Loi Dunk

Hooves and Harmonics | A Meandering Pet Zebra | The World's Tiniest Violin

• Barbara & Teja Arboleda • Episode 90

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In this Loi Dunk: Weird News episode, Teja introduces us to a pet zebra in Tennessee who decided to treat himself to a little solo adventure, including a scenic trot through town and dinner in a meadow. Who doesn't like a little alone time? 

Yes, you can have a pet zebra in Tennessee. Should you? That’s a different question. Find out what other weird pets are or aren't allowed in Tennessee.

Barbara brings in a story that’s musical and microscopic. Nanoscientists have built the world’s tiniest violin, smaller than a human hair. It's not just an expression anymore. It's the perfect gift for the emotionally dramatic flea in your life.

Find us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok: @loidunk

SPEAKER_02:

You know what I find weird about weird news is that in order to find weird news, you either have to have weird friends or weird people in your neighborhood or at the coffee shop telling you weird things, or you have to read about it in weird places that have weird news as opposed to experiencing weird news.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't want to experience weird news. No. Experiencing weird news is bad.

SPEAKER_02:

Why is that?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I mean, come on. You never you don't want something like unpredictably weird to start happening to you every single day.

SPEAKER_02:

I didn't say every single day.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean you wake up, you roll out of bed, and then weird. Woo! Let's go!

SPEAKER_02:

So you want to wake up every morning bored. Like imagine waking up in the morning, you're like, kind of bored. Oh, but but means your dreams are just gray about cardboard, like the history of cardboard. I dreamt last night about the history of cardboard.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, you mentioned the history of cardboard a lot. Do you even know anything really about cardboard? Yes, I do. Why? Because cardboard.

SPEAKER_02:

When I was teaching television production, there's a course I taught called uh uh short form documentary film production.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

And I had the students do once, one semester, particular semester, I had them do research and do their own version of a short form documentary on the history of cardboard. And we learned a lot about it.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm sure you did.

SPEAKER_02:

I chose a what would be a very important thing. Well, they each had a different role. Like one did the research, one did the filming, one did the clean role research.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I see. I thought you were watching like 12 individual hour-long documentaries about the history of cardboard.

SPEAKER_01:

Ken Burns! 2025 Ken Burns documentary series. The history of cardboard.

SPEAKER_00:

But that's not usually how his documentaries go.

SPEAKER_02:

No, they don't.

SPEAKER_00:

But you know you run out of ideas at some point laid back than that.

SPEAKER_02:

That would be weird.

SPEAKER_00:

But but you brought some weird news today, and I brought some weird news. I mean, I'm not sure that mine is weird as much as interesting, but again, living in interesting time.

SPEAKER_02:

I think it's the definition of weird too. Like what's weird?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Right?

SPEAKER_00:

True. True. Okay. Hit us with your weird news.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, my weird news is a runaway pet zebra had been captured in Tennessee.

SPEAKER_00:

Pet zebra.

SPEAKER_02:

A pet zebra. So I have a lot of questions here.

SPEAKER_00:

I have so many questions.

SPEAKER_02:

First, and there's a picture of the zebra having been caught in a harness, and the zebra looks quite comfortable.

SPEAKER_00:

Actually, yeah, that looks like one of those little hanging chairs. My mom had one of those. It was this hanging chair, and you just kind of sink into it. Yeah. Like a sprang mantis cocoon and sway.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, this this zebra looks really comfortable.

SPEAKER_00:

So actually.

SPEAKER_02:

This runaway pet zebra was on the loose for more than a week in Tennessee.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm still stuck on the word pet. I mean, like, because you can have pet zebras in Tennessee.

SPEAKER_02:

How often do pets first, how often do pets run away?

SPEAKER_00:

I'm sure quite frequently.

SPEAKER_02:

Right? And then how many pet zebras run away?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, how many people have pet zebras is my question.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. So that means that that zebra ran away for a good reason. Like I could see a good portion of people who have dogs or cats or rabbits that may run away. You know, maybe they don't have such a good home life. But if you went out of your way to get a pet zebra from halfway around the planet.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, I need more pet. Why would it run away? I don't well, I don't know. Tell me more.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, so Ed, the zebra, the zebra's name is Ed.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Was captured safely after being located in a pasture, of course, because where else would it be? A mall. Uh near a subdivision in the Christiana community in central Tennessee.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

All right. Ed was airlifted and flown by helicopter back to the waiting animals trailer, the sheriff's office said in his statement. So here was.

SPEAKER_00:

So he's got his own trailer. Yes. He's got his. Bring me my bring me my my favorite. I'm not just a pig. My favorite smoothie. And uh can my close please have my hoofs shined. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, if you're a zebra and you're hiding for a week, so here's my question.

SPEAKER_00:

But he wasn't hiding, he was right out there in the pasture the whole time. He probably bought it.

SPEAKER_03:

Bought the pasture?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

unknown:

You know?

