804 – Bop-it in Bellowsville | Adventures of Dr. Triangle and Isosceles Ep4

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and friends beyond the binary, and my Patreon peeps, I'm singing to thee, my Patreon peeps, thanks for supporting this show. Hey, are you up all night, tossing, turning, mind racing, trouble getting to sleep, trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. All's you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press play. I'm going to do the rest.

What I'm going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you can set aside whatever is keeping you awake, whether it's thoughts, feelings, so things on your mind, physical feelings, anything you're feeling emotionally or experiencing, physical sensations, I think I said that, changes, changes in … Or things you've got to do, travel, time, temperature. Maybe you work a second or third shift, or you work on a morning program. You've got to get up really early. Whatever it is, I'd like to take your mind off of that. I'd like to keep you company.

What I'm going to do … And help you fall asleep, I guess, ideally. What I propose is that I have a nice, safe place here set aside, plenty of room, room for you. You can kind of see what this space feels like. You can just get comfortable where you are. How's that sound? That's a part of this safe place right there. What I'll do is I'll send my voice, because then you don't … I never thought of this, but you could have that place, and then I'll just send my voice across the deep dark night to you. That's a bit more efficient and maybe more comfortable.

I'll use lulling, soothing, creaky dulcet tones. It's creaky in a way … And dulcet means kind of sweet. So, it's kind of creaky, kind of sweet. I wouldn't say I'm the sweet and sour podcast, but I would say there's some citric acid probably in here or some sort of squeezable lemon and lime. Can't go wrong with that. As a matter of fact, maybe some apple cider vinegar. Who knows? That would be the creaky side of stuff. On the Creaky Side of Stuff: that's a future book I'll never write, but I'll think of the title. On the Creaky Side. Maybe that was one of my self-released published albums I forgot about. Scoots and the Creaky …

I thought about doing that … I said, “Wouldn't it have been nice if could have teamed up with Thelonious Monk and Coltrane?” And they said, “Yeah, we did that in another lifetime.” On the Creaky Side, we called it. But actually I didn't do anything. I played the imaginary … I sat there and bobbed my knee and my head, more my ankle. I had my legs crossed, my hands held … I leaned forward as they jammed out to … What was I talking about though? Oh, sound of my voice.

So, I'm here for you. And here's the thing. If you're new, I'm glad you're here. Let me give you a little bit of information. If you're skeptical or you're feeling a little bit of like “What is this?” or “What is this person talking about?” maybe you're tired and you're feeling a little bit like frowny or your eyes are narrowed. My brow's furrowed almost all the time, so I can totally relate if you have a furrowed brow. And I'll say this podcast is here to help you if it helps, so give it a try and see how it goes. What else do you need to know?

It's not for everybody, but a lot of people listen, and the majority of them say, “Well, it just took me two or three tries, and then I kind of realized Scoots is not to be taken seriously, and he's serious about that. He's kind of goofing around. Like he's saying the creaky side of dulcet.” Yeah. I like the way that sounds. I like it how on the creaky side sounds and on the creaky side …

How do you like your eggs, Scoots? Ooh, on the creaky side of dulcet, please. Oh, no, no, that's not an egg order, Scoots. Oh. Yeah, I'll take my eggs on the creaky side of dulcet. That's a short order, I guess. Yeah, we don't make eggs on the creaky side of dulcet here, because you don't even … Oh, so over medium. That's on the creaky side of dulcet right today it is. Thank you. Thanks anyway. And my coffee. Thank you. Okay.

So, also if you're new, a couple things. You don't need to … Kind of barely listen to this podcast. Especially if you're new, let it drift in one the ear and out the other or kind of keep it with a soft focus or a little bit out of focus, because it's a bit different. It's a podcast you don't really need to listen to it. Once you get going, you could kind of pretend you're listening and be like, “Uh-huh. Okay. I'm following along. Okay.” And just see how it goes. So, you don't need to listen.

There's also no pressure to fall asleep. I'm going to be here for about an hour, and I'll be here till the very end. So, you fall asleep at your leisure. If you can't sleep or you're waking up or whatever and listening, I'm here to help. I'll be here till the very end to keep you company and to take your mind off stuff as you drift off.

Now, structurally, what to expect, the show starts off with a few minutes of business. The great thing about that is that's how we're able to bring the podcast to you free for twice a week instead of it being behind a paywall, or because of engaged listeners that support the sponsors or support the show. That's why I say, “Okay, just listen for free on my podcast. That's cool.” So, that's the beginning.

Then there's an intro. And for a new listener, this is where stuff can get a little bit … It's just off of the creaky … You know, it's on the creaky side. So, I have an intro. A lot of intros are short and to the point, but what would be the point of that in a sleep podcast, right? I'm laughing because it's true. So, our intros are about 14 minutes of me just kind of explaining what the podcast is and getting you ready for bed proverbially. That word. I can't say it, but metaphorically I guess.

