E414 Flying Foopengerkles and The Art of Yapping

Summary

Podcast Summary: And That's Why We Drink - Episode E414: Flying Foopengerkles and The Art of Yapping

Release Date: January 12, 2025
Hosts: Christine Schiefer & Em Schulz
Title: Flying Foopengerkles and The Art of Yapping

---

1. Personal Updates Amidst Local Fires

Timeframe: [02:35] - [05:42]

Before delving into the main topics, Christine and Em address their listeners with heartfelt updates concerning the ongoing fires in Los Angeles. Both hosts express gratitude for the community's support and share their current safety statuses:

• Em: "We are currently fine. I'm still in Virginia, it seems like forever. Allison has evacuated just in case."
• Christine: "Fortunately, we are pretty much dead center in a bunch of fires and we're just hoping it doesn't spread to us."

They encourage listeners to assist those affected by providing resources through their Instagram bio link bit.ly/ATwwDFireHelp, highlighting the importance of community support during crises.

2. Lighthearted Banter and Personal Health Updates

Timeframe: [05:42] - [10:27]

Christine and Em engage in playful conversation about their attire and personal well-being:

• Christine: "We're in shades of green today. Our rooms and our shirts, they are the same."
• Em: "Let us be glad. Let us be greenpo."

Em shares her recent battle with a prolonged illness, detailing how it affected her and those around her:

• Em: "I've been here for almost an entire month now. And it was the first week where I feel like a human being again since I got here."
• Christine: "I'm in need of like a reset, so I'm very glad it's a new year."

3. Introducing Sinkhole Sam: A Cryptid Tale

Timeframe: [27:18] - [75:04]

Em presents the focal story of the episode: Sinkhole Sam, a legendary cryptid from Lake Inman. The narrative unfolds with historical sightings and escalating local hysteria:

• Em: "Sinkhole Sam is his name, and it is Samuel, not Samantha, in case we're wondering."
• Christine: "He’s a goddamn fooping gurgle. How did we not see that?"
• Em: "A fupkin gurgle is a subterranean animal that often burrows into the ground. So that would make sense why sometimes we're not finding him."

Key Points:

• Early Sightings:

  • 1920s Fishermen: Witnessed a large, snake-like creature slithering into a sinkhole.
    • "They saw something large allegedly hiss at them, and then it kind of slithered away into the sinkhole." [34:06]
  • 1950s Hunters/Fishermen: Encountered Sinkhole Sam, described as 20-25 feet long with no eyes, ears, or nose but a big mouth.
    • "It had no eyes, ears, or nose." [36:25]

• Media Influence:

  • Ernest Alva Dewey: A satirical journalist from a circus background, he sensationalized Sinkhole Sam's existence, blending satire with local lore.
    • Em: "He wrote in the paper that he came himself to the area to study the Sinkhole Sam."
    • Christine: "He created this whole situation. He should have been out there with a T-shirt."

• Public Reaction:

  • Mass panic ensued with locals fearing for their safety and attributing livestock attacks to Sinkhole Sam.
    • "Panic rose during these sightings, especially when there were also livestock attacks in the area." [65:03]

• Theories and Debunking:

  • Various theories emerged, including natural phenomena, misidentification of native snakes like gopher snakes, and even extraterrestrial origins.
    • Em: "Lauren Coleman thought it sounded a lot like a Mongolian death worm." [43:15]

• Current Status:

  • By the late 1950s, sightings dwindled, leaving Sinkhole Sam a legendary figure shrouded in mystery.
    • Em: "Sinkhole Sam is not here anymore." [62:52]
  • Conclusion by Hosts:
    • Christine: "Take a look in the mirror, people." [75:01]
    • They humorously speculate on the cryptid's continued existence and its role in local folklore.

4. True Crime Spotlight: The Story of Allison Bota

Timeframe: [75:04] - [100:47]

The hosts transition to a harrowing true crime narrative detailing the traumatic ordeal of Allison Bota, a survivor of a violent attack:

Narrative Overview:

• Background: Allison, born in South Africa, leads a fulfilling life as an insurance broker and devoted mother.

• The Attack: In December 1994, after a peaceful evening with friends, Allison is abducted by two men, Clinton (later revealed as Franz) and Theans, who subject her to a brutal rape and multiple stabbings.

  • Em: "He then said, 'Franz and Theans were the ones.'" [89:07]
  • Christine: "She thought then that her attacker was an insane individual lacking remorse." [95:21]

• Miraculous Survival: Despite severe abdominal and throat wounds, Allison experiences an out-of-body moment where she consciously chooses to return to her body to survive.

  • Christine: "She made a very deliberate effort to return to her body. Damn, this is just fascinating." [95:34]

• Recovery and Advocacy: Battling chronic health issues and depression, Allison transforms her trauma into advocacy, authoring a memoir and speaking at events to inspire other survivors.

  • Em: "She finally found her purpose in life, to tell her story and help others."
  • Christine: "She found tremendous healing through telling her story." [99:07]

• Confronting Her Attackers: Decades later, both Franz and Theans are released from prison, rekindling fear and prompting an official inquiry. Allison remains resilient, focusing on her advocacy despite the resurfacing of past horrors.

  • Em: "They were arrested. Franz and Theans were both sentenced to life in prison." [103:15]
  • Christine: "She remained focused on her advocacy work, receiving awards for her efforts." [113:27]

Notable Quotes:

• Allison's Determination: "For 30 years, my goal has been to share my story, to encourage others." [116:43]
• Final Reflection: "Facing this life-threatening event, I've felt your encouragement and care flooding back from you." [117:06]

5. Conclusion and Reflections

Timeframe: [100:47] - [120:29]

Christine and Em wrap up the episode by reflecting on the stories shared:

• Christine: "What a badass. That's a fighter." [119:15]
• Em: "This is one of my least favorite stories you've told, but it was one of my favorite." [119:31]

They invite listeners to engage further through their Patreon and social media platforms, emphasizing the blend of chilling tales and true crime narratives that define their podcast.

---

Key Takeaways:

• Intersection of Paranormal and True Crime: The episode effectively merges supernatural folklore with real-life trauma, offering listeners a diverse range of chilling content.
• Resilience and Advocacy: Allison Bota's story serves as a powerful testament to human resilience and the transformative power of sharing personal trauma.
• Media Influence on Mythmaking: The legend of Sinkhole Sam highlights how media sensationalism can foster enduring local myths and collective fears.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Em on Healing: "She found tremendous healing through telling her story." [99:07]
• Christine on Purpose: "I finally feel like I have purpose." [116:14]
• Em on Surveillance: "He knew which apartment Allison lived in, as if he'd been watching her for a while." [89:05]
• Christine on Personal Struggles: "I'm very glad it's a new year." [08:05]

---

This episode of "And That's Why We Drink" juxtaposes mythical cryptids with the stark realities of true crime, inviting listeners to explore the depths of human fear, resilience, and the stories that bind communities together.

Transcript

[Christine]

Bonjour. Oh, je Mapel. Christine.

[Em]

Oh, yes, that's.

[Christine]

That's right. I've been learning French on Rosetta Stone.

[Em]

Sortila Puebel. Take out the trash.

[Christine]

What the. Folks, this is the best gift ever. I've given this to a few people already, which is a lifetime membership to Rosetta Stone, which is perfect for anyone looking to learn or improve their language skills.

[Em]

Rosetta Stone is the most trusted language learning program available on desktop or as an app. And it truly immerses you in the language you want to learn. Christine is going to be a little French lady in no time. I. I have no doubt. And Rosetta Stone has been trusted for over 30 years with millions of users offering an immersive language learning experience across 25 languages, including Spanish, Francais and Korean.

[Christine]

Do you need a gift idea or a last minute gift? Give your family and friends the gift of language. 50% off all 25 languages for a lifetime and no shipping fees.

[Em]

Don't put off learning that language. There's no better time than right now to get started today. And that's why we drink. Listeners can get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off, visit www.rosettastone.com drink. That's 50% off. Unlimited access to 25 language courses for the rest of your Life. Redeem your 50% off at www.rosettastone.com. drink today for yourself or as a gift that keeps giving. God, I love Eva.

[Christine]

I also love Eva. Thank God for Zip Recruiter because it was the matching tool that brought us all together. You know, it's hard business. We know that because we figured it out. But thankfully we had the easiest lesson ever because our first hire ever was through ZipRecruiter and it was of Eva.

[Em]

When we say it's easy, we're not kidding. Like within 24 hours of thinking we should hire someone, we had Eva.

[Christine]

Like, it's the best for people like us who just like do things.

[Em]

I can't right away. I can't imagine a world where you get a better ringing endorsement than from us. Where we literally went on ZipRecruiter and within 24 hours had EVA. Like the best thing that ever happened to us.

[Christine]

If you need to hire for your business and want an easier way to find qualified candidates, head to ZipRecruiter and right now you can try it for.

[Em]

[e-mail] Drink ZipRecruiter's powerful matching technology works fast to find top talent so you don't waste your time or money. Almost as if within 24 hours, you could have exactly who you're looking for.

[Christine]

Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Hmm. See for yourself. Go to this exclusive web address to try ZipRecruiter for free. ZipRecruiter.com Drink again, that's ZipRecruiter.com D R I N K ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire.

[Em]

Hello everybody. Before we get into our episode today, I am doing this kind of off the cuff, but we wanted to reach out to anybody who watches or hears this and thank you for all of the wonderful comments and people wondering about me and Allison as well as Eva and Rachel amidst the fires going on right now in Los Angeles. We are currently fine. I'm still in Virginia, it seems like forever. Allison has evacuated just in case. And Eva and Rachel are also safe right now. Eva and I are neighbors, so we're both equally nervous about the state of our homes. But it seems that fingers crossed, we're gonna be okay. We are pretty much dead center in a bunch of fires and we're just hoping it doesn't spread to us. You never know. But thank you as recording this, we are okay and our homes are okay. Unfortunately, that cannot be said for many other people living in our area. A few of our own friends have lost their homes now and it's. It's not a good time. And we are some of the lucky ones. There are other people who are really going through it in a way I still can't wrap my head around. But since we have such a large platform and we have so many people who are caring about us, we felt like we should make sure that we are doing everything we can to do our part and take care of the people dealing with the fires. Right now there's a lot of displaced people, a lot of. A lot of displaced animals. So if you are in a space where you are capable of helping or offering resources, we have created a bitly link on. It is on our Instagram bio if you guys want to go click it. You can also go directly to this website. It's bitly bit.ly ATwwDFireHelp and from there we are compiling a list of GoFundMes places you can donate. There's also a second tab, go check that where we have resources about, you know, what's going on with the animals in the area, just all sorts of stuff. And if again, if you are in a place where you can donate or if you can be of service, if you are a local who can physically get out there and help it, it's much appreciated. Whether that's offering evacuation help or food to people or, you know what, whatever you can. And, you know, if not, good, good vibes are also appreciated. So thank you, everyone, for reaching out to us. It really means a lot. Currently, we are okay, and hopefully it stays that way. So, anyway, not to, like, put such a bummer at the beginning of the show, but we felt. We felt like we should say something because everyone's been so kind and constantly asking about us. So there you have that. And now we are going to try to laugh. We're going to try to make you laugh. We're going to try to have fun. So please enjoy this episode.

[Christine]

We're in shades of green today. Our rooms and our shirts, they are the same.

[Em]

That's beautiful. Where are you learning all these songs?

[Christine]

Cristine, you're never gonna believe this. I just made it up for a second.

[Em]

You caught me. I went, wait, there's gonna be a real answer to this? And then. Nope. It was as predicted. Okay. You did a great job.

[Christine]

Thank you. I just noticed we're all in greens today. Your shirt, my shirt. Your room, my room.

[Em]

Very Elphaba. Let us be glad. Let us be greenpo.

[Christine]

How many times have you seen it now?

[Em]

Yeah, sure, I liked it. That's why I've seen it three times. Thank you so much. And I liked that because if you noticed, I can hit high notes again because I'm finally no longer sick.

[Christine]

We got on the call, and I was like, oh, you still sound sick.

[Em]

And I went, I.

[Christine]

Okay, well, thank you for that.

[Em]

No, I. Maybe there's something left, but it's, like, not life changing the way that I was fully altered in the last few episodes. But here's the thing. So I've been here for almost an entire month now. And I showed up, I got my cold. I gave it to my stepbrother, who gave it to my stepdad, who gave it to my mom. Allison came to visit for a second. My mom gave it to her, and then it rotated again. And it seems like all of us got sick twice. And it was just the. I'm. This is, like the first week where I feel like a human being again since I got here. So I'm very happy to not be sick.

[Christine]

So now it's time to party.

[Em]

Everyone else.

[Christine]

Three days left.

[Em]

Yeah. If you hear anyone hacking along downstairs, it's everyone else, but is there still. No. But the whole Time she was here, she literally quarantined in this room. She didn't even hang out with anyone. So.

[Christine]

No, poor thing.

[Em]

She tried to power through, but it was. She had, like a good day in her. And then immediately she was like, I don't feel very good. And I went, oh, boy. Well.

[Christine]

Oh, that feeling when you're like, I don't feel. And then everyone's like, no.

[Em]

Also, that was. She's gotten sick three times in a row now. Like, she just can't escape it.

[Christine]

She was sick before that. Yeah.

[Em]

Anyway, I'm healthy. That's all that matters, right? So that is.

[Christine]

That's all that matters. That's so true.

[Em]

How do you feel? How are. How's your brain? How's your mind and soul?

[Christine]

Those are all very different questions with very different answers. Actually, no, the answer is all the same. They're just bad. No, they're not bad. They're fine. They're okay. Everything's fine.

[Em]

Why do you drink, Christine? I just gotta know. Because I haven't. I haven't seen that sweet little face of yours in so long. I just gotta know all your woes. Tell me your woes.

[Christine]

I could tell you my woes till the cows come home.

[Em]

I.

[Christine]

Everything's great. I'm happy for the new year. I feel very in need of, like, a reset, so I'm very glad it's a new year. But it's already the third day of the new year, and I haven't been able to even process or sit down for more than five minutes at a time. So I still feel so frazzled and hectic. But I'm gonna say, you know what? In like three days or maybe the first week of January, I'll be like, that's kind of the transition period. And then after that, maybe it'll be my reset. I'm just really trying to, like, just take a break for a moment, and I think I'll get the chance.

[Em]

What are you scrambling with?

[Christine]

What's going on? Well, we've just been on holiday break for. I mean, we traveled so much. Then we were on holiday break, which means, like, Leona's off of school, which means, like, constant parenting, which means also then we were still working through Christmas. Well, not right through Christmas, but right before Christmas. I think we, my brother, or you and I recorded on the 24th, I think. Or no, no, we were supposed to, but we didn't end up doing it anyway. It just feels like it's been non stop. And then we went to Florida, which was really Fun to see my dad, but even that is, like, not relaxing because it was the last three days, you know what I mean? It's like three days with family. And, like, Leona was. So we did, like, the pool and the. The zoo and all that, but I'm just like, man, I need to just sleep. But Blaze let me sleep in today, which was lovely, and his birthday was yesterday, so I felt like, you know what? That's the last big thing where I need to be like, no, no, you lay down now. I'm gonna be like somebody.

