1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,080 You know what? I've been around for a while. I've traveled the world, met some interesting 2 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:16,300 people, done some crazy things. So you might just think there's not much that could take 3 00:00:16,300 --> 00:00:25,120 me by surprise. You'd be wrong. The world is full of stories and science and things 4 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:30,920 that amaze and confound me every single day. Incredible mysteries that keep me awake at 5 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:39,280 night. Some I can answer. Others justify logic. 6 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:44,880 Like the surfer attacked by a great white shark. Incredibly, he survives thanks to the 7 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:55,360 intervention of dolphins. Did they intentionally risk their lives to save a human? Or the 8 00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:02,640 skinny 110-pound Missouri team who beats impossible odds by lifting a car to save his dying uncle? 9 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:11,280 Do humans have reservoirs of hidden super strength? Weird or what puts it to the test. 10 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:17,600 And is it possible to smell death? Across America, domestic pets are becoming harbingers 11 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:24,600 of doom, accurately predicting when someone will die. Is that weird or what? 12 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:30,960 Yep. It's a weird world. And I love it. 13 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:57,240 Human beings have always had a complex relationship with the other creatures on our planet. Now, 14 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,280 there are some out there that we avoid for good reason, like lions and tigers and bears 15 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:10,600 and wild, wild women. But some we have a special connection with. Take, for example, dogs. 16 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:18,080 We always think of dogs as being man's best friend, right? What have I told you that there 17 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,440 may be another creature out there competing to be our best friend, a creature that would 18 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:30,160 put its own life in jeopardy to save our skin? 19 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:36,760 This story takes place in Monterey Bay, California. A surfer experiences something so horrible 20 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:50,280 that can only be described as a waking nightmare. On August 27, 2007, Todd Enders and Zane Hawley 21 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:58,080 decide to catch some waves. I really felt that it was just a nice day and that we were 22 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:04,640 going to get good waves. We paddled out together and it was just me and Todd and we were kind 23 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:14,640 of laughing. 24 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:23,320 We were out in the water for probably about 45 minutes. It was just before 11am. And I 25 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:29,080 was watching one of my friends surfing in. I had just paddled back outside on my board 26 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:34,680 and watched my friend get away. I was just sitting there waiting for my next turn. That's 27 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:45,440 seemingly out of nowhere. A huge 20 foot great white shark attacks Todd, biting into him 28 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:53,280 with its rows of razor sharp teeth. And it hit me really, really hard traveling at a high 29 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:59,800 rate of speed. It was going for the kill. When I heard this blood cuddling scream and 30 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:06,280 just all this blood kind of just squirting up and down. I just barely managed to scramble 31 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:12,920 and get my board and put it under me. And literally as I was putting the board underneath 32 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:19,160 me, the shark latched on to me and sandwiched my surfboard with its bottom jaw and my back 33 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:25,280 together. Because it bit me, it got me from my shoulder all the way down to my thigh. 34 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:31,360 And it fit me in its mouth and shook me back and forth like I'd see a dog doing to a stuffed 35 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:35,560 animal. 36 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:42,320 I was literally with my back hanging off of my body. And it bent my right knee backwards 37 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:50,360 and swallowed my leg into its mouth. So I was losing massive quantities of blood. I 38 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:59,960 was just completely frantic and out of my mind scared. 39 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:07,480 But miraculously something comes to his rescue. A nearby pot of bottlenose dolphins intervenes, 40 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:13,800 attacking the massive killing machine. When I saw the dolphins kind of just freaking out 41 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:19,720 in a frenzy and kind of pushing the shark away with their beaks. Tail slapping the water, 42 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:25,440 trying to keep the thing from coming back for a third, you know, a kill bite. 43 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:32,440 The dolphins drive away the shark, but Todd is badly injured. And then like it was sent 44 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:38,000 from God, a wave came that was just a perfect little wave that was breaking right where 45 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:44,320 we were. And I don't even know how I had the energy or the stamina or whatever it is to 46 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:53,320 get into that wave, but I actually caught the wave. Within 10 or 12 seconds I was washing 47 00:05:53,320 --> 00:06:00,760 up on a dry sand and everything around me. All the foam is just bright red. 48 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,400 We all kind of patted him like, Todd, you're going to be all right, you're going to be 49 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:09,240 all right. You know, but I was thinking like, I don't think he's going to be all right. 