The sauna is a social network | Adam Rang | TEDxTallinn

TEDx Talks
21 Oct 202116:45

Summary

TLDR演讲者分享了他对桑拿的看法,认为桑拿是促进深度、尊重和诚实对话的古老社交网络。他批评了现代桑拿的干热、匿名和信息泡沫问题,提倡桑拿的社交和共享本质。演讲者通过个人经历,从英国到爱沙尼亚,探索了桑拿的历史和文化意义,并解释了桑拿在全球的流行和误解。他建议将爱沙尼亚语中的'lael'(桑拿蒸汽)引入英语,以帮助人们更好地理解桑拿的传统和文化。最后,他展示了自己正在改造的桑拿,并邀请人们共同享受桑拿带来的快乐。

Takeaways

  • 😀 桑拿是一种鼓励深入、尊重、诚实对话的社交网络,它没有匿名的网络喷子,也没有算法限制信息获取。
  • 🏠 桑拿是人文历史最悠久且可能是最好的社交网络,它曾是多功能空间,不仅是洗澡的地方,也是家和农场工人的住所。
  • 🧘 桑拿在不同文化中有不同的形式,但真正的桑拿是关于加热石头并享受由此产生的蒸汽,这是一种集体体验。
  • 🌐 桑拿在全球的流行度和误解程度令人惊讶,尤其是在20世纪中叶之前,英语使用者甚至没有听说过“桑拿”这个词。
  • 📰 20世纪50年代的新闻报道首次向西方介绍了桑拿,但往往将其描述为一种酷刑或类似食人族的行为。
  • 🔥 桑拿的全球流行部分归功于电力炉的发明,它使得桑拿可以更容易地在各种地方建造和使用。
  • 🚫 桑拿的误解部分来自于健康俱乐部的业主,他们出于安全考虑,错误地将桑拿宣传为干燥体验。
  • 🌡️ 红外线桑拿作为桑拿的一种新形式在20世纪70年代末被引入,它被宣传为一种更高级的排毒方式。
  • 🗣️ 桑拿在英语中的发音问题也引起了芬兰人的不满,因为错误的发音被广泛传播。
  • 📚 桑拿的历史可以追溯到比13世纪的书面记录更早的时期,通过语言的同源词可以追溯到原始芬兰语的‘sacna’。
  • 🌍 桑拿的全球知名度很高,但存在许多模仿者,人们并不总是知道如何正确使用它。

Q & A

  • 什么是桑拿,以及它在社会交往中扮演了什么角色?

    -桑拿是一种古老的社交网络,旨在鼓励与真实人群进行深入、尊重和诚实的对话。它没有匿名的网络喷子试图使讨论两极分化,也没有算法试图将我们限制在自己的信息泡沫中。桑拿在历史上和文化上一直是一个多功能的空间,不仅是一个洗澡的地方,也是社交和交流的场所。

  • 为什么演讲者最初对桑拿没有好感?

    -演讲者最初对桑拿没有好感,因为他在英国长大,他所知道的桑拿是健身房里那些小而黑暗、通风不良的房间,通常还有一个标志写着不要往炉子上倒水,这与他后来了解到的桑拿文化有很大的不同。

  • 桑拿在世界范围内为何变得如此流行?

    -桑拿之所以在全球范围内变得流行,是因为它们被视为一种健康和放松的方式。然而,演讲者指出,许多现代桑拿已经偏离了传统的桑拿文化,变成了干燥、孤独的体验,这与桑拿原本的社交和共享的本质相悖。

  • 演讲者提到的桑拿与传统桑拿有何不同?

    -演讲者提到的桑拿是传统的桑拿,它强调的是使用加热的石头和产生的蒸汽进行洗澡,并且是一种集体体验。而现代的许多桑拿则变成了干燥的、个人的体验,缺乏了传统桑拿中的社交元素。

  • 为什么桑拿在20世纪中叶之前在英语使用者中并不为人所熟知?