[Em]

Happy birthday, Blaze. My turn.

[Christine]

I'm done. Yeah, you're 35 years old. It's about five.

[Em]

You're 35. What an old, old man.

[Christine]

My mom came over and said, oh, my gosh, she's almost to middle age. Did you know today middle age is 38? And I went, why would you say that? And then I said, well, don't tell.

[Em]

That the Cruelles thing.

[Christine]

I said, don't tell that to Blaze. She said, oh, I would never. And then he came downstairs, she said, guess what, Blaze? Happy birthday. You're almost middle age. And I said, ma, I just told you not to say it. She said, I couldn't stop myself. I was like, well, I would have said it anyway if you didn't, so it's fine.

[Em]

Oh, my gosh.

[Christine]

Anyway, but things are good. Just hectic. I think maybe if we talk in a week, I'll be, like, hopefully a few levels down, maybe.

[Em]

I. I don't know. I've got the good energy today because I feel like I. I'm so glad about that. Well, I had.

[Christine]

I. Literally, one of us has to.

[Em]

Oh, she's gone. Just like that. Where'd you go, Jack? It's just you and me. Do you see her just flee? The second I said good energy was around us, what was that?

[Christine]

My computer just said, never. Never mind.

[Em]

I. I saw. I saw in real time.

[Christine]

It's literally still recording and everything. I don't even know what happened.

[Em]

I don't know. But I. As soon as I said, oh, good energy, you're completely. Goodbye.

[Christine]

I said, I'm glad someone has a good energy. And then my computer said, frown face.

[Em]

Error.

[Christine]

401.

[Em]

Yeah. What was I gonna say? Oh, well.

[Christine]

404. 404.

[Em]

404 on episode 414.

[Christine]

Oh, that is right. It is four, one, four. Yeah.

[Em]

I will say I was also supposed to be in Florida as of two days ago.

[Christine]

That's right.

[Em]

Yeah. We had that plan to kiss in the middle, remember?

[Christine]

Yeah. Kiss from the air.

[Em]

So we were supposed to go to Florida, see my grandma. And I don't know what is going on with my mother in her. In her middle age, not so middle aged these days, but she is just miss Stubborn and she. And she's gonna listen to this. And she. I have said this before, but she and my stepdad, they kept doing the whole like, I'm fine, I'm fine thing. I'm not. I'm not sick, or I'm not as sick as I feel. And I was like, are you about to go see your almost 90 year old mother? And you are coughing like this.

[Christine]

By the way, bring your germs along with you.

[Em]

And at first she was like, no, I'm okay, I'm okay. Within 24 hours, by the way, she was diagnosed with like insane bronchitis, so.

[Christine]

Oh, God.

[Em]

I was like, she's not gonna wanna be near you. Like, you can't even hide this.

[Christine]

Like, grandma doesn't love you that much. Geez.

[Em]

I know. And also, my grandma is a little nervous because this year she turns 90. No one in our family has ever really turned 90. And so she's like white knuckle.

[Christine]

And I feel like we talked about this either on the podcast or Yappy Hour. When is her birthday? Just so we can all like, October. Oh, I was hoping you'd say February.

[Em]

She's not like Blaze, where it's the day after New Year's.

[Christine]

God damn it.

[Em]

Yeah, she's got a ways to go and so that's okay.

[Christine]

She's fucking gonna nail it. She's in Florida. It's warm, it's good. We're gonna, we're gonna make it all. We're Gonna coast to 90 and then 91 and then onward and onward.

[Em]

I certainly hope so. But she's a little nervous. And I was like, please do not bring this lung of yours to be the woman who thinks she might not make it till October.

[Christine]

Yeah, that's hard too, because you're like, well, I want to see her in.

[Em]

Case this is it. Yeah, I know.

[Christine]

I mean, not to be dramatic, but you know, in case. But then you're like, but I also don't want to be the reason of her demise. Taking her bronchitis.

[Em]

Can you imagine the guilt? I'd be like, I'd rather just not see her. But yeah, so I. My mom's about to retire too. And I was like, you're literally about to have nothing but time to go see her. Like, just.

[Christine]

Good point. Just don't do this October is ten months away, Linda. You got plenty of time.

[Em]

It's easy breezy.

[Christine]

And so nobody's made it to 90, huh?

[Em]

Not to date, not. Not on record, that's for sure.

[Christine]

You know what's interesting? None of my grandparents are 90 yet, but one turns 90 in August.

[Em]

Well, no. Well, no, then if you can make it.

[Christine]

And I was gonna say, I don't know that anyone I know in my family has either made it to 90, but I haven't really checked. Yeah, but all the ones who are dead certainly didn't make it to 90, so.

[Em]

Well, I don't know what it is. I have terrible.

[Christine]

Here's where I realize I also have a family curse that I forgot to even think about until this very moment.

[Em]

We have a few family curses over here, but certainly the 91 scares me a little bit. Hopefully I've got my dad's genes in that way. Actually, no, they didn't make it to 90 either. Never mind.

[Christine]

Yeah, I know. We're all realizing, wait, maybe 90 is just hard to make it to.

[Em]

Probably. I'll let you know when I get there. Or not. Anyway, so I told my mom, we'll.

[Christine]

Find out if you don't make it.

[Em]

I'll be like, well, okay, Ouija board me. So I told my mom, like, we can't possibly go. And then the. As we were packing the car to leave, she was like, okay, yeah, we're not going to go. So that's how I ended up still in my step siblings room recording with you.

[Christine]

My God. As you pack to leave. Wow. Was your grandma sad or was she like few?

[Em]

I think she's also like, I don't know if I'm going to make it to 90. Please don't come. So I heard her on the phone. As soon as my mom told her we don't feel good, she was like, do not be here. Do not come.

[Christine]

Oh, excellent. So she gets it. She's not like, yeah, okay, got it, got it. Well, that's good. Well, hopefully I'm glad you talked everyone out of spreading the illness. And I'm. I'm very delighted to be able to celebrate your grandma's 90th birthday this year.

[Em]

Me too. Everyone, everyone should do a cheers every day of October. Just, just let's send some.

[Christine]

We do that anyway for Halloween. We might as well just throw grandma in there. Wait, what do you call her? Do you call her Grandma? Yeah, Grandma. Okay, send out good vibes, everyone on.

[Em]

The opposite side of the age spectrum. How is that, little Leona? I Gotta know about this little baby of yours. I just love her so much.

[Christine]

Out of her mind. I gotta tell you, I think this child is some sort of weird.

[Em]

Yes.

[Christine]

This child, she's like, I tell you that day by day, she gets weirder and weirder, and Blaze and I, like, text each other quotes. We're like, where does she come up with the. And I know, you know, and obviously I'm not so naive as to think, like, oh, only my child says interesting things. It's not that at all. I. I really. Because I had a little sister, she said the funniest stuff. But this child, I mean, sometimes she says things. I'm trying to find my phone, and I'm like. I'm like, where? Like, today I went to pick up Gio with Leona from the dog sitter, and she went with me one time before to drop him off. Today we're picking him up. This was probably months ago that we did that. Today we're going to pick him up. And she goes, well, make sure to look for house number three. And I was like, what does that mean? And then I, like, went in Google Maps and was like, oh, my God, their address is number number three. But I'm like, how does she even know that? Like, I mean, she must have remembered it from our last trip, like, months ago. But I'm like, why is this really good memory? And I, like, don't. I don't. Maybe that's what's happening.

[Em]

And maybe she has a prophecy. I don't know.

[Christine]

Well, I certainly am not claiming that I am. Yesterday, for example, we walked in, she was frosting Glaze's birthday cake, and she had the spatula, like, you know, really close to her mouth. And we were like, leona. And she goes, oh, no, no, Mommy. I was just. You don't understand. I was just looking at it with my tongue out.

[Em]

You don't understand. Big fat idiot.

[Christine]

Yeah, you dummy. I was just looking at it with my tongue out. And my mom and I were like, oh, I guess you can't argue with that.

[Em]

That's scary, because I've seen a lot of things with my tongue, and I promise I know what I'm doing over here. Don't lie.

[Christine]

Trust me. I've seen a spatula with frosting on it.

[Em]

Don't bullshit a bullshitter, Leona.

[Christine]

Don't. Exactly. And so that's why it's so alarming is almost like I'm like, oh, my God. She can work her brain around things in a way that's not helpful. To me as the parent trying to get her to do stuff. You know what I mean?

[Em]

I would love to babysit her during one of her little moments where she thinks she has an original lie.

[Christine]

I'd be like, she's gotten.

[Em]

We've super gotten before.

[Christine]

Like, even since, like, spoiler alert. She does do part of the. A little tiny part of the live show. M had. Had done something and she had. Leona had participated. And even watching that now I'm like, oh my God. She's like a completely different person now. Like, she talks completely differently since then, which was only a few months ago. Yeah. So I don't know her that. Damn.

[Em]

You mean like she's got like, she doesn't have baby voice anymore? She has like toddler voice or she.

[Christine]

Just like speaks in full sentences now, you know, like, just not, not that kind of like little snippets. Like she'll just like go on an entire long rant and we're like, what? In like full sentences? And we're like.

[Em]

You figure out the art of yapping. You can't stop. I get it.

[Christine]

That's exactly it. It's also scary because it's so familiar to me in the worst way.

[Em]

You might as well have given birth to a mirror. Like, look in the mirror.

[Christine]

Yes, exactly. And so after we gave her a taste of stardom, when M gave her a microphone that one time. I live in fear that one day she'll come up here and I'll find. I'll find her live streaming live to the. To the nation. So this is what I live in fear of my whole life. But thank you for asking. She's doing great. I'm excited for you to see her whenever we get together because she talks about. She's like, oh, this is from Funkle M. She likes to talk about who gave her what presents.

[Em]

Yeah, I've really to your common.

[Christine]

Your common name in the household as you. As you would have wanted.

[Em]

My only dream was to damage her psyche enough that a whole love language would be born. And she just knows that gifts are the way. The only way.

[Christine]

Yeah, she loves it. She loves to give gifts. She loves to open gifts.

[Em]

See, that's what I'm talking about. Funklem tmtmtm yeah.

[Christine]

I gotta say, it's not like any other 3 year old likes presents.

[Em]

Mm mm. Not the way she does. Not the way I'm gonna make sure she does. I gotta give you props though, because while I've been home, I have had to see quite a lot of friends who have Children now. And I'm not gonna say all I will say, some of the children have made me say out loud, man, I really miss Leona. So there's a. I. Not that any of my parents, any of my friends are bad parents, but their kids are just going through, I guess, a phase or something.

[Christine]

Well, I mean, there are times when you certainly didn't like Leona very much, and it was mostly when she had hand, foot, and mouth, but it's also.

[Em]

When she didn't like me. To be clear, the second she, like, well, that was all in.

[Christine]

Yeah, that's a pretty easy switch to turn on. Yeah.

[Em]

But no, there have been a. There have been a few. Few times. I really. I. I don't just say it because you're my best friend or because people are listening, but truly, I just think you have one of the best little kids. And so I.

[Christine]

Nice, happy baby.

[Em]

Once I have a Leo. Leona is my standard for children, because very few. I just genuinely want to be in a room with all the time. And when I meet someone who doesn't hit the Leona standard, I just go, oh, well, I gotta get away.

[Christine]

Doesn't make the cut.

[Em]

I gotta go.

[Christine]

That's how you've cut out all your friends. You're like, do you meet the Christine standard? Nope, sorry. Christine's the one. She's the top of the pinnacle, you know, pinnacle of friendship. You know what I mean?

[Em]

I will say there's no other friend I would want to work with. So you. There is something. There is something there for sure.

[Christine]

Well, now that I'll take, because I would exactly argue the same thing. I don't think I can think of a friend I would like to also work with.

[Em]

Except you. That's nice. I have a reason why I drink.

[Christine]

Oh, you do? Another one. Tell me everything. Oh, I guess that wasn't your reason for drinking. It was just me asking if you were sick.

[Em]

Yeah.

[Christine]

Why? And you're not. So why do you drink?

[Em]

This week, I drink just because I'm so happy to be with you. I've missed you so much. I really have been.

[Christine]

We literally haven't texted since before Christmas. I looked to text you, and I was like, we just, like, don't. We didn't speak the entire break. I think we needed, like, a. Well, you were all sick, too, but I think we all needed just, like.

[Em]

A. I wasn't on this earth in.

[Christine]

A lot of ways. That's kind of a vibe I got. Yeah.

[Em]

But I'm back. You can tell from Gossip Girl. Oh, you can tell Jesus that the is back. And I. And I mean that, so.

[Christine]

Hang on, hang on.

[Em]

Hey, wake up.

[Christine]

So, happy birthday. Happy, happy, happy. Belated. Sorry.

[Em]

No, but I just. I am just glad to be back with my yapping champion buddy, so.

[Christine]

Oh, we're good. We're good at that. No wonder. What am I looking at? Leona with question marks for, like. Obviously she talks all the time.

[Em]

The three of us are gonna have a blast one day when she's got her first round of gossip.

[Christine]

Oh, it's never.

[Em]

Check out the juice boxes.

[Christine]

Let's go.

[Em]

Okay. Other than that, do you have a reason why you drink? I don't know if I asked you.

[Christine]

Oh, yes, you did. I'm just frazzled beyond repair, but I. But I hope to repair it sometime this week. So hopefully next week I'll be, like, on the planet Earth again. I'm kind of up here right now.

[Em]

But I'll come back, and then you'll. And then you'll say you missed me back. You know? Dang. I clocked that, too.

[Christine]

Wow. Just kidding. I do miss you a lot. It was weird to not talk to you for a few weeks, and it was not intentional. I honestly didn't really talk to anyone for two weeks because it's, like, so much family and all that. But. But, yeah, I do miss you, too. And I. I get to see you next. Next month. It felt weird because it's like we've seen each other, like, every other week, all.

[Em]

Yeah. I think that's why I miss you so much, because I've. I. We've been in a pattern of seeing each other and talking non stop, and then all of a sudden, it just went away. But I literally. This is so embarrassing. This is literally like. Like, I have a middle school crush on you because I almost texted you today that I literally got butterflies at the thought of talking to you. And. And then I erased it. And then I erased it because I was like, that's too weird. That's too weird.

[Christine]

Oh, well, this is much better to tell it like this. First of all, that makes my heart soar. Thank you. And also, this is what I have to say. I've been watching 1000 Pound Sisters on TLC, as I should, and Tammy always says, the butterflies in my stomach are turning into pterodactyls. And now that just.

[Em]

I can get behind that.

[Christine]

And she said it one time, and I said, did she just. What did she just say? And I, like, rewounded. I was like, is nobody talking about this? This Is an excellent line. So I'm gonna borrow it and say, you know what? I'll match your butterflies with pterodactyls.

[Em]

Ah, now my butterflies look so stupid and dainty. Yeah.

[Christine]

And mine look kick ass and evil.

[Em]

Yours are just surrounded in like bursts of fire. Yeah.

[Christine]

Yes. Volcanoes everywhere.

[Em]

Well, no, I'm just very glad to see your little face because I really haven't seen anything outside of this house.

