Omnibus
HowStuffWorks
Twice a week, Ken Jennings and John Roderick add a new entry to the OMNIBUS, an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they are compiling as a time capsule for future generations.
Location:
United States
Genres:
History Podcasts
Networks:
HowStuffWorks
Description:
Twice a week, Ken Jennings and John Roderick add a new entry to the OMNIBUS, an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they are compiling as a time capsule for future generations.
Language:
English
Episodes
Episode 550: The Kruger Millions (Entry 693.JB2801)
6/1/2023
In which a vast hoard of gold and diamonds disppears near the Mozambique border during the Boer War, and Ken thinks most penguin species look like hoboes. Certificate #15845.
Duration:01:16:04
Episode 549: Project Cybersyn (Entry 993.AC0245)
5/25/2023
In which Latin America's first Marxist democracy tries to collectivize the means of production by inventing a proto-internet in 1970, and John just hopes it was orange and brown. Certificate #53432.
Duration:01:13:31
Episode 548: The Gimli Glider (Entry 528.PS6104)
5/18/2023
In which the pilots of a Canadian commercial jetliner abruptly realize over Ontario that they're entirely out of fuel, and Ken likes sad character licensing attempts at amusement parks. Certificate #41746.
Duration:01:25:51
Episode 547: Dueling Scars (Entry 385.PR0633)
5/11/2023
In which German university students create a new status symbol when they add swordplay to their drinking society meetings, and John's closet skeletons are all bar fights. Certificate #36857.
Duration:01:14:33
Episode 546: Alligators in the Sewers (Entry 033.LV1142)
5/4/2023
In which generations of New Yorkers read about, and lasso, a series of not-legendary-at-all interlopers beneath their city, and Ken doesn't think you should trim a reptile like a bonsai tree. Certificate #36161.
Duration:01:25:45
Episode 545: Magic Alex (Entry 747.JE0708)
4/27/2023
In which a self-proclaimed electronics prodigy from Greece wows the credulous Beatles with five years of inventions he will never invent, and John insists that his recursive t-shirt feature Wil Wheaton. Certificate #45939.
Duration:01:28:55
Episode 544: Saul Zaentz (Entry 1455.1S1435)
4/20/2023
In which a future three-time Oscar winner becomes the nemesis of America's favorite fake swamp-rocker, and Ken has prepared a little skit about the death of Stalin. Certificate #42240.
Duration:01:27:42
Episode 543: The Green River Ordinance (Entry 549.RV0320)
4/13/2023
In which underslept Wyoming railroad workers strike back against a tide of pushy brush and encyclopedia salesmen, and John appreciates the Jehovah's Witnesses. Certificate #12881.
Duration:01:23:40
Episode 542: Mad Cow Disease (Entry 746.GE4120)
4/6/2023
In which the unsavory feeding practices of British dairy farms introduce Europe to a new degenerative brain disease, and Ken believes Prince Edward is not necessarily human. Certificate #41602.
Duration:01:19:17
Episode 541: The Amazing Randi (Entry 038.EX0711)
3/30/2023
In which mediums and other charlatans wage a 150-year war with their sworn enemy, elite stage magicians, and John would never yell at a lake or birdbath. Certificate #44722.
Duration:01:39:35
Episode 540: Kevlar (Entry 684.EX2822)
3/23/2023
In which a pioneering chemist never sees a cent of the billions of dollars that her tough new polymer earns for her employer, and Ken wonders how many Alaskans fake their own deaths. Certificate #34836.
Duration:01:21:35
Episode 539: The Defector General (Entry 326.IS3301)
3/16/2023
In which the greatest turncoat in Chinese history betrays every single warlord or government he ever serves, and John had the 4chan version of the '90s. Certificate #40824.
Duration:01:25:44
Episode 538: The Devils Hole Pupfish (Entry 342.PS10529)
3/9/2023
In which a playful-looking but delicate little species is unable to thrive anywhere but its 11-foot wide home near Death Valley, and Ken witnesses a jellyfish tragedy. Certificate #41036.
Duration:01:08:05
Episode 537: The Sight and Sound Poll (Entry 1158.DE0413)
3/2/2023
In which a British magazine very gradually takes over film culture with its once-every-decade top ten list, and John is careful not to endorse an invasion of the Sudetenland. Certificate #51403.
Duration:01:35:10
Episode 536: The Bhopal Disaster (Entry 118.JE2106)
2/23/2023
In which a series of lapses at a Union Carbide India chemical plant leads to the worst industrial accident in history, and Ken can't get behind a midnight tea break. Certificate #52760.
Duration:01:20:52
Episode 535: The Osage Headrights (Entry 877.MT2508)
2/16/2023
In which an Oklahoma tribe becomes the world's richest people before the swindling and the murders start, and John enjoys a web of intrigue. Certificate #47911.
Duration:01:26:04
Episode 534: The Voynich Manuscript (Entry 1403.DA0515)
2/9/2023
In which a bizarrely illustrated codex baffles codebreakers for almost four hundred years, and Ken should not have sent that text about the collected works of Dickens. Certificate #42634.
Duration:01:22:33
Episode 533: Rhinos in Europe (Entry 1069.JB3910)
2/2/2023
In which Europe is so besotted with exotic ungulates that Roman emperors battle them, artists engrave them badly, and salons honor them in wig form, and John asks about Ken's milk bags. Certificate #27983.
Duration:01:14:06
Episode 532: Cannikin (Entry 180.IS0219)
1/26/2023
In which underground nuclear testing in Alaska leads two Jewish Quakers into a new age of direct action in environmental activism, and Ken is grateful for the air fryer. Certificate #53211.
Duration:01:10:59
Episode 531: The Royal Touch (Entry 1087.MT1902)
1/19/2023
In which the divine right of kings, along with golden amulets, is considered the only cure for a disfiguring disease, and John considers which celebrities might be carved from wood. Certificate #22347.
Duration:01:11:03