Original subtitles

CHARLIE: Hey guys, Charlie here! You know my sister Kirby. KIRBY: Hey guys!

CHARLIE: Today we're hanging out underground in Virginia.

KIRBY: So grab a helmet and strap on a headlamp.

CHARLIE: Because it's time for Weird but True!

(theme music plays)

CHARLIE: Hey guys! KIRBY: Welcome to HQ.

CHARLIE: We're so glad you're here.

Alright, a few minutes ago Kirby and I were having a diorama duel.

KIRBY: Wait, you guys don't know what a diorama duel is? This might catch you up a bit.

CASEY: Are you ready to rumble? It's time for a diorama duel!

CHARLIE (off-screen): Two players face off in a head to head craft duel

to make the best diorama.

The winner receives fame, fortune, and basically eternal glory.

The loser loses everything.

The duel, their crafting reputation, and their dignity.

Stakes are high!

KIRBY: We don't mess around here people!

CHARLIE: But during today's diorama duel, something weird happened.

We had just finished up our pieces when it came time to face judge Casey.

CASEY: Alright guys let's see them.

Whoa, you guys literally made the exact same thing.

KIRBY: What?

CHARLIE (off-screen): Like exactly the same thing.

KIRBY (off-screen): To the very tree.

CHARLIE: So it was a tie.

KIRBY: But you can't have a diorama duel and not have a winner.

CHARLIE: It was time for a tiebreaker.

We diorama-ed the sky, the grass, and everything in between.

But there was one place we hadn't touched.

CHARLIE: We're taking this diorama duel underground!

KIRBY: And when you're doing an underground diorama there's only

one way to bring home the top prize.

CHARLIE: You gotta diorama the heck out of a cave!

KIRBY: Oh yeah!

CHARLIE: So that's what we're doing today!

Unraveling the world of...

KIRBY (off-screen): Caves! CHARLIE (off-screen): Caves!

CASEY: Alright crafters, you have 30 minutes to make your dioramas.

Starting in three, two, one, duel!

CHARLIE: Okay uh caves, caves uh.

KIRBY: What do we got here?

CHARLIE: You know what I just realized Kirb?

KIRBY: What's up? CHARLIE: I know absolutely nothing about caves.

KIRBY: Me neither. CHARLIE: Head over to HQ for some research?

KIRBY: You bet. CHARLIE: Great, let's go.

Alright, caves, caves.

Oh look at this!

There are actually a bunch of different kinds of caves.

KIRBY: Who knew? CHARLIE: Let's check it out.

The main difference between all these caves is how they form.

Lava caves form when the outer surface of lava cools, but the inside keeps flowing.

Then the lava inside dries up later and boom!

You're left with a cave.

Wind caves form in the desert when wind erodes the sides of sandstone cliffs.

Sea caves are made the same way except it's the constant barrage of waves

that form the cave.

Same with the glacier caves, except it's the glacier melt that erodes away the ice.

Tectonic caves form from the movement of tectonic plates.

And finally limestone solution caves form when acidic groundwater dissolves marble

and limestone over millions and millions of years.

So we got a lot of options for diorama styles here.

KIRBY: But like where do we even start?

CHARLIE: Oh my gosh, David!

KIRBY: David! David's Charlie's friend from Virginia.

He's an actual cave expert.

CHARLIE: I'm calling him right now.

(phone ringing)

CHARLIE: David! DAVID: Charlie!

CHARLIE: How's Virginia? DAVID: Virginia's great! CHARLIE: Can we come caving?

DAVID: Yeah absolutely I can take you caving!

CHARLIE: Awesome! We'll see you in five!

This is perfect!

KIRBY: Alright Charles, question.

What are we supposed to pack for this thing?

CHARLIE: Uh I have no idea.

This might be a good time for some caving bro-tips.

A little caving 101 from our friends Brett and Sebastian.

Sup dudes? Brett here alongside my bro Sebastian.

KIRBY: Salutations. CHARLIE: So you wanna go caving?

KIRBY: Excellent activity.

