a YouTuber.

Playback: Whoa!

Adrianne: Oh no. I mean, at this point, it’s, it’s definitely happening on every other ride. There’s some YouTuber in one of the rows.

Billy: That’s what I- that’s what I was gonna ask. It’s been a while since I’ve been at a Disney Park. Is that really, is it really all over the place now, vlogging?

Playback: Oh.

Adrianne: I went in January and there were definitely, there’s definitely some vloggers.

Playback: Oh!

John: Oof. Oh my gosh.

Adrianne: He’s like in a state of euphoria.

Billy: Wow.

Playback: That was a blast. You get it?

Billy: Oh, Jesus.

Playback: And so much more sweaty here in Florida. Whoo! Whoo! How you doing down there? Are we okay?

Billy: Oh, he’s panning down.

Adrianne: Oh no. Why? Why the panning down?

Playback: Just gotta give this kidney a drink of water.

Adrianne: .

Playback: That thing got my, my, my stone shaking and moving.

Adrianne: .

Playback: I’m at the restroom.

John: Oh my God.

Playback: Let’s see what happens. M-I-C-K- well, I’ll stop. I think… I think I feel better? I think it might’ve happened. I don’t know. I don’t-

John: I think you’d know it.

Playback: … have full confirmation, but I’ll let you know later. Can I give you guys an update? This is the best I’ve felt since this whole kidney stone drama started. I think it might be gone. I think Big Thunder might’ve done the trick here in Disney World. I- I can’t be 100% sure, um, but the doctor also told me that I might not even notice that it, it, i- is gone. Like I might not even see it ‘cause it was very tiny, but this is the best I’ve felt in days. I think Big Thunder rocked that rock out of me. Mm.

Adrianne: You don’t think it’s just like the endorphins?

Billy: Wow.

Adrianne: Okay, so…

John: I have a number of questions.

Billy: That’s a good question.

Adrianne: Yeah. I just, I feel like he’s just so happy from the roller coaster that he’s just like… It’s like endorphins, you know?

John: I’ve always heard that, like, especially for men, when you pass a kidney stone, like, you’re pretty aware of it.

Adrianne: Yeah, that’s what I thought too. I think it depends-

Billy: I mean, there are different sizes, yeah.

Adrianne: Right. I think it depends on the size of the kidney stone.

John: And also, it, it… He, he took a cross-country trip. Like, getting this on the roller coaster- … he went on seems not, uh, I don’t know.

Billy: So clearly all of these people have heard or read this somewhere. Is there something… Is there like a, like a famous Tony Robbins speech or like something- … where this is like offhandedly mentioned in some kind of abstract context where all of these people have now internalized, they just need to go on this roller coaster?

Adrianne: Yeah.

Billy: And- Did Gary V. Mention this at some point?

Adrianne: So I was wondering, I mean, this is maybe not necessary since we do have Jon on the call, but I, my husband happens to be, um, someone who knows a lot about Disney World. So I, I asked him about this. I was curious if he had heard about it. Um, so uh, I, I do have a, a short interview with my husband here to play, if you all would like to hear it.

Billy: Yes, absolutely.

Adrianne: Okay, so what do you know about Big Thunder Mountain?

Sam: It’s a roller coaster in Disney World, in the Magic Kingdom.

John: Sorry, this is on my iPhone.

Adrianne: And what kind of roller coaster is it?

Sam: The, the theme of it, or…

Adrianne: Just, like, is it known for anything?

Billy: I’m sorry, I’m sorry, are you guys, like, spooning while you’re doing this interview?

Sam: Uh…

Adrianne: No, I just, like, Sam was watching a movie and then I was like, “Can I ask you some questions?” And stuck the phone in his face.

Billy: Okay. ‘Cause it’s like, it’s a incredible combination of, like, intimate but also, like, uh- … relaxed.

Adrianne: Uncomfortable?

Billy: Yeah.

Sam: It’s like a railroad car, you’re on, like, a rail car, you’re going through mines and stuff, and there’s no driver. It’s like a runaway train car, I think.

Adrianne: I also really like that Sam took this, like, a v- in a very literal, like if you asked a kid, like, “What is Big Thunder Mountain?” They would be like, “Um, it’s a train car.” Like, I was looking for, like, “It’s the biggest coaster!” Or, like, “It’s the w- it’s, like, the, has the most, like, bends.” Like, that’s what I was thinking he would say but instead he was like, “You’re in a mine.” Is it a scarier coaster? Is it a coaster for little kids? Is it, like, known for any specific features of the track?

Sam: I feel like it banks a lot. I don’t know. It’s, I mean, for Disney World it’s pretty intense, but it’s not, I mean, compared to most roller coasters at most theme parks, it’s not very intense.

Adrianne: Have you ridden it recently?

Sam: I, I have ridden it recently. I rode it in January of 2020.

Adrianne: And what do you remember?

Sam: There’s, like, you, uh, there’s bones. There’s, like, skeletons of, like, rib cages of big animals. I don’t really know what kind of animals. And rocks, lots of rocks. And it goes, like, it’s very, like, side-to-side, bouncy, kind of rickety feeling.