    -桑拿这个词和它所代表的概念直到20世纪中叶才被英语使用者所熟知,这是因为桑拿起源于芬兰和爱沙尼亚等地区,而这些地区的人口相对较少,语言也面临过灭绝的威胁。此外,世界上有许多类似的传统,但桑拿最终成为了全球知名的一个。

  • 桑拿是如何从一个地区性的传统变成全球性的现象的?

    -桑拿之所以能够从一个地区性的传统变成全球性的现象,部分原因是由于20世纪50年代的新闻报道和旅行作家的介绍,以及后来的电力炉的发明,使得桑拿可以更容易地在不同地方建造和使用。

  • 演讲者是如何重新发现和理解桑拿文化的?

    -演讲者通过移居到爱沙尼亚,开始学习如何成为一个爱沙尼亚人,并重新学习桑拿文化。他和伴侣安妮一起探访了爱沙尼亚和世界各地的数百个桑拿,研究桑拿的历史和传统,以及那些保持这一传统的人们。

  • 为什么演讲者认为桑拿不应该是一个孤独的体验?

    -演讲者认为桑拿不应该是一个孤独的体验,因为在爱沙尼亚文化中,桑拿是一个社交的场所,人们在这里与朋友和家人互动,类似于英国的酒吧。桑拿的传统是集体的,而不是个人的。

  • 演讲者提到了哪些关于桑拿的误解?

    -演讲者提到了几个关于桑拿的误解,包括桑拿应该是干燥的(dry sauna),以及桑拿只有一种类型。实际上,传统的桑拿是使用加热的石头和产生的蒸汽,而且是一种集体体验。

  • 演讲者为什么提倡将'lael'这个词引入英语?

    -演讲者提倡将'lael'这个词引入英语,因为'lael'在爱沙尼亚语中意味着桑拿蒸汽,这个词与生命的本质——呼吸或精神有关。他认为,如果英语使用者有一个专门的词来描述桑拿蒸汽,可能会帮助他们更好地理解桑拿作为一种集体体验的文化和历史。

  • 演讲者如何将桑拿与他的个人历史联系起来?

    -演讲者将桑拿与他的个人历史联系起来,因为他发现自己的家族在18世纪的记录中被描述为'saunik',即桑拿人。他意识到自己不仅是桑拿的使用者,而且他的家族有着与桑拿文化深厚的历史联系。

  • 演讲者提到了哪些关于桑拿历史的有趣事实?

    -演讲者提到了许多关于桑拿历史的有趣事实,包括桑拿在历史上是一个多功能的空间,可以作为家、农场工人的住所等。他还提到了桑拿的起源,包括桑拿这个词来自于古日耳曼语的'stagna',意味着加热的石头堆。

  • 演讲者如何看待现代桑拿与传统桑拿之间的差异?

    -演讲者认为现代桑拿与传统桑拿之间存在显著差异。现代桑拿往往被误解为干燥、孤独的体验,而传统桑拿则是一种集体的、社交的活动,与生命的本质和精神有关。

  • 演讲者提到了哪些关于桑拿的全球普及和误解?

    -演讲者提到,桑拿在全球范围内变得流行,但同时也出现了许多误解,如桑拿应该是干燥的,以及桑拿只有一种类型。他还提到了桑拿这个词是如何在20世纪中叶通过新闻报道和旅行作家的介绍而在全球范围内普及的。

  • 演讲者如何描述他在爱沙尼亚的桑拿经历?

    -演讲者描述了他在爱沙尼亚的桑拿经历,包括他如何重新发现和学习桑拿文化,以及他和伴侣安妮一起探访了数百个桑拿。他还提到了他自己的桑拿,这是一辆被苏联遗弃的卡车,他将其改造成了一个桑拿,以庆祝爱沙尼亚的文化和自由。

Outlines

00:00

😀 桑拿:人类最古老的社交网络

本段讲述了桑拿作为社交网络的古老传统和现代误解。桑拿原本是一个促进真实、尊重和诚实对话的场所,没有匿名的网络喷子,也没有算法限制信息的获取。桑拿在历史上一直是一个多功能的空间,不仅是洗澡的地方,也是家和农场工人的住所。作者通过自己的家族历史,了解到桑拿在文化和历史上的重要性,并指出现代桑拿与真正的桑拿传统相去甚远。