You say, “What do you mean? You explain the podcast for …” Well, it's kind of more of like friendly banter, like you call a friend and then you kind of put them on speaker, and then you are doing something else. Maybe you're doing your nails. Maybe you're saying, “Okay, let me reorganize these pillows over here before I get in bed.” And they're telling you about their day, and you're like, “Uh-huh. Uh-huh.” That's kind of what the intro is for a regular listener.

For the new listener, it's kind of like I want you to know this podcast is a bit goofy and different, but to kind of give you a sensibility of the show. I guess it can be like … Especially if you're new, you say, “Wait a second. So you're going to just kind of … When's the bedtime story start?” No, the bedtime story starts about 18 or 20 minutes into the show. You might say, “Well, I still don't get it. What is the whole purpose of the intro?” Well, I've learned over the years that a podcast can be part of your bedtime routine if you so choose. There are people that situationally use it or people that just skip right to the story. But for a lot of people, I'm here to ease you into bedtime.

So, whether you start the podcast as you're getting ready for bed, a little bit before bed, while you're doing some sort of crafting or some other chill activity, doodling. Maybe you're just … I don't know. Whatever you do to kind of unwind, the podcast could be part of that. Or you could be in bed already and I'm helping you wind down and ease you into bedtime. That also kind of translates to the listeners that do daytime usage or evening usage like taking a bath, or you're crafting. Lot of coders listen during the day or people, you just say, “Well, this day's stressed out. Let me listen to Scoots ramble. But the intro is just a way … I don't know. It's just a easy thing to kind of … I just putter around for a little while. Then after the intro and before the story is some more business. That's just kind of how podcasting advertising's structured, and again that allows us to bring you the podcast for free twice a week, so it's a pretty cool exchange.

Then there's a story. Tonight it'll be our episodically modular series The Adventures of Dr. Triangle and Isosceles, which is a series, but you can listen to it in any order and every single episode will be like the first episode, believe me. I give you all the information you need if it's the first time you're listening, and that's how I do with all our series. Then there's some thank yous at the end of the show, so it's a structure show. Yeah, it's a podcast you don't really need to pay attention to or listen to, but you can. If you're using a podcast app, the cool thing about podcasts is you can make an all-night playlist or you could set a sleep timer to end after 50 minutes or 45 minutes or 60 minutes. If you use a smart speaker, you can let it play all night or you could set a sleep timer for 90 minutes or two hours, six hours.

And because the podcast is free, you could kind of see how it goes. Most of our regular listeners, they say, “Okay, gave it a few tries and then it started really working for me, and now Scoots is my bore bud, my bore bae, my bore bestie, my bore bruh, my bore sib.” That is a true honor for me, because I say this a lot and I mean it, you do deserve a good night's sleep. I know how it feels there in the deep dark night, and I make this show because I want to help and I want you to get the rest you need and you deserve. Ideally, tomorrow goes a little bit smoother for you, and maybe, for some listeners they use a podcast situationally or they grow out of it, and then for some people it just is part of your routine, so I want you to be able to find out what works for you so you can get that rest and wind down.

Then tomorrow, yeah, you're a little bit more present, and maybe it becomes a building thing where you could be out there flourishing. I think what the world needs now is you and your input and just your presence, and so if you're rested, you're going to be in a better position to do that, and it'll just be nicer for you I think. That's why I make the show and what's important to me about it. Yeah, I've been there, so I know how it feels and I'd like to make it less of a rigamarole and less of a chore, bedtime, or whatever you say.

The reason this show's a little bit goofy and different too is so you have something to kind of look forward to. Right now I'm reading a book and I'm really enjoying it, and for me that's part of my bedtime routine. I say, “Well, even a couple hours before,” in the past, I'd be like, “Oh, boy. Got to go to bed in a few hours. Not looking forward to that, so let me delay it or whatever.” For me, having that nice book there, I say, “Okay, I can't wait to get in bed and read that or start the next book.” I say, “I hope that book's going to be good too, but I can't wait to start it.” Because right now I'm like, “I don't know when I'm going to be finished with this book,” because I'm reading it and Kindle is like … I'm like, “Is there only 10 pages left or is there 50 pages left?” Because I have it set on dyslexia settings, so it's the equivalent of a quarter of a page of even a mass-market paperback.

But anyway, a little TMI, but that's what my bedtime routine is. If the podcast can be part of that for you, it would be my honor, in all seriousness. I would love to help, and I really appreciate you coming by and checking this show out. I work really hard at this show because I yearn and I strive to help you fall asleep, so one more time, thank you for coming by. Whether it's your first time or your seven, 800th time. Here's a couple of ways we're able to bring you this podcast for free.