50 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:12,440 You know, I thought he was done. 51 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:17,640 Todd is rushed to the hospital. It takes 500 stitches and 200 staples to close the massive 52 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:22,560 wounds. Amazingly, Todd survives. 53 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:28,840 I don't think I was meant to die. I think that somebody, a higher power was looking out 54 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:35,720 for me and potentially sent these dolphins or intended for them to be in the right place 55 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:42,520 at the right time and to save me. Because I think that the shark was going for broke. 56 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:49,240 You know, they say that great white sharks, when they attack, they make one devastating 57 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:54,080 blow and then leave and wait for their prey to bleed out so they can completely avoid 58 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:59,920 any type of injury to themselves. 59 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:04,400 Did dolphins really go out of their way to protect that surfer dude? Maybe. I mean, after 60 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:10,160 all, as far back as Aristotle, dolphins have been known as wise guardians of the sea and 61 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:14,640 throughout history there have been tales of them saving human beings and leading lost 62 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:27,720 ships to the safety of shore. That's why we love them so much. But do they love us? 63 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:33,040 Today, researchers believe dolphins are planet Earth's second most intelligent living things 64 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:39,880 and that they should be classified as non-human persons. But is it possible these superheroes 65 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:48,040 of the sea actually help humans like Todd on purpose? Diana Reese, who has been studying 66 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:54,360 dolphins for almost 30 years, believes so. Why would they do this? Why would they risk 67 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:59,080 staying in an area where there are sharks? Why would they risk coming to the aid of a 68 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:04,000 person? It's not a relative, it's not even one of their own species. Why would they do 69 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:05,600 this? 70 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:10,920 Diana's research shows that dolphins are incredibly intelligent and unique creatures possessing 71 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:17,760 some human-like qualities. And these qualities may be the reason why they came to Todd's 72 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:25,680 rescue. Here we're showing this ability of dolphins for a mirror self-recognition. The 73 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:31,880 ability to recognize oneself is rare in the animal kingdom, confirmed in only a few species, 74 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:37,280 including elephants, chimpanzees and magpies. Dr. Reese's experiment was designed to find 75 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:46,040 out if dolphins can recognize themselves in a mirror. In humans, mirror self-recognition 76 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:51,240 emerges at about 18 to 24 months of age. And at that time, at least in human children, 77 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:56,200 that's when the first signs of empathy start emerging. And now we're marking one of the 78 00:08:56,200 --> 00:09:01,920 signs. We mark them with a non-toxic marker and he immediately swims to the mirror, which 79 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:07,000 is right over here. He's been marked on his head and it's now looking at this part of 80 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,440 its head that's marked. And this is really unusual behavior for a dolphin. This dolphin 81 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:17,440 is looking at the mark. Now to see more of his body, he has to back away from the mirror. 82 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,960 We understand that as well. And you can see him now, he's going to look in the mirror, 83 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:26,440 he's spinning and this is not a trained behavior. This is something he came up with himself. 84 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:32,680 You see him looking and spinning. He looks and spins. This is an animal that knows he's 85 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:38,760 looking at himself. If true, a dolphin's power of self-recognition 86 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:44,040 could mean that they are self-aware, like humans. And that would mean dolphins could 87 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:50,520 actually possess a range of human-like emotions, including empathy. 88 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:55,360 I think these animals are capable of this kind of empathy. I think they're capable of 89 00:09:55,360 --> 00:10:00,800 understanding the plight of another and I think they're capable of doing this behavior 90 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:06,160 intentionally. So we know dolphins are amazingly intelligent. 91 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:12,040 They may have the capacity for compassion on many of the same qualities we have. But 92 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:19,360 is there a more obvious reason why dolphins saved the surface life? Was it simply because 93 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:25,640 dolphins just hate sharks? 94 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:30,880 Thomas A. Jefferson is a researcher at the Southwest Fisheries in San Diego. He believes 95 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:35,680 dolphins could possess human-like qualities, but they are far from the lovable creatures 96 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:43,200 of public perception. Is it possible the dolphins' actions were guided by another, far more sinister 97 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:47,560 emotion? The image of dolphins as the happy-go-lucky 98 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:53,160 playboys of the sea is not very accurate. There are many reports where dolphins have 99 00:10:53,160 --> 00:11:01,160 actually injured or in some cases killed people. In 1994 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a bottlenose 100 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:07,440 dolphin acted in self-defense to ram and kill a drunken man who tried to thrust a stick 101 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:16,360 into his blowhole. Jefferson caught another shocking incident 102 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:24,120 on video. A school of dolphins killing a porpoise seemingly without any justification. 