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In the coldest, driest desert on Earth, a glacier bleeds.
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Deep in the barren McMurdo dry valleys of Antarctica, a river of blood-red water
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seeps from the Taylor Glacier, winding its way into Lake Bonny.
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It's a site so alien, so shocking, that it feels as though it belongs on another planet.
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Well, this is Blood Falls, a place where ice appears alive, where chemistry,
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geology, and life converge in ways that challenge everything we think and know
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about the limits of survival.
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Welcome to the Tilted Planet Podcast, where we share journeys,
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stories, and a little wonder from around the world.
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I'm Jack, your host, and today we're venturing into one of Earth's most surreal
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and haunting landscapes.
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We'll explore the science behind the red brine, meet the microbes that survive
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in this extreme environment, and hear the stories of the explorers and scientists
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who first discovered this wonder.
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Bloodfalls remind us that life can endure in the harshest, most isolated places,
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and that Earth still holds secrets that are mysterious as they are extraordinary.
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The story of Bloodfalls begins over a century ago, in 1911, when Australian
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geologist Griffith Taylor first noticed a strange red streak flowing from the Taylor Glacier.
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At the time, Antarctica had already earned a reputation as a frozen wasteland,
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inhospitable to most life.
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Yet, here was something that seemed almost alive.
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The red streak stood out, dramatically, as you can imagine, against the vast white and grey ice.
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Early explorers and scientists could hardly believe what they were seeing.
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Some speculated it was algae, while others feared more ominous explanations.
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Perhaps the glacier itself was bleeding, or some hidden catastrophe had tainted the ice itself.
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Journal entries from the time are filled with awe, uncertainty, and wonder.
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Taylor himself described the scene with both fascination and disbelief,
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highlighting just how alien the McMurdo Dry Valleys even appeared.
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For decades, Blood Falls remained a curiosity, glimpsed only by those brave
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enough to traverse the remote valleys.
Load full transcript
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The extreme isolation, bitter cold, and harsh terrain meant that only the most
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determined expeditions could even approach it.
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Supplies were limited, travel was of course treacherous, and every step in the
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icy desert required very careful planning.
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Yet, even in those early encounters, Blood Falls sparked imaginations.
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It wasn't a scientific anomaly.
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It was a place that seemed to pulse with hidden life, a visual paradox in a
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desert where life appeared nearly impossible.
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The reason blood falls appears to bleed lies deep beneath the glacier.
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In pockets of iron, or rich brine trapped for nearly 2 million years to be exact,
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these brines are sealed off beneath layers of ice and rock, completely isolated
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from sunlight and oxygen.
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Over millennia, the pressure from the ice slowly pushes the brine towards the
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surface, forcing it through the fissures in the glacier.
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When the iron-rich water reaches the air, the iron oxidizes,
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effectively rusting in place and staining the ice a vivid crimson color.
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In certain light, the streaks glow like molten scarlet.
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In others, they appear dark, almost maroon, against the surrounding white ice.
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The effect is both subtle and quite dramatic, creating the visual impression
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that the glacier itself is bleeding from a wound.
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The brine is highly saline, about three times saltier than seawater itself,
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which prevents it from freezing even in sub-zero temperatures and conditions.
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This means the red water flows slowly across the glacier year-round,
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unaffected by the bitter cold of the Antarctic winter.
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Beyond its striking color, the brine serves as a natural time capsule as well.
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Because trapped beneath the ice,
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it has preserved chemical and biological signatures for millions of years.
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This offers scientists a rare glimpse into Earth's distant past.
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It's both a geological marvel and a chemical wonder an isolated extreme environment
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unlike almost anything else on earth.
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Some researchers have described the brine as a frozen laboratory because it
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holds clues to Earth's history that would otherwise be lost.
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By studying the composition of the brine, scientists can track changes in the
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atmosphere, the presence of ancient microorganisms, and even the movement of
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the glacier over millennia.
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It's a place where time has been paused and allowing us to look back at the
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Earth in a state untouched by modern human influence. Blood falls isn't just
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a chemical spectacle, it is also home to life.
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In 2009, researchers studying the glacier actually discovered microbial organisms
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thriving in the iron-rich brine.
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These microbes survive without sunlight, without oxygen, and in near-freezing temperatures at that.
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Instead of photosynthesis, they rely on chemosynthesis, extracting energy from
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chemical reactions involving iron and sulfur.
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This discovery was groundbreaking. It demonstrated that life can endure in extreme
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isolation, surviving for millions of years in conditions that were previously
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considered uninhabitable and completely impossible to exist.
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The microbes of blood falls are a living testament to the resilience and the adaptability of life.
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These microorganisms are tiny, invisible to the naked eye, yet they shape the
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chemical environment around them, quite dramatically in this case.
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They actually help maintain the brine's unique composition, producing gases
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and compounds that slowly interact with the surrounding ice and rock.
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In a way, they are both caretakers and inhabitants of a microcosm that has existed
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entirely apart from the rest of the world.
