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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.\r\n","$":{"audioboom:html":"1"}}
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Episodes

The Devils Hole Pupfish (Entry 342.PS10529)

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.

Mar 09, 20231 hr 8 min

The Sight and Sound Poll (Entry 1158.DE0413)

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.

Mar 02, 20231 hr 33 min

The Bhopal Disaster (Entry 118.JE2106)

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.

Feb 23, 20231 hr 21 min

The Osage Headrights (Entry 877.MT2508)

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.

Feb 16, 20231 hr 23 min

The Voynich Manuscript (Entry 1403.DA0515)

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.

Feb 09, 20231 hr 23 min

Rhinos in Europe (Entry 1069.JB3910)

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.

Feb 02, 20231 hr 11 min

Cannikin (Entry 180.IS0219)

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.

Jan 26, 20231 hr 10 min

The Royal Touch (Entry 1087.MT1902)

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.

Jan 19, 20231 hr 9 min

Blue Fugates (Entry 137.DA1006)

In which a rare oxidized form of hemoglobin changes the skin color of a whole holler full of Kentuckians, and Ken wonders when elves got plastic surgery. Certificate #26015.

Jan 12, 20231 hr 7 min

Korean Age (Entry 692.JB1117)

In which the world's first cultural superpower decides to make all its citizens a year or two younger overnight, and John could not have been a better baby. Certificate #38756.

Jan 05, 20231 hr 21 min

Emperor Norton (Entry 408.MT2221)

In which a colorful newcomer to San Francisco loses a fortune on Peruvian rice and declares himself American royalty, and Ken would have pixelized Kiss. Certificate #42631.

Dec 29, 20221 hr 12 min

The Grey Album (Entry 550.MT1906)

In which a future music megastar bridges the gap between rock and hip-hop with one ambitious, illegal remix album, and John is such a good ally that he listened to Suzanne Vega. Certificate #19205.

Dec 27, 20221 hr 20 min

Christmas KFC (Entry 220.DE1411)

In which a western religious holiday becomes a romantic poultry-eating occasion in modern Japan, and Ken destroys all his Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts. Certificate #24940.

Dec 22, 20221 hr 11 min

The First Council of Nicaea (Entry 472.AC1502)

In which an emperor convenes the first ever ecumenical council to figure out just whom Christians have been worshiping all this time, and John thinks the invention of the wheel led to mass depravity. Certificate #23027.

Dec 20, 20221 hr 24 min

Custer the Wolf (Entry 308.JN1012)

In which a national campaign to eradicate a misunderstood predator from the United States very nearly succeeds, and Ken would like to see John James Audubon burning in a pit. Certificate #52363.

Dec 15, 20221 hr 11 min

The Phone Book (Entry 931.RV2015)

In which utility companies take it upon themselves to provide the informational staple of every 20th-century household, and John is looking for a missing Jordanian. Certificate #48730.

Dec 13, 20221 hr 35 min

The Futuro House (Entry 510.1K0609)

In which a Finnish architect upgrades the prefab, modular homes of the 1960s by turning them into flying saucers, and Ken wants to know his table's name. Certificate #49729.

Dec 08, 20221 hr 6 min

The Red Ghost (Entry 1042.LV1104)

In which southeastern Arizona is menaced by a giant, murderous cryptid with a macabre rider, and John conjures up Mr. Clickety-Clack. Certificate #45334.

Dec 06, 20221 hr 8 min

The Quadro Tracker (Entry 1016.LK1202)

In which a man who can't find his golf balls solves every law enforcement problem known to man, and Ken has some bad news about parking tickets. Certificate #21137.

Dec 01, 20221 hr 13 min

The Johnstown Flood (Entry 674.NA0108)

In which an earthenwork dam enjoyed by millionaires fails and a town of steelworkers disppears from the map, and John is terrified by the menace of West Virginia. Certificate #33180.

Nov 29, 20221 hr 7 min

The Last Solviet Citizen (Entry 702.LA0417)

In which one lonely cosmonaut is left in space while his nation disappears from under him, and Ken thinks couples therapy should be about Mars. Certificate #35916.

Nov 24, 202255 min

Twilight (Entry 1352.DE1223)

In which a bored Phoenix mom has a sparkly dream that ends up changing both teen literature and Washington State tourism, and John explains that his virginity had little to do with vampires. Certificate #18573.

Nov 22, 20221 hr 19 min

Mother Trees (Entry 810.LK2129)

In which forests and their fungi form such close relationships that they essentially become a giant leafy brain, and Ken is excited about pre-Wil Wheaton science. Certificate #46162.

Nov 17, 202255 min

The Goodwill Moon Rocks (Entry 539.JB1804)

In which a space detective learns that hundreds of Richard Nixon's tiny gifts to the world have gone missing over the years, and John wonders if religious sacraments are more effective in space. Certificate #25614.

Nov 15, 20221 hr 10 min

Up with People (Entry 1376.MT0715)

In which the counterculture of the 1960s encourages powerful institutions to create a square but multiracial song-and-dance troupe that takes the world by storm, and Ken imagines President Eisenhower as a stern ad executive. Certificate #53773

Nov 10, 20221 hr 15 min

Loyalists (Entry 738.1S0819)

In which half a million colonists decide the American Revolution isn't really their thing, and John needs to know how many lanterns there were, just in case. Certificate #13747.

Nov 08, 20221 hr 16 min

The Stone of Scone (Entry 1229.PS11822)

In which a medieval legend about a chunk of sandstone means that Scottish cooperation is necessary for Charles III to be crowned king, and Ken passes a Bible quiz. Certificate #42504.

Nov 03, 20221 hr 9 min

The Popemobile (Entry 965.JE4615)

In which the history of papal transportation is traced from sedan chairs to Hyundai sedans, and John has been researching the care and upkeep of Catholic moms. Certificate #15163.

Nov 01, 20221 hr 11 min

The Dempster Dumpster (Entry 332.LA0345)

In which cities, over the centuries, gradually discover the most efficient way to collect garbage for disposal, and Ken hasn't looked in his pocket since Christmas. Certificate #28712.

Oct 27, 20221 hr 6 min

Modernist Cuisine (Entry 798.PR2303)

In which a computer millionaire takes early retirement to self-publish a 50-pound reference work about the chemistry of food, and John discovers a surprise cherry tomato. Certificate #24537.

Oct 25, 20221 hr 12 min
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