All right, everybody, welcome to another episode of our serial … Is it serial? Oh, no, episodically modular series that you could listen to in any order and still get the seriality of it if you need to. But I'm not kidding, you could listen to this in any order. Maybe I'll even take out episode numbers. I don't think so, because some people are completists, so I try to strike a balance. Whether you're a completist or a one-timer or a first-timer, welcome to The Adventures of Dr. Triangle and Isosceles. It's a tale, and I'll give you all the details you need to know. It's two traveling performers, Dr. Triangle and Isosceles, who live in a world not like ours. It once may have been like ours, but then, if you've seen any blockbuster movies or if you've read any mythology, you know the idea of gods and demigods or superheroes and super villains or nemesi. Sometimes that's in the movies, right?

In this world, it was just like ours, and then a nemesi came who was anti-math, or goddess or demigod or whatever, and slowly taken math away from our world. Still not totally removed it from our world or the world, but really taking a lot of math kind of sets of back to Middle Ages or the Dark Ages or something. Even then it's like, okay, we still need some math principles to operate. But this goddess is pursuing, eliminating all math, math principles, memories, ability to use them from existence, which is, even for a goddess or a demigoddess or a nemesi or whatever, not easy because it's pretty interwoven. You might say, “Can you have …” I say, “Well, it's a good question.” Without the underlying principles of mathematics, we're finding out. That's why it's an adventure.

That's one side. It's a world where math is a forgotten thing and not always accessible to everybody. Some people say, “Math.” That's actually what Dr. Triangle and Isosceles' career was up until this point. They were parodying the world that once was, where people used math on a daily basis and had, oh, boy, such a healthy respect and love of math and the foundational principles of math. But now we live in a post-math world. Again, when I say post-math, I don't mean 100% yet. Just like there's one side of the scales, there's the other side, and that's the goddess Sheshat I believe or someone with her power, a goddess or demigoddess or a heroine, like a super-powered heroine of course. You'd say, “Anything like Captain Marvel?” I'd say, “Possibly, but with more math-related powers.” Actually, but no, because she prefers to have human proxies operating for her, and her followers tasked Dr. Triangle and Isosceles with traveling what once was, as far as they could, the Midwest of the United States thus far or the middle part of the United States, just to give you a little geography in a generalized way, thus far.Or whatever you consider where you are. You say, “Well, it's kind of like this region, these regions.” You got some mountains over here, some valleys there, some flat lands.

Okay, where was I? Dr. Triangle and Isosceles, two people discovering what true heroism is, are now traveling the Earth in search of areas in need of math. They have the ability, supernatural ability and math-based ability, kind of two things hand in hand, to restore the mash … not the mash principles, but the math principles taken away from that area. You'd say, “Well, this really sounds like something I could fall asleep to.” I say, “Yeah.” You take math and then sandwich that with the bread of convolution, slather on some barely-understanding math to begin with, put in some exposition, some backstory, monologues, performances, because they're performers, we got all of that in here. But what you really need to know is the main characters are Dr. Triangle, Isosceles, and Ada, their mule, yeah, their mule, sentient mule to us, the narrator, and I think that's it. Yeah, they travel from town town. These are like city states and holdfasts and stuff, and try to restore math. I think that's pretty much it.

You say, “What timeline is this on?” I say, “Well, the timeline where people said, ‘Yeah, let's try to forget about math for a while and see how it goes.'” That's it. I guess this is The Adventures of Dr. Triangle and Isosceles. We also have a doctor of suave, a performance of handsomeness and kindness and just a calming presence and a celebrity, Mr. Antonio Banderas, who is such a, as the ladies and gentlemen, the boys and girls, the friends beyond the binary, it's time for another episode of Dr. Triangle and Isosceles, where one plus one equals two and so much more. Yeah.

Ooh. Holy cow. Wow, you're a writer too. I didn't even realize. I'm humbled by your gratitude, my friend. Yeah, thank you. I didn't say thank you, but you could tell it in my tone. Yeah, so why don't you lie in bed and listen to the podcast? That's our new thing. People really love you on Reddit. Did I mention that? Thank you, my friend. Thank you, everyone on Reddit. Yeah, so just lie down, kick back. Of course, take your shoes off on top of the comforter and we'll play a little … We got that new game, thanks to our friend Julie over at Radiotopia, so we'll be playing Color Cue, which is … Is that how you say it? It's Color-Ku, K-U, my friend, my friend. Oh, yeah, so it's like sodoku, but with colors, which is easier for me as a dyslexic to play. It's a community game, my friend, collaborative. It brings so much more than competing with you. I get to work with you. Yeah, twice in one day. You get to work with me, you have a new tagline for the episodes, and you get to sleep to the podcast, then we get to play Color-Ku, then you can have one glass of water, and then you get to drive all the way back to LA. Yes, I'm living a dream, truly.

