Podcast
Hysteria 51
Hosted by ForthHand Media · EN
Hysteria 51 is your offbeat weekly podcast destination for all things weird and wonderful! We navigate the cosmic highways of UFOs, the alien-infested landscapes, and the enigmatic frontiers of the paranormal. With your hosts, Brent Hand and David Flora, alongside our cantankerous tin man, Conspiracy Bot (with a not-so-subtle desire to rule the world, doubling as our chief inquisitor into the unknown), we delve into unique mysteries, the inexplicable, and the downright unusual.
Each week, we explore a fresh topic, making one thing crystal clear... the truth is out there, but you won’t find it here.
57episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Mad Blurry Hysteria: The Beginning | 517
5d ago00:37:32Tap to summarizeWe had some life stuff get in the way this week so we are going back to where the Blurry Hysteria / Weird Wednesday episodes started. Back to regular episodes next week!Original DescriptionIt's Mad Blurry Hysteria Time on H51! This week Brent tries to sell us the Lizzie Borden house, David swears Nibiru is gone for good, and Chris flirts with Tom DeLonge on twitter. All that and more on this week’s Mad Blurry Hysteria!News Stories Mentioned:Axe Slasher BnB for sale“Real Picture” – Tom DeLongeBye Bye NibiruFollow the Shows:Mad Scientist - https://www.themadscientistpodcast.com/Blurry Photos - http://www.blurryphotos.org/Hysteria 51 - http://hysteria51.com/ Email your Contest Entries to:ForthHandmedia@gmail.comEmail us your favorite WEIRD news stories:weird@hysteria51.comSupport the ShowGet exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1ShopBe the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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The Mad Gasser of Mattoon | 516
1w ago00:44:30Tap to summarizeShut the windows and change your mask filters, the Mad Gasser of Mattoon is prowling the podcast! A WWII-era midwestern mystery, the Mad Gasser of Mattoon held a small town in a gaseous grip of fear for 2 weeks with no explanation and few suspects. Panic took hold as locals tried to figure out what was happening in their small Illinois community. To this day, no one knows exactly who perpetrated a series of alleged gas attacks, nor has anyone found out why. Join David as he relates not only the timeline of the ‘phantom anesthetist,’ but also similar attacks in different parts of the country throughout the years. Were they connected somehow or just coincidence? He also looks at what police and scientists have found, and whether or not anything has actually been explained over the years. Don’t let the fumes get to you in this episode of Blurry Photos!MusicGhostpocalypse – 8 Epilog, Ghostpocalypse – 6 Crossing the Threshold, Some Amount of Evil, Malicious, Villainous Treachery – Distressed, Danse Macabre, Myst on the Moor – Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0SourcesGas Attacks in America: http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2011/06/mad-gassers-of-america/An Overview: http://io9.gizmodo.com/did-mattoon-have-a-mad-scientist-or-a-mad-population-1510479349Vitelli, R. “The Mad Gasser of Mattoon.” JREF Swift Blog. James Randi Educational Foundation, 23 Apr. 2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2016. http://archive.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/1279-the-mad-gasser-of-mattoon.htmlMaruna, S. The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria. Jacksonville: Swamp Gas Books, 2003.Johnson, D. “The Phantom Anesthetist of Mattoon: A field study of mass hysteria.” Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 1 Jan. 1945, Volume 40, Number 1: 175-186. http://ergotism.info/en/hysteria/mass_hysteria_mad_gasser_jasp_1945_40.pdfSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Lawn and Order: Psychic Pets Unit | 515
2w ago00:28:09Tap to summarizeThis week, Hysteria 51 asks two important questions: How far is too far when protecting your lawn, and has your dog secretly been judging you this entire time?First, a Minnesota man allegedly constructs a homemade spike strip packed with dozens of three-inch screws to stop neighborhood kids from biking across his grass. Because apparently a “Keep Off the Lawn” sign lacked the medieval menace he was looking for.Then we travel to South Korea, where pet owners are turning to tarot readers to uncover their animals’ hidden thoughts, anxieties, health concerns, and possibly their opinions about that bargain-bin kibble. Dogs are selecting cards, humans are seeking answers, and somewhere a cat is refusing to participate because it already knows the future and finds it disappointing.Join us for homemade lawn traps, psychic pets, canine emotional baggage, and another bewildering tour through the strangest corners of weird news.Links & Resources📌Lawn Care📌Tarot TerrierEmail us your Contest Topics:ForthHandMedia@gmail.comEmail us your favorite WEIRD news stories:weird@hysteria51.comSupport the ShowGet exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1ShopBe the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Reality: Bigger, Stranger, and Probably Watching | 514