CHARLIE: Here are some caving bro tips to help you cave safely.

Always cave with another bro, cave in groups of bros, and let somebody outside the cave

know about your bro pack's caving plans.

That way if you get lost you got somebody to help you out and you got some buddies to

back up your sweet cave stories.

KIRBY: Bro, we saw a bat like the size of a house!

CHARLIE: Bro's not lying! CASEY: Whoa!

KIRBY: Always carry three light sources with you.

I like to carry four, a flashlight, two head lamps, and my glowing personality.

CHARLIE: Other equipment you need on your bro person:

A helmet, to protect your bro head.

Knee pads, to protect your little bro knees.

And coveralls, 'cause caving is a cold and muddy business.

CHARLIE: Perfect. KIRBY: So we know what we need.

CHARLIE: Guys, this is great!

While caving with David I'm gonna find exactly

what my diorama needs to win this thing.

KIRBY: Whoa, you mean I'll find out exactly what

my diorama needs to win this thing.

CHARLIE: Whatever you wanna tell yourself, Kirb.

KIRBY: Let's pack up and then we'll head out.

CHARLIE: Sounds good.

KIRBY (off-screen): Weird but True.

CHARLIE (off-screen): We're heading off to Virginia to study some caves!

Old dominion!

Eight presidents were born in Virginia.

More importantly it's home to thousands of caves!

Guys, check it out that guy down there, that's our buddy David.

KIRBY: David's been caving for years.

CHARLIE: We don't know anyone who knows more about caves than he does.

KIRBY: Let's go say hi.

David is a marine scientist and a caving guide who loves exploring underground.

He's gonna take us to some sweet caves with really cool features.

His favorite Weird but True fact is.

It's home to 20 million bats.

CHARLIE: Hey David! How's it going man?

DAVID: Hey Charlie. KIRBY: Hey David. DAVID: Hey Kirby.

CHARLIE: Aw man we're so excited for our caving adventure today.

DAVID (off-screen): Yeah you guys have come to the right place.

CHARLIE: This is the cave we're going into today? What kind of cave is this?

DAVID: This is a limestone solution cave.

CHARLIE: Oh okay. Limestone solution cave guys, that means this ancient limestone had

cracks in it, acidic water got into those cracks, dissolving the rock, forming the cave,

and all the rock formations inside.

Should be pretty awesome.

So this is gonna be pretty cool right?

DAVID: Yeah this is my favorite kind of cave.

CHARLIE: Sounds great, so uh we're heading on in.

DAVID: Oh hold on! First we gotta get you suited up. KIRBY: Alrighty let's do it.

CHARLIE: Check it out. One of the coolest things about caves, like this one,

is that it took millions and millions and millions of years for them to form!

KIRBY: It's not like an animal just dug a hole or anything.

It took a lot of time!

CHARLIE: A lot of time!

There's a limestone solution cave in Wisconsin that's been

dated to 400 million years old.

During this cave's lifetime, dinosaurs started existing then became extinct,

Pangea formed and broke up, humans evolved, the Internet was invented,

and bangs went out of style, came back in style, then when out of style again.

These caves have seen a lot.

You ready to go Kirb?

KIRBY: I'm so ready! CHARLIE: Alright helmets buckled.

KIRBY: Headlamps on. CHARLIE: Let's go check it out! KIRBY: Let's go!

CHARLIE (off-screen): David leads the way.

He says that not far down we'll find some amazing rock formations,

but it's no easy trek.

So he has a few safety tips for climbing.

DAVID: Be careful guys it's slippery.

Remember three points of contact.

That can include your knee or your butt.

Your butt is a very good point of contact and your knees are better than your feet.

Unlike rock climbing where you use your feet a lot, in caving you use your knees a lot.

CHARLIE (off-screen): This cave is incredible.

There are passageways of all different sizes.

DAVID: Gonna be nice and careful on this down climb.

KIRBY: It's crazy, one minute you're squeezing in these tiny spaces and then it opens up

into these giant rooms.

Weird but True.