All right, that's Antonio Banderas. This is The Adventures of Dr. Triangle and Isosceles. Hi, everyone. This is Ada. I'm narrator of this podcast, and I know that, in my wisdom and foresight, that the spirit of the podcast has already been set up, so I wanted to set up where we're headed and what's going on, though the characters, my partners, character actors I guess, will be talking about it quite a bit. But once again, we're tasked with heading to a region and restoring … This one even I'm a little confused on. I don't want to give you too much info, because it's a bit boggling. But as what once was the United States has come to grips with some math principles being totally gone and other regions just not having access to math principles and then other regions having math principles degrading into nothingness, one thing about you human beings is you're very adaptable, and they talk about resilience a lot of times, and you do possess it. And so humans have kind of adjusted in some places.

One of the main mechanisms is metal and tools, and now you could recycle metals. We'll get more information. But I guess what I'm saying is, once again, we return to a time where you could be a blacksmith, but actually, because there's still inner-city commerce, you could have a town based on a smithy town, this is a foundry town, or [Bellowsville 00:23:32]. Sorry. Foundry town, okay, I'm just looking at my map. I'm sorry about that. We're headed into Bellowsville, which for a long time was the main supplier, it was a town of blacksmith business town, where you say … I don't know everything. I'm just a mule. Let me turn things over to Dr. Triangle and Isosceles because they're talking about this same thing because we've gotten basic information.

Tools are a critical part of any civilization, so the shortage of tools is tough because obviously they're going to be planting and harvesting, but even more so than that, this is a winter region that is a large region, areas, deals with the winter. Tools are an important part of the winter and preparing for that to stay warm, right? Tools and heat, you understand all that. Yes, I understand that you need tools. I guess I didn't quite realize the connection, but it makes sense. Tools, food, and warmth and comfort, building even, repairing. Right. When math first went, everything first happened, and there was the more federated states that are still back east, whatever they're called. They kind of made a peaceful bargain. They kind of took control of all the tools and a lot of the other things. They said, “Okay, let's not argue about this. We're going to take all the tools and a lot of the other stuff back to the federated states.” If you want to come, you're welcome to join what we're doing, but there's no math over there. They're math H-O-S-T-I-L-E. So they have all the tools.

I know I've thought about this a lot. You must think about it with your planning, because you have your facilities, right, and you're planning on living there and maybe living there with other people, right? I haven't decided that, but what are you getting at? I was just thinking, the ongoing maintenance of a place like that, you'd probably have to do some repairs, electrical work, that kind of stuff. You must have a great set of tools there. I thought about food, drinks, because that's my plan is to just kick back. I have a little bit digital media. I got a lot of digital media, and I picked a region that had all that stuff, I could still make it work. What about analog? No, I have analog backups, yeah, board games, books. Huh. Well, that's interesting.

I said, “Well, I thought these places were supposed to last for 100 years.” Right, but they're built by humans, right? What if you say, “Well, I have some utensils. Those are tools.” If we get things going back here, you should think about getting some tools because I'm dedicated to making sure these tools go out to all the people, particularly a few city states that I'd like to prioritize getting the tools to first. So you're going to play favorite? No, no, not favorite. I just say those are the places that need the most … based on winterization. You're playing favorite. You're going to make sure you get your tools or tools to trade I'm sure. Yeah, so let's see. Let's just try to review then. Okay, so this town, I'm still having trouble understanding everything about it. It's called Bellowsville, and it's where … I don't know the terms, but basically that's where they cast the tools. They get the raw materials, whether it's recycled metals or I believe would be the other one, and they can melt it down there and cast it into tools. This is one of the few regions, because they designed … It's called Bellowsville because they have some giant way to drive the bellows. Yeah, giant, not even giant, humongous leather air … I can't quite contemplate it.

I picked up this children's book about it. It's also tough for me to understand. Yes, so they originally were making all the metals or casting all the metals, primarily things for cutting, things for digging, and things for mining, because those were the top priorities, and then things for building. Just like a lot of these other places, suddenly after everything happened, people adapted and this was working for a time. Then it started to trickle off, where now there's just a huge tool shortage I guess. Yeah, because we also have to deal with the federated states coming in and taking the tools, so they kind of have to be making tools right. It's just not a thing.

What's the children's book you have? Tell me about that. Okay, we're a little bit older, so you might remember this or maybe you don't. It might have been when we were … This book, it's interesting because it's fictional I believe, but it's based on the legends of this town, and the founder, the Great Bellow, that's who they called, the Great Bellow. Okay, you're losing me already. Okay, so the Great Bellow was inventor … Okay, so remember there was a game and they had two forms of it? I actually had it on a key chain for a while, but there was also a handheld version. I think the game was called Bop It. Believe me, I did use it. I used to play it with a partner of mine for clothing. I'd say, “Okay.” I'm sorry, what? If you lost, it was a bit like remember those memory type games like Simon? Yes, I do. Okay, so this one, instead of colors or you'd touch colors, you'd say red, red, green, blue, red, this one had a thing you bopped, a button you pressed which also made a sound, a thing you twisted, a thing you twanged, and sometimes other things like a pull lock or a pole.