2w ago01:10:38Tap to summarizeReality may be bigger, stranger, and far more crowded than our three-dimensional monkey brains can handle. This week on Hysteria 51, we count down ten horrifying theories about what could exist in dimensions we cannot see, from shadow matter and hidden forces to holographic universes, colliding branes, M-theory, and countless alternate versions of you making equally terrible decisions.Could gravity be leaking into another dimension? Is our universe just one thin membrane floating in a much larger cosmic void? Does every possible outcome create another reality where you remembered the password on the first try? We break down the real science behind extra dimensions, dark matter, the multiverse, many-worlds theory, and the terrifying possibility that reality has more rooms than advertised.So grab a flashlight, avoid making eye contact with the shadow universe occupying your couch, and prepare to discover why the cosmos is weird, physics is rude, and somewhere in another dimension, this episode is probably much better.SourcesTime and the Block UniverseStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Timehttps://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2026/entries/time/Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Temporal Consciousnesshttps://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2025/entries/consciousness-temporal/Asher Peres – “Critique of the Wheeler-DeWitt Equation”https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9704061The Fifth ForceEöt-Wash Group – “New Test of the Gravitational Inverse-Square Law at the Submillimeter Range”https://arxiv.org/abs/2002.11761NA64 Collaboration – “Hunting Down the X17 Boson at the CERN SPS”https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.02756Kaluza-Klein Theory and Extra DimensionsCERN – Extra Dimensions, Gravitons, and Tiny Black Holeshttps://home.cern/science/physics/extra-dimensions-gravitons-and-tiny-black-holes/Theodor Kaluza – “On the Unity Problem of Physics”https://inspirehep.net/literature/14622Shadow Matter and Hidden SectorsEdward Kolb, David Seckel, and Michael Turner – “The Shadow World of Superstring Theories”https://www.nature.com/articles/314415a0Lawrence Krauss, Alan Guth, David Spergel, George Field, and William Press – “Inflation and Shadow Matter”https://www.nature.com/articles/319748a0Dark Energy and Dimensional LeakageNobel Prize – The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physicshttps://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2011/summary/Nobel Prize – The Accelerating Expansion of the Universehttps://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2011/popular-information/Gia Dvali, Gregory Gabadadze, and Massimo Porrati – “4D Gravity on a Brane in 5D Minkowski Space”https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0005016The Holographic PrincipleLeonard Susskind – “The World as a Hologram”https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/9409089Juan Maldacena – “The Large N Limit of Superconformal Field Theories and Supergravity”https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/9711200Fermilab – The Holometerhttps://holometer.fnal.gov/index.htmlFermilab – Holometer Frequently Asked Questionshttps://holometer.fnal.gov/faq.htmlBrane Worlds and the BulkLisa Randall and Raman Sundrum – “A Large Mass Hierarchy from a Small Extra Dimension”https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/9905221Lisa Randall and Raman Sundrum – “An Alternative to Compactification”https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/9906064The Ekpyrotic and Cyclic UniverseJustin Khoury, Burt Ovrut, Paul Steinhardt, and Neil Turok – “The Ekpyrotic Universe: Colliding Branes and the Origin of the Hot Big Bang”https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0103239Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok – “Cosmic Evolution in a Cyclic Universe”https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0111098M-Theory and the String LandscapeEdward Witten – “String Theory