05:02

🌟 桑拿的历史与文化探索之旅

作者分享了他和伴侣安妮访问世界各地桑拿的经历,研究桑拿的历史和传统。他们发现桑拿原本是一个社交的体验,与现代的桑拿相比,传统的桑拿更强调社区和共享。作者还探讨了桑拿在全球的流行和误解,以及如何将桑拿的传统理念重新带回人们的视野。

10:03

🔍 桑拿的全球流行与误解

本段讨论了桑拿如何成为全球知名的词汇,以及这个过程中出现的误解。桑拿原本是芬兰和爱沙尼亚的传统,但随着时间的推移,它被误解为一个干燥、孤独的体验。作者通过历史记录和语言分析,揭示了桑拿的传统意义,并指出现代桑拿与原始概念的差异。

15:04

🏡 桑拿的复兴与文化庆祝

作者介绍了他如何将一辆废弃的卡车改造成桑拿,并计划用爱沙尼亚的设计和技术来庆祝爱沙尼亚文化和自由。他提出了将爱沙尼亚语中的'lael'(桑拿蒸汽)引入英语,以帮助人们更好地理解桑拿作为一个社区体验的概念。作者呼吁大家帮助将'lael'这个词普及开来,并以对桑拿的热爱和对文化庆祝的承诺结束了演讲。

Mindmap

Keywords

💡桑拿

桑拿是芬兰语词汇,指的是一种传统的芬兰浴,通常在一个木制房间内,通过加热石头产生蒸汽来进行沐浴。桑拿在视频中被描述为一种社交网络,鼓励人们进行深入、尊重和诚实的对话,是视频主题的核心。例如,演讲者提到桑拿是“人文最古老且可能是最好的社交网络”。

💡匿名喷子

匿名喷子指的是在网络上匿名发表负面或极端言论的人,他们经常试图激化讨论。视频中提到,桑拿作为一种社交网络,没有匿名喷子的存在,这有助于维护一个健康的交流环境。

💡信息泡沫

信息泡沫是指个人或群体只接触到与自己观点相符的信息,而忽视其他不同或相反的信息。视频中提到,桑拿社交网络没有算法试图将人们限制在他们自己的信息泡沫中,这有助于打破信息隔阂,促进多元化的交流。

💡干桑拿

干桑拿是一种桑拿类型,特点是没有蒸汽,通常通过高温和干燥的空气来加热。视频中指出,许多现代桑拿变成了干桑拿,这与桑拿的传统概念相违背,因为传统的桑拿是使用蒸汽的。

💡芬兰浴

芬兰浴是桑拿的一种,起源于芬兰,特点是使用加热的石头和水来产生蒸汽。视频中提到,桑拿的传统形式是芬兰浴,而现代桑拿往往偏离了这一传统。

💡社交体验

社交体验指的是与他人进行交流和互动的过程。视频中强调,桑拿是一种社交体验,人们在桑拿中与家人和朋友一起享受,这与现代桑拿作为孤独体验的趋势形成对比。

💡桑拿文化

桑拿文化是指与桑拿相关的传统和习俗,包括桑拿的建造、使用方式以及与之相关的社交活动。视频中演讲者探索了桑拿的历史和文化,强调了桑拿作为一种文化现象的重要性。

💡桑拿蒸汽

桑拿蒸汽是指桑拿中由加热的石头和水产生的蒸汽。视频中提到,桑拿蒸汽(在爱沙尼亚语中称为'lael')是桑拿体验中不可或缺的一部分,与桑拿的社交和文化意义紧密相连。

💡误解

误解指的是对某个概念或事物的错误理解。视频中讨论了桑拿在全球范围内如何被误解,例如将其视为干桑拿或单独体验,而忽视了其作为一种社交和文化实践的本质。

💡桑拿传统

桑拿传统指的是与桑拿相关的历史悠久的习俗和实践。视频中演讲者提到,桑拿传统在历史上一直是一种多功能的空间,不仅用于沐浴,还用于社交和家庭生活,这是对桑拿传统的重新认识和尊重。