[Christine]

I think this is nice. It'll be like a little. A little. Just a nice little hitch back into normalcy. A little more routine, a little more. Just back to the. Back to the day to day.

[Em]

Do you want to hear a story?

[Christine]

You know, I'd love nothing more. Amity.

[Em]

Hey, do you have anxiety? I do. And the only thing that really gets me through it sometimes is using my Calm app. Not only do I use it, Allison uses it. I feel like we've always got Calm playing in some room. Calm is the number one app for sleep and meditation, giving you the power to calm your mind and change your life. If you're really just struggling. I mean, we're all going through stuff and mental health isn't about a cookie cutter approach. That's why Calm offers a wide range of content and programs to help you navigate life's ups and downs. They've got meditations for you, they've got sleep stories, They've got calming music, They've got grounding exercises. I'm probably going to use all them today. And if you're feeling overwhelmed, I really encourage you guys to try it out. Allison particularly loves the sleep stories. She is a big fan, actually our our whole house, all two rooms were big, big fans of a certain sleep story on comm about this little cat named Humphrey. And he travels around and he likes to sleep on warm towels and he goes sometimes to Paris, sometimes he goes to London. But Humphrey is a mainstay in our home. So if you need to start somewhere, I recommend him. Stress less, sleep more. And live better with Calm. For listeners to of our show, Calm is offering an exclusive offer of 40% off a Calm premium subscription at com.com/drink Go to calm.com/drink for 40 off. Unlimited access to comm's entire library. That's calm.com drink. You know, if Christine were here, the very first thing she would probably tell you, unprompted, by the way, is that she's sweaty and maybe smells. And I gotta tell you, she doesn't smell that bad these days, folks. She's got Lumi deodorant on her side. I've got Lumi deodorant on our side. It's like whole body deodorant. You can get your armpits, you can get your legs, you can get your toes, you can get your undercarriage, you can get your bits and bobs. It is is wonderful and it was created by an ob GYN who saw it firsthand how normal BO was being misdiagnosed, mistreated. They have a solid stick form deodorant which is what I use and they have a spray deodorant. They've got all sorts of stuff so there's a little bit for everyone. All their products are baking free or baking free. You can't cook with them, but they're baking soda free. Paraben free pH balanced. Lumi starter pack is perfect for new customers. It comes with a solid stick deodorant cream tube deodorant, two free products of your choice like a mini body wash or deodorant wipes and free shipping. Shipping. As a special offer for our listeners, new customers get 15 off all Lumi products with our exclusive code. And if you combine this 15 off with the already discounted starter pack that equals over 40% off their starter pack use code drink for 15 off your first purchase at lumideodorant.com l u m e d e o d o R-A-T.com please support our show and tell them we sent you smell fresher, stay drier and boost your confidence from head to toe with Lumi. I don't have a ghost story for you today. I have a cryptid.

[Christine]

No. Oh, what a cryptid.

[Em]

Thank you. Wow.

[Christine]

I thought you were saying like, I don't have a story as like a joke or something.

[Em]

That would be.

[Christine]

I was playing along and then I realized you meant a like specifically a ghost story because I thought you were saying, oh, you want one? Well, I don't have one.

[Em]

And I was like, oh, that would be a fun tease after this long. That would be. Talk about Reddit. People would be like, you literally have one job.

[Christine]

By the way, we can't record. Bye.

[Em]

Although there was a. Isn't the reason why we didn't record on Christmas Eve because one of us forgot to do a story?

[Christine]

Oh, probably. I mean, it sounds like me. I don't know. I don't. I literally am. It seemed. It feels like a distant purse, a distant lifetime. I don't have any clue. But you're probably right. And also, if I scroll up 1 inch on our text, I can find out since we haven't spoken since before.

[Em]

Christmas, I think you said something about.

[Christine]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, wow. We had. Oh, there was an eggplant emoji. At least. Our last conversation, 2024, was very memorable. I said, I'm staring at my ical with one eye open. This was at 2 in the morning. So I'm sure things didn't go well.

[Em]

The day before recording. Is that what you're saying?

[Christine]

Yeah.

[Em]

Oh, okay. What happened next?

[Christine]

And then I said, well, we could do 11 tomorrow. And then you sent dot, dot, dot and I said, eyes emoji. And you said, you know what I want. Which, by the way.

[Em]

Which, by the way, I did it meant, I don't want to record tomorrow. Please don't make me.

[Christine]

Well, and then m a fucking eggplant emoji. So it, like, feels out of context, like so. But in. I didn't realize till this moment. In the moment, it didn't feel gross or weird. It just felt like, oh, I do know what you want. And guess what? I want it too. But now I'm like, oh, my God. You look at it and you go, what were we saying to each other? Because then I'm sending, like, devil emoji and, like, eyes. Did you respond?

[Em]

What happened next to me?

[Christine]

You said. I said, lmao. And then you sent an eggplant, and I said, let's sleep. And then, well, you said, say you want it too. By the way. You said, an eggplant. And then you said, say you want it too. And I wrote, let's sleep. So all of this sounds like we're setting up some sort of affair, I think, but in, like, a very literal way. Let's sleep. And then you said, yay, you know what I want.

[Em]

Say you want it too.

[Christine]

And then I said. I said, we're sick in the head. You said, I love it. I said, me too. Let's move to Galena. And you. It's my only Christmas wish. And I said, it's not a big ask. And you said, my dream house in galena. This is 2:01am My dream house. On December 24, my dream house in Galena got sold last week. I cried and then I said, wow, FML FYL and that was the last we spoke in 2024.

[Em]

It was walking distance from the cobblestone.

[Christine]

Yeah, you did mention that also. And I felt heartsick for you, and I'm so sorry about that. But here I am, and I'm so glad that we both wanted the same thing.

[Em]

Those will be the screenshots that go to, like, people mag one day.

[Christine]

I know. It's like, that's the Reddit. When I turn my phone around really briefly, someone's gonna screenshot it and, like, zoom in.

[Em]

Okay, well, as for to the audience, when it comes to a story, I know what I want. Tell me you want it too. To tell you a story.

[Christine]

Let's go to sleep. I mean, let's listen to a story.

[Em]

Yay. Okay. This is the story of Sinkhole Sam.

[Christine]

Why do I know about this?

[Em]

I. Please don't say it's because I've done this before.

[Christine]

Certainly not. I think Karen Kilgariff is really into sinkholes, and she did, like, a sinkhole Sunday or something. She did, like. She did like, a whole series about sinkholes.

[Em]

You really gotta know a lot about sinkholes to commit to that kind of series.

[Christine]

Wasn't that amazing? Like, she did it for her. I mean, I've never watched it. Sinkholes. Yeah, she did a whole sinkholes thing. She's, like, really into it. Sinkhole sadness. Yeah. Okay.

[Em]

Okay. Damn. Good for her. I. Anyway, I could. Something about sink. I guess once you can rate.

[Christine]

So she rates them. She reviews sinkholes and rates them on a scale of these are emojis, one hole to five holes.

[Em]

That's beautiful.

[Christine]

Just.

[Em]

You know what. So that's how you heard of success, and that's how you.

[Christine]

That's right. And that's beautiful and creative. Anyway, I'm sorry, go ahead. I don't know.

[Em]

In the. For. In the very random event you hear this, let me know if my story is one out of five holes or five out of five holes.

[Christine]

I know. I can't wait to hear.

[Em]

So these days, the story of Sinkhole Sam is nearly completely forgotten. It is in Kansas. Some sources actually used to call this the Kansas Cryptid or the Kansas Loch Ness Monster. Insert thing here. But officially, Sinkhole Sam is his name, and it is Samuel, not Samantha, in case we're wondering.

[Christine]

Thank you for checking.

[Em]

You'll find out how I know about that later. He allegedly lives in Lake Inman, which eventually drained and left sinkholes. And that's how we get all the sinkholes. For those who for some reason don't know, a sinkhole is a low pocket of water, and water gets stuck in there, becomes very muddy. It's a sinkhole. And there was one source that said the sinkholes and the draining of the lake came to be after, like, a collapse of limestone all over the place, but I didn't really see that anywhere else. Basically, there's sinkholes. That's all you gotta know. And it's in Lake Inman specifically. There is a very large sinkhole there. There's the largest sinkhole of Lake Inman. It is known by locals as the big sinkhole.

[Christine]

I love that. I love when you just give it a name that tells you what it is.

[Em]

When you tell Grandpa to name it instead of, like, your whimsical teenager, it's, you know, it's like, grandp. Grandpa. What is it a big sinkhole?

[Christine]

Yeah. Like, I used to get goldfish and name them, like, Avenge Sevenfold. And my mom was like, can you stop being fucking so weird and name your fish Sam like a normal person?

[Em]

You know what? I just found out? My stepbrother was telling me he named a bunch of his friends pets. And he is a big fan of. This is very millennial, but it's a big fan of animals being named after food. Oh, that's cute. I really like this one. He named a little kitten Kiwi. I thought that was so precious.

[Christine]

That's a great name, because then you said Kiki. Kiwi. Kiwi, kitty cat. Yeah, that's really a cute name.

[Em]

I thought that was lovely.

[Christine]

I've never heard that for an animal. If you guys have a kiwi out there, I bet someone just went, oh.

[Em]

Yeah, let me know.

[Christine]

Can you send us a picture?

[Em]

Send us a picture of Kiwi. Thank you so much.

[Christine]

And tell me what nicknames you picked, because I feel like there's a lot of options for Kiwi.

[Em]

Yeah, so such a cute name. And I also, my other favorite. He did not name this, but this is someone I know in la. They have a golden retriever named Banana.

[Christine]

Really?

[Em]

That's good. Really gets me going.

[Christine]

Little yellow banana. That's so cute.

[Em]

Little bananas. Okay, so Sinkhole Sam, blah, blah, blah. There's sinkholes. Oh, yes, the big sinkhole. That's where Sinkhole Sam lives. Right. So we start in the 1920s, sinkhole Sam's very first sighting, and he's seen by two fishermen and not a lot to talk about here, except that they saw something large allegedly hiss at them, and then it kind of slithered away into the sinkhole.

[Christine]

Ew. Like a snake.

[Em]

Right? I mean, Sinkhole Sam. I. I think what we're getting at is eventually it's just a big snake.

[Christine]

Which is terrifying in its own right, don't get me wrong. But sure.

[Em]

But also, I don't know why we're calling it anything other than just like, oh, Larry saw a big snake.

[Christine]

Snake over there.

[Em]

So they saw this large thing, scurried away. The rest of the sightings are in the 1950s. So for 30 years, we just had this one guy go, yeah, I saw a big snake down there one time. And then in the 50s, we get a bunch of other sightings. One of the first ones is this group of hunters, which, like, some said hunters, some said fishermen. Again, I feel like you're more of a fisherman if you're out by the lake during a sinkhole, but I don't know enough about hunting. Maybe I'm wrong.

[Christine]

Yeah, I don't know. Sinkhole fishing sounds fun. I've heard of ice hole fishing.

[Em]

Yeah, right. So anyway, a group of hunter slash fishers, they said that they saw something covered in the wheat, covered up in weeds on the ground below them. I think there's like a bridge somewhere or a ledge. And so they were kind of looking down at the sinkhole. They see something lying on the ground below them. They try to get closer to it, thinking it was a dead animal.

[Christine]

They're like, score dinner tonight.

[Em]

I didn't even have to kill this one.

[Christine]

Roadkill.

[Em]

And all of a sudden it like, freaks out and slithers away also.

[Christine]

Ew. That's the last thing you want to see something do under some leaves. Slither.

[Em]

Are you kidd.

[Christine]

Kidding.

[Em]

In any circumstance, the last thing I want to see is someone slithering.

[Christine]

Absolutely not. Like movement under leaves. Bad there's a slithering. The worst.

[Em]

There's a lot of real reasons to be mad at J.K. rowling, but I gotta be honest, deciding to name a whole dormitory Slytherin, I'm like, you could have picked any other word.

[Christine]

And she knows it too.

[Em]

She knows that she was telling us from the beginning that she had things she wanted to piss us off.

[Christine]

We had problems from the start.

[Em]

So these hunters, they were the first people to give a description of sink Colcium. They said that it was 20 to 25ft long. Holy. By the way. And it had no eyes, ears, or nose. By the way. Do snakes have ears that you would be able to.

[Christine]

You know what? I think they. No, they have little, like, holes.

[Em]

Holes.

[Christine]

Yeah.

[Em]

Yeah. So it wasn't gonna have ears. Anyway, thanks for trying to freak us.

[Christine]

Out saying, if it had ears, a snake with ears. Now that. Larry, Larry, you could have really got everybody going with that.

[Em]

He should have said, actually, this one did have ears, and people would have freaked the fuck out.

[Christine]

Exactly. Just glue some ears onto that bad boy.

[Em]

But anyway, this thing had no eyes or nose or ears, but it did have a really big mouth. Now, that I don't like.

[Christine]

I gotta be honest, I don't enjoy that one bit. No, thank you.

[Em]

Of all of the things it could have, a mouth is the one I don't want it to have.

[Christine]

That's one I would rather skip.

[Em]

Have the biggest eyes in the world. You can't do anything.

[Christine]

Get some ears. Get some ears on you. That's fine. Just take some ears.

[Em]

Get one of those Mr. Potato Head glasses with the nose and the mustache.

[Christine]

Perfect. Then you get it all.

[Em]

After this sighting, the next couple of people to see it became like, one of the more documented, I'd say the most documented report about this. So the next sighting or the next big sighting, at least. There's these two Mennonite boys, and their names are Albert and George. They go fishing at the sinkhole. I think they're standing, like, on a bridge or again, they're looking over atop the sinkhole. George says that he sees something in the sinkhole. And Albert goes, good enough for me. And takes out his rifle and tries to shoot it.

[Christine]

What? Okay.

[Em]

He should have been in that group of hunters, I guess.

[Christine]

I guess so.

[Em]

Now, Albert, I love that there is a discrepancy here between the friends because Albert claims he hit the thing. And George is like, ran away pretty quickly.

[Christine]

Yeah, nice try.

[Em]

It's like, no, no, I'm just. I'm just staring at the spatula full of frosting. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Christine]

I just have my tongue out for no reason. Don't worry about it.

[Em]

And George is like, the entire bowl.

[Christine]

Actually, literally ate it. It's fine.

[Em]

So in newspaper articles, at least it says that Albert claimed that he shot it and then it ran away after being shot. Some other stories later say he didn't even hit it, but George says, oh, no, I don't think Albert hit it. It ran away pretty quick. They were able to describe it again, though, and said it was only 15ft long. So it's almost half the size that other people are saying. But it's as thick as a car tire.

[Christine]

Ew.

[Em]

That's a big boy. It's a big boy.

[Christine]

I don't like that one bit.

[Em]

And apparently they confirmed that it had a mouth. It was full of sharp teeth, which I didn't think I hated snakes. I know I could hate them more. But to have a mouth full of sharp teeth instead of just the two. Yeah.

[Christine]

And you think you put on that Mr. Potato Head mustache and it will all just be funny again.

[Em]

At least the mustache might cushion the fangs.

[Christine]

That's right. Come on, relax.