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Their existence also holds implications far beyond Antarctica.
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Scientists studying these extremophiles, as they're called, consider them analogues
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for potential life on other planets or moons, such as Mars or Europa.
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If life can survive in the subglacial brine of Antarctica, could similar organisms
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exist beneath the ice of another world? Maybe.
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Blood Falls offers a tantalizing glimpse into the possibilities of life in conditions
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vastly different from our own.
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Blood Falls actually lies within the McMurdo Dry Valleys, as I've previously
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mentioned, The largest ice-free region in Antarctica, actually.
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The valleys are a desert in every sense of the word.
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Nearly no precipitation falls here. Some areas have remained dry for nearly 2 million years.
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And temperatures routinely plummet far below freezing.
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Winds howl across barren rock. And the landscape stretches in endless shades
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of white, grey, and brown.
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Amidst this stark, desolate environment, the red streaks of bloodfalls stand
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out as an almost supernatural anomaly.
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They bring color to a landscape otherwise dominated by muted tones,
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creating a visual contrast that is both beautiful and quite eerie, as you can imagine.
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The dry valleys are often described as Earth's closest analog to the Martian surface.
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Rocky plains stretch for miles with occasional frozen lakes and scattered glaciers.
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Salt deposits glint in the rare sunlight, and the wind carves shapes into the
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exposed rock that feel almost sculpted by some alien hand.
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For scientists working here, every step is an exercise in vigilance,
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and the combination of cold, isolation, and unpredictable terrain means that
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a small mistake could be quite dangerous, or even deadly.
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Scientists often compare the dry valleys to the surface of Mars.
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As one of the most Mars-like environments on Earth.
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Making blood falls an invaluable natural laboratory.
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Here, researchers can study extreme conditions, microbial survival,
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and chemical processes that may actually mirror extraterrestrial environments.
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It's a place where the ordinary laws of ecology and life are tested to their
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very limits, yet nature continues to persist in astonishing ways.
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Now, unlike other extraordinary places on Earth, Antarctica doesn't have indigenous
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folklore or local myths. as you could probably imagine.
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Yet it has inspired imagination in a different kind of way, through the eyes
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of explorers, scientists and those who encounter it.
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Early explorers saw it as a wound in the planet, a scar marking some hidden
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force or secret within the ice.
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Their journals capture feelings of awe, fear and wonder, reflecting the alien
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quality of the landscape.
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In modern times, Blood Falls has appeared in photographs, documentaries and
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articles, often described as otherworldly, cinematic, or even surreal.
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Its dramatic color and isolated setting make it feel like a place out of a science
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fiction novel, as if it were a landscape that was painted for an alien world, not for here.
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For listeners, Blood Falls is the kind of place that challenges our sense of
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reality and reminds us that Earth is far stranger than we often imagine.
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Some scientists recount the difficulty of actually reaching Blood Falls even today.
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Teams must haul heavy equipment across miles of ice and rock,
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enter sub-zero temperatures for extended periods of time, howling winds,
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and often months of isolation.
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The logistical challenges add quite a layer of narrative drama.
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The landscape is not only extreme, it demands respect.
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These human stories of perseverance highlight the dedication required to study
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one of the most isolated corners of this planet.
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Today, Blood Falls is studied primarily by scientists.
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Extracting samples requires very careful planning, and access to the harshest
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conditions on Earth are limited, obviously.
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Researchers analyzed the brine, the microbes, and the subglacial chemical processes
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to better understand extreme life, and how it works, how it copes,
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and keeps on going in the most extreme conditions.
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Modern studies have confirmed that brine continues to flow literally year-round,
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slowly reshaping the ice and leaving mineral deposits behind.
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Each drip carries both chemical and biological signatures that offer insight
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into conditions that have persisted for millions of years.
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The research also informs broader scientific questions, such as how life can
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endure isolation, the effects of extreme environments on chemical and microbial
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processes, and the potential for life well beyond our planet in different conditions.
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Blood Falls reminds us that even in places that appear barren or lifeless,
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there is complexity, resilience, and an extraordinary capacity for survival.
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Blood Falls is a reminder that extraordinary often hides in the most unlikely places.
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From deserts where sand shifts beneath your feet, to glaciers that bleed crimson,
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Earth is full of secrets waiting to be discovered.
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It humbles us, inspires us, and invites us to imagine the possibilities of life
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in conditions vastly different from our own.
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Standing in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, looking at the red streaks winding through
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ice and stone, you can't help but feel a sense of awe.
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The planet continues to surprise us, over and over again, revealing worlds that
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are as alien as they are real.
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Join me next time on the tilted planet podcast as we journey into the glowing mystery of,
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bioluminescence where living light illuminates the
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oceans forests and caves of our world until then keep exploring keep wondering
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until your perspective and if you enjoyed today's episode please leave a like
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or a comment and if you'd like to support the show you can even buy me a coffee
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using the link in the description.
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Music.