103 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:29,760 And we were doing research on bottlenose dolphins in Monterey Bay and we came across a small 104 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:34,240 group of dolphins that were behaving kind of unusually. A group of three dolphins out 105 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:40,240 of a larger group of about a dozen or so were sort of corraling the porpoise and kind of 106 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:45,560 pushing it underwater and very clearly hurting it so that it wouldn't be able to escape and 107 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:52,800 move further offshore. And they eventually lunged on top of it and attacked it and behaved 108 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:57,880 very aggressively and eventually actually killed the porpoise. 109 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:03,280 Bizarrely it's believed the killer dolphins were sexually frustrated young males who 110 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:11,560 denied access to females in the pod decided to vent their anger on the innocent porpoise. 111 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:19,080 Could this capability for violence explain why dolphins attacked the shark? Could they 112 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:28,860 have been looking for a fight? Or is there another unseen factor that can explain why 113 00:12:28,860 --> 00:12:38,680 dolphins saved the surfer's life? Dr. Danieli Maldini is the founder of Okinas, 114 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:44,320 a dolphin research group that had a boat out on the water when Todd was attacked. She 115 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:49,920 believes there's a more logical explanation for what happened. 116 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:57,320 On August 28, 2007 our boat was out in the bay to find dolphins and follow them and do 117 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:04,000 our normal routine survey taking pictures of the animals to assess what was going on 118 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,880 that day. 119 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,640 Their observations revealed that they were young among the dolphin pod and it was to 120 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:16,440 protect them. That Maldini believes the dolphins attacked the great white shark. 121 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:22,480 The shark would have been a danger to their calves. Sharks are natural predators of dolphins 122 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:27,160 and so you would imagine that they would have reacted that way whether Todd was there or 123 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:33,480 not. But Todd will always believe they saved him out of compassion. 124 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:38,480 The dolphins were actually going out of their way to protect me. That is absolutely without 125 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:43,640 a doubt what happened. They formed like a protective wall between me and the shark and 126 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:46,120 it was a conscious decision. 127 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:50,480 So whether this was a conscious act of empathy by creatures that cared whether Todd lived 128 00:13:50,480 --> 00:14:17,240 or died or simply instinctual behavior by wild animals remains weird or what? 129 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:55,360 Folklore once spoke of a black dog as the portent of death. In many evil times people 130 00:14:55,360 --> 00:15:04,640 oft associated cats with black magic. And they were thought to cause plague. A belief 131 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:11,240 that saw these poor little things slaughtered by the millions. We've long since abandoned 132 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:21,240 these superstitions of course. But what if there really is some weird truth buried in 133 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:26,440 those old myths? 134 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:31,800 Canton, Ohio. Here at the Pines Hospice for the elderly something mysterious right out 135 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:40,720 of the X file seems to be going on. Something that defies logic. The Hospice pet dog Scam 136 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:47,160 seems to have supernatural powers. A sixth sense Hospice Chaplain Beth Neerman has seen 137 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:50,000 up close. 138 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:59,440 I had come to see one patient who was dying. They were within hours of their death. And 139 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:05,720 when I walked in the door Scam came up to me and he was just barking, barking. And he 140 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:11,440 does not do that normally. I said what's the matter Scam? And he just turned around and 141 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:19,960 he walked straight to that patient's room. And I was just dumbfounded. 142 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:25,880 Head nurse Adeline Baker was also shocked when she experienced Scam's knack for predicting 143 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:27,040 the end. 144 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:33,280 We found him at a bedside of some lady who was actively dying. And he was just sitting 145 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:39,560 there standing guard. It took a few more times of things that happened like that for 146 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:43,840 us to realize that maybe there was something going on here. 147 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:50,720 He was always very curious to see if someone's okay or if he knew someone wasn't doing well. 148 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:56,080 This one lady was ill on and off and he knew the family. And as soon as he would see the 149 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:00,600 son he'd run up to that son and start barking when she was doing badly. Even sometimes what 150 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:06,080 we realized was that she was on a downhill slide. 