💡桑拿蒸汽(lael)

lael是爱沙尼亚语中桑拿蒸汽的意思,源自proto-uralic词根,意味着精神或呼吸,是生命的本质。视频中演讲者提倡将'lael'这个词引入英语,以帮助英语使用者更好地理解桑拿作为一种社交和文化体验的本质。

Highlights

桑拿是鼓励与真实人群进行深入、尊重、诚实对话的社交网络。

桑拿没有匿名的网络喷子,也没有算法限制我们在自己的信息泡沫中。

桑拿是人文学科最古老且可能是最好的社交网络。

桑拿在英国通常被误解为健身房里狭小、闷热且通风不良的空间。

桑拿在世界范围内变得流行,但它们大多变成了干燥的桑拿。

家庭桑拿成为了富有和名人的终极奢侈地位象征。

桑拿在许多地方变成了一个孤独的体验,与世界其他曾经是公共的事务一样。

桑拿爱好者杰克·多西尽管运营着社交网络,但每天仍然独自一人去桑拿。

桑拿在历史上一直是一个多功能的空间,曾被用作家。

桑拿是社交体验,与英国的酒吧相似,是与朋友和家人互动的地方。

18世纪所有的桑拿都是烟熏桑拿,直到19世纪末芬兰人开始在桑拿上加建烟囱。

桑拿的传统和文化意义远超过健身房里的一个小房间或家中的一个小柜子。

桑拿的全球普及和误解,以及如何将人们的观念转变回真正的桑拿。

桑拿这个词直到20世纪中叶才被英语使用者广泛知晓。

桑拿经常在报道中被描述为一种酷刑或食人行为。

桑拿在1960年代和1970年代的兴趣爆炸性增长,但概念开始被误解。

桑拿变成了一个干燥的、孤独的体验,并且与红外线桑拿的概念混淆。

桑拿这个词来自原始芬兰语的sacna,意味着加热的石头堆。

桑拿传统与重生有关,桑拿蒸汽在爱沙尼亚语中被称为lael,意为精神或呼吸。

桑拿已经成为全球知名的社交网络,但存在许多模仿和误用。

提议将爱沙尼亚语中的lael(桑拿蒸汽)引入英语,以帮助人们更好地理解桑拿。

演讲者现在不仅是桑拿的使用者,也成为了开发者,正在爱沙尼亚翻新一辆苏联卡车作为桑拿。

Transcripts

play00:11

i want to talk to you about a social

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network which i've been using a lot

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recently

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it's um it's really well designed the

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social network to encourage deep

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respectful honest conversations with

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real people around us

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there are no

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anonymous trolls

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trying to polarize discussion

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there are no algorithms trying to keep

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us in our own information bubble and

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even when most of the social networks

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had lots of problems this week

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even when lots of the social networks

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had lots of problems this week this one

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continued working as normally and i am

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talking about

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the sauna

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the humanities oldest and possibly best

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social network

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so i

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i as you can probably tell i grew up in

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britain and for most of my life i never

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particularly liked saunas the only

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saunas that i knew were these small dark

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rooms in the gym that were really stuffy

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and poorly ventilated and there's

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usually you know a sign above the stove

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that says something like this is a dry

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sauna please do not pour water on the

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stove

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and uh i'm describing most saunas in

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britain but actually this is also kind

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of most saunas around the world saunas

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have never been more popular but they

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have become dry saunas

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and recently the saunas have become very

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popular in fact a home sauna has become

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the ultimate luxury status symbol of the

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rich and the famous

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apart from

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for a lot of these saunas not only are

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they dry not only is there no steam

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there's also often no stones and no one

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to enjoy it with it's become a solitary

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experience like so many other things in

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this world that used to be communal have

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now become solitary and actually just

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while i was preparing for this talk

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today i i saw on the british papers this

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week um an example of a british

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celebrity who has an incredible new home

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sauna would you like to see it

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please don't be offended

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um

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i i assure you that is not a fridge that

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is supposed to be a sauna um

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and if that doesn't impress you let me

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show you what a billionaire's sauna