[Em]

They did say it had a. The snake thing had a pointed tail. That seemed to be the only new piece of information we got from their sighting, except for the fact that it might be shorter. So now ever since then, people say 15 to 25ft long because.

[Christine]

Okay, right. So we don't know. It's somewhere in that range.

[Em]

Really long is all. All we need to know.

[Christine]

Maybe it's like an earthworm where it gets cut in half and it can like regrow.

[Em]

Oh, maybe. Can earthworms do that?

[Christine]

Yes.

[Em]

It's disgusting. I've. I've never ventured into worm snake world.

[Christine]

So I really obvious when I was three, I was definitely out there with. In the dirt, making friends with the worms.

[Em]

You know, I remember in kindergarten being someone who wasn't afraid of like touching caterpillars and daddy long legs and stuff and.

[Christine]

Yeah. What happened?

[Em]

I don't know, but I don't want to go back. Yeah.

[Christine]

You're like, I like it better this way.

[Em]

Yeah. It's like, what was I doing? But I remember thinking it was so fun to have caterpillars crawling on you. Oh my God. Or like, or like to have like a ladybug land on you. And apparently that's lucky. Nowadays I scream like I just witnessed a crime.

[Christine]

When a ladybug lands on you, you're out of your mind.

[Em]

Anything touching me? Butterfly. Oh, I would cry.

[Christine]

Actually, I don't like butterflies touching me because I worry I'm gonna kill them by accident. Like get oil on their wings or something.

[Em]

You know, it's. Allison has seen me multiple times have an encounter with a butterfly and it's like I'm acting like it's a monster.

[Christine]

Coming out, like it's a snake with a giant mouth. Yeah.

[Em]

I really will fully just scream, scream. And then I go, oh, it's a butterfly.

[Christine]

You're an idiot.

[Em]

Like, it might as well be like a hornet and it's in my eyeball.

[Christine]

You're such an idiot.

[Em]

Anyway, that's what those two, those two menite boys said that.

[Christine]

Gotcha.

[Em]

Which by the way, why would they lie? They're honest, God fearing little boys, you know, so that's true. So their story, because I guess they had an interaction with it of like we almost shot it and then we didn't. Or maybe we did. That is what really put this story on the map. And like columnists, reporters started coming in wanting to write about it and the story started spreading throughout the town. So what really put it on the cryptid? Cryptid map and like made this a big to do. One guy came in to write an article about it and his name was Ernest Alva Dewey. So to give you an idea of where his, his humble beginnings, he started out as a publicist for a circus.

[Christine]

Oh.

[Em]

And that might have trickled into his later career because he later became known for covering a lot of town cryptids, local lores, but pretty, but pretty obviously to me, making satire of them.

[Christine]

Them. Oh, I see.

[Em]

But I think because he was already talking about something somewhat pseudo ridiculous, that his satire didn't totally land with some people and they thought it was real journalism. I mean, I guess you're already talking about like Mothman. Anything you have to say does sound kind of crazy. So he just rode with it. And he was like, all right, I'm gonna say whatever the I want. And I guess people might believe me. An example of this is during the 1950s UFO craze. He said that UFOs were a species of dragons called the ball tailed Snickle hoopas.

[Christine]

What?

[Em]

And then he said that those UFOs were just passing through, but the lights that we're seeing in the sky are to attract mates.

[Christine]

So they're just up there.

[Em]

Don't worry. It's just a bunch of snickle hoopas doing.

[Christine]

It's a bunch of horny snickle hoopers. Don't worry about it, little, little Johnny. What the.

[Em]

Shield your eyes from the snickle hoopas. Yeah, Dongs flying around in the air.

[Christine]

Seriously, get it together, you freaks.

[Em]

In other articles he had covered some pretty hard hitting creatures such as the Snoffus. No, the Arkansas. Go Row.

[Christine]

This sounds like Leona makes up every day. She's always like, I'm like, what's your name? I'm like, hey, can you tell them your name? Like when someone's like, hey, what's your name? And she's like, like, I'm Row. She literally says goru cinema be boo ba. And we're like, can you not? Can you not?

[Em]

Well, he also covers the Willpus wallopus, which I think Leona would love.

[Christine]

That's good.

[Em]

And this is something you could call her if you wanted to poke fun at her. This is the Ring Tailed tutor.

[Christine]

Oh, she's gonna love that.

[Em]

If she's got an upset tummy maybe. So the Ringtail tutor is on the loose.

[Christine]

Tutor's good. Tutor is good. She's gonna love that.

[Em]

So these are. He was just writing about these as if they were, I guess, real creatures, or at least it was Believable enough that some people fell for it. I like to think there were some people who knew this was obviously a joke, but, you know, there's a. A range of people reading the paper.

[Christine]

Yeah.

[Em]

So of course, with his background, he's like, I got to write about Sinkhole Sam. There's no way I'm going to miss this opportunity.

[Christine]

He's got to.

[Em]

So he wrote in the paper that he came himself to the area to study the Sinkhole Sam, and he brought with him a research assistant. And the research assistant's name was Dr. Erasmus P. Quattlebaum. Which sounds like Hogwarts. Like, he would be in Slytherin. Right.

[Christine]

So absolutely. No, he'd be in Hufflepuff for sure.

[Em]

Yeah. Erasmus Quattlebomb would definitely Quattle Bomb.

[Christine]

Come on.

[Em]

He is definitely supplying the keg at the party.

[Christine]

He's Neville's mentor.

[Em]

I think he's the one that's always got like a broken wand or something.

[Christine]

Oh, yeah. It's sad for him. He's always getting it mended.

[Em]

So as. What's his actual. What? That's the assistant's name. What's his name? Ernest Dewey.

[Christine]

So was it an actual assistant or did he make that up, too?

[Em]

He made this up for sure.

[Christine]

Okay, good. I was like. Because that's really wild if his assistant actually has that name.

[Em]

I know. Yeah. No, from head to toe, this thing is just a complete farce.

[Christine]

I understand. Okay, gotcha you.

[Em]

But I think he was talking about it with the level of seriousness everyone else was taking. Sinkhole Sam. And so people just read into it of like, oh, well, this guy came in with our research assistant. If you say, enough, you know, power words, you know, buzzwords, then they just kind of fell for it, I guess.

[Christine]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Em]

But. And some people, again, I would like to think I'd be one of the people who read that went, this guy's really funny. He made like a whole bit about this.

[Christine]

Yeah.

[Em]

But also. So as someone who falls for things often, maybe I would think.

[Christine]

I know.

[Em]

It's hardle Bomb research, the lake, you know.

[Christine]

Did you hear Dr. Quattlebaum? He's on the case. Yeah. I don't know how I would react. I like to think I would know better, but I doubt it.

[Em]

I know. Yeah, me too. It's like, I. I really hope you.

[Christine]

And I would probably start a fan club. Okay. For this.

[Em]

You and I would act like we were totally not believing it. And then after a couple drinks of wine, you'd go, you know what? I kind of think Quattlebomb is up to something.

[Christine]

Like you gotta agree. Right? And then we'd start our own little fan club. It would be great.

[Em]

So Ernest Dewey and Erasmus Quattlebomb. They af. This is a quote. After exhaustive and exhausting tests.

[Christine]

Wow.

[Em]

On the lake and the sinkholes themselves, they finally figured out what sinkhole Sam was. So there. He does. He exists. First of all, I guess they're saying that that's huge. But they figured out what species he was. And wouldn't you know it? Of course. How did we not see this coming? Christine scene? Sinkhole Sam is a fooping gurgle.

[Christine]

I was gonna say a Hooper Gangle or something. I was so close.

[Em]

He's a goddamn foop gin gurgle.

[Christine]

How did we not see that? You're right. That is obvious. Now that I look back. Hindsight is 20 20.

[Em]

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

[Christine]

So stupid.

[Em]

So for the idiots out there who don't know what a poopkin girl is. I did. I obviously know. But for the people who don't know, let me teach you.

[Christine]

Just say it really slowly so I can hear it and make sure you say it right to everyone else.

[Em]

Also, this spatula full of frosting will not be eaten. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Christine]

Don't look at my tongue.

[Em]

So a fupkin gurgle is a subterranean animal that often burrows into the ground. So that would make sense why sometimes we're not finding him. Maybe he's just burrowing into the sinkholes.

[Christine]

Total sense.

[Em]

Obviously. Like, come on, we all knew this.

[Christine]

It makes sense.

[Em]

But we should not be worried because. Well, actually, how about I read you a quote instead about why you should be worried.

[Christine]

Okay.

[Em]

I'm certainly worried about Ernest dewey and harasses 100 moment.

[Christine]

You say don't be worried. I get actually more worried.

[Em]

So I was going to give you some bullet points, but instead, how about I read you some quotes from the news article itself?

[Christine]

That'd be lovely.

[Em]

This is exactly. These are verbatim what Ernest Dewey and quote and Erasmus Quattle bomb or whatever had to say about the matter.

[Christine]

Okay.

[Em]

This is a newspaper article from 1952. It is a foop and gurgle. No other scientist can make the statement. Duh. The four humans. Which I'd love to know what's going on here. The four humans who have seen this rare specimen can consider themselves fortunate. We learned nothing else, by the way, about the four humans. But he is one of them for sure.

[Christine]

Well, yeah. So I assume it's the two Kids and then Larry or whatever.

[Em]

Oh, okay. You're totally okay. See you. You obviously come from quattle bomb blood.

[Christine]

That's not good. That's not good. I should have kept my mouth shut.

[Em]

I have never seen but two of them myself. So I guess he has seen a foop difficult. I have told my grandchildren, but they don't believe me. Well, I don't blame them.

[Christine]

That's probably like the 16th made up story you told them in the last week.

[Em]

Here's another reason for why they are such a rarity. This is another quote. Public opinion was against them. This was unjust. It is true. They were big, ugly, unnecessary and contributed nothing to progress. They were also stupid.

[Christine]

What?

[Em]

But there are people who say the same things about me. Culture isn't everything.

[Christine]

Wait, is that supposed to make that stupid snake feel better? Because that was really fudgeing rude.

[Em]

Can you imagine if a flooping girl can actually also read English? Like it's gonna be.

[Christine]

He's gonna be so upset. I feel like to be like. To be like. Oh, don't like you're a. But don't worry, some people say that about me too. What? So what? That doesn't make me feel better.

[Em]

If you read a newspaper article about yourself, which word would hurt your feelings the most? Big, ugly, unnecessary, contributing nothing or stupid?

[Christine]

Oh, let's take.

[Em]

He covered every corner of the earth.

[Christine]

There, I think unnecessary. Because it's like, what does that mean? You're just going to like get rid of me? Like what do you mean unnecessary?

[Em]

It's like, oh, if I.

[Christine]

Or contributing nothing. I think is probably the heart to me contributing nothing. I'd be like, seriously fudgeing. Seriously. And then I have a snap. And then I'd snap. That's when I would snap. Yeah.

[Em]

In case you're wondering, the one thing they didn't mention is that you're fucking mean. If you need to stand up for yourself, you can. You can hustle if you needed to.

[Christine]

Yeah, back the off.

[Em]

Yeah.

[Christine]

But I will ruin you.

[Em]

They did not mention how tough you are.

[Christine]

I will pass them aggressively. Make your life a living hell.

[Em]

Now this is where we know that Sinkhole Sam is Sinkhole Samuel and not Sinkhole Samantha.

[Christine]

Oh.

[Em]

Because basically he's saying, oh, all foop and gurgles. Fun fact. As the, you know, local expert on foop and girls.

[Christine]

Right?

[Em]

There are no female fooping girls. There's only males. That's so with that in context, this is another quote from this newspaper article. During mating season, he just sat around, he's talking about what about single Sam during mating season. He just sat around feeling lonesome and sorry for himself. But he did not know why. He was terribly dumb. Calling him stupid again.

[Christine]

What in the Terribly dumb? He's just horny.

[Em]

This is also. He's mentioned at this point that not only are they all females, but none of them are homosexual sexual. None of them are attracted to males, so they're going to be extinct. It's their fault because they don't want to mate with each other.

[Christine]

Well, if they were attracted to other male, they presumably also wouldn't.

[Em]

I don't know. I don't know. Maybe.

[Christine]

Biology. Yeah, well, who am I to say, right?

[Em]

Yeah. Who's to say at all? Maybe they're like seahorses or something and everything's kind of in reverse. I don't know. Point.

[Christine]

I also feel like, you know, with my earthworm theory, you cut them in half. Maybe there's two now.

[Em]

Oh, see? Okay. Anything's possible with a foop and girl.

[Christine]

That's what I'm saying.

[Em]

He says, I've always said that. I always said that he was feeling loomed sorry for himself. He did not know why he was terribly dumb. Just to kill time, he began burrowing holes in the bottoms of the ponds.

[Christine]

To kill time, he like, I'm so bored in the woods.

[Em]

This.

[Christine]

Okay, this has to be a smart snake because I. I don't think snakes who are normal snakes get bored, like, with their lives. Right? Like, they're just snakes. You're being so weird. This guy's being so weird about this snake.

[Em]

I like how he's like. He's clearly not one of those, like, sky dragons where he just like, right.

[Christine]

Where they're in the sky.

[Em]

There's nothing for me to say.

[Christine]

Also, why is he so obsessed with how these things, these things he's inventing are making love? It's upsetting me. It's upsetting me deeply.

[Em]

Yeah. Homosexuality did not need to be brought into this. I don't know why.

[Christine]

And it's like, for what, right? Like, what are you even trying to prove here, buddy? They're all just horny and they, they can't. They can't get it.

[Em]

Yeah. This feels a little like a. Like a think piece that he should have kept to himself. Maybe brought to a therapist, a projection example 100.

[Christine]

Maybe. Carl Jung would have had a lot to say about this.

[Em]

I think just to kill time, he began borrowing burrowing holes in the bottoms of the ponds he lived in. Oh, he lived there deeper and deeper until at Last he was so far down, it didn't seem worth the bother to come back up. Thus, he became extinct. So basically, he was straight and couldn't find any women to bang. And so he went, I'm just gonna go dig into a. Into the ground. And then eventually he looked up and he saw how far away the hole back to the surface was, and he went, it's not worth it.

[Christine]

And then I might as well die. I'm so horny, I'll die in this hole. Okay, okay. I can.

[Em]

That is the 4B movement, everybody. That is.

[Christine]

And that is what we're talking about. It's 2025. Let's get it started. Oh my God. That is insane.

[Em]

If there's a man you hate, just tell him. Give him a shovel and then tell him to just go dig until he's so. He's actually just so dehydrated, he doesn't know how to be horny anymore.

[Christine]

Worth coming back up. Yeah, that's dark and strange.

[Em]

One more quote for you. You is why we shouldn't be scared of the Foop and Gurgles.

[Christine]

Oh, well, I'm not, because he's in a hole extinct. But okay, go on, guy.

[Em]

Here's the reason why we shouldn't be scared. But then here's in the same breath, the reason why we should be scared of the Fupa girl and why we should be scared for this Fupin Gurgles are vegetarian and quite harmless. However, visitors to the big sinkhole area are urged to proceed with utmost cause caution. He obviously does not realize he is extinct because he's. He still exists.