151 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:13,440 Providence Rhode Island. Here at the steer nursing home Oscar, a cat also seems to possess 152 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:19,240 a weird talent of foretelling a person's final moments of life. 153 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:25,880 We started to hear inklings of him sitting with patients as they were dying. And I think 154 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:33,160 initially we were all fairly skeptical of a cat sitting with people as they were dying. 155 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:40,960 But one episode became two and two episodes became three and four. It started to be almost 156 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:46,520 a marker for us that a patient might be nearing the end of their life. 157 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:52,920 Just as with Scam, the dog, Oscar's uncanny sense is no one off fluke. The predictions 158 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,280 keep coming. 159 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:59,960 Scam's been remarkably consistent. There was a period of time a year or two ago where 160 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:03,960 he made every death that occurred here on the unit. 161 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:10,840 Scam has been right about 40 times or more. I used to keep account of it but I just sort 162 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:18,040 of after a while was like okay that's pretty much enough. 163 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:24,600 There is no Stephen King-like feeling here on the ward. The idea that this cat is predicting 164 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:30,600 death, most of these patients don't know what's going on around them. They have a perception 165 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:37,560 of a cat is in the room but they certainly don't attach any meaning to that. The patient 166 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:45,400 families have been remarkably supportive of Oscar and in fact invite him in. 167 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:50,920 Actually the residents and the families, they like him a lot. They love him. They equate 168 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:59,000 him with part of being here and part of their home. Not so much that he's predicting death 169 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:04,040 or illness. Just that he's here, he's a comfort. 170 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:11,480 Kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty. 171 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:17,520 Tell me at the straight, are pets can predict death? How can they do that? Do they have some 172 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:25,600 kind of spooky sixth sense or are they using the super keen senses they already possess? 173 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:31,120 After all dogs and cats have hundreds of millions more scent receptors in their noses than we 174 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:40,400 do. Is it possible pets are able to smell our imminent demise? 175 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:49,200 Dr. Alexandra Horowitz is an expert on animal behavior and cognition. 176 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:55,760 When we awaken we see the world. When dogs awaken they smell the world. 177 00:19:55,760 --> 00:20:01,360 That's because dogs have around 220 million smell sensitive receptors in their noses compared 178 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:06,720 to 5 million in humans. 179 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:15,600 I hold up a rose. To me it's just a single item to the dog. It is an item identified by the 180 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:21,200 people who have handled it and have left their scent on it. Smells move through time. They 181 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:30,080 mark how recently someone has visited a spot. Strong odors are recent. Weak odors are more 182 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:37,280 distant. A broken leaf might emit a scent. The scent of insects that have visited the 183 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,840 rose and traveled from other places bringing their scent. 184 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:47,280 So does the dog's heightened sense allow them to smell the inner processes of the human body? 185 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:54,160 Cutting edge medical research suggests it might. 186 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:59,840 Researchers in California train dogs to successfully recognize odors on the breath of breast and 187 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:06,160 lung cancer patients. Just a few of the imperceptible odors of illness produced by the human body. 188 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:14,720 When someone is near death or as their bodies ultimately deteriorate there are certain odors 189 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:21,600 that are emitted from the change in the concentration of acid and the fluid in the body to cells actually 190 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:28,560 dying to a bacteria which is taking over the body and it itself emits a scent. 191 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:37,920 So there might be some timed smells associated with near death with death and with certainly 192 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:42,160 after death as we even with our blood noses would eventually realize. 193 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:49,600 Beyond a heightened regular sense of smell dogs and cats and some other mammals have an extra sixth 194 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:55,360 sense in the form of a tiny organ called the vomeronasal or Jacobson's organ. 195 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:01,920 The vomeronasal organ which has not been found in humans is acutely attuned to pheromone activity 196 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,440 chemical messages that pass from one animal to another. 197 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:11,600 It's absolutely possible that when we're dying we give off hormones cortisol stress hormone or 198 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:18,320 adrenaline as the body starts to resist death that are detectable by the dog through his vomeronasal organ. 199 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:26,640 It's conceivable but does an incredible ability to pick up scent really explain how Oscar the 200 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:32,240 cat and scamp the dog are able to sense the death of a human being? What if the animals 201 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:36,560 are picking up on something completely unrelated to scent? 