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looks like um so this particular song

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i'm going to show you belongs to a

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billionaire who is renowned as a sauna

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enthusiast he goes to this sauna every

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single day

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so this belongs to jack dorsey

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he runs a social network and he still

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goes to the sauna alone every day

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and i do think actually this is kind of

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like the twitter of saunas in that um

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it gets you heated

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but it's not uh yeah it's not really

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designed for kind of meaningful

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conversations uh

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for one thing there's only one seat in

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it um

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okay estonians are quite difficult to

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impress um

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let me show you then the top selling

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sauna in the world are you ready

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they do deliver to estonia if anyone

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here

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no okay

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okay i haven't impressed you yet let me

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show you then what the new york post

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says is the best sauna for 2021

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yeah yeah i don't think this is gonna

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take off in estonia um and actually you

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know about five years ago i wouldn't

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know quite why you're all laughing

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because kind of i grew up in britain um

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but i moved to estonia five years ago um

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and actually i am a vales eslanae i am a

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foreign estonian so i'm a third

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generation exile my family that left

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1944 and i moved back to estonia uh five

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years ago and i've started learning what

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it means to be estonian again and sauna

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is one thing i've had to learn again

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from scratch and i realized like

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everything i thought i knew about the

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sauna everything a lot of people around

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the world think they know about the

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sauna is wrong

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um and actually i i started to realize

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how wrong i was when i started trying to

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find out who my family were in estonia

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before they fled and i was looking

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through records down in mulgymar where

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my family are from

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and i found records back in the 18th

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century which had a really odd

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description next to one of my family

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members um it said

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saunik

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and

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so for non-estonians this means sauna

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person um

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also for non-estonians this definitely

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does not mean my family were rich and

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famous back in the 18th century um

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because actually you know the more i

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learned about the sauna the more i

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realized that throughout history it's

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always been a multi-functional space um

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and one of the functions the sauna was

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used for was as a home you know when

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you're building a homestead it's the

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first place you would build and live

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there and then when you need to get a

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farm and hand in if the farmhand doesn't

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have a place to live the farmhand will

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live in the sauna and be a sounding so i

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am descended from sauna people um

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and that's when i started to realize

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there is so much more to the sauna

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historically and culturally than a

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little stuffy room at a gym or a little

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cupboard at home where you can microwave

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yourself alone so since then

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i've been visiting hundreds of saunas

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with my partner annie we've visited

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hundreds of saunas around estonia around

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the world to research the history

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traditions of the sauna the people who

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are keeping it alive um i i now know you

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do pour water on the stones um and now

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i've had the reverse culture shock

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actually going uh to germany for example

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where you get told off for speaking in

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the sauna because you know the one thing

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i've realized more than anything in

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estonia is that the sauna is a social

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experience and even when i go back to

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britain there's nothing i can compare it

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to it's not the saunas in fact maybe the

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closest comparison is the pub because

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the pub is where we interact with our

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friends and family in a similar way

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now back then again a bit for

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non-estonians um so back in the 18th

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century all saunas were smoke saunas so

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the room fills up with smoke and then

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you ventilate it before going into bathe

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it's not until the end of the 19th

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century that actually some innovative

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finns start putting chimneys on their

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saunas um and then it's then that idea

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spreads to estonia and suddenly it

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becomes the finnish sauna with a chimney

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on it um it's not until the 1920s

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actually the chimney saunas start to

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outnumber um smoke saunas in both

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finland and estonia and then in the

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1930s innovative fins again start um

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experimenting with electric stoves so

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today we think of like traditional

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finnish saunas ancient finnish saunas

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and we think of kind of modern electric

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soreness actually those two ideas are

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from pretty much the same era they're

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innovations from the same era however

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the important thing is that the

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principle is the same it's about heating

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rocks um and it's about bathing in the

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steam that generates from them and it is

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a communal experience it's always been a

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communal experience so i've been on my

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own uh mind-shifting uh journey but now

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i'm gonna take you guys on a journey in

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the opposite direction and we're gonna

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try and figure out how did saunas become

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so famous around the world how did they

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become misunderstood and how can we