[Christine]

Wait.

[Em]

Let me know when your brain is done breaking.

[Christine]

This is come becoming.

[Em]

Really feels like Qanon. This feels like.

[Christine]

This is untenable. Yeah, like there's not a single thread that links to any logic. It just links to itself and it's like. Wait a minute.

[Em]

Well, remember he said floating knuckles are extinct. In fact, I. I might have missed this part earlier. Earlier, he literally said they are the most extinct species. Like. Oh, he.

[Christine]

Oh, I did not hear that.

[Em]

His exact. No, I didn't. I forgot to write it. But he said literally the phrase, they are the extinctist. Extinctist.

[Christine]

And you're talking in comparison to dodo birds. Wow, that's gotta be. And velociraptors. I mean, all right.

[Em]

And all the pterodactyls in Christine's tummy.

[Christine]

They're everywhere. How dare you. But okay, all right. The most. The most extinct. Sure. Go for it.

[Em]

So he called them the extinctus but also, they. Even though they are so extinct. He. He's. Because. Okay, it's just like a double you.

[Christine]

I can't wait for this one.

[Em]

They're so extinct. Also, you're so stupid, you forgot to join your brethren who were extinct, you know?

[Christine]

Oh, he's just so dumb, he even forgot he was.

[Em]

He forgot to die. He's so stupid, he forgot to die with the rest.

[Christine]

This is like. Really feels like Megan is bullying seventh grade all over again. Stupid that you're dead, but you don't even. It.

[Em]

What?

[Christine]

What an insane. What is happening here? This feels like they're just bullying the. Out of nobody. Like he's just getting this out of his system for some weird reason. I don't know.

[Em]

You know, the fup and girl's family saw this newspaper article and they went, we have to hide this one from him. He can't.

[Christine]

Yeah, this one's actually work. Yeah, we submitted it. Yeah, we submitted it to the local paper. Don't worry. Must have got lost. The mail.

[Em]

What the. So, but also, he's vegetarian, so people shouldn't be worried because if he's vegetarian, he's not going to eat people. But.

[Christine]

Okay, that's nice.

[Em]

He's supposed to be extinct. He's so stupid, he forgot to be extinct. And since he's that stupid, he might have also forgotten that he's a vegetarian. So now you should be scared. Oh, no. Because he might. So now it just sounds like we're making fun of, like, an Alzheimer's patient or something. Like, now he sounds like he's got, like, God.

[Christine]

Yeah. Like, I don't think this is stupidity anymore. Like, somebody needs to.

[Em]

Sounds like a TPI or something.

[Christine]

Yeah, like, yes, from hitting his head in that hole that he was so.

[Em]

Horny he hit his head on the ground and now he can't remember that he's supposed to be dead.

[Christine]

He went so far into the middle of the earth that he melted his brain in the. In the cold in the magma. And now he forgot he's extinct. That idiot. Why is he so mean to this poor thing?

[Em]

And the best part is that he has been quoted saying he was terribly dumb. It's like, you're terribly dumb. You're terribly dumb.

[Christine]

You're terribly cruel guy.

[Em]

He lived deeper. Okay, so. Oh, yeah. He may also have forgotten that he's supposed to be strictly vegetarian. Oh, this is the final quote. There remain, there remains the problem of what to do about this extraneous monster. My advice is nothing. Now that the country has gone Republican Maybe he will go away. Okay, so he's a Democrat. So, like, now I'm back on board.

[Christine]

So wait, so he's smart enough to. To align with a political party, but not to remember what he's supposed to eat for breakfast? Breakfast? What is going on with this goddamn creature? I can't. This is, like, deeply insane.

[Em]

Anyway, that is. That is all the work, the true work of Ernest Dewey, but written as if he was being told this information by fucking quattle bomb, or whoever it was.

[Christine]

And that was just remarkable. Remarkable is what it was.

[Em]

So he. He puts out this newspaper article saying all of those things verbatim. Some people believe it. Some people go, holy Sinkhole Sam is obviously a fooping gurgle. And, like.

[Christine]

And he's so dumb, you guys.

[Em]

And he's so dumb, we could probably get away with standing next to him and getting a picture and he wouldn't even notice. But also, he might eat us alive.

[Christine]

Oh, God. Oh, no. I do kind of like the idea, though, that he, like, created a fake sort of harmless monster that almost distracts people from, like, a real. Like, it's not like, oh, there are wild boars in the woods. Don't go near them. And people are like, let's go check it out. Like, at least this is fake. And so people who go to look for it, like, aren't really gonna get harmed. Although, then again, there are probably real snakes and spiders and stuff in the woods.

[Em]

I do like. I like where you're heading, but I. I like it with a political spin. It's like, oh, don't think about what sleepy Joe is up to. Think about this Democrat over here is a vegetarian, and can't this too dumb.

[Christine]

To eat a cheesebur? This guy.

[Em]

Do you want to vote, like, a floop and gurgle? I don't think so. Maga. Maga.

[Christine]

You know, flooping gerkles. Do your research, everybody.

[Em]

I don't know why. I don't know why Kamala Harris didn't add Sinkhole Sam to her campaign. You know what I mean?

[Christine]

It's actually pretty. I've heard, actually, some really serious rumors about that. Like, it was supposed to happen, and then, like, they had a. They just. Like, it was a whole. Maybe he'll be like, was part of it.

[Em]

Sinkhole Sam, speaker of the House. I mean, anything's possible at this point.

[Christine]

Oh, Speaker. He has a big mouth.

[Em]

Yeah. He can't hear, right?

[Christine]

He doesn't have ears, I guess he has a speaker.

[Em]

Are people paying him to listen to people? I Don't know.

[Christine]

That's a good point.

[Em]

I don't know. Anyway, Anyway, just expect 2028. Sinkhole Sam will be on the ticket. Just saying.

[Christine]

I'm in love. I love it. Sinkhole Sam. Let's get it going.

[Em]

Floop and Gerkles, 2028. So after this newspaper article came. Came out, you and I hopefully would have read that and gone, this is the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life. We're framing it because it's so funny and stupid and terribly dumb. End quote. But some people were like, oh, Sinkhole Sam is here to stay. So although it was meant to be satirical, many people fell for it. It created a media stir. Papers were covering it all over. And when I say papers were covering it, there it was this one article that Ernest. It was. We did.

[Christine]

Right.

[Em]

And then there was another article that came out a little bit later, and that one was all over. Like when you go to newspapers.com and type in Sinkhole Sam, it's the same article over and over, but in every newspaper at the time.

[Christine]

Oh, oh, oh. So it just got like.

[Em]

Just copy.

[Christine]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Em]

But they were all covering Sinkhole Sam. So everyone knew about this thing.

[Christine]

The.

[Em]

These other papers got additional descriptions from witnesses saying that he was definitely 15ft long. He had a fluted tail, he had a long fin on his back, and he had a quote, non snake like grin. What? Whoa. What is this?

[Christine]

So are his sharp or not? Because I thought his teeth were sharp. And that's a snake, right? They have fangs. Why?

[Em]

What is a snake? How should a snake grin or not grin like, I would like to know the difference. Oh, yeah. Oh, not that.

[Christine]

Is it that or you said, how should they or should they not? So you can decide whichever one to label that one that I just did.

[Em]

Okay. Do a non snake like grin.

[Christine]

Okay.

[Em]

Oh, See, that is also frightening. But that. That does pair up with the rest of it. It's also a Leona like grid.

[Christine]

It's actually like really upsetting.

[Em]

Sorry, not so. Because so many papers were talking about this, many people came into town. Of course, it did its tourist attraction thing. It had its little moment, and everyone was hoping to see Sinkhole Sam. Locals remember lines and lines of cars parking themselves along the lake with their windows up and doors loc, by the way, in case N. Cole Sam could get into their car.

[Christine]

We're not that stupid. We're gonna stay safe in here.

[Em]

And there would just be lines of cars driving into town just to park at the surface of the Lake to see if they might spot Sinkhole Sam.

[Christine]

And let me guess, that guy, what's his name again? The. The journalist guy?

[Em]

Ernest Dewey.

[Christine]

Is he there with a mustache on? A fake mustache on. He's like selling like he should have and postcards. Cuz I feel like he's created this whole situation. Situation.

[Em]

If you really. If he wanted to be an entrepreneur, he should have been out there with a. With T shirt. Right?

[Christine]

Feels like it should be.

[Em]

You don't get to stir the pot like that and then. And also not try to take a reward from it. You know, Simply unacceptable.

[Christine]

You need to play the game all the way through to the end.

[Em]

Well, by the night. By the end of the 1950s, reports has slowly faded away because no one had seen Sinkhole Sam for there to be a new article written about him.

[Christine]

Oh no. Oh.

[Em]

And many thought Sink Cole Sam, if he was real, had either found a new home or passed away. But he was not here anymore.

[Christine]

So he finally became. He finally realized he's supposed to be extinct.

[Em]

He read that newspaper article and really did just keep digging himself further and further into Earth's crust until he couldn't find his way out. Just out of shame, he died. So however, a few years, a few years later there were reports of another large snake like creature not too far from the lake. It was actually at the nearby lake 50 miles away called Kingman State Lake. So some people. The theory, the theory about Saint Col, Sam, is that. Oh well, it lives underwater under some sort of cavern system under the water.

[Christine]

Like a trip. It like took a little cavern into the other lake.

[Em]

That's what they're thinking. But the, the way that that would be debunked is that this lake, Kingman State Lake is man made. So it wouldn't have have been connected to any tunnel system.

[Christine]

He likes to dig.

[Em]

Oh, you're right. He would have just found his own entry point.

[Christine]

He makes his own little sinkhole because he's so bored and horny.

[Em]

So I think you're on the side of the believers then. Or they would at least take your point and run with it.

[Christine]

And I. You know what? It's not even that. It's just that I'm the new Mr. Dewey whatever his name is. I'm just the new. Well, I'm just here to fill in the blanks with any and all lying logic. How reasonable it is is not the point.

[Em]

No, no, no. Kingman State Lake is also the site of other cryptid sightings. There's been like mothman sightings and Bigfoot sightings. So it's. I guess it's normal there for weird to be happening. So it makes sense that they would just.

[Christine]

Normal.

[Em]

They would just bring this other cryptid over there and say Sinkhole Sam is part of the gang.

[Christine]

Yeah.

[Em]

Basically whatever they're seeing at this lake, it's also a huge snake and big enough that witnesses are scared of it. One witness was driving their truck or their tractor. Tractor. And to. To describe how big this snake was, it was afraid to drive over the tractor or it would have damaged the tractor or the truck. So it's like driving over a log. Like a big ass.

[Christine]

Oh, my God. Okay.

[Em]

Panic rose during these sightings, especially when there were also livestock attacks in the area, including calves literally being dragged into the lake by something. Something.

[Christine]

Okay, well, that's terrible.

[Em]

Terrible inside. If it was Sinkhole Sam, he is now something to really be feared. He obviously did in fact, forget he's not supposed to be anything but vegetarian. Right.

[Christine]

Like his. He's on hole 30 or something. Yeah.

[Em]

He's like, I'm trying it all again and we'll see.

[Christine]

It's like, I'm on keto diet. Don't worry about it. No carbs for me.

[Em]

Well, soon the town was so freaked out because they had heard like 50 miles away there was a Sinkhole Sam. And now we have livestock attacks and. And we're all really scared. There's this big fucking thing we can't even drive our truck over if we wanted to. There was one story of a guy riding his horse and then the horse tripped over the snake, which, like, either it's a big ass snake or it's a klutzy horse, but either way, imagine falling. And now you have to be face to face with a snake and your horse is no help.

[Christine]

The horse is just like, oops, now.

[Em]

You'Re both kind of galloping away.

[Christine]

Second horse trip on a snake. These. These are the dumbest animals I've ever.

[Em]

So the town was freaked out. They decide to organize a monster hunt for this creature.

[Christine]

Oh, God. Of course, this never goes well.

[Em]

Of course they end up empty handed. But they did find snakes. They were just snakes that they already knew were native to the area.

[Christine]

Oh, God.

[Em]

Of the snakes that they found, they thought like, what's the most massive snake that's native to this area? That maybe. Maybe that's sinkhole salmon. We've just been misidentifying it this whole time.

[Christine]

Oh, I see. Okay. Okay.

[Em]

And in this area, the most likely massive snake, Sinkhole Sam could have Been is a gopher snake, which are usually about seven and a half feet long, which is still only half the size of what people claim. Sinkhole Sam is so illegal.

[Christine]

That should be illegal.

[Em]

A. A seven foot snake. How about.

[Christine]

Absolutely.

[Em]

A seven inch snake is too long for me.

[Christine]

I would like let that one exist away from me. Yeah, that one seven and a half feet is not going to do it.

[Em]

With his stupid little, little grin. Snake grin.

[Christine]

Yeah, I like that those are even part of the atmosphere. But. But I get it. I'm just gonna stay out of their way.

[Em]

Anything that wriggles, slithers, doesn't have like, it's like the furry four limbs with a tail. I don't want it near me. I. As you said, I'm okay with a snake existing away from me. But. Yeah, but only you were probably here first.

[Christine]

Snake, I get it. But.

[Em]

But seven and a half feet. I don't care where on earth you are, please don't be here anymore.

[Christine]

Please stay there.

[Em]

I sound like quattle bomb. I'm like, how about you don't exist?

[Christine]

You're too stupid to realize it.

[Em]

Like, how about I bully you to death?

[Christine]

How about I just start shitting all over you? You last of your surviving. You last survivor of your entire species. You lonely.

[Em]

Everyone else is dead. You might as well join them. Like, yeah, what the fuck?

[Christine]

This guy's such an asshole. The more I think about it, I.

[Em]

Should have stated at the beginning that this episode is a trigger warning to any snakes who are in the room with you listening. If you are a snake owner, please put earmuffs on your snake for this episode.

[Christine]

Yeah, I agree.

[Em]

Yeah, but so they thought maybe it's a gopher snake. It would just have to be a gopher snake that's double the size of a gopher snake and.

[Christine]

Yeah, sure, sure, sure.

[Em]

And then we're at the beginnings of Sinkhole Sam. But another thought is people thought that maybe they were witnessing a bigger snake than a gopher snake that usually wouldn't be known to the area. Like so like a boa constrictor or something.

[Christine]

Like it came from some. Somewhere else.

[Em]

Yeah, like, like an exotic pet owner release it in the wild. So that was another thought of like, well, nothing here is big enough, but maybe it is a bigger thing that circumstantially happened to be here. Okay, but then remember, Sinkhole Sam doesn't have a face. So like that would be a weird thing to. Yeah, but maybe the description's wrong. I don't know, maybe it was just Covered in mud on its face and no one got any details.

[Christine]

Yeah, maybe they just didn't look close enough at its face and he just was smiling at them.

[Em]

Yeah, maybe you should get closer to a python and tell me how it looks and then tell me what.

[Christine]

Let me find. Let me just find his ears real quick.

[Em]

Hold on. So there's.

[Christine]

There gotta be in here somewhere. Oh, my God.