Billy: I’m sorry. I’m still, I’m still fascinated by the tone of this interview. It sounds like Sam was, like, on his death bed and you’re just trying to, like- … distract him with, like, stories of the old times. Just, like, ask him about something from his childhood. And he’s like, “Yeah, and there were rocks.” “And the track bent around the corners.” It’s beautiful.

Adrianne: Have you ever heard of people riding Big Thunder Mountain to pass kidney stones?

Sam: No. No, I have not heard about that.

Adrianne: Okay, good. I feel like if you haven’t heard about it, then it’s maybe relatively unknown still. Okay, where did this notion come from? As it turns out, a Michigan State University professor in the Department of Osteopathic Surgical Specialties was hearing from his patients that there was this anecdotal rumor going around that after riding a particular roller coaster at Disney World, they were able to pass their kidney stones. And one patient told this doctor that he had passed three different stones after riding multiple times. So, this intrigued this professor, whose name is David Wartinger. And David Wartinger goes out and tests the theory using a 3D model of a hollow kidney with three kidney stones inserted- … into the replica. And he, he took it in a backpack on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 20 times in this initial pilot study. And he found that, in this pilot study, if you were sitting in the last car of the roller coaster, about 64% of the time a stone would pass. And if you sat in the front of the roller coaster, it would pass 16% of the time.

Billy: Huh.

Adrianne: So they go back again with an expanded study, and they ride the ride 60 times. And they found even better results, where people sitting in the back of the coaster passed 70% of the time, or the model passed 70% of the time, and the, uh, studies showed a 100% passage rate if the stones were located in the upper chamber of the kidney. So, he says, in this, in this story, in MSU Today, Michigan State University, “Uh, in all, we used 174 kidney stones of varying shapes, sizes, and weights to see if each model worked on the same ride and two other roller coasters. Big Thunder Mountain was the only one that worked.”

Billy: Whoa.

Adrianne: “We tried Space Mountain and Aerosmith’s Rock N’ Roller Coaster, and both failed.”

Billy: What?

Adrianne: “‘Those other rides are far too fast and violent, with a G-force that pins the stone into the kidney and doesn’t allow it to pass. The ideal coaster is rough and quick with some twists and turns, but no upside-down or inverted mo- movements,’ he said.” So, some roller coasters make it worse. Some roller coasters make it better.

Billy: Huh.

John: My question, though, is, is there, um, a more direct and controlled way to do this, where you just get in a machine-

Adrianne: Good question.

John: … and jostle your body a little bit?

Adrianne: So, there have been studies about vibrating massagers being used to help people pass kidneys, um, which did find some success there. Uh, there have also been studies that say that, uh, frequent sex can help dislodge a kidney stone. So, this-

John: It’s the last thing you’d want to be doing.

Adrianne: … seems to be, this seems to be a little subset of study of, like, how do we, how do we vibrate that stone out of there? But I… I had that same question of like, “Is there just like a vibrating vest you could put on or…”

John: Or a motion simulator even.

Adrianne: You know.

John: Like anything. Yeah.

Adrianne: Right? But I don’t, I don’t see how a vest could ever approximate what Big Thunder Mountain Railroad does, which is like thrash you from side to side, but gently.

Billy: Huh. So what does this have to do with the Furry Vandal?

Adrianne: He, he was editing the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad page, and he added a photo to it.

Billy: Oh.

Adrianne: And that photo ended up on one of these articles about- … the kidney stone thing. And I was like, “Wait, what?” And that’s what sent me into kidney stone Big Thunder Mountain Railroad nexus Venn diagram.

Billy: Huh.

Adrianne: This is not health advice.

Billy: So this is probably- … just one of those little, like, factoid things that Disney heads know about?

Adrianne: Right.

Billy: Got it. Okay.

Adrianne: Or people suffering from kidney stones who are frantically Googling, “How do I get rid of this kidney stone?”

Billy: Right. But it did seem like all the people on YouTube were also people that regularly vlog from Disney.

Adrianne: I think that, uh, one of them was and then the other two are people who, like, live there. So they have… You know how people who live near Disney World just, like, have a membership and go all the time?

Billy: Oh, okay. Huh.

John: I- It really is the most magical place on Earth.

Adrianne: Yeah.

John: We were supposed to, uh, go to Disney World in two weeks.

Adrianne: Aw.

John: Yeah.

Billy: Well, it’s open, you can go.

John: Uh, I think I’ll pass.

Billy: Just like the kidney stones.

Adrianne: A little postscript on the Scots Wiki story. We recorded that two months ago. Um, since then, there have been a couple more developments with the Wikipedia version. Ultimately, they decided, the community decided, that they did not need to revert the whole Wikipedia back to 2012, which had been floated as a possibility. Instead, they’ve taken down around 20,000 articles, um, one of the administrators, MJL, told me, and they, uh, may take down that many again. They also h- hosted two edit-a-thons where they got a bunch of people who do speak Scots or speak it enough or know enough about Wikipedia to clean things up, got a bunch of people together remotely on Zoom and, um, did a big push to clean up the Wikipedia. So that is still ongoing and if you’re a listener and you happen to speak Scots, you can try to get involved too. They said they still need more volunteers, especially people who speak the language.

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