This Technicality episode is brought to you by Brilliant.org.
Welp, hope I don't die.
*groovy tunes m'dude*
Hey guys, I'm here in Tokyo, Japan, let's get technical. I'm here to, among other things, try a fish called fugu, which is a pufferfish.
Fugu is banned in most parts of the United States and in all parts of the European Union,
because in some parts of fugu, there's a toxin called tetrodotoxin that's 100 times
more deadly by weight than cyanide, a matter of fact, just 2 milligrams could kill you.
That means that if fugu's not prepared properly, it could be deadly.
Let's go back to the studio to find out more.
At this point in the video, you probably are filled with questions, just like I was.
What is this fish?
How is some of it toxic?
Why is tetrodotoxin so deadly?
How do you prepare it?
And what was it like eating it?
Today, we'll answer those 5 questions, and, in the process, learn more about the science
and culture around this fish.
One!
What is this fish?
Let's zoom out a bit.
The genius fugu belongs to, or most belong to anyways, is takifugu found natively in
the northwest Pacific ocean, but can also be found in other parts of Asia as well.
It was first discovered over 2,300 years ago, in the Jōmon period or the neolithic period
of Japan.
Because of its deadly toxicity and animals' general resistance to being dead, fugu doesn't
have any predators in the wild, and their personality reflects that.
They're very curious and like to explore close to the sea bed, as opposed to just wondering
around open ocean.
They're super nimble and agile, and even a bit saucy and provocative when it comes
to other sea animals since they really have nothing fear thanks to their defence mechanisms.
Fugu literally translates to river pig, so.
They usually eat stuff like Molluscs, algae, and various invertebrates, which segues nicely
into, Two!
Why is some of it toxic?
Tetrodotoxin actually shows up in other animals as well, suggesting it comes from an external
factor and isn't something internally produced by fugu itself.
Animals with tetrodotoxin include the blue-ringed octopus, the rough-skinned newt, and the moon
snail, which, sadly, is not a snail that live on the moon.
So what's the external factor making fugu toxic?
It's what fugu puts in their body through their mouth hole.
This study from 1980s examined the intestines of a fugu and found that 26
out of the 33 different strains of bacteria they observed were in the genus Vibrio, and,
spoiler alert, Vibrio is one of the bacteria that produces tetrodotoxin.
Moreover, this New York Times article reports that when fugu is raised in aquariums, where
the water is filtered and doesn't have the bacteria, they are non-toxic.
A matter of fact, that's what some companies are doing nowadays, making non-toxic fugu
by raising them on a farm, which is causing quite a bit of controversy, but that's neither
here nor there.
So that's why it's toxic, because of the bacteria in the water fugu ingests produces
tetrodotoxin.
But, what does tetrodotoxin do?
THAT SEGUES US NICELY INTO *laughs*
That's just gonna transition from now on.
That segues us nicely into Three!
Why is tetrodotoxin so deadly?
To answer that, we have to learn a bit more about how it works.
What really is it?
>> KAZOO KID: Wait a minute, who are you?
Tetrodotoxin, also known as C11H17N3O8 or one of these very long names which I'm not
gonna try to pronounce, is a neurotoxin that's a sodium channel blocker.
Here's a cute puppy because those were some very big and confusing words and you took
them very well, good job, you earned this.
Your brain has something called neurons, about 100 billion of them to be exact, and these
neurons transmit information electrochemically.
This means that they transmit information by using chemicals to fire electrical signals.
Electro-chemically.
But wait a sec, how does that actually work?
What is the step-by-step process a neuron has to undergo to fire an electrical signal?
To understand that, we have to understand 3 things: what chemicals are at play here,
resting potential, and action potential.
The important stuff at work in your neurons are positively charged sodium ions, positively
charged potassium ions, and the negatively charged protein molecules.
Ions are chemicals that are so finna woke, they have an electrical charge.
It's a bit more complicated than that, I'll link some good videos in the description,
but that's the gist.
Neurons are surrounded by a semipermeable membrane, yeah I'm takin ya back to biology
class *Logic take it back sample*.
This membrane itself doesn't generally like to let ions through.
This brings us to our next concepts: resting and active potential.
Much like Captain Disillusion videos, this concepts are kinda complicated but really
interesting so lemme walk you through 'em.
A neuron is always in 1 of 2 states, either in resting or in action.
Not like inaction but in action, you get it.
During the state of the resting, which you can kinda think of as the default state, there
are positive sodium ions on the outside of the neuron and positive potassium ions on
the inside.
However, there are also many negative protein molecules on inside of a neuron, vastly outweighing
the potassium ions and giving the neuron a negative charge.
That was a lot of info, here's a puppy.
In this state, the resting membrane potential, or the difference in charge between inside
the neuron and outside the neuron, is around -70 millivolts.
If you need help remembering this, just remember that a neuron in its resting state is much
like r/2meirl4meirl: quite negative compared to its surroundings.
On the other hand, we have the state of action, also known as neurons actually firing, which
is triggered by the movement of the ions we've been talking about.
But wait, if the semipermiable membrane doesn't like to let ions through, how DO they get
through?
Introducing: channels, or passages through the membrane like the wardrobe to Narnia or
the Hogwarts express to Hogwarts or the door to your house.
There are two types of channels we'll be looking at today: the Mechanically-gated channel
and the sodium ion channel.
The job of both of which is to let sodium ions into the neuron, except one of those
lets a lot more through than the other.
