My name is Joshua Topolsky and I have a new podcast called What Future.

But I want to tell you that I'm being forced by my producer to record a promo telling you about my show.

And I'm not trying to force you to listen to it.

And maybe you're not interested in internet culture and the future of life on planet Earth.

And why John Carpenter movies are so good.

You may just want to listen to a podcast about, I don't know, sports or whatever Joe Rogan talks about.

And that's fine, you know, no judgment.

But if you like what you're hearing and I know that you do, you can listen to all of what future on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of I Heart Radio.

Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind focusing on mythical creatures,

ideas and monsters in time.

When it comes to the fauna of the planet Arrakis, your mind probably turns to the famous Sandwar.

Alternatively, you might think of Muadib, the desert mouse descended from terrestrial kangaroo mice that were introduced to the planet by human colonists.

But another introduced species concerns me today, the Kulon.

Yes, the donkeys, a Frank Herbert's Dune.

The Kulon are only mentioned twice in the original novel, both times in the Appendix.

We're told that they were once wild donkeys of Earth's sasjatic step and were introduced and adapted for work on the planet Arrakis.

We also learn that some smugglers made use of Kulon as pack animals, but quote, the water price was high even when the beasts were fitted with modified still suits.

This is the tidbit that enthralls me every time I reread it. Perhaps it's just the mental image of a donkey, clad, and a futuristic water reclamation suit than used by smugglers to traffic psychedelic space trucks.

While the Dune encyclopedia is usually quick to expand on concepts from the novels, they offer very little on the donkeys of Dune, except to claim that the fremen inhabitants of Arrakis employed them as well and used the animals milk in their cuisine.

By the way, this book features a few recipes you can prepare yourself.

Half and wondered why Frank Herbert would choose to have introduced donkeys on Arrakis and not camels. Camels, after all, are the ships of the desert, highly suited for dry, arid environments.

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