202 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:46,640 Could we humans be unwittingly talking to animals giving away tell-tale clues 203 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:52,000 as to our physical or mental well-being by using a means of non-verbal communication? 204 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,400 Science is only beginning to understand. 205 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:03,920 Toronto Canada a dog named Boston has been trained to respond to the epileptic seizures 206 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:05,440 of his handler Andy Brooks. 207 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:12,880 But something weird is happening. It seems that Boston has developed the ability 208 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:16,720 to sense Andy's seizures up to 40 minutes before they even happen. 209 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:22,960 Boston would you know detect these seizures by you know whining and crying and I'll be like 210 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:27,040 no there's nothing wrong boss and I think you're just you know losing your apples. 211 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:34,080 But each time urologist tested Andy for the kind of brain activity that normally precedes a seizure 212 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:36,640 they confirm Boston's diagnosis. 213 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:42,080 We checked by the doctor and the doctor's like yeah you know I trust this dog with more than 214 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:47,280 anything so they got me hooked up and all that and found out yeah I'm having seizures 215 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:49,440 you know and he's detecting them before they happen. 216 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:55,520 Scientists dismiss the idea even a dog could sniff out subtle changes to the electrical 217 00:23:55,520 --> 00:24:01,520 impulses of the human brain. So what can explain Boston's bizarre predictions? 218 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:08,960 Ian Ashworth is a dog trainer and a program director of Dog Guides Canada. 219 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:14,080 He has a hunch dogs powers of perception go way beyond simple scent. 220 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:20,320 We do find that some of our dogs do actually start detecting seizures and it's something 221 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:25,760 that we don't train for because as yet there's there's no real clear idea of what what they're 222 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:31,680 detecting. My own suspicion is that they are picking up in some subtle change in body language. 223 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:36,560 Dogs are great readers of people's body language and they can really tune into 224 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:42,240 to different moods and things that are going to happen and so what we do is you know if 225 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:48,080 if our clients notice that happening then they do start to encourage it just as as they 226 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:53,600 encourage any other area of the training and anecdotally we've had dogs that have detected 227 00:24:53,600 --> 00:25:00,720 seizures like 30 45 minutes before it actually happens which is amazing and it's a huge huge 228 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:07,120 bonus really for our client who initially gets his dog as a companion and to respond to their 229 00:25:07,120 --> 00:25:13,440 seizures and then they suddenly find that that it is actually giving them warning. The best guesses 230 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:19,520 I think are that they're detecting a slight change in behavior which as humans we become accustomed 231 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:26,800 to even around an epileptic. It's estimated that more than 60 percent of human communication 232 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:32,560 takes place through body language. We're often unaware of this form of subconscious dialogue 233 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:36,960 but dogs are highly attuned to these cues and may even respond. 234 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:46,000 We could have animals telling us information about ourselves all the time. A dog sniffed 235 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:50,720 something on your leg you don't notice it. It doesn't seem like a communication to you 236 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:56,400 but it might be that the dog is noticing something of information and we just haven't picked up on 237 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:02,160 the fact that they're trying to tell us something. You don't need to have the dog intending to tell 238 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:07,840 us something about our leg or intending to tell the person something about epilepsy but they notice it. 239 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:14,640 So could pets like Scamp and Oscar really have the ability to pick up unconscious signals from their 240 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:22,960 owners? It seems plausible but before we make up our minds let's consider another theory 241 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:29,760 something a little more esoteric. Now when it comes to understanding cats 242 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:35,760 perhaps there's a more suitable expert of our feline friends than doctors and scientists, witches 243 00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:40,880 have long been known for their special relationship with cats known as 244 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:47,600 familiars in witching lingo. Can a witch brew up some answers for us? 245 00:26:55,280 --> 00:27:00,320 Laurie Cabot is the official witch of Salem, Massachusetts and the prophecies of Oscar the 246 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:09,200 cat come apparently as no surprise to her. He certainly is top of the line familiar. 247 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:18,080 All cats have an ability that same ability that humans have for becoming a psychic. 