[Em]

Well, people were also saying, well, if it's just a random sinkhole, that sinkhole Sam lives in, how would he have even gotten in there? But then some people are saying the area floods a lot, so maybe he just fell in and never left. I mean, there's. There's a lot of scoffers plopped it and he never knew how to get out because he's so stup.

[Christine]

Just far too dumb for anything to live on this planet.

[Em]

Other theories are that he's a prehistoric water creature who lives in an underground cave system. Like I told you, people, all. People also think it could be a giant unidentified amphibian that survives its hibernations by burrowing in the mud. People also think it could be just a big ass eel or catfish or water snake or log. It's just obscenely large. People also think it could be like an alien or an experiment gone wrong. Of course, I love the. Yeah, people think maybe it's just not true and those two little Mennonite boys were liars.

[Christine]

No, Two little boys with guns. They couldn't lie.

[Em]

Well, some, some think that that would have been my first guess of like, oh, they heard about some giant fish and they wanted to be cool at school. So they totally said that they saw a fish or a snake. But Albert's family, once he was an adult and like the media frenzy had happened and he was known. His family was known for being attached to the story. Apparently they were all weirdly as and embarrassed of being associated with this story. His family later in an interview was like, we want nothing to do with this. It has to be real because we don't like this. As for George, the other boy that was with Albert, his family said George might have actually been pranking everyone after all, because growing up he was known as the town rogue. Please give me that job. I was gonna say give me that job.

[Christine]

Ding, ding, ding. Finally a title I think we're worthy of.

[Em]

I will make everyone.

[Christine]

We live in different towns rounds. Look, or we'd be battling for that title.

[Em]

Oh, we would be constantly. Like each. Each month would be a different employee of the month. We'd be.

[Christine]

Yeah, we'd have to battle it. Yes. Month. Yes. Yes, yes. We'd have to custard custody. Share the title.

[Em]

Yeah, yeah. We'd each have to have the same plaque and just have one hand touched.

[Christine]

Excellent stuff.

[Em]

Like, okay, I knew about town crier. That was already my dream job.

[Christine]

Yeah, you were already good at that for sure. For sure.

[Em]

My backup plan was Jasper Jester and now town rogue, I think steals Jester territory.

[Christine]

Definitely. I think it would at least be one or two. Town rogue seems good.

[Em]

I would love. I don't even know what goes into that, but I would figure it out on day one.

[Christine]

I almost feel like town crier and town rogue, like, also almost go hand in hand. You know? It's like they could, like, influence each other. Like, you could be the town crier, but then, like, also be a little roguish.

[Em]

You could also, like. Yeah. You could do collaborations with each other. You could say, like, oh, I know this information now. You go nuts around town with it. Or, hey, since you're the town crier, can you, like, do some PR for me? Because I'm about to do some real rogue, and I'd really like you to know about that.

[Christine]

I want you to get the exclusive scoop, you know, And I. And I'd also like to tell you about how horny these snakes are. And I think you should write about it in the town newsletter. No, Sam, stop telling me. Stop telling me how horny the snake is. We're not going to write about it. It's not news.

[Em]

Can you imagine? I know. We're talking about the town rogue right now. Can you imagine if there was a town crier in this area of Kansas who found out about a horny, flooping gurgle who just wanted to probably cry his eyes out because every other journalist was so cruel to him?

[Christine]

That's finally the cr. That's the. Finally the town that the town crier was made for. He was like, I finally found my home.

[Em]

It's. Oh, my God, It's. It just sounds too delicious.

[Christine]

Finally, something to talk about, something interesting.

[Em]

If you hear about a floop and girl and your whole job is town crier, you're like, this. This is. I'm never getting a moment like this. This is my big break.

[Christine]

For real. What else would you be doing?

[Em]

Other theories. Well, they actually had, like, one of the most famous cryptozoologists ever. His name's Lauren Coleman. They had him weigh in on, like, what do you think Sinkhole Sam is? And he thought it sounded a lot like a Mongolian death worm. But Mongolian death worms, they are often like the Gobi Desert, so we're not near that. They spit acid, which Sinkhole Sam has not done done yet. And they're only like five feet long, which is a third of what we think. Sinkhole Sam was so lame. I feel like Lauren Coleman was just like over it immediately. He was like, I don't know. Here's a lead. Just leave me alone. So yes, that's what it felt like. But people also think it could be some sort of turtle who has lost its shell. Because oh no, in around 1912, 1913, there were newspapers in the exact same area before there were ever ever any stories about Saint Cole. Sam, newspapers were warning Lake Inman locals about a turtle creature that was the size of a claw foot bathtub.

[Christine]

What?

[Em]

That's a big ass turtle. And so it's huge. If for some reason this mythical thing could survive without its shell. I mean, that looks like a big fucking snake, right?

[Christine]

I. I guess, but. No, but turtle, their shell is like part of them skeleton.

[Em]

Yeah, I don't know. I'm just reporting the news, bro. I don't know. Looks like a turtle without a shell. Or maybe it's. Maybe a shell is invisible. I don't know. We have to ask the floop and gurgles. I don't know.

[Christine]

I'll ask him.

[Em]

Speaking of news, the. At the end of the day, people think the thing that really brought this story to. To anybody for it to be popular enough to become a cryptid is Ernest Dewey's piece because he created the frenzy. And since a lot of people in the 1950s only got their information from newspapers, papers, maybe the mob panic was the real monster after all. Wow.

[Christine]

Take a look in the mirror, people.

[Em]

And that is Sinkhole Sam.

[Christine]

Wow, that's powerful. At the end they all look into the sinkhole and they see the reflection of them in their pitchforks.

[Em]

Wow, that's beautiful. What do you think they were like?

[Christine]

We were the horny idiots all along, you know?

[Em]

Is that 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 hold worth of a rating?

[Christine]

I think I'd give a six if I could. You know what I mean? I think that is top tier stuff.

[Em]

Someone ask Karen Gilgare.

[Christine]

Please, someone ask Karen Kilgariff if she wants anything to do with us. Probably not. But I will continue to be dream. I will continue to dream and I will be continue to be a fan of your sinkhole Saturdays. Apparently they're on Tick Tock now. Well, good job. And that was really a wild one. And a flooping gurgle is something that will probably. You know what I feel like that's. I, we. He deserves a lot of credit for that term because I feel like there are. It's rare to find terms that like, are made up but stick in your head like flooping gurgle. I'm like, I. I won't forget that.

[Em]

That's something that, like, the second Leona hears that, she's saying it on the playground, flipping girl.

[Christine]

It's like, oh, we're gonna.

[Em]

You're a floop and girl.

[Christine]

Oh, we have to be so careful, you guys. We have to be so careful around these little children. They will call you names like floop and gurgle.

[Em]

If your child gets called a floop and girl, just know was you're only a few degrees away from Leona because I will be teaching her.

[Christine]

Oh, right, she started it. She's the ultimate bully. No. Yes, she started it.

[Em]

I'm gonna teach the little three year old what a floop and gurgle is. No one will stand a chance after that.

[Christine]

That's right. Yes, yes, yes, yes. And that's the ultimate insult. And there you have it.

[Em]

Hello. If you're new here and this is the very first time we're meeting. Hi, I'm Em and I love a nap. Not only do I love a nap, I like a quick nap, I like a cat nap, I like a power nap, and I like a deep sleep. Also, I can do all four in one day. I promise you I've done it and I'll probably do it again today. Um, but I wouldn't. It wouldn't be possible if it weren't for my Helix mattress. We got a Helix mattress a while ago. We ends up getting a whole new one too when we move to our new house. And man, I gotta tell you, that thing. I didn't know you could improve sleep based on how I was sleeping. I was sleeping pretty good. The Helix mattress really upped the ante though. Even my aura ring that I wear, it tells me that, like, my sleep has improved. We used to have back pain. I had a little sleep apnea here and there with Helix mattress. It's all gone, folks. And not only do I lie down, knit, I sit in that thing too. That Helix mattress is half the reason the tour exists. I sat there day in and day out on my laptop, and it was a comfy little chair as well. I know they don't market it that way, but there is not a way that you could be in your Helix mattress. And be uncomfortable. Let's just put it that way. Visit helixsleep.com drink off statewide +2 free dream pillows with any mattress purchase. That's helixsleep.com drink for 20% off statewide/2 free dream pillows with ANY mattress purchase. Helixleep.com drink I love propranolol, but there was a time when I didn't have my propranolol and the journey to get there was really difficult for me. And Christine is actually the one who taught me all about Zoc Doc, which is where I was able to find my doctors, I was able to get my propranolol and now because of that, I, I don't have a rapid heartbeat and I can perform on stage for all of you. So thank you. Zocdoc. Zocdoc is a free app and website where you can search and compare high quality in network doctors and click to instantly book an appointment. From mental health to dental health, primary care to urgent care and more. You can filter for doctors who take your insurance, are located nearby and are a good fit for any medical need you might have. For me, it was I can't breathe. Help me. Um, and once you have the right doctor, you can see their actual appointment openings. It's like you could, you can see the time slots and so you can just book. It's like, it feels like literally just like reserving tickets for like a movie theater or something. It's very simple, very user friendly. And appointments made through ZocDoc also happen not just fast, but typically within 24 to 72 hours of booking. And you can even score same day appointments too. So it has changed my life. I would have not ended up medically where I am, at least at the beginning, if it weren't for zocdoc. So stop putting off those doctor's appointments and go to Zocdoc.com drink to find an instant instantly book a top rated doctor today. That's z o c-o c.com Drink a budget hates to see Allison coming. And because I live with her, I also am thrust into the world of budgeting. And in some ways I'm very lucky. But I don't like the reality that hits when we're looking at our budgets and I go, where the hell did my money go? It's just very obnoxious when you're trying to make progress financially and it just feels like with life's curve balls, well, you're taking one step forward and then two steps back with a chime checking account. It makes financial Progress feel a lot easier. Easier, especially with some of their features like no maintenance fees, their fee free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. You can learn more about [e-mail] drink where you can also find out about how you can get spotted on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals. There are no monthly fees or maintenance Feees. There's over 50,000 fee free ATMs. And eligible members get complimentary boosts to temporarily increase a friend's Spot Me limit. So when you give a boost, they can boost you back to temporarily raise your limit. With an activated debit card, Chime will spot you up to 200 when you exceed your balance. Your next direct deposit is applied to your negative balance. And Chime never charges fees or interests for using spot me. Open your account in two minutes at chime.com drink that's chime.com drink Chime feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank NA or Stride Bank NA members, FDIC Spot Me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in Spot Me and are subject to monthly limits. Timing depends on submission of payment file fees apply at out of network ATMs.

[Christine]

Anyway, that's all the news fit to print. Now, I have a story for you. This is the story of Allison Bota, and she was born in South Africa. And I'm about to do something really fun, which is give you a pop quiz. Okay, not a fun kind. I mean, is there a fun kind? Maybe for people like me. But here is the pop quiz. So Allison was born Sept. 22, 1967, in what used to be Port Elizabeth. But in 2021, this town in South Africa was renamed to the original Kosa word. And I'm going to text it to you.

[Em]

And then is Kosa the. Is it spelled X, H, O, S? I? That's. They. Oh, you want me to guess what that means?

[Christine]

How to say that?

[Em]

Oh, how to say that? I will not get it right.

[Christine]

I mean, yeah, you won't, but that's the idea. I mean, any of us would.

[Em]

It looks like Gabera, but actually, that's pretty darn close. Is it really?

[Christine]

I mean, it's like pretty close. So it's. Well, I don't know how to do the click. It starts with a click.

[Em]

Okay.

[Christine]

Can't do it. I tried all night. Whatever you say. Like a Q sound. Like a. Like a hard click sound. As the. As the GG or Sorry, gq. And then it's so.

[Em]

Okay.

[Christine]

Click.

[Em]

You tried. You tried. It's so hard. It's a muscle your mouth doesn't have. That's okay.

[Christine]

So this is the YouTube. YouTube video I was watching, and it took a screenshot. This is the screen that I stopped at to try and figure it out. I was, like, cracking up because I played it probably 400 times, and then it's like, don't worry, we'll explain it. G is fricative. And I was like, it's what? Fricative. I'm like, can you stop saying that? Like, I'm supposed to know what that means, but apparently it means.

[Em]

Oh, I would have never known that. All right. Yeah, I just call that popcorn sound when you've got popcorn.

[Christine]

It sure sounds like it. But then what is the clicking sound? It's a clicking sound.

[Em]

Yeah.

[Christine]

Becha.

[Em]

I would love to know how to do that little click, but I don't know.

[Christine]

I know. I, I, I started to Google it last night, and then I was like, wow, it is 1am Do I need to learn how to try and pronounce a new language right now? I don't think so.

[Em]

I think you're, I think it's appreciated and not expected. And that's.

[Christine]

Thank you. That, that's. I was like, you know what? I've gone far enough to try and pronounce it. I think I, I did my part. So that is where she grew up, but at the time, it was Port Elizabeth, so, you know, it was easy for everybody to say, I guess back then for, for people who, who do not speak Xa. But okay, here we go. Allison grew up there, and although she considered herself, she was kind of like, down hard on herself. She, I mean, a lot of us are like, she would say, oh, no, I'm not particularly athletic or academic. And she felt like she was really nerdy growing up. But the people who knew her said she was very cheerful, kind, loyal, and had kind of a quiet confidence, was very good, a very good leader at school. And as an adult, she became a very positive person who just loved her social life. She had a job who where she really liked her colleagues, and they had, like, a really fun time in the office. And she also had a big friend group outside of work and would spend a lot of her free time around town with friends, and that's what she was doing. In mid December 1994, she was 27 years old, and Allison had spent a whole Saturday at the beach with her friend Kim and Kim's two sons Afterward, they all went to Kim's house, and two more friends stopped by unexpected, expectedly. And just remember, this is like a Saturday afternoon. And by the way, mid December is summer in. In. In South Africa. To clarify why they're at the beach.

[Em]

Thank you.

[Christine]

So they're doing a. I was about to say it's just a beautiful summer day, and then I was like, I. I do have to clarify why I said mid December and we are in South Africa, Southern.

[Em]

You don't want to look like a flooping gurgle, you idiot.

[Christine]

I wouldn't want to do that. I mean, the one thing I don't want to look like. You know what I mean? Anything else. But don't call me a flu necessary.

[Em]

And contributes to society.

[Christine]

Yeah. Thank you. So they went to Kim's house afterward, and two more friends stopped by unexpectedly. And after spending the evening hanging out on Kim's balcony, the whole group went to. Back to Allison's house to play board games over pizza and wine. I mean, this is like my dream.

[Em]

Sounds like a great.

[Christine]

It was past. It does. It was past midnight when everyone left, and Allison gave Kim a ride home. So she's like, okay, long day past midnight. Everybody out. Okay, Kim, you got to get back home to your boys. I'll drive you. So she drives Kim home, and as she's returning back to her own apartment, someone had taken the parking space she usually used right in front of her apartment, so she had to park further down the street. And it was this beautiful summer night. So Allison was like, whatever, I'll just take the short walk. And had her car windows rolled down, just enjoying the midnight air. And she had just parked a little farther down the road when, seemingly out of thin air, a man appeared beside her open window.

[Em]

Nope. No, thank you.

