EPISODE · May 9, 2025 · 50 MIN
RESISTANCE Training EXTREME!
from What The If? · host Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia
What if you could build up a resistance to absolutely anything through repeated exposure? Inspired by the real-life story of Tim Friede, who injected himself with increasing doses of snake venom until he developed immunity, this episode explores a world where humans can become resistant to gravity, car crashes, or even anvils to the head. From specialized training centers at the mall that progressively drop heavier objects on your skull to high school gym classes where kids graduate from Barbie cars to full-sized vehicles, discover how society would transform if human biology could adapt to literally anything. We explore how careers would change - plumbers resistant to bad smells, electricians handling live wires with bare hands - and how regional human subspecies might emerge based on local hazards. Would the Upper East Side elite compete to make their babies anvil-proof before their first birthday? In this world, your skull thickness might become your most valuable credential, and Halloween costumes would reflect our vastly more diverse physical appearances. Based on "Universal Anti-Venom May Grow Out of a Man Who Let Snakes Bite Him 200 Times" by The New York Times, May 2, 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/health/snakes-universal-antivenom-tim-friede.html?unlocked_article_code=1.F08.AC2O.wGyVMwaME67R&smid=url-share Philip will be holding a 90-minute virtual workshop "Introduction to AI for Creative People" with Women in Film San Francisco Bay Area on May 17th. Anyone can join, register at: https://womeninfilmsanfranciscobayarea.wildapricot.org/event-6160839 --- Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Email us at [email protected] and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe at WhatTheIF.com Check out Gaby’s new sci-fi short story in The Map Of Lost Places! https://www.apexbookcompany.com/products/the-map-of-lost-placesKeep On IFFin',Philip, Matt & Gaby
What this episode covers
What if you could build up a resistance to absolutely anything through repeated exposure? Inspired by the real-life story of Tim Friede, who injected himself with increasing doses of snake venom until he developed immunity, this episode explores a world where humans can become resistant to gravity, car crashes, or even anvils to the head. From specialized training centers at the mall that progressively drop heavier objects on your skull to high school gym classes where kids graduate from Barbie cars to full-sized vehicles, discover how society would transform if human biology could adapt to literally anything. We explore how careers would change - plumbers resistant to bad smells, electricians handling live wires with bare hands - and how regional human subspecies might emerge based on local hazards. Would the Upper East Side elite compete to make their babies anvil-proof before their first birthday? In this world, your skull thickness might become your most valuable credential, and Halloween costumes would reflect our vastly more diverse physical appearances. Based on "Universal Anti-Venom May Grow Out of a Man Who Let Snakes Bite Him 200 Times" by The New York Times, May 2, 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/health/snakes-universal-antivenom-tim-friede.html?unlocked_article_code=1.F08.AC2O.wGyVMwaME67R&smid=url-share Philip will be holding a 90-minute virtual workshop "Introduction to AI for Creative People" with Women in Film San Francisco Bay Area on May 17th. Anyone can join, register at: https://womeninfilmsanfranciscobayarea.wildapricot.org/event-6160839 --- Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Email us at [email protected] and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe at WhatTheIF.com Check out Gaby’s new sci-fi short story in The Map Of Lost Places! https://www.apexbookcompany.com/products/the-map-of-lost-placesKeep On IFFin',Philip, Matt & Gaby
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RESISTANCE Training EXTREME!
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