248 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:27,840 Can cats read our conscious or unconscious minds? Cabot believes so but only if our brain waves 249 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:35,520 align. Human brain wave activity is categorized into distinct patterns including delta, theta, 250 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:42,000 alpha and beta. Beta waves are associated with the alert mind while delta waves occur during 251 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:47,520 deep sleep. But alpha waves occur when we are relaxed and settle somewhere in between not 252 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:54,720 asleep but not actively thinking. It is in this day-dreaming alpha state where Cabot believes 253 00:27:54,720 --> 00:28:00,160 we all have the psychic potential to communicate with cats who Cabot says are in the alpha state 254 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:10,800 most of the time. I think that Oscar is doing what every cat can do. He's picking up 255 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:19,840 the information from their aura and their energy and I think those people are very fortunate really 256 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:27,200 to have him walk with them into the other world. So Oscar the cat and scamp the dog. 257 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:33,360 Are they smelling the imminence of death? Are we sending non-verbal signals to them? 258 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:42,960 Or do our household pets have a supernatural sixth sense to read the human aura? Is that weird? 259 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:45,840 A what? 260 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:08,480 A skinny 110 pound Missouri team beats impossible odds by lifting a car to save his dying uncle. 261 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:13,840 Do humans have reservoirs of hidden strength? Weird or what puts it to the test? 262 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:25,280 You know what I love about comic books? They're just pure fantasy and outer escapism. I mean take 263 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:34,400 the hook. Here's a regular guy who involuntarily transforms into an unthinking super bee capable 264 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:41,760 of incredible feats of strength when faced with moments of extreme stress. It could never happen 265 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:52,000 in the real world. San Louis, Missouri 2005. Jim McClane is under his old Camino preparing to 266 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:57,120 replace a starter motor when the jack that's holding the car off the ground malfunctions. 267 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:04,240 Took the old starter out putting the new starter in and I gave him one last crank. I seen it come 268 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:14,000 out he was coming down then it just claps right on my chest. Trapped under the car Jim has several 269 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:18,240 broken ribs but worse with his lungs compressed he can barely breathe. 270 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:28,880 Help and when I yelled help it just crushed me more. I was dying I mean I knew I was dying 271 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:35,680 and I'm going God don't let me die like this. Jim's scream is heard by his nephew Jack McClane 272 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:41,600 then just 14 years old. There I heard someone yelling help and as soon as I saw that it was coming 273 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:48,320 from my uncle who was under the car then that's when I freaked out. Jack realizes his uncle Jim 274 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:54,640 is moments from death but what Jack doesn't realize is that this crisis is making his body go through 275 00:30:54,640 --> 00:31:01,440 an incredible transformation. It was a weird feeling I've never had any feeling like I had 276 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:06,400 when I had heard that I felt sick and I ran over there and that's when I started lifting. 277 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:13,280 With just seconds to spare Jack attempts the impossible to lift over 1,000 pounds of weight 278 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:19,360 off his dying uncle. I treated this car as if it weighed 10 pounds that it had to go up and he had 279 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:24,640 to get air. I just grabbed right here under this bumper started pulling it's a weird feeling you 280 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:30,560 know that uh every inch you go you can't stop. I was begging him I mean I mean really I wasn't 281 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:36,800 begging him. Inch by inch Jack lifts the car off his uncle's shattered chest. 282 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:43,440 You have to keep going you have to find something you'll use your toe muscles anything you can find 283 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:48,960 and you guys I just had to keep going I couldn't stop. He keeps going holding the car up long enough 284 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:54,080 for his uncle to struggle free. That's what saved me when the paramilitary got here they said in 285 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:59,600 out of 10 seconds I've been dead. If he didn't have that strength just to lift that frame up a 286 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:04,320 little bit I'd be dead. It's probably one of the best days I've ever felt you know that I stayed in 287 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:18,000 my uncle and it's just something I will never forget. Okay so what do we have? Some guy is getting 288 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:24,720 crushed to death by a car and then a terrified scrawny little kid manages to save him and become 289 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:31,440 a real-life comic book hero in the process. Let's think about this for a second. If he's if he's 290 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:38,080 lifting the car at the engine block even just an inch off the ground that's around a thousand pounds. 291 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:42,720 That's unbelievable. 292 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:51,680 Or think about it this way Jack lifted the equivalent of the world's dead lift record. 293 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:57,760 How could this have happened? Is there something special about Jack McLean? 294 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:07,360 David Sander is a sports performance expert with over 20 years of experience training pro-athlete. 295 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:12,640 Today he's putting Jack McLean through his paces in search of the answers. 