Dynamics in Various Dimensions”https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/9503124Leonard Susskind – “The Anthropic Landscape of String Theory”https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0302219T. Banks – “The Top (10^{500}) Reasons Not to Believe in the Landscape”https://arxiv.org/abs/1208.5715The Many-Worlds InterpretationHugh Everett III – “‘Relative State’ Formulation of Quantum Mechanics”https://journals.aps.org/rmp/abstract/10.1103/RevModPhys.29.454Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanicshttps://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2026/entries/qm-manyworlds/Email your Contest Entries to:ForthHandmedia@gmail.comEmail us your favorite WEIRD news stories:weird@hysteria51.comSupport the ShowGet exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1ShopBe the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Humanoid Homework and Reptilian Lockdown | 513
3w ago00:25:43Tap to summarizeThis week, education gets artificial and prison security goes prehistoric.First, the company behind Realbotix is pitching schools on humanoid AI teacher assistants, because apparently the journey from crypto to adult companionship to high-school STEM education is now a perfectly normal corporate career path. Could a lifelike robot help teenagers learn science, or will “Sally” spend the semester explaining algebra to students desperately searching for her off switch?Then, Israel clears a regulatory path that could allow Nile crocodiles to guard prisons and discourage escape attempts. That’s right, razor wire and watchtowers may soon be joined by several tons of hungry, armored swamp dinosaur with absolutely no respect for visitation hours.Join us as we examine AI robot teachers, crocodile prison guards, and the continuing global effort to turn everyday life into a low-budget science-fiction movie. Grab your hall pass, stay away from the moat, and remember: there are no stupid questions, but there may be crocodiles.Links & Resources📌Hot for Teach📌Swamp Puppy SecurityEmail us your Contest Topics:ForthHandMedia@gmail.comEmail us your favorite WEIRD news stories:weird@hysteria51.comSupport the ShowGet exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1ShopBe the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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All Colors Sam and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Weird Picnic | 512
3w ago01:52:16Tap to summarizeWe go pond jumping this week and head to the Isle of Wight for one of the strangest paranormal encounters ever reported: All Colours Sam, better known as the Sandown Clown.In 1973, two children claimed they met a nearly seven-foot-tall, three-fingered, three-toed, ghost-like humanoid living in a metal hut near Sandown Airport. Normal British stuff, we are pretty sure. Sam wore a pointed yellow hat, spoke through a strange device, said he was “a ghost in an odd sort of way,” and somehow managed to make eating berries look like advanced alien surgery.So what was All Colours Sam? An extraterrestrial? A robot? A folkloric entity? A man in a costume? Or one of the most bizarre childhood stories ever to escape into UFO and cryptid lore?We break down the full encounter, the witnesses, the weirdest details, what believers think happened, what skeptics say, and why the Sandown Clown mystery is still confusing paranormal researchers more than 50 years later this week on Hysteria 51.SourcesBUFORA Journal, Vol. 6, No. 5, Jan/Feb 1978 – “Ghost or Spaceman ’73?”Internet ArchiveThink Anomalous – The Sandown “Ghost Clown,” 1973Think AnomalousOnTheWight – All Colours Sam, aka Sam the Sandown ClownOnTheWightOnTheWight – The Sandown Clown: Exploring Sam, the Isle of Wight’s Surreal 1973 EncounterOnTheWightBBC Radio 4 / Uncanny – Cold Cases: Case 5: The Sandown ClownApple PodcastsOnTheWight – BBC Sounds and Cease to Exist Podcasts Turn Their Attention to All Colours SamOnTheWightSpooky Isles – The Sandown Clown: Fact or Fiction?Spooky IslesWeird Darkness – The Sandown Clown: All Colours Sam and the Isle of WightWeird DarknessIsland Echo – The Sandown Clown Returns to the Isle of WightIsland EchoBedtime Stories – The Sandown ClownThe Sandown ClownShrouded Hand – The Sandown Clown Incident: A Creepy Encounter With an Unknown EntityThe Sandown Clown IncidentEmail your Contest Entries to:ForthHandmedia@gmail.comEmail us your favorite WEIRD news stories:weird@hysteria51.comSupport the ShowGet exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1ShopBe the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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The Raccoon, the Cryptid, and the Measuring Tape | 511
