Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind focusing on mythical creatures, ideas and monsters. In time, the Skexies of Thraw saw nature as a thing to be broken, reconstructed, and used as they saw fit. Their perverse outlook famously resulted in the creation of such horrors as the Ramba, aigeing Gartham and spying crystal bats, but unless obvious example can be found in the humble lock snake, as witnessed in the Dark Crystal Age of Resistance and related by Adam Caesar in the Dark Crystal Bestiary. The lock snakes were a variety of serpents noted for their mineral hardened scales and inclination to wrap around an object and tightly bind themselves on that object by latching under their own tail. Presumably, this tactic would protect the creature in the wild from predators that would otherwise snatch them away, much in the same manner that an eagle may take off with a terrestrial snake. The presumably arboreal lock snake would simply hunker down and bind itself around a branch and trust its unbreakable rock like exterior to protect it. The Skexies, of course, saw only potential purpose in these creatures, and adapted them for use as an actual locking mechanism on cabinets and books to keep out unwanted individuals. And should that individual manage to break the bond, well, then they have to deal with the snakes bite. The particulars of how authorized users of the lock snakes unlocked the serpent remains something of a mystery, but it seems as if they might be trained to respond to a particular master. Likewise, their use would seem to be time limited, useful only for temporary absences from the vicinity of these rised chest tome or other possession. The concept of the lock snake is of course linked to the terrestrial tradition of the araborous, the symbol of a serpent biting onto or swallowing its own tail forming a loop, as well as a potent paradox of self consumption. Nothing quite like this exists in the natural world, but the image the symbolism, as we've discussed before, is potent. Now, as for the detail that Caesar shares regarding the diet of the lock snakes that they consume minerals to strengthen their scales. This does have some parallels in our natural world. Beavers, for instance, consume an iron rich diet which helps fuel the iron rich enamel of their powerful teeth. Various animals may consume minerals from time to time to offset dietary deficiencies, and the use of swallowed stones or gastroliths to aid in digestion has been documented in various reptile, bird, and mammal species. Given the avian characteristics of the Skexies themselves, it's not unthinkable that masters of the Dark Crystal might have consumed stones to aid them in the digestion of their many strange meals in their grotesque banquets. Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster Fact each week. As always, you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind focusing on mythical creatures, ideas and monsters. In time, the Skexies of Thraw saw nature as a thing to be broken, reconstructed, and used as they saw fit. Their perverse outlook famously resulted in the creation of such horrors as the Ramba, aigeing Gartham and spying crystal bats, but unless obvious example can be found in the humble lock snake, as witnessed in the Dark Crystal Age of Resistance and related by Adam Caesar in the Dark Crystal Bestiary. The lock snakes were a variety of serpents noted for their mineral hardened scales and inclination to wrap around an object and tightly bind themselves on that object by latching under their own tail. Presumably, this tactic would protect the creature in the wild from predators that would otherwise snatch them away, much in the same manner that an eagle may take off with a terrestrial snake. The presumably arboreal lock snake would simply hunker down and bind itself around a branch and trust its unbreakable rock like exterior to protect it. The Skexies, of course, saw only potential purpose in these creatures, and adapted them for use as an actual locking mechanism on cabinets and books to keep out unwanted individuals. And should that individual manage to break the bond, well, then they have to deal with the snakes bite. The particulars of how authorized users of the lock snakes unlocked the serpent remains something of a mystery, but it seems as if they might be trained to respond to a particular master. Likewise, their use would seem to be time limited, useful only for temporary absences from the vicinity of these rised chest tome or other possession. The concept of the lock snake is of course linked to the terrestrial tradition of the araborous, the symbol of a serpent biting onto or swallowing its own tail forming a loop, as well as a potent paradox of self consumption. Nothing quite like this exists in the natural world, but the image the symbolism, as we've discussed before, is potent. Now, as for the detail that Caesar shares regarding the diet of the lock snakes that they consume minerals to strengthen their scales. This does have some parallels in our natural world. Beavers, for instance, consume an iron rich diet which helps fuel the iron rich enamel of their powerful teeth. Various animals may consume minerals from time to time to offset dietary deficiencies, and the use of swallowed stones or gastroliths to aid in digestion has been documented in various reptile, bird, and mammal species. Given the avian characteristics of the Skexies themselves, it's not unthinkable that masters of the Dark Crystal might have consumed stones to aid them in the digestion of their many strange meals in their grotesque banquets. Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster Fact each week. As always, you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.