296 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:19,360 I meet some of the best athletes in the world but none of them saved anybody's life. 297 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:28,800 Jack McLean 14 years old 110 pounds just this tiny guy in a total panic situation lifting a 298 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:34,000 3,500 pound car which is probably over a thousand pounds at the engine. I mean just an incredible 299 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:41,360 fetus strength. But amazing a fetus strength we're all capable of doing. It's estimated that we humans 300 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:46,560 only use a maximum of 65 percent of our muscles full capacity in everyday life. 301 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:55,200 This gives good motor control the ability to do delicate tasks and it also makes us humans 302 00:33:55,200 --> 00:34:01,920 incredibly good at tasks requiring endurance. But what about the other 35 percent? 303 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:09,520 Sander's theory is this extra power can be summoned by unleashing an explosive phenomenon he calls 304 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:19,200 hysterical strength. Hysterical strength is basically the ability to call on every muscle in 305 00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:26,160 your body to help do some tasks when you're really in a lot of trouble. You've got maximal muscle 306 00:34:26,240 --> 00:34:32,400 recruitment and you create an unbelievable amount of power and force and overcome the impossible. 307 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:38,240 Within seconds of sensing danger our brain sends a signal for our body to switch into an emergency 308 00:34:38,240 --> 00:34:43,840 state known as fight or flight. Adrenal glands start pumping out hormones designed to kick 309 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:49,600 our vital organs into action. Our pupils die like making vision sharper. The heart races blood pressure 310 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:56,160 skyrocket. The liver releases glucose for quick fuel. Breathing speeds up infusing the body with 311 00:34:56,160 --> 00:35:02,000 oxygen while blood is diverted away from the skin into the muscles in preparation for an 312 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:11,840 almighty blast of emergency hysterical strength. Fear forces you to recruit muscle. Fear forces you 313 00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:19,200 to produce force and fear forces you to fight. To test the hysterical strength theory Sander 314 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:25,200 has devised an experiment using biofeedback software. Over this way we have rigged a bench 315 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:31,680 press device to help us gather some information. Jack has no idea that Sander is planning to 316 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:37,760 surprise and scare him in an attempt to trigger a genuine hysterical strength fear response. 317 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:47,680 In the meantime I have a question. If I understand this correctly this theory states 318 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:54,960 that my body has the ability to coordinate all the fibers in my body's 640 muscles 319 00:35:55,920 --> 00:36:04,240 to work together and fire at the same time at a super high frequency to tap 100% of my potential 320 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:15,360 and produce uncanny levels of strength. So why can't I open this jar? 321 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:25,680 What I mean is why can we only access this dormant power in moments of extreme fear? 322 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:29,760 Why not whenever we want? 323 00:36:35,120 --> 00:36:42,000 To find out we need to take a trip into our evolutionary past. Let's ask this guy Dr. Lawrence 324 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:49,040 Gonzalez. He has a theory we can't all be superman all the time because we think too much. 325 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:58,720 To him a hormone-fueled physiological response is just part of the answer. The real explanation 326 00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:06,480 for such feats of strength is in how our brain rationalizes the extreme. If someone you love is 327 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:10,880 pinned under a car you might rush out and lift the car up without stopping to think that you 328 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:16,560 can't lift a car and the stopping to think is the key to this because if you stop to think you 329 00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:22,960 aren't that strong. All this thinking involves an area of the brain called the neocortex. 330 00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:29,440 The neocortex covers the outer layer of our brain and plays a critical role in controlling 331 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:34,160 consciousness, language, reason, logic, key characteristics that make us human. 332 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:40,480 But according to Gonzalez the neocortex also acts like an automobile governor causing us to 333 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:48,160 think twice keeping our primal emotions in check. This overthinking makes us weaker unable to tap 334 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:54,080 into our full strength potential a theory proven Gonzalez believes by the physical prowess of chimps. 335 00:37:55,120 --> 00:38:01,760 That is the mechanics of their joints the makeup of their muscles their chemistry all of that is 336 00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:06,720 pretty much the same as ours they're simply able to take full advantage of it all the time. 337 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:13,840 Even an average chimpanzee can lift more jump higher than an elite human athlete. One reason 338 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:19,520 for that according to Gonzalez is because they have a far smaller and less developed neocortex. 339 00:38:22,720 --> 00:38:28,960 So unlike us the emotional instincts of chimps are far more unrestrained they act without thinking 340 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:34,880 they act without thinking and can summon 100% of their muscle capacity in everyday moments. 341 00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:42,560 So did Jack McClain manage to avoid thinking and override his neocortex? 