SPEAKER_00:

Bought the farm. Pasture. Time to get out on his own, buy his own place.

SPEAKER_02:

A bit of crypto.

SPEAKER_00:

He's a bit yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

But see, zebras have stripes for a reason. Right? Zebras have stripes for a reason. What I learned, I only learned this yesterday, that some animals, like tigers, I think it is, tigers, don't see color the same way humans do. So um, like gazelles don't see color also the same way humans do. So that when a tiger is hiding in the serengeti, even though a tiger is, is it the tiger or the which one is kind of yellowish and yeah, tiger. Uh kind of yellowish and black. The other animals that are the that are the prey don't see the yellow.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's unfortunate.

SPEAKER_02:

So the the tiger is able to camouflage itself in the serengeti in the bushes or whatever, because the the shade of gray or dark.

SPEAKER_00:

Can I give them a little glasses or something?

SPEAKER_02:

Like night night vision glasses?

SPEAKER_00:

Like the kind yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

That'd be so cool.

SPEAKER_00:

Only for yellow. It's not night vision. They can see yellow all of a sudden.

SPEAKER_02:

But hold on, this zebra is hiding for a week.

SPEAKER_00:

He was out in plain sight in pasture.

SPEAKER_02:

How do you hide with black and white stripes? In Tennessee.

SPEAKER_00:

Was it snowing? Even was it still be black and white.

SPEAKER_02:

It's like stripes.

SPEAKER_00:

I know.

SPEAKER_02:

You'd have to be hiding like either like in a in a prison cell, like you know, just kind of like between the bars.

SPEAKER_00:

Postmodern pasture?

SPEAKER_02:

Well. I'm just saying that how do you hide for a week? It'd be pretty obvious. It'd be pretty obvious if you were striped white and black.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

That you would be easily, easily seen in a pasture.

SPEAKER_00:

And on the subway and anywhere else, because that would be really weird. But it's not really weird for a zebra. Zebra's just chilling out in the pasture.

SPEAKER_02:

No, but he ran away.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

So clearly he's running away from something. Maybe.

SPEAKER_00:

Why do we think he ran away? Well, it says there. Why don't we think maybe he just wanted to go out to eat instead of eating at home?

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, we've all found in a pasture.

SPEAKER_00:

He just felt like going out that night. Didn't want takeout to bring in. He just wanted to hang out and, you know, have someone else cook for a change. I think that makes sense.

SPEAKER_02:

The last sentence says the zebra was spotted and filmed running alongside Interstate 24, forcing deputies to shut the roadway, but Ed escaped into the wooded area.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, now hold on. Okay. Our pet zebras Oh boy. Legal in Tennessee. In Tennessee. Yes. It is legal to own a zebra as a pet. Okay, hold on. Tennessee.com. Ooh! Zebras, Kangaroos, Giraffes. Okay, this is the Tennessean. And this was updated June 3rd, 2025. And uh uh what story was yours from?

SPEAKER_02:

Uh this is Associated Press, of course.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, okay. Well, this is the Tennessean. And oh, I see. They're referencing the zebra on the loose.

SPEAKER_03:

See?

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Yes, a pet zebra. Okay, so blah blah blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, missing zebra, blah blah blah, picture of zebra, blah blah blah. Are they allowed as pets in Tennessee? Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

See?

SPEAKER_00:

So what's so if you can own a zebra, what's not allowed in Tennessee? The list might surprise you. Okay, animals you can own in Tennessee. Okay, and animals you can't own in Tennessee. All right. So are you ready?

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, go for it.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Which list is this one from? Can you own ferrets and chinchillas in Tennessee?

SPEAKER_02:

Can you own ferrets and chinchillas in Tennessee? Ferrets are the little and then chinchillas are like they're kind of like ferrets. So can you own ferrets and chinchillas in Tennessee?

SPEAKER_00:

In Tennessee.

SPEAKER_02:

No.

SPEAKER_00:

You can own ferrets and chinchillas in Tennessee.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Alright.

SPEAKER_02:

If you're gonna own a zebra or a giraffe in Tennessee, hippopotamus. No.

SPEAKER_00:

You cannot own a hippopotamus in Tennessee. All right. Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Can you imagine why? Can you imagine a hippopotami running away?

SPEAKER_00:

How about um a turtle measuring four inches or less?

SPEAKER_02:

Four inches or less, yes.

SPEAKER_00:

No.

SPEAKER_02:

No.

SPEAKER_00:

Due to possible salmonella contamination. What? Native turtle species are also prohibited.

SPEAKER_02:

Who eats turtles?

SPEAKER_00:

No, it's a pet.

SPEAKER_02:

But salmonella poisoning? Oh, that the turtle will get salmon?

SPEAKER_00:

No, that it can spread salmonella.

SPEAKER_02:

You can spread salmonella through a turtle shell?

SPEAKER_00:

Apparently.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't I don't know. Okay. Alright. Llama, alpaco, alpaca, guanacos, vicunas, camels, giraffes, and bison. Yes or no?

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, you can.

SPEAKER_02:

Bison?

SPEAKER_00:

You can own a bison in Tennessee. I'm gonna go to Tennessee and buy a bison.

SPEAKER_02:

I think I I'd like a giraffe.

SPEAKER_00:

Really?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. For maybe like three days.

SPEAKER_00:

You could also get an ostrich.

SPEAKER_02:

If all of if you have a pet ostrich. So they can stick their head in it? You know, that's I'm not sure if that's a I think that's well, it might be true. But so if you own an ostrich and a zebra and a giraffe and a pet turtle over four inches long, and chinchilla, and they all run away on the same day.

SPEAKER_00:

Hmm. I think that you'll catch the turtle first. Alright, well, that was very interesting. Okay. I learned something.

SPEAKER_03:

What's your weirdness?

SPEAKER_00:

And now we're definitely gonna learn something.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh boy. Because you're Are you belittling my story?

SPEAKER_00:

No. I'm just saying, you know what how it is when someone starts telling you about their problems.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And you think that their problem may be a bit of a first world problem.

SPEAKER_02:

A bit of a first world problem.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And you say, aww, I'm plucking me, I'm playing the world's tiniest violin. And then you do this, right? Yeah. Sometimes people do this, right? Okay. In truth, the world's smallest violin.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. Oh.

SPEAKER_00:

Can't be seen without a microscope.

SPEAKER_02:

What?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. So I am back on the. So is it a real violin?

SPEAKER_02:

Like a violin violin? It's a violin.

SPEAKER_00:

Mozart, if he was really small, he'd have to be like really, really small. Really small.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Um because this is uh they used nanotechnology.

SPEAKER_02:

No, to build a violin, is it made of wood?

SPEAKER_00:

I think it I don't know. Uh oh no, no, platinum, platinum, platinum. Platinum. It's a platinum violin that measures thirty-five by thirteen microns.

SPEAKER_02:

How uh uh uh compare inch to micron. All right, to know twenty-five thousand four hundred microns equals one inch. Twenty-five thousand four hundred microns equals one inch.

SPEAKER_00:

And how big is this thing? Thirty-five by thirteen microns. Okay, so thirty-five microns is a measurement unit equal to one millionth of a meter. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02:

How do you make something that small? Well, I guess supercomputers have right.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, they made it. So, so, all right, so a human hair may range from 17 to 180 microns, which is actually a much, much wider range than I would have anticipated. Although looking at some people's hair is very thick. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And my hair is okay, keep going because I know where you're going with that. Yeah. You're looking at me directly.

SPEAKER_00:

The shaft of the hair.

SPEAKER_02:

I feel the heat on my head right now.

SPEAKER_00:

The shaft of the hair is between 17 and 180 microns.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Diameter.

SPEAKER_02:

So they made that violin smaller than the width of a hair.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

unknown:

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02:

Does it play?

SPEAKER_00:

It didn't say.

SPEAKER_02:

And is it accurate? Do you have to tune it?

SPEAKER_00:

They said that they built.

SPEAKER_02:

How large would the orchestra be?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, that would be even smaller than a flea orchestra.

SPEAKER_02:

Can you imagine if if if Mozart was given a violin that big?

SPEAKER_00:

He'd probably he'd accidentally step on it and then it'd be whit gone.

SPEAKER_02:

That'd be the end of it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. But it's apparently nanolithography. Technology that allows scient scientists to build and study nanoscale objects and structures.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow. Have they built anything else that's small? Like, can they build a you know, like an electric toothbrush? Or like really little teeth, baby teeth?

SPEAKER_00:

Maybe. Maybe, yeah. Or, you know, they can build this tiny, tiny violin and like have a paramecium play it or something.

SPEAKER_02:

Paramecium are very new musical.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, paramecium, people really just haven't had the paramecium market in mind when they make stuff. And I think that it's a shame.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, it is definitely a shame. And when paramecium get hurt, who goes to get them?

unknown:

Who?

SPEAKER_02:

Paramedics. It's not funny.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. And I guess that wraps up our weird news. Look what you've got to know.

SPEAKER_02:

I know. See, that's the problem with these things. There's always a metaphor behind this.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh.

SPEAKER_02:

Like if you get a squishy thing and it's a hamster, then it's like, oh, the poor hamster. You know, but if it's a brain, it's gonna like, yeah, yeah, that's what my brain does. Yeah, I'm so tired. I'm exhausted. This is stressful.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Yeah. No, anything that's squishy, I just squish. I'm the queen of fidget toys.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. That's why going to the movies with you can be a little trying sometimes.

SPEAKER_00:

You know at the movies how people say I don't, but I don't do it.

SPEAKER_02:

No, I don't do candy wrappers.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't do candy wrappers.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, not candy, but other stuff. Like paramecium paramecium poop?

SPEAKER_00:

That it made while playing the world's tiniest.