4w ago00:21:59Tap to summarizeSeattle has a new celebrity, and he’s short, round, furry, and built like a raccoon somebody accidentally compressed into a carry-on bag. World, meet Jimothy, the unusually shaped trash panda whose possible spinal deformity, fearless neighborhood adventures, and magnificent little strut have transformed him into an internet sensation, local icon, and living reminder that charisma has absolutely nothing to do with having a neck. No word yet on who he is dating, but our money is on a Kardashian!Then we stomp into even more forbidden scientific territory to investigate one of cryptozoology’s least-requested mysteries: How big is Bigfoot’s... member? An anthropologist uses primate anatomy, evolutionary biology, and far more professionalism than this question deserves to determine whether Sasquatch is proportionally impressive or merely overcompensating with those enormous feet. Also, peen bone??? Maybe!Join us for viral raccoon mania, Sasquatch bedroom speculation, penis bones, and unfortunate proportions. All that and more on the only podcast stupid enough to ask whether Jimothy may secretly be the better-endowed cryptid. Hysteria 51!Links & Resources📌Tiny Trash Panda📌Bigfoot Bedroom Disappointments Email us your Contest Topics:ForthHandMedia@gmail.comEmail us your favorite WEIRD news stories:weird@hysteria51.comSupport the ShowGet exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1ShopBe the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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We Celebrate 200 Episodes of Behind Beautiful Things! | 510
4w ago01:12:08Tap to summarizeJoin us this week as we help our resident overthinker and frequent fill in host Kevin Crispin celebrate the 200th episode of his show Behind Beautiful Things!The 411 From Behind Beautiful Things: In this milestone 200th episode of Behind Beautiful Things, the tables are turned as guest host Kelly—Kevin's sister (and, yes, a doctor!)—takes over the microphone to interview Kevin.Together, they reflect on Kevin's childhood, his lifelong creativity, the close bond they share as siblings, and how being raised by two strong women helped shape the person he is today. Along the way, Kelly shares stories from her life, making for a heartfelt, odd, and memorable conversation.Reaching 200 episodes wouldn't have been possible without our incredible listeners. Thank you to everyone who has tuned in, shared the podcast, and been part of this journey. A very special thank you goes to our producer, Brent, whose talent, kindness, and generosity have helped make every episode possible.Join us as we celebrate 200 episodes of Behind Beautiful Things with laughter, family stories, gratitude, and a look back at the journey that brought us here.Behind Beautiful Things Website: www.sadtimespodcast.com Follow Behind Beautiful Things on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/373292146649249Follow Behind Beautiful Things on Instagram: @behindbeautifulthingspodcastLearn more about Kevin’s Professional Speaking and Acting at www.kevincrispin.comCheck out Kevin’s substack: https://allconviction.substack.com Get your very own “Sad Schwag”: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51/albums/253388-sad-times-podcast?ref_id=9022Editorial note: Behind Beautiful Things is committed to sharing various stories from generous guests. The hope is to allow any number of stories to be shared to help people feel less alone and, perhaps, more empathetic. It is important to clarify that the guests’ stories, perspectives, and sentiments do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of Behind Beautiful Things in any way. Please note that Behind Beautiful Things is in no way a substitute for medical or professional mental health support.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mirror, Mirror in the Sky, Why Are Tiny Men Nearby? | 509
