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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.

Location:

United States

Networks:

HowStuffWorks

Description:

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.

Language:

English


Episodes
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Pulgasari (Entry 1007.IS4602)

4/17/2025
In which North Korea jump-starts its fledgeling monster movie industry by literally kidnapping talent from across the DMZ, and Ken was distracted by skateboarding. Certificate #37139

Duration:01:26:54

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The World's Tallest Building (Entry 1444.GE1104)

4/10/2025
In which the measurement of spires and skyscrapers becomes a source of architectural squabbles and global prestige, and John hides in the forest with a guitar. Certificate #51591.

Duration:01:27:57

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Anthropology Days (Entry 053.NU1516)

4/3/2025
In which the planners of the third modern Olympics scour the globe hoping to populate a human zoo and maybe make the exhibits do sports, and Ken thinks the periodic table needs some work. Certificate #53289.

Duration:01:30:52

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The Mona Lisa Heist (Entry 800.JN1206)

3/27/2025
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.

Duration:01:24:14

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Genuine Leather (Entry 522.GE0321)

3/20/2025
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.

Duration:01:21:24

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The Dionne Quintuplets (Entry 352.JB0525)

3/13/2025
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.

Duration:01:34:52

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Pedestrianism (Entry 913.PS1833)

3/6/2025
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.

Duration:01:27:46

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The Battle of the Sisters (Entry 104.GE3008)

2/27/2025
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.

Duration:01:35:54

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The Golden Age of Porn (Entry 537.1C0618)

2/20/2025
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.

Duration:01:25:13

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The Oracle of Delphi (Entry 872.1S0911)

2/13/2025
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.

Duration:01:08:15

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Balloon Man (Entry 094.DE1501)

2/6/2025
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.

Duration:01:29:01

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The EGOT (Entry 398.AC2810)

1/30/2025
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.

Duration:01:35:46

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

1/23/2025
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.

Duration:01:13:48

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Spontaneous Combustion (Entry 1206.PR0627)

1/16/2025
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.

Duration:01:26:44

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Canal Mania (Entry 178.PR0516)

1/9/2025
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.

Duration:01:27:41

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The Carrington Event (Entry 189.2P0312)

1/2/2025
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.

Duration:01:09:06

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Elf on the Shelf (Entry 404.PR1503)

12/26/2024
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.

Duration:01:20:50

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Space Contraband (Entry 1194.JB1312)

12/19/2024
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.

Duration:01:15:24

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Lazy Susans (Entry 706.LK1237)

12/12/2024
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.

Duration:01:14:56

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The Tooth Fairy (Entry 1317.SS0606)

12/5/2024
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.

Duration:01:25:06