Okay, so it was like a contraption. Yeah, but it was a game. It would tell you. It'd say, “Bop it, twist it, pluck it, twang it, pull it,” and you would have to do that and you'd get faster and faster. In your version, if you didn't do that, I would take a sock off. You know what I'm saying? And then if they didn't get it, they would take a shoe off, and so it goes. Oh, you're an interesting, interesting person.

But anyway, that's what this book is. No, this book isn't about that. It's about the game, and how it was this great influence for the Great Bellow. Okay, I don't understand. Okay, supposedly, where this town is, it also happened to be, it was a matter of circumstance or just worked out or it could be one of these goddesses or gods operating outside of the two that we know about or combined with them, which is what this book had said, because it has an undercurrent of a belief system. Okay, okay, so explain it to me. Okay, so the Great Bellow developed these great giant bags that could contain air based on other … because there was a great tool shortage. This valley was big on steel. Okay, I got you. So they already had a lot of the stuff, but they didn't have any way, there was no way to drive the bellows, other than whatever it's called, where you pump your foot and it makes it like what you see in a movie, used to see in the movies.

Okay. The Great Bellow invented these giant bags, huge, humongous. They got bigger and bigger over time is my understanding. The Great Bellow started small and then they kept building these, and they were able to supply more and more tools till they became the tool capital. But what also caused the size of these things, which led to them, it's a chicken or egg situation. What does that have to do with Bop It? I'm still picturing you taking you socks off. Hardy-har-har. Okay. There was also, because of different other principles, because they were in a valley, there was this slides coming into the town. The Great Bellow was able to protect the valley from any rocks or anything sliding by building these bellows up on the heights outside the town, so then the town was protected. It also protected from occasional like the rivers coming by or getting too full.

Okay, so something about these giant bags. What do you call it? Just giant bags. I don't know how else to describe it because I haven't seen it. In the book, they look humongous. But what does the Bop It have to do with that? Okay, well, keeping the bellows full, I don't know, something about the Bop It, there's a couple pages missing, and then after that it says, and then by being inspired by the Bop It, the bellows would remain full to overflowing at all times. Okay. This is the town square here. Okay. Hey, everybody. Oh, hey, kids. Yeah, we're getting ready to do our show tonight. Did you get the flyers we sent in advance? Yeah, so we're going to be doing the show, and we'd love a tour of your town at some point too. That'd be great.

Oh, right now? Okay. Let's go. Oh, hello, everybody. Yeah, so we're the performers. Yeah, we're here. We're reading this. We're getting prepared. We want to do a show, but we heard about these bellows. Where's everybody going? There's bells ringing on every rooftop in town. Oh, the children are taking us by our hands. Okay, so we have to go to these mechanism. Everyone's going inside a building that bells are ringing in. Okay, kids, where are you bringing us? Oh, you're in charge. Each one of you kids is in charge of us. Okay, so we got to go into your houses here. Oh. Okay. We all wait in line. Okay, this contraption's attached to a pipe. Is that your parents? Okay, and they're twisting. Oh, it's kind of like a mechanical version of the Bop It thing. Oh, but a lot of it's thumping. Isosceles, are you seeing this?

Yeah, why are they doing … every house has a bell ringing on it. Almost every action of the mechanical Bop It is pumping air into those tubes, which go out of the roof. They somehow are related to the bell. Okay, looks like they're almost done. Oh, and then it sprayed them in the face and they have an ecstatic look on their face. Okay, are we supposed to do that? Oh, no, we can't. Okay, okay. Oh. Okay, crank that. Okay, then bop. Okay, then push, pump. Oh, it's like a pump instead of a Bop It. It's a push it, a pump it. Okay, twist it, twist it. Okay, got that. Okay. I don't understand what the bell … the bells stopped ringing. I still hear a few ringing. Oh. The bell stops ringing when you've done it. How often do you have to do this crank it? We'll call it crank it. No, no, I don't know if we should call it … How often do you do this? You don't know. It's different every day. Okay. How come you kids don't do it? When you're an adult, every adult has to do it. Looked like it felt pretty good when it sprayed you in the face. Oh, even kids dream … Oh, so you can practice. You kids have a place where you practice.

Huh, there's a bell still ringing out there. What happens if you don't do it? Everybody's face just turned blank because there's one bell. Now I hear the sounds of … Is that a rumbling of a large group of unhappy people? Oh, and, yeah, me hearing them … Oh, that must be your neighbor. It seems like they're telling your neighbor, “Why is the bell still ringing?” Oh, it looks like your neighbors were in the middle of something similar to what Dr. Triangle does with his own Bop It after I guess … Huh. Okay, so if your bell's ringing on your house, you get in a lot … Oh, oh, boy. That sounds like more than a lot of trouble those people just got in. Oh, they were new. They were new to your town? Somewhat new? They didn't believe that … Oh. Okay, so whenever the bell rings, so for every adult, so if we stay, we're just going to sleep in the town square in our wagon. Oh, so we're just guests, so we don't have to worry about it. Oh, if we stay for a longer period, we would get assigned some … okay.