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shift minds back to like what a real

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sauna is

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and as crazy as it sounds like

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most english speakers had not heard the

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word sauna until about the middle of the

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20th century um so the global popularity

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of the word sauna is so unlikely um

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you know for two reasons first of all

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like back when my family were living in

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the thorn in the 18th century the

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population of estonian speakers had

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declined to less than 100 000. in the

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past couple of years every finnic in the

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past couple of hundred years every

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finnic language has at some point been

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on the path of extinction

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um

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and

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the other reason why it's unlikely that

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kind of this finnic word this finnic

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concept would become world famous is

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actually there are so many different

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traditions around the world that are

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very similar to the sauna many ancient

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cultures used hot rocks and steam for

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bathing in a very similar way so why did

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the sauna become so famous so i was

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looking um

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looking through some newspaper reports

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from the u.s and britain in the 1950s to

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see how people reacted when they were

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first introduced to the sauna

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and

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there are some common themes it's often

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described as like a form of torture or

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cannibalism um and most of these reports

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by the way they come from foreign

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correspondents and travel writers

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mostly based in finland

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so

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you can see here a sauna is a sort of

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turkish bath with overtones of sadism

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masochism parboiling and new england

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witchcraft so

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um you know one thing that's really

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interesting there is a sort of turkish

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bath because it's a reminder that

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actually there were so many other

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different types of sauna-like traditions

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which were much more famous and now if

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you go to any spa in the world you say

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what's a turkish bath they'll say it's a

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kind of sauna there's been a complete

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reversal because it's the finnic sauna

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concept which has now become kind of

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world famous um

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you do see some

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and um actually people reading these

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reports wouldn't know how to pronounce

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the word sauna

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which is sauna in finnish however one

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very helpful journalist did write it's

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pronounced like lorna and that article

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was syndicated all over america it was

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very widely read and so we have a new

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word born which continues to infuriate

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many finnish people today um that sauna

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became the english word

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and um you know there's there's two

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words that come up a lot in these

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reports i want to quickly highlight the

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sauna's often described like being

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boiled sorry being cooked alive in a

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stove or it's like being boiled in a

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stew

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we're going to come back to that why

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that's important now let's jump ahead to

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the next couple of decades this is 1960s

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1970s suddenly there's an explosion of

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interest in the sauna but it's no longer

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from travel writers over in finland it's

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about you know people in america and

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elsewhere building their own saunas

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locally um yeah and as you can see the

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concept is getting quite misunderstood

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as well because a lot of people um kind

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of building these saunas like and

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running them they don't really know they

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didn't grow up with the tradition they

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don't know how to do it properly um but

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one thing that's really influencing the

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massive growth of interest in saunas is

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the fact that the electric stove enables

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them to be built in more places than

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ever before like deep inside buildings

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and health clubs um and actually these

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health club owners are really risk

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averse they're kind of worried about

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their electric stoves catching fire

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having an electrical fire of water

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poured on them so they start telling

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people that it's a dry sauna um and this

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myth really starts to develop through

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this time

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um and yeah so the word starts getting

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misused it starts getting reused as

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sauna becomes a buzzword it gets used

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for a whole load of different products

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anything has anything remotely to do

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with heat therapy um becomes a sauna so

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we have

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sauna hotpants

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sauna whatever that is

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and you do see some pushback as well

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actually here's um some finnish sauna

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enthusiasts writing to their ambassador

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in america demanding that the word sauna

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is banned from being used from all these

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other products they wanted it protected

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like champagne is not a bad idea

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but um you know by this point the sauna

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has become a dry solitary experience and

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actually these finnish sauna enthusiasts

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their worst enemy is just being

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developed at nasa which uh around this

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time discovered infrared wavelengths and

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it was a doctor in japan that figured

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out that far infrared wavelength could

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be used as a new form of heat therapy uh

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to heat the skin and that was launched

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onto the us market towards the end of

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the 70s and it's launched as the

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infrared sauna a superior form of

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detoxing um and one thing that comes up

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a lot in this coverage is you'll see it

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says the sauna is kind of like a

