Miracle of Reproduction, The (1963)

[Music] you know anyone boy or girl growing up on this wonderful planet of ours can't help but be conscious of the Marvels around us great beautiful cities Transportation that's made the world a 100 times smaller than it was a few centuries ago radio and television so we can see and hear what is happening thousands of miles away but you know of all the things that man has created nothing can approach and probably never will the marvels of nature beautiful Scenic the glories of sunrise and sunset the blue of the sky the Thundering power of the mighty oceans and the tides but of all the works of nature the greatest creation of all is the miracle we share with every creature that moves or grows that swims flies or walks or that puts down roots and rises from the soil that is the miracle of reproduction the continuing Wonder of nature renewing herself which we see everywhere every day a miracle of which each one of us is a part you know there are thousands and thousands of kinds of Life on our Earth there are plants fish Birds yes and animals but the amazing thing is all these different plants and creatures and even you and I started life in much the same way we started from a tiny egg an egg so small you couldn't even see it without a magnifying glass or a microscope it's hard to believe but all of us all creatures from a tiny tropical fish to a huge elephant from a beautiful flower and even to a graceful bird well once that small let's take a look around our Earth and see how life begins and how things grow we'll start with a beautiful flower as you all know already flowers grow from seeds don't they but where do the seeds come from in the base of the motherf flower is a place called the ovary in it are many tiny eggs or seeds they are all ready to start growing but they need something to tell them to begin they need a fine dust-like substance from a father plant a substance we call pollen now obviously plants can't move around so how is the pollen from the father plant ever going to get to the mother flour and tell the eggs to start growing well Nature has thought of that too when a bee enters a flower in search of Honey some of this pollen rubs off onto his wings and body then when he flies to the next Plant the pollen rubs off onto a part of the flower known as the pistol that's the signal for the eggs to begin growing there's a lot of growing between the Tiny Seed and a full grown flower this is started in the ground in Mother Earth herself and the Earth provid provides the seedling with water minerals and all the things it needs to grow into a strong hearty plant and that is how nature performs her Miracle of reproduction in the garden in the streams lakes and oceans of our world are thousands and thousands of forms of life that we call fish you wouldn't think a fish could be related to a flower would you but actually nature starts their lives in much the same way and that is from a tiny egg inside each mother fish are thousands of these tiny eggs or a row now how do they become little fish well to start with the mother fish lays her eggs on the bottom of the stream or lake but we know from plants that it's going to take something like pollen from a father fish to help the egg start growing the fish can't depend on a friendly bee to help him by carrying pollen to the mother's eggs so what happens well what happens is that Father Fish takes care of it himself he swims over the eggs and discharges a white jelly-like substance called Milt in this Milt are millions of little wriggling things called spermatozoa or sperm they look like tadpoles yes they look like tadpoles only they're microscopic in size and there are millions of them in a cloud of milk once a single sperm Burrows itself into an egg the egg begins growing just as the eggs did in the flour when touched by the pollen less than a week later the egg has become a tiny fish soon it is able to swim and care for itself and grow to full size and so Nature's Miracle of reproduction has taken place underwater but when Nature moves above the ground and out of the water her problems are different you see birds are warm-blooded creatures which means their eggs too must be kept warm never allowed to become chilled that means a motherb bird can't plant her eggs in the ground like a flower or deposit them under water like a fish how bet I know what you're asking if she doesn't leave her eggs how will father bird be able to get the pollen or sperm to the egg to help it start growing well Nature's answer to that is simple and direct before the egg is laid the father bird has sent the sperm right into the body of the motherb bird here it finds its way to the egg and starts it growing it grows and grows until it is too large to grow anymore inside the mother so she lays it in the nest and keeps it warm with her body 3 weeks later a little chick breaks its way through the protective shell and commences its life as a bird the miracle of reproduction repeated again in a new way when we come to the animals we come to forms of life much like ourselves Life Begins as it does with plants with Fish And with birds but in the case of animals nature had very special problems to solve take the mother cow for example as in the case of birds the Father the B places the sperm directly inside the body of the mother the cow he uses a tube called the penis which Nature has provided for the purpose the penis fits into the body of the mother and allows the sperm to get to the egg and starts it growing but here is where all animals differ from birds in their way of having babies we know that birds lay their eggs in nests then warm them until the eggs have grown into baby birds well an animal baby grows in a nest also in a warm safe nest in the body of its mother The Nest is called the uterus here it grows nourished by its mother's body until it is big and strong enough to come out into the world when the time comes it is born some animals take much longer than others to get ready to be born a mouse takes three weeks but an elephant baby grows for 20 months inside its mother however within a few weeks or months most animal babies are big and strong enough to get along by themselves without any more help from their mothers and fathers but human babies aren't able to take care of themselves after only 2 or 3 weeks animals do they need the love and protection of mothers and fathers during the years until they have grown up this is why two people in love get married before they have children so they can make a home and provide the love care and protection that babies need for many years and now we're ready to see how nature performs The Miracle of reproduction for us how we come into the world and how we grow in the body of a mother are two ovaries filled with thousands of little eggs once a month a single egg leaves an ovary and moves down into the uterus The Nest where a baby will grow just as in the animal mother if this tiny egg is not fertilized is if no sperm reaches it the ovam or egg along with the fluid surrounding it will leave the uterus and move down the vaginal Canal where it leaves the body this is a regular monthly process in the body of all grown girls the discharge of an egg which did not start growing it is called menstruation but when a girl marries and mates with her husband millions of tiny sperm from the father's body enter the vagina just as we saw happen in the body of the animal mother just one of these millions of little bits of Life swims to the tiny egg in the uterus it buries itself in the egg and now just as in the case of the flower and the little fish and the animal the egg starts to grow its life has begun and that is how you and I began life you grew very rapidly at the end of a month you looked like a tiny curled up fish you were smaller than a little fingernail another month and you were about an inch long and looked like a little baby when you had grown for about 4 months you looked like this and your mother felt you moving inside her body you were growing fast and needed food you know that little button in the middle of your body that's called a naval that's where a tube from your mother's body joined yours this tube is called the umbilical cord this cord which connected your mother's body to yours supplied you with food and all the things needed to make you grow healthy and strong before you were born as you grew bigger in the nest your mother's body began to change too at first the uterus was no bigger than a pear but after a few months it had stretched many many times and her whole body became larger to take care of you her breasts also became Fuller getting ready to provide milk for you and after we had been growing for 9 months nature gave them the mother's body a signal time for labor to begin time for the baby to leave the nest well instead of stretching the uterus now began squeezing pushing the baby down the canal out into the world that is how you were born Nature has performed her greatest Miracle brought a brand new baby girl or a boy into the world the miracle of reproduction from a tiny egg and a microscopic bit of Life Force to start it growing nature fills the world with plants fills the water with fish the air with birds and puts all kind of animals on the ground as company for her men and women who built civilization and in the years to come when you fall in love and get married you may then experience the greatest Miracle of all having children of your own and this is the story of reproduction [Music]