Okay, we're going to go get ready for our show, and I'm going to try to explain things to Isosceles, because … Thank you. Okay, what in the heck's going on? Okay, so here's what … We didn't even get a tour of the bellows. Let's just walk out to the edge of town. You can see them up there. See how all of these pipes and tubes lead up there? Those cliffs outside of town, yeah. Yeah, they're massive. There's so many of them, and they have air pressure. They're all filled by air pressure, which is fed by people's cranking and bopping. Oh, and they're building more of these over there. It looks like a lot of the townspeople are working. That's why it's mostly just kids around town right now.

Okay, maybe we should use a play to figure this out. What do you think's happening? I don't know. I think they have a great system. They have an inflatable way to keep these inflated, which keeps the air pressure, and that would drive the bellows, right? No wonder they could … this is a lot of air pressure they can now use on demand, depending on how much the pressure's building up. It seems like, why would you expand it though if they were already at capacity and working? Then I guess I'm a little confused with the spraying in people's faces. That seems like it just adds a tactile pleasure on the end.

Okay, but then what is the bells on the top of the houses ringing for? It's a requirement. When there must be low pressure or something, the bell start ringing, which must happen whenever there's low pressure, so it could happen multiple times a day or it might not happen at all. But it seems like at your home, I don't know if you're away from home what the rule would be, but if you're at your home or near your home, the bell on top of your home will start ringing, and it won't stop ringing until each adult must have their own mechanical Bop It, and if they don't do it, then the bell will keep ringing. If they do, something about the air pressure or lack of air pressure in the cranking stops the bell from ringing.

What were the people next door doing? They were enjoying each other's company. They were enjoying one another's company, and they chose to continue that versus doing … They probably were like, “Oh, we'll just do it later.” Oh, they were in the middle of that, the middle of just hanging out. Okay. Then they got in trouble. It sounds like … Okay, what does any of this have to do with math or tools? I don't know about the math. That's where I'm a little bit mixed up. Maybe we're in more of a helping role here and not a math role, and we could do that through the show. It just seems like here's what my gut's telling me. Okay, hit me.

They have a system to feed the bellows. That works great. But maybe they're a little carried away or something. I'm not sure. Everyone's required to do it. Somehow it got folded into their belief system, so it's kind of a all or nothing thing now. You always have to be … It's tough to be efficient if you're more focused on keeping the bellows primed or at full pressure than actually making tools. Why do you think that is? I think because it serves a protective purpose and maybe that's woven into their belief system. Maybe that's what the pages in that children's book are missing. Wow, you're pretty good at this. Yeah, I play a role as Dr. Triangle.

I think we just have to steer them in the right direction, like maybe just plant the seeds. I don't know how long we'll have to do this for because I really do need those tools, and the rest of the area needs the tools before winter. I think we need to … What if we do a children's play? Have the children figure it out. Make it obvious to the children, and then the adults will be like, “Oh, the children figured it out. They're always so much wiser than us.” Okay, it sounds like you should take the lead on that. Okay. Remember that sleep podcast had that character, it was Cinderella's stepmother Agatha. I think I'll have her … I got it. Okay, let's get ready for the show.

Okay, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, friends beyond the binary, especially children of Bellowsville, we now present … we have a special guest that I'll be right back because Dr. Triangle wanted to do some thinking. Well, hello, everyone. My name is Agatha, and I don't know if any of you have heard of Cinderella. I heard you have the Great Bellow. Oh, you're all cheering for the Great Bellow. Yes, I'm Agatha. I'm just a stepmother. I've saved other towns, but I'm just your guest here in town. I've been learning about these wonderful inventions the Great Bellow helped you all design. You should be very proud of them. You are, yeah. I know that a lot of people have been coming to your town and saying, “Where are the tools?” Agatha has people on her case all the time, children, so I wanted to help you help your adults figure that out, because you're kind of making frowny faces at me, but you are known not just for your great bellows but what you use them for, the tools that you supply everywhere.

There's a great scrapyard of metal outside of town in an ore yard that are waiting to be used. I would ask, if I was asking my children, who are so wise, what questions do you have? Oh, there are no questions about the … no one questions the Great Bellow. Thank you, young man. Okay, Agatha's dealt with this before. What if you lived in a world where you didn't not question anything the parents and the Great Bellow told you? What if you came from my world where children are much more foolish? You are all smart children who listen to your Great Bellow, but where I come from, children are much more foolhardy. If you were a child from where I came from, or like Agatha, so foolish.

