Welcome to episode number 331 of Slink West Burst.

Tonight, you'll hear a whispered video episode about Alexander Selkirk, the real Robinson

and I created this tranquilizer of restless brain squirrels so you can relax and fall asleep.

Alright, why did I choose Alexander Selkirk for tonight's whispered video?

Well, I've always enjoyed stories, movies and TV shows about castaways and the most famous

castaway in history is probably Robinson Garuso.

But he's a fictional character created by the author William DeVoe

and many people believe that DeVoe wasn't inspired by the story of the real-life castaway Alexander Selkirk.

Curiously though, DeVoe never confirmed or denied this, which is a little silly if you look at some basic facts.

Listen to this timeline. In 1705, Alexander Selkirk was stranded by himself on an island.

In 1709, four years later, he was rescued.

In 1712, the captain of the ship who rescued Selkirk published the story of how Selkirk survived alone on an island for so long.

And then, five years later, Daniel DeVoe published his novel Robinson Garuso.

Now, a five-year gap may not seem like a smoking gun today, but this was a long time ago.

Back then, there was no internet, no TV, no phones, no radio, and no shipping by highways.

So it really could have taken five years for Selkirk's story to become popular for DeVoe to hear about it, for DeVoe to consider writing a book about it, for DeVoe to actually write a complete novel, and then to get it published.

Yeah, it sounds to me like Selkirk could have easily been the major inspiration for Robinson Garuso.

Okay, enough ripping of Daniel DeVoe, or not being a bit more open and honest about his main inspiration.

Tonight, you'll hear the exciting story of Alexander Selkirk, which includes learning about his rascal nature, which is probably the reason he ended up on the island.

But, also perhaps, the reason he survived on the island, you'll also learn about his other skills and knowledge that helped him to survive being on the island for so long.

And my theory about how he really hunted goats, which I think is much more realistic than what Wikipedia and most other articles say about this matter.

And I'll finish this episode with some fun and curious facts about Daniel DeVoe and his novel Robinson Garuso.

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