Can you guess which one?
Gee, I wonder.
Here's how these channels work: let's say something goes down, anything, any physical
stimulus, let's say hit that bell button, you turned on notifications for Technicality,
and you get a notification for a new video.
And, you know what, you could do that, just saying, just saying.
Please do that.
Alex Nickel: Master of the shameless plug.
Because he has no shame.
2meirl4meirl.
Anyways, let's say you get a notification and your hand reacts to click on it.
What happens on the neurological level?
Well, to react to that stimulus, the mechanically-gated channel opens and lets some sodium ions into
the neuron, thus raising the charge of the neuron.
If that charge is only raised a bit, nothing really happens, but if it's raised to anywhere
about -55 millivolts, that's when our action potential comes into play.
The sodium ion channel is triggered and opened, many sodium ions DDDDASH into the neuron,
so much so its charge is actually raised to around positive 40 millivolts, and the electrical
signal, interpreted as instruction given from a neuron, is sent to where it needs to go.
So that's what resting potential and action potential are, but how do they relate to tetrodotoxin?
Well, as you might remember, tetrodotoxin is a sodium channel blocker (we talked about
that with this puppy).
A sodium channel blocker blocks sodium ions from passing through the sodium ion channel
in the neuron's membranes by attaching to the sodium ion channel which blocks the sodium
ions from passing through, which means an action potential can never occur which means
neurons can never fire, which means your nervous system can't carry out any instructions
because none can be sent which means your muscles will be paralyzed which means your
lungs won't work and you'll be dead.
And that was so much info you don't get a cute dog, you get a cute bear.
WHY AM I YELLING?
>> Anchorman clip.
Fun fact, the effects of tetrodotoxin are similar to the effects of VX and Sarin.
Well, I mean, I guess that's not a FUN fact, but, you know.
If you consume a deadly dose, symptoms will show as quickly as 17 minutes and there is
no antidote.
The only treatment is try to keep your body breathing and your blood pumping until your
body metabolizes the toxin.
If you eat it, you will first feel a numbness in the mouth and lips, and then it's all
downhill from there, with a combination of everything as light as sweating and headaches
to as painful as seizures and respiratory failure and your entire insides wanting to
be on your outsides.
Each fugu has enough tetrodotoxin to kill 30 humans.
Man, that got dark.
We should try to prevent that, which segues nicely into four!
How do you prepare it?
The answer: very carefully.
Fugu has tetrodotoxin in its liver, ovaries, eyes, skin, and various other internal organs,
so it must be prepared delicately.
I won't show any footage of it being prepared right now, because, well, I mean, it's dismembering
a fish, that's not many peoples' cup of tea.
*whispering* Also, I don't wanna get demonetized.
But if you do wanna see how to prepare fugu, click the i.
Basically, a fugu chef is tasked with isolating the good meat on the muscles of the fish without
contaminating it with the skin, or other toxic organs.
To make and sell fugu in Japan, you must pass an incredibly rigorous test.
You gotta train for years as an apprentice, and then pass a written and physical test,
of which only 30, 35% of participants actually pass.
Then, you can finally make fugu for the masses.
Which segues us nicely into five!
What was it like eating it?
Pretty good, actually.
What surprised me is that Japan is more into deep frying their food than one might think,
a matter of fact, deep fried chicken is a big thing over there, and pretty darn good,
at that.
My fugu was no exception to this; it was also deep fried, which just added to its deliciousness.
Deep frying isn't the only way to prepare fugu, of course, another common way is just
eating it raw, as sashimi.
Fugu was even the centerpiece of the Season 2 episode of The Simpsons titled "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish."
In it, Homer consumes tetrodotoxin and is given 22 hours to live. But we all know he'd die much sooner than that.
>> One fugu!
>> Not fugu! If it's cut improperly...
>> Yes, yes, it is poisonous, potentially fatal, but if sliced properly, it can be quite tasty!
>> Poison... Poison... Tasty fish!
>> FANCY PERSON: Oooh have you tried the fugu yet?
>> DUDE: Uhh, nope.
>> FANCY: It's literally to die for hahaha literally haha literally hahahaha
>> LOOK AT THIS DOOD: Wait, literally?
But seriously, the place I ate fugu at was certified and there was no real risk.
Fugu does claim a small handful of lives every year, but those are never from actual fugu
restaurants and just amateurs who try to prepare fugu themselves, which, if this isn't clear
already, DON'T DO THAT.
>> PHIL: Don't be stupid, stupid.
Still though, fugu has left a massive cultural impact, a matter of fact, it's the only
food the Japanese emperor is legally not allowed to eat, in the interest of safety.
Heck, it was illegal for everyone in Japan from the 1500s to the 1800s after, and I kid
you not, Japanese troops who were ready to invade Korea, all spontaneously died from eating
bad fugu.
>> OUTSIDE ALEX: ATTACK!! *dies*
Luckily, thanks to the certified and skilled fugu chefs, eating fugu today isn't really
like rolling the dice,... but if you did wanna learn to be get good at rolling the dice and
games of chance, I recommend this course on brilliant.org.
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Thanks for watching, DFBTA, and explore on.
*Attack outtakes*
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For more infomation >> 「Nightcore」➝ Havana / Lost In Japan (Switching Vocals) - Duration: 2:39. 
For more infomation >> In Japan we dont shake hands we bow - Cute Dogs - Duration: 0:16. 
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