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Omnibus

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Every 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.

Episodes

The Mona Lisa Heist (Entry 800.JN1206)

In which an Italian workman creates a cultural icon when he attempts to repatriate a Renaissance masterpiece from the laxly secured Louvre, and John upstages Ken's sturgeon. Certificate #35100.

Mar 27, 20251 hr 24 min

Genuine Leather (Entry 522.GE0321)

In which the tanning industry invents a fancy-sounding term for one of its worst grades of leather, and Ken learns his childhood jacket may have had epaulets. Certificate #46978.

Mar 20, 20251 hr 21 min

The Dionne Quintuplets (Entry 352.JB0525)

In which five adorable and identical Franco-Ontarians become an international sensation and then wards of the state, and John doesn't know what to call the bulb of Canada. Certificate #31042.

Mar 13, 20252 hr 35 min

Pedestrianism (Entry 913.PS1833)

In which the first great sporting fad of the 19th century springs from great feats of British walking, and Ken isn't sure how to use protozoa as a metaphor for time. Certificate #21218.

Mar 06, 20251 hr 28 min

The Battle of the Sisters (Entry 104.GE3008)

In which Hollywood's greatest case of sibling rivalry begins with a swimming pool injury and ends at the Oscars, and John rediscovers pop music thanks to the Queeb. Certificate #30747.

Feb 27, 20252 hr 36 min

The Golden Age of Porn (Entry 537.1C0618)

In which we celebrate the post-Valentine's season by looking back at the sleazy 1970s when adult films briefly became mainstream chic, and Ken avoids a Y2K for his marriage. Certificate #25369.

Feb 20, 20251 hr 25 min

The Oracle of Delphi (Entry 872.1S0911)

In which a veiled, fume-huffing priestess tells the ancient world what to do for over a millennium, and John only knows what time it is from his truck clock. Certificate #25192.

Feb 13, 20251 hr 8 min

Balloon Man (Entry 094.DE1501)

In which a Disneyland-trained dreamer invents a new art form with the help of a cookie entrepreneur and a jellybean innovator, and Ken has a theory about the worst balloon vendors. Certificate #32691.

Feb 06, 20251 hr 29 min

The EGOT (Entry 398.AC2810)

In which an inescapable awards-season acronym is jump-started twenty-five years earlier by an eccentric TV cop actor and a pop reference book, and John's family would like to kick in hotel room doors. Certificate #42952.

Jan 30, 20252 hr 36 min

Martin Luther King, Sr. (Entry 688.PR1301)

In which an Atlanta pastor changes his name after a very inspiring visit to Germany and begins an American civil rights dynasty, and Ken gets to make a chart. Certificate #45274.

Jan 23, 20251 hr 14 min

Spontaneous Combustion (Entry 1206.PR0627)

In which scientists and paranormal investigators puzzle over a string of mysterious deaths beginning with a "dull and heavy" Italian countess, and John learns about the peat of the Maldives. Certificate #40714.

Jan 16, 20251 hr 19 min

Canal Mania (Entry 178.PR0516)

In which British investors power the Industrial Revolution with arguably too many waterways for the nation's barges, and Ken thinks escalators are not cheating. Certificate #27217.

Jan 09, 20251 hr 24 min

The Carrington Event (Entry 189.2P0312)

In which a solar storm in 1859 leads to eye-popping auroras and a harboring of technological doom, and John compares gold pan and pizza sizes. Certificate #54094.

Jan 02, 20251 hr 7 min

Elf on the Shelf (Entry 404.PR1503)

In which the childhood Christmas tradition of two Georgia twins becomes a cultural tug-of-war over surveillance psychology, and Ken is going to buy a light blue tree. Certificate #45509.

Dec 26, 20241 hr 14 min

Space Contraband (Entry 1194.JB1312)

In which astronauts and cosmonauts smuggle sandwiches, golf clubs, harmonicas, collectibles, and ashes into orbit, and John wants to blow bubbles on the Moon. Certificate #54825.