342 00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:45,760 I didn't even waste time to think about can I do it I had to do it. 343 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:48,320 Well maybe he did. 344 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:57,760 Okay so science has a few neat theories to explain how we might react to these extreme 345 00:38:57,760 --> 00:39:05,920 situations but does science have all the answers? Take the great explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton 346 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:13,920 1908 a hero of mine he and three companions survived walking for weeks half-star across the 347 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:19,840 frozen Antarctic wastes with a ration of just one biscuit a day. To what did he attribute his 348 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:26,880 survival increased physiological response leading to greater endurance? No to Shackleton 349 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:33,600 it was down to the reassuring presence of angels urging him on. 350 00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:43,840 So could young Jack McClain have had a little help from you know elsewhere they think so? 351 00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:50,720 I always wear my cross and I got Jesus tattooed on my chest always had him on my chest for many 352 00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:57,200 years. My grandpa John Jack McClain wouldn't be surprised if it was my grandpa looking over us. 353 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:05,440 So what's going on? This is John Geiger an author who has researched many such responses 354 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:13,120 from those who have overcome seemingly impossible physical odds. He refers to it as third man factor. 355 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:20,720 The third man factor is a sense that an unseen being a presence has intervened on your side in 356 00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:27,680 life and death struggles. It's hard to comprehend a one-wyery teenager could do something that 357 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:35,520 on a normal day probably 20 men could not do. It is hard to use any other word other miracle to 358 00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:44,640 describe that situation. Geiger can't prove this theory but sports performance expert David Sand 359 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:50,720 thinks he can provide evidence for a more down-to-earth explanation of Jack McClain's heroic deed. 360 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:59,280 Sandler believes it was down to something he calls hysterical strength a biological response 361 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:07,440 triggered by fear. To test this he's brought young Jack to a gym. Getting different readings Jen? 362 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:13,280 Everything's good? Now Jack thinks he's doing bench presses so Sandler can collect data on how his 363 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:20,000 muscles operate in normal conditions. In fact Sandler is preparing a little controlled accident. 364 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:27,680 He hopes he'll terrify Jack's body into action. Can Jack release his super strength again? Yeah I 365 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:30,320 think uh I think we're pretty good and ready to go. Oh! 366 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:43,440 Hmm so much for that. Jack looks completely unfazed but did the stunt provoke a hysterical 367 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:49,280 strength response from his muscles? When the weights are falling I just figure he's gonna 368 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:54,160 fall on me so I try to stop him. My heart started beating at the FL so it was kind of scary at first. 369 00:41:54,400 --> 00:42:02,880 Let's check the data starting with Jack's heart rate. He basically shot up to 150 almost 160 beats. 370 00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:09,760 70 beats instantly. With your breathing rate that jumped up considerably. You hit a 27 371 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:16,160 breaths per minute like almost instantly so again bam holy jumping. Yeah adrenaline dump, 372 00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:22,960 heart rate jump, breathing rate jump. So that's kind of cool. What's really cool is the muscle 373 00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:28,400 activity. So here you are sort of moving along all right. It's your muscles and you're kind of 374 00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:36,480 getting ready and going through. Now watch what happens to your muscle signal as we drop the 375 00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:44,000 weight. Oh there it is. Yeah see that? Yeah wow. So what happens is when you try to stop it 376 00:42:44,720 --> 00:42:50,400 see how much more muscle activity occurs okay. So as we're kind of doing this you're sort of going 377 00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:55,920 up and down we're getting a muscle reading that was what you were seeing before. We dropped the 378 00:42:55,920 --> 00:43:02,080 weight you panic. Yeah. You fire everything you got to try to to try to stop it. The experiment has 379 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:08,400 shown how a shock event can trigger a fear response calling dormant muscle strength into action. 380 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:15,520 But what happens at the gym will never match that day in 2005 when a skinny 110 pound teenager 381 00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:20,880 managed to lift a full-sized car off his trapped uncle. Is that weird or what? 382 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:33,040 So there we have it three weird mysteries but several even weirder theories. A surfer 383 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:38,960 under attack from a great white shark saved by dolphins. Did they rush to his aid fueled by 384 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:44,000 human-like compassion or rage? Did the dolphins act on pure instinct? 385 00:43:49,200 --> 00:43:54,640 Cats and dogs seemingly able to predict the passing of a human being. Are they detecting 386 00:43:54,640 --> 00:44:01,040 the scent of death? Are they picking up our unconscious body language? Or do our pets have 387 00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:08,560 supernatural powers? A skinny kid does the seemingly impossible. He lifts a car 388 00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:14,080 saving his uncle from death. Was this extra strength fueled by a fear response? Or did 389 00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:25,600 Jack McClain have a guardian angel? You decide. Join me next time for three more stories that will 390 00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:38,160 undoubtedly be weird or what.