Jul 1500:23:56Tap to summarizeGood News! Humanity has finally found two exciting new ways to ruin your night: blasting artificial sunlight from space and filling your living room with tiny mushroom people.First, the FCC has approved a controversial demonstration satellite designed to reflect sunlight onto Earth after dark. Supporters say space mirrors could power solar farms and illuminate disaster zones. Vampires say Hell No! Astronomers counter that they could devastate dark skies, disrupt scientific research, and potentially flash-blind drivers and pilots. Because apparently the moon needed a loud, privately owned coworker.Then we investigate Lanmaoa Asiatica, a mysterious mushroom that reportedly causes people to see vivid, three-dimensional miniature humans marching, dancing, climbing furniture, and generally treating your home like their personal gnome amusement park. Stranger still, scientists have found no known psychedelic compound that explains why undercooking dinner can summon an entire pocket-sized civilization.This week, come for the controversial space mirror satellites, artificial sunlight, and astronomical light pollution. Stay for the Lilliputian hallucinations, tiny mushroom people, and the unsettling possibility that the future will be far too bright and approximately two inches tall.Links & Resources📌Night Light📌Gnome SyndromeEmail us your Contest Topics:ForthHandMedia@gmail.comEmail us your favorite WEIRD news stories:weird@hysteria51.comSupport the ShowGet exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1ShopBe the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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The Andreasson Affair: Gray Aliens, Frozen Families, and One Very Weird Bird | 508
Jul 1301:45:39Tap to summarizeThe Andreasson Affair is what happens when a classic alien abduction story wanders into a church revival, takes a wrong turn through a dream sequence, and gets dive-bombed by a giant cosmic bird. In 1967, Massachusetts mother Betty Andreasson claimed strange gray beings entered her home, froze her family in place, passed through solid doors, and whisked her away for an encounter packed with medical examinations, telepathic messages, religious symbolism, and enough high-strangeness to make an ordinary UFO sighting look like a delayed commuter flight. You know, that old chestnut.This week we tackle the full Betty Andreasson alien abduction case, the investigation by Raymond Fowler, the controversial hypnosis sessions, the family’s testimony, and the bizarre claims that followed for decades. Was Betty describing genuine extraterrestrial contact, a mystical religious experience, a memory shaped by suggestion, or the most elaborate reason in history for avoiding the dinner dishes? Join us for gray aliens, frozen relatives, cosmic warnings, questionable probes, one very weird bird, and more this week on Hysteria 51!SourcesRaymond E. Fowler – The Andreasson Affairhttps://www.loc.gov/item/94019414/Raymond E. Fowler – The Andreasson Affair, Phase Twohttps://books.google.com/books/about/The_Andreasson_Affair_Phase_Two.html?id=Vc-wxAEACAAJRaymond E. Fowler – The Watchershttps://books.google.com/books/about/The_Watchers.html?id=E5d9AAAACAAJRaymond E. Fowler – The Watchers IIhttps://books.google.com/books/about/The_Watchers_II.html?id=AsXsAAAACAAJRaymond E. Fowler – The Andreasson Legacyhttps://books.google.com/books/about/The_Andreasson_Legacy.html?id=L6fYAAAACAAJEncyclopedia.com – Andreasson, Bettyhttps://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/andreasson-bettyCentral Maine – Off Radar: The Andreasson Affairhttps://www.centralmaine.com/2014/10/30/off-radar-the-andreasson-affair/New England Legends – The Betty Andreasson UFO Abductionhttps://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-444-the-betty-andreasson-ufo-abduction/We Are the Mutants – These Our Poor Afflicted Neighbourshttps://wearethemutants.com/2017/08/22/these-our-poor-afflicted-neighbours-a-womans-powerful-place-in-two-alien-abduction-narratives/Skeptical Inquirer – Ernest H. Taves Archivehttps://skepticalinquirer.org/authors/ernest-h-taves/Skeptical Inquirer – The Andreasson Affair, Phase Twohttps://skepticalinquirer.org/1983/01/the-andreasson-affair-phase-two/Philip J. Klass – UFO-Abductions: A Dangerous Gamehttps://archive.org/details/ufoabductionsdan0000klasJohns Hopkins Medicine – Hypnosishttps://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/hypnosisOhio State University – Hypnosis May Give False Confidence in Inaccurate Memorieshttps://news.osu.edu/hypnosis-may-give-false-confidence-in-inaccurate-memories/National Library of Medicine – The Role of Hypnosis in Memory Recall and False Memorieshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11832514/Norris Funeral Services – Betty Ann Luca Obituaryhttps://www.norrisfuneral.com/obituaries/Betty-Ann-Luca?obId=24398506Email your Contest Entries to:ForthHandmedia@gmail.comEmail us your favorite WEIRD news stories:weird@hysteria51.comSupport the ShowGet exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1ShopBe the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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