CHARLIE: Two things we didn't know about caves before we got down here,

number one it's pretty cold all year long.

It stays around 50 degrees.

The second one, it's really wet, but that water is what's forming the cave.

Alright guys we've been hiking in the cave for a while and check out this

room that we just uncovered.

This place is full of different geological features.

KIRBY: So let me give you the basics of all these formations.

Stalagmites, like these guys, start from the ground and grow upwards.

And stalactites start way up in the ceiling and they grow downwards.

When they meet in the middle it's called a column, like that guy back there.

What?

CHARLIE (off-screen): Ooooh. KIRBY: Aw, this is amazing!

CHARLIE (off-screen): Wow!

There are new rock formations around every twist and turn of this cave.

This place is huge!

And they all share something in common.

All of these awesome cave features are called speleothems.

Cool science word to pull out if you're trying to impress someone.

KIRBY: Bro, love your ponytail.

CHARLIE: It reminds me of a speleothem.

CASEY: Cool word. I'm impressed.

CHARLIE (off-screen): Stalagmites and stalactites are just the beginning.

We're heading deeper into the cave to discover more after the break.

KIRBY (off-screen): Weird but True.

CHARLIE (off-screen): Welcome back.

Today is all about caves and we're in a limestone solution cave exploring speleothems,

which is a general term that refers to all the cave features.

The coolest thing about speleothems is how they form.

So you guys remember how solution caves form right?

Acidic groundwater water dissolves the rocks, forming a cave.

Well, imagine a droplet of this acidic water hanging from the ceiling of the cave.

Every time it drips it deposits a thin film of this stuff called calcite.

Now imagine it dropping from that same spot every single minute

of every single hour of every single day.

Eventually it forms this nice little tube, which we call soda straws!

And they're basically baby stalactites.

As more and more calcite is deposited they grow into stalactites

and this process takes so long.

Weird but True, stalactites can grow one inch every 100 years!

So this one is probably a few thousand years old.

KIRBY: Stalagmites form in the same way.

Except they form when water drops to the ground depositing calcite.

So drop after drop after drop this thing builds up,

eventually forming a stalagmite.

And these things can get pretty huge.

One of the largest stalagmites is the world was found in Cuba.

At about 220 feet tall.

To show scale this is how big I'd look standing next to it.

This stalagmite is a monster!

CHARLIE (off-screen): This might be the weirdest thing that we found so far.

This stuff is called flowstone.

So you know how stalactites and stalagmites are formed

from water dripping down from the ceiling?

Flowstone is formed from water that flows over different rock formations,

forming what almost looks like a frozen rock waterfall.

So weird!

But this is just the beginning of all the

amazing rock formations you can find in caves.

KIRBY: Yeah cavers weren't exactly the most creative

when it came to naming these things.

CHARLIE: Not so much.

It probably went something like this.

KIRBY: Yo bro, look at this thing.

CHARLIE: Looks like a piece of coral.

KIRBY: What should we call it?

CHARLIE: What about cave coral?

KIRBY: Brooo! And how about this popcorn looking stuff?

CHARLIE: What about cave popcorn?

KIRBY: Brooo! And how about these rims made of stone?

CHARLIE: Uhhh CHARLIE: Rimstone?

KIRBY: Brooo! CHARLIE: Brooo!

CHARLIE (off-screen): Yeah most of these names are very simple.

Give it to me one more time.

KIRBY: So stalactites hold tight to the ceiling and

stalagmites might touch the ceiling.

CHARLIE: And all would be pretty dynamic features to add to a diorama.

As we continue exploring David reminds us that we're not alone.

David: Hey guys. Charlie: Yeah?

David: Keep your voices low in this area, too.

David: This is still part of the bat hibernaculum.

KIRBY (off-screen): When you think of cave animals,

bats are probably the first ones you think of,

but they're just the beginning.

CHARLIE (off-screen): Bats are trogloxenes.

Trogloxenes are animals that just use caves for things like shelter.

Other animals are troglophiles.

These are animals that can live in caves for their whole lives,

but they can also live in other places too.

The final group of cave animals is the troglobite.