Here's an example of a foolish idea Agatha has or children from my … Think of ones like this. I would propose that when your parents use those machines to help keep the bellows full and to feel good with the spraying in their face, that they would do it on a schedule once a day or twice a day in the morning or the night, and then the rest of the day, they could work making tools. I know it's so … You're laughing at me of how foolish, and your parents are glaring at me, telling me that it won't work. Oh, who else has an idea that someone like me or my children in my world would come up with? Okay, yes, you. Yes, you.

Oh, what if you were paid in gold or tools or food or sprays of air in the face? Everybody loves being sprayed in the air with face. I get it, I get it. Once upon a time, there was a world where people did that by pressing buttons on their phone and it gave them a little squirt of dopamine or something. This seems like it does the same thing. Oh, so what if you were paid? Yes, why wouldn't that work at all? Oh, the bellows is what we need. Okay, yeah. It seems like you probably … because you were trading the tools, correct? Oh, so you have a great storehouse of things. Oh, that's why. You trade so many tools that you saved up. Okay, okay.

Okay, who else has an idea of something we could do without? No bells on the houses. Yes, it's very distracting when those bells ring, so hard to sleep or … I was once a pit of lentils and I was in a relationship with a letter. Yes, a letter, a piece of paper. Yes, yes. That was my beau, B-E-A-U. If we were having tea or something and the bells were ringing, it would be very distracting, and we would say, “When we're finished with our tea, we will deal with the cranking and the pumping.” What if we got rid of those bells? That's a great idea. Would anything else related to the … Oh, yes, the people … more nicer rules. I love that. I love your smile too.

Here's an idea. What about this idea? Because your children are so wise, just having the children going around and doing this in between school. If you had a schedule … Oh, you don't go to school. Why not? Oh, there's no teachers. Why aren't there any teachers at … Oh, they're all working on, oh, the expansion of the bellows. That's what everybody's doing when they're not filling the bellows or concerned with when the bells are going to ring. Okay, it looks like the adults are coming up. Oh, what do you mean we have to go? No, I'm Agatha. I'm not Isosceles. We have to stop the show for what reason? Oh. Okay, they're taking … Goodbye, children. Thank you for coming to the show.

We'll leave town, yes. Thank you. Okay. This is just a fiction, by the way. I'm Isosceles. That was Agatha. It was just fiction. Oh, yes, thank you. Oh, you've got to go … Bells are ringing. Better go get those bells unrung. Okay, Triangle, that didn't go good. Your Agatha was great though. Okay, did you think up anything while I was doing my show? Yeah, this seems like it's very ingrained in there. Yeah. I think the thing is they need smaller bellows. They keep expanding it because they're associating their thing, but I was looking at some … I got into what was left of their library and looked at the geological records, and it looks like that they really don't have cause for concern except in a small area. So what are you thinking?

I think for the … Here's the thing. I'm thinking two things. They're not the greatest idea, but I think they're necessary. Okay, what is it? I think we just cut the bellows, for the most part. They seem like they have a system anyway that they're interconnected but they're not interdependent, because I've been looking through the telescope. We go up there and we cut down … I don't have a way to calculate anymore, but I'm just guessing … really, guesstimating barely works for me either. Do you think this is all about estimation? No, no, no, because that was one of the first things to go was calculating.

But anyway, if we just get rid of a percentage of the bellows and their storehouse. We don't have to get rid of everything. We're going to get rid of their supplies? No, I was thinking we could ask the goddess or whatever to kind of hide … We need some spiritual help or whatever, that we're dealing with some sort of other belief system. Yeah, these people are far from believing in math. Okay, so let's do it. I guess let's go with your plan. It sounds not foolproof but if they need to start trading … because we could reach out to some of the contacts we have. Exactly. Okay, so let's go to bed and then we'll do that tomorrow. I don't know if I can sleep with all these bells ringing. Yeah.

Hello, everyone. This is Ada, the narrator. Just quick, brief fill you in. They went with their plan. Plan changed a little bit. They contacted some of Shishot's followers in nearby areas, because they weren't able to do everything by themselves, including some people in the town that were undercover followers of Shishot, and they proceeded to reduce the number of giant bags feeding the bellows by not a percentage but they just started getting rid of those. And they used a simple illusion provided by some of the followers of Shishot, you could say magic or you could say stagecraft, to make it seem like the storehouse of supplies, the surplus they had was gone.

Then the people reacted very much like they did when the bells wouldn't stop ringing on one house, except almost everybody in town, and they started to attempt to work with Dr. Triangle and Isosceles in a way, so Dr. Triangle and Isosceles are kind of walking very fast outside of town back towards the bellows. Okay, this plan did not work out. It's like every tourist and child in town. They do have some tools. I knew they had tools. Yeah, those tools are for hay. Yeah, we're not hay. Okay, what do we do now? Okay. Okay, I guess the only thing we can do, so these bellows were right by the ones that are deflated, right? At first, I thought we could hide under there, but I don't think that's going to work. It's too many people, and they're not happy with us at all. They're not going to relent.