Dec 19, 20241 hr 8 min

Lazy Susans (Entry 706.LK1237)

In which a Cantonese restaurant in San Franciscos's Chinatown spreads American revolving-table technology worldwide, and Ken wonders how long it takes to get sick of a musician in your spare bedroom. Certificate #43576.

Dec 12, 20241 hr 6 min

The Tooth Fairy (Entry 1317.SS0606)

In which ancient sorcery, changeling myths, and Edwardian fads combine to create America's only homegrown childhood rite of passage, and John's dentist turns teeth into boats. Certificate #19230.

Dec 05, 20241 hr 16 min

411 (Entry 495.LK2003)

In which telephone users once had access to a surprising array of helpful and informative services, and Ken got rid of his landline to spite Al-Qaeda. Certificate #26038.

Nov 28, 20241 hr 10 min

Whistling (Entry 1427.DE2323)

In which an ancient linguistic and religious practice becomes a jaunty, ambulatory musical form before falling into decline, and John does not want to see condors in a hospital. Certificate #45133.

Nov 21, 20241 hr 13 min

The Population Bomb (Entry 966.GE2803)

In which centuries of sterilization-happy doomsayers fail to predict a game-changing revolution in wheat, and Ken thinks Pakistan wants John to clean out his fridge. Certificate #2037.

Nov 14, 20241 hr 20 min

The King Under the Mountain (Entry 688.RO1311)

In which dozens of national sleeping guys with long beards wait in caves for their countries to need them again, and John thinks Tom Cruise should not be in a courtyard. Certificate #53610.

Nov 07, 20241 hr 13 min

New Urbanism (Entry 835.SS0711)

In which conservative Sun Belt retirees and progressive urbanists agree on a nostalgic but radical revolution in city design, and Ken does a Norman Rockwell impression. Certificate #34959.

Oct 31, 20241 hr 22 min

Soviet Spartacus (Entry 1194.EX2116)

In which a Thracian slave from two thousand years earlier becomes a proletarian role model and Communist sports hero, and John prefers action stars with boogers. Certificate #37084.

Oct 24, 20241 hr 12 min

Electrical Sockets (Entry 400.JS0215)

In which the long war between alternating and direct current produces power outlets that multiply nto a dizzying world of configurations, and Ken needs a grounding prong. Certificate #29673.

Oct 17, 20241 hr 21 min

Tartans (Entry 1279.DE2230)

In which Scottish clans each choose a distinctive plaid based on a romantic Highland history that didn't really happen, and John takes a hard hit while playing Frisbee in a skirt. Certificate #26624.

Oct 10, 20241 hr 21 min

The Twenty-Seventh Amendment (Entry 1352.GE3028)

In which a constitutional change finally happens after a two-hundred-year delay just to spite one Texas poli sci professor, and Ken likes it when scriveners get away scot-free. Certificate #43079.

Oct 03, 20241 hr 15 min

The Teddy Bear Shipwreck (Entry 1283.PR2433)

In which the toy market is revolutionized by a faddish stuffed animal that would be priceless today if it hadn't disappeared, and John buys the concept of a rabbit. Certificate #24398.

Sep 26, 20241 hr 19 min

Sea Peoples (Entry 1120.1K2248)

In which the great Mediterranean civilizations of the late Bronze Age collapse virtually overnight due to some mysterious visitors, and Ken knows a lot about white broccoli. Certificate #9795.

Sep 19, 20241 hr 9 min

The Coconut Revolution (Entry 239.JE0207)

In which Melanesian eco-revolutionaries fight off helicopter gunships with literal slingshots and homemade diesel, and John makes a shocking announcement about all scientists. Certificate #54146.

Sep 12, 20241 hr 13 min

Poutine (Entry 973.PS10709)

In which a curd-heavy side from central Quebec belatedly becomes the national dish of a land with no real national cuisine, and Ken learns so much about Sacramento culture. Certificate #30037.

Sep 05, 20241 hr 9 min