Watch: When Joe Rogan was left gobsmacked by story of intelligent slime mold that helped redesign Japanese subway system
Joe Rogan was left stunned when he learned of an intelligent slime that was put to work in Tokyo and helped recreate a more efficient model of the city's subway system.
Back in 2017, The Joe Rogan Experience welcomed Paul Stamets. Stamets is a mycologist, author and a major advocate for bioremediation and medicinal fungi. While discussing the medical impact of different fungi, the author left the UFC commentator speechless when he explained a research project that took place in Japan.
Stamet revealed that a group of Japanese scientists discovered a particular strain of slime that appeared to show signs of intelligence:
"This slime mold is very very good at navigation through mazes and challenges. [The Japanese scientists] designed a nutrient-like maze of Tokyo and the Japanese subway system."
The slime mold proceeded to do something remarkable:
"They then let the slime mold grow. At first, it grew out randomly and then after about 28 hours, it had re-organized itself in the most efficient way possible and re-organized the Japanese subway system in a more efficient manner than it is designed today."
Catch the UFC color commentator’s reaction here:
once upon a time Rogan had interesting guests on. this is Paul Stamets an American mycologist explaining the intelligence of mushrooms https://t.co/vgTKN6QbJe
Listen to the full JRE episode with Paul Stamets here:
Joe Rogan voices support for fellow comedian Andrew Schulz
Andrew Schulz, a long-time friend of Joe Rogan, had an offer for a comedy special withdrawn by the streaming platform Amazon.
Schulz, the host of his own podcast FLAGRANT, recorded a set titled 'INFAMOUS' that was due to air on either Netflix or Amazon. The latter was the highest bidder but then asked the 38-year-old to censor or remove some of the content within the stand-up.
Andrew Schulz refused and instead bought the rights to the special himself and decided to sell it on his own website. According to TMZ, Schulz has already earned over $1 million in revenue and is expected to take home even more than what was originally offered to him.
Joe Rogan took to Instagram to support his friend and encourage fans to purchase the stand-up special:
"My brother @andewschulz made a hilarious comedy special, but it was too spicy for the streaming platform to air, so he bought it back from them, and is selling it directly to the people. I was there when he was filming it, and the sh*t is f*****g hysterical. Support wild comedy! Head on over to http://theandrewschulz.com to purchase it!"
Fans may have also recognized Schulz from his appearances on JRE on multiple occasions or Rogan's appearances on FLAGRANT. Schulz has also sat down with MMA stars including Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski and Jorge Masvidal.