[Christine]

He reached in and put a knife to her throat. He then said, move over or I'll kill you. Allison did as he instructed, and the man climbed into the driver's seat, started the car, and drove away from Allison's neighborhood. As they made their way through town, passing crowds of people leaving clubs, even a police van. Imagine that moment when you're like, holy. Okay, please look over here.

[Em]

I've had this. I've had this dream for a long time. So I'm trying to fix the lighting because my face is kind of glary.

[Christine]

I've had about this.

[Em]

Do I. I don't know. I've had this dream for a long time that if I ever. Not that this would be foolproof. I'm sure it would not go the way I'd like it to, but in the dream, someone is hiding in the car.

[Christine]

Wait, so this is an actual, like, nightmare you have?

[Em]

Yeah, an actual nightmare.

[Christine]

Oh, okay.

[Em]

Where I get in my car, someone's in the back seat, and then is, like, threatening me. And I drive past a cop car. And in my dream, I, like, floor it because I'm trying to get pulled over, so that way.

[Christine]

Oh, I see. Yeah. You want their attention.

[Em]

Yeah, but I'm. I always. But then I never know how the dream ends. I always wake up before. And I think it doesn't turn out well for me because I think they figure out what I'm up to. A poll or something like that. Yeah. Anyway.

[Christine]

Well, that's scary. That's. And it's a recurring dream that's kind of alarming.

[Em]

Yeah. So I. This is, like, actually a panicky event for me. I'm sure it's much more panicky for her.

[Christine]

I don't know what else for a real instance, but. Yeah, no, that's scary. And I always wonder, like, what is the advice in that scenario? Like, I wonder if you're meant to just lay on the. Oh, well, she's not driving. That's the problem. She's in the passenger seat, so there's not much she can do. There's nothing you do, and he's holding a knife to you. You can't very well, like, lean over and turn the steering wheel, you know? Yeah, that's really scary. So they're making their way through town, walking fast. Christine, I'm sorry. It's just an intrusive thought again. Okay, so they're making their way through town, and they're passing in these crowds of people leaving clubs. A police van, just like a busy town. She considered trying to jump out of the car and make a scene, but the guy had his knife and she had, like, sort of detached, as we can probably understand, like, from the situation, and almost, like, pulled out of. Of herself and felt dissociated. And so she couldn't even find it in herself to feel afraid because she was so shocked and like. Like taken aback. Like, she was still reeling from the shock of it. And so she had to keep her fear and panic at bay as well so she could think. Think straight. And she kept thinking, well, this can't be really happening to me. I mean, she was just hanging out with her friends, like, half an hour ago, and now she's, like, being held at knife point in her. In her own car.

[Em]

Yeah.

[Christine]

So she focuses on staying calm while the man initiated shockingly casual small talk and mentioned that he knew which apartment Allison lived in, as if he'd been watching her for a while before he abducted her.

[Em]

Forget it. Oh, my God.

[Christine]

The man told her his name was Clinton. And Allison said, my name is Susan, because she didn't want to give away her own name. So she's thinking fast.

[Em]

Good girl.

[Christine]

Clinton told Allison he wouldn't hurt her. He just needed to use her car for an hour to track down a guy who stole his TV and owed him money. And she said she was too afraid to believe the worst. So she almost just, like, let herself believe that because it was, like, best case scenario.

[Em]

Sure.

[Christine]

And she just kept telling herself, you know what? He'll release you. Like, he promised she would call Kim, and Kim would come, you know, call the police, and it all be okay. But the man continued through town, clearly irritated because he couldn't find the guy he was looking for. And eventually, he pulls over to pick up another guy, and he introduces this guy as Theans. Now, he said that Thean spoke Afrikaans and not much English. So Theons got in the car and asked Clinton for a cigarette. And now Allison is like, okay, I'm now in the car with two strange men.

[Em]

Yeah, Immediately I extra fear, extra fear.

[Christine]

And as Clinton asked for a cigarette, Allison says, oh, I'll have one too. And she smoked with them. As they passed the last few street lights out of town, and with the town behind them, Allison felt fear suddenly, for the first time since Clinton first appeared beside her car. It was like, suddenly the shock wore off, and they were driving out of town. I mean, the way I imagine it is like you're driving out of the hustle and bustle into the dog dark desert area.

[Em]

You know, there's more. You're overpowered. You don't know the area.

[Christine]

And suddenly it's like that fear floods in.

[Em]

And also it's that first thought probably of, like, oh, I know. I would immediately find a reason to, like, be mad at myself, and I would feel so guilty. Like, oh, I should have.

[Christine]

Like, I did it wrong. Yeah, totally.

[Em]

Which, like, all you're doing is surviving. That's the whole point. You're surviving. You're doing what?

[Christine]

You're surviving. Exactly. So she's like, fearsome suddenly strikes her, and she's like, okay, this might not be going the way that he had initially told me. He was probably lying. She recognized they were heading for the coast. And Clinton eventually pulled into an alcove by the beach. He parked the car in the Sand. But it was too far from the road for any passersby to see. And Allison just turned and looked at him and said, what now? And Clinton told her that he planned to rape her, and he asked her if she was going to find. Fight him. After a long silence, she said, no. So Theans crouched in the sand outside the car, smoking a cigarette while Clinton raped Allison. Then he climbed back in the car, and he raped her, too. Then Theans got out of the car, and Allison asked if she could get dressed, but neither man answered, so she just put her clothes on. Then the two started discussing what they should do with Allison. At some. Some point, she heard him refer to Clinton as Franz, revealing that Clinton's name was not really Clinton, but it was Franz. And they said if they let her go, she would tell the police. She promised she wouldn't, but, you know, that's a hard, hard sell to convince. A hard sell. They seem to joke that the devil would want them to kill her. And although the men communicated mostly in Afrikaans up until now, they now spoke English. English deliberately, so she could understand them. And, yeah, she basically knew they were tormenting her. Talking about. In English, talking about, should we kill her? Should we? Like, maybe we should just end her, you know? And they discussed abandoning her naked at the beach. And then they told her to get undressed again. And so she thought, okay, fine, if that's the worst they're gonna do. Absolutely.

[Em]

Yeah. So also, are they taking their clothes for, like, evidence or something? In other.

[Christine]

Who knows, right? Yeah, exactly. Like they could have some other, more sinister plan, which, guess what? They sure did. So she just chose to believe them. She took her clothes off, but as this was happening, suddenly Franz lunged at her and wrapped his hands around her throat. She lost consciousness, and when she awoke, she was lying on the ground, and one of her attackers was on top of her. Although she felt no pain, Allison suddenly realized that her attacker was bringing a knife up and down towards her.

[Em]

She had so much adrenaline, she didn't even feel it at first.

[Christine]

Didn't even feel it.

[Em]

Wow.

[Christine]

She watched him move his arm back and forth and counted eight slashes to her throat. Franz and Theans walked away, and Allison turned herself over onto her stomach to try and defend herself against another attack. But then she heard one of the men ask if she was dead. And the other one said, well, no one could survive what? We just did it to her. Then they got in a car and drove away. And Allison, of course, was alive.

[Em]

Oh, my God.

[Christine]

She was lying in the sand, and she could hear a strange sound. After the car drove away, she realized it was the wound in her neck. And her labored breathing was going through her severed trachea and making a horrible rasping sound.

[Em]

Oh.

[Christine]

She thought then that she was, quote, injured beyond hope. And honestly, this gives me chills. She had an out of body experience. She said her consciousness floated in the air. She looked down at her body and she couldn't hear her breathing anymore when she went up there. And she knew she could easily just keep going, let go, escape the pain and trauma. But she decided, nope, I want to live. So she made a very deliberate effort to return to her body. Damn, this is just fascinating. It's like.

[Em]

So it's paranormal, normal and true crime right now?

[Christine]

It totally is. It's like astral. Astral almost.

[Em]

Let's do it on your first try. Congratulations. You've saved your own life.

[Christine]

Yeah. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. And so she finally felt reconnected to her own body and she heard her breathing again and she realized, like, okay, well, if I'm gonna survive, then I gotta make moves.

[Em]

Yeah, I gotta hurry.

[Christine]

So she. You gotta get. Get going. Right? So she lifted herself onto her knees. Oh, my God. Okay, I should have given probably 40 trigger warnings, but here's one. She got herself on her knees and she realized that while she had been unconscious, the men had also stabbed her in the abdomen 37 times. And she had been completely disemboweled.

[Em]

Oh. Oh, my God.

[Christine]

So she picked up her shirt from the ground beside her. Oh, my God. She used it to gather her intestines up against her stomach. And she started crawling.

[Em]

Oh, my God.

[Christine]

This alcove that she crawled through where they had just left her, like, refuse was littered with broken glass, cans, sand.

[Em]

Like, like all rubbing up on your. On all your organs of sand.

[Christine]

Soot from bonfires. So like ashes and charred wood. She was barely making progress this way. She knew she needed to walk, so she managed to pull herself to her feet. And her vision went black.

[Em]

Duh. Like. Yeah, that's like.

[Christine]

Like right. Shocked you're even vertical. But she was still conscious. She just couldn't see.

[Em]

The human body is so insane. I.

[Christine]

Isn't it unbelievable? It's like you hear this and you just think like, wow.

[Em]

And the will to live is so.

[Christine]

The will to live. The way that her essence was out of her own body. And then said, never mind. I'm gonna go back into that pain and suffering.

[Em]

And like, I hope when she was floating up there for a second, she took breath, just went right all Right. Here we go.

[Christine]

She knew. She knew. She said she knew in that moment. She could just escape all the pain. And be done, you know, and be happy. But she was like, I want to come back one more time. Which was just so powerful. So she managed to get to her feet. And her vision went black. But she was still conscious. So she began to move, but she couldn't see. And she reached for her throat as she walked. And realized her wound was so deep. Her entire hand fit inside the wound. And she realized her head had nearly been decapitated. And was hanging backwards. Like, unnaturally far from her body. I'm so sorry.

[Em]

This is like, dude, let's go back to the floop and girles.

[Christine]

This is so dark. This is like. Talk about the comparison between your half of my half. This is like, probably one of the more extreme examples of like.

[Em]

Yeah, wow. I can't. I can't. Interest. So did she have to hold her own head up to. Oh, my God. And she. So. And also, it's like a pick and choose. Your own horrid adventure. Like, do you hold your organs? Do you hold your head? Do you hold your throat? Your.

[Christine]

Your head, your. Your disembowel organ? I mean, what earth.

[Em]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

[Christine]

So, yeah, it's. It's a lot.

[Em]

No wonder you weren't having butterflies about talking to me. Jesus.

[Christine]

I know. I was like, can I just get it over with? This is such a. Such a hard one. So she, like you said, pulled her head forward. I mean, it's like that story of the ribbon. The girl with the ribbon around her neck. Like, oh, my gosh. She had to hold her own head up. So she pulled her own head up with one hand and held it steady so she could walk. As she, you know, held her stomach with the other hand and her T shirt. As she made her way through the trees and brush. She occasionally lost her vision. But she managed to make it out of the alcove and collapse in the road. A car came along, shining its headlights on her. The engine stopped, but no one got out. And after a few minutes, Allison heard the engine start again. And the car drove around her body and sped away.

[Em]

Oh.

[Christine]

So it was probably someone who was like, I don't want to.

[Em]

I don't even want to touch that.

[Christine]

Yeah. I don't know what this is, but I don't want to be part of it.

[Em]

You would hope they at least call, like, the police or something, right?

[Christine]

You'd hope so. Allison, for what it's worth, tried to Reason with herself that maybe the driver had a good reason to leave her.

[Em]

There or was maybe scared themselves.

[Christine]

Was scared or wanted to go call the police. Exactly. And so she said she felt sorrow when they drove away, but not anger, which is very interesting.

[Em]

Wild. That'd be so livid. I'd be like, are you. Absolutely.

[Christine]

Are you kidding me? Then another car arrived and suddenly a man took Allison's hand. He told someone else, who luckily just happened to have a cell phone in 1994, which barely anyone probably had to call an ambulance. Now the hospital is only 15 minutes away, but it took paramedics 40 minutes to arrive. And somehow Allison held on the entire time she was conscious at the hospital. The staff was shocked by how alert she was. She even signed a consent form for her treatment and wrote down her mom's phone number number because they needed to call her emergency contact.

[Em]

Imagine the adrenaline dump afterwards from keeping it together for this long cra.

[Christine]

The crash, just like. Oh, the shaking and crash.

[Em]

Yeah, yeah. I can't. I can't even imagine.

[Christine]

This is like a. Yeah, talk about out of body. I mean, literally and figuratively. So after she was able to write down her mom's phone number, they performed a multi hour surgery on her neck and then another on her abdomen. Once they had repaired her airway, the surgeon painstakingly had to clean leaves, soot and sand from every inch of her.

[Em]

Intestines, literally inside and out.

[Christine]

Inside, yeah, and out.

[Em]

Not to take away from the trauma here, but like truly there's. There's nothing sensory wise, I hate more on this earth than sand. When it touches one very washable part of me, like if it touches my arm, I have a fucking problem with it. I can't imagine it being like your, your stomach being like in. Just covered. Insane. Like there's no.

[Christine]

I can't imagine leaves and trash. I mean, trash people's litter. It's just horrible.

[Em]

And like shards of glass. You don't know if there's like at any moment it's going to be punctured. I can't even. Who was her doctor? Like that guy deserves his own break after this. That's amazing.

[Christine]

Well, he, he took the time. He had to take every little grain of salt sand from inside of her out to prevent an infection. Yeah, because you sew that back up. Like you can't leave anything in there. It has to be perfectly clean and sterile. So he's in there completely trying to get. It took hours.

[Em]

Hours. It had to be a full day. I mean, imagine telling someone, make sure. Every grain of sand is gone. That seems like an impossible feat.

[Christine]

And you have to, you know, because, like, if something happens, then you missed it. You know, it's just. It's so scary. So after the surgery, Allison's parents and friends visited along with Tion Eilert, the man who had held her hand on the side of the road. He came to visit, apparently while they were waiting for the ambulance. He held her hand to keep her awake. He told her she had beautiful eyes, so she should keep her eyes open. He joked that she would owe him a date once she was better. And she grinned. And he said, and you have to pay because you ruined my shirt because he had blood.

[Em]

This guy, guys, he found a way to make any scenario moves. You gotta have a real riz to you that in that situation, you can make.

[Christine]

He's got some riz. He's. He's charming. Charming her up because apparently she stayed conscious and alert and smiling. The fact she's smiling on the side of the road, I mean, come on.

[Em]

Wow.

[Christine]

So another driver had arrived at the scene during this time and had covered Allison with a blanket from their car while they waited the the rescue. And Allison was almost conscious the whole time. And Tian just lied. Laid on the ground next to her and talked to her and tried to keep her. Keep her awake. And whenever she started to drift, he would hold a lighter in front of her and tell her to just stare at the flame and try to focus on the flame of the lighter, to focus and stay away.

[Em]

Is this gentle parent? Who knows? How does he know every trick in the book?

[Christine]

I'm telling you, this guy talk about this is a guardian angel. Like, it's a real person person. But I. I feel like they were put on this earth as a guardian.