What I think we should do is, since we have no idea if this is math related or not, we'll guess the wrong math principle and ideally those bellows will get sentience and then … Okay, so we'll take ourselves out of one situation and make it … We made one situation worse, so we'll make it better by making it worse. Right, it'll cause a distract … We'll have that. Yeah, it'll at least give us a chance to make everything un-worse. Okay, I think I get it. Okay, so I'm going to take this one, it looks like a keyboard, and why don't you just pick a random charm. Okay, this one's a percentage sign. Okay, I'm going to say cosines and sines is the elements that are missing from this town. Please restore sine and cosine to this town.

Okay, nothing happened. Oh, boy. That giant former bellow thing is coming, it's growing. Oh, and the people … Wow, you are swift because people are standing in awe. Oh, wait, that's a great idea. Oh, Great Bellow, I see you rising in a strange form. These are your people. We brought them here to open their eyes because their obsession with more and more air and the joy of being sprayed in the face and over-inflating instead of … There must be a math principle at work. I'm feeling like there is. Oh, Great Bellow, you seem to be expressing a lot of displeasure with everyone. You're using making it worse to now change the belief system, even though it's not based on reality. I'm improvising. Your displeasure with the people not taking it too far, Great Bellow, spirit of the Great Bellow rising and growling and spraying.

Oh, wow, that's quite a whirlwind you're spraying there. I don't know if you have enough air. Oh, it's trying to connect to the operating bellows. Okay, we have it distracted. It's going to spray everybody though. That's a pretty intense air flow. Yeah. That's worse than those hand blowers. Oh, does everyone see? Great Bellow, please let these townspeople return to the town, and we'll deal with you if they all promise to work out a compromise where they could spend most of their time making tools and then some of their time keeping enough bellows to keep the town operational and a good place for everyone to live and you could still get sprayed in the face occasionally for joy. Does everyone agree on that, especially anyone that looks like a town leader? Okay, everyone return to town. We'll deal with the Great Bellow.

Wow, these people, they bought it. Yeah, the lines with the … Oh, what are we going to do? Thanks, children for sticking around. We're going to give ourselves over to the Great Bellow. Right, because we were the ones that … Yeah, you're right, we messed it up just like Agatha said. We came from where Agatha's from. You're right, yes. We'll deal with the Great Bellow, and you just get back to keeping those tools supplied and, yeah, work out a compromise. Okay, looks like they're all headed back to town, and they seem to be, they're actually laughing that we're going to get our just desserts.

Okay. Oh, it's done. It reinflated itself. Okay, but wait a second. It has two hoses, and it has one … If it sprays us with both hoses, it only has one hose going in and it has two hoses going out. Oh, it heard me, so now … Wait a second. That might be the math principle. What do you mean? Okay, like two inputs to one output. This whole thing was twisted, right? So everybody in town originally was pumping the bellows in a creative way, so the Great Bellow was onto something. There was thousands of inputs to one output. Okay. Because everyone was filling up the air bags basically. Right. Then that was outputted to the bellows. That's kind of more straightforward, and also kind of kept the town … At some point, it got reversed where they kept expanding the bellows thinking that was the thing. You're saying these people kind of praised air bags? In a demigod type sense, maybe.

Then they started doing … They were supposed to be doing two outputs, right? Keeping the bellows filled and making tools. You know what I mean? They were unfocused, and then their energy was just … Okay, how is that a math principle? Okay, it's a stretch, but I think I'm right. Domains and range, right? I don't know. The range of mountains? Okay, so there's domains and ranges, but only a function if a domain maps to one output, one range. Two domains could go to one range. Two inputs can go to one output, like everybody here pumping the bellows or everybody here, the majority of people working on the tools, but one input can't go to two outputs successfully.

Okay. Here comes that giant … the Great Bellow's coming at us. Okay. Look, because even the mule Ada's nodding. Okay, let's see. Hold that one that looks like craft paper. Oh, Shishot, please restore the principles of domain and range and function and outputs and inputs to this town so that they can again supply the area with tools as they once did, and please make it a balanced thing for them. Hopefully, we didn't corrupt the belief system. In all of your wisdom, Shishot, please do so now. Oh, that bag just deflated. Oh, now it's floating away on the wind. Yeah, we did it. Maybe they'll write a children's book about us. I think they'll probably do it about Agatha. They'll remember Agatha. They won't remember us at all because they probably assume … they'll come back and, oh, they'll assume we headed to the big farm in the sky. Yeah.

But the good thing is this deflated bag makes for a great camping material. Oh, you're right. What about the illusion hiding their storehouse? That'll be slowly restored, but we want them to maintain a healthy … Okay, because once they start trading again. Right, they'll kind of remember that. Oh, cool. Okay, thanks. Let's lie down in the wagon. Hey, Ada, we're going to lie down and go to bed. Good night.