These animals can only live inside caves.

They can't survive outside of 'em.

And these animals have some pretty crazy adaptations.

KIRBY (off-screen): Like the Mexican tetra.

There are other types of tetra that live outside caves in rivers and streams and they

just look like normal fish.

But the Mexican tetra lives inside the cave and they don't look like normal fish at all.

They're albino and have no eyes! No eyes!

CHARLIE: But if you wanna see something really weird, you gotta check out an olm,

it's an aquatic salamander that some people thought was the offspring of a dragon.

But I'd kind of describe it as a pale, blind, oversized worm with tiny little doll arms

and red fluffy gills.

KIRBY: Super weird looking.

And since caves can be so isolated from one another it's not uncommon for scientists to

find new species inside of them.

For example, the Movile Cave in South Eastern Romania.

In 1986 workers uncovered a cave that had been isolated from the rest of the world for

5.5 million years.

And researchers found animals living in there.

All kinds of pseudo scorpions, leeches, and roly-poly bugs.

The kicker?

33 of the animals they found in the cave,

weren't found anywhere else in the entire world.

Sealed up like a present for 5.5 million years.

CHARLIE (off-screen): We haven't found 33 types of animals in this cave with David,

but check it out!

We found a bat.

So that tiny little animal clinging to the wall up there, that's a little brown bat.

He's super cute, but I don't want to disturb him.

Human activity has had a devastating impact on cave dwelling bats.

Many colonies have already been lost and more than half

are now endangered or very close.

Understanding how fragile they are might make a difference.

An important issue to cavers and bat populations that live in caves that you gotta know

about is the white nose syndrome.

Here's the scoop, one of the indicators that a bat has this disease is if it has a tiny

little bit of fluff on his nose, which would be super adorable right?

If it weren't so deadly!

White nose syndrome was first spotted in New York around 2006.

By 2012 about 80% of the bat population in the northeast US

had died from the disease.

But there are ways you can help!

After you go caving, wash the heck out of your clothes.

That way you don't accidentally transfer the disease.

Alright guys, time for a break, but next up David's got a super deep cave

for us to go and explore.

And there's only one way to get down there, rappelling.

KIRBY (off-screen): Wicked cool!

Weird but True.

CHARLIE (off-screen): Welcome back, David says it's time for the ultimate

spelunking adventure.

Some caves you swim into, some caves you walk into,

this cave behind us, we're actually gonna drop into.

We're going rappelling!

KIRBY: Rappelling is basically this practice that cavers use to get into inaccessible caves

in a super safe way.

CHARLIE: Take, for example, expeditions in Krubera cave,

the deepest cave in the entire world!

Located in the country of Georgia in the eastern hemisphere.

In 2012 a team of over 50 cavers

set out on an expedition into Krubera cave

trying to get as deep as possible.

They rappelled down deep shafts.

Squeezing through tunnels.

They even used scuba equipment to find hidden passageways

in parts of the cave flooded with water.

Just like an Everest expedition they set up a base camp along the way.

They spent over three weeks underground, and by the end, had set a new record.

They made it 7,208 feet below the surface.

KIRBY: We aren't going that deep, we're only going about 100 feet down,

but it's still gonna be an unreal experience.

CHARLIE (off-screen): David drops in first and shows us how it's done.

On belay, orange rope and white rope!

Aw man!

KIRBY: Doin' it, doin' it.

CHARLIE: Weird but True, George Washington was an avid caver.

CHARLIE: Wooh! KIRBY: Wow!

CHARLIE: This is sick!

KIRBY (off-screen): This looks prehistorically amazing.

CHARLIE (off-screen): Look at how big this is.

KIRBY (off-screen): This is huge.

CHARLIE: You can hear the dripping water echoing through the cave.

KIRBY (off-screen): There's no way we could see this from up above.

CHARLIE (off-screen): Not a chance.

David: Get over here, out of the rock fall area.

David: Then yell "off rope."

CHARLIE (off-screen): Off rope!

Safety Guide: Thank you!