[Em]

It's like a third man syndrome, but also a real man.

[Christine]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I really. I mean, and I think that happens that people are just put in the right place at the right time. I love how the guy with the cell phone's like, I'm the one with the cell phone who called 91 1. But yeah, you're important too.

[Em]

But personality here, we need the personality higher.

[Christine]

Yeah, we need the raised at level 10. Sorry, bud. Okay, so Allison wasn't able to. To speak. Obviously, her trachea had been severed. So Tian established a communication method with her. He asked her questions, and she would squeeze his hand once for yes and twice for no. So Tian and his friends managed to work out that Allison was raped by two men, which also the fact that they're even getting information right now before she goes unconscious and perhaps dies on the table or, you know, loses too much blood, what have you. I'm just so impressed that they were able to get the info out too. Or she probably wanted to tell them as well. Well, that she had been raped by two men. They even were able to gather through their communication method, the car, her own car's make, model, and color by just like, these hand squeezes. And Allison was determined to at least get the justice against her attackers, whether she survived this or not. She was like, I want to get them.

[Em]

I honestly wonder if that was like the. Letting her not just float away. I wonder if it was like, no, let's at least bring them to justice first.

[Christine]

I'm going to get justice. That's such a good point. Like, I'm going to go back so they never do this again, you know, to anybody else or. Or that they see any sort of retribution for what they did. Yeah. So she was determined to get justice whether she survived or not. And actually, before she left the beach, she had written in the sand with her fingers the names Theons and Franz.

[Em]

She, every step of the way had a fucking plan.

[Christine]

It gets even sadder. She put their names in case she didn't survive, and beneath their names she wrote, I love Mom.

[Em]

Oh, my God.

[Christine]

I know. In case she didn't make it, she wanted. She didn't want the last thing she said to be those guys. She went, oh, my God. It just makes me.

[Em]

Wow. I'll absolutely cry about that later. I know.

[Christine]

I literally have goose cam. So Tian got on the ambulance with her when it finally arrived and held her hand all the way to the hospital. He left the hospital only to shower and change. And then he returned and anxiously awaited news on her surgery in the following days. He was one of many visitors. Many didn't even know Allison, but they had, like, seen her story on the news. And the staff had to actually start screening crowds of visitors because Allison was getting overwhelmed by all the support and love and gifts. Hundreds of people sent flowers. Allison actually published a thank you column in the local newspaper to say thank you to everybody because she felt like she couldn't thank everybody individually, which was, like, so sweet. And meanwhile, the police were visiting, trying to get to the bottom of this. They visited her with a binder full of photos of different men. And Allison looks through. She's like, there's Franz. Points straight at him. So his name was Franz. Dwa, I believe. Dua. Franz Dua and his housemate, F. Kruger and she pointed them out. They were promptly arrested. Franz. Franz had abducted and raped a woman at gunpoint earlier that. And Theans was also facing separate charges of rape and assault. And both men had been released on bail while those cases were pending. So they were out on bail when they had attacked Allison. The investigators on Allison's case decided that a verbal identification from Allison would be much more compelling. So they actually asked doctors to remove her intubation tube so that she could speak to them.

[Em]

Wow.

[Christine]

And, oh, my God, this is very risky, especially because they had just stitched her entire throat together. Now they're going to pull a tube out through her throat that they just.

[Em]

Throw a very tenderly vulnerable.

[Christine]

Yes. Yeah. Like, she'd already been attacked there. And now they're pulling something through that could, like, damage the. The stitches, which are fresh.

[Em]

Yeah.

[Christine]

But she's like, no, take it out. Take it out now. I want to give my statement. She agreed to do it. She said, franz and Theon, they're the ones. And later, investigators explained to Allison that she'd actually have to identify both men in person. It's like the re. Traumatizing just never ends with this kind of thing. And at the time, the protocol required victims of crimes to pose for a photograph with the defendant with a hand on the defendant's shoulder for a positive ID So you'd have to literally put your hand on the person, and they would take a photo photograph. What that was like, the protocol to determine from a lineup, like, who you. Who you're selecting.

[Em]

Isn't that nuts?

[Christine]

Isn't that nuts?

[Em]

That's the most traumatizing in the world.

[Christine]

You should not have to touch your attacker. Are you kidding me?

[Em]

You should never have to look at them ever again. Ever.

[Christine]

I agree. But this time, the court thankfully made an exception. And she was able to use one way glass, which I think is a lot more standardized.

[Em]

Now.

[Christine]

I. I know that, like, I don't think they even do this kind of lineup thing as much maybe as they used to, or I'm not sure about that. But she was able to do it from the side of one way glass. And Theans and Franz had also made full confessions because police told them they were being arrested for attempted murder. And they went attempted. Like, they could not believe that she had survived this. I mean, they. They heard she was alive, and they were like, well, we're screwed. And when they found out she was alive, they said, there's no point in lying about this. Like, we did it.

[Em]

Wow, that's pretty amazing. You would Think.

[Christine]

Yeah. They just had no defense. They had no defense.

[Em]

Wow.

[Christine]

But on the stand, Franz claimed he was a Satanist and he was possessed by demons when he raped multiple women. And that's why he was such a rapist. And he said that he would undergo an exorcism and choose Jesus and reform. Don't worry about it. It's fine.

[Em]

Yeah, pass.

[Christine]

Actually, his wife testified on his behalf and insisted he was a good husband and father who was just sometimes overcome by violent urges, which is also just so sad.

[Em]

Lucky girl.

[Christine]

I know. It's really, really, really hard to hear that he has a wife and kids and presumably treats them just as well as each other.

[Em]

I really hope this was a double life situation. And he. I'd like to think they were surprised by this instead of finding out that this was happening. Two people. Yeah.

[Christine]

No. The fact that his wife said he was sometimes overcome by violent urges feels like she knew something.

[Em]

You're totally going on.

[Christine]

This was the 1990s wave of the satanic panic. And police force employed experts back then to investigate supposed occult related crimes and determine if they were really a cult or if it was just more of a defense. And their expert, who Allison said in her memoir, genuinely believed in demonic possessions, testified in court that Franz's alleged possession was not authentic because Franz's crimes had been so calculated, which was not typical to possession victims. He also. So this is more paranormal, by the way. This is so weird.

[Em]

There's like, you really nailed it this time.

[Christine]

Wow. He also said possession victims generally felt extreme remorse for their crimes once they were exercised of the devil.

[Em]

Right.

[Christine]

Because the devil made them do it, not their own self. But Franz, meanwhile, was thrilled about what he did and had zero concern, concern, or remorse. And he said that is not a true possession victim. In fact, Franz seemed to bask in the media attention that he got from the case. And he and Theans were very casual about what they had done to multiple women. For example, in court, they described making breakfast with the knife they had used to attack Allison.

[Em]

What?

[Christine]

Without washing it?

[Em]

That's.

[Christine]

So her straight up mental illness was in their food.

[Em]

That's psycho. Like, that's.

[Christine]

And they.

[Em]

Crazy. That's. I don't even know what the right word is. That's.

[Christine]

It's not even. Like. There's not even a word in the dictionary.

[Em]

Like.

[Christine]

And they bragged about it. What?

[Em]

Like, for what? Like, who. Who do you think is patting you on the back for that?

[Christine]

It's so bizarro that. I mean, Satan, I guess. I. I don't know. Clue. I have no clue. They said they would have abducted and murdered another woman that same day if they hadn't been arrested.

[Em]

Oh, well, glad we did it.

[Christine]

Do you know that? That must be so validating. I hope I don't know this, but it must be validating for Allison to hear, like, oh, you stopped them from. They had full plans to do this to someone else, and you stopped them. I just. I just signed that. So cool.

[Em]

Totally.

[Christine]

I really want to read her memoir, but I have not gotten. Gotten the time yet. That's on my list. Ultimately, Theans and Franz were both sentenced to life in prison because the death penalty had recently been abolished in South Africa. Since her first days in the hospital and throughout the trial, Allison was completely overwhelmed by the media frenzy surrounding her case. I mean, imagine going from like, a pool day with your. With your friend and her kids or a beach day with your friend and her kids, and then suddenly you're, like, swarmed by news media outlets and you're, like, in a hospital bed with a tube down your. I mean, it's just got to be so shocking and jarring. She was in excruciating pain as well as her wounds healed. I mean, think about how many things had to heal all at once and.

[Em]

And in 94. Like, I'm not saying that was archaic medicine, but it certainly wasn't probably what today is. I mean, it's crazy to think it.

[Christine]

Was painkillers 30 years ago. 30 years. Like, now we have robotic surgery. I mean, I'm not saying that, like, this guy didn't do a fine job. I don't know. But, like, it's just so wild to think. Think, like, what, 30 years ago? Yeah. So I don't know what the difference was or is, but she was in excruciating pain. And I think, like, even with pain medication, you probably would be because you'd have to. You'd have to learn how to.

[Em]

I mean, the physical therapy you're going to be in for the rest of your life.

[Christine]

I mean, exactly it. Yeah.

[Em]

I mean, like, it's beyond the initial stabbings and everything. I imagine it's like the recovery of that. Is that at least. At least, like, your. Your best shot is that it's like, after a C section or something, because they have to put all your organs back in your body. I mean.

[Christine]

Yeah. You're trying to get your literal entire digestive system to work again. I mean, geez.

[Em]

And that's hoping that everything went well and putting them back was just, like a one Step process, you know? Like.

[Christine]

Right. And that we didn't leave one grain of sand behind or something that's gonna screw everything up, you know, like, it's scary. Yeah, you're right. It's risky, too. Like infection. And she's. All these wounds. I mean, boy, wounds in your throat. I mean. And then.

[Em]

I mean, imagine the fear of, like, even coughing or sneezing right now. In your throat is tissue paper. Like, are you kidding me?

[Christine]

Yeah. Like your whole body would just be in disarray. And. And she really was in a lot of pain. But she slowly, slowly started to heal. And even once she moved into a new apartment and returned to work, everybody wanted to talk to her about what had happened. Happen.

[Em]

Yeah, because there's all those people who come out of the woodwork who want to hear the awful stuff, the details.

[Christine]

Yeah. And it's like, leave me alone.

[Em]

Let me just learn how to swallow again.

[Christine]

Yeah, exactly. She's at work. Leave her alone. Like, God. As Allison settled into her life post trial, she struggled with depression, completely, understandably. Obviously, she often just didn't care about herself or her life. She would skip work without calling in, which was completely out of character. Character. She had trouble eating and caring for herself, but she was really, really determined to work through her trauma. And she thought to herself that that out of body experience. The night she was attacked, she had consciously made the decision to live. And she said now she had to decide to make a conscious decision to live again. And so she did. She was invited to speak at an event about her ordeal. And although she had always hated and was terrified of public speaking, she took the chance. And she said. She described how she was attacked. She managed to survive. And she said afterwards, it was like she just felt so much relief and she felt so much better that she decided to start speaking at more events and more events. And over time, she just felt so much healing through telling her story. So it was like, now that she was able to do it on her own terms almost, and tell her own story without just being, like, cornered at work, you know, but actually telling it in a meaningful way to people who could benefit from it. She just found it helped heal her tremendously. She said in a documentary that she had never had any particular dreams or ambitions as a child. Remember how I was saying? She described herself as, like, not sporty, kind of nerdy, not that academic. It. You know, but she said, you know, she. She really wasn't sure what to do once she finished school. And she kind of felt, like, unmoored and A little bit. Just lost her mom convinced her to train as a secretary as a fallback career plan. And after living in England for a few years and exploring the world for a bit, Allison worked as an insurance broker until her attack. And now she was like, I finally feel like I have purpose. Like, my job before was kind of just there. There to, like, pay the bills, whatever. And she's like, now I feel like I have a real purpose in my life, and I'm gonna tell my story. Her other purpose in life became her two beloved sons, whom she considered miracles. Because there was so much trauma to Allison's abdomen and genitals that the surgeon told her she may never be able to have children.

[Em]

Biologically, I would. I would be scared even if I. The second I got pregnant, I'd be like, sign me up wrong. Sign me up for a surgery or something.

[Christine]

There's no way I can go wrong. Wrong.

[Em]

Yeah.

[Christine]

But apparently, both of her pregnants were easy health. I mean, easy as it can be. Healthy and joyful. Allison partnered with author Marianne Tame to tell her story in the memoir I have a Life. Allison's Journey.

[Em]

Wow.

[Christine]

And she also shared her experience in a documentary called Allison that's with one L I Believe. And she said in an interview, I have always hoped that by sharing my own journey with others, it would give them hope and courage for the their own. So last year, in 2020. Nope. Two years ago now. 2023. Wow. Allison and her friends and family were shocked to discover that 29 years after the attack, both Franz and Theans were released from prison.

[Em]

Oh, I would absolutely lose my mind.

[Christine]

Imagine. Oh, my gosh. Allison had been informed that Franz was released, but she had only learned of Theon's parole from the media. So that was very. That really shook her up. There is an official inquiry pending regarding the circumstances of the men's release, with many fearful that they are still a danger to society. Yeah, no, duh. While some believe they have earned their release after three decades of rehabilitation. I mean, listen, I don't know what the they're up to, but I don't want to know. Regardless, Allison remained focused on her advocacy work, for which she had received a number of awards from various organizations. And many survivors of violence have found comfort and motivation in her stories story, her determination, which I think that's one thing no one can take away from her at this point. She's experienced chronic health complications because of all the extensive trauma her body ensured, for example. So the. The actual attack was in 1994, but in September of 2024, which was just for us. A few months ago, she suffered an aneurysm and had to undergo two brain surgeries.

[Em]

Oh, my God.

[Christine]

And so immediately afterward, Allison went right back to work. She's like, don't worry. I'm used to this. I'm used to Jesus life. Life threatening situations and surgeries. But she went right back to her work, dedicated as ever. And she recently made the statement. For 30 years, my goal has been to share my story, to encourage others. Now facing this life threatening event, I've felt your encouragement and care flooding back from you. Words can't express my gratitude to all of you. And that is the story of Alston and Botha.

[Em]

Wow.

[Christine]

What a badass.

[Em]

That's.

[Christine]

That's a fighter.

[Em]

Yeah. One of my least favorite stories you've told, but it was one of my favorite. You know what I mean? In the. Not. I. It's. It's.

[Christine]

Oh, I know.

[Em]

Yeah. Okay.

[Christine]

It's. It's a tale.

[Em]

The highest. The highest praise to you. But. But that's a terrible story that even has to exist, so.

[Christine]

I know, I know.

[Em]

Boy, are. I don't. I don't know. I don't know what to say. That's rough.

[Christine]

That's. Okay, I'll step in. Thank you, everyone, for listening. Sorry to bum you out. If you want to get some positivity back in your feed, you can check us [e-mail] 8wwd podcast, where we do a weekly yappy hour and talk about something either deep or just completely nonsensical or just take a personality quiz on the Internet. Nobody ever knows. And sometimes I drink. So come over there and check us out. You can also find us at ATWD Podcast. M is at the M. Schultz. I am at xteenchiefer and you can go to. And that's why we drink.com live for tickets or. And that's why we drink.com for anything else you might need.

[Em]

And that's why we drink.