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thousand years old or it's about 800

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years old that number comes up a lot the

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reason that is also a myth but there's a

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good reason for it which is that written

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records of the sauna tradition sorry

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written records of this region begin in

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around the 13th century and so written

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records of the sauna begin in that

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period as well it doesn't mean that the

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sauna is actually 800 or a thousand

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years old and one reason we know that is

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the clue is in our language we can use

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cognates which are sibling words like

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sauna asauna and sound in finnish and

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estonian to trace the history of our

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languages much further back in time and

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every finnic language has a cognate for

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sauna and they come from a proto-finnic

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word which is sacna um and where does

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sacna come from

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this bit might surprise you actually um

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so it's not a phenogrik word they didn't

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bring it with them from the orals um

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actually sakna comes from stagna in in

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germanic

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and sacna and stagnant probably meant

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this stack of stones that was heated in

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a sauna

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stack now as it happens stack also comes

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from the word stagna so there's a direct

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descendant when we go into sauna today

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and we talk about stack in english we're

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sac is stack is directly related to the

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word sauna

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so that's a stack of stones

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and

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but you know if all people around the

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world are kind of saunering in old times

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even germanic peoples even like old

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english peoples what word were they

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using for sauna and i've actually

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already shown them to you because

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actually when these reports about sauna

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started emerging in the mid 20th century

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these writers were using the exact same

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terminology um that used to be used in

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old english so stove was an old word for

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sauna in english and so was stew

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it's not until the 16th century that

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these words are first used for cooking

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um now just because the protofinic

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people borrowed their word for sauna

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from germanic languages it doesn't mean

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that they they borrowed the whole

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tradition from them it just means that

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that word stuck for the kind of building

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um and the reason why we know that is

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because a lot of other sauna related

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words um go all the way back to

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proto-oralic so the proto-finnic people

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kind of spread from the orals and their

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predecessor language was proto-iralic

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and one of the most important words is

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the word for sauna steam

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which

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in estonian is lael and that comes from

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a proto-finnic word which is lulu

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something like the finnish pronunciation

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today and that comes from a proto-uralic

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word which is level and that means

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spirit or breath the very essence of

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life it helps explain why lael is such

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an important word in estonian today and

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it makes sense because you know the

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sauna is the traditional place of birth

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the sauna tradition has long been

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associated with rebirth and so sauna

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steam is such a sacred word that comes

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from the word breath or spirit

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um

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but you know i i've even been told off

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by estonians actually for translating

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lael as sauna esteem because they say oh

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that's very disrespectful it's like

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translating holy communion as bread and

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wine it's so much more important

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culturally which is fair enough um so

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you know

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the oops

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pretend you didn't see that the um

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the sauna has become globally famous it

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has great brand recognition as a social

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network but there are so many imitations

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and people don't always know how to use

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it properly and i think you know if

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english speakers don't have a word for

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uh sauna steam anymore why don't we gift

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them one why don't we make leo the first

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estonian word in english the first

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estonian words that enter common usage

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globally

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because if you know english speakers had

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a word for sauna steam it might help

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them understand the sauna better as a

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communal experience as we've seen

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throughout history saunas belonged to

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everyone and if they could have a word

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again it would help them understand

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their own history as well as ours so

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you know annie and i when we've been

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going to saunas around the world we've

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been telling people the meaning of lail

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we've been trying to encourage people to

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use the word lail and so we need your

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help let's get lail into english because

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this is estonian language week today is

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finno-ugric day when we celebrate the

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continued existence of the original

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sauna people um so let's get lail into

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english and uh

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finally i mentioned um that so my family

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fled from the soviets ended up in

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britain um i'm no longer just a user of

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the sauna i'm now a developer too um so

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i'll show you my sauna because actually

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i'm now living in estonia again and i

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have one of the trucks that the soviets

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left here and uh this is now a sauna and

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this is where uh we're actually

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renovating it with the best of estonian

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design and technology so that we can

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celebrate estonian culture and freedom

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and enjoy leo here with more people

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around the world so thank you so much

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for listening and i wish you many years

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of happy lail

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[Applause]

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