CHARLIE: It's so freezing. KIRBY: Yeah.

David: You guys can see a big old stalagmite right there...

...and then the flowstones below it.

CHARLIE (off-screen): We rappelled down to this incredibly hard to reach cave

and I can't believe what we found.

Caves are delicate natural environments that take millions and millions of years

to develop and change.

So professional cavers say, "Take only pictures and leave only footprints."

So this back here definitely not cool.

After a quick exploration it's time to climb back up to the surface.

KIRBY: This is gonna be a fun climb too.

CHARLIE: Aw guys that was incredible!

KIRBY: So cool!

CHARLIE: There was this huge beam shooting through the darkness and we could see

different geological features.

KIRBY: Rappelling totally brought it to the next level.

CHARLIE: I could definitely see why people get into this.

Before we head out let's go over all the weird features we discovered today that we can

use for our diorama duel tie breaker.

We got stalactites.

KIRBY: Check. CHARLIE: Stalagmites. KIRBY: Check.

CHARLIE: Flowstone. KIRBY: Check.

CHARLIE: Animals. KIRBY: Check.

CHARLIE (off-screen): Rappelling.

KIRBY (off-screen): Check, check, check.

CHARLIE: I think that's a caving adventure completed!

Alright guys we're gonna head over to HQ, but we'll see you in a bit.

Oh man I could use a shower. Woo!

CASEY: Guys! CHARLIE: What's up Case?

CASEY: You have two minutes left!

CHARLIE: Oh my gosh! KIRBY: We gotta get crafting!

CHARLIE: Alright guys we gotta buckle down here, but stick around for my trophy ceremony.

KIRBY: In your dreams Charles.

CHARLIE: Weird but True.

CASEY: Ten seconds! CHARLIE: Ahh! No time to talk!

KIRBY: We gotta finish the dioramas!

CASEY: Drop your art supplies in three, two, one, drop 'em!

CHARLIE: Done! KIRBY: Done!

CASEY: Time for the presentations!

KIRBY: I present to you, my diorama titled "Speleothems and Trogloxenes".

You got your stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, cave popcorn,

and check it out there's a cute little bat flying around in there too.

CASEY: Nice Kirb. I like the little bat guy. Charles?

CHARLIE: I present to you my caving creation, "Caving right with troglobites!"

You got some little caving dudes, some guys rappelling into a little pool full of

olms, and even a Mexican tetra!

CASEY: Very interesting.

CHARLIE: Alright Case, who won?

KIRBY: Yeah where's my trophy huh?

CASEY: I see two great dioramas here. Put 'em together.

KIRBY: What? CASEY: Hey no questions, I'm the judge. Put 'em together.

Separately these dioramas are great, but together.

KIRBY: Whoa!

CASEY (off-screen): They create the greatest cave diorama known to man!

KIRBY: That's amazing!

CASEY: I hate to break it to you guys, but it's another tie.

CHARLIE: I don't even care, because this cave diorama's sweet!

KIRBY: Yeah me neither, and we got to go to a real cave today.

CHARLIE (off-screen): What else did we learn today?

There were so many Weird but True things!

Spelunking is another name for cave exploring.

KIRBY (off-screen): There's a stalagmite in Cuba that's about 220 feet tall.

CHARLIE (off-screen): Isolated caves can be home to weird species

not found anywhere else in the world.

KIRBY: What's up Charles?

CHARLIE: I'm just thinking here Kirb.

KIRBY: About what? CHARLIE: Seems like we got it all, right?

I mean, we did the sky, above ground, below ground.

KIRBY: There's gotta be somewhere we haven't gone yet though.

BOTH: Space!

CHARLIE: I've never been to space before.

KIRBY: No way me neither!

CHARLIE: But there's nothing we can't do with some tape and glue!

KIRBY: Let's get crafting! I'll get the supplies!

CHARLIE: Perfect! Alright guys, looks like we got a new project on our hands,

but thanks so much for stopping by!

Come by again when we discover more things that are weird.

KIRBY: But true! CHARLIE: We'll see you soon!

Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services