<story><title>Early humans may have survived the harsh winters by hibernating</title><url>https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/dec/20/early-humans-may-have-survived-the-harsh-winters-by-hibernating</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>the_af</author><text>How do you tell fact from fiction&amp;#x2F;propaganda in cases such as these? North Korea is so closed that almost everything that reaches us comes from its enemies or defectors. We want to believe the strangest things about that country. And sure, some of it must be real, but how can you tell? Did your driver personally witness this, or did someone tell him and he was simply spreading a rumor?</text></item><item><author>contingencies</author><text>When I hired a car and traveled along the North Korean border circa 2005 the driver told me about how the NK villagers would, in recent memory, go up in to caves on the adjacent mountains in winter and basically lie there starving and dying in a group because their clothing and houses were so poor (no windows, no insulation) and the nearby land so denuded of firewood that they would otherwise freeze to death. The ones who survived were seen lying in the sun near the river in the spring awaiting the return of energy. I understand the first edible crops in the area are immature fern fronds which poke through the snow. According to the driver, the women would reportedly illegally cross the river to prostitute themselves in China before the winter to obtain rice to survive. It is likely these people have the same bone deformities.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>contingencies</author><text>Sorry I was asleep (in China). Fair question. Well, the guy grew up on the border: he was talking to us in Chinese ... this was not a major touristy area, it was between the Japanese railway that comes down from Tonghua to Ji&amp;#x27;an (Chinese side) and Manpo&amp;#x2F;만포시 (NK side) at &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.openstreetmap.org&amp;#x2F;#map=13&amp;#x2F;41.1369&amp;#x2F;126.1751&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.openstreetmap.org&amp;#x2F;#map=13&amp;#x2F;41.1369&amp;#x2F;126.1751&lt;/a&gt; and the town of Changbaishan at &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.openstreetmap.org&amp;#x2F;#map=13&amp;#x2F;41.4239&amp;#x2F;128.1771&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.openstreetmap.org&amp;#x2F;#map=13&amp;#x2F;41.4239&amp;#x2F;128.1771&lt;/a&gt;.  In this area you can literally look across in to North Korean villages and pillboxes, and in Changbaishan you can look across in to what I have read is allegedly the biggest NK town on the border. Along the way there is a failed attempt at building a train and the hills are denuded. Poverty is immediately evident. People are fishing with crap equipment because there is nothing else to do and they are hungry. Nobody has adequate clothing. I did not see glass. All the roads are dirt on the NK side. And so on.</text></comment>
<story><title>Early humans may have survived the harsh winters by hibernating</title><url>https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/dec/20/early-humans-may-have-survived-the-harsh-winters-by-hibernating</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>the_af</author><text>How do you tell fact from fiction&amp;#x2F;propaganda in cases such as these? North Korea is so closed that almost everything that reaches us comes from its enemies or defectors. We want to believe the strangest things about that country. And sure, some of it must be real, but how can you tell? Did your driver personally witness this, or did someone tell him and he was simply spreading a rumor?</text></item><item><author>contingencies</author><text>When I hired a car and traveled along the North Korean border circa 2005 the driver told me about how the NK villagers would, in recent memory, go up in to caves on the adjacent mountains in winter and basically lie there starving and dying in a group because their clothing and houses were so poor (no windows, no insulation) and the nearby land so denuded of firewood that they would otherwise freeze to death. The ones who survived were seen lying in the sun near the river in the spring awaiting the return of energy. I understand the first edible crops in the area are immature fern fronds which poke through the snow. According to the driver, the women would reportedly illegally cross the river to prostitute themselves in China before the winter to obtain rice to survive. It is likely these people have the same bone deformities.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>stickfigure</author><text>Reputable sources have widely reported that North Korean men on average measure several inches shorter than South Koreans, and many defectors come across the border with signs